It was about time for Ren to leave on his trip to Fontaine. He'd already prepared everything he needed in his Shadow Storage, so apart from a small sling bag he wore, he brought nothing else.
He'd agreed to meet Rose on Liyue's secondary gate in around 30 minutes, and he had already bid farewell to his employees and friends.
The last person he needed to say goodbye to was Ganyu.
He found the secretary near the edge of Yuehai Pavilion. This was usually around the time she needed to move from place to place, so it was a perfect chance to talk without impeding her work.
Before he could even call out, she lifted her head to look at him, sending him a smile.
"Morning, Ganyu."
"Good morning, Ren." She walked over to him and saw the sling bag over his shoulder. "You must be leaving soon, aren't you?"
"Yup, don't really know how long I'll be gone for, so I figured I should say goodbye before I head out."
She set aside the papers she was holding into her Vision storage, giving him his full attention. Her eyes wandered him up and down, and he felt nervous for some reason.
It was the same nervousness that he felt when his mother would interrogate him before a family trip.
"Do you have everything you need?"
"Pretty much." He gestured vaguely at his pack. "My Shadow Storage helps a lot with packing light."
"That's convenient." She gave him a small smile, but her eyes narrowed in a dangerous way. "Have you eaten today?"
"...Yesn't?"
"...Really?" Her expression took on an amused look. "Ok, well, just make sure you eat on the way. Fontaine is a long journey after all. Can't do that on an empty stomach."
"Alright, mom." Ren playfully jabbed back. His words gained a huff from the half-qilin as she crossed her arms. "I'll make sure to write back once in a while."
"Oh really? I thought you would disappear for months without a word. Maybe I misjudged you." She said, though her voice lacked the confidence it usually did and sounded more like she was rehearsing a line.
"Ok, who are you and what have you done with Ganyu?" Even though he knew it was just banter, it was still surprising to hear such words come out of Ganyu of all people.
Ganyu herself seemed pleased at his reaction, "Your employees invited me out to eat together a few days back. It was pleasant to spend some time with Shenhe again, but your one employee, Meifen, was very… let's say influential."
"Maybe I should have some words with her before I go…"
"Wait no, she was just joking!"
"Haha! I know, I'm just—"
"There you are!"
A sudden shout cut through their conversation.
Running towards the duo was a familiar, golden-eyed and golden-haired woman wearing an odd glint in her eyes.
For some reason, Ren felt the air beside him get a little colder.
"I was starting to wonder if you'd forgotten our departure time." Rose's eyes moved from Ren to Ganyu, and something in them sharpened with interest. "Oh! I'm interrupting something, aren't I?"
"It's alright, we were finishing up anyway," Ren said. Unaware that Ganyu was currently narrowing her eyes at the newcomer.
"My apologies then." She stepped closer to Ren while keeping eye contact with Ganyu.
"Ren," The half-adeptus turned to him, "Is this the person you said you were going with?"
"Uhuh." Ren nodded, "Ganyu, this is Rose. Rose, this is Ganyu."
Rose waved her hand enthusiastically at Ganyu, who gave a lazy wave in return.
Ganyu couldn't help but feel self-conscious for some reason, comparing a certain part of her body to Rose's more endowed form.
"But what do you mean by our departure time? I thought it was still in a few minutes?"
"Oh, I got word that our ship will be leaving earlier than expected, so we best get moving."
Her words seemed reasonable enough, but Ganyu couldn't help but have her suspicions about the woman.
"Really?" Ren turned to Ganyu. "Well, I've got to go now, Ganyu. I'll be sure to write you a letter once I get there!"
She smiled at him, but that disappeared when Rose put a hand around his shoulder and smirked at her. "Don't worry, Ms. Ganyu. I'll make sure to take good care of your friend."
"See to it that you do."
Rose let out a laugh as he and Ren walked off into the distance.
Ganyu watched them disappear with a frown on her face. Her hand went up to her chest, where an unpleasant feeling started to bloom.
The unfamiliar emotion puzzled her, and there was only one person in mind she could go to ask about such things.
"Maybe Master would know what it is that I'm feeling…"
/ — /
Ren
'I wonder why Ganyu looked so miffed back there… Maybe something to do with work.'
Pushing the thought aside, Ren realised that he and Rose were now far enough from the harbor that they couldn't see it anymore.
"Alright, I know you said we were going by boat, but I have a better idea. Before I do something, how good are you with heights?"
"Hmm? I have no trouble being in high altitudes, why the question?"
Instead of explaining, he decided showing her would be better.
Bringing his arms together, he reached out to Nue.
The shikigami tore from his shadows with a screech. Moving its body around to stretch for the long flight ahead.
Ren looked at Rose to surprisingly find the woman immensely fascinated with Nue. She walked around the shikigami, analysing the bird up and down with a discerning gaze.
"Interesting… So this is one of your shikigami."
Ren was no longer surprised when people knew of his shikigami anymore. After the Rite, basically everyone knew about Divine Dog, Toad, Nue, Rabbit Escape, and Orochi.
Thankfully, it seemed like his fusions weren't public knowledge, or not many knew of them yet.
"Yeah, Nue is a beauty." The shikigami let out a chirp of approval at the praise, earning a laugh from Rose. "We'll be riding him all the way to Fontaine."
Just as he was about to get on the bird, Rose spoke again.
"Actually, I don't think flying is the best idea."
Ren glanced back at her. "Why not?"
"Fontaine's border regulations are stricter than most nations. If you fly in with Nue, I can guarantee that you will be detained instantly and slapped with a fine or even jail time." She said casually, much to Ren's horror. "It's not worth the risk. Better to land at Sumeru's border and take a boat the rest of the way."
That wasn't a bad idea.
'Maybe I might be rushing things a little.' Sure, he wanted to get to Fontaine quickly, but didn't Alice say to explore Teyvat in its entirety? Why not take this chance to explore Sumeru's city for a little bit before heading off.
'Besides, what point is there in having so much Mora but not spending any?'
"Alright, border it is."
"You don't mind the detour?"
"Honestly? Kind of looking forward to it." He grinned slightly. "Last time I was in Sumeru I didn't exactly get the tourist experience. Would be nice to actually see the place, you know?"
"That sounds like quite a story."
"Yeah, I guess you can say that…"
Nue took off into the air and the ground fell away beneath them. The rush only lasted a moment before they got into cruising altitude, and all that was left were calm winds.
'Wait a second, if we're stopping at the border instead of going straight through, I could fit in a taming ritual.'
Ren turned to Rose, who seemed to be enjoying the breeze up in the sky.
He made a point of looking anywhere but at how the wind was treating her dress. Though a part of him suspects she's doing it on purpose.
"Since we're stopping in Sumeru anyway, do you think there's room in the schedule for a detour? Just need to do something I've been meaning to take care of."
"Depends what you mean by 'take care of.'"
Ren didn't really want to explain the inner workings of the 10 Shadows to people. As kind as Rose had been, she was still basically a stranger.
"There's one of my shikigami that has been… pretty rowdy lately. So might as well deal with it while I have the chance."
"What do you mean?" Rose put her full attention on him, interested to hear what he had to say.
"Well, it's kind of a whole thing." Ren started, making sure to choose his words carefully. "Basically, my shikigami don't always listen to me. Sometimes they won't fall in line unless you prove you're stronger than them in what I call a taming ritual."
"So you need to fight your shikigami and defeat them?" She put a hand under her cheek. "That's definitely an unusual power you have. But it certainly fits an enigmatic individual such as yourself~."
"Thanks?"
His lack of reaction seemed to amuse her.
"So which of your shikigami is acting unruly? I could assist if you require." A Geo bird suddenly manifested on her hand. "I may not look like it, but I pack quite the punch, as my friend would say."
"Appreciated, but I have to do this alone. My shikigami won't count the win if I have someone else helping me." That and Ren was pretty sure she wouldn't be helpful at all even if she stepped in. "The shikigami I'm taming is called Max Elephant. Which, from its name, is an elephant."
"A shame," She whined, "I was looking forward to testing my abilities against your summons. Am I still able to watch?"
Ren nodded.
"Wonderful!" She made a grin that sent shivers down his spine, "I love watching~."
"Ok?"
'Seriously, the moment I think I know this woman, she just keeps getting weirder and weirder.' Ren couldn't help but think, 'But I guess travelling with someone is better than being alone.'
"It should be around 30 minutes to Sumeru's border, so enjoy the ride." He patted Nue's feathers. "Nue is really strong, so you don't need to worry about a rough ride."
"Oh, I don't mind rough~."
'Ok lady, that's just weird.' Ren discreetly scooted further away from her.
/ — /
After an uneventful flight, they arrived at the official border of Sumeru and followed the road up to the main city.
Sumeru City rose up ahead of them as they walked. The city, home to the god of wisdom, slowly showed itself.
'Huh, I know this is the Dendro Archon's domain, but I didn't expect so many trees.' Ren looked up to see an even bigger tree with a grand-looking building at the top.
If it weren't for the almost sickeningly potent Dendro energy that coated the city, he was pretty sure a single match would have been enough to bring this entire place ablaze.
"This place is pretty nice." The architecture was also a welcome change from Liyue. Lots of green.
"You look surprised." Rose said from his side, "I thought you've been here before."
"That was only on the border. I never actually made it into the city." Yeah, he was pretty sure he wasn't in the right state of mind back then for a vacation.
"Do you know what that thing up there is?"
"Oh, that's actually just the upper parts of the tree."
"Say what now?"
Rose chuckled at his amazed expression. "The entirety of Sumeru City is built upon that tree known as the Divine Tree." She paused, thinking of what to say next. "Sumeru's infrastructure is based on hierarchy. Lower areas are for common folk while the higher parts are only for those of higher standing."
"You seem to know a lot about Sumeru. Been here often."
"...I suppose you can say that. I just so happen to have a friend who likes to make her presence known everywhere she goes."
She went on into a deeper explanation about the Akademiya and its governing bodies. It seemed like she was talking on autopilot as she recounted random facts about the nation.
This was a welcome surprise.
If Ren didn't know any better, he would think she was a researcher of sorts.
"—Each Sage leads their own Darshan, and there's a Grand Sage who—"
She stopped, finally realising she had been rambling.
Turning to Ren, he saw him with an amused expression that caused her cheeks to redden slightly.
'How the tables have turned.'
"...Sorry." Rose cleared her throat. "I was… never allowed to delve deep into books, so I naturally grew a fascination for the Akademiya."
"That was a lot of detail for someone who's only been here once or twice."
"I read a lot." Her smile returned like the moment hadn't happened at all. "Knowledge was one of the only things they never fully managed to control, and I am a slippery woman."
"That's… an interesting choice of words."
"Anyway." She stopped just as they arrived at an intersection. "Shall we explore the city for a while longer or should we do your taming ritual first? We still have many hours to burn, so there is no rush."
"Hmm. I think I'd rather get the taming ritual over with."
As his mom always said, get the annoying stuff done with quickly and you will have more time for yourself.
They moved to the opposite exit of the city, intending to go deep into the wilderness to do the taming ritual.
Considering how Max Elephant would literally drop from the sky once summoned, he would prefer a flat area.
'I don't think a cave would work this time.'
Ren glanced at Rose for a moment. They were going to be travelling for a while together, so it wouldn't hurt to know more about her.
"It's rude to stare, you know~."
"S-Sorry, I was just thinking why you became an adventurer. You don't really—Uh…"
"Look like I can handle myself?"
"Wait, that's not what I—"
"It's alright, I understand your scepticism." She raised a brow at him. "I'm honestly quite surprised you accepted my proposal. Unless…" She leaned closer to him, "You have an ulterior motive?"
Ren just sighed, "Ok, this is getting old now."
"Haha!" She moved back. "Sorry, force of habit. Let's just say that high society has high expectations, and I'm not one to be chained down. My parents put me in an arranged marriage without my knowledge, so I ran away."
Her hand grabbed the Geo Vision on her hip. "And on the way, the gods gave me their favor."
"Whoa, that's… definitely not something you hear every day."
"I suppose not, but—!" She suddenly grabbed his shoulder and dragged him forward into a spring. "I prefer the wilderness to the city, so let us make haste."
When she put her hand away, there was a stinging sensation from where she had left her arm. He brushed it aside as her having a strong grip, and went on his way.