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Chapter 14 : Purpose Defined
🕑 Added 2024-08-11 18:09:36 +0000 UTCOrion woke up, refreshed, more so than he had been in a long time. He sat up and stretched. His voice was laced with sarcasm: "This is the best sleep I've had in a while.".
He rose from bed and his eyes locked onto the wall where he had leaned the polearm. Grinning, he picked up the weapon and gave a few swings to feel out the familiar weight in his hands. Satisfied, he spun the weapon around skillfully to secure it on his back.
Seeing the reflection of himself, his eyes instinctively went to the weird marks on his skin, rubbing against the ones of the cube-like prison from the dream. He darkened at heart. "So it was real… I really hoped it was just a stupid dream. I gotta see someone about this."
Determined, Orion left his room and began walking aimlessly through the halls of the Knights of Favonius headquarters. Turning around a corner, he ran into Lisa walking down the corridor. He froze for a second before calling out, "Hey there! Librarian Lisa, right?
Lisa turned toward him, and at that moment, Orion was overcome with such a strong, overwhelming feeling that he forgot what he had been about to say. It wasn't anything; it flustered him. She smiled warmly, making his heart miss a beat.
"Orion! You're finally up and about. Good to see you walking about again. Are you about to leave?" She sounded soft, teasing.
Orion quickly tried to gather himself together. "Yes—no! I mean, I was going to ask whether you guys have a doctor or something. I'm all right, only wanted to make sure I'm fit to fight and for adventures, you know?"
Lisa's smile grew a little wider. "Well, we do have healers, but if you want someone more. professional in that field, you should go and see Albedo or his assistant, Sucrose. Albedo is the Chief Alchemist of the Knights of Favonius. He could make some medicine for you if you need any."
"That's just who I need to see!" Orion said with a wide grin on his face. "Where do I go looking for him?".
Lisa turned her head thoughtfully. "I'm so afraid he's rather difficult to catch. He spends most of his time in the lab and occasionally disappears into Dragonspine, so we rarely see him here, unless, of course, on business.".
Orion chuckled, but he tried to hide his disappointment. "Oh, I see. Guess I'll have to call and cancel my appointment with my doctor," he replied, using as sarcastic a tone as possible. "Thanks, Lisa." He turned to leave—really just off the dance floor.
But before he could take a step, Lisa's voice stopped him. "Where do you think you're going, cute face?" she teased.
Orion reddened in his face as he stumbled over words. "I… uh… I was just… going to get something to eat with the other knights."
Lisa chuckled softly, definitely enjoying his reaction. "No, you wouldn't want to dine with them. They're such a bore, unlike us. Come on, join us in Jean's office.".
The attempt to escape had failed, and the next thing Orion knew, he was being gently steered toward Jean's office by Lisa. He knew eating with Jean and Lisa would be a disaster waiting to happen, but he just couldn't wriggle out of this now.
Lisa was firmly but gently steering Orion toward Jean's office. He desperately sought an out. He was getting a really bad feeling that dinner with Jean, Lisa, and whoever else might happen to be around the table was a recipe for complete and utter disaster, but he was now well and truly caught.
By the time they reached Jean's office, Lisa pushed open the door with a smooth, practiced motion. Sunlight streamed in through the tall windows, casting a warm, golden light upon the polished wooden furniture. Jean was already seated at her desk; to his slight dismay, Eula was there too, sitting across from Jean.
Everything changed as Orion entered the room. The three women gave him their attention; he felt their eyes on him as his heart jumped a beat. The office, by all respects large, suddenly became painfully small.
"Ah, Orion," Jean greeted, her smooth smile beckoning him to take a seat beside them. "Please, do make yourself comfortable.".
Lisa closed the door behind them; her amused smile wasn't lost on Orion. She glided gracefully to her chair, sat down, and crossed her legs with grace as she leaned back a little to regard him, her eyes sparkling in her eyes. Eula was her usual composed self, but Orion didn't miss the flicker of her eyes over him, curiosity there.
“Shit,” he thought to himself, “I must say something… literally anything.”
Orion was flustered, jumbled in thought, as he stood before Lisa, Jean, and Eula. The realization that he was surrounded by three beautiful ladies set in right about then, overwhelming the situation even further.
He was very quick to rack his brains for something—anything—to say. In a short, rather awkward silence, he babbled the first thing that came to mind. His voice was somewhat shaky, with a playful tone: "Well, must have done something right to end up in the company of such beautiful ladies.".
His words hung there for a moment, and for a fleeting second, he thought he had said the wrong thing. Then he caught Jean's polite smile, Eula's raised eyebrow, and Lisa's amused smirk, and felt some of that tension seep away.
Eula broke the line with a light response, "Do you flirt with every girl you see?
Orion's face colored slightly. "Only for you, fair lady knight," he replied, winking again. "Seriously, though, where is the food, Lisa?
Eula, despite herself, blushed slightly, and Jean, noticing, smiled and chimed in, “Sweet Madame is on the way. But while you’re here, Orion, since you seem to be in good shape now, I’d like to hear your side of the story.”
Orion took a seat, his mind racing. "Why do I feel like the less they know, the better? Telling Kaeya about the Celestial Emissary already feels like a mistake, but something tells me he deserved to know. This woman, on the other hand..."
He hesitated before speaking. “Well, we were proceeding inside the temple, fighting some Hilichurls along the way. Everything seemed fine until that fellow showed up... and then, well, it happened.”
Jean observed him carefully, her expression thoughtful. “I see... but there must be more to it.”
Eula nodded in agreement. “That’s what the others said, too. It must be hard for you to remember what happened that day.”
Orion, lost in thought, reflected inwardly, "Hardly. I feel sorry for their lives, but I can’t dwell on sorrow. I will definitely find and kill him for what he did. I just need to get stronger. Whatever power I have, it’s not simple. And that bastard called me ‘Child of Light’... too many questions and no answers."
His prolonged silence drew everyone’s attention, and Jean finally broke the tension by asking, “What are you thinking, Orion?”
He snapped back to the present and said, “Yeah, it’s terrible. I should visit my companions from that day—Mona, Bennett, and Emily. Poor girl must be traumatized.”
Jean nodded sympathetically. “That is true...”
At that moment, a knight entered the room, carrying the food with impeccable precision. Lisa’s eyes sparkled. “Our Sweet Madame is ready!” she announced.
Orion’s eyes lit up at the sight of the meal. The knight swiftly and efficiently set the table, arranging everything with an almost artistic flair. After finishing, he turned to Jean and bowed politely. “Acting Grandmaster,” he said before quietly leaving the room.
Orion watched in surprise, impressed by the knight’s smooth professionalism. He took a deep breath, the aroma of the food intoxicating. “This smell is heavenly,” he remarked, his enthusiasm evident. His eyes shone even brighter than they had during his battles. “Don’t have to tell me twice!” He began eating with gusto, devouring the food with little regard for elegance.
The girls regarded him, their faces full of amusement and surprise at Orion's fumbling through the meal. Even Eula couldn't quite catch herself from a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips, trying to remain in her stoic demeanor.
At this point, she spoke up for the first time, her tone laced with a hint of tease. "Do you always eat like that?" She met Orion's gaze with a glint in her eyes.
Orion was taken by surprise and guzzled down the food he'd been consuming, looking up to regard her with tinged cheeks. "What?" he blurted out, noticing the way her eyes sparkled with hidden laughter.
Eula slightly shook her head, her smile becoming evident. "Nothing," she replied, light, but her eyes—a gleam of play in them—told a different story.
Orion, noticing their reactions, quickly added, “I’m sorry, but it’s been a while since I had a proper meal.”
Lisa and Jean couldn’t help but laugh at his candidness. Even as he chewed, Orion asked, “Oh yeah, where’s Kaeya? I thought he’d be here.”
Jean’s smile faded slightly as she answered, “He said he had something to attend to and left yesterday. He didn’t even tell me where he was going.”
Jean's smile slowly faded as she replied, "He said he had something to attend to and left yesterday. He didn't even tell me where he was going.".
Orion recalled his conversation with Kaeya, especially how he'd left in a rush. “Yeah, he knows something definitely. that one-eyed..”. He trailed off, swallowing his food. After finishing, Orion turned toward Jean and asked, "Any ideas where he might be, if you don't mind me asking?"
Jean slightly shook her head but smiled to reassure him. "Not at all; Kaeya does his own thing. He could be handling something important for the safety of Mondstadt. Or, he could also be at Dawn Winery—he goes there sometimes."
Orion's eyebrow shot up in surprise. "Dawn Winery? Why would he go there?"
Jean explained, "Well, that's technically his home."
Orion's surprise deepened. "His home? I thought it belongs to Diluc."
Jean nodded, realizing how confused he must have become. "I see you have already met Master Diluc. Indeed, the estate belongs to him, but Kaeya was taken in and raised by the Ragnvindr family. That makes him a part of the family at Dawn Winery as well.".
He blinked at this revelation. “Might have guessed as much,” he thought to himself, “Kaeya and Diluc clearly feed each other information..” He looked back at Jean and stood up. "I'm taking my leave. Thanks for your hospitality, Knights of Favonius. And thank you, Eula, for bringing me back from that temple."
Eula would be shocked, and she raised even blushing lightly before she righted herself. "It was nothing," she replied with a cool voice. But as Orion squirm and move the lower part of the Skyward Spine on his back to get it in just the right spot, he stopped to think and asked, "About the Guild, do you guys know if they…"
Before he could even finish, Lisa, with her usual perceptiveness, cut in smoothly, "Yes, since they cancelled that test everyone passed by default. You're already a registered adventurer, Orion. Though you should still go to the Guild and check yourself."
"I see, thanks for the heads up." Orion nodded at her; he hardened his will at that moment. "I got a direct goal now," said Orion to himself. "Find and kill that Emissary bastard at all costs." With that, he turned and left the room and their company; his determination evident from the way he walked away.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Eula sighed, almost wirthful; she mumbled, "I wish I could join him."
Jean and Lisa shared amused looks, and Lisa couldn't resist teasing as she said with a playful grin, "Did I just hear what I think I did?" Eula looked stunned, and she turned red at once, fumbling in her answer. "Did I say that out loud?"
Jean chuckled softly, "It seems like you did.
Eula crossed her arms over her chest, trying to gain her composure. "It's just… he's an interesting one."
Lisa moved in a little, her eyes sparkling with devilry. "Interesting, indeed."
Eula quickly pushed on, hastening the topic to something else. "Anyway, what's next on the agenda?"
