Spying on the Wind | Venti♡Reader

💫𝕋𝕎𝔼ℕ𝕋𝕐💫

Y/N's POV:

"What are you doing here?"

"Aether's hot," I commented, ignoring the voice behind me.

The divine protectors of Liyue weren't my problem to deal with, and I didn't have to answer to them either.

"What?"

I rolled my eyes and tore them away from Venti, Aether and Tartaglia. Great. Now I have to explain myself to another one of Morax's pets! I grumbled inwardly, making a mental note to bring that up to Zhongli. I didn't know how he trained and disciplined the Adepti, but they sure were nosy.

"I said what I said," I hissed and the adeptus just batted his golden eyes at me. Seriously, what did he not understand? It was a simple statement, consisting of merely two words, which made it incredibly easy to understand, even if it did not answer the adeptus's question.

"I was under the impression that the Fatui would leave Liyue alone after you unleashed the Overlord of the Vortex," he scowled, holding his polearm close. "Wasn't my idea," I pointed out and shrugged. "Besides, haven't Tartaglia been entertaining your dear lord?"

"That rascal hasn't left?" he inquired and I was ready to end the conversation. I was supposed to be keeping an eye on the group over there, not attempting to converse with a clueless yaksha who apparently hated the Fatui's guts. Seriously though, what did we do to the adepti?

But what I had said stood true. Aether was hot, and it bothered me somewhat. Perhaps he had won the Almighty Shogun not with his skills or the power of all the confiscated Visions, but with his looks. It was a feasible idea, but my gut feelings told me that if I mentioned it to the Tsaritsa, or anyone in particular, they would look at me as though I had grown two heads. If only they knew how many times a fight between the shogun and somebody was stopped because a certain fox had batted her eyelashes.

Since the traveler was so disturbing to look at, I settled my gaze on Paimon instead. As a half-ancient person who had the gift of immortality, I had thought that despite the limited time I had spent on exploration, I had seen and experienced everything there was to see and experience. A traveler's floating toy proved otherwise.

Funnily enough, I had never spotted a second "Paimon". Perhaps it was a prototype which was entrusted to the traveler. It turned out that I wasn't up to date about the latest scientific designs of toys, despite what I claimed that my job was. Thankfully, I was pretty much notified about everything else, from weird synthetic humans who are well versed in the creation of life to Kamera lenses which take all the light rays bouncing around and use glass to redirect them to a single point, creating a sharp image. Unlike snotty Harbingers like Tartaglia, at least I would not be too surprised to see a new gun or cannon.

Of course, the adeptus, like all adepti, was less than satisfied with my lack of an answer. Fortunately, Paimon got him off my tail, which made me crave a toy like that even more. Wouldn't it be great if everyone had "Paimons" running around behind them?

As interesting as the adorable companion of Aether's was, she wasn't anywhere near as interesting as Venti. Perhaps I had an eye out for cute things. I recalled a late Harbinger telling me about a bard in Mondstadt whom she hated. "A popular bard he was, clad in green, loves Cecilias and has a lyre that can transform. Oh, and his braids are dyed at the ends, making them the beautiful color of Anemo swirls. Don't get into a fight with him, though, as puny as he looks, he might hold hidden power. I would tell you more, but Her Majesty forbids me to. But I would never get into a fight with him, or the archon of his nation."

Now, I had no idea why she roped Barbatos into that conversation, especially since I knew nothing about him, save for his stupid name. As the Twelfth Harbinger, I was the most clueless about most things. That was because a small girl with ash blonde hair tied in pigtails mentioned his name in front of me. Honestly, I preferred to avoid Mondstadt since I had bad experiences there, but there was something different about that bard that drew me to him and made me push myself out of my comfort zone.

I, undoubtedly, acknowledged that there was something rare and intangible in the feeling I nourished for him that raised above mere friendship.

But the million-dollar question was, was it love, or infatuation?

After all, I had only known him for less than a week.