94 Brazen

After a lengthy discussion, the moment of truth came as the sun slowly crept over the horizon. If Paul's speculation were correct, there would be no need to rush their departure from Sharia. If he was wrong, the sooner their departure, the better.

With everyone else choosing to wait outside, Paul made his way into the Intersection of Fate to find Katheryne standing in her usual place behind her counter. Beidou was nowhere to be seen, but that wasn't too strange as the Intersection of Fate demanded payment for all of its functions.

Raising his hand in a gesture of greeting, Paul said, "Hey there, long time no see." as he approached Katheryne's counter. He had been pretty the past couple of weeks, so he hadn't been checking the IOF as often as he should.

Adopting a professional smile, Katheryne crossed her hands over her abdomen before bowing as she said, "Ad Astra Abyssosque. It's good to see you, Master Paul. To what do I owe the pleasure of tonight's visit?"

Returning a smile of his own, Paul explained, "I came to resurrect Beidou. Do you know what I need to do?"

Nodding her head, Katheryne gestured towards the summoning circle at the center of the platform, explaining, "Place your hand on the stone dais and express your intention to resurrect a fallen ally. The base cost is 1000 Asura Gold Coins, increasing depending on the number of Constellations and whether or not said person is an Archon."

Though he had fortunately never gained any of Beidou's Constellations, Paul couldn't help hissing when Katheryne reminded him of the base cost. Many would pay ten times that amount to resurrect their loved ones, but, as he had always been aware of his ability to revive his summon, Paul had a slightly more 'objective' view on the matter.

Exhaling a tired sigh, Paul muttered, "Whatever...let's get this over with..." before making his way over to the summoning circle. When he expressed his intention to revive someone, the pattern making up the circle gained a crimson red hue, but Paul didn't mind it as he slotted in a thousand AGC.

"I swear, woman...if it turns out you were the one to pick a fight with Gal, I'm pounding your ass until it becomes leather..."

Following his petty utterance, Paul placed his hands into the oversized grooves before shouting, "Confirm!" as per usual. Katheryne had never specified that he had to say the person's name, and, as far as Paul knew, Beidou was the only person to have died since he gained access to the Intersection of Fate. As a result, he was more than a little surprised when a blood-red 'hole' opened in the ground, followed by a naked, voluptuous woman with dark blue hair and dark skin slowly rising up from some kind of carmine fluid.

Though she had changed drastically since the last time he saw her, Paul immediately recognized the woman's identity, slapping his forehead as he muttered, "You've got to be fucking kidding me..."

As the eerie red light faded away, followed by the woman being lowered to the ground, Paul's suspicions were confirmed when she opened her dichromatic, gold-blue eyes and teased, "Hey now, is that any way to speak to a beautiful woman you haven't seen in years? And here I was looking forward to our reunion..."

Intensifying Paul's feelings of discomfort, the woman gave him a quick once-over before licking her lips in an overtly seductive manner. Then, with a slightly predatory look, she added, "We've both grown quite a bit, haven't we~?"

As much as he disliked the woman's personality, Paul's eyes naturally gravitated towards her naked form. She was shorter than he imagined, somewhere between 155-160cm, but her proportions could even give Ghislaine a run for her money.

Noticing Paul's wayward gaze, the blue-haired beauty promptly struck a pose, body bent slightly and hands placed behind her head as she asked, "How do I look? They get in the way at times, but I'm quite proud of how this body has developed. If I were still a man, I might not be able to hold back."

Exhaling a sigh, Paul shook his head before peeling off his overcoat and handing it over to the woman, Kaeya, as he questioned, "How did you die? I haven't heard anything from Ningguang."

Though she would have preferred Paul to have a more 'honest' reaction, Kaeya accepted the offered coat as she answered, "Truth be told, I have no idea. The last thing I remember was trying to collect information at a less than respectable pub. I'm confident nobody slipped anything into my drink, so I have no idea how I ended up here."

Furrowing his brows, Paul didn't immediately respond to Kaeya's words. She wasn't the type of person that would lower her guard around others, so it didn't make sense for her to be killed off without, at least, knowing how it happened.

Seeing Kaeya struggling to button up his overcoat, Paul's expression lost some of its severity as he flatly remarked, "Seriously? Just how big have your tits become...?"

Adopting a cheeky smile, Kaeaya puffed out her chest and replied, "I'm shorter than I would have liked, but my breasts and butt are both around 86cm. How about it? Want to cop a feel...?"

Though he was more than a little tempted, Paul managed to shake his head and reply, "Nah." in an unconvincing tone of voice. He was slowly overcoming his apprehensions about sleeping with people the IOF had genderbent, but Kaeya was akin to the final boss in that regard. She had a very 'open' and bro-like personality, so Paul couldn't help regarding her as a perverted man piloting a woman's body.

Shrugging her shoulders, Kaeya mused, "Suit yourself." before placing a hand on her hips and taking a look around. She was a little surprised to see Katheryne at her kiosk, but as Paul had made it clear she wasn't the person he intended to revive, she eventually asked, "So? Who else kicked the bucket? Judging by how relaxed you are, it shouldn't be anyone from your usual entourage...I'm guessing Childe?"

Shaking his head, Paul surprised Kaeya by answering, "It was Beidou. She had a run-in with the Sword God."

Making no effort to conceal her surprise, Kaeya uttered a genuine, "Holy shit." before subsequently frowning as she added, "Damn...that makes my death appear even more pathetic..."

Though he didn't disagree, Paul decided not to comment as he bent down and began slotting more gold into the summoning circle. Kaeya offered to lend a hand, but Paul shook his head and told her to ask if Katheryne had some clothes she could wear. She did, but they evidently cost 100AGC as the materials originated from their world.

Since he was already spending 2000AGC, Paul only hesitated for a brief moment before allowing Kaeya to make the purchase. They purportedly functioned similarly to the maid outfits each of the girls came equipped with, so they could change apparently size and even self-repair so long as Elemental Energy was supplied.

With Kaeya changing into a female version of the outfit Paul now vaguely remembered from the game, the two of them stood next to each other as he activated the summoning circle. Another eerie red portal opened in the ground, but the thing Kaeya and Paul took notice of was the fact that Beidou had emerged fully clothed, albeit with a massive tear across her abdomen.

While Paul's expression became grim, Kaeya managed to crack a smile as she commented, "That's ominous..." in a playful tone. Paul was tempted to smack her upside the head but restrained himself as Beidou had opened her eyes and was currently staring at him.

Breaking the tentative silence, Beidou adopted her characteristically dauntless smile as she said, "Damn, I knew I shouldn't have tried to fight with an ordinary weapon. That scar-faced bastard cut cleanly through my sword."

Noticing the state of her wardrobe, Beidou traced her finger along the exposed part of her abdomen, adding, "And evidently the rest of me..."

Feeling that Beidou wasn't taking the situation seriously, Paul revealed, "Most of your fleet has either been wiped out or seized. Ningguang sent Ganyu to have me resurrect you as soon as possible, but it's been nearly fourteen hours since your death."

Maintaining her confident demeanor, Beidou insisted, "Those flat-footed monkies wouldn't be able to seize a single one of my ships if they weren't willfully handed over or abandoned. So long as my crew remains, it's only a matter of time before we rebuild."

Without giving Paul a chance to respond, Beidou shifted her attention to Kaeya, her wine-red eyes squinting ever so slightly as she said, "I didn't expect to see you here. Don't tell me you also got done in...?"

Spreading her arms and shrugging helplessly, Kaeya replied, "What can I say? The people of this world can be pretty crafty when they put their hearts into it."

Snorting through her nose, Beidou was tempted to chastise Kaeya in place of Ningguang. Instead, she returned her gaze to Paul and said, "You've grown a lot since I last saw you. I can tell you're still a little wet behind the ears, but you're starting to mature into the man we need you to be. Ningguang will be relieved."

Furrowing his brows, Paul resisted the urge to ask how he was still wet behind the ears. He knew better than anyone that he still had a long way to go, so he just inhaled a steadying breath and asked, "What led you to crossing paths with the Sword God?"

Though it was only for a brief moment, the veneer of Beidou's confidence cracked as she recalled the moments leading up to her death. The simple truth of the matter was that she didn't know that the man in question was the Sword God. All she knew about the man was that he had blue hair and a scar on his cheek, traits that weren't all that uncommon in their present world.

Exhaling a faint, inaudible sigh, Beidou eventually went on to explain, "He was wandering around the port like he owned the place. I didn't approach him at first, but I couldn't stay silent after I witnessed him cutting off one of my men's hands. After that, well, we wouldn't be here discussing things if everything went smoothly. It turns out the Sword God is a pretty strong guy."

Recalling the moment Gal unsheathed his sword and sliced through her in a literal instant, a layer of goosebumps promptly spread across Beidou's body. She had never feared death but experiencing it was never pleasant.

Since Beidou rarely wore a bra, both Paul's and Kaeya's eyes lowered as two conspicuous protrusions made themselves known beneath the piece of cloth covering her breasts. Beidou followed their gaze, but instead of reacting bashfully, she adopted a challenging smile and said, "Men are so helpless." before pulling down the cloth to free her puppies.

As Paul and Kaeya became slack-jawed, Beidou's smile became markedly more prominent as she asked, "Why are you just staring? Come, show me just how much you have 'grown' since our previous encounter. You're not a little boy anymore. Be more daring."

Inhaling a deep breath through his nose, it took more restraint than Paul knew he had not to push Beidou down and take her in the middle of the summoning circle. Unfortunately, at least ten other women were waiting for him back in his room, so he couldn't afford to dally for too long.

As a sort of compromise, Paul walked forward to pinch Beidou's already perky nipples, his expression a mask of calm as he said, "That'll have to wait till later. I don't mind carrying you, but I imagine you'd like to be able to walk out of here."

Understanding the meaning behind Paul's words, Beidou's smile stretched to its limits before she suddenly burst into laughter. The last time she had seen Paul, he was still actively avoiding her since she wasn't afraid to take the 'initiative' in their relationship. Seeing him try to act brazenly was both refreshing and amusing.

Ceasing her laughter just as Paul was about to ask why she was laughing, Beidou abruptly pulled his face into her bosom with a bit of force, willfully smothering him as she said, "I'm looking forward to it..."

...

..

.