Mr. Zhongli, we can't slack off anymore!

"That...cough cough cough...Navi...cough...Wright." The traveler coughed twice as he spoke, his lungs filled with seawater, making even breathing painful, let alone speaking.

The person before them, or rather the dragon before them, did not respond.

More accurately, it was the young dragon in front of us; it looked much smaller than it does in the game.

He was just a boy.

He pinched the traveler's cheek and inserted two fingers into his mouth.

"Ugh, what are you doing... Senmo..." The traveler had no idea what was going on, what did this naked man in front of him want to do to him!

That's so rude!

Seeing the traveler's angry face, he turned his head away, frowned, and seemed to know that what he was doing was inappropriate.

If you know it's inappropriate, take your hand out!

In a fit of anger, the traveler bit his finger hard.

He withdrew his hand, and a stream of water followed his long fingers out of the traveler's mouth.

It tastes salty.

The pressure in the traveler's chest gradually disappeared as the water flowed away.

"Oh, so you wanted to help me get the water out of my lungs." The traveler blushed because he had misunderstood him.

He turned and escaped from the bubble, hiding his body inside the giant egg.

"Hey! Navelette! Sorry." The traveler was pupa-like inside the bubble, and thankfully, he successfully made the bubble obey his will and roll towards Navelette.

The sharp edges of the eggshell did not puncture the bubble.

The traveler was a little worried that it might get pierced by the eggshell, but was relieved to see that it was unharmed.

Even if it breaks again, Vilette will still save herself, right?

After all, he had saved the person twice, and the third time he gave up halfway, so all his efforts from the previous two attempts were in vain.

This is called something like the rescuer principle...

At this moment, Navelette stood inside the eggshell, with her back to the traveler.

Her silvery-white hair cascaded down like a waterfall, covering her naked body, with two dragon horns resting on her long hair.

“Naviette, I’m sorry about that, I thought…” The traveler stopped mid-sentence.

Villette didn't react, and he seemed to still be in his juvenile form, hadn't had any contact with anyone, and wasn't even dressed... Could it be...?

Does he actually not understand what I'm saying?

How do you say Dragon language? I don't know it either. Should I go to Liyue and learn from Zhongli?

But... how do we get to the sea?

It all comes down to Vilette! You've got the priorities backwards, huh!

"I understand."

"Huh?" The traveler thought he had misheard.

Was that Vilette speaking just now? His voice... was very young, or perhaps androgynous, and had no resemblance to the voice lines in the game.

I get it! It must be puberty!

"So you can understand it. I thought you had never been in contact with humans and didn't know what human language was like."

"I know it from the water."

The traveler thought about it and realized that there was indeed such a setting in the game; he was a water dragon and could understand humans through water.

During his time inside the shell, he may have been silently observing other living beings.

"Navilette, thank you for saving me," the traveler said.

"No need to be polite. Besides, it was just a small favor for me to save you, and it was entirely my own wishful thinking, so you don't need to repay me."

"I'll thank you in person another day."

Although Navelette was very polite, she put on an aloof and unapproachable demeanor.

"Since you want to repay me, why don't you answer one question for me?" He turned around and looked into the traveler's eyes with a puzzled expression.

The traveler's eyes were unsure where to land; after all, he was...naked...

Does Teyvat have a suitable mosaic for adults like me to protect minors?

“You said…” The traveler looked at the grid above his toes.

Why do you call me Navelette?

"Huh!?" The traveler looked up sharply, wanting to confirm if he was joking.

Isn't his name Navelette?

He had a complete view of places he shouldn't have seen, and strangely, he didn't show any shame, looking completely serious.

"And what is your name...?"

"I don't remember. Since birth, many of my memories are just fragments."

"I don't know why seeing your face automatically brings those four words to mind. How about I call you Navelette from now on?" The traveler smiled helplessly, hoping that saying this wouldn't arouse suspicion.

“The water tells me you’re not lying. I don’t mind the name; you can call me that.”

“Yes, Mr. Na Villette.”

"There's another question: you don't seem surprised by my existence. Do you know anything... about me?"

"Well, how should I put it? In Fontainebleau, the human settlement, there seems to be a legend that a water dragon lives in the sea. I think you must be the Water Dragon King."

After leaving Liyue, the Traveler found the skill of lying through one's teeth, which he had learned from Mr. Zhongli, to be very useful.

"You seem to be averse to me using water to sense your emotions. I'm sorry, I won't use it anymore."

"But you are, after all, the Water Dragon King, so talking to you always feels a little pressured."

"why is that?"

"Because... power represents initiative. What if I upset you and you beat me up?"

"I assure you, I have no hostility towards you. So you don't need to be afraid."

"Huh, okay."

"If there's nothing else, I'd like to rest."

"Yes! Could you please send me back to the surface? I'm human, I can't get up on my own, and I can't breathe underwater like you."

"It was my oversight. However, your elemental power is extremely strong, so how come you couldn't leave on your own?"

"You still have to learn it..."

*

Sunshine, beach, sky!

The traveler almost burst into tears when he returned to shore.

Life on land is so wonderful; my fear of the deep sea has finally subsided.

Navelette seemed curious about everything around him; he looked around, and everything was unfamiliar to him.

"The world seen through water is quite different from what you experience firsthand."

Yes. They are different.

"Do you still want to go back into that shell?"

"That was my original plan," he said, his eyes filled with loneliness.

"How about we leave for a while and go see somewhere else?"

"I don't know where to go. Perhaps only when I understand what kind of existence I am will I know where to go." Although he looked like a boy, he spoke with great maturity.

"Not necessarily, the journey could start inexplicably."

"Miss, who are you, and where are you going?"

"I... am a traveler who wants to go back to the past, but it seems I went too far and ended up 500 years ago. Now I should go and find a way back."

"So that's how it is. You really aren't an ordinary human."

"If you don't have anything particularly important to do, how about we go on a trip together? Maybe we can find the answers you're looking for on the journey?"

"There was something particularly important, I think, but... I don't remember..."

Just moments ago the sky was clear and blue, but suddenly dark clouds gathered, and a light drizzle began to fall on the ground.

Some things are so profound that they seem to be etched into our genes.

The traveler moved his lips and uttered those words.

"Water Dragon, Water Dragon, don't cry."