Liyue's treasure-junks are a size up from common ships, so spotting one at Port Ormos was trivial. After the harbor guides waved them in, two elegant figures stepped to the gangway: Ganyu and Ningguang.
Ganyu took in the shoreline, eyes calm and precise. "So this is Port Ormos… It hasn't changed much since my last visit." A beat. "Though the security has improved. I remember mercenaries stirring up trouble here."
"With good reason," Ningguang stretched slightly, gaze glinting. "Grand Sage Idris is being called Sumeru's youngest—and best—in five hundred years. If he couldn't manage that, it would be disappointing."
Ganyu only smiled. Truth be told, if a Seven-Star needed to go abroad, it was usually Keqing. But that rumor—"Ningguang isn't as capable as Sumeru's Grand Sage"—had pricked pride across Liyue Harbor. Couple that with Idris's meteoric reputation, and Ningguang's competitive streak flared.
Governance? She'd never lose without a fight.
"Ahem," Ganyu murmured. "Do be gentle when we meet him. It is a diplomatic occasion."
"I know my stage marks," Ningguang said lightly. She signaled the secretaries and Millelith escorts to disembark—
—and a voice barked from the deck: "Oi! Not fair. This ship's mine. We sail all the way to Sumeru and you two plan to leave me aboard?"
An eyepatch, a grin, a presence like a storm front: Beidou strode out, hands on hips.
Ganyu… silently took one small step back, ceding the floor to Ningguang.
"Captain Beidou," Ningguang said smoothly, "I assumed guarding the Alcor was preferable to a dull reception hall."
"Cut it out." Beidou snorted. "You're worried my mouth'll make your banquet awkward. Fine. I'll keep it shut when we meet him. Happy?"
Ningguang pinched the bridge of her nose, then relented. "Very well. Join us."
At Sumeru City's gate, Idris waited immaculate and unhurried. As the Liyue party approached, he stepped forward with a courteous smile. "Welcome, honored guests of Liyue. It's been too long."
The three women paused a half-second—he was younger than expected—then Ningguang's reply flowed, warm and formal. "We didn't expect the Grand Sage himself at the city gate. A flattering reception."
Ganyu added, eyes crinkling, "And you're even younger—and handsomer—than the portraits."
Idris nodded, accepting the pleasantries with an inward sigh. For a gate welcome you needed someone with real standing. The problem? Most of Sumeru's senior "someones" didn't carry weight with Liyue's power trio.
So, he did it himself. Again.
This, precisely, was why Nahida fretted he'd burn out. Too many things here required his personal hand.
And now he understood why every time Lisa came to Sumeru, the Akademiya tried to rope her back into a post. Sumeru was short on people he could truly use.
Hnh. Maybe I should go to Mondstadt and poach "Miss Lisa Minci" myself.
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