𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐒 | Mona Megistus

chapter i. l'énigme du gardien

"CARE to explain why you brought a hydro slime into my office, [full name]?"

Tiled floors in the Knights of Ordo Favonius headquarters were covered in a trail of slime condensate. A young adult holding a tiny hydro slime was at the trail's end and was grinning guiltily.

"I told you earlier, Master Jean, its slime friends left it all alone in the forest!" the young girl explained as she brought the small hydro slime closer to the Acting Grand Master's face. "I can't bear to see it by itself when the sun is about to set."

The blonde furrowed her brows. "No matter how harmless it appears to be, you could be attacked at any time. It appears as though it's going to spring onto your face." Jean said while pointing at the slime, what ended up pouncing on [Name]'s face.

The two's bickering was joined by another voice. As Kaeya enters Jean's office space completely, he says, "Or maybe you just finished the other slimes off and kept the sole little one alive to enjoy it for yourself."

Just the prospect of Kaeya being right made [Name] grimace. The words the man uses to describe her aren't always the best, and he never learns to hold his tongue when she is the topic of conversation. She consistently fought the impulse to yank out his eyepatch and smack it back against his smug face.

Tiredly sighing, Jean put a hand on [Name]'s lifted arms to bring it down. "You should know, more than anyone else, that bringing a slime can cause difficulty on maintaining Mondstadt's safety. Not to mention, soak the scattered documents here."

The young woman mused while gazing at the small hydro slime covering her hands. Oval eyes are staring back into her soul. "Fine. Just so you know, I'll bring an anemo one next time."

The Acting Grand Master disregarded this and turned to face [Name] who had been standing aimlessly for some time. She looked in every direction around her office, trying to find a specific individual. "What brought you here, Kaeya, and where's Klee?"

"Ah, about that..." Kaeya hesitantly replied as he averted his vision from Jean's attention, "I kind of lost sight of the little one, and I want our dear [Name] here to come help me look."

After what the blue-haired man just said, the two women both wore an incredulous expression.

[Name] put a hand on Kaeya's back and gently nudged him in the direction of the open office door. She is aware that Jean has been working too hard the previous few weeks and doesn't need any more antics from her colleagues.

"Before you know it, Jean, we'll be back with Klee!" Before leaving Jean alone at her workspace, [Name] remarked, "I'll also have this hydro slime away from Mondtadt."

Jean shook her head and grinned to herself as they shut the wooden door with a gentle thump. Despite her friends' lack of professionalism while at work, they are still able to put her mind at ease.

Looking down at her soaking red ardor carpet, Jean drew a resigned breath. That girl should really clean this up after she gets back.

✦

Kaeya greeted the two knights manning the headquarters and stated with interest to his companion, "Who thought our beloved Assistant Librarian would receive a reprimand from Jean? You could've gotten an earful when I haven't interrupted the two of you a while ago."

The eye-patched man nearly fell at the bushes as [Name] playfully shoved him to his side.

"That's rich coming from you, Alberich. We need to find Klee right away," the younger woman replied annoyingly. She forgot to organize the brand-new Sumeru collection of books, so she had to go back to the library to help Lisa, the head librarian.