"Alright, Klee, time to wake up. Time to wake up. Today's breakfast is Teyvat Fried Egg, Fisherman's Toast, and milk. Hurry up and get up to eat."
Su Bai gently shook the little Klee, who was still fast asleep on the bed. She mumbled a few incoherent sounds, rolled over, stuck her little backside toward him, and pulled the blanket tighter around herself—looking exactly like Su Bai when he used to refuse to get out of bed as a child.
Having absolutely no experience waking someone up, Su Bai stared at the small figure wrapped up like a Mora Meat roll and fell into deep thought.
After a moment, he slowly extended his hand. A faint trace of adeptal power gathered in his palm before slipping silently into Klee's body.
"Klee, you really can't blame me for this. Oz said people who are still growing absolutely cannot skip meals. If you're mad, go complain to him."
As the power took effect, Klee's peaceful expression twisted into fear. A second later, she shot straight up from the bed, shouting at the top of her lungs:
"Acting Grand Master Jean! Klee won't do it again! Klee is reporting to confinement right now!"
"… Looks like Klee is really scared of Acting Grand Master Jean. But, uh—Klee, you're already in the confinement room."
"Huh? Was that… a dream?"
Klee looked around. Once she confirmed she really was inside the confinement room, she patted her chest with both hands and let out a long sigh of relief, like someone who had narrowly escaped disaster.
"Phew… thank goodness. Just a dream…"
"Looks like you had a nightmare. You even jumped straight out of bed. Since you're awake now, come eat. The food's still warm."
With a scrunched-up little face, Klee took the Fisherman's Toast and milk from Su Bai. She clearly hadn't fully recovered from the shock of the dream yet.
Curious, Su Bai asked, "So what kind of dream scared you that badly?"
Klee immediately swallowed the milk in her mouth and launched into an animated explanation, her lingering fear written all over her face.
"Su Bai, it was terrifying! Klee dreamed she was throwing bombs all the way from Cider Lake to Cape Oath, and then—then Acting Grand Master Jean was there! She caught Klee right away, and when she did, her hair started floating up like this—waaah! It was terrifying!"
"I've heard that children who don't eat their meals properly get punished by the Anemo Archon with nightmares," Su Bai said solemnly. "If Klee eats properly from now on, no more bad dreams."
"Mm! Then Klee will eat everything! Please don't let Klee have nightmares anymore, Lord Bartobas!"
She got so excited, she nearly spilled the milk all over herself. Su Bai had to calm her down before she finally sat still and obediently finished her breakfast.
"… Wait a second," Su Bai said. "Klee, isn't the Anemo Archon called Barbatos? Why did you say Bartobas?"
"Huh? But—but Klee heard a sister at the church call him Bartobas. Did Klee remember it wrong?"
Klee tilted her head, completely confused.
Su Bai's mouth twitched.
As expected of the followers of the God of Freedom—even the god's name was apparently optional.
"By the way, Klee," Su Bai continued, "I've noticed you've been tinkering with fireworks lately. Is there something you don't understand? If so, I can help you figure it out."
"Su Bai, do you remember telling Klee about how you and a big sister set off fireworks in a place called… something-something Pavilion?"
Su Bai thought for a moment. He had mentioned it. To help Klee fall asleep, he'd been telling her stories about his time in Inazuma—but she got more excited the more she listened. In the end, he'd had to switch to fairy tales just to get her to sleep.
"Oh, that was when I went to Tenshukaku with a friend named Yoimiya. The fireworks accidentally went off. We didn't mean to set them off inside Tenshukaku. Klee, you're absolutely not allowed to copy that."
"But if we ever get the chance, I'll take you to Inazuma. I think you and Yoimiya would get along really well. At that rate, Tenshukaku might need renovations for the second time."
As Su Bai adjusted the little red hat on Klee's head, memories surfaced.
Back then, young Su Bai had been completely fearless in Inazuma. To get revenge on Ei—the woman who had beaten his backside black and blue—he'd tricked his newly met friend Yoimiya into making an extra-large firework.
He then lit it inside Tenshukaku.
The explosion blew a massive hole straight through the roof.
Only later did Su Bai learn that Yoimiya had assumed he was going to fight monsters outdoors and had generously upgraded the firework into a high-power clustered version.
It felt amazing—briefly.
The consequences, however, were severe.
He ended up owing the Tenryou Commission a six-digit sum in Mora, and from that day onward, the sweets he bought would mysteriously disappear.
Even snacks that weren't very sweet—like the sakura mochi Ayaka gave him—would be spatially snatched away by Ei herself, who would always leave behind a message:
Add more sugar next time. I like them sweeter.
"No, no! Klee won't set off fireworks randomly!"
Still shaken by her nightmare, Klee was uncharacteristically obedient. The girl who once begged to go fish-blasting with the firework lady now showed absolutely zero interest in explosions.
"Klee just thinks… just thinks…"
At a loss for words, Klee waved her short little arms around anxiously.
"Klee," Su Bai said with a smile, "are you trying to say that one firework was impressive—but not unreachable—and that you want to make an even better one?"
"Yes! That's it! That's exactly it!" Klee nodded furiously. "Klee's been modifying fireworks these past few days. Klee wants to add Jumpy Dumpty, but it keeps failing…"
Her head drooped as she spoke, her pointed elf ears sagging along with her mood.
Seeing his little sunshine so dejected, Su Bai gently patted her head.
"It's okay, Klee. When I was learning to control Electro, I got struck by lightning for half a month straight. The fur on my tail was scorched black—I smelled burnt everywhere I went."
"And Su Bai has complete faith in you. You'll definitely make the firework you want. When you do, we'll set it off together, alright?"
"Okay!"
Klee beamed, pulled Dodoco off her backpack, and placed it carefully beside Su Bai.
Then, like a responsible grown-up, she said seriously:
"Dodoco, take good care of Su Bai. Klee has work to do. Klee will come play again once she's done!"
With that, the little pyrotechnics expert marched off to continue her research.