Hu Tao x Reader - A Morbid Curiosity

Chapter 49: Adeptal Affiance pt.III

Paimon: "Oh, wow! Your Serenitea Pot is so cool, way nicer than the Traveller's. He just has the mansion with a bunch of random stuff all over the place outside!"

Aether: "Hey, I've been busy saving nations. Decorating wasn't really the priority. If you want to take over and tidy it up, feel free to take over."

Paimon: "Are you kidding? All those giant rock formations are way too big and heavy for Paimon to move on her own! And what am I supposed to do with all those cats and dogs you left roaming everywhere anyways?!"

Aether: "I didn't 'leave' them there. They just... live there now. It's their home too, and I'm not going to kick them out now! Anyway... Paimon's right, compared to this place, mine looks like a storage yard. You've really put work into this."

Y/N: "Thanks. I must admit I'm pretty proud of this place. This first island came about during my time in Sumeru with Collei. But all the other islands I've rebuilt from the ground up specifically for the ceremony."

Paimon: "Oh right! Paimon almost forgot about that! You were in Sumeru because something happened to Hu Tao, right? Something to do with an Akasha Terminal? Paimon remembers you really helped us out back then, and Collei told us all about the adventure you two went on later too!"

Aether: "We were really worried about her. Her Eleazar was getting really bad from what Tighnari told us. But from how she explained it, it seemed like you kept the pain at bay and put a smile on her face as you went on your quest together. Thank you for that."

Y/N: "It was my pleasure. That Collei is such an innocent young lady, and I'm glad to have had a positive impact on her journey through Teyvat, Archons know she's had it harsh enough in the past. Come on then, the guests should be showing up soon, let me give you the lay of the lands before then. It's not too complicated, and it sounds like you have some experience with these types of realms already. This way."

With that, the three of us then took off from the landing zone of the first island. I quickly walked them around the first island, it wasn't really much. It was mostly just elevated pathways that allowed Collei to feel the wind on her skin and to jump about and glide to her heart's content. 

There was a few small spots that I put deliberate effort into - such as the garden, and the gazebo with group seating. This was also the island that had the hot springs I constructed, which I imagine would end up being the main attraction for most of the guests here when the ceremony wasn't actively ongoing.

I'll admit — it felt good showing the Traveller around, as they really seemed quite enthralled and were actively observant with all the little details that I had created initially for my own self-fulfilment before then transforming it for Collei's needs. And Paimon seemed to be taking notes to have Aether recreate some of these ideas in their own pocket domain later.

After showing off all that there was to see on that first island, we then moved onto the second of four islands... this one being the one I used for the wedding venue.

─── ✦ ✧ ✦ ───

Paimon: "Oh, wow! This is so pretty! And you really made this yourself? Ooh! Ooh! Is that the aisle that you two are going to be walking down! Paimon can't believe that you had such a skill with decorating!"

Aether: "Paimon, that's rude... We've met plenty of others who have unexpected skills on our journeys."

Y/N: "I suppose it's only proper of me to disclose that I did have some help in regards to this finalised layout, Xinyan and Yun Jin were the two who gave me the most help. But I also was gifted some good reading material on the subject from a sleepy student and a rather underworked professor in Sumeru when I took another trip there to hand out the Realm Dispatches to everyone."