"Goodbye."
"Bye-bye."
On the outskirts of Liyue, Yu Jin, Katheryne, and Yelan parted ways at a fork in the road.
After the negotiations concluded, Marionette ended his consciousness projection, returning control to Katheryne. As for the puppet controlled by Regrator, it burned out immediately after his consciousness returned.
Yu Jin looked at Katheryne, who was following him closely, and asked, "Miss Katheryne, what is your job in Liyue?"
"Ah?" Katheryne only reacted when she bumped into Yu Jin, as if waking from a dream. She said, "Mr. Yu Jin, could you please repeat the question?"
Yu Jin turned around, feeling quite surprised. Miss Katheryne actually had a flawed side; it must have been because Marionette had occupied Katheryne's body for too long. Yu Jin naturally shifted the blame to Marionette.
"I said, does Miss Katheryne have a job in Liyue?" Yu Jin spoke a little louder.
"Yes, but I imagine I'm off work now. If Mr. Yu Jin doesn't mind, you can come to my home for a visit." Katheryne looked at the star-studded night sky, knowing it was late.
"Alright, alright, alright!" Yu Jin immediately agreed. He had never been to Katheryne's residence before.
Katheryne smiled and nodded, then walked ahead of Yu Jin and said, "Then please follow me, Mr. Yu Jin."
And so, Yu Jin followed Katheryne, wandering around Liyue Harbor. Finally, they stopped in front of a building with an Adventurers' Guild emblem.
"We were produced to handle Adventurer-related affairs, so most places related to us have the Adventurers' Guild emblem," Katheryne explained when she saw Yu Jin looking at the emblem on the door.
Then, the two pushed the door open and entered.
The first thing that came into view was the living room, neither too big nor too small, in the Liyue style, certainly sufficient for entertaining guests.
Another Katheryne was sitting in the living room at this moment—the Katheryne of the Adventurers' Guild.
"You… you're back?" The Adventurers' Guild Katheryne looked at her other self, her eyes filled with shock.
"Hmm… I suppose so," Katheryne said with a smile after a moment of silence.
"It's all thanks to Mr. Yu Jin," Katheryne said, pointing to the curious Yu Jin behind her. Without him, she might not have even had the chance to return.
"Is that so…" The Adventurers' Guild Katheryne looked at her other self's smiling face, her voice gradually trailing off.
Yu Jin looked around the living room of Katheryne's residence. He noticed that many places were piled with strange and curious items. He asked curiously:
"Why is your living room piled with so many things? Don't tell me you all enjoy shopping?"
"Haha, Mr. Yu Jin is joking; we don't have such desires. These things were all given to us by others. Although we don't use them, they are a kind gesture, and we can't throw them away, so they just accumulated."
Katheryne explained with a smile.
Yu Jin nodded. Many of these items were acquired from unknown places; it would be difficult to buy such strange things.
Then he suddenly remembered that he hadn't given Katheryne anything. As colleagues who had worked together for so long, Yu Jin felt he should also give Katheryne something.
He looked at the Katherynes not far away who were discussing body maintenance, thinking about what to give them.
Soon, he had his own idea.
"By the way, I don't think I've given you anything yet, have I?" Yu Jin opportunely interjected into the Katherynes' conversation.
"Mr. Yu Jin, there's no need to be so polite; many things we simply don't use."
"Mr. Yu Jin just needs to Adventure well; there's no need to send anything."
The two Katherynes predictably refused. In fact, they were like this with everyone, but they still couldn't resist people's enthusiasm.
Yu Jin simply pretended not to hear them. He looked at the Adventurers' Guild Katheryne and gave her a glass bottle.
The glass bottle was small, perfectly fitting in the palm of one hand. However, what surprised the Adventurers' Guild Katheryne was that inside the small glass bottle, a dandelion was gently swaying.
"The one in Mondstadt really likes dandelions, and I think you will too," Yu Jin said, then placed the glass bottle in Katheryne's palm.
Then he scratched his head and looked at the other Katheryne, "Uh… I haven't spent much time with you, so I don't know what you like."
"Then there's no rush. It won't be too late to give me something when Mr. Yu Jin and I have spent more time together," Katheryne said with a smile, shaking her head as she looked at Yu Jin's conflicted expression.
Then she looked at the clock on the wall and said to Yu Jin, "Mr. Yu Jin, our shutdown time has arrived. Do you wish to stay the night or…"
Yu Jin waved his hand when he heard this, saying to the two of them, "Indeed, it's getting late. If you need anything in the future, you can come find me."
With that, he walked out of the house.
"It's not shutdown time yet, is it?" The Adventurers' Guild Katheryne said, looking at the closed door.
"It's not yet…" Katheryne suddenly collapsed to the ground. Electric arcs began to flash across her body, and wisps of black smoke rose, filling the entire living room with a burnt smell.
"But… but I can't hold on. I can't… let him… see through the facade. This… this is Master Marionette's command." Katheryne's consciousness blurred; she felt everything before her spinning.
And the Adventurers' Guild Katheryne beside her, hearing "Marionette," also fell silent, no longer speaking… Morning, bright sunshine.
Today, Katheryne stood as usual at the Adventurers' Guild reception desk, greeting the continuous stream of Adventurers.
However, as she was busy, a series of intermittent whispers sounded in her mind.
The Katherynes would not speak on the shared network during work hours, so this situation was clearly an exception.
Katheryne's busy figure stiffened instantly. She could tell that this voice was her other self from Liyue.
"Self-destruct… leave no trace…"
"Miss Katheryne, what's wrong?" Someone noticed Katheryne's unusual expression and asked with concern.
"Nothing, what did you say you wanted to do?" Katheryne continued her work while paying attention to the voice of her other self.
Was the isolation between the shared network and the daily language module failing because she was on the verge of collapse?
"Go to Yaoguang Shoal…"
A dream-like voice came from her mind again, and Katheryne's palms involuntarily clenched.
She had been wondering why her other self's body, after suffering such extensive damage last night, hadn't collapsed on the spot. It turned out it was all for this moment.
Go to Yaoguang Shoal, and fake an accident. This was Marionette's true purpose in allowing her other self to live a little longer.
"Why… why…" A slightly tearful voice sounded again, making Katheryne's heart tremble.
Katheryne recalled the days she and her other self had worked together. They maintained each other, tidied their room together, or discussed what new things had been forced upon them that day.
Those ordinary yet precious days played out like a slideshow in Katheryne's mind. She felt something blocking her chest, making it difficult to breathe.
"Why? Why? Why did you invade her body! Why did you then make her go to her death like this!" Katheryne murmured to herself.
She was asking Marionette, asking the other Katheryne, asking herself.
"Clang!" A crisp sound came from her feet. Katheryne looked down; the glass bottle Yu Jin had given her had fallen from her pocket and rolled back to her feet.
Katheryne's eyes suddenly lit up, "Right! They are afraid! They are afraid of Mr. Yu Jin!"
She grasped at this lifeline, picked up the glass bottle from the ground, and ran out of the Adventurers' Guild reception desk like a flash.
"Lan, I'm taking a leave; please cover my shift—" Katheryne's hurried voice came, and only then did everyone realize Katheryne had disappeared.
This was Katheryne's first time walking the streets of Liyue during work hours. There were many people, and many wonderful things, but she paid no attention to them.
As if guided by some unseen force, Katheryne kept running along the street. Even when someone greeted her, she uncharacteristically did not return the greeting.
Finally, Katheryne saw Yu Jin at the end of the street, listening to stories with Zhongli.
"Oh? Looks like she's looking for you?" Zhongli asked Yu Jin, who was sitting beside him peeling melon seeds, as he watched Katheryne hurry over.
"Heh heh, need help with something?" Yu Jin stopped his actions and placed the melon seeds on Zhongli's plate. He looked at the panting Katheryne and asked with a smile.
"Please… please save her!" Katheryne said urgently, clutching her chest.
"I was waiting for you to say that!" Yu Jin laughed heartily, immediately stood up, and vanished in an instant.
"Sit down, Miss Katheryne. With him on the job, there shouldn't be any major blunders," Zhongli said, getting up to help Katheryne.
Then he looked at the melon seed kernels on his plate and Katheryne sitting opposite him, lost in thought.
He wondered, did Miss Katheryne bring money with her?
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Thank you for following the story this far.
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