Eyes of Perception

Chapter 3

The following week was just as boring as he feared it would be. Day after day, he'd spend locked up in his office, filling out seemingly endless stacks of paperwork about interest rates and finance plans that the bank had secured with nearby businesses. He couldn't help but be a little betrayed by this - he'd been promised to have an active position in Liyue, not to sit behind desks for the entire time. 

That was how he first got into the routine of waking up at unholy hours of the morning just to sneak out of his apartment for a few hours and take to the outskirts of the city for some training. He developed a sort of routine, which involved waking up before the sun even rose, going on a brisk walk to wherever his feet would lead him, destroying anything that moved, returning to the bank, wasting away several hours of his life on paperwork, and, if he remembered, occasionally grabbing a bite of food.

Apparently, his lack of self-care was more noticeable than he thought, because around three days into this schedule of his, Ekaterina had done him the honor of stopping by his office. After timidly knocking as if she was scared of distracting him, she'd hesitantly placed a plate of food onto the corner of his desk before disappearing again. Was Childe really so scary that she didn't even wait for him to thank her? What, were there rumors about him stabbing people for bringing him food, now?

Still, he appreciated the gesture, so that evening as he'd been leaving the bank, he'd slipped a brief thank-you note onto Ekaterina's desk. If the action had surprised her, she didn't show it. Instead, on the next day, she repeated in a similar manner, though this time she also left a glass of water on his desk before leaving. A part of him was almost offended by the fact that Ekaterina clearly didn't think he could take care of himself (she was right), but another part told him to shut up and appreciate it. 

He wasn't actually sure why he found it so hard - no, that wasn't the right way to put it - why he kept forgetting to take care of himself. Maybe it was because his time in the Abyss had hardened him, forced him into a position where the luxury of having three meals a day was simply not available for him. Or perhaps, it was because he could still remember those first few months of the Fatui training camps, where if he didn't spend every waking moment keeping himself busy, he'd get a new bruise from one of the overseeing Fatui agents.

(It wasn't as if he couldn't beat those agents on his own. In fact, during his first few months at the camps, he was probably capable of taking down most of the older agents on his own. He'd tried it, too, one time. He'd gotten as far as to beating the shit out of a lieutenant that had the audacity to shout at him before Pulcinella had stepped in, scolding Tartaglia and threatening to harm his family if he ever acted up again. From then, Tartaglia had done his best to remain silent as he rose through the ranks.)

Either way, it didn't matter, and honestly, there were probably thousands upon thousands for his 'forgetful' nature when it came to his own wellbeing. The fact simply remained that, in his mind, if he wasn't spending as much time as possible on his work, then he was wasting it. He still had to get better. He still had to get stronger. It didn't matter if it was regarding his fighting prowess or his intellect, he simply had to improve, no matter what. Trivial things like self-care were only holding him back, making him spend precious minutes on useless things.

Even so, he had to admit that it was a nice change to have someone attempting to care for him, even if that someone was his employee. He'd have to thank Ekaterina later, or perhaps give her a raise. He'd only been here for a few days, but he already knew for a fact that she was one of the most competent people he'd ever seen. Hell, if she put her mind to it, maybe she could even overtake Dottore. Working with her would certainly be an upgrade from having to deal with Dottore's constant machinations.

His peaceful schedule was interrupted later when Ekaterina, instead of leaving after dropping off his food, paused in the doorframe. 

"Lord Tartaglia," she said, her voice even, "the consultant from Wangsheng has requested for a business dinner this evening. Shall I confirm the arrangements?"