| [As a general rule, Aether knows, people tend to underestimate the importance of small talk. Great mysteries are often solved with a good ear, a good eye, and basic observational skills. Little secrets are often divulged unintentionally. Sometimes, a slip of the tongue is all you need.
Case in point: the traveler has dropped by the Yashiro Commission, and noticed several key factors. First of all, there's dust building in the eaves, which Thoma would ordinarily never tolerate unless of course it simply slipped his mind. A woman standing by the pond remarked to herself that it must be allergy season, because Thoma kept sneezing to himself that morning, and doesn't that silly Mondstadter have any manners, blowing his nose like a foghorn? A samurai mumbled to himself about how that Thoma barely even acknowledged him at the door. And, most importantly, a younger guardsman pondered aloud the fact that Thoma has been in the hot springs for a full hour — inconvenient because he himself wanted to take a dip in the springs but found it strange to be in the bath with, well, an outlander.
("I don't mind so much when it's a trueborn Inazuman," the man sighed, "but that Thoma... do you suppose he's blond down there? Weird!"
Aether glared.
"What — oh, don't give me that! You're different! You're — pretty!")
The prejudices of the Yashiro housestaff aside, the bit about the bath combined with everything else bothered Aether. So, sure enough, when the traveler slips into the hot springs, rudely keeping all of his shoes and clothes on, he already has some idea of what to expect...
...thus, he's not at all surprised to find the fixer and housekeeper slumped over in the bath, having passed out from all the steam and what must have been an already weakened respiratory system.
How the traveler manages to haul a wet, nude Thoma out of the bath and somewhere safe without being spotted is a mystery best left unsolved, but Aether manages it in the end, drying the man off and rolling him into a futon in a private room which — judging by the skeins of yarn and knitting needles strewn about the desk, as well as its overall tidiness — appears to in fact be Thoma's quarters. Good. Aether's instincts pay off once again.
Owing to the change in temperature and humidity, it doesn't take too terribly long for Thoma to stir. At which point he'll open his eyes to a very ticked-off traveler looming over him...]
...You're an idiot. |
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