Chapter 6: Calm before the Storm [3/?]

The clear blue sky had no clouds covering it, shining its warm sunlight on the city of Mondstadt. As the wind breezes pass, the warmth of the sun could be felt on their very skin.

After getting out of the inn, Ether ventured around the city of Mondstadt, enjoying the peace as it lasted. After all, it had been busy for the last 4 days because of the appearance of the dragon, Dvalin. The sheer workload that Jean had to deal with was comparable to a mountain. During these last 4 days, everyone Ether knew was busy dealing with their things.

When he had gone to visit Jean, the stacks of paper that lay on top of her desk were unbelievable, to the point where it was almost like Jean's head had gone under and buried within the sea of paper. While Jean was handling all the paperwork, Amber, Barbara, and the others are all working hard on their part as a citizen of Mondstadt. But when Ether had gone to visit Kaeya, the only place in all of Mondstadt that he would ever visit is the Dawn Winery.

The lights brightened the place up, and with its surroundings full of silence, one could almost become one with nature, that was Dawn Winery, home to Diluc, whose father had adopted Kaeya, a pretty well-known man. If Ether and Diluc had fought, who knows how it would turn out? 'If the system is the backing I have, then Diluc might as well have the backing of the whole region of Mondstadt, or perhaps beyond that,' Ether had always found the man questionable, he could see himself reflecting on Diluc, even if it's just a little.

Diluc had struck Ether as a radical man, responsible and willing to do whatever it takes to keep those loved ones safe, and yet he never confronts his love. Even with the soul system, he had taken a while to understand Diluc, but at one point, Diluc became very approachable and open.

The cause of this was Jean, he could never have forgotten those two lovebirds who were so shy in front of each other.

-Flashback

Chattering was heard everywhere, Diluc was seen walking around the mansion as he greeted his guests. Dressed in a flamboyant suit, the ladies present were speechless, every girl that peeked at him was left in a daze, drooling over his looks. "Hey bro! Quite the lady killer now aren't you?" Kaeya laughed as he patted Diluc on the back. "Come with me and greet the Acting headmaster now."

With little to no resistance, Diluc complied willingly, which was a sight to be held, there was never a time when those two seemed like they could have been real brothers, Diluc had never been so interested in another person of the opposite gender, but seeing this, Ether couldn't help but feel like he had been neglecting something interesting, it wasn't a daily occurrence for Master Diluc to show interest in a member of the opposite gender after all.

As the two swarmed past the crowds, a beautiful figure was seen amongst the people. The figure looked dazzling, beauty beyond recognition, it took some time for the two men to process their thoughts. For Kaeya, it was shocking that he felt when he saw Jean in that twilight-like dress, who would've thought that the serious grand headmaster would have chosen to dress up like that? For Diluc, it took the man a few minutes before realizing he wasn't dreaming, the headstrong woman in charge of the Knights of Favonius was this much of a cute beauty? Who would've thought?

Twitching around with the discomfort of being stared at by Diluc, Jean couldn't help but feel her cheeks heating up. Her thoughts weren't even remotely clear at all, the two stared at each other, too dazzled to say a word. Sensing the atmosphere elevating around them, Kaeya took a step back and left Diluc on the stage with Jean. After stepping silently out of the sight of others and blending in with the crowd, Kaeya approached Ether, who was secretly giggling at the sight of the two lovebirds.

After elbowing Ether and getting his attention, Kaeya crossed his arms and smirked, "You shouldn't be giggling now, a lady killer like yourself is not in the position to laugh at someone else's romance now, right?"

Upon hearing what Kaeya said, Ether couldn't help but look at Kaeya with a confused expression. "And if you don't know what I mean, then you're a freaking lady magnet that's better at picking up lads than myself." Kaeya added, laughing out loud enough just for Ether to hear.

Ignoring whatever the hell Kaeya is spilling, Ether focused on Diluc's interactions with Jean, after all, he had never seen Diluc like this in his entire life, or enough past life that he played Genshin Impact. In the game when he had played, the man was known to be a lady killer, all the ladies can't help themselves as their glazes automatically gets locked onto Diluc every moment possible. Even if fans shipped Jean and Diluc together, it wasn't a real scene in Genshin. Lots of people Ether knew fawned themselves over these two, some simped for Jean and others simped Diluc, while those who doesn't do so shipped the two together, even Ether thinks that they were heaven and earth made for each other.

"Ummm.." Jean nervously said, "Do I look weird or awkward in this?" She couldn't stand the silence anymore, as she began to feel Diluc's eyes scan all over her dress.

"Ummm.. sorry for making you uncomfortable. B-but no you look great." Diluc stuttered as he struggles to find the words off of the tip of his tongue.

The two lovebirds stared at each other, neither moving a limb nor a muscle as they mesmerized themselves in the other's eyes. People around the party began chattering about it, but Diluc decided to put it to an end by exiting the party with Jean.

However, the way he approached it backfired on him as he carried Jean in a bridal style, held her close, and left the room. Leaving everyone in awe as to what just happened.

"Did Master Diluc just pick up that girl?" "Could Master Diluc have something going on with the acting Grandmaster, Jean?" and "What's their relationship with each other?" were the commonest whispers and stuff spreading across the crowd.

Seeing this situation, Kaeya and Ether stared at each other in awe, before the two bursted out laughing.

[Ding! Soulmate Check function has been unlocked! The host can now check other people's soul mates if certain conditions are met!]

'Oh? What conditions?' Ether gave a thoughtful look as the system continued.

[There are 3 main conditions as the others are minor concerns. One, the host must have a positive relationship with the targets that's not above the lvl of 50. Two, the host and the target mustn't have any feelings of love or like towards the other. And last, signs of love must be seen in the targets actions, whether it's as obvious as a kiss or as small as holding hands.]

'Quite troublesome huh?' Ether had considered escaping from Kaeya after this whole mess, but after what just happened with the system unlocking another feature, he had another idea that brought a smirk across his face.

Ether stepped out of the place silently into the night as he gazed into the starry night sky. 'What a beautiful night. Now system'

[Yes host?]

'Show me the soulmate status of Diluc and Jean, if possible,' Ether added after thinking for a little.

It's not weird or anything when Ether knows that people back in his previous world shipped Diluc and Jean together quite hard, with the lore going little into it, there were certain signs that indicates their interest in the other. Ether couldn't help but feel curious about it, after all, the two never had seen Ether more than a close friend I of theirs, at least, that's what Ether thunks.

[Request accepted! Scanning Information… Done. Processing information… Done. Checking conditions… Done. Inputting into host's thoughts on each other through every interaction that the host has witnessed the two getting jealous of other because of how they acted towards others.]

After the system throughly processed through all the information available, Ether just waited in silence as he stared at the starry sky as the system processed the information.

[Ding! Analysis finished!]

To be continued…

A/N: What do you think? Is it ok? I am just writing whatever the fuck I want but I don't really feel confident… but either way, thanks for reading!