Investigation II

'Is Noelle's disappearance part of the storyline? Or is it just the player going through several quests? I remember the adepti lived around Qingyun Peak… Jujuun Karst? Was it? But if it's not the player… then it can only mean…'

"Master Jean, can you read this for me real quick?" Sai took out the map of Liyue which presented the best view of Qingyun Peak and the nearby area.

"That's…" She took off her glasses for a moment. "Minlin. The region where Qingyun Peak is located." She made a circle on the map with her finger.

"Okay… what about this and this?"

"Jueyun Karst, and this reads Cuijue Slope."

"Great. Thank you." Sai smiled in gratitude.

'Hmmm… it really is the residence of the adepti. But that doesn't mean he's already at that point in the quest. He might just be doing a commission or exploring… Cuijue Slope… I don't recall ever visiting it.'

"By the way, that Minlin area is full of tall mountains, right?" He addressed Jean.

She raised her eyes for a split second and looked down again.

"Indeed."

"How tall are they?"

She took a breath and answered.

"Half as high as Dragonspine, perhaps." It was clear she didn't put much thought into it.

"Er…" Sai once again regretted his actions.

'How interesting. Even if she looks annoyed she is not sending me out or anything. How kind of her.' He ignored the part where she needed his help.

Sai was lost in thought for a while, and when he felt like he was about to have a breakthrough, he heard a knock on the door.

Kaeya was smiling as he entered the room. He greeted Jean and then looked at Sai, who had stood up.

"Hey, my friend! I hope you won't go back on your words for that drinking game!" He patted Sai on the back.

'Sigh… when did I ever agree for a game?'

"Mr. Kaeya, let's talk about that later. Please help me translate these." Sai showed him the two piles of documents.

Kaeya's instinct was to run away, but he realized Jean was nodding at him with a serious look.

"Sigh… why do you have to bring such boring jobs for me, man?"

"Alright, let's go. Thank you for your time, Lady Jean. I will quickly solve this and report back." Sai took a pile and left after saying his part.

"I get it, I get it…" Kaeya felt the pressure from Jean, took the other pile and followed him.

Once she was finally alone, Jean took her glasses off and sighed.

"I wonder what will come out of that pair?"

…

"Let's go to a silent room." Sai said.

"What is this all about, anyway?" Kaeya exasperatedly said as he thought of where to go.

"I can't read, so I need you to read for me."

"You can't read, huh? Wait, you can't read?!" He was surprised and looked at Sai with a judging face.

"Don't look at me like that, Mr. Kaeya. I was just never taught how to read." Sai noticed that if he were to stick with the lie, nothing he said would really help.

"You need someone to read for you, then? Why does it have to be me?"

"This is about Noelle, so I thought I could take your experience in finding out what happened." Sai explained.

"You want my experience? Sly guy… What are these papers about, anyway?"

"Accounts on the recent events in Mondstadt and Liyue."

"What do you need all that for? Just had to ask me. I'm pretty knowledgeable about what happens in the world." He made a proud grin.

"In order to more accurately judge Noelle's fate, I have to know about what happened recently to great detail. It won't take too long, trust me."

"Sigh… I'm trusting you. I just needed some Death After Noon…" He was a bit reluctant despite saying he trusted Sai.

…

They took an empty office and sat down. Apparently, it was normally used by the Cavalry Division, but since Grand Master Varka had left with most of their members, it was only used by Kaeya.

They immediately started to look through the documents. Sai prioritized the headlines and highlighted information, so Kaeya quickly organized what was important and what was not. Less than an hour later, they had finished.

"Thank you, Sir Kaeya."

"Yeah, no problem. You haven't told me much. Have you found out anything important?"

"Yes. I am going to tell Jean right now."

"I'll go with you."

"…Okay." Sai was planning on being alone with Jean for a reason only known to him, but since Kaeya was interested there was nothing he could do. Noelle might be a friend of his, even.

Once they entered the room, they left the messy documents on Jean's desk as her expression crumbled.

'I knew they wouldn't care about reorganising it afterwards! It will take forever to fix it…' Nonetheless, she quickly regained her footing as she asked the important question:

"So, what have you found out, Mr. Sai?" She attentively looked at him.

"This is bad." He simply said.