Be Careful When Agreeing to Terms and Conditions

3. Back to Mond(6)

I don’t like the word “fate.”

Because the moment you attach the word “fate,” it feels like most of my life is being invalidated.

If everything is going to happen according to some predetermined fate, then what’s the point of living and striving?

There was a time when being dropped onto the Tibart continent felt like a joke of fate, but now I was living with the mindset of exploring a new life.

Also, the word “fate” had a lot of potential for misuse. There were countless ways to play bad tricks with the word “fate.” Just by looking at how scammers and charlatans used the word, I could see the extent of its potential for mischief.

But what if “fate” actually exists?

Honestly, even then, I disliked the word “fate” itself. If I could deny it, I would deny it without hesitation.

But my personal feelings were nothing more than emotions, and when it came to dealing with things, the attitude of using whatever was available was important.

Of course, it seemed that Mona’s prophecies were sometimes wrong, but it was clear that she was not just a delusional chuunibyou patient or a scammer. That was already proven by her ability to read Lumine’s and my fate.

It was a rare power. The ability to peek into someone’s fate and predict the future.

At the very least, it would be a great help to Lumine, who was wandering around trying to find her older brother, who could be anywhere on the Tibart continent.

So I thought. How can I keep Mona by my side?

The simplest way was money. Most people could be hired if they were given enough compensation, as long as it wasn’t something that went against social norms like crime.

But Mona had just said, “If you pursue profit through astrology, you will receive the hatred of the stars.” I didn’t know how terrifying this “hatred of the stars” was, but I could infer that astrology, which was the technique of reading destiny by looking at the stars, was quite a fearsome thing.

Furthermore, even if there wasn’t such a risk, Mona was someone who took pride in astrology. The power of people like them couldn’t be obtained simply by giving them money. To gain the hearts of proud experts, trust and conviction were necessary.

From that perspective, keeping Mona by my side was quite a difficult task. First, there was my conviction to support Lumine in any way possible. It wasn’t a grand ambition. And there was the trust between Mona and me, which had just been formed today. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t particularly good either. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t imagine a picture of Mona and me being together.

Still, with a feeling of poking at an unripe persimmon, I asked Mona, who was still blushing and keeping her distance from me. Mona seemed to hesitate for some reason.

“Mona, would you consider working with me?”

“…Together?”

After hearing my words, Mona made a blank face as if she was thinking of something, then suddenly realized and exclaimed.

“No, absolutely not!”

Wait, you hate it that much? I clicked my tongue in disappointment.

Mona hunched her body as if she had something she had to protect, and stared at me with a threatening look. I hadn’t done anything, so I couldn’t understand why she was acting like that.

If anything, wasn’t I being kind? I even treated a stranger to a meal. I grumbled to myself while sighing deeply as if there was nothing I could do.

“It’s a shame. I thought you wouldn’t do it for less than a million mora.”

“…How much?”

In response to my casually thrown words, Mona reacted. She flinched and stiffened her body, then turned her head sharply to look at me. It was a somewhat incredulous look.

Oh, there’s more resistance than I thought. But despite my true feelings, I maintained a face and voice of disappointment as I spoke.

“A million mora. It’s not so much as a reward for helping me, but just a simple gesture of goodwill.”

Instead of using the word “reward,” I used the word “goodwill.” In other words, I was saying that Mona helping me wasn’t because of money. It was just a simple play on words, but words were different from each other.

A conflicted light shone in Mona’s eyes, resembling pale green jade. She chewed on her lips, as if contemplating.

However, Mona resisted the temptation of 1 million Mora in the end. She tightly closed her eyes and shouted.

“No, still no!”

“Then, 2 million.”

In response to my immediate follow-up, Mona’s lips sealed once again. Mona seemed to be muttering something, her body stiffened. It seemed like words starting with ‘2 million Mora…’ or something like that, but one thing was certain – Mona was visibly shaken.

Then, Mona gasped and took a deep breath. It seemed like she had become aware of her own state. Mona closed her eyes once again and shouted.

“No matter what, it’s not happening…”

“3 million.”

It was a decisive blow, an outrageous proposal that entered before finishing my sentence. An amount three times the initially suggested sum.

Compared to the money I had, it was a meager amount, but for an individual, it was a substantial sum.

Mona closed her mouth, contemplating with a troubled expression. Eventually, she lowered her head deeply. It was too much money for her to overcome.

As Mona raised her head, avoiding eye contact with a flushed face, her attitude seemed like she was avoiding making an absurd request, but her words were as sincere as they could be.

“Heh, fine. If you want me that badly… Just so you know, it’s not because of the money!”

Finally, with Mona’s answer, I could wear a satisfied smile.

Indeed, there was nothing that couldn’t be achieved with money. I was content with Mona’s power.

Now, Mona had to stay by my side without any reservations.

**

However, hiring Mona didn’t lead to any dramatic changes. Perhaps Lumine needed to return first to foresee our destiny or something.

Also, it seemed like Mona had personal matters to attend to in Mondstadt. So, after resolving her personal business, she agreed to help me. I gave Mona an advance of 1 million Mora.

Only then did Mona seem to truly grasp my words. She must have judged that she had enough capability to pay around 3 million Mora, though I wasn’t sure how much money I actually had.

It wasn’t necessary to verbalize my entire wealth. That information would eventually be known as we worked together.

However, there was a slight problem in finding Mona’s accommodation. I thought it would be enough for me to give her one of the rooms where Lumine and I stay, but it was ruined by Mona’s determined opposition. The look she gave me was one of distrust, as if she couldn’t trust me.

I felt unfairly treated. What did I do? If I were the kind of person who exposed women like that, Lumine or Paimon would have had something to say a long time ago.

But since there was no need for me to stay with Mona, I let her find her own accommodation without saying anything.

In the current Mondstadt, where contact with outsiders has been cut off, there was an abundance of rooms. Even if I didn’t step forward, with a million Mora, I could find a good room. I left Mona with that calculation.

I treated Mona to a meal around lunchtime, but now it was twilight.

Normally, at this time, when I started preparing the meal, Lumine and Paimon would come back, and soon the inn would be bustling with Paimon’s chattering. But Lumine and Paimon, who were running day and night to resolve the Venti situation, would only return late at night, so it was like time had slipped away for me.

So I went to the market. Since the work I was doing before meeting Mona was market research, in the end, I had returned to my job.

So what did I bring? I wanted to ask Mona for advice on a product that would be a hit in Liyue, but Mona wouldn’t listen to such a request. It was an insult to her pride.

Moreover, it was not good to rely on fortunes every time something was needed. I still had a position close to disbelief in “fate”. Nothing was absolute.

While pondering about this and that, I heard a familiar voice somewhere.

“Oh, my servant!”

That distinctive high-pitched voice, with unmistakable joy.

I immediately turned my head. And there, there was a face I missed.

A fashion mixed with black and purple, golden hair and emerald eyes. And even an eyepatch covering her right eye.

She was a cute and beautiful girl, combining girlish cuteness and adult charm.

I shouted in surprise at the unexpected meeting.

“Paimon!”

When I called her name, Paimon came running and stood in front of me. She seemed very excited about the unexpected meeting, her eyes sparkling.

“Indeed, it is a destined encounter intertwined with the fate of a princess and the night sky. Even the wind blowing from the sacred white city cannot sever the thread of our connection!”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m glad to see you too, Paimon.”

If I were to translate Fischl’s words, it could be interpreted as ‘It’s impressive to coincidentally meet like this even after returning from Mondstadt.’ It had a slightly clinging feeling, but that was something you had to understand intuitively. Fischl’s language was that sophisticated.

I found Fischl, who was welcoming me, cute, so I gently patted her head. Fischl seemed to enjoy the patting as she leaned forward even more.

A fragrant scent lingered. Fischl’s hair was still glossy and soft.

“By the way, my loyal companion, why were you wandering away from the coveted golden seat of desire?”

If translated again, it could be something like, ‘Why are you wandering away from the market?’ For some reason, Oz was not by Fischl’s side at the moment, and probably, I was one of the few people who could converse with Fischl in this state.

After patting Fischl’s head for a while, I withdrew my hand with a deep sigh in response to her question. Fischl’s eyes briefly showed a disappointed expression, but I couldn’t keep patting her head forever. It felt like observing a well-trained pet, not unpleasant, but it couldn’t last forever.

“Oh, that’s right. Actually, I think I need to go on another journey to Liyue, and I was contemplating what goods to sell in Liyue at that time. The more it is a specialty of Mondstadt, the better the reaction, but…”

In response to my words, Fischl also seemed to be troubled, making a fist and making a thoughtful sound. While doing that, she closed her eyes, and the pose was quite dignified, making me burst into laughter.

Fischl was still adorable. As someone who had landed in Mondstadt’s unfamiliar land with no acquaintances, it felt like gaining a little sister.

However, contrary to my thought that Fischl was just finding her concerns cute, she offered me quite helpful advice. After resolving her dilemma, she made a suggestion to me.

“Hmm, the abyss of desire is always surprisingly empty. It might be better to seek out the fragments of scattered desires in the world.”

It could be translated as ‘Surprisingly, it’s hard to find good items in the market, so it might be better to go out to the production site.’ It was indeed a persuasive argument.

Due to the Stormterror incident, Mondstadt’s distribution network was not normal at the moment. No matter how much the ‘Mondstadt Castle’ was the center of Mondstadt, items that would give me a special feeling might be outside of it.

I felt quite good. It was because Fischl’s words gave me a sense of direction.

“Fischl, thanks. Thanks to you, I feel like I’ve grasped something a little.”

Upon hearing that, Fischl became proud. As if to show her approval, she shared a few more pieces of information with me.

“Come to think of it, the place where the legend of the lake fairy has fallen asleep has been quite noisy lately. If there is a calling of destiny, it might not be bad to go and see.”

The place where the legend of the lake fairy has fallen asleep seemed to refer to ‘Springvale.’ Looking back, Springvale in Mondstadt was famous for the highest quality boar meat throughout the entire Teyvat continent. It was definitely considered one of Mondstadt’s specialties.

Since there was still time, shall we go and investigate what this ‘problem’ is and see if there’s anything we can find?

After organizing my thoughts like that, I asked Phiseul about the fact I was curious about.

“But Phiseul, what are those luggage?”

As I said that, my gaze naturally turned to the pile of luggage stacked behind Phiseul. To be precise, it was a bundle of luggage tied to a bag with wheels, like a carrier.

It looked heavy at first glance, but Phiseul was a veteran adventurer who could wield the power of elements with the eyes of a god. Naturally, with the eyes of a god, her strength surpassed that of an ordinary person. She was dragging that bundle of luggage as if it were a light toy.

The only question was where she was going with such a quantity of luggage. It seemed to be at least the level of moving for daily life.

Ah, this. While muttering like that, Phiseul’s eyes flickered. It was a sly smile.

“Hmm, are you also coveting the wisdom of the princess?”

Well, yeah. If a friend is carrying luggage and going somewhere, wouldn’t you naturally be curious?

However, without me saying such words, Phiseul answered with a playful chuckle.

“Huh, you should be fine. The princess is heading to a new resting place right now.”

“A new resting place?”

In response to my question, Phiseul nodded once. It seemed like she was moving, perhaps Oz had gone there first.

I looked at Phiseul with a slightly worried expression.

“Are you okay? Living alone means you have to cook and clean.”

“…I, I know that much too!”

Phiseul snapped and shouted, but I couldn’t help but worry. Phiseul was still someone I had to protect.

Could it be a scam? Phiseul is inexperienced in anything other than combat, so it could be possible. As these concerns continued, the variety of my worries only increased.

There was no other choice. I had to confirm with my own eyes.

“It won’t do, Phiseul. Let’s go together. After all, you have to introduce your new home to me at least once, right?”

Huh? Phiseul widened her eyes in surprise. My suggestion seemed unexpected. After a moment of contemplation, Phiseul closed her eyes as if thinking, then smiled and answered.

“Well, that’s fine too. Listen to the Princess’s advice.”

Following Pisel’s guidance, I headed towards Pisel’s new house.

What kind of place could it be? It should be a safe place. Such concerns were fading away with every step I took.

Instead, there was a suspicion filling the void.

For a while, I quietly followed the path as Pisel suggested, but eventually, I couldn’t resist and asked.

“…Pisel, why does this path feel so familiar?”

“Oh, we’ve arrived.”

However, as if my question fell on deaf ears, Pisel said so and walked ahead.

My gaze shifted in the direction Pisel was facing. There was a very familiar building there.

And in front of it, Oz, Pisel’s crow companion, was waiting for us.

“Miss, as you mentioned, we have reached an agreement with the owner.”

“Indeed, my companion, you’ve done well.”

Pisel nodded in satisfaction at Oz’s words. Her eyes were directed towards the building that was too familiar to me, our lodging with Lumine.

Now, unable to deny the growing speculation, I sighed. It was troublesome. Lumine would be back in a few hours.

“Pisel, is the new lodging you mentioned…”

Before my question could continue, Pisel turned around quickly and looked at me. A confident and playful smile appeared on her face.

It was a sight that reminded me of the day I first met Pisel.

“For those curious about the unknown world, finding a place to fold their wings for a moment is inevitable.”

“Miss says, ‘Isn’t it natural for an adventurer to find an inn as their lodging?'”

This is bad. While listening to Oz’s interpretation, I thought so, realizing it had been a long time since I heard Oz’s translation.

Thinking about it now, the place Lumine and I have been staying at all this time was an inn. We were using it as if we had rented it entirely, but that was only because there were no other guests.

So, it wasn’t strange that Beidou chose the inn as her accommodation. In fact, it was a natural choice since I was here in this inn.

But what worried me wasn’t Beidou. To be precise, I was concerned about the chemical reaction that would occur when Beidou and another person meet.

The cold gaze exchanged between Lumine and Beidou that day. It was ominous.

However, whether Beidou knew my feelings or not, she suddenly walked towards me.

And then, a fragrance that embraced me as Beidou approached. Sweet yet indescribably soft, the scent brushed past my senses.

“…Until when can you treat the princess you saw as a little kid? Let’s see.”

With a confident smile, Beidou made her declaration, leaving me feeling a bit bewildered. Come to think of it, was Beidou also a woman? Well, whatever. Beidou is Beidou.

I decided to stop my thoughts at this point. Just hoping Lumine won’t say anything special.

Of course, that would never happen, but still.