(meanwhile) behind closed doors in Nod-Krai

Far to the north, across colder waters, the letter rested in hands that were not entirely flesh.

(https://im.ge/i/QMJN776)
(artist: Okazai Art)

Ineffa’s mechanical fingers held the expensive paper with careful precision, joints articulating in near-silent increments as she read. The script was elegant, the seal already broken. Whatever information it contained had been costly enough to justify the heavy cream stock and the discreet courier chain that brought it this far from Liyue. She did not speak while her optics tracked each line.

Nefer waited on the other side of the desk, posture relaxed, expression politely neutral. The office around them was quiet, climate-controlled, and deliberately unremarkable — the sort of place designed so that clients remembered the results rather than the room. She had accepted Ineffa’s commission months earlier: locate a specific kind of individual matching a narrow, privately defined set of criteria. Most leads had been dismissed. This one had survived every filter.

(https://im.ge/i/QMJNDCF)
(artist: miyu)

When Ineffa finally lowered the letter, Nefer folded her hands on the desk and began speaking in the calm, professional tone of someone presenting a high-value acquisition.

“The subject has moved through four nations in under a year. Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru, and most recently Natlan. In each location the pattern repeats with remarkable consistency. Local power structures shift around him. Women of significant status — administrative, military, religious, and elemental — reorganize their priorities after sustained contact. Several of the region’s more intractable figures have been observed to change long-standing behavior within days of encountering him. He carries a newly recognized title among the Natlan Name Bearers: Passion Claimer. The accompanying reports suggest the designation is not ceremonial.”

She tilted her head slightly, as though reviewing an internal ledger.

“He travels with a permanent retinue that continues to expand. Current confirmed associates include multiple Vision holders, at least two adeptal-adjacent individuals. Financial and logistical support has been provided, quietly, by the Tianquan of Liyue. He is presently en route to a private resort archipelago under that same patronage. Timing and access are therefore favorable.”

Nefer’s gaze remained steady, the faintest professional smile at the edge of her mouth.

“If the parameters of your original request still stand, this is the strongest candidate the agency has identified. I can facilitate an introduction under controlled conditions, or simply ensure your presence overlaps with his at the destination. The choice of approach remains yours.”

She fell silent and waited, the expensive letter still held between Ineffa’s mechanical fingers, while the northern office stayed cool and quiet around the two of them.

The data was sufficient. The pattern Nefer described — the rapid reorganization of powerful women, the new title, the expanding retinue, the quiet patronage from Liyue’s Tianquan — aligned closely enough with the parameters she had given the agency months earlier. Possibility was not certainty, yet it was the strongest lead she had received. For the sake of what remained of the goddesses’ fate, she hoped the alignment would prove true.

She did not require an arranged introduction.

“A small vessel will be enough,”
Ineffa said, voice even and lightly modulated.
“I will observe him myself at the resort. No intermediary is necessary.”

Nefer inclined her head, already making the internal note. A discreet craft, minimal crew, timing calibrated to arrive after the Alcor had docked — all of it was well within the agency’s ordinary capabilities. She offered no further commentary. The client’s preference for direct assessment had been clear from the beginning.

Ineffa placed the letter on the desk, rose, and left the office without additional ceremony. Behind her, Nefer began the quiet work of securing transport north to south, while far across the sea the Passion Claimer still stood at the rail of the Alcor, watching the pale beaches of Easybreeze grow closer, completely unaware that another set of eyes had already decided to meet him there.