บท 5: The Three Brothers
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***
Kaeya and Yomite entered the bar called Angel's share.
The place didn't seem that shabby, and there were a lot of regulars here, who frequent it.
Old men, young guys in love, line the walls, were muttering unintelligible slurs around the pipes hanging from their lips as they drank away their problems and sorrow. Alcohol is love, alcohol is life.
"Ah...Barbara-sama is so cute and adorable, and I love her so much! I hope that one day I could marry such a girl..."
"Heh, dream on, Albert, Barbara-sama is the most popular girl of Mondstadt. A regular mortal like you has no way of dating an idol of a goddess."
'Hm? A goddess?' Yomite's interest was piqued. He inconspicuously eavesdropped on the two drunk men to gain some intel.
"Ah, I know...How unfortunate. One day I will confess though! Men are all about guts, and while Barbara-sama may seem untouchable like a beautiful goddess, she is still a mortal girl! Just watch me confess at the next Windblume Festival!"
"As the leader of the Barbara Fan Club, I, Albert, will do my best!"
"Ahahaha! Good luck kiddo!" He earned himself a round of applause and some whistles.
Yomite sighed, 'It was just about a girl that was pretty enough to be a goddess...I should really look for something like a library if I have the time, to find out how many gods there even are,"
Anyway, as he had feared, it turned out to be a completely normal bar. Kaeya brought him out for a drink, which he wouldn't decline in normal circumstances, but right now, he didn't even have a place to stay and didn't wanna be forced to stay outside under the stars.
Obviously, he has read many survival tactics and novels that hinted at how you should survive outside in the wild, but then again, you should always search for a place that you can call home. Moving around in wild, without a home like a homeless man or a vagabond, didn't really suit him.
He sat down at the bar chair next to Kaeya.
"What'll it be today?" The bartender asked while wiping away at a glass in a typical bartender fashion.
"Oh, Charles, how are you doing? Haven't seen you in a while! I will have a Berry & Mint Burst special as always! Oh, and can you give us a menu so that I can order something for my brother here as well?"
Charles handed the menu to Kaeya, "Brother? I've been an employee here for more than a decade, and I thought your only brother was Master Diluc." He gazed at the young man sitting near Kaeya and couldn't help but admit that they indeed looked a bit alike. He leaned forward and whispered, "Well then, young man, are you being threatened or blackmailed in some way? If yes, blink thrice very quickly."
Kaeya nervously scratched his neck, "No no no, Charles, please stop...My older brother will kill me if you joke like this..."
"As if you are actually scared of him, with your mental fortitude of pissing him off every few seconds, it's hard to believe you don't have balls of steel." As the bartender was mixing the drink, he gazed at Yomite with some hidden intentions.
Yomite understood the man's plan and decided to play along, "Well, you see, kind sir, I was about to enter the city with my companion, and this person suddenly put his hand around my shoulders and dragged me away...My companion didn't make it and has unfortunately passed away, but I am here and lucky to be alive..." He spoke with a terrible sense of guilt in his voice.
"What! Unacceptable! Cavalry Captain Kaeya, I am telling Master Diluc and The Acting Grand Master Jean!"
Kaeya furiously denied it and shook his head, "You can't be serious!? Little brother, how can you say something like this! Things like this create big misunderstandings, and my big bro isn't the type to understand jok—"
"—What do I not understand?"
Kaeya's shoulders stiffened as he slowly turned around, "Hey there, big bro, long time no see!"
"Repulsive, call me Diluc, or I will kick you out of my bar." The man who entered the bar was none other than the owner of the Dawn Winery, which was known as the best producing winery in the world.
He was also the older brother of Kaeya and the employer of Charles, the bartender.
"...Yes..." Kaeya had no choice but to comply, as he didn't want to leave the pub this soon. He will get back to Yomite for this later, in a brotherly way.
Diluc looked at Yomite, and Yomite stared back at him. A few moments of silence had passed before Diluc spoke again, "Kaeya, did you multiply?"
*Pfft* Kaeya almost spat out his drink. "See!? I told you we look similar...The little girl was right too~!"
"My name is Yomite Hissha, and you can just call me Yomite. I heard some things about you from Kaeya already." He extended his hand, "Nice to meet you."
Diluc, however, just stared at it and didn't shake it.
An awkward moment later, Diluc scoffed and went behind the counter without saying a word. "Kaeya, who is he? Does he have an identification? How did he get into the city?"
The atmosphere took a wrong turn, and Kaeya knew he had to explain, "This is my new younger brother Yomite! I decided to adopt myself a cute younger sibling as my older brother is a huge douchebag."
"Stop messing around and answer me. Who is this person? You do realize that the city of Mondstand is in a pretty serious situation right now, right? We can't have some spies from foreign countries, or assassins enter the city and move around freely."
"Woah, that's some huge accusations right there! Alright, let's relax, dear brother, I was planning on taking him to Jean after we were done here. There is nothing to worry about, she will know, and everything will be alright, and besides, my brother here is Visionless and doesn't appear to have any weapon on his body, nor any hidden one's, I've checked earlier. He is completely harmless."
"Huh? Checked earlier, what do you mean?" Yomite didn't remember anything like that happening.
Kaeya gave him an innocent smile and replied, "I had to make sure that you were harmless, but now I am sure you won't cause trouble."
A bead of sweat poured down the Yomite's forehead, 'I didn't even notice him check me for my weapons...As I thought, this Kaeya is really strong.'
Diluc rolled his eyes and replied, "Don't trust Kaeya to that degree. There is no way he would check whether you have weapons or not. He is too lazy to do so. You can only trust half of what he says...at best. He is just talking shit again."
"Ah...I was caught, Te-he" Kaeya stuck out his tongue and scratched the back of his neck.
"Alright then, thanks for the advice, what should I call you?"
Diluc sighed and replied, "I don't really like talking with people, especially people who are not trustworthy yet. Diluc, of Mondstadt. Not interested in idle chit-chat. If you have things you want to get done, let me know. If you turn out to be a criminal of some sort, colluding with Fatui or other organizations like Abyss Order threatening the peaceful Mondstadt, I will eliminate you. I am not like the weakwilled Knights of Favonius." He said that as he poured himself a non-alcoholic beverage.
"I see, nice to know you too," Yomite wryly smiled about his rudeness, but he let it go.
He was a bit interested in the topics Diluc mentioned. He was currently trying to gather as much information about the world as possible, so the things he mentioned, were quite interesting, 'Knights of Favonius? Abyss order? Fatui? So many new terms are popping up. Anyway, he seems like a really cold guy. He is like a soldier that had witnessed war or something. He really seems like the type of guy that's hard to talk to.'
Diluc walked away and picked up the used glasses of wine and other beverages, that were sprawled all around the empty tables. He thought that people should really learn how to clean up after themselves.
'Filthy pigs.'
While Diluc was cleaning up the tables, Charles spoke, "Please, dear sir, don't take it to heart. Master Diluc is a really amazing person, and I am not only saying it because he takes my shifts from time to time despite being my master."
"No, it's fine, I have experience with rude people. I feel like he is trying to keep it in check, so that's fine. Besides, a little bit of toxicity never hurt anyone."
He remembered the times as a reviewer when he didn't sign up a contract with some of the authors, and was usually shouted at, and even threatened by them to some degree, even though he was just doing his job and what his boss told him to do.
Charles smiled and replied, "I am glad, this one is on the house." He put a colorful drink on the table and passed it to Yomite.
"What's this?"
"This is the apple cider from the Dawn Winery, which is special at Angel's Share. No need to worry, for it's a freshly squeezed, and fruity non-alcoholic beverage. It has a strong sobering effect, so the patrons usually order it as the last thing of the night so that they won't die on their way home."
"Seems logical." He was about to taste it when Kaeya stopped him.
"Lemme try something before you drink, little brother, alright?"
Yomite didn't mind and passed him the drink.
Kaeya aimed his hand towards the bottom of the glass and his Vision activated, soon enough, a streak of cold rushed out of his hand and cooled down the drink.
"Cooled it, there you go, now try it."
Yomite tasted the drink while thinking, 'So his Vision grants him the power of ice. Interesting. Oh, the drink is really refreshing.'
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