Taking over the Abyss

30- Killer Queen has already signed that contract

The three of you marched into the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor with varying levels of defeat. While Zhongli and Childe both made way to sit on down on the chairs, you laid down on the floor next to them. Both men had to stop you from scaling a mountain in a desperate attempt to chase after the paper, even though it was long gone by then.

Childe was drumming his fingers on the table, trying to think of a way to get the paper back to lessen the chances of him getting in trouble with the other Harbingers. At ease with the entire thing, Zhongli was just sitting and waiting patiently for Hu Tao to come back so he could scold her. Right on time, Hu Tao came out from the back.

Upon seeing you on the floor, she paused and came over to see what happened. Zhongli, seeing that neither you nor Childe were willing to say what happened, took it upon himself, "The signed 'friendship contract' you gave to (Name) has unexpectedly gotten lost."

"Lost?" Hu Tao took a seat at the table. After a moment of thinking, she put two and two together, "Ohhhhh... oh, wow, that's really bad isn't it! I didn't expect that to happen."

"'Bad' is a bit of an understatement," Childe snapped. Zhongli shot him a scathing glare before turning his attention back to Hu Tao.

"Director Hu, please promise me that you will not play a prank like this in the future," Zhongli gestured to you, laying face down on her wooden floors, "Look what you've reduced (Name) to. Messing around with something as serious as marriage in the Land of Contracts can have serious effects on a person's future."

"It was only meant to be a harmless prank," Hu Tao insisted, then pushed herself up on the table by her elbows to take a look at you. She sighed with a slight dramatic flair, "But, I suppose I can tell when things have gone too far. If I knew it would've gone this badly I wouldn't have made her sign it."

"Good," Zhongli showed his approval for her apology, but began to chastise her table manners, "If I may say something else, Director Hu, we do not put our elbows on the table."

Hu Tao stuck her tongue out at Zhongli, but did as he said and flopped back into her chair, albeit defiantly. Since you hadn't gotten up from your place as the limp floor noodle, she made a special offer to you, "As compensation for this unexpected complication, I'm offering a 50% off deal for all fees regarding the funeral of a recently deceased spouse."

Childe sat up a little straighter in his chair, "That offer might come in handy."

Zhongli sighed, "I do hope it doesn't. The best case scenario is that the paper is lost to ages and never recovered."

You groaned in agreement, muffled by the floor. Childe took pity on your miserable state, "No need to worry, I can handle it for you."

Lifting yourself off the floor slightly, you glared at him, "... why would I want your help? The last thing I want is to be in your debt."

"Not like you have much of a choice though, right?" Childe forced an amicable smile, making you sigh and drop back onto the floor, "Staring at the floor isn't going to do much good."

"Jerk," you grumbled, words almost inaudible thanks to the floor. A knock resounded on the door before it opened. You reluctantly sat up like a normal person, only to see Ganyu for the second time in a day. Did somebody die from overworking? Ganyu's eyes flickered down to you.

"I need to borrow her for an emergency," she said, sounding utterly exhausted. That didn't sound good. You stood up and dusted imaginary dirt off of your pants, beginning to follow after her.

Zhongli moved to get up, "I can come along."

"I was told to bring her alone," Ganyu stopped him before he could stand, "My apologies, but this is a private matter."