Chapter 123

***

"Come to think of it, is there a specific reason why you are wearing an eyepatch? Is your eye damaged? I bet it's only because you want to look cool, isn't it?" Yomite wondered out loud.

He assumed that Kaeya had put the piece of black eye patch on just for the image, but maybe he was wrong all this time. He didn't know for sure.

Kaeya's face remained emotionless as he answered in a monotonous tone, "Ah, about my eye? My right eye is just fine. There's nothing unusual about hiding one's body part from view now, is there? It's the same reason I wear pants…or any other item of clothing, for that matter. Just think of the eye patch as something similar to that notion."

"Yeah…I guess…I was kind of wondering about that ever since I met you…How long has it been again? Four or so months?" Yomite scratched his chin, his tone a bit hesitant— a bit nervous, his mind lost in thought at hearing Kaeya's uncharacteristic indifferent tone of speech.

"…I didn't realize we'd known each other for so long now. Time flies when you are having fun! You know, ever since meeting you, my life has changed so much. For the better, of course! This might actually be the most fun I've had in my whole life. I hope it stays that way for a long time…I really do hope..."

It was just a simple answer, but when spoken by Kaeya, Yomite felt as though he was suddenly plunged into a world of blizzard and ice making a sickening shiver spread throughout his body.

Something was definitely on his mind.

Something was definitely bothering Kaeya…

Yomite never really had a real track of good friends in his past life.

There were only friends that either forgot about him once they had all graduated from university and never wanted to meet up ever again, or stopped contacting him altogether even when he tried his best to keep their friendship…

They acted like mere acquaintances, maybe even worse...

That's why the feeling of having a friend or a companion was extremely foreign to him at this point, and he felt like he was way too alienated.

For sure, there was his party. They were his companions and now, some of them even his lovers.

He could talk to them at any time, share his thoughts, goals, feelings and so on…

But…did he have a single male friend?

Someone he could talk to at any time? A bro he could rely on?

There were always things he couldn't share with the girls and could only be spoken between male friends, buddies he could converse with.

There was Diluc…who was usually either quietly nodding or shaking his head the whole time and Yomite had to carry the whole conversation by himself…or Diluc was simply way too busy to meet up with him…

Then there was Venti…who…was a dude yes…but talking to him still felt as if he was talking to a girl either way…not to mention he disappeared a few months ago and he hadn't heard from him since…and while he had cursed at Venti on multiple occasions, he still didn't want anything bad to happen to the useless excuse of a God.

The last guy on his list of acquaintances he met and had a connection with was Kaeya.

The sly, lying fox.

Still, conversations with him were pleasant, he had a good sense of humor and they could talk for hours…but then again…was Kaeya simply pretending?

When it came to the charismatic cavalry captain, he never knew if he was truly interested in the topics they talked about, or if he was bored out of his mind but gave him a nice smile of deception either way…

He was tempted to use his Tempus of the Heart ability on him many times now, yet somehow, he either forgot, or maybe he simply did not wish to know the truth.

For he knew, the weight of some truth was too difficult to bear.

But still, he regarded him as his friend. His best friend at that.

"The way you worded that…sounds a bit weird…" Yomite trailed off as he stared at Kaeya's apathetic face, trying to make sense of his words.

He didn't know why his friend was acting in such a weird manner today, maybe it was something to do with his girlfriend?

But then again, it could also be something else. It was Kaeya after all.

If he didn't know better, he would fancy the thoughts of Kaeya being on the verge of death or something.

"Was it that weird? You know, the first time you showed up in front of the gates of Mondstadt, I had my doubts about telling you the truth."

"…Why is that?"

Yomite stared blankly at him. The nervousness and the sinking feeling of dread latching on his mind increasing ever so slightly at Kaeya's cryptic words.

"When I saw you, curiosity got the best of me. I invited you guys into Mondstadt with slightly bad intentions, I admit that. But after learning more about you, I now trust you more than ever. You know, I am really happy that I was able to meet someone like you on this accursed life of mine."

"…You are really starting to creep me out…this seems like some kind of twisted confession of love…"

"Heh, is that so~ maybe it is..."

After he spoke that sentence with a playful laughter…

Kaeya's gaze narrowed sharply, the smile dropped from his face completely and his expression hardened with apathy— the atmosphere surrounding the two plunged into a dark abyss of absolute frost— as he looked at Yomite, no longer playing around.

He leaned forward towards Yomite's ear and whispered, in a chilly tone, one of his darkest secrets, "To tell you the truth, I'm actually…"

…

..

.

After hearing his words laced in frost, sending chills to his very soul, Yomite's eyes shot wide open, his breath taking a hitch, as he immediately checked his status.

———————

Name: Kaeya [Khae'yah] Alberich

Age: 21 [∆∆∆]

Title: The Lost Glacial Prince, Frostwind Swordsman, The Last Hope of Khaenri'ah

Occupation: Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius, Spy of Khaenri'ah

Hobby: Wine Tasting, Lazing around

Likes: Sparkling Wine, His Girlfriend Veil, Teasing his brothers, Takes pleasure in the look of fear of his allies and enemies alike.

Dislikes: Boredom, People who drink Grape Juice, Loneliness.

Dream: Indecisive

Current mood: Worried

Relationship Level: 9/10 – Brotherly Love

State of Relationship: Best Friend.

———————

"…Once that day comes, I will be counting on you~" Kaeya gave him a wink— dissipating the frosty aura he generated— and then called for a bartender.

"…I am not so sure about that…"

The information that Kaeya just relayed to him…

He would have to contemplate that for a long time…

He never would have thought that such a heavy load was on his shoulders…but now that he was comfortable with sharing his past and his current thoughts, he felt that Kaeya had opened up to him fully and trusted him more than ever before…

The chasm separating their brotherhood had been cleared by Kaeya at this moment.

He wanted to discuss this with him somewhere else, somewhere private, but before he had the chance to do so, the angry voice of the little cat girl bartender made them aware of her presence.

"How is it that even a captain of the Knights is a disgusting boozehound! Why do you keep coming back here to get drunk!? You should be a role model for citizens and not drink any alcohol whatsoever! Kaeya! Hmph!"

Yomite didn't notice her until she was standing right next to him.

Maybe because she was just so small…

He hadn't even heard her footsteps, even with his enhanced hearing, but there she was in all of her rage.

The pink haired cat girl's voice echoed throughout the tavern, making the customers laugh while the owner, who was also a decent looking mature woman in her thirties, just sighed tiredly.

"Diona…how many times do I have to tell you to be mindful of our customers…"

Margaret, was the proud owner of the Cat's Tail and also the boss of Diona, the cat girl bartender for whom this tavern was so renowned for.

The Cat's Tail had recently seen a business boom after hiring Diona. Margaret's reason for hiring Diona was simple: she was cute, a genius at mixing drinks and being a bartender, and once again, she was extremely adorable.

Regardless of the fact that she was clearly not old enough to drink alcohol herself…

While it was obvious to everyone…

It still had to be said that she absolutely despised alcohol, despite being the best bartender in Mondstadt, no, even in the whole of Teyvat, Margaret dared to say.

It's just that she was blessed, or as she would like to call it— cursed with hands that just couldn't make a bad drink, no matter how much she tried to do so otherwise…

And she absolutely hated herself for that...