"Thoma."
"A Mondstadter?"
The person Kamisato Ayaka called "Thoma" was a young man with golden hair and emerald eyes. His attire was also somewhat different from that of an ordinary Inazuman; while it still featured the corresponding Inazuman patterns and pauldrons, his temperament was entirely different from that of an Inazuman.
"Hmm?" Thoma glanced at Raiden Makoto with a look of surprise. He felt a sense of familiarity with the Lady before him, yet he was certain he had never met her.
She must be a friend of Kamisato Ayaka's, right?
"Demoiselle, who is this?"
"This is my friend, Raiden Makoto. She has amnesia, and we are going to help her find her family." Kamisato Ayaka smiled. "Thoma, I'll leave that task to you."
"Understood."
Raiden Makoto could tell that the Thoma before her was likely a Retainer of the Kamisato Clan, but the relationship between him and Kamisato Ayaka seemed to be one of both servant and friend. This was evident from how differently Thoma treated Kamisato Ayaka compared to the other servants, yet he still maintained his respect for her.
That was only natural; no matter what, a lord is a lord and a Retainer is a Retainer. Between a lord and a Retainer, one cannot completely ignore their respective statuses.
"I am indeed a Mondstadter, but now I'm also considered an Inazuman," Thoma said with a smile. He didn't know how long he had been in Inazuma, but Mondstadt was already a distant homeland to him.
"Cough, I didn't mean it like that." Raiden Makoto thought Thoma had misinterpreted her, but in the next second, Kamisato Ayaka stood up directly. "Thoma, I'll leave this matter to you."
"Makoto is a very gentle person; you should enjoy getting along with her." She had only met Raiden Makoto a few hours ago, so her understanding of her was only surface-level.
"Don't worry, leave it to me. I'll definitely get it done." Thoma was very confident. After all, he was a slick veteran in Inazuma now; he knew many people and was familiar with many places. Helping a stranded... amnesiac Lady find her family was a trivial matter.
"Good."
"Thank you." Looking at the warm-hearted Thoma and Kamisato Ayaka, she was slightly touched. She was quite happy to have met two good friends right after entering another world.
"Makoto, we are friends, right?" Kamisato Ayaka looked at Raiden Makoto with gentle eyes, her tone also very soft.
"Yes."
"Between friends, there's no need to say thanks." Kamisato Ayaka winked playfully. "Right, Thoma?"
"The Demoiselle is right." Thoma had a smile on his face, one that was very infectious, and Raiden Makoto couldn't help but laugh.
Kamisato Ayaka hadn't known Raiden Makoto for long, but she felt like an old friend from the start. Especially since Raiden Makoto's hobbies were so similar to hers, she even wondered if Raiden Makoto was the one she had been waiting for—the Destined One.
"Pardon the intrusion, Demoiselle. Here is the fine tea you requested."
After the servant brought the tea, which was emitting warm steam, they slowly withdrew at Kamisato Ayaka's signal, leaving only the three of them.
"Makoto, time is short and the hospitality is lacking. Next time, I will personally perform the tea ceremony for you." Her favorite thing was to sit in the Yashiro Commission Estate, watch the sunset, and enjoy a cup of warm tea.
"As for Thoma, you don't get any."
"Fair enough." Thoma naturally didn't care about such things; they were just minor interludes. Besides, he didn't particularly enjoy tea tasting.
"Please."
As a mouthful of warm tea entered her throat, Raiden Makoto slowly closed her eyes to savor it. It was different from the tea of Huaxia, yet it had its own unique fragrance.
"Not bad."
Inazuma is based on Japan, so to some extent, the Inazuman tea ceremony is similar to the Japanese tea ceremony. Japanese tea culture was also inherited from her homeland, Huaxia.
However, in the era she came from, the Huaxia tea ceremony had long since declined. Young people no longer liked tasting tea, let alone learning about tea culture. The Japanese tea ceremony was even more famous internationally.
"This is green tea, right?"
Since Inazuma is based on Japan, it was normal for green tea to be widespread. She was a bit curious about what Liyue's tea ceremony would be like, as Liyue was said to be based on Huaxia.
"Yes." Kamisato Ayaka nodded. "Inazuma is a major producer of green tea. As for other varieties..."
"There aren't many."
"Tea is divided into green tea, Black tea, Red tea, Oolong tea, White tea, and Yellow tea. For Inazuma to be able to promote green tea so extensively is already quite good," Raiden Makoto said seriously.
"Are there really so many types of tea?" Hearing Raiden Makoto share information about tea varieties, Kamisato Ayaka couldn't help but widen her eyes. She stared straight at Raiden Makoto. "Makoto, I only knew about green tea."
"Of course."
Raiden Makoto didn't know if the so-called six major categories of tea existed in the Genshin Impact world, but what she was currently drinking was undoubtedly green tea, and specifically, it should be Sencha from the Japanese classification of green tea.
"The types of tea are very extensive."
"It's already very good that Inazuma can classify green tea into eight major categories like Matcha and Sencha."
As Raiden Makoto spoke about the tea ceremony knowledge she knew, Kamisato Ayaka turned into something of a fan-girl. Her eyes sparkled, and she even seemed a bit excited.
In front of Raiden Makoto, her own tea ceremony seemed like that of a child just learning to speak. The gap between what she knew and what Raiden Makoto knew was surprisingly vast.
Listening to Raiden Makoto educate Kamisato Ayaka on tea culture, Thoma, who was standing nearby, felt his head start to ache. He wasn't an Inazuman to begin with, so he knew nothing at all about the tea ceremony.
He even started having existential questions like "Who am I?", "Where am I?", and "What am I supposed to be doing?", but it was also his first time seeing Kamisato Ayaka like that.
His Demoiselle must have truly met a suitable person, right?
"Makoto, please continue."
"These things can't be explained clearly in a short time. I'll tell you more about them slowly in the future." By doing this now, she was probably promoting National Style in another world, right? Tea culture is also a type of National Style.
As the Demoiselle of the Shuumatsuban Kamisato Clan of the Inazuma Yashiro Commission, if she passed the National Style on to Kamisato Ayaka, wouldn't that count as thoroughly promoting it throughout Inazuma?
Her master's dying wish could only be fulfilled by her in this other world.
"Thoma..."
Thoma finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Kamisato Ayaka had finally turned her attention back to him.
"Demoiselle, to help Miss Raiden find her family, I'll need to have a good chat with her."
"Mhm."
"Makoto, Thoma will find your family for you. He's very reliable, so you don't have to worry." The way Kamisato Ayaka looked at Raiden Makoto now held a bit of admiration and joy; she must have truly met the person she had been waiting for.
She wondered what else Raiden Makoto didn't know. Compared to Raiden Makoto, she was truly too immature.
"Mhm."
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