Flying in the Wind [Genshin Impact]

Chapter 16. Eight years later

Chapter 16
Eight years later

8 years ago...

Thoma kept completely quiet as he walked Ayaka to Ayato's office. The ten-year-old girl tried her best to stay calm, but the whole situation was too irregular for her. Thoma didn't usually behave in such a serious way with her, and the last time had been... the day her mother passed away. And that memory only made her even more anxious...

Arriving at her destination, Ayaka was a little surprised to see the office's doors open, and even more so when she looked inside and saw that there were quite a few people inside. Specifically, she noticed the backs of three men sitting in front of his brother's work table, wearing black robes. It seemed to Ayaka that they were Ayato's old counselors, the ones who at one time were also her father's. But in addition to them, there were at least five or six of the Yashiro Commission's guards surrounding the table and the three men, also having their spears in hand. This was almost a repeat of what happened in the courtyard a few moments ago with Kazuha.

"My lord..." Ayaka heard one of the counselors utter, his voice almost trembling. "I guarantee you that everything we have done and advised has always been for the good of the Kamisato clan..."

"I wanted to believe it that way, and a part of me still wants to," answered Ayato's voice from the back of the room. Ayaka perceived in his words an even greater seriousness than she was used to hearing from him; he even sounded... angry. "You were my father's advisers, after all. You wouldn't do anything to harm us, right?"

"Of course not!" another of the councilors answered, sounding even more nervous than the previous one.

Before Ayaka felt the initiative to move forward, Thoma placed a hand on her shoulder, holding her.

"Let's wait a bit," the servant murmured slowly and carefully guided the girl. They both stood to one side of the door, far enough away to not be part of that tense conversation but close enough to be silent spectators.

Ayato stood up at that moment, towering over the heads of the councilors still kneeling on the ground. At that time, he had already turned seventeen; he had become quite tall from Ayaka's perspective. His presence was even more imposing than it already was. Although his face generally seemed calm as usual, at that moment, he wasn't smiling like he always used to. And something in his gaze was different; Ayaka sensed it just by looking at it.

"And yet you were the ones who insisted on this matter and convinced me that it was the best for me and my sister," Ayato stated dryly, looking at the three men before him. "You deliberately left out what you didn't want me to know, or you were totally ignorant of all this. Whichever of the two it was, it shows me I can't trust either of you anymore...."

That final statement made all three men jump in equal measure, alarmed. One of them tried to say something to defend himself, but Ayato cut him off before he could even begin.

"The Kamisato Clan appreciates all your years of service, gentlemen," he pronounced quickly, taking a seat again and apparently beginning to sign three documents on his desk. "It's time for the three of you to retire, with a small pension as gratitude for all the support you gave my father in life and me during these couple of years."

He finished signing the three documents and rolling them up as he spoke. He then passed these to the nearest guard, who took and gave them to the three men on the ground. They had no choice but to accept them.

"Enjoy your retirement," Ayato pronounced without looking at them, turning to another way. "Escort these gentlemen out of the Estate, please."

Three guards quickly broke formation and stood one behind each advisor. They turned to look behind them, clearly nervous. In the guards' rugged looks, they could see that if they didn't go with them for good, they would take them out for bad.