Flying in the Wind [Genshin Impact]

Chapter 42. Are You Ready?

Chapter 42
Are You Ready?

Ayaka returned to the teahouse with her new kimono, quite excited to try it on, which anyone would find a bit confusing since her new acquisition was far from the type of fine kimonos that the Heron Princess usually wore. But that would be a special night because, for once, she wouldn't be the Heron Princess, Lady Kamisato, or any of those many names they used to refer to her with. The plan that night was to be just another girl walking at the festival, and that was a possibility that excited her greatly.

And the fact that that meant she could also go out and walk with Kazuha freely only made everything even better.

In terms of size, her new blue kimono fit her perfectly, which could only be thanks to the providence of the Archons. She complemented it with a dark blue obi and simple sandals. She pulled her hair into a simple ponytail, held in place with pink string. And as the only additional accessory, the two butterfly-shaped brooches on the locks that fell to the sides of her face and the matching ring. They didn't quite match the style of the rest of her outfit, but she didn't care. If there was one night she wanted to wear them, it was that one. Furthermore, no one outside the teahouse had seen her with them, so it was unlikely that anyone would connect them with her.

The only real problem was her vision. She couldn't carry it in plain sight as she usually did because someone could immediately recognize her from it, or if they didn't, in the worst-case scenario, some Tenryu guard would try to take it away from her. But she couldn't separate herself too much from it, so she would have to carry it hidden inside her kimono.

Once fully dressed, she stood in front of her full-length mirror, meticulously looking herself up and down and turning and tilting her body to better appreciate the details. She stayed there for a long time, probably longer than she was aware, until she saw Thoma in the mirror, standing at the room's door, observing her discreetly.

"Thoma," she pronounced happily. "What do you think? Do I look like any normal city girl?"

"You certainly look like a normal girl, my lady," Thoma commented with some humor in his tone, but this was still enough to make Ayaka happy.

"Perfect."

"But I'm afraid that even if you dress in those clothes or use those accessories, it's quite likely that people will still recognize you," Thoma noted with some regret. "I suppose the point of all this is precisely to prevent that, or am I wrong?"

"That's right," Ayaka agreed, still looking at him through the reflection. "But that doesn't worry me. Kazuha said he would take care of that."

"So, are you planning to go to the festival with Kaedehara?"

"Yeah," Ayaka answered quickly but then hesitated as she looked at her servant's thoughtful expression. "Why?" she asked apprehensively, turning to look directly at him. "Do you think it is not appropriate?"

"Well... I think it's an excellent idea for you to go out and have a little fun. After all, you were the one who was in charge of organizing all of this."

It was clear that there was more behind those words, but equally so was the fact that he didn't want to share it at that moment. Ayaka could have insisted but decided it was better to leave it at that. Maybe deep down, she was afraid that Thoma would give her a good reason to not do it, and that was the last thing she wanted to hear at that moment.

"Thank you very much, Thoma," she responded with a half-smile. "What will you do? Are you going to have some fun too?"

"Maybe. Since there will be no delivery of visions tonight, and if you don't need me for anything else..."