Genshin Impact: A Guide to the Unofficial History of Teyvat — Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Everything As UsualYou're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.

Escaping Xingqiu’s line of sight, Lovia swam frantically through the dark waters, not daring to take a single breath until she neared the vicinity of her hidden shed.

She absolutely refused to come ashore on the open beach directly in front of her home. Instead, she paddled in a wide, desperate arc toward a concealed shallow area shielded by jagged reefs. Only then did she scramble onto the sand, her movements entirely devoid of grace.

Acting like a thief in the night, she sprinted barefoot across the rough ground. Icy seawater dripped continuously from her soaked hair and clinging swimsuit. She practically threw herself into the cramped shed, slamming the wooden door shut with a loud bang before pressing her entire back against it, chest heaving as she gasped for air.

Safe. She was temporarily safe.

The shed was dim and suffocatingly small, illuminated only by the dying slivers of the sunset filtering through the cracks in the windowpanes.

As the initial surge of adrenaline finally evaporated from her veins, a crushing wave of exhaustion took its place. Lovia slid down the rough wooden planks of the door until she hit the floor. She pulled her knees to her chest, her small body trembling violently. It was not the chill of the ocean water making her shake, but the lingering, suffocating terror of discovery.

Xingqiu. Just how much had he seen?

He must have seen everything.

The tentacles. The tail. And this bizarre, inexplicable body.

“Wuwu…” Lovia buried her burning face deep into the crook of her knees, letting out a muffled sound of absolute, frustrated despair.

Cold droplets fell from her hair, tracing paths down her calves and bringing a sharp chill to her skin, yet they did absolutely nothing to cool the intense heat radiating from her flushed cheeks.

She had been so careless. So completely, utterly exposed.

Ever since arriving in this world, she had hidden herself with careful paranoia, terrified of attracting strange looks, harsh scrutiny, or worse, actual trouble.

But now, the Second Young Master of the Feiyun Commerce Guild—a boy notorious for his insatiable curiosity and extensive reading—not only knew she was a Melusine, but had witnessed a physical form completely absent from any biological record in Teyvat.

Would he tell the others? Xingqiu did not seem like a wicked person, but the burning curiosity in his amber eyes had been impossible to miss. He had even invited her for tea right after catching her in the act.

Was that a test? An interrogation disguised as hospitality?

Lovia’s brain deteriorated into a chaotic mess of worst-case scenarios. She had finally found this quiet, isolated place to write her stories in peace, and now it was ruined. Outside the thin walls, the sudden wail of the sea wind grew louder, startling her so badly that she shrank back, curling into an even tighter ball as if her own limbs could shield her from the impending doom.

Time crawled forward in a haze of silence and fear. Lovia remained huddled on the floorboards for a long time, not moving until the seawater on her skin was half-dry and the biting cold finally forced her out of her stupor.

‘I cannot keep sitting here,’ she told herself.

She struggled to her feet, her limbs feeling like lead. Fumbling in the dark, she lit the small oil lamp resting on her desk. It was entirely unnecessary, given her natural night vision, but lighting a lamp against the dark was a deeply ingrained human habit she could not shake.

The dim, yellow flame flickered to life, casting long shadows across the tiny room. In her peripheral vision, she spotted her neatly folded hooded cloak resting on the bed. Her eyes widened instantly, looking at the fabric as if it were a literal lifeline thrown to a drowning sailor.

She lunged across the room, snatching up the thick, oversized garment. With impatient, trembling hands, she wrapped it tightly around her shoulders, pulling the heavy hood up to swallow her damp hair and sensitive antennae deep within its folds.

The familiar, heavy sensation of being enveloped and hidden washed over her. It felt like a physical barrier separating her from the prying, judgmental eyes of the outside world, and only then did her racing heart begin to slow its frantic rhythm.

Yet, Xingqiu’s amber eyes, wide with astonishment, remained stubbornly burned into her mind.

His parting words echoed in her ears. ‘I will not disturb you.’And then, the suggestion to share a pot of tea. Looking back on it now through a slightly calmer lens, his tone had not carried any malice. If anything, it sounded like an apology. A gentle attempt at appeasement.’Maybe he really is not that dangerous?’ A tiny, rational voice surfaced in the back of her mind.

Lovia vigorously shook her head, trying to physically dislodge the image of the blue-haired boy from her thoughts.

Once her breathing steadied, she peeled off the damp, simple swimsuit, dried her skin thoroughly with a towel, and changed into a set of dry sleepwear. However, she absolutely refused to take off the heavy cloak. She desperately needed that suffocating layer of security.

Night fell completely over the harbor.

Lovia sat frozen at her small desk, staring blankly at the open manuscript. She could not write a single word. The tip of her pen hovered aimlessly in mid-air until a heavy drop of black ink fell onto the parchment, blooming into an ugly, dark smudge.

The sea breeze swept past the windowpane, emitting a low, mournful wail. Every time the wind picked up even slightly, Lovia jumped like a startled rabbit, her eyes darting warily toward the wooden door, fully expecting a knock to shatter the silence at any given second.

She knew her reaction was bordering on the absurd, but she simply could not force her muscles to relax.

Tonight’s disaster was entirely unexpected. She deeply, bitterly regretted her choices. Why did she have to impulsively go for a midnight swim? She knew perfectly well that Liyue was a bustling nation full of watchful eyes.

“It is over,” she groaned, slumping forward onto the desk and burying her face in the crook of her arm. A listless sigh escaped her lips. “I have definitely been targeted now. What am I supposed to do…”

‘Maybe I should just run away to Fontaine. I have saved up enough Mora from my writing. Paying for the journey is not an issue.”Once I get there, I will just march right up to the Palais Mermonia, seek refuge with Lord Neuvillette, and see who dares to bully me then.’

The moment the thought materialized, it took root in her heart.

Yes, she should go back to Fontaine. Back to the side of her Melusine kin, back under the absolute protection of the majestic and perfectly just Iudex. In the Court of Fontaine, the citizens were entirely accustomed to seeing Melusines walking the streets. No one would ever look at her with that terrifying mixture of shock and intense curiosity.

Liyue was a beautiful, prosperous nation, but for a creature born of Fontaine, it was ultimately a foreign land filled with terrifying unknowns.

The temptation to pack her meager belongings and flee into the night was so overpowering that she almost pushed her chair back to grab her suitcase.

But then her gaze drifted down to the manuscript spread across the desk. Next to the ruined ink smudge lay the opening paragraphs of her newest story. She lifted her head, looking around the cramped, dimly lit shack. It was incredibly simple, but she had furnished it piece by piece with her own earnings. This was her private sanctuary, her quiet nest for writing, and her only true home in this strange world.and support the real translator.Read at elysianreads.com This is a stolen translation. You're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.

The rhythmic, soothing sound of the ocean waves drifted through the cracks in the walls. She had grown so accustomed to the scent of the salt and the sound of the gulls. Did she really have to abandon the peace she had fought so hard to build, all because of one accidental encounter?

And what would Neuvillette even think? The Chief Justice did not know her at all. Would he actually accept her? Would he welcome a strange, mutated Melusine into his ranks?

A humanoid Melusine, no less.

Lovia buried her face deeper into her arms, letting out a long, pathetic groan of frustration.

Running away sounded incredibly tempting, but upon closer inspection, it felt deeply shameful. She was a Melusine who aspired to become a legendary, world-renowned author—even if the actual subject matter of her stories was highly questionable and legally dubious.

How could a future literary master be scared out of a nation by a single minor setback?

Besides, would Xingqiu actually cause trouble for her?

She thought back to their previous encounter. When he had accidentally stumbled upon her identity the first time, he had actively helped calm Chongyun down and kept his mouth firmly shut. This time, even though he had seen her true, bizarre form, his attitude lacked any trace of disgust or fear. It was just shock, curiosity, and that lingering sense of apology.

He had even offered to treat her to tea to make amends.

Lovia’s antennae tangled together anxiously beneath the heavy fabric of her hood as reason and pure panic waged a violent war inside her skull.

On one hand, her basic survival instincts screamed at her to evacuate the area immediately. On the other hand, the faint intuition she carried as a transmigrator whispered that Xingqiu was not the villain she was making him out to be.

And if she ran now, what if she was caught in the act of fleeing? It might be safer to just lay low. No one else knew about this little shack by the sea, and her landlord simply assumed she was a wandering orphan with a penchant for privacy.

“Argh. This is so annoying.” Lovia tugged at her hair, feeling as though the chaotic spiral of her own thoughts was going to drive her insane.

Finally, she snapped her head up, her eyes hardening with sudden resolve.

“I cannot just run away like a coward,” she whispered to the empty room, her voice soft but surprisingly firm. “At the very least, I need to observe the situation first.”

Yes, observation. She would wait and see what the Feiyun Commerce Guild’s Second Young Master did next.

If he actually started spreading rumors across the harbor, or if he brought a squad of Millelith to her door, she could always run then. Slipping into the ocean and disappearing into the depths would be child’s play for her.

Once she settled on the brilliant tactical plan of ‘If the enemy remains still, I remain still; if the enemy moves, I dive into the ocean,’ the suffocating weight pressing down on her chest finally began to lift.

She took a deep, steadying breath, picked up her pen, and tried to force her attention back to the blank parchment.

However, after writing barely three characters, she found herself freezing, her ears pricking up to listen to the sounds outside. There was nothing but the crashing waves and the howling wind. Yet, she could not shake the feeling that a polite, rhythmic knock was about to echo through the room.

She kept picturing that gentle, unsettling smile standing right outside her door.

The small flame of the oil lamp flickered in the draft, casting her elongated shadow against the wooden wall, swaying back and forth in a lonely, uneasy dance.

For the next few days, Lovia lived the life of an overly startled hermit crab, huddled deep within the safety of her shell.

Because she refused to step outside, she had an abundance of free time to write. Yet, her actual writing efficiency plummeted straight into the abyss. Every single day was spent on a knife’s edge. The sound of a falling branch or a particularly loud seagull was enough to make her jump out of her chair.

But the days slowly ticked by, and the world remained perfectly calm.

No strangers came knocking to ask about a monster by the sea. No stern-faced Millelith guards showed up to interrogate her. And she certainly did not open her door to find Xingqiu standing there with a curious smile and a pot of tea. It was as if that terrifying encounter by the moonlit bay had never even happened.

The absolute silence left Lovia feeling slightly relieved, but mostly just deeply confused.

Did Xingqiu actually keep his promise? Did he really swallow his curiosity and tell no one? That completely contradicted her entire understanding of his character.

Did the young master actually possess a decent sense of boundaries?

Amidst this exhausting cycle of apprehension and doubt, another full week passed. The mundane, peaceful routine of daily life acted as a soothing balm on Lovia’s frayed nerves.

She lay listlessly on her small bed, staring up at the wooden ceiling, lost in thought.

Xingqiu really had not come to block her door. He had not brought a crowd of gawking scholars to study a rare, undocumented creature.

‘Perhaps… probably… maybe… he was genuinely just surprised, and that is the end of it.’

Even if his intense gaze had made her want to crawl out of her own skin.

And so, as the sheer terror finally receded, the stubborn, optimistic nature buried deep within Lovia’s otaku soul began to resurface.

She crept over to the window and cautiously peered out through the narrow crack in the wooden shutters. The afternoon sun was shining brilliantly over the water. The waves lapped gently against the shore, and the distant, cheerful shouts of fishermen returning with their daily catch drifted through the salty air.

Everything was perfectly normal. There were no ambushes, no guards, no curious young masters.

‘Perhaps,’she thought, a small smile finally touching her lips,’Liyue can be tolerated for a little while longer.’You're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.