Kael ended up staying with Yanfei for the rest of the morning.
It wasn't until the afternoon that she finally shoved him out the door, cheeks blazing red.
Yanfei really did want to stay with him longer, but whenever the two of them were together, absolutely nothing productive ever happened.
"I'll come find you after I finish writing the Contract!"
Just remembering what happened made her face flare up again. It was just too…
Too much—!
She shot him a look, cheeks scarlet and eyes shimmering with a mix of shyness and allure. "I can handle my own business."
Left outside, Kael rubbed the bridge of his nose.
The real problem was that Yanfei learned too fast. One moment of carelessness and he'd ended up bullying her a little too much.
And that last glare she gave him… it made his heart itch.
Still… it was better to let her cool down for now.
If he went back in, he might really experience the full consequences of certain idioms.
Kael opened the map and teleported to Wangshu Inn.
He still had a lingering smile on his face when he arrived and spotted Xiao.
His good mood was so obvious that even Xiao gave him an extra glance.
This time, after Little Gold finished feeding on Xiao, the adeptus didn't immediately hand it back like he usually did.
Instead, he held it in his palm, studying it carefully.
"Your little god-beast looks like it's grown a bit."
Kael blinked and turned his attention to Little Gold.
Ever since he got the creature, he'd only really seen it during his meetings with Xiao. Honestly, Xiao had spent more time with it than Little Gold's actual owner.
To Xiao, Little Gold was basically a lifeline.
He cared more about it than Kael did.
With Xiao's reminder, Kael suddenly realized Little Gold really did look a bit larger. Its golden scales gleamed more brightly too.
"When Little Gold was feeding on your Karmic Debt recently, did you feel anything different?"
Xiao thought back.
"Now that you mention it… the pain these last two days was less than usual. Maybe it can absorb more Karmic Debt as it grows?"
"Maybe."
Kael gave a vague answer.
He didn't know much more than Xiao when it came to Little Gold.
The damn System always forced him to figure everything out on his own. All he knew for certain was that once Little Gold reached adulthood, its blood would gain the power to resurrect the dead.
But Little Gold was still tiny. For it to be adult-sized, it probably needed to be as tall as Zhongli.
Which meant adulthood was still far off.
Whatever else Little Gold was capable of, time would reveal it.
Xiao had accumulated nearly a thousand years of Karmic Debt. It wouldn't be consumed quickly.
As nourishment for Little Gold, it was more than enough.
Kael picked up the lazy, well-fed Little Gold from Xiao's hand and tucked it back into his backpack.
"When Little Gold grows up, if it can absorb more Karmic Debt each time… maybe one day, you won't have to suffer from it anymore."
Xiao's cold expression softened. Gratitude glimmered in his eyes.
He nodded. "Thank you. I will remember the help you and Little Gold have given me."
---
After finishing his daily commissions, Kael returned to Liyue.
Judging by the time, he was getting close to the appointment he made with Amber.
Last time he couldn't go because he was with Keqing.
These next couple of days, he had to make time to return to Mondstadt and see them.
Kael planned to stop by Wanmin Restaurant first to let Chef Mao and the others know.
If he suddenly disappeared for days, they'd worry.
He wondered if the System's reward pool had any sort of communication tool.
With the map function, traveling across Teyvat was easy now.
But as he kept meeting more people—and forming deeper relationships—only being able to speak face-to-face through teleportation was way too time-consuming…
When Kael stepped into Wanmin Restaurant, he immediately spotted a familiar figure chatting with Mona.
"Traveler, you're back!"
"Venti?" Kael stared at the bard sitting in the main hall, a wine cup in hand, looking surprised.
"What are you doing here at Wanmin Restaurant?"
Zhongli had taken Venti away yesterday. Kael assumed the two Archons would be catching up for quite a while.
After all, the two hadn't seen each other in centuries.
Venti grinned at him. "I've drunk— no, played around Liyue enough already."
"Liyue's wine is great, but way too strong. The bottles Zhongli gave me yesterday— I'm taking those back to Mondstadt so I can savor them slowly. If I drink too much here, I'll pass out again."
The smile in Venti's eyes faded just slightly.
A quiet pressure seeped into his gaze as he looked at Kael.
"If I get drunk again and say things I shouldn't… that wouldn't be good. Don't you agree, Traveler?"
"…"
So that was what this was about.
Kael understood instantly.
Yesterday, Venti had nearly blurted out Zhongli's real name—Morax.
Kael had instinctively covered his mouth to avoid exposing the two Archons' identities.
And clearly… someone had noticed.
Venti really was drunk yesterday.
Which meant only one person could've told him afterward.
Rex Lapis—Zhongli.
So both Archons now knew that Kael knew the truth about them.
But Kael had nothing to feel guilty about. Knowing didn't mean anything.
He smiled calmly and met Venti's probing gaze without flinching.
"Yeah, drinking too much leads to trouble. Venti, you should probably cut back."
Seeing Kael's relaxed expression, Venti raised an eyebrow.
The pressure in his gaze vanished.
And the carefree smile returned to his face.
"Traveler, how could you be so cruel? If I can't drink, I won't have any motivation to work! Then Mondstadt will lose one of its finest Bards. That would be a huge loss for the people of Mondstadt!"