⚠️Cw: unwanted touching from Kaeya (non-sexual don't worry)⚠️

After a good night's rest, Emma quickly thanked Barbara and left the Cathedral. "Hm... what to do today," Emma mumbled as she walked down the streets of Mondstadt. "Oh! Miss Emma," someone called out. Emma looked to see one of the Knights of Favonius coming towards her direction. "Miss Emma, may you do me a favor?" The knight asked as he seemed to be worried. "Hm? Sure, what is it?" Emma asked. "Well, Sir Kaeya seems to be distracted, can you check up on him?" The knight asked. "What a weird favor," Emma thought as her suspicion started to rise.

"Um, sure, where is he?" Emma asked. "He's in Mondstadt's headquarters, he should be there," The knight said as he seemed to be getting more nervous. "Okay, thank you. I'll check on him," Emma said before walking towards the headquarters. "That was weird, shouldn't he ask the other knights? And why me of all people," Emma muttered as she was getting more suspicious.

Now in front of the headquarters, Emma quietly entered. Once she entered, she saw a distressed Kaeya. "Hm, at least it isn't that suspicious," Emma thought as she walked towards the Cavalry Captain. "This is bad. Such a hassle, what am I going to do..." Kaeya mumbled loudly. "Uh, hey Kaeya," Emma greeted, which startled Kaeya. "Oh, thank the Thousands Winds! Emma, your arrival must be the grace of the Gods!" Kaeya happily said as he placed both of his hands on her shoulders.

"If I may ask, envoy sent by the Anemo God to save this mere mortal, could you spare a moment?" Kaeya asked. Although Emma didn't mind the touching, she couldn't help but have a gut feeling telling her something isn't right. "I mean, I guess," Emma replied. "Marvelous!" Kaeya said. "I cannot let my peers hear about this. I cannot seek help from anyone else but you," Kaeya said as he started to rub Emma's shoulders. "Please, let us move to somewhere more fitting for such a conversation," Kaeya insisted before grabbing Emma's hand and rubbing the back with his thumb. "Let's talk in the courtyard just outside the headquarters. Come with me," Kaeya said as he and Emma left the building and went to the courtyard.

"Jeez, this is getting uncomfortable," Emma thought as she tugged her hand away but resulted in being grabbed again. "This place will do," Kaeya said, finally letting go of Emma's hand. "So, what's the situation?" Emma asked as put hands behind her back to prevent anymore hand holding. "How should I begin... oh right, let me tell you a secret first," Kaeya said, which caught Emma's attention. "It's a secret of my past, and I confide in you to keep it," Kaeya continued. "But is he sure he wants me to know his secret? We only met a few days ago," Emma thought. "Don't worry! My lips are sealed," Emma said as she did a zipping motion on her lips.

"As a matter of fact, my grandfather was a pirate!" Kaeya said, taking Emma off guard. "Oh," Emma said. "Wait, why do you sound so blithe? Do you think I'm making it up?" Kaeya asked. "Look at my eye patch! I inherited it from my grandfather and this is solid proof that we are related by blood!" Kaeya tried to convince Emma as he pointed at his eye patch. "How.... surprising," Emma said as she was still not convinced. "My! Emma, how could you not know such common knowledge!" Kaeya said. "This is no different from children inheriting their hairstyles from their parents!" Kaeya compared as Emma started to touch her hair thinking of anyone she was related to who had her hairstyle.

"Yesterday, I was glancing through the notes my grandfather left and stumbled upon records that spoke of a treasure," Kaeya explained as the word treasure caught Emma's attention. "Treasure!?" Emma said as she practically had stars in her eyes. "According to his notes, this treasure is buried in the 'Lost Arcadian Ruins'," Kaeya continued. But what Emma didn't know was Kaeya's actual motive. "But the location of the ruins is currently unknown, I've tried searching for clues," Kaeya continued. "Hey! Kaeya! What kind of treasure is it? Gold? Gems?" Emma asked, making Kaeya laugh a bit.

"Hmph! Treasures that consist of nothing but gold and gems are third-rated treasures," Kaeya said. "My grandfather's treasure was a sword!" Kaeya added as Emma eyes sparkled even more. "A magic sword that grants the wielder unrivaled power!" Kaeya continued. "So cool!" Emma exclaimed. "The sword was dropped from Celestia into the sea by a God. It was later salvaged by my grandfather's crew by pure coincidence," Kaeya explained as the word Celestia caught Emma's attention as well. "Celestia?" Emma pondered. "The moment he gripped the sword, thunder roared, billows howled, and the clear skies were suddenly swallowed by raging winds," Kaeya described. "With the might of the magic sword, my grandfather went on to defeat a hydra, a silver-haired banshee, and a wicked abyss dragon," Kaeya continued as he listed all the monsters.

"But the immense power of the sword enticed many greedy pirates," Kaeya added. "To avoid meaningless conflicts, my grandfather hid the magic sword," Kaeya continued as he saw Emma's expression changing "A hydra, a silver-haired banshee.... do those really exist?" Emma asked as those monsters were never mentioned in the books that she read about monsters. "The world we live in is fascinating, full of unknown and inexplicable wonders," Kaeya said. "Woah! That's quite impressive" Emma said, impressed.

"A gang of Treasure Hoarders has been very active lately and many ruins have had their relics stolen by them," Kaeya explained. "I'm afraid that they will soon discover the Arcadian Ruins and the magic will be lost," Kaeya added. Emma looked to see Kaeya having a very worried expression which played with her heart strings. "Don't worry! I won't let those Treasure Hoarders take the sword!" Emma said as she pulled out her pinkie. "And that's a promise!" Emma declared. Kaeya was surprised before he took his pinkie and wrapped it around Emma's.

"Great! Please keep it a secret, I'll wait for your good news!" Kaeya said as he watched Emma run off. "You can come out now," Kaeya called out as he glanced at a nearby bush. Slowly, Aether and Paimon came out as they were now caught.

"Darn! I was hoping you didn't see us," Paimon sighed in defeat. "So what's your plan?" Aether asked as he glared at the Cavalry Captain with anger and jealousy. "Ah, don't give me that look. I just asked Emma to do me a favor," Kaeya said as he gave Aether a smile. "Besides, she hangs out a lot with you, why don't I get a chance?" Kaeya asked as he tried to push Aether's buttons. "Besides, you didn't get the reference," Kaeya added, which caught Aether and Paimon's attention. "What reference?" Paimon asked. "About how the sword enticed many greedy pirates," Kaeya reminded as he took a seat on the bench.

"What about it?" Paimon asked again as Aether felt embarrassed about Paimon's stupidity. "I mean that Emma is the sword and me, you, and everyone else are the greedy pirates," Kaeya explained as it now clicked in Paimon's head. "You know, Emma's naive, gullible, and oblivious to her surroundings that she needs someone to protect her," Kaeya explained as he looked at his pinkie that wrapped around Emma's pinkie.

"So, why not let us see which one of us can protect her?"

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Editors: Stars_Ensemble