paradoxical | genshin impact

03 : home.

The sounds of business underway buzzed in your ears like seelie spirits calling out from the wind. Except the gentle lull of nature was hardly present during happy hour at Angel's Share. Or at any other time of day, for the matter. Still, the noise persisted. Some new faces intermingled with familiar ones across the tavern—all of which you hadn't even bothered paying an ounce of attention to. Despite being in complete uniform, the way you propped your chin on a tight fist as you stared into space only meant your mind was elsewhere.

Mags, however, had worked with you long enough to know when you needed to be hauled back to the shores of reality.

"You've been pretty out of it lately," she observed, sliding a tray across the countertop as your colleague shot you a considerate look. "Anything the matter?"

Your eyes flickered towards the torn page where she'd scribbled some of the patrons' orders, and you went to work with a sigh.

"It's...nothing, really."

Mags shot you a pointed look. "You know when people say it's nothing, it's actually something, right?"

"What I mean is," you began, turning the tap on one of the barrels as you filled some mugs with ale, "it's nothing you should worry about. I can manage."

"It's Master Diluc, isn't it?"

It's as if the world had come to a standstill the moment Mags' little accusation shot through you like a bullseye. You held her gaze with lips parted—wanting to utter some words in your defense, but lacking the confidence to do so. The thing that actually does snap you out of your momentary stupor was the sensation of warm froth bubbles sliding down your hand and onto the wooden floor. A string of curses slipped from your mouth, and Mags chortled like she'd uncovered the secrets of the world.

Roughly a week had passed since Diluc had proposed the most outlandish of proposals right here in this very tavern. A week since you'd last seen him. A week since you'd given him your answer.

Of course, the natural response to an invitation from your employer was yes. It was an honor to stand by his side to chaperone for an event that boasted prestige. But when your red-headed boss had departed Angel's Share the moment you agreed, the repercussions of the hasty decision you just made came crashing down on you in tidal waves.

You weren't about to admit—not even to yourself—that you'd mostly been spurred on by the...fascination that you've held for Diluc since you were children. It wasn't even because you didn't want to; it was more like you shouldn't.

Present owner of the Dawn Winery and the kingpin of a vast information network spanning across the whole country—Diluc was a person not meant to be seen with someone like you. Though Mondstadt had long been liberated from the aristocratic ways of old, you've been a servant long enough to know that fragments of that stigma still existed within the nooks and crannies of society. They could be the splintered glances thrown in a maid's direction when she accidentally spills a guest's drink. The exclusivities, the perks, the leisures that only nobles were allowed to indulge...

For one, you never really cared for your status as a commoner. You had grown up happily despite working for someone else all your life. What really chipped away at your sanity was the effect that Diluc's ridiculous idea might have on his family's reputation. You'd seen how well he and Master Crepus had taken the reins over the Winery respectively. But everybody who was anybody knew how quickly nobles that lied on their bellies bared their fangs instead when one of their own showed the slightest hint of incompetence.

Wait a minute... Diluc? Incompetent? The mere act of thinking the thought was already absurd in itself!

Mags snorted over the counter. "That's the second glass you'd overflowed you know."