I reincarnated as an NPC Millelith Guard? [COTE x Genshin]

1 - Humble Beginnings

Set up, worldbuilding chapter. It's a little mundane, but we have to start somewhere.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka POV

After the trio left, I got up slowly, rubbing my head. Some of the other guards chased after them, while the majority stayed to tend to the wounded.

"You alright?" One asked me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I bruised my head a bit, but nothing serious."

He patted my shoulder. "If you're hurt, you should go get it checked out."

"I'll be sure to heed your advice."

I wasn't actually hurt, so his advice would fall on deaf ears. Now... I wasn't exactly sure what to do. Now that I know that the Fatui was involved, I didn't want to stay in the Millelith.

The Fatui is an organization which originates in Snezhnaya, which coincidence or not, shares a name with a river in Russia. The thing is that they're probably the strongest military force in Teyvat. I only remember bad rumors about them.

I want to avoid direct conflict with them, which has a really high chance of happening if they're involved in the assassination of Rex Lapis, especially if I'm in the Millelith.

I brushed off the dust that accumulated on my outfit. Anyways, I'm a little hungry. I wonder if any restaurants would even be open right now. Maybe a national holiday would be created. I've heard that schoolchildren in parts of Britain got multiple days off when their queen died.

I'm actually interested in the cuisine here. In my past life, I wasn't so invested in the meals I ate. Most of the time, I was the one cooking for others. Even when I ate, the majority of my meals were highly nutritious but bland. Weirdly enough, that describes how I am as a person.

The past Kiyotaka always went to a place called Wanmin restaurant. His favorite dish was something called a Chicken-Mushroom Skewer. As you can imagine, it's a skewer with mushrooms and poultry. Very creative name, on par with naming a compromise in 1850, 'Compromise of 1850'.

On the way to Wanmin restaurant, I came across a familiar face. Not one that I knew in my past life, but one that this body knew. As for me, I wanted to avoid her for now.

"Hey, Kiyotaka! Were you in another life or death situation? How about you pre-order a coffin? I'll even give you a discount, since we're such good friends."

Hu Tao, the 77th director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, as well as my good friend. She's seen how many times I've been injured before, so she always offered the same thing. Weirdly enough, the past Kiyotaka had a crush on her. Unsurprisingly, he never did anything about it.

"No thanks." I sighed. "What's the point of a coffin if nobody would go to my funeral?"

"Don't be such a downer. Who knows? Maybe I'd go if you died."

I found it a little ironic how she's telling me not to be a downer, while the conversation is directly involving a future in which I die. Whatever, it doesn't matter now, since...

"I'm not planning on dying any time soon."

She giggled. "Ahaha, that's what they all say before they die. Just buy one before it happens. Death comes suddenly, without much warning."

"Well, thanks for the warning, I guess."

Maybe, in her own cruel way, Hu Tao cared about me, just a bit. ... Okay, who am I trying to kid here? Regardless, I'm too hungry to care about something like that.

I finally made my way to Wanmin restaurant after a couple minutes of walking. There were a few people eating there. Based off my observations, most people got take out, but some ate there.