[ Straight to business, and honestly that is what Zhongli preferred. Patient as he was, these weeks of dead-ends had left him feeling unusually anxious about the whole situation. About what, he did not know, but the sooner that they got the bottom of this, the better. For all parties involved. ]

Yes, he is currently not on assignment— a vacation in the very loosest sense of the word. Though he does check in with the Northland Bank regularly to keep up correspondence.

One of his subordinates overheard him saying he was here on a personal matter, looking for something though he did not know the specifics. They also said he was unusually... reserved here in Fontaine.

[ Which is hard for Zhongli to imagine considering the gusto and enthusiasm Childe had shown at becoming acclimated to Liyue culture. One might argue that the Vanguard of the Tsaritsa only had a taste for battle, but Tartgalia was a performer and a chameleon. "Foreign prince" the bulletin boards praised of him until he summoned Osial. The fact that he was not seen out and about the city was baffling to Zhongli. Surely every merchant should have been pestered for appropriate gifts to send back to his family at the very least. ]

And one of the only times he'd seen him truly animated was when he ran into the Traveler at the blacksmith many weeks back. The two of them are—

[ Complicated ]

They walk a line between friend and rival, understanding that they walk very different paths. Perhaps there is a place that we might start.

[ If only Zhongli knew where the Traveler was currently. That would make this much easier.

If only Zhongli knew that they were actually in the Fortress of Meropide with Childe (more or less) at this very moment. ]