Undercover in Snezhnaya, My Teyvat Spy Life [37]

Who knew how long he’d slept.

It was only after a long time that Artem Vetrovski finally opened his eyes.

Dazzling sunlight left him seeing spots.

He squeezed his eyes shut, waited for the sting to fade, then opened them again.

Staring up at the towering cliffs above, he was momentarily dazed.

Then it clicked—he’d been blasted right off Starsnatch Cliff by that earlier explosion.

Every nerve in his body ached and throbbed, a constant reminder that his situation was anything but good.

“Alice…”

“Damn you…”

Artem’s voice was hoarse as he cursed.

Honestly, the fight with the Eclipse Tribe hadn’t left him with many actual injuries.

It was exhaustion that did him in.

He’d pushed his elemental abilities way past the limit, not to mention using that stamina-draining [Delusion] from Crepus.

The battle had gone on forever.

He was just so damn tired.

By the time he’d thrown those three bombs, he’d been running on nothing but willpower.

He never expected those inconspicuous little gadgets to be so ridiculously powerful.

If he’d known, he’d have just set off one.

Just thinking about how he’d carried those things around for days made his scalp prickle with fear.

And setting off all three at once left his entire back burning—he was sure his skin was cooked raw.

It hurt to breathe, too. If he had to guess, he’d broken a few ribs in the fall from the cliff.

His arms and legs seemed intact, no broken bones, but he couldn’t muster any strength.

His mind was still clear, at least—a sign his skull was as thick as ever.

Haven’t been this beat up in a long time…

Artem let out a bitter laugh.

The last time he’d been this badly injured was when he’d cleared out the black mud in the Chasm.

He’d fought four Abyss Heralds back then—came out alive, but not without paying the price.

At least then, the Fatui had troops standing by, ready to pull him out and patch him up.

This time…

He gazed up at the cloudless sky and the empty beach, listening to nothing but the sound of waves, at a loss for words.

The fight just now had nearly wrecked Starsnatch Cliff.

Other than the Knights’ investigators, no one else would be coming here.

No one was likely to find him any time soon.

The one saving grace: there were no monsters lurking on this stretch of beach. For now, it was safe.

Artem sighed and tried to push himself upright.

After several failed attempts, he gave up, sprawled out on the sand, and simply watched the sky.

The longer he watched, the heavier his eyelids grew, and soon he slipped back into sleep.

In his dreams...

He felt a gentle hand softly caressing his face.

It was comforting.

But he could never quite make out the person’s features.

He strained to see, staring harder and harder.

At last...

Effort paid off.

He finally saw who it was...

And found himself staring into the scruffy, smirking face of Varka.

“What the—?!”

Artem jolted awake, heart pounding.

Just remembering that horrifying dream left him drenched in cold sweat.

Way too much.

How did my brain come up with that?

“You’re awake?”

A familiar voice spoke up beside him.

Artem realized, with a start, that he was no longer lying on the beach.

Now, he was stretched out atop a stone slab covered with dry grass and animal pelts.

He could smell the faint, fresh tang of blood—those pelts must’ve been stripped not long ago.

He wasn’t at the bottom of the cliff anymore, either, but inside a cave.

Outside, everything was pitch black. Only a sliver of gentle moonlight crept in through the entrance.

He must’ve slept straight from afternoon to midnight.

A campfire crackled in the cave, filling the space with cozy warmth.

And that familiar voice...

Artem looked up.

It was Eula.

“What are you doing here?”

Artem asked, genuinely curious.

After so much sleep, his energy had finally returned, and he felt far better than before.

“The commotion from the battle above was too loud—I came to investigate,” Eula replied. “It was a mess up there, but aside from the hilichurl corpses, I couldn’t find any sign of the person who fought them.”

“And there were clear signs of a huge explosion.”

“So I wondered if anyone had been blown off the cliff.”

“Sure enough, when I got down, there you were—out cold on the beach.”

Eula described it all calmly, carrying a basin of water. “Time to change your bandages. Don’t move.”

It was only then that Artem noticed.

At some point, someone had wrapped him up with layer upon layer of bandages.

All his bloody clothes were gone. The only thing left was his boxers.

“You did all this?” he asked, far from embarrassed—more like amused.

“Mhm.”

“Don’t move. I’m changing your dressing,” Eula replied softly, cheeks faintly flushed.

Carefully, she unwrapped the bandages.

She wiped away the dried blood with clean water, then gently smeared on a fragrant salve before rewrapping the wounds with fresh bandages.

Artem had a lot of injuries.

By the time she finished, Eula’s forehead was slick with sweat.

“Three of your ribs were broken—I’ve set them,” she explained. “Your back isn’t too bad, just a lot of cuts. With this ointment I made, you’ll be fine in two or three days.”

“Stay put and don’t use any elemental power until you’re healed. If you tear the wounds open again, it’ll be a mess.”

With that, she turned to leave.

Artem had actually enjoyed being taken care of.

Seeing her about to walk out, he hurriedly called after her.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“I’m injured here! You’re just going to leave me? What if some beast comes by and eats me?!”

Eula paused, didn’t even look back, and replied coldly, “I’m going hunting.”

With that, she was gone.

...

What’s with her today? She’s acting strange.

After Eula left, Artem sat up cross-legged, rubbing his chin, lost in thought.

From their conversation, he’d picked up on something.

Something about Eula’s attitude felt off.

But he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

He thought it over and, finally, a word came to mind.

Deliberate!

Yes.

She’s deliberately keeping her distance!

Whether in how she spoke or acted, it was clear she was trying to put space between them.

So she’s figured it out…

Rather than being upset, Artem actually smiled.

There was no doubt about it.

Eula had realized how he felt.

She just couldn’t bring herself to accept it—at least, not yet.

But the more she acted like this, the happier Artem felt.

Heh. If she didn’t reject me outright, that’s already a win.

He’d originally planned to use some healing arts once he regained a bit of strength.

But now?

With this rare chance for the two of them to be alone, totally undisturbed...

Why bother healing up so soon?

---

This is a fan translation of 提瓦特之我在至冬做臥底 by 曉風殘月聽荷 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!