"Um… Pretty Sister, Klee can't open the door. Could you teach Klee how to open it?"
Fang Qiu had been wondering what exactly this little girl did for a living. Now the girl stopped tugging at the door and looked over at her, thoroughly baffled.
"Uh, let me help."
Fang Qiu froze for a moment at Klee's plea, then stepped forward and slid the door open for her.
"So that's how you do it? Wow, that's amazing! No wonder Klee couldn't open it."
Understanding dawned on Klee's face. She turned to Fang Qiu and said, "Thank you, Pretty Sister! Pretty Sister is a good person."
"You're welcome."
Fang Qiu gave a soft laugh and nodded.
Looking at the adorable little girl in front of her, Fang Qiu was still puzzled. Something about the fiery-red outfit seemed familiar. She couldn't shake the feeling that she'd seen it somewhere before.
Then she noticed it. Golden four-leaf clovers decorated the girl's clothes in several places. They were identical to the ones on the Jumpy Dumpty she used as a chair.
And besides…
Klee…
That name sounded so familiar.
When the Traveler and Paimon had first seen the Jumpy Dumpty plush in her room, they'd mentioned that name. Paimon had gone pale with fright at the sight of Fang Qiu sitting on it. The Traveler's face had looked awful too.
At first she'd been baffled. Why would a plush toy scare Paimon and the Traveler like that? Then the two of them told her about the Jumpy Dumpty's owner, the Sparkle Knight of Mondstadt, and that Sparkle Knight's glorious battle record, and Fang Qiu's legs had gone weak with terror.
Supposedly, during one expedition against the Hilichurls, that Sparkle Knight had leveled Windbearer Mountain flat and permanently changed the shape of its terrain.
Going by the size of the Jumpy Dumpty she'd been sitting on, it could probably blast an entire house into the sky. So for safety's sake, the three of them had carted it all the way outside the city to have it inspected.
After checking, it turned out to be just an ordinary plush toy, thank goodness. And that was how she'd come to remember the Knights of Favonius' Sparkle Knight.
But…
That only left Fang Qiu more confused. If so, why would Yae Publishing House invite Klee?
Surely it wasn't because "art is an explosion"?
Hmm…
That couldn't be it, could it?
Then again, with Yae Miko's personality, it wasn't entirely impossible. This was the same woman who had barged into her room yesterday like a lesbian flower thief and teased her about it being a worn nightdress…
"Little sister, are you the Sparkle Knight from Mondstadt?" Fang Qiu asked tentatively.
"Huh? Pretty Sister knows Klee?" Klee asked, puzzled.
"Mm. I've heard the Traveler mention you." Hearing the confirmation, Fang Qiu smiled.
"The Traveler? You mean Big Sister Honorary Knight?" Klee asked.
"That's right."
Fang Qiu nodded. The Traveler was an Honorary Knight of the Knights of Favonius, after all.
"So you're a friend of Big Sister Honorary Knight!" Klee's eyes lit up. "Big Sister Honorary Knight and little Paimon's friends are Klee's friends too! Pretty Sister, what's your name?"
"I'm Fang Qiu," Fang Qiu said with a smile.
She'd been wondering whether the Knights of Favonius might have some other honorary knight. "Honorary Knight" sounded like a nominal title, a bit cheap really, like the honorary peerages of her past life: all honor and no real power, handed out to anyone.
But when Klee brought up Paimon, Fang Qiu was finally completely sure.
"Hello, Big Sister Fang Qiu! But Klee feels like she's heard that name somewhere…"
Klee tilted her head and sank into thought. After a little while, though, she gave up. "Aww, Klee can't remember."
"Maybe you heard it somewhere in passing," Fang Qiu said with a laugh. She'd meant to ask whether Klee had been invited to the Irodori Festival, but Klee was looking sleepy. She decided to ask that evening, once Klee had woken up.
So she led Klee back inside and took bedding out of the closet to lay on the floor for her. They chatted for a few more minutes, agreed to go out and play once Klee woke up, and Fang Qiu told her which room was hers. Then Klee lay down under the covers and fell asleep.
"What an adorable child."
Looking at Klee's sleeping face, Fang Qiu smiled in spite of herself. It reminded her of Qiqi. Come to think of it, Qiqi had even come down to the harbor to see her off when she left Liyue. When she got back to Liyue, she'd bring coconut milk and go play with Qiqi.
Once Klee was asleep, Fang Qiu closed the door for her and made her way out of the inn.
But the moment she stepped outside, she heard passersby talking.
"That scared me to death just now. I thought those fierce, murderous-looking people had come to give that little girl in red a hard time."
"Yeah, same here. I was going to step in, but the one in front was all muscle, and he had such a crushing presence that I just couldn't make myself move."
"All muscle is putting it mildly. Didn't you see the two horns on his head? He's an Oni. You don't mess with them."
"Still, how it turned out was pretty surprising. That Oni came to ask the little girl for an autograph!"
"How do you know it was an autograph? They were so intimidating I didn't dare get close. I was too far away and it was too noisy to hear what they said. All I saw was the Oni having the little girl sign a piece of paper."
"I didn't hear anything either. But I've read plenty of detective novels, so I've developed a bit of deductive ability. I'm even planning to open a detective agency in Inazuma soon. By my deduction, when the Oni handed over the paper, he looked delighted and expectant. Then the little girl turned around and went straight into the lodgings Yae Publishing House reserved for its invited guests. And nobody accompanied her, and she hasn't come out all this time, so she's obviously resting. From this we can infer that she's an invited guest herself. Furthermore, once she'd signed, the Oni looked thrilled. Therefore, the Oni was definitely there to get the girl in red to sign something."
"Well reasoned and convincing."
"The Teyvat continent really is full of talented people! Such a little girl, and she's already been invited by Yae Publishing House."
"But I'm curious. What exactly does that girl do?"
"I'm curious too."
The crowd buzzed with speculation.
Fang Qiu listened to them, rather stunned. The would-be detective had drawn his experience from novels, but his deduction really was well reasoned and convincing. After all, in her past life there had been news stories about people committing perfect crimes after watching Detective Conan. Though that guy had ended up getting caught for copying the case a little too perfectly…
Could it be… that Klee really had been invited by Yae Publishing House?
After all, going by their chatter, someone had just asked Klee for an autograph…
Could it really be… because art is an explosion?
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