Odyssey

『1』

"Hmmm..." Her eyes scanned through the clear glass windows of the shops as she walked along the street.

She has just stepped out of the portal a few minutes ago, in an alley, where nobody could notice her.

"Thank Barbatos," she snickered at her joke, "that the void showed mercy this time."

Her gaze then shifted from the many clothes and foods behind the panes of glass to the paved stone ground. It somehow reminds her of her adventures in her homeworld...

Oh how she missed the nights in Diluc's tavern, where she used to get drunk with Venti. They sang and danced together in merry jollies, entertaining themselves and the late-night drinkers...

Oh how she missed getting in trouble with Klee. Whether they both would end up in Jean's office or have a gloom moment in front of a frustrated Albedo, who just had his experiments knocked over or ruined...

She missed running errands around Liyue under the order of the disguised Rex Lapis. During the time she would come to help Xiangling, duo battling with Childe, come drink tea with Ningguang and Beidou...

She also missed the times when Miko and herself would sit and have small beverage parties with the Inazuma ruler as they watch the clouds stroll by...

Now, in the rain, the girl walked, solitarily. Or not?

"G-gah-!" A sudden force collided with her as she was walking along the path, deep in thoughts.

She looked up to see a group of bulky men dressed up in suits. Judging by their facial colors, they were intoxicated. Their eyes held the same look of lust that hid under their various masks.

Neriko stepped back while staring at them, reading their next moves.

"Oh this one's a pretty one," A tall man hicked while expressing his thoughts to his companions. "We should bring her back to the Manor... Young lady, we will have a lot of fun~"

The men staggered closer to her, with their breaths that reeked of alcohol, with their chubby fingers that reached for her further and further the more she steps back.

Until now, Neriko has yet to show any signs of a certain emotion. Her face remained a calm, collected, and innocent look. She must consider her choice, whether to run, or to make a mess, and be the center of attention of citizens.

In this case, she chose the former. Ducking down as one man tried grabbing her by the hair, she looked up to see a blank space just enough for her to get through, just between the men's legs. She grinned and dashed through, running as fast as she could, as to not get caught.

As expected, the men chased her once they recognized that she had escaped their cornering. They kept on running until she took a turn at a corner of a street.

"Where did the lassie go?"

Neriko finally stopped as she was sure that she had cut them off her tail. She took in large sums of air. Little did she know-

"Ah!"

Oh well. May it pass now...