"Vice President! Since when did you become so close with Lady Barbara?!"
After Barbara left, Albert dropped all pretenses and stormed up to the second floor to confront Victor Wang.
"Calm down, calm down. As one of Barbara's patients, it's only natural that she brings me medicine, right?"
"Hmph! I knew it! You clearly joined way later than I did and even came from a different post. How could you be more popular than me?"
"No helping it—Lady Barbara is just so kind and caring. I used to approach her often under the pretense of healing, but never imagined some adventurer boy would visit her even more diligently than me."
"Wait… no, didn't Lady Barbara give you not only medicine, but also her favorite dried fish snacks?!"
"Isn't it normal for friends to exchange gifts?"
"F-f-f-friends?"
"Wait, aren't you also Barbara's friend, Vice President?"
"Well… an idol should remain beautiful and unattainable. I don't think it's right to get too close..."
Huh? Are you really the one to be saying this, Albert?
"Friends… friends… You can actually become friends with Lady Barbara…"
Albert wandered off mumbling to himself. Diona, who had been watching from downstairs for a while, finally saw her chance and approached Victor Wang to chat about a few mora.
She pulled out a chair and sat at the only empty spot left at the square table. First, she shot a nasty glare at the 'age-falsifying' Venti to her left. After making him tilt his head away awkwardly, she turned to Victor Wang on her right and asked, "What do you think of the anti-alcohol campaign I designed?"
Though the tavern was bustling with noise, her ears—strengthened by her Vision—caught everything clearly. She had heard that Victor was leaving Mondstadt.
"It's pretty good—no, it's really impressive."
"You provided heavy drinkers a solid motive to sober up and even brought out the Anemo Archon for supervision. The custom drinks every five days require patrons to bring their own ingredients, so it doesn't add extra costs to the Cat's Tail. On top of that, you even got the Church of Favonius and Dawn Winery to help with promotion and charity work. It's clear you thought through everything."
"Hehe, it's not that amazing…"
"If the campaign gets a good response, what do you plan to do next? Keep it going?"
"You saw right through me!"
Diona slumped over the table, her left cheek resting on the back of her right hand, her tail swaying behind her.
"That's right. Even if the Church of Favonius and the Dawn Winery eventually stop supporting the event, I already discussed it with the boss lady. I'll still keep the system where people can trade in days of not getting drunk and ingredients for custom drinks."
"The boss lady said it might even become a unique tradition in Mondstadt. That way, it'll also bring more customers to the Cat's Tail, and all I have to do is make more drinks during work hours."
"That's the only problem with the campaign—you'll be even more tired than now."
"Yeah… but I'll hang in there!" Diona recalled Barbara's words and didn't want to be outdone. "If it's too much… then I'll just change it to every ten days."
"What about your dad? Has he made any progress in quitting?"
"About that… two days after the Sprite of the Springs incident, Dad and I had a long heart-to-heart. I finally understood why he likes to drink so much, so I decided to let him start from 'sobering' instead of quitting outright."
As she spoke, Diona turned her face down toward the underside of the table, like a schoolkid resting between classes.
"I also learned something else… I have a little brother now. We used to play a lot when we were little, but those memories are all fuzzy now. He left Springvale, and it's kind of awkward between us."
"But! He's the child of Dad's closest friend, and he… sigh… I'll be a good big sister!
"But but! He hates cats! He says they eat pigeons, so he hates them… I guess that's not entirely wrong..."
Faced with someone reliable and kind—like a big brother—Diona couldn't help but pour out her worries.
"Cats and pigeons shouldn't be near each other, but that doesn't stop people from getting close. You could ask him, 'If cats didn't eat pigeons, would you still hate them?' If he says no, then you can introduce him to 'cats that don't eat pigeons.' And if he still hates them, then… you'll just have to respect that."
"That's a bit twisty… let me think that through."
"Haha, just wordplay. It's time for Timmy to start a new life anyway. Socializing with others is essential for him."
"You know Timmy?"
"We're good friends."
"Why do you have so many friends?"
"Do I?" Victor Wang did a mental count. "Hmm… maybe it really is quite a few. Without even noticing… they've all come back, huh. That's nice."
Recalling all the little moments in Mondstadt, he couldn't help but sigh, "Everyone's like wings to me!"
"Eh~? What kind of weird metaphor is that? You gonna string your friends together to make a pair of wind gliders? That thing would be huge and never get off the ground."
"Without a steady wind, even mighty wings can't fly. Because there's wind, we're able to take flight." Victor Wang glanced meaningfully at Venti.
Because of the wind, he had reconnected with so many friends.
"You… you're really leaving Mondstadt?" Diona finally brought up the topic she'd been dancing around with a touch of tsundere reluctance.
"Yeah."
"Lumine's leaving too. But she said she'll come back often, even if there's nothing urgent."
Last time, after Victor Wang recommended she visit the Cat's Tail to see some kittens, Lumine became friends with Diona just like in one of those commission quests.
Victor gave a wry smile. "I can't match her speed..."
"Why not? Flap your giant wings and fly back!"
"If I really had to string my friends together into wings, I'd rather count on the Anemo Archon to carry me back anytime. Right, Venti?"
"Indeed, both are highly unlikely scenarios." Venti knew if he dared agree, Victor would absolutely take him up on it every day.
"Hmph! Not like anyone expects you to come back often!"
Diona hopped off the chair and left without looking back.
"There's no such thing as a feast that never ends," Venti said with a philosophical tone once freed from Diona's death stare. He shook his head like an old sage. "Farewells are the norm."
As it neared 6 PM, it was time for slackers to punch out from work. The tavern staff began switching shifts between day and night crews. Victor Wang left Angel's Share and wandered aimlessly through the streets of Mondstadt.
Aside from the day he first arrived, he had never really taken the time to appreciate the city's scenery.
Mondstadt—the first city in the game, and the first city since his reincarnation.
It had left a deep impression on Victor Wang's heart.
In the game, once he finished achievement quests for the new regions, he would always reset his commissions back to Mondstadt or Liyue. Even when synthesizing condensed resin, he'd always do it in one of these two cities.
Golden skies were lightly brushed with drifting clouds. Beneath them, the massive windmills turned slowly and steadily.
Drunkard Nimrod had just slipped out of Angel's Share only to be dragged home by his wife Eury, who had just finished shopping;
The shy Beatrice, who couldn't express her feelings, still clung to the dense-as-a-log Quinn;
At the Schulz's Smithy named after his apprentice Schulz, Wagner pounded away at glowing iron bars while reciting smithing tips everyone in the city had heard a thousand times;
There was Flora and Donna selling flowers, the always-retesting Katheryne, the idle Margaret, With Wind Comes Glory Shop Owner, Marjorie with her "you've definitely never seen this before!" trinkets, and Sara with today's special: grilled steak;
Amber, Lumine, and Paimon were back to eating sticky honey roast…
Timaeus still marveled at the wonders of ancient alchemy, Lyudmila and Mikhail were still gossiping, and Glory continued to pray for Godwin…
These people—so familiar.
Anthony and Anna, the siblings once tied to the fountain, were no longer there, their illness cured. They had been both pitiful and endearing: one tossing coins into the fountain to pray by day, and the other fishing those coins out at night.
Of course, now there were more patrolling Knights of Favonius, and more and more adventurers flooding the fountain square—tired but triumphant from a long day's questing.
Street cries, laughter, tales of joy and sorrow, juicy gossip, hushed whispers in the crowd, meows, barks, the fountain's trickling water, the barely perceptible breeze—all wove together into a lively tapestry, announcing that another day in Mondstadt was coming to an end.
Victor Wang loved doing his own thing in this vibrant atmosphere. That strange, touching joy in the air always managed to lift his spirits.
"No—el—le!"
Before he could soak in more of the moment, a sharp female voice cut through the noise, drawing everyone's attention to the Good Hunter restaurant.
Seconds later, Victor Wang, perched by the fountain railing above the square, felt the ground tremble beneath him.
Clad in silver armor, Noelle dashed past, her gear clattering. She vaulted the railing with one hand, dashed at full speed without bumping into anyone in the crowded square, and arrived at the source of the call—Sara.
"How can I help you?"
"Sorry, Noelle, I need to step out for a bit. Can you take over for me?"
"Leave it to me!"
"Thank you so much! I'll repay you once I'm back!"
Clearly in a rush, Sara handed off the hostess duties to Noelle and hurried away.