Solar Eclipse

Chapter 3

I nervously paced around my office at the Akademiya, waiting for the clock to hit five in the afternoon. Even though I did not actually have anything I should be nervous about, I still could not help feeling very restless the whole day. I had a feeling something big might happen today, and I just so happened to have a hint of what this thing might be about.

I thought of having something to drink to calm my nerves at the tavern as I left my office the moment working hours were over. But pausing at the artificial fountain at the front gate, I wondered if perhaps the serene sunset of Sumeru could help me find some peace of mind instead. So I left through the door to the Southwest side and started walking along the beautifully planned path carved on the body of the divine tree up to the Razan Garden.

But as soon as I set foot on the pavement by the little pond, I saw Farghani coming down from his usual spot on the higher floor. He seemed very happy to see me as apparently he could not find anyone to talk about his conspiracy theory of Teyvat actually being round. Though it is an illogical idea to think about, since I heard from the Traveler that you can see the glowing light of the famous Narukami shrine in Inazuma from the nail on top of the big mountain in Dragonspine and you could never see something from so far away if Teyvat was not, in fact, flat.

This conversation with Farghani ended up taking up quite some time. Even though it is somewhat absurd to even consider such a possibility, I did quite enjoy the discourse. The possibility of the idea is fun to tinker with. However, as it was already time for the sun to set, I had to excuse myself to start heading higher up the garden to get a better view.

I slowly walked up and the little yellow square lamps in the corners looked brighter against the dark corners of the twisting paths. I was looking forward to finally having some alone time by the sunset but as I moved further and further up, I saw a familiar looking head with blond hair. I could not be sure as to who it was, not with the sun directly being in the background of the head.

So when I say my jaw dropped to the floor the moment I saw the familiar blond head — Kaveh — and Alhaitham kissing passionately under the biggest and most beautiful blue gazebo of the Razan Garden, with the romantic sunset in the background and all that, I kid you not.

And by the look on Kaveh's face, the shrieking in my mind was not just in my mind at all. In fact, the sound was coming from my throat, and quite loudly too, now that I think about it. Kaveh looked at me with the most scandalized expression ever, and his face only got redder from there on. Alhaitham looked at me as if to say 'you really could not find a better time to come here?' and probably for the first time, I actually agreed with him. Why did I just not leave with Farghani?

But, oh well, had I left, I would not have been the first to witness the long-term dream of so many people come true.

I tried to pick up my jaw from the floor and stop the annoying shrieking by slapping my mouth with the palms of my hands. Lesser Lord Kusanali had surely heard me by then, what with her abode being right on top of the dome.

"Ah, uh, I didn't see anything! Promise! Really! Kindly go back to doing whatever you were doing! Bye!"

I hurriedly turned around to get the heck out of that place but turned back towards them at the last moment to say, "Oh and congratulations! Um, expect a congratulatory gift from me the next time we meet. Bye for real now!"

And I scurried from there, which brings us to where I am now, sitting at Lambad's to have a celebratory drink first before letting the others know.

Now, one might wonder — what if they do not want others to know? Well, to answer that, knowing them, all of Sumeru will probably be painfully aware of their relationship status by the end of tomorrow anyway. I say painfully aware since they are undoubtedly two of the most targeted bachelors in the lands of Sumeru. It makes little difference if I am the one who lets others know or they are the ones who slip up. Though, of course, I would not use their real names for the sake of censorship. We have code names for everyone in our secret society after all!