Not soon after being sent back by Alice, Isaac reappeared where he once was, right before opening the door leading to the confinement room of Klee.
Still dazed from the sudden feeling of teleportation, Isaac staggered in standing still for a moment, his senses thrown all over the place. But eventually, he was able to overcome it, after all, this was something far less worse than the adverse effects that the system was administering into his body.
"I'm back?"
Seeing that he was holding the doorknob once more, Isaac looked around and saw that no knight was there to see him.
The meeting with the witches felt like a hallucination, to be honest. But the fact that he still had a pocket full of sealed cookies that were given by Rhinedottir proved that it wasn't.
Still, it felt surreal all the same.
'I wonder if I'll ever get to meet all of them again like that...'
Although he had thought of that, he secretly hoped that such a notion won't be happening anytime sooner. Dealing with those witches would only result in some kind of trouble, in his opinion.
The secrets of his body's past life, the mysteries of the system, and his fate with Teyvat...
He felt like he'd have a major headache if he decided to decode all of that at once here, at this hallway, in this hour of the day. As such...
'Let's think about this later.'
He decided to set the matter aside for now, leaving behind the last to focus on the future.
With those thoughts put aside, Isaac returned to the moment and looked at the doorknob. Then, he gazed at his pocket and pulled out a sealed plastic wrapping full of cookies of varying animals, all baked by Rhinedottir.
He opened one of the wrappings. Then, with an ecstatic smile, he pushed the door open and called out her name.
"Klee~!"
"Is that... Oh! Mister Isaac!"
Nothing felt better than treating his little friend.
---
After breaking her out of her confinement room, Klee and Isaac subsequently went on their way to do their hangout that they planned together.
"Mister Isaac, are you sure we won't be found here?"
"Relax, little one. Even if we were found, the Anemo Archon would help us."
"You know the Anemo Archon?"
"Not really, but I do owe him a drink."
Atop one of the many windmills in Mondstadt, both Isaac and Klee sat as they ate cookies and discussed nonsensical matters from the mundane to even the whimsy.
Here and there, little tea sets were present, as well as the cookies.
Taking a bite from a cookie shaped like a giant immortal monster of great size but in a much more adorable and small version, Klee spoke as her feet dangled freely from the ledge of the platform. "Mister Isaac, did you manage to do what you said you wanted to do here?"
"Hm? Yeah, I did." Sitting not far from her and also freely dangling his feet to the wind, Isaac spoke with a steady expression. "To be honest, I got so much more than what I originally anticipated."
"Like what?" The little girl inquired as crumbs fell down from her cheeks.
Isaac chuckled as he lifted a cookie shaped like a unicorn with golden accents. "Like these cookies."
"Oh, and I also met your mum." He added.
"You met mom?!" Suddenly told of this revelation, Klee stopped eating and turned to him with a gasp. "Is that true, Mister Isaac? My mommy? Pointed hat and ears?"
It was quite evident that, just like the mother, the daughter too was fond of the other.
And in that moment, Isaac couldn't help but see the contrasting similarities between the two, as if they were essentially the same person.
"Yup, that mommy." He nodded quite candidly as he took a sip from the portable tea set he brought with him. "She was kind enough to introduce me to her friends, and she even gave me this book."
He then took out a book, titled The Myth of Sisyphus, and showed it to Klee as if expecting the young child to understand the material.
"Uhh..." And sure enough, the young girl couldn't help but squint at reading the title. After a while, however, she asked, "Umm, Mister Isaac? Who's Phus and why is he sissy?"
"A person stuck in an absurd situation, Klee." Isaac scoffed as he tucked the book away from her, storing it back in his system inventory. "It tells the story of a man that does the same thing over and over again with no meaning."
"If it has no meaning, then why does he still do it?" Albeit indirectly, Klee had asked a question that was essentially the same fundamental question asked throughout the book of which Isaac knew. "I don't get it. If it's meaningless, then doesn't he just stop? I bet a good fried fish would cheer him up!"
"Haha, if only things are that simple, Klee." He nodded as he patted her head. Then he gazed at the horizon, towards the dipping sun that was tinging the skies with amber and yellow. "But unfortunately, or fortunately, the struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man's heart."
"One must imagine Sisyphus happy."
Although the book Alice had given him was a recreation made by his previous body hundreds of years ago, he had to admit that, in some cases, the book described him quite well.
He was quite content with serenity as the clarity of his life's meaning, yet the more he lives in this world, the more evident it is that the universe cares little for what he wants, as he is always confronted by adversities that challenge the peace he wants. And as such, man's struggle for meaning is juxtaposed by the universe's utter indifference.
Yet even in that absurd silver lining, one must still find meaning.
Even if he was informed that, in the past, he might have done things he wouldn't do now, Isaac still lives for a tomorrow that he himself wants to live. One not defined by his past, but by those in the present, and whom he cares for.
He turned his gaze towards Klee, and upon seeing her innocent look, he couldn't help but feel at peace.
"Are you happy, Klee?"
"I am!" The child responded almost immediately with a bright smile, her voice peaking. "After all, I'm with the best tea grown up!"
"Oh, the best tea grown up, eh?" Isaac laughed as he caught on to her words. "Mind telling me who the other tea grown ups are, hm?"
"Well, it's that one weird grown up in the tavern..."
Having told of this, an inquisitive look appeared on his face for a brief moment. Then, almost immediately, he was reminded of a certain red-haired fellow in the tavern.
"Oh, are you talking about Master Diluc?"
"Yup! The grumpy grown up!" Klee confirmed with a nod. "Whenever I see him when the Grandmaster takes me along with him, he's always drinking some kind of tea."
"Ah, a kindred spirit then." Isaac commented. "If the chance permits it, I think I'd have a chat with him and exchange some tea leaves."
With Diluc's extensive information network spanning across Teyvat, even reaching the far north, Isaac would love to have such a person as a regular in his café.
And with his later appointment with Venti at the tavern, he thinks that approaching the man won't be much of a problem.
Meanwhile, as Isaac was wallowed in his thoughts as his gaze drifted to the horizon, the little Klee stared at him in utter silence, as if studying him.
Needless to say, Isaac noticed this and turned to her with a raised brow, and asked, "Something on my face, Klee?"
The little child shook her head and said in an almost nonchalant manner as she sipped on her sweetened tea. "No, I just think Mister Isaac is not like what the others think."
"What others think?" He repeated, Solid Snakely.
Hearing something quite new for the first time in a while now, his interest was piqued. Especially when it came to his customers.
"Yeah!" Klee repeated also in the same innocent tone she always had. "Big sister Miko thinks that Mister Isaac is too soft and should always be in the cafe."
"What..." Caught off guard by this, Isaac almost choked on his tea but managed to hold it in. Then, he quickly followed with, "Miko really said that?"
Although he was quite aware of the mischievous fox's recent shenanigans in his café, he didn't think that she actually had that kind of view on him.
He more or less thought that she thought of him as an important business partner on top of being a friend, but he didn't think that she was this protective of their transactional relationship.
"And it's not just her!" Continued Klee.
"Oh?"
"Even the Traveler thinks the same." The little one spilled with the same innocence as before. "She said that you're too adventurous for a barista, Mister Isaac! Always getting into trouble and even getting hurt, it's not like a normal barista!"
"..."
Isaac remained silent, feeling as though the perception of his customers had been quite different from his expectations.
He understood it if it was Yae Miko, but also Lumine? Surely he hadn't been giving off the impression of a softy, right? Isaac was pretty sure in himself that he wasn't that fragile.
In the end, he could only count on the two little customers he had who were always on his side. Xiao, too, but he was more of an emotional and physical support on the sidelines.
"Well, I don't suppose you also think of me like that, do you, Klee?"
"Nope! Mister Isaac is the best!" Sure enough, Klee was on his side. "You're always taking care of Klee when she's put into the confinement room, and even mom likes you!"
"Klee thinks that Mister Isaac should do what he wants, he just needs to be more careful sometimes." She added.
"I am careful... But I'll keep it in mind. Thanks, Klee."
With that said, he patted her head once more, caressing her hair as she giggled in response. At that moment, he would be lying if he said that he didn't feel his fatherly instincts going overdrive.
'Oh, the joy of having a child...'
That was certainly one prospect he found too massive to be thinking of one afternoon.
For now, he was just content with having a daughter-like figure such as Klee and Nahida. As such, he had no ened to further delve into that thought for the time being.
And so, their little hangout went on a little while longer.