GI Chapter 22: The Witches

When the sky adorned an orange hue and the sun barely showed its face, hiding behind the mountains, Orion arrived at the Knights of Favonius Headquarters. The edifice was a European-themed, three-story high, towering castle made of fine grey colored bricks. This very fort had stood tall even before the first Dandelion Knight Venessa, the individual who established the Favonius Knights’ order, abolished the aristocratic laws, the passage of time seemingly unable to leave a mark on its intimidating form.

The knight guarding the door saluted vigorously in spite of the apparent weariness on his forlorn face. “Master Jean.”

Jean returned the salute with even more energy although her thoughts differed from her outer stoic image.

‘I’m also in urgent need of some coffee.’

The taxing job of the Acting Grandmaster was not just limited to the management of the Knights of Favonius and the protection of Mondstadt from threats from beyond the walls. Mondstadt relied on her for almost everything: from finding the missing cat of a rich bar owner to helping a girl out of her romantic troubles.

The plethora of tasks left Jean in no shape to complete her sleep in peace. More often than not, she found herself awoke amidst the piles of work. Coffee was her best bet to remain energetic all day long. So much so that her coffee stash ended in a week at the start of every month.

Lamenting inwardly, Jean led the group inside the fortress-esque building. The wide hallway had numerous doors and a staircase leading to another floor. In the game, only two of these doors worked. The left one led to Jean’s office and the right one led to the library that housed the known and unknown wisdom and history of Mondstadt and even Teyvat as a whole.

The Library.

Orion made up his mind to scour the library tomorrow.

As Jean opened the left door, Orion was swept over by nostalgia. The candles on the solid wooden desk, the chandelier with candles, the pale blue curtains draped on the windows, and the bookshelves hugging the wall— everything was just as he remembered.

The door behind him abruptly opened with a shrill creak, and out came the woman Orion was dying to see for a while now.

“Oh! Jean returned.” A sultry yet sluggish voice full of mature allure permeated the air with the arrival of the mystery woman. “Fischl as well. Isn’t this a gathering of cuties?”

As the party turned around, the identity of the mystery woman was revealed to them. The librarian Lisa waved at them with her free, glove-covered hand as she was holding a thick book in the other one.

She was a mature lady with wavy, light honey-brown hair styled in a loose side ponytail, snuggly resting over her left shoulder. Her elegant dress with open slits on the sides was centered around her favorite color and flower: purple roses. Completing her dress were lacy black stockings and black high-heels.

Orion couldn’t take his eyes off her, simply mesmerized. The resident Witch of the Favonius Library was more attractive than her counterpart in the game. The game really couldn’t do her justice, not even the more detailed splash art could, such was her beauty—simply otherworldly.

“The gatekeeper of infinite worlds! The Witch of Lila Königreich!” Fischl blurted out. “Has’t thee been spiritless and slothful without the Prinzessin’s royal company?”

“Greetings, Lisa. We are delighted to meet you again.”

Fischl greeted Lisa in a quirky way, and Oz did politely.

Lisa covered her mouth with her hand, which was covered in black-colored gloves, and giggled softly. “Oh my, Fischl. Drop by this weekend. I have a surprise for you.”

Orion saw red hearts floating around Lisa, rippling and bouncing as they did. Lisa’s alluring beauty passed through his heart’s barrier without any difficulty and activated the Sentimental Ocean talent. The talent had only worked on Lydia and Makoto until now. Perhaps it had realized his infatuation with Lisa. After all, the branch of Heart had a better understanding of emotions than he did, including his own.

“Once Oz and I confer punishments on the beasts in the land of eternal shadows, we shall summon you,” Fischl said with a villainous grin.

Jean walked towards Lisa. “Lisa, I was just coming to fetch you.” Jean pointed her hand towards Lisa with a smile. “This is Lisa, our Librarian. Lisa, these are the adventurers who chased Ursa the Drake away from Springvale.”

Lisa put her hand on her chest, just like Jean had done when they first met and conversed. “Adorable adventurers, thanks for your terrific work out there.”

“I’m not adorable alright,” Orion retorted. “Just Orion would do.”

He wasn’t letting anyone call him adorable. Not even Lisa!

Lisa turned to Orion. Her playful green eyes shimmered ominously, the moment her eyes landed on Orion, under the mysterious shadow cast by her purple witch hat, which was adorned with a blooming purple rose. The air around Lisa was filled with black withering hearts indicating malice and chaos.

The carefree, easygoing Lisa unveiled a different side of hers that seemed more threatening than Ursa, the infamous drake could ever hope to be.

The primal fear gripping his soul was momentary, much like Lisa’s menacing aura, both vanishing like ghosts just as soon and abruptly as they appeared. The others also seemed unaware of the presence and aura released by Lisa. Probably because she had directed all of that at Orion alone—a feat not many could do.

‘Was that a warning?’

Orion mustered a diminutive smile as a response to her veiled threat. Lisa was regarded as the most knowledgeable person in all of Mondstadt. He wouldn’t be surprised if Lisa had seen through his divinity, and that his powers originated from the Abyss.

“Not the kind of treatment I expected for saving hundreds of lives,” Orion said in a half-joking tone, his emerald eyes fixed on Lisa’s enchanting green ones. “Hmm?”

“Apologies for my sluggish uptake, Orion.” Lisa put her right hand on her chest in greeting and smiled apologetically. The hearts around vanished immediately. “I took you for a former acquaintance of mine. The absence of evening tea is making my eyes rather sleepy.”

Orion knew it was just an excuse. Still, he accepted her apology with a nod. He wasn’t willing to be hostile against Lisa… not yet at least. “It’s alright. No harm done to anyone.”

“Ara~, aren't you a fine gentleman?” Lisa covered her mouth and giggled heartily. “It’s no surprise your partner is a delicate mage.”

“You are mistaken about our relationship. We’re just friends.”

“The bud of friendship can blossom in numerous ways.”

Orion glanced at the beautiful astrologist and muttered quietly. “Only time will tell.”

Jean confusedly stared back and forth between Lisa and Orion, unaware of the brief hostility Lisa showed.

“Are you a witch?” Mona spoke, her brows furrowing. “Part of that group?”

“Some people do call me the Witch of Purple Rose. But I’m not the one you have in mind, Cutie. They should improve their taste in tea before inviting me again.”

Mona’s master was a part of Hexenzirkel, or simply known as the covenant of witches. As its name implied, the organization was composed of witches and their only interest seemed to be around the Irminsul trees. With Mona’s relation to her master, she was considered a part of the organization even if she had never met any of the witches from Hexenzirkel.

‘A powerful sorceress working as a librarian.’

She was just a moment away from summoning her scryglass and scrutinizing Lisa’s mysteries. Her strong intuition told her the gesture wouldn’t end well for her, however.

Orion naturally became curious about Lisa’s background as well as the group they were talking about. Mona and Lisa. Both witches with profound knowledge about Teyvat.

‘That’s a meme-worthy coincidence.’

Lisa, who was sensitive to others’ feelings, naturally saw the curious lights in Mona and Orion’s eyes. Taking Jean’s hand in her own, Lisa walked towards Jean’s office, vibrant hearts dancing around her.

“Let’s talk over a cup of tea, shall we?”

***

Lisa