GI Chapter 21: Embarrassed? (Patreon)

Jean arrived at Orion’s side, bringing along a refreshing breeze, akin to the smell of an autumn day, that calmed Orion’s thoughts and his rattled psyche.

“First kill?” Jean leaned towards him, hands gently rubbing his back, and asked with a hint of worry in her voice.

Orion was dreary after killing the Mitachurl as though he was dealing with the aftermath of taking a life for the very first time. Jean hadn’t experienced it herself since her mother had drilled the teachings of the Gunnhildr Clan in her very bones, leaving her immune to the many side effects of combat and the inevitable killing that would follow. But she witnessed with her own eyes that many knights and adventurers couldn’t cope with the feelings that came after, resulting in vomiting at best and a lifelong traumatizing experience at worst.

“No, I was just… forget it.” Orion shook his head to dispel the useless thoughts lingering in his mind.

Jean might call him crazy or outright shun him altogether, labeling him as a delusional weirdo if he revealed what he saw in the Mitachurl’s memories.

Jean’s gaze roamed quickly across Orion’s outfit, searching for the tool that allowed a person to manipulate the elemental energy in the environment, shaping it to their desires.

A Vision.

But her search had ostensibly provided her with a shocking conclusion— Orion had none.

‘He charged at Ursa without a Vision?’

Jean’s dilated pupils failed to hide her surprise, even though her expression remained stoic. There was really someone else in Mondstadt capable of the same feat but on a vastly different scale.

Mona teleported to Orion’s side, bubbles and sparkling translucent stars accompanying her, and touched his cheeks. A small orb of water came out and cleaned his handsome face marred with filth.

“Your face was a mess with tears and snot. I cleaned it up,” Mona said and earnestly offered a handkerchief, tiny red hearts floating around her showing Orion the goodwill of her heart and actions. “All good now?”

Orion found it hard to suppress his embarrassment. The worst part was he couldn’t even explain the reasons for his tears and emotional breakdown. Everyone had taken this calmly as though they hadn’t seen Orion shed tears like a kid. Even the acting grandmaster, Jean. Then again, she would be the last person who would laugh in someone else’s misery. She was too much of a nice person to do that. She was the kind of person who would get hurt over others’ misery while the whole world would laugh at them, even though she didn’t know them well.

The Sentimental Ocean talent was here to help him with the matter of hearts, but it brewed nothing but troubles for him. Why did all the curses latch onto him like that? Scratch that, it was fairly obvious, his existence alone was cursed since his powers came from the so-called Abyss.

Makoto meowed near his leg, prompting him to take the cat in his arms and rub its head affectionately. The stress building up in his chest burst like a bubble while caring for Makoto. The cute feline was always there to cheer him up when he was feeling down.

Fischl seemed to be busy talking to the adventurer girl, who was camping in the wild with a stove in front of her. The adventurer girl forced Fischl to sit on a boulder while she fired up the stove and cooked something, seemingly to serve to Fischl.

‘Look at her acting embarrassed.’

“Her bow skills are terrific,” Jean said with approval. “She took out the hilichurls shooters like a veteran archer.”

Fischl’s arrows, imbued with Electro elemental energy, had taken care of the Pyro hilichurl archers before they could disrupt Orion’s fight with the Mitachurl.

Mona almost drooled at the sight of the sizzling barbeque. Orion noticed her hunger and shook his head with a sigh. Some things never changed. He initiated a talk with the adventurer girl in green, asking her for her story. The cheery adventurer girl told him everything, how she saw hilichurls entering the ruins of the Sacred Temple of Falcon, and how a few of them stayed behind to keep watch.

Jean’s instincts flared up at the unusual activities of the hilichurls. “This can become troublesome. Nevertheless, we cannot expend time or resources on the Abyss Order right now.”

“Abyss Order?” Orion inquired quizically, curious about the order that carried the name of the Abyss—evidently the place his powers originated from.

Jean stared at Orion as though she was looking at a strange animal. How could someone be unaware of the enemies of Teyvat?

Orion assumed a grim expression and recited the ‘tragic’ backstory. The same one he illustrated to Diluc, this time with greater emphasis on details about his childhood in an isolated village near the very border of Mondstadt, which only had four residents.

Mona almost choked on the food she had received from the adventurer girl. She might have really believed Orion was a native to Teyvat if it weren’t for their prior interactions and her knowledge of his true origins.

‘An apt play of words.’

“Oh, Sir Orion…” Oz said, a line of purple buzzing tears, composed of pure Electro element, sliding down the raven’s eyes. “Growing up in isolation… only gods know how much I understand those feelings. Mein Fräulein also—”

“Ozzzzie!” Fischl called out with a shriek, her cheeks tinted red in sheer embarrassment. “Her Majesty beseeches you to unfurl your imperial wings and cast a shadow of certitude on the land I, Fischl, Prinzessin der Verurteilung, swore to protect with my royal flesh and blood.”

Frankly, the young lady was flustered at the mere thought of having her childhood revealed to her new companions. Her mysterious aura was bound to dissipate if those memories saw the light of the day. They were better remain buried in the depths of her heart and also Oz’s.

“You just want me to go away…” Oz muttered, crestfallen by the betrayal.

Fluttering his jet-black wings, the raven soared into the sky.

Orion sighed. “Fischl, I can adopt Oz if you don’t want him. He is such a cute familiar.”

Makoto bit on his finger, her golden eyes flickering with a dark look of betrayal and anger.

Orion scratched Makoto’s chin, the spot she loved the most. “Don’t be mad.”

“Meow...”

Fischl glanced at Orion. “Oz and I are no mere master and servant. We share a soul and fate ever since the day he ripped the night with dark wings and snatched me from the teeth of the world beast.”

“So he is special to you? Got it.”

“...”

Jean covered her mouth and chuckled at the interactions of her new acquaintances. A lighthearted chat by the bonfire. This vaguely reminded her of a certain girl’s adventures listed in the book Lisa lent her. A mere moment of distraction, and she was back to the serious Acting Grandmaster role. She clarified to Orion the ambiguous goals of the Abyss Order. The Abyss Order was a mysterious, but powerful legion of monsters from the Abyss. Enemies of both humanity and surface civilization, the Abyss Order thrived in many known and unknown corners of Teyvat shrouded in a veil of an enigma.

The faction’s ability to command the hilichurl like minions among other notable monsters intrigued Orion. There was more to the savage race than what most people saw. He had experienced it beforehand.

‘Who else in Mondstadt can tell me more about hilichurls? The Librarian maybe? Doesn’t hurt to try my luck there.’

The Ley Lines and its influx of knowledge didn't tell him much about the hilichurls, or it refused to tell him as of now. Maybe, they will bare their secrets to him when he was able to unlock more aspects of his divine powers and was able to control them fully.

“Ughu.” Mona nodded, her mouth filled with the crispy veggies. She scarfed down the food and smacked her chest. “Haah… Mondstadt is besieged by troubles one after another. A profound trial prepared by the stars perhaps.”

Jean thought of all the troubles surrounding Mondstadt: Ursa the Drake, the meteor shower, the increasing sightings of the Stormterror in the skies above Mondstadt, the Fatui from Snezhnaya, and now the ambiguous actions of the hilichurl.

“Anemo God is testing our resolve,” Jean wondered out loud. “The Knights of Favonius won’t back down from this challenge.”

“Anemo God…” Orion recalled the feminine bard with black hair. “Trap…”

The adventurer girl quietly listened to their talk. Happy to have people to chat to and to see them enjoy the dishes she whipped out for them. Time trickled quietly as they mingled with each other.