Good grief.
Kazuha could only exclaim inwardly—this guy was definitely scheming from the start.
"What are you standing around for? Get moving—it's almost dark. If we sleep soaking wet, we won't be able to rest, and we'll definitely catch a cold."
"You..."
"Damn it. I'll deal with you later."
Gritting his teeth, Kazuha endured the humiliation and focused on catching fish.
As mad as he was, Elliot wasn't wrong. Spending the night drenched would surely lead to a fever the next day.
Revenge could wait—right now, completing the task was more important.
...
After a while, Kazuha managed to catch five fish—more than enough.
He threaded them together with vines they'd found earlier, and the two set off again. The sky had grown darker now.
Eventually, they reached a small village.
Only one house had its lights on.
Kazuha's eyes lit up, and he ran toward it. Just as he raised his hand to knock, Elliot stopped him.
"I didn't help catch the fish, so let me handle this awkward part."
Kazuha froze for a second, then looked at Elliot, eyes glinting with a touch of surprise.
He didn't expect this guy to actually have a conscience.
Thinking that, he stepped aside and let Elliot go.
Taking the five fish from Kazuha, Elliot knocked gently on the door.
A middle-aged man answered.
"Yes? What can I do for you?"
"Hello," Elliot said with a polite smile. "We're travelers from Mondstadt. We were caught in a storm, lost our way, and got completely drenched. We're worried about encountering monsters at night, so we were hoping we could stay for the night."
As he spoke, he offered the fresh fish forward.
"It's just a small token. Please, accept it."
"Travelers... just the two of you?" The middle-aged man didn't lower his guard. Instead, he gave them both a careful once-over.
Even though they both had Visions, they were strangers, after all. Caution was natural.
"Yes. He's my son—Kazuha," Elliot said with a hearty laugh.
Kazuha: "???"
He froze, wide-eyed, looking up at Elliot in disbelief.
What kind of script was this!?
But then he caught the glint of mischief in Elliot's eyes... and realized he'd been played.
"Why are you staring at me? Go on, say hello to your uncle." Elliot ruffled his hair with a smile.
To be fair, Anemo boys did seem to share some kind of short-guy curse. Kazuha wasn't much taller than Xiao. Compared to Elliot, he barely reached chest height.
With his soft features and small stature, it wasn't too surprising he got mistaken for a child.
"He's... your son?" The man was clearly thrown off.
He'd assumed they were brothers—definitely not father and son.
"Yeah. Sigh... he's always been timid and cautious," Elliot added, feigning a disappointed tone.
Solid punch incoming.
Kazuha clenched his fists, his face dark with rage, shoulders trembling ever so slightly.
...
"What's going on?" A woman's voice called from inside.
A middle-aged woman stepped into view—clearly the lady of the house.
"Hello," Elliot greeted her warmly.
"Hello, hello," she replied, turning to her husband. "What's this about?"
The man repeated what Elliot had said.
After listening, the woman glanced briefly at Elliot before shifting her attention to Kazuha.
"Oh dear, this child's shivering—come in, quickly." She was clearly kindhearted and didn't think twice before letting them in.
"Thank you so much," Elliot said gratefully.
"Hand me the fish. You two go take a hot bath before you catch a cold," she said, concerned.
"Alright. You go first," Elliot said, patting Kazuha's back with a grin.
Kazuha walked over silently but cast a fierce glare back at Elliot. The killing intent in his eyes was unmistakable.
"Wait—take these with you to change into. They're my son's clothes," the woman added thoughtfully.
"Thank you very much," Elliot replied on Kazuha's behalf.
...
They arranged a room for Elliot. After bathing, Kazuha returned without saying a word.
Meanwhile, Elliot finished washing up but hesitated to go back.
Kazuha, still waiting in the room, sensed something was off.
He got up and stood in front of the bathroom door.
"You're planning to wait until I fall asleep before sneaking back, aren't you?" he said flatly, hitting the nail on the head.
"I just took a long bath, that's all..." came Elliot's guilty voice from behind the door.
"Then I'll wait right here for you."
Hearing that, Elliot knew there was no escaping this.
He cautiously cracked open the door.
"Hehe... I was just messing with you..." he said, scratching his head with a sheepish grin.
"Come. Let's go inside and have a nice little chat."
With a grim face, Kazuha grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out.
"Wait, I can explain! There's a reason behind all this..." Elliot panicked.
Thud—
The door closed gently.
Kazuha slowly turned his head, his movements unhurried.
A kind, almost angelic smile spread across his face.
Elliot backed away in fear, only to bump into the bed and fall onto it.
"Don't smile like that... it's terrifying..." he said, scrambling back in a panic, finally curling into the corner with the blanket clutched in his arms.
"Oh? Is that so?"
"Didn't you look real happy just a minute ago?"
Kazuha cracked his knuckles and inched closer with a grin.
"No, no—listen to me—!"
But Kazuha wasn't about to let him off.
He lunged at Elliot.
...
Creak—
"By the way, if tomorrow..." The woman opened the door with a smile.
But before she could finish, her smile froze.
She stood there, stunned.
Elliot was huddled in the corner, clutching the blanket with a look of sheer terror. Kazuha looked like he was crawling right toward him.
Both of their pupils shrank in horror.
"What... are you two doing?" she asked, her voice twitching with confusion as she struggled to process the scene.
"Ah—ah, this, this is just... playing. You know, role-playing!" Elliot blurted, panicked.
"I'm the monster, and... and he's the brave hero coming to defeat me!"
"Yeah, yeah! Exactly! Haha!" Kazuha's toes curled in secondhand embarrassment, but he forced himself to go along.
Cringe? Absolutely. But way better than the alternative misunderstanding.
"I see... I just came to let you know that if it rains again tomorrow, you're welcome to stay another night."
"Thank you so much," Elliot replied quickly.
"Alright then, rest well."