Contracts & Conspicuous Characters || Genshin Impact

V: Adeptus of Wangshu Inn

You freeze from your spot as you slowly turn. A man with faded green hair and amber eyes stares at you, and you shift uncomfortably from your left foot to your right as you gulp, "I'm Y/N. Are you...?"

"Yes. I also sense a trace of the Sigil of Permission on you, yet you do not currently possess it. I take it you're here with a friend."

"You're correct about that, too."

The man pauses, still eyeing you. You chuckle nervously, "Did I, um, interrupt something? I could leave if y—"

"Mortal souls are not as robust as those of adepti, nor can your blood carry this level of adepti energy. Leave, it's for your own good."

"Wait—"

The man disappears, leaving a black and green trail behind. You look behind to see Aether and Paimon panting at the foot of the balcony, "Damnit! We almost got him!"

"Was that the adeptus?"

Paimon nodded, answering for Aether, "His name is Xiao. Verr Goldet said it's hard to talk to him, so he must've been in a good mood. What did you two talk about?"

You recall the short conversation you had with Xiao, only for Paimon to angrily stomp her little foot, "ARGH! Paimon's peeved! All he does is think about himself! Paimon wants to give him an ugly nickname but if you tick off an adeptus, the only thing you'll probably ever find in treasure chests is cabbage. Bleurgh!"

You giggle at Paimon's rant, "So what did you guys talk to the owner about?"

Aether walked over to the railing, leaning against it, "She said some things about Xiao, and he also likes Almond Tofu. We could also offer another dish but I have no idea what to make."

You shrug, "Since the adeptus insisted that adepti energy is too dangerous, maybe something like a Satisfying Salad would be good? It's simple to make, so we could just quickly drop it off to him along with the Almond Tofu."

Aether gives you a thumbs up, "Sounds like a plan. Should we start?"

-

You decided to split up the workload, with Aether and Paimon gathering materials for the salad while you go to the kitchen to talk to the chef.

"Can't you see I'm on a break, kid? Scram."

You shuffle and knock quietly, "Excuse me, I'd like an Alm—"

"Scram!"

Jeez, who got his panties in a twist?

"It's for the boss, Goldet."

The man sighs, and explains to you that a ghost has been lurking in his kitchen lately and is unable to take in requests. Promising to purge the ghost away, you shoo him away from the kitchen to inspect it, only to confirm his suspicions.

The ghost is a child, around nine years of age. She stares at you and waves, then scurries away, disappearing into the wall. You return to the chef to tell him about your sighting, and he falters.

Great, he's useless. Guess I should talk to boss lady.

"Hehe, scared of something so insignificant. Hard to believe he was once a notorious bandit."

You lean against your arm, "You don't seem that afraid of ghosts, boss lady."

She smiles knowingly, "Gods and ghosts, I've seen it all before."

You raise your eyebrow, "Come to think of it, others don't seem to know there's an adeptus here at the inn, except for you."

"Hey now, say any more and you'll be divulging my little secret," she laughs heartily, "and before you are off, go see to it that little ghost doesn't go scaring anybody else. Not that I'm ordering you around, it's just like that adeptus said: mortal souls are not as robust as those of the adepti. In order to not be harmed when dealing with the adepti, you can start by practising with that ghost."