Genshin Impact, I, a mere mortal, cannot accompany you to the very end.

This huge

The sense of loss was something she had never experienced before.

She suddenly felt a little dizzy.

After a brief moment of surprise, the boy seemed to recognize Lei Yingdian's identity and quickly lowered his head in a salute.

"Kiyono Fuyu greets the General."

He spoke very politely and respectfully, which showed that he was a very well-mannered young man.

His voice was as light as the wind, and his purple eyes seemed to be filled with the light of spring. This boy's temperament was completely different from Qingye Leiming's.

"...Um."

Ying's lips were a little dry. She gave a soft, almost inaudible "hmm" as a response. After a while, she seemed to slowly recover and asked, "Are you from the Pillar State Mansion?"

"The Pillar of State once adopted me."

Kiyono answered respectfully, looking into Lei's eyes. Kiyono had never seen Ying show such a look before. In his past impressions, she was always calm and lonely, like a still pond, but now she looked somewhat depressed, or rather, empty.

Compared to the still, undisturbed old pool, it resembles a completely empty, clear pool.

But this expression only lasted for a moment before she recovered, or rather, she suppressed those emotions to the depths of her eyes.

"...Do you know where Kiyono Raimei is?"

“I don’t know…and you don’t know either, so it’s even less likely that I would know,” Kiyono said softly. “I was sent to Mondstadt as a spy for Inazuma on the orders of Lord Pillar of State. These are my documents.”

When Qingye does things, he makes sure to be fully prepared. All kinds of documents are arranged perfectly, leaving no room for criticism.

"The whereabouts of the Pillar of State..."

Kiyono paused, looked at Lei Yingdian, and said, "Didn't he tell you?"

"...You were a decoy he set up for me." Hearing Kiyono's words, a self-deprecating smile seemed to appear on Ying's lips, a very faint smile: "He didn't tell me."

Ying's voice was very soft.

"You really don't want to see me...?"

“Perhaps,” Qingye said. “He doesn’t want to see you, but he doesn’t want you to see him so weak. The Pillar of State is very concerned about his reputation.”

"He doesn't want to leave you with that kind of impression in the end." The boy's eyes were full of sincerity.

Her purple eyes trembled slightly. She lowered her head, clutching her clothes tightly, the veins visibly visible. After a moment, she released her grip. Ying nodded.

"Yes, you're right, he's very concerned about his image."

Seemingly recalling the past, Ying's voice was low and deep: "He was like this, he always was like this."

A long, long silence fell over the cabin, the air as still as death.

"Your name is... Kiyono?"

Finally, Shadow broke the silence.

"The wind whispers through the clear fields."

"Qingye Fengyin, what kind of person do you think he is on a daily basis?" Ying asked, her questions varied and detailed, "What does he usually like to do? What is his favorite food?"

"Pillar of the State..." Qingye was somewhat surprised. He didn't know why Ying was asking about such trivial family matters; this wasn't Ying's style.

During their daily interactions, especially when Kiyono served as her attendant, Ying never inquired about or cared about his affairs; her heart was only set on martial arts.

"What do you mean?" he asked, puzzled.

“I want to know…” Ying pursed her lips, hesitated for a moment as if thinking, and finally nodded seriously: “I want to know about him. I want to know how he has been these past hundred years.”

"The Pillar of State's favorite food is... well, he's a heavy smoker and likes to smoke on a regular basis. As for hobbies, he likes hunting and drinking. He has to drink a pot or two of sake every day. His favorite food is grilled sardines."

Ying listened quietly, and then, for some reason, she nodded in agreement, "Yes, yes, he likes to drink and smoke, just like before."

"And then? What time does he usually get up? What does he do after he gets up?"

"The Pillar of State gets up before dawn... He meditates for a while first, then eats breakfast," the boy said, describing his daily routine. "In the morning, he practices kendo or goes hunting in the mountains behind the Pillar of State's residence. He eats very little for lunch—tofu, peanuts, and a simple side dish, but it must be accompanied by wine..."

As Ying listened to these mundane, everyday matters, she listened intently, asking about even the smallest details. Listening to them, she felt as if she were witnessing Qingye Leiming's life.

The daily life of an ordinary person is not particularly grand or exciting; it is filled with the mundane things like oil, rice, firewood, tofu, peanuts, and sardines... But it is a timeless and ever-renewing fortune, and it is these things that constitute Qingye Leiming and his later years.

What happens after dinner?

"dinner..."

Kiyono paused, hesitant for a moment, and finally said slowly, "He will go to the side room and sit quietly by the window for half an hour."

"Is he meditating too?"

"Shadow asked."

"No, that window faces the castle tower directly. It's just my personal opinion..."

Kiyono gazed intently into Kage's eyes and said earnestly:

"He is missing you, Lord Narukami."

silence.

Ying lowered her eyes, saying nothing, remaining silent as the sea breeze blew across the waves, dusk began to settle, and the wind whistled in her ears.

"Heh..." After a long while, Ying gave a slightly bitter laugh, as if muttering, "I see."

"I understand."

She nodded to Kiyono. "Thank you, young man."

"Lord Narukami."

Kiyono picked up a stack of pastry boxes from the kitchen table and handed them to Lei Yingdian. “Lord Pillar of State… anticipated your arrival, and this is what he asked me to give you.”

Ying took the box; it felt very light. She slowly opened the lid, and a soft, pleasant fragrance wafted out—a scent she hadn't smelled in a long time.

The box has ten compartments in total, each containing pure white pastries that appear to have been prepared in advance and placed in the compartments.

Looking at the pastries, Ying felt as if she had been hit hard in the heart. Her heart, which had finally calmed down, began to ache again.

Those past memories, those memories submerged in her heart, those small but enduring daily routines, those tedious trifles, suddenly surged into her heart like a tide.

"—Hello, Shadow. Would you like some snacks?"

"This is dango milk. I've had it before at Inazuma's bakery; it's smooth but not greasy."

--'mortal.'

Those who cultivate themselves would not eat such miscellaneous things...moreover...

'When did I give you permission to call me by my given name?'

'You're getting a little carried away.'

"...Perhaps it's delicious? Have a little, have a little, just to fulfill the wishes of your people. This is also one of Narukami Mikoto's duties."

"I already said, this will disrupt my cultivation... I don't like mortal food."

"Ah...it's ready, do you want some?"

—'...'

'...I'll only eat one piece.'

Those everyday moments that she once took for granted, one insignificant moment after another—back then, the girl was young, and she had plenty of time to squander, to waste, to argue, to lose… But now, a hundred years later, she can only reminisce on a lonely boat on the vast ocean.

She didn't know what to call her feelings at that moment.

Perhaps she wanted to cry, but the doll's body couldn't shed tears, and her heart, withered for a hundred years, had long forgotten what tears were.

Ying did nothing.

There's nothing we can do.

She simply looked at the milk dumpling and gave a soft "hmm".

"Ah."

"...I see."

Shadow Path.

"Then, Lord Narukami," the young man asked softly, pointing to the storm outside the window that was trapping the small boat, "may I leave now? This is His Excellency the Pillar of the Nation's mission."

"It's fine if you only put me in; I can use the little wooden boat on the boat."

Was he still thinking about Inazuma until his death...?

"You can leave now..."

Ying said softly, and with a gentle wave of her hand, a crack appeared in the lightning.

After that, Ying didn't say anything. She just held the box of pastries as if it were something precious, and stepped off the ship, walking back the way she came. Heavy lightning pressed down in front of her, and she walked towards the lightning.

She didn't look back even once.

Kiyono rowed his small wooden boat slowly through the gap in the lightning.

The storm closed in between them, separating them into two worlds.

And so they drifted apart.

[You made milk dumplings for her, and I remember you once said something like that.]

"While guarding the frontier, I come home to make midnight snacks."

[Now that you've finished making the midnight snack ahead of schedule, you have nothing to worry about.]

"Yes, we can have a good fight now. I told you, Kiyono Raimei deserves to die on the battlefield."

[I told you, the way you chose to die this time was quite interesting.]

"You just like to have fun, don't you?"

[No, I've been unhappy with Him for a long time too, otherwise I wouldn't have helped you exploit life.]

"Let's double-check, won't this implicate Inazuma?"

[He is powerful, but He is also rigid. He is bound by the 'reason' He has established. This time is different from the time of the Abyss Palace. No one knows about this except you. And you are now far enough away from Inazuma. You are in a deserted sea.]

"Will you handle the aftermath cleanly?"