Ch.3

That's what he promised his wife, to come back home safe and sound. Unfortunately the forest wasn't merciful to him. Huai'an encountered a geovishap hatchling. Almost everyone in teyvat knows how annoying they can get.

Fortunately the geovishap hatchling hasn't seen him yet, He thought he could get away, Unbeknownst to him geovishap's are sensitive in terms of hearing, especially hatchlings.

Huai'an alerted the hatchlings, in which he panicked. He knew he couldn't outran the hatchlings so he screamed for help. Fortunately, you heard it.

You went to the source of sound, there you saw a man who has getting chased by geovishap hatchlings. You quickly drew out your sword and charged at them.

Since the hatchlings were busy with running after Huai'an, they didn't notice you, hence you quickly pounced at the hatchling and stabbed it in the weak spot.

Huai'an then went to you, he was at a mess, probably still terrified by what happened. After a couple of minutes, he finally calmed down.

In those minutes of him calming down, the two of you talked to eachother. You asked why he was alone in the middle of the forest, in which he explained. Seeing that you had the equipments and seemed like a hunter, he asked. Your answer pleasing him.

Since he now knew you were a hunter, he asked if you could hunt some meat for them, of course, he also offered mora. You accepted his request yet denied his mora offer, saying it's too much.

Huai'an obviously insisted, saying that it's not close even close to being "too much." You saved his life, accepted his sudden request, and on top of that you were willing to do it for free, in which he can't accept.

You didn't want to drag this for too long, hence you accepted the mora offer, still deeply in shock by the mora offer.

Huai'an left to go to the inn first, you had to stay a little bit because the preys that you caught clearly weren't enough.

...וו×...

You decided to take some of the preys that you caught the other day and bring it to the inn too. Upon arriving, you were greeted by the boss, Verr Goldet.

You exchanged pleasantries before handling out the stack of meat. “Here is the preys that I caught, I've also added some of the ones I caught a few days earlier. Even tho they were only dry aged for a few days old, there should still be a few changes in terms of taste.” You said while giving Verr Goldet the other batch of the dry aged meat.

“Thank you so very much [y/n]!” The boss of the inn said, “Wait here, I'm going to get the mora as promised. In the end you couldn't deny the offer, so you only nodded your head and kept quiet.

Few minutes later, Verr Goldet arrived, “Here is the mora as promised.” You took the mora, surprised as how heavy it is. You couldn't help but ask, “Excuse me, I think it's too heavy, perhaps you miscalculated?” I said hoping it didn't offend her.

“Ah no, after my husband told me everything that happened, 50k mora isn't enough. So I added another 50k making it 100k.” She said with a smile. You were flabbergasted by what she said.

“What?! no, I couldn't possibly take this! 50k mora is more than enough!” You said attempting to give back the bag of mora. Verr Goldet didn't take it, as expected. “My husband, Huai'an, used to be a skilled fighter. In fact, He's the reason why our bridge got broken. Thankfully the traveller helped so it's fixed now.”

You were surprised at how strong Huai'an were, Verr Goldet told you everything that he did, unfortunately he broke one of his bone when he was fighting a mitachurl near the inn, hence he couldn't fight anymore.

“So the additional 50k is for saving my husband. He used to be fearless, but ever since that incident happened he's scared of breaking his bones again. Please accept it.” Verr Goldet said looking at you with pleasing eyes.

You had no choice but to accept the huge amount of mora, unsure of what you'll do with it. Since it was near lunch, Verr Goldet insisted that you should stay for a little bit and eat with them. As soon as Verr Goldet said it, she left you to instruct Smiley Yanxiao to cook additional food, leaving no room for you to say no.

You could only sigh, you decided to go to the rooftop to get some fresh air. You saw that there was an upper floor, hence you decided to go there but was stopped with a sign, “Customers are prohibited, Thank you.” But then Verr Goldet once said to you that you're welcome to the inn, and that you should be comfortable.

Besides, you're not a customer, so you're free to pass right? You contemplated for quite a long time, you finally decided that you should just ask Verr Goldet for permission. You weren't comfortable with barging in especially when the customers are prohibited.

By the time you got to the bottom floor, You saw that she wasn't at the reception. You asked the other staff as to where she might be, they told you she's by the entrance calculating the goods that is supposed to be used in the parting.

“You seem busy, I hope I'm not interrupting you?” You said while approaching her. “Ah, [y/n]! Yes I am, since our deity has sadly been killed, the meat and goods that were supposed to be used in the Rite of Descension are now being used in the Rite of Parting.” Verr Goldet continued,

“Since the amount of foods that are about to be delivered are no joke, the Qixing decided to use it in the Rite of Parting. They figured that they should send off Rex Lapis with blessings as thanks for protecting them over the years. And besides, if the Qixing were to send it back, the merchants would surely be pissed.”

You only nod in response. “Anyway, is there something you wish to tell me?” You smiled at her before asking, “I saw that there was another floor on top of the rooftop. Am I allowed in there?” Verr Goldet then asked you, “The sign says that there's no customer allowed, and you're not a customer, so why didn't you go in?” Verr Goldet asked you in response.

“Ah.. well yeah, I'm not a customer but I didn't feel like barging in. I wanted to ask for your permission to make sure I'm allowed in there.” Verr Goldet looked at you, as if she seemed that she was looking right into your soul. This made you worry, “is that a no? did I provoke her?? why is she looking at me like that..”

Verr Goldet then chuckled causing you to snap out of your thoughts. “Yes of course, I told you you're allowed in every nook and cranny of this place, but I appreciate you asking me for permission.”

She said and continued in doing her work. You didn't want to disturb her any longer and just smiled before leaving. On your way there you saw Jiangxue. He asked on where you were off to, you replied that you're going to the upper rooftop.

“Really? Did you ask the boss for permission?” you nodded and said, “Yes, I asked for her permission and she told me I'm welcomed in every room of the inn.” Jiangxue was seemingly surprised.

As you were about to ask what's wrong, he cut you off. “You're really something aren't you? the boss never let anyone in, be it a staff or customer. Well then I'm off to do something, make yourself at home.”

You were shocked by what he said. “Verr Goldet never let anyone in? then why did she permit me to go there..”  curiosity soon piqued your interest. Soon you arrived. You saw the view and it flabbergasted you. The fresh wind hitting your skin making you shiver a little bit, but soon it relaxed you.

You were enjoying the moment, but felt uneasy. You felt like someone was staring at you. You looked back but saw no one. “Is there a ghost here?” You thought to yourself, shaking it off and enjoyed the view a little more.

You couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, hence you decided to go back down and just help Yanxiao with the dishes. - That is until you got stopped by a familiar voice.

“What are you doing here?”

Surprised by the sudden voice, you looked back. You widen your eyes at the sight of the man. You couldn't clearly see his face back then, but now that you do, you were pleasantly surprised on how beautiful he looks.

“what? I'm talking to y-” “has anyone ever told you how beautiful you look?” You said cutting him off. He was once again taken a back by the sudden compliment.

“Didn't you just say that few days ago?” The man said while crossing his arms. “Well yeah, but it was dark so I could only see some of your features.” You said while staring at him.

You weren't lying, it was dark out so you didn't see his full face but you did manage to catch a glimpse of his features. The one thing that catched your attention was deep amber eyes.

The man just stared at you, making you uncomfortable. “Can you stop staring at me?” you asked hoping he'd stop. “no” he said earning a groan from you. “Okay fine, tell me your name and I'll let you stare for as long as you want.”

The man didn't budge and kept on staring at you. You stared back before sighing. “I'm going back, it's pointless to be with you.” you said giving up. When you were about to head out, you felt a hand on your arm, making you look back.

You looked at him straight in the eye and asked, “what?” The man just kept on staring at you, not long after a frown appeared on his face.

“You're so ugly.”

Said the man before disappearing. This made you furious, you went down the stairs stomping your feet. Verr Goldet noticed your change of attitude and asked you what happened.

“Goldet! what's with that man on the upper rooftop? why is he so full of himself?!” You asked he, only to gain a confused look from the lady. You sigh before telling her the details of what happened.

“You..” the lady trailed off before sighing. “You're really unbelievable..” Just as you were about to say something, she cut you off by saying, “You should go and make up with him. Go to Yanxiao and ask him to make you almond tofu.”

Hearing what you said, you froze in your spot. Not because she wants you to make up with the man but because she mentioned the word “almond tofu.”

“Did you just say almond tofu?”

“..yeah wh-”  “how do you know how to make it?” Goldet then gave you a weird look. The lady then asked you if there's something wrong. You told her the reason of your sudden change of attitude.

Goldet then told you about things that you didn't know. “I see.. sorry about that. I was just taken aback. I didn't know my father's recipe was now well known not only in the inn but in the capital aswell.”

You said while looking away from the lady, embarrassed by your actions earlier. “It's fine, don't worry about it. I'll go and continue what I'm doing, go and ask Yanxiao for help in making almond tofu.”

Saying that, she turned her heels and left. You could only sigh, “did she forget my father was the one who created almond tofu?” You thought to yourself before heading to the kitchen.

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