"Alatus!" The moment she saw her little brother, all traces of sleep vanished. Bonanus stood up and hurried over.
Ganyu was the one pushing Xiao out, with Menogias following behind.
Menogias looked far better than Xiao, though the occasional wince on his face showed he wasn't entirely comfortable.
It was internal injuries. Of course it hurt.
Reaching Xiao's side, Bonanus ruffled his hair and turned to Ganyu with gratitude.
"Thank you so much, Doctor Ganyu. How are Menogias and Alatus doing?"
Hearing Bonanus's voice, Ganyu looked up and replied calmly.
"I've given Menogias a special medicine. He should recover in a few days."
"But in the meantime, try not to use elemental power or fight. If possible, it's best to stay put."
"It's just a minor internal injury. Nothing serious." Menogias nodded lightly. It wasn't serious. Just painful and uncomfortable.
"I don't buy it. You three men are all the same—always trying to act tough." Indarias crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at Menogias.
She looked clearly displeased. Menogias could only rub his head awkwardly and smile.
"Don't worry, Lord Menogias doesn't seem like the type to overdo it." Ganyu said gently to Indarias.
"True. Menogias isn't like Alatus and Bosacius. Those two are reckless when their blood runs hot." Indarias rubbed her chin and nodded.
"Indarias, Alatus is actually a little better than Bosacius." Bonanus held back a laugh and shrugged.
Mentioning Alatus made her glance at her silent little brother. Something seemed off.
"Ganyu, why isn't Alatus talking? He's just been blinking this whole time." Bonanus tilted her head.
"Ah... I noticed that during the examination."
"Senior Xiao can move his head and eyes, but his tongue and entire body seem to be paralyzed."
"Don't worry, it should pass with time. Senior Xiao recovers fast. He should be fully healed within a week."
Ganyu explained slowly. She was actually surprised by his recovery speed.
Earlier, Indarias had asked her to check on Xiao's injuries. They looked severe. She had seen him get hit by that elemental orb.
But when she examined him, his body was healing at an alarming rate. Even for an adeptus, that was too fast, unless he had taken some miracle medicine.
She had asked the floating Paimon, but got no answer. Ganyu wasn't one to pry, so she let it go.
"Ah... I see." Bonanus frowned.
Was this because of the pill she had fed him?
When she bought it from the shop, she only saw that it healed injuries. She didn't see any side effects listed.
Now Xiao couldn't even take care of himself. It was basically a "plant experience card." That must have felt terrible.
Seeing Xiao's pitiful expression, Bonanus couldn't help but snort. He looked both cute and pathetic. It was hard not to laugh.
She was a professional adeptus. She would never laugh in normal circumstances. Except when faced with a Xiao who could only move his head.
That laugh left Xiao speechless. Your brother is in this state, and you still find it funny? Can you believe this?
Noticing his look, Bonanus quickly stopped laughing and continued.
"I'll take care of Alatus until he can walk again."
"Thank you, Bonanus. I'd love to help, but I don't have the time."
Ganyu stepped aside from the wheelchair. From now on, this spot was Bonanus's.
"Oh, since everything's done here, I'll be going." Ganyu addressed the group and left.
With everything that had happened today, her office was probably buried in paperwork. Another late night...
"Goodbye. Take care of yourself." Bonanus waved.
After Ganyu left, Bonanus moved behind Xiao. She had never pushed a wheelchair before, but she had seen it in her past life.
She might not have cooked, but she had seen plenty of others doing it. And it wasn't hard.
"Indarias, I'm going to take Alatus for a walk. It might help him recover. Are you staying here?" Bonanus put her hands on the wheelchair handles.
Hearing that, Indarias shook her head. Where else could she go?
One had internal injuries, the other was exhausted. She had to stay and look after them.
"I'll stay here with them. Be careful out there." Indarias crossed her arms, her voice soft.
"Don't worry. I'm not a child." Bonanus stuck out her tongue playfully. With that, she pushed Xiao out of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
...
Heading toward the main streets
With Osial having wreaked havoc on Liyue Harbor, the people who had evacuated were hard at work cleaning up the mess.
As a result, the normally busy streets were empty.
That was actually a good thing. Xiao was a well-known adeptus, and the Conqueror of Demons at that. Even if he was approachable, he still had his dignity.
Walking down the street
"Hey, Alatus, when do you think you'll recover?" Bonanus looked around and asked lazily.
Unable to speak, Xiao could only shake his head. He had no idea when he would recover.
He felt awful. His body was completely numb, like it wasn't even his. And he couldn't speak. It was torture.
"Sigh..." Bonanus sighed. Pushing around a silent little brother was a bit unusual.
She preferred their conversations, where he would sometimes show a cute side.
Even though there was a certain charm to Xiao being completely helpless, she wasn't some kind of weirdo.
"Alatus, you'll be staying with Indarias and me at Yanfei's place for a while. There are no spare rooms, but we can make a futon."
Bonanus changed the subject and solved his living arrangements.
Xiao neither nodded nor shook his head. Bonanus took that as agreement.
He did have his own place, but he couldn't even take care of himself right now.
It felt like Yanfei's house had become an adeptus gathering spot and recovery ward.
She felt a little bad. It wasn't her house, and she was imposing a lot. She would talk to Yanfei about it when she got back.
...
The people and workers of Liyue were efficient. Within half a day, the harbor had been cleaned, and the damaged areas were being repaired.
There was still plenty of work to be done, but there was no rush.
Watching it all with Xiao, Bonanus was impressed. But now, it was time to go home.
She stopped at a cosmetics shop to buy some things, then left with Xiao. She wasn't really into makeup. She bought them for drawing.
And where was the canvas? Obviously, her little brother. Even though Xiao was in a bad state, that didn't stop her from having a little fun...