Chapter 1: It’s only a date, right?

Dragging myself through the gates of Mondstadt, I let out a sigh of relief.
The Commission was finished. No need to dwell on that…….mess of a hilichurl camp. Only a hot meal and rest to look forward to!

With the Knights guarding the gate now behind me, I limped over to the side of the main gate, and took a deep breath.
What had come over them? They aren’t friendly with us, but that Musk lady seems to be making strides in her work with translating the language, so they shouldn’t have been that violent…..

I started towards the Commission Stand, and Katheryne, who would pay me, which meant I could put it all behind me.

…….I hoped I could put it all behind me.

Mumbling some pleasantries and then giving her a brief report, I got my payment. Thankfully, the others had kept their word and gotten back first, so I didn’t have to repeat any of the horror we had witnessed.

Turning towards the steps that led up to the center of the city, and more importantly, the Good Hunter restaurant, I slowly and agonizingly made my way up the usually leisurely slope of stairs.

What happened out there? There was so much blood and what looked like a slurry of mashed up meat……

Puzzling over the horrific commission, I eventually made it to the top of the short ramp of stairs, only to find that the usual dinner line was reaching its end.
There was still a fair few people in line, but it looked like most were going to be food runners, or those who’d take the meal home.
I limped into line, and raised my hand to massage my eyes, the strain being a bit much at the moment.

When I opened my eyes, my gaze had naturally drifted towards the ground.
Or rather, my eyes were now drawn to a particularly noticeable ass. A blue starry swimsuit on black tights, which made it very hard not to stare, especially with how it beautifully framed her ass.
An ass I immediately recognized, as belonging to a water mage.
“Miss Mona, is that you?” I asked as I raised my gaze along the rest of her delightful starry sky inspired swimsuit of an outfit, before settling on the flowing black twintails with a gorgeous and matching witch hat atop her hair, which pretty much confirmed it.

“Hmm?” the beautiful sea foam green eyes of the Hydro Mage met mine, as vague recognition set in them.
“Oh, you’re that Adventurer whose been helping out with my commissions, right?”
Looking me up and down, a strange look briefly went over her features, before reverting back to the prideful air she always had around her.

Red blazed across my cheeks. i didn’t realise the Hydro Mage would actually recognize me.
“U-uuh yes, that’s me, Miss Mona.” I stammered,
“I hope my work has been helping your own?”

A bright smile washed across her features, like an energetic river coursing through its course.
“Why yes, your water samples were marvellous! But how ever did you manage to get those pure Oceanid samples? I thought the only one even remotely nearby was the one in Liyue?”

“Well, it’s a bit of a story….”
We conversed as the line got shorter. It was nice talking to her, especially after the mess that was today.
Unlike a lot of the nobles, whose pride was unearned, Mona Megistus was very good at her job, and her pride came from a place of having earned it.

“Next please!” came the call from Sara, the current waitress of the Good Hunter.

“We’ll have to talk again later. Please come by the laboratory, the one Mr Goth had locked up for the longest time. Bye!” Mona beamed, before turning to Sara, and began her order.

It wasn’t often I get to talk to someone as pretty and interesting as Mona, so a second wind filled me, as I read over the menu, figuring what I wanted.

I should avoid any red soups or heavy meat dishes. I don’t think I could stom–
My thoughts were interrupted as Sara had started scolding the Hydro Mage.
“Miss Mona, you know we don’t do credit. And since you’ve specifically denied the idea of leaving the city to run food in exchange for a meal, you’ll have to give up on the idea of getting food from us.”
This wasn’t uncommon, Mona getting scolded for not having any Mora.

It wasn’t that she didn’t earn enough to pay for food, since she could afford Mr Goth’s “discounted” price for the aforementioned laboratory.
But she also really loved food, which meant she had a bad habit of splurging. Or there was also a high likelihood she’d just recently spent a large sum on equipment and materials for the lab.
It also wasn’t uncommon for the Hydro Mage to starve herself.

Before she could slink away, I couldn’t help myself and piped up.
“I’ll have two servings of what she ordered, please!”

Sara sighed, and told the cook of the order.
While she obviously wanted Mona to get better with her finances, Sara wasn’t in charge, so all that mattered was that someone paid and kept the line moving.

“What do I owe you?” Mona sulked, fiddling with her definitely empty coin purse.

I shook my head.
“I’d appreciate it if you’d share the meal with me, but you are under no obligation to. Having that talk with you really brightened my day, so this is the least I could do.” I tiredly smiled at her.

She quickly looked down, and muttered something I couldn’t clearly hear.
“…..ot…….de…….en………a……..ate…….“
Having composed herself, she gave me a quick hug.
“How about we eat at the Lab? It’s not far, but it’s quiet and peaceful.” She looked me over again.
“And the walk back to where you’re staying should be relatively flat.” Her caring smile was a treasure, especially having it directed at me genuinely.

“Sounds like a plan.”I smiled back, thoughts of the day’s horror show lost in the beautiful smile of a happy Mona.

——————

Before I knew it, Mona had our orders ready to go, in the runner bags The Good Hunter allowed people to use.

Being the clever mage her reputation defined her as, she managed to walk us through a long but easy to walk slope that contained no dreaded stairs, before arriving at her lab.
“Unfortunately, this is the only time you’ll have to deal with stairs.” She stated, not apologetic, but sympathetic for how tired I was.

“No way in hell, are stairs going to stop me from a lovely evening dinner with you.” I said, not quite realizing the meaning my words might have, too focused on the task of beating the stairs.

I had managed half of them before a rush of water raced past me and under the door, a strangely flustered Mona opening the door.

“You Vision Bearers are bloody amazing.” I said in awe, before tackling the last of the stairs.

“Of course we are!” Mona pride-fully stated, quickly turning and leading the way into her Lab, her hat and shawl already hanging on a rack near the door, not giving me a chance to see the pride in her eyes but in exchange giving me a delightful view of her from behind.
“Have you met many others?” she asks, while looking for a free workbench.

“Uh, a few, I guess? Amber and Miss Lisa are the only two I could probably claim to actually know.” I reply, putting the food bags on a nearby stool near the front door, leaning against the door frame.
“Oh, and I guess Miss Eula too, since she happens to turn up whenever Amber is around. Then there’s the other Knights of Favonius, and the Deaconess, and Master Diluc, but that’s more by reputation than personal experience.” I paused, my tired brain struggling to remember something.
“I think there might be some other Adventurers, but since my commission work is generally surveying and resource gathering, I don’t tend to interact with the threat hunting types, or the dungeon delvers.” I vaguely recalled the rather odd blonde adventurer girl, since she was often in the library when not adventuring. But since I couldn’t recall her name, I didn’t bother to bring it up. My comment about not knowing the other adventurers would cover her.

Mona finally decided on a workbench whose materials could be safely moved without ruining anything.
“Now that you mention it, a lot of Vision Bearers are congregated in Mondstadt.” Mona mused aloud, as she shifted everything carefully but fairly quickly, confident in what she was doing.
I’d offer to help, but between my own fatigue, and the fact I didn’t know what I could and/or should move, and that Mona herself wasn’t asking for assistance, I just kept resting against the door frame.
I wanted to savour this dinner, both because Mona was beautiful and fun to talk to, and to help forget today’s job.

“I mean, it makes sense. A lot of Vision Bearers seem to be people who are smart and driven, who are Paragons in their field, or have the potential to be.” I brought our dinner over to the impromptu table, pulling the previously used stool over so I had a place to sit.

“That is true. The Acting Grandmaster is super-humanly good at the job, and most of her ranked Knights are just as good. Even that slacker Librarian is very good at what she does.” Mona turned back to the table, brow furrowed.
“Ah, cups and utensils. Where did I keep those……” Mona began to slowly but surely search the shelves, which ranged from shelved experiments, to materials, to equipment, to various everyday miscellaneous items.

I wanted to defend Lisa’s honour, since she was damned good at keeping the Library in check.
But Mona was right. It was a known fact Lisa was a slacker, and from what Lisa had told me, it was purely because of how good a job she could do if needed.
Plus, she did so much to ensure the Acting Grand Master didn’t burn herself out.

“So……………..why so you address the other Knights, and me, with respectful titles like ‘Miss’, yet you casually don’t give one for Amber?” Having finished checking the top shelves, she had now moved on to the middle ones. I failed to notice how she was constantly glancing at me, waiting on my answer.

“That’s because I’ve worked with the Outrider Knight often, and she usually helps keep lookout for me and some others if we run into her.” I was definitely not going to mention how Amber and I had also shared a few trysts, on the times where we had been stuck in caves waiting for a roaming band of Hilichurls to move on.
Or the fact Eula would join us, since she only shared her girlfriend if she participated. But despite knowing Eula intimately, I would never refer to her without a respectful title in public, without her saying it was okay. The Lawrence name came with baggage, and everyone in Mondstadt knew it.

Apparently satisfied with my answer, Mona got on her hands and knees, and began to check the lower shelves.
“Well, if Amber trusts you, I believe its fine for you to drop the title for me too. You’ve done enough work for me, and we’re having a private dinner.”

I was half listening, half enjoying the view of her ass in the air.
“Are you sure?” I wasn’t going to complain, since being on a first name basis with the lovely Hydro Mage meant we could talk more.

“Yes, I’m very sure. Not everyone gets that honour.” I had to actively take my gaze away from the bounty that presented before me, as she rose and brought the cups and utensils. “AH! Found them. Why are they down here……”

“Trust me, I feel very honoured. Does that mean I can come round and visit?” Only a tired me would push my luck like this.

A smug look descended onto Mona’s face, like a new meal ticket had just landed in her lap.
“So long as you don’t interrupt my work, bring a meal, and you aren’t too tired from your dalliances with Amber.”

Huh? There’s no way she would know. While Amber was bubbly and excitable, she knew how to keep quiet. And there was no way Eula would have said anything. How could she-

“I’m just teasing. The blush suits you.” Mona smiled with the pride of a smug cat having toyed with its favourite toy long enough to move on to something new.
She reached down to a different shelf near where she was sitting, and brought out a wine bottle.
Dandelion Wine, if the design of the label wasn’t a knock off.

“So, what exactly did I pay for?” I’d forgotten that I’d meant to choose a vegetable dish, since anything like a soup or filled with dripping meat would be too much.

Mona’s pale features lit up, a blush raging across her features like a cleared river broken free of a dam.
“I-I……I don’t…….huh?”

“The food?” Confused, I motioned towards the Runner bags, “I didn’t exactly get to decide on the order.”

Mona glanced from me, to the food, and back.
An odd tension seemed to ease itself from her form.
“Right, the food.” She took a moment to compose herself. “Yes, that’s what you meant.”
She settled herself on a stool near me.
“I’d heard rumours of a new dish from Snezhnaya in Mr Goth’s hotel, the one the Fatui are currently overrunning.” she said, reaching for her portion.
“Apparently, they had brought some of their recipes, and Mr Goth gave them to the Good Hunter to test out, and I was curious. I believe it’s called borscht, and is made from beetroots.”

Oh thank the Archons, a vegetable dish then. I poured us each a cup of the famous Mondstadt alcohol, as Mona opened her bag, pulling out a sealed container.
Odd, why is it in a sealed container…….
Handing Mona her glass, “Cheers!” I cheered, taking a swig of the delicious wine, and opened my own bag and container.

Upon seeing the red slurry and smelling the meat in the dish, I blacked out.

—————————————————–

Of all the ways for her unexpected dinner date to end, having her date pass out was not one she had even foreseen. And the irony was not lost on her, as an Astrologist.
Beyond the various ways this adventurer had been useful to her, she’d mainly agreed to this dinner date out of sheer curiosity. Every time she had ‘lost’ sight of people in her various scryings, this Adventurer had been involved.
The original turn of events she had foreseen for tonight had been a usual one, of eventually having to bug Albedo for another meal, under the guise of talking about their work.
The Chief Alchemist had long since seen through the ruse, but seemed to enjoy the company, so he would pay for a meal occasionally. And it wasn’t like Mona didn’t enjoy talking shop with one of the leading Alchemists in Teyvat. The food just helped.

But along came this adventurer, tired from a bad day of commissions, eventually coming back to her place for a private dinner, completely changing what she had predicted.
She hadn’t missed the occasional glances of lust the adventurer had shot at her, which was something she was used to, but she had heard rumours from Albedo that Amber was getting really friendly with someone besides Eula.

So she entertained the idea of seeing where the night would lead her. She hadn’t expected the free meal with zero commitments.
A selfless act.
While she could get her satisfaction from other sources if she desperately needed it, the idea of enjoying someone even her Scrying couldn’t predict intrigued her.

So, upon getting back to the lab, she’d been quick to get her hat and shawl out of the way, giving the adventurer a clear view of her gorgeous profile. Most of the rougher and more despicable crowd usually only focused on her ass when they paid her attention, and talking to them made it very clear what they wanted.
She was proud of her figure, hence why she’d long since gotten over how much disdain she’d had for her Vision. She’d been forced to wear this outfit out of necessity, since nothing short of this waterproof material last long, with how wet the Hydro Vision made her in general.
She couldn’t afford to have much in the way of ‘excess’ fabric, since water tended to accumulate there and weigh her down, so this swimsuit-esque design was all she had, for the moment.

But this adventurer had admired all of her. She’d felt the appreciation of her eyes, the obvious enjoyment of her well defined ass, valuing her curves, admiring her outfit.
But when she’d talked to the Adventurer, they’d looked her in the eyes and kept the conversation on the subject, which was such a refreshing change.

She’d also been lucky in that she’d somehow managed to get her cups and utensils into one of the lower shelves, giving her the excuse she needed to ‘present’ herself for a rather unique and lovely view.
She’d been hoping the alcohol would cause the adventurer to relax, and let his inhibitions relax enough that they’d start hinting at something. Anything that’d give her the excuse she needed to turn the topic on to Amber and Eula, since something had happened between the three, and it was possibly salacious in nature.

And if both the Outrider Knight and the Spindriff Knight trusted this adventurer enough for torrid affairs off in the wild, maybe she could also partake. Mondstadt was the Land of Freedom, after all, and unless there was a known reason to not do so, sexual relationships were often more…..open, than places like Inazuma.

But passing out into the food was odd. It had been obvious the adventurer was exhausted from their work day, and that something had been off about it. She obviously hadn’t had time to Scry, not that it would’ve worked on this particular adventurer.

Mona sighed, realizing that, besides also being denied an enjoyable night with a lovely person, she would also now need to clean up both the workspace and the adventurer. The workspace was an easy clean, having long since waterproof most of the surfaces, and making small channels to easily use Hydro magic to funnel any messes out into the mess receptacles.
Mona concentrated her power into a small floating water sphere, then proceeding to ease it under the adventurer, and began the arduous process of getting the adventurer to her bedroom.

The stairs were a hassle, since gravity wasn’t in her favour, but the power of her hydromagy kept the adventurer in the sphere long enough that she could keep them stable within it as she pushed it up the stairs.

Upon getting to her room, Mona realized a very noticeable error in what she’d done.
*The average person’s clothes are made from normal fabric, not the water-phobic stuff I require……”

The poor adventurer, now floating in a vaguely red sphere of water, was thoroughly soaked. Clean of the meal, thankfully, but still soaked to the bone.

*………I can’t leave them in their clothes like that. With how drafty this room is, they’ll get sick very soon.”
The drafty room didn’t bother her, since she’d managed to learn how to use her hydromagy to keep her body temperature stable. She didn’t like using that magic, since it was still new to her, and was only used when it was bad for her health otherwise.
But she couldn’t use it on someone else, especially an unconscious paramour who hadn’t agreed to any experiments.

But it was also kind of unethical to just undress somebody who was unconscious and hadn’t given consent.

I believe, in this case, keeping them healthy would trump the problem of stripping them naked while unconscious.
Stripping the adventurer, she’d really wish being able to see them naked had been under better circumstances, but considering how much she’d allowed the adventurer to ogle her, she let herself ogle what the adventurer had, and very much enjoyed the sight.
“Hopefully, the next time we’re naked, we can both enjoy the view of each other…” Mona sighed wearily, heaving the unconscious adventurer into her bed, and covering them with blankets.
While her Vision was a pain during her day to day, it did atleast not ruin her bedding. It might make her bed damp, but she hadn’t had the same problems of mold growing in her clothes as she’d had in her damp bed.
Taking off her clothes and placing them in a pile, she then prepared to get into bed.

That was when she’d realized her second mistake.
She only had the one bed. And due to being saturated with Hydro energy, the adventurer wouldn’t be able to maintain their body heat.
Meaning not only did she have to share the bed; she was going to have to press herself up against her would-be paramour.
The frustration of not being able to get sexual release tonight despite all the teasing and set up was infuriating.

Oh well. There’s always tomorrow.
Mona sighed, and inched her back against the sleeping adventurer, a long restless night ahead of her.