06. Arriving At Liyue Harbor

*Growl*

It was the sound of a stomach growling. The voice was loud enough to be heard from the outside of the cabin.

Kazuha looked at Ryūhei who was the culprit. From what Kazuha heard from Beidou, she found Ryūhei in the middle of the night when Kazuha was still asleep. And since Ryūhei regained consciousness, he hasn't eaten anything.

Kazuha put a smile on his face.

"We've arrived at Liyue Harbor. How about we try Liyue cuisine? It's my treat!"

"You're not pitying me, aren't you?"

"You're thinking too much. I just wanted to treat you as my apologies. As a son of the clan leader, I failed to prevent my clansmen from targeting you."

"You're the one who is thinking too much. Well, if you insist, I will accept your offer then."

After conversing for a few minutes, Kazuhe led Ryūhei outside.

The sky was already bright because the horizon was already illuminated by sunlight. On the ship called Alcor, Ryūhei opened his eyes for a moment before closing them again. At that moment, he could see a prosperous city, Liyue Harbor.

The city is surrounded by mountains on three sides. And the buildings he saw were like replicas of traditional houses in China. It was so bustling with people walking back and forth from one place to another.

Meanwhile, Kazuha who was beside him called Bedou out.

"Captain Beidou, can I ask something?"

"Hmm, sure."

"Do you know where I can find a good restaurant to buy delicious Liyue cuisine?"

Beidou pointed to a place where there was a staircase flanked by two large buildings.

"Can you see? After you climb up the stairs, there are restaurants on your left and right. You can choose one of them. Both are the most famous restaurants in Liyue."

"Ugh, those two buildings seem too luxurious. I don't think my Mora is enough to visit those places."

"Hahaha. That's natural. They are the most expensive restaurants after all."

"Then, why are you suggesting them to me?"

"I just want to tease you."

"…"

Kazuha was speechless, while Ryūhei was annoyed by their conversation.

"Hey, don't flirt in front of me!"

Beidou smirked at Ryūhei's response.

"Yo, are you jealous?"

"Sorry, but I have a fiancée already."

"Is that so? It's commendable enough for you to have a fiancée, even though…" Beidou wanted to continue but was afraid that she would hurt Ryūhei. But Ryūhei continued her sentence.

"Even though I was kicked out of the Kaedehara clan, and I don't have a clan anymore? Well, it said that it was to fulfill a promise from 100 years ago. And there's no way I can refuse considering my fiancée is so beautiful."

"Hahaha. You're so lucky, bro. Considering your situation, normally, the family of your partner would try to find a way to not bring that up. But that doesn't seem to be the case with your partner's family who still upholds a promise, even a promise from 100 years ago."

Ryūhei shrugged his shoulders. And then, he said.

"By the way, you haven't answered Kazuha's question yet."

"Oh, right. If you want to find an ordinary restaurant that offers a lot of Liyue cuisine, I suggest you visit the Wanmin restaurant. It's located in front of the Adventurer's Guild."

Kazuha took note of what Beidou said. But, then Beidou turned to Ryūhei.

"I've been wondering. Why have you always closed your eyes since earlier? If you get sick, I will ask Yin Xing to take care of you."

As Beidou said, Kazuha was also curious why Ryūhei always closed his eyes. But strangely, he seemed to still be able to see even with his eyes closed.

"Is that sort of training? If it is, then it's incredible. No wonder he is stronger than me. No matter where he is, he never stops improving himself. He's so dedicated to his training and I can't help but admire him." Kazuha said in his mind.

"No, I'm alright. But, Captain Beidou, can I ask you to give me a black cloth to cover my eyes?"

"Huh? You're not blind. Why are you blinding yourself?"

Instead of Ryūhei, it was Kazuha who replied to her question.

"Captain Beidou, I think Ryūhei is doing a sort of training to enhance his senses other than his sight."

Ryūhei was dumbfounded when he heard what Kazuha said. He didn't expect that what he did would create such a misunderstanding. And he just chuckled in response as if not denying Kazuha's exclamation.

His chuckle further convinced Kazuha that Ryūhei was indeed carrying out the training.

"I see. What a peculiar training."

Beidou then ordered his crew to find a black cloth the size of a headband.

After a moment, her crew handed a black cloth to her, before handing it to Ryūhei.

"You have my thanks." While saying that, Ryūhei tied the black cloth over his eyes.

"Haha, no worries. It's just a little help."

After that, Beidou started to get off the ship with her crew following her. Kazuha followed closely behind them along with Ryūhei to head to a restaurant called Wanmin near the Adventurer's guild.

While walking, Ryūhei felt a different atmosphere from Inazuma. Maybe it's because of differences in customs and culture. What's more, Liyue is famous for the country's strict adherence to contracts.

Ryūhei resents the atmosphere of Inazuma because Raiden Shogun is pursuing eternity for unknown reasons. Because of her belief, she forbade people to change, whether in culture, custom, or whatever it is. The fun fact is, it's basically impossible.

The most eternal thing in the world is "Change" itself. People change, language changes, and Kingdoms rise and fall in the course of time, a never-ending cycle of life and death. People move on from one belief to another from worshiping natural events to being realists.

Perhaps, because Raiden Shogun was too afraid of the changes, she initiated the Vision Hunt Decree to rob the Visions from the holders, to prevent them from having a desire to change.

"Sigh, what a nice city." Ryūhei let out a sigh after feeling the atmosphere in Liyue.

"Agree. The atmosphere in Inazuma is kinda stiff since the freedom of the Vision holders was forcefully snatched by the higher-ups."

"It's not just Vision holders. Even I feel the same way."

Kazuha turned in Ryūhei's direction.

"By the way, how come you don't have a Vision yet? I heard that an individual with great ambition is granted with a Vision. Do you have no ambition at all?"

"Hmm? Maybe not. But, wait! Are you sure Vision holders need to have great ambitions regarding their elements?"

Kazuha pondered for a moment. He recalled when he traveled to a certain island.

"I'm not sure. I got the Vision when my mind was at rest having made peace with my feelings. Perhaps, it was related to my pursuit of freedom. The next day after waking up, I got the Anemo Vision on the top of my chest."

"Then, do you know how the other people get one?" Ryūhei asked again. Although he didn't really want to have a Vision, he was always interested in how people got their Visions.

"The only thing I know is how Captain Beidou got her Vision. That's because everyone on the ship talks about it a lot."

"Eh, did she do anything extraordinary before she got a Vision?"

"Yeah. She slayed a leviathan in a single strike in front of her crew. And she got a Vision afterward."

"Yikes. No wonder I felt that she was so much more powerful than you. But, the way she got a Vision didn't seem related to her ambition." That was surprising for Ryūhei. According to his knowledge, a leviathan was a huge sea serpent. To be able to slay it without holding a Vision was a tale worth telling. It was no wonder he felt such a dangerous feeling the first time he saw her.

However, Kazuha was taken aback by Ryūhei's exclamation.

"Can you sense someone's strength? Right, it's not that strange for you to do that since you can even walk normally with your eyes closed."

Ryūhei only smiled in response. They walked leisurely toward the Wanmin restaurant.

*Clank*

*Clank*

*Clank*

The rhythmic clash of metal buzzed in their ears. From every sound of metal clashing, it was clear that it was the sound of a blacksmith who was forging a weapon.

"A blacksmith, huh?" Ryūhei muttered.

"Do you want to work as a blacksmith's assistant?"

"Nah, I already have my own plan. What I need to do is to find someone to sponsor my business. But well, I also need Mora to buy my daily necessities. Maybe I'll try registering for the adventurer's guild first for my daily meal."

"Sponsor your business? Do you mean you're going to find someone to provide capital for you so you can start a business? Is your business so convincing that you're sure someone is lending you capital?"

Ryūhei nodded in response.

"You can say that."