Chapter 1: A New World

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"Ah, another lovely day for battle! Wouldn't you agree, Mr. Alberich?"

Kaeya rolled his eyes at the young man who he found childish as ever, "Don't talk to me. And stop calling me by my last name, you can't even say it right."

Briskly, he walked further down the grassy hill, trailing behind Yanfei and Zhongli who were chatting about laws as if it was a mindless topic. Kaeya felt himself grumble; they were no better than the Childe behind him. Meanwhile, the aforementioned Childe slumped.

"Hm, not in a good mood today," he whined, then straightened his back and hastened his feet, "Well, no matter. Would a spar cheer you up?"

"Allow me to remind you that I am not you. Besides, I'm not in a 'bad mood'. I just woke up, and it was a rather rude awakening, might I add."

Childe chuckled, "Well, hilichurls really aren't known for their manners."

The group continued, Childe and Kaeya following aimlessly behind the other two teammates. It was quite a normal day for them, despite the surprise attack they'd had at their camp a few minutes prior. Alas, it was dealt with quickly, and no one was focused on it anymore, save for a grumpy Kaeya. He didn't provide Childe with much entertainment because of this, so the younger of the two stayed silent, instead straining his ear to listen to the conversation brewing in front of them.

"...though I'm not sure it's totally legal. But, I am grateful for Chongyun and Xingqiu's help yesterday."

"Yeah, I think it might break a few child labor laws. Mm...I won't tell anyone if you don't."

"I understand. Do we need a contract for this? I can write one up right now."

"Oh, you don't need to put in all that work for a little secret!"

"Nonsense, writing a contract is one of my favorite pastimes. It's almost like writing your own narrative; it contains your own rules, your own beliefs...it is a very complex concept. I'm not sure all of Liyue's inhabitants understand that. It takes a well-versed mind to—"

In his drawn-out speech, Zhongli failed to notice the explosion of blue light in the distance. Yanfei gaped, the blue light filling her eyes as Childe and Kaeya ran up to meet them.

"What was that?" Kaeya asked, now startled out of his grogginess.

Zhongli turned to them, "Hm? What was what?"

"I have no idea," Yanfei ignored him, "Is it a firework? No one should be lighting fireworks in such a grassy environment, it could start a wildfire—!"

Doesn't she start wildfires all the time? Childe thought to himself.

"—Plus, they probably don't have a license. They're breaking so many laws! Come on, we have to check this out!"

The girl sprinted away from the group and towards the location of the light. It wasn't too far, but she intended to arrive as quickly as possibly.

"Yanfei, slow down!" the youngest of the three men cringed, following after her. Zhongli and Kaeya shared a confused glance, though Zhongli looked the most flabbergasted.

Shrugging, Kaeya said, "I guess were going with them."

"I...still don't understand what happened," Zhongli raised an eyebrow, but followed beside Kaeya anyway. They slid to stop just after Yanfei and Childe made it to the scene of the explosion, both with stunned expressions as they looked down at the large hole that was created in the ground. Kaeya waited for one of them to explain, but when they stayed silent, he folded his arms and looked for himself.

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