Xander had braced for this moment, expecting Keqing or Ningguang to storm his door.
As an outsider from beyond Teyvat, suspicion naturally shadowed his every step.
Yet shedding that doubt proved simpler than he'd imagined.
"Master Keqing, if I wielded such power, would I be slumming it in a rental, scraping by on commissions?" he asked.
He spread his hands with a shrug, his face a mask of earnest helplessness.
Keqing tilted her head, caught off guard, "Huh?"
His logic stood firm, a wall she couldn't breach with reason alone.
"I apologize, I acted rashly," she conceded, cheeks flushing with chagrin.
The "Master Carver" fiasco had clouded her judgment, fury driving her here.
She'd pinned Xander as the culprit, only to stumble into an awkward blunder.
"No harm done, recognizing a mistake is its own virtue," he replied magnanimously.
His gracious wave belied the irony—he'd sparked this chaos, yet she sought his pardon.
"To make amends, let me treat you to dinner," Keqing offered, scratching her head.
Xander couldn't refuse the cat-eared Yuheng Star, despite his recent meal.
Keqing's gesture demanded Liyue's finest, so Xinyue Pavilion it was.
Xander felt out of place amid its opulence, preferring Wanmin Kitchen's earthy charm.
Xinyue's exclusivity—reservations, status—grated on his simpler tastes.
Yet for Yuheng Star, the staff leapt, a lavish spread soon gracing their table.
Xinyue Pavilion's dishes gleamed, a symphony of color, scent, and flavor.
Unlike Wanmin's hearty fare, this was art, crafted for Liyue's elite.
Rumor held they'd once courted Maurice, only to face his staunch refusal.
Golden shrimp balls shone among the plates, Keqing's beloved delicacy.
Xander, a shrimp aficionado himself, plucked a few with a sly grin.
Keqing's face puffed into a kittenish pout, her treasure briefly pilfered.
He laughed, "I'm done teasing, the rest are yours," yielding the bounty.
"You're insufferable," she huffed, her indignation adorably feline.
She caught herself, smoothing her features back to poised elegance.
Xander stirred something rare in her, a playful ease she seldom felt.
Xiangling alone dared such jests; Ningguang was all business, Ganyu too timid.
Suitors? Mere fortune hunters, dazzled by her title and family wealth.
Work consumed her, leaving no room for courtship's idle dance.
As the meal waned, Keqing's curiosity flared, a question long brewing.
"Xander, tell me of your world, your homeland—what's it like?" she pressed.
"How does it differ from Teyvat, from Liyue?" she added, eyes aglow.
Her gaze burned with a seeker's zeal, hungry for wisdom beyond her shores.
Xander saw her intent—she craved insights for Liyue's uncharted path.
Though she revered Zhongli, her dream was a Liyue free of divine crutches.
The road ahead loomed vague, a tapestry yet to be woven.
Confidence fueled her, yet doubts lingered, quiet shadows in her resolve.
Xander, an otherworldly traveler, offered a lens to worlds unknown.
"Alright, I'll share," he said, setting down his chopsticks.
He sipped his wine, letting its warmth loosen his tale for her.
"In my world, gods and demons withdrew millennia ago," he began.
"They dwell apart, in realms severed from mortal reach, unseen and unfelt."
"To most, they're myths, faded echoes in old stories, nothing more."
"For thousands of years, humanity has ruled itself, unshackled by the divine."
Keqing's eyes sparked, a flame kindling at his words' promise.
"No gods, no immortals—just people shaping their fate?" she marveled.
Xander nodded, "Exactly, we've built empires, cities, lives, all our own."
"No Visions, no Archons, just ingenuity and will driving us forward."
"We've tamed rivers, raised towers to the sky, crossed oceans in steel ships."
"Our tools think for us, machines weaving a web of instant connection."
"Knowledge flows free, every soul a potential scholar or creator."
"Yet we stumble—wars flare, greed festers, and nature bends under our weight."
Keqing leaned in, "A world of triumphs and flaws, all human-made."
"Tell me, how do you govern without a god's guiding hand?" she urged.
"Leaders rise from the masses, chosen by voice or might," he explained.
"Some rule with justice, others with iron, but all answer to time's judgment."
"We've no Geo Archon to anchor us, only laws we craft and break."
"It's messy, imperfect, but it's ours—a dance of chaos and order."
Keqing's mind raced, visions of Liyue's future flickering anew.
"Your world thrives without immortals—could Liyue do the same?" she mused.
Xander smiled, "You've the spirit for it, if you dare the unknown."
The Shadowfang Blade at his side thrummed, a silent witness to their exchange.
Xinyue's elegance faded to the background, their words a world apart.
Keqing savored the shrimp, her thoughts chewing on grander fare.
Xander's ruse held—he'd dodged her blade, now dining on her dime.
Liyue bustled beyond, blind to the seeds he'd planted in her mind.
The broadcast slept, its next jest a distant storm on his horizon.
Keqing's apology turned to alliance, a bridge he hadn't foreseen.
Her dream of mortal rule, his tales of it—a spark to light her way.
***
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