The only thing allowed to live rent-free in my head are Genshin OSTs

Life works in mysterious ways.

You can be a homeless person, down in their dumps, when you decide to prevent a hit-and-run suspect from escaping after killing someone's wife and children. Though you didn't save them, the husband is nevertheless grateful for your interference, hence his decision to help your situation by hiring you in his company.

You've been given a chance to turn your life around. And so you did. All this, just from the fact that you decided to help someone out of the goodness of your heart.

Or you could be a member of the admission committee of an art school that decided to reject an applicant because his drawing did not meet the standard requirement. You were just doing your job, you judged him just as you judged the others. How could you have known he would end up being one of the most feared dictators of all time?

Truly, life can be so very unpredictable.

'Not even ten minutes earlier I was busy having a mental breakdown, and now?'

The warm atmosphere, the pleasant conversations, it all felt so foreign yet familiar.

'When was the last time I properly enjoyed someone else's company?'

"Yuu?"

"Huh? What?"

"You're spacing out."

"Did I?"

"Yep. You shouldn't do that, you know. After all, it's rude to ignore this pretty girl in front of you."

"Okay, princess, don't flatter yourself."

"It's not flattering if it's objectively correct though?"

"Your definition of objectivity is unbelievably subjective."

Gently brushing her hair aside, she let out a small giggle.

"Perhaps. But seriously, are you okay? Is something wrong?"

'Aside from the fact that, apparently, "I" am not entirely "myself", and that there's a freeloader in my head, everything is just peachy. Yep. Absolutely nothing is wrong.'

[Come now, don't be like that. I would never do anything detrimental to you, you know?]

'You shut your mouth. We'll be having our conversation later.'

[Okay, okay, sheesh.]

"Don't worry, everything's fine. But enough about me. Why don't you, miss 'self-proclaimed pretty girl', tell me all about your so-called romantic experience, hmm?"

"I don't know… should I?"

"Is that hesitation? Could it be that all those claims about your so-called experience was a lie? Oh Lumine, you don't have to pretend like that. I wouldn't look down on you, you know? After all, we can bond over the fact that the both of us are failures in romance."

"A failure? Me? Oh you have no idea about the things that…."

And like that, we spent a lot of time chatting about all sorts of things. Nothing overly serious, just everyday mundane topics. Though she is trying her best not to give away the fact that she's an outlander. She's not very good at it, considering how little she knows of Teyvat, but it was a pleasure seeing her try her best.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything important, you three."

Coming up the stairs, Margaret walked towards our table, carefully putting down our orders.

"Here you go. Three of our specialty pizzas and three non-alcoholic Signature Drinks."

"Thanks Margaret."

"You're welcome, Yuu. If you need anything else, don't hesitate to call. Well then, I won't be bothering you any longer."

Waving her hand in goodbye, she made her way back downstairs.

"Go ahead, then. Dig in."

"Oooooh… it smells amazing. Paimon can't wait to try this one!"

"This is called a pizza?"

"Yep. Have you ever had one of these before, Lumine?"

"I've had something similar."

After that, the three of us focused on eating our own pizzas. While Lumine and I were savoring every piece we have, Paimon is basically just gorging them at a fast pace. It's like seeing a vacuum cleaner but it's sucking down food instead of dust.

In between slices, I finally remembered to ask what happened after I left the knights headquarters.

"Oh, I almost forgot. What happened after I left Jean's office?"

"Nothing much really. Lisa just delegates Jean's work to Kaeya and tells Amber to help him. Lisa herself is making sure that Jean is getting some rest. And she wanted me to tell you that she apologizes for her actions in the whole debacle."

'I don't think it's me she should apologize to.'

[Nope. Definitely the both of us.]

'What? You're the one that's angry about it.'

[Correction, you are also angry, I'm just a lot more vocal about it.]

'"Vocal" is an understatement.'

Shaking my head at the thought, I continued.

"I see. Well, I've already forgiven her. I acted a bit out of line anyway."

"You definitely could've, I don't know, not do that."

"Alright, alright, I get it, sheesh."

"White mask! Can Paimon get seconds?"

"Here, take some of mine instead."

Pushing my plate towards the floating fairy, she visibly brightened in excitement.

"Hmm! As expected, white mask is the best."

It's jarring seeing such a small body consume an ungodly amount of food.

"By the way, Yuu, do you know what this Fatui is? I've heard Jean mention them being some diplomats or something. What's that about?"

Before I could answer, Paimon excitedly raised her hand.

"Oh! Oh! Paimon knows this one!"

Swallowing her slice, she proudly continued.

"So! Basically, the Fatui is an organization under the Cryo Archon from Snezhnaya. They are super famous! Wait, infamous is more the word…."

Carefully manipulating anemo energies and creating a silencing barrier, I continued.

"Yep. What Paimon said. And within the Fatui, are the Eleven Fatui Harbingers. They're basically the executives of the Fatui and act as the lieutenants of the Tsaritsa, the Cryo Archon. They are the most powerful elite of the Fatui, so I recommend you to not get involved with them."

"Powerful huh? How powerful are they?"

"Well, let's take the harbinger currently in Mondstadt, for example. The harbinger leading the diplomats in Mondstadt is the 8th Fatui Harbinger, The Fair Lady, La Signora. As for how powerful she is… let's just say if she wants to, she could probably destroy Mondstadt singlehandedly."

"That powerful? If she's only the eighth, how powerful is the first?"

"No idea about the first, but I know that the 2nd Fatui Harbinger, The Doctor, Il Dottore, is said to have powers rivaling that of gods. Who knows how true that is though. But it shouldn't be that much of an exaggeration, given how dangerous the Fatui is."

"A mortal rivaling gods? I wonder what they're after? How do you know about all this anyway?"

"That, my dear, is a secret."

Pouting slightly, Lumine suddenly realizes the lack of sound from the tavern.

"What? Why is it so quiet suddenly?"

"That was me. I made sure that whatever we're talking about just now didn't come out."

"Is that really necessary?"

"Yes it is, Lumine. You have no idea how dangerous the Fatui is, especially their Harbingers. And with Fatui diplomats in the city, I am not taking any chances. After all, knowledge about them is few and far between, and I have too much of them."

"Then why talk about it at all?"

"Because of you."

Taking a sip from my drink, I continued.

"Lumine, we don't know how far you have to search for your brother, you might even have to go through the entirety of Teyvat. If that's the case, it's better if you know potential enemies beforehand.

"Though I prefer you not messing with them, who knows what could happen. You might find yourself opposing the Fatui for whatever reason. I'm just making sure you know what you're going against, should that come to pass."

Looking at Lumine, who was listening intently, suddenly gave me a radiant smile was surprising, to say the least.

"Thanks for looking out for me, Yuu."

'That smile. That damn smile.'

"Uhh… yeah, sure. No problem."

"Aha! Did you blush?"

"Nope."

"You did! You definitely did!"

"You have no proof to back up your accusation."

"Sure I do. Just let me take that mask off–!"

"Nice try, princess, I'm not letting you see my face that easily."

"Come on! Just a peek? Please?!"

"In your dreams."

And just like that, we spent the entire day away messing around with each other while talking some more. We ended up ordering more food and drinks as time went by, with Paimon asking (begging) for seconds.

When night approaches, Paimon, having eaten her own food alongside some of our portion, is already fast asleep at the table, with Prince busy kneading her belly.

Gently moving Prince out of the way, Lumine proceeded to carry Paimon like a baby, while I paid for our tab to Margaret.

"Hope you three have a lot of fun. Make sure to come back!"

"Thanks Margaret, we'll see you next time."

We exited Cat's Tail and made our way back to the inn.

"I had a lot of fun today, Yuu. Thanks for inviting us out."

"Don't worry about it. Though I could do without Paimon trying to make me poorer every time she opens her mouth."

"Yeah… I should probably find a way to earn a lot of Mora with her following me around huh?"

"Yep. I recommend you sign up with the adventurer's guild as soon as possible."

"Hmm, maybe tomorrow if I have the chance."

After we arrived at our respective rooms, with hers coincidentally being across from mine, I bid her farewell.

"See you tomorrow Lumine. Good night."

"Good night, Yuu. See you tomorrow."

After making sure the door is locked, I dematerialize my hat and put my mask on the nightstand.

'Okay. Now we can talk.'

[Sure thing. Just go to sleep and I'll take care of the rest.]

As if waiting for his cue, his response was immediate. Though he might just be watching everything transpire anyway.

'Isn't that a scary thought.'

[Relax, I don't actively spy on you everyday.]

'I'm not hearing a denial.'

[Well, I do keep watch sometimes. Don't worry, I made sure I wasn't breaching your privacy.]

'The fact that you're in my head is enough of a breach.'

[Eh, fair enough. Now go on, sleep. We'll talk inside.]

'Oh boy, it's one of those hidden-realm-within-my-mind schtick. How typical.'

Positioning myself on the bed, I relaxed my body and closed my eyes.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When I opened my eyes, I was greeted with the sight of a sky full of stars.

Countless stars dotted the night sky of this place, while the ground was reflecting them. The ground is not visible, with it making ripples every time I take a step forward. The place itself seems to have no end in sight.

"Alright freeloader, time to pay some rent."

"Now, now, no need to be so rude. This place is yours as it is mine."

Turning my head towards the voice behind me, I saw what is essentially a reflection of myself in the outside world.

"What's with the appearance?"

"What's wrong with it? 'I' am essentially the same as 'you' in a way."

"Uh huh. Of course. Not being vague at all."

"I try."

God, is this how Margaret feels when she's talking to me?

"Fine, since you clearly will not answer anything regarding who or what you are–"

"Glad you caught on quick."

"–then at least answer me this. Are you or will you ever be a threat to me?"

"No."

"Will you ever take control of my body again without my permission?"

"No."

"Is there ever a situation where you will take control of my body without my permission?"

"Yes. Should you ever be in mortal danger that you cannot escape from, I will assume control."

He's obviously more powerful, so I guess this is not such a bad deal.

"Do you know what 'I' am?"

"I do."

"And you don't find that strange?"

"Not really, no."

Shit, hopefully that's not a bad thing.

"Does anyone else know?"

"Nope. As of right now, the only one that knows that you're not from Teyvat is me."

That's one good thing, I guess.

"Final question for now. What is it that you hope to achieve?"

"To make sure you don't die."

What the…?

"Why?"

"I can't tell you."

"Is that really all you want?"

"Not really. There's one more thing, but for now, you don't have to worry about it."

"Ignorance is bliss?"

"Ignorance is bliss."

Shit. Something I can't do anything about, huh?

"Fine. If there's nothing else you are willing to tell me, then I'm leaving."

"Ah, one more thing."

"What is it?"

As if a switch had been flipped, his carefree and relaxed demeanor disappeared.

"Listen to me, Yuu. You have been given a new life in this world. Stop worrying about what that means, or why you're here, or whatever. Experience it, enjoy it, do whatever you want with it."

Turning his back to me, he looked up towards the myriad stars.

"From this moment onwards, with the exception of the situation I mentioned before, I will not interfere with your life, nor will I peek into whatever it is you're doing. I will simply be here, waiting.

"If you ever want to talk to me, for whatever reason, just call out to me before you sleep, and you will be brought here once again."

"Just like that? You don't want anything in return for all this?"

"Oh? Are you saying you would repay me for this?"

Fucking shit. Me and my big mouth.

Smiling at my reaction, he let out a small laugh.

"Relax. I'm just joking. The only thing I want you to do is live your new life to the best of your ability. That should be enough payment for letting you use my vision."

"...what?"

"Is it so surprising? You know what a vision is, you know how people obtain them. We are essentially two souls in a single body. Why would you, someone who was 'born' just two weeks ago, have a vision?"

Huh. He has a point. I never thought about that. Wait a minute, wouldn't that mean…

"This body. It's yours?"

"That's right."

"But that's impossible! The Balladeer is–"

"You don't need to concern yourself about the origin of this body."

Ugh. I hate not knowing things.

"Look on the bright side! Should you ever find what your ambition is, you can get a second vision! Neat, right?"

"I thought outlanders weren't capable of obtaining vision?"

"As far as Irminsul is concerned, you are a resident of Teyvat."

"How does that even work?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Ugh. Will you ever tell me the whole truth?"

"Someday, Yuu. Though hopefully, it doesn't have to come to that."

Before I could ask more questions, the stars started to blur, and I suddenly felt very sleepy.

"Our time is up, Yuu. Don't worry about things beyond your control. For now, enjoy your life. Do with it what you want. And I can only hope that you will not end up like me."

"What… do you…."

"Shh… don't worry about it."

Holding up my sleepy body from falling, he slowly laid me on the ground.

"Remember, Yuu. I will always be here if you need me. And no matter what you do–"

"–I will always be on your side."