A new day began, and Victor Wang paused in front of the Adventurers Guild's Commission Board. Ever since joining the North Wing, this board had become a veritable 'daily newspaper'.
One of the encrypted messages, beginning with a 'Notice', briefly mentioned that remains of a deceased god had been confirmed beneath Dawn Winery Lake, along with a warning: "Godly remains are harmful to everyone. Do not attempt to approach."
Because not everyone could decode messages from memory while standing at the board, the encrypted notes were generally kept short. Those with better memory could recite the numeric codes and decode them later, while others had to jot them down.
Although this message had no signature, it was certainly issued by Diluc. Victor Wang was slightly surprised he had made such sensitive information public.
If even one person leaked it, the intel would be handed away for free.
Was the bond between North Wing members truly that solid? Or could the organization handle leaks swiftly?
He noticed an adventurer posting a new encoded commission, its content simple: just the word thanks.
Above that note was another notice from Diluc: "Slime sightings near Mondstadt's side gate had been explained. A field officer was enroute and expected to resolve the issue within three days."
Nice.
He left the commission board, walking the same path Lumine had taken when she departed—also the path he would take in two days when he left Mondstadt.
At the city gates, a flurry of white-collar workers heading to their jobs stirred pigeons into flight. Still, a few bold ones remained to enjoy Timmy's feeding.
"Victor!"
The moment he saw Victor Wang, Timmy waved excitedly. "Can you teach me swordsmanship?"
"I can, sure. But why the sudden interest?"
Sensing Victor Wang's approach, a few pigeons strutted over from the railing, tilting their heads to inspect him. Finding he had no food, they scurried back to Timmy.
While carefully distributing the wheat evenly to the pigeons, Timmy explained:
"I visited my hometown in Springvale and remembered a lot from when I was little. After coming back, I kept thinking... if my dad hadn't had that accident, I probably would've become a hunter too, right?"
"But Uncle Draff refused my idea. He said that since I grew up in Mondstadt, I should make the most of it and not go back to Springvale. Also, if I left, Mama Grace would be heartbroken."
"So, I decided—I want to become a knight."
"I want to get stronger, to make Dad proud."
"Alright, how about now?"
"Right now! But... I don't have a sword yet."
"Follow me then. I'll whittle one for you."
Timmy scattered the rest of the wheat along the bridge railing, letting the pigeons fight over it.
"How about this one…" Victor Wang picked out a straight and sturdy tree branch. Under the edge of the Wentian Sword, it was quickly carved into a simple wooden blade. "Here, try it out."
Once the wooden sword was in Timmy's hands, he gave it a couple of vigorous swings, full of spirit.
"It's so light—I can actually swing it!"
"Good. Since you want to join the Knights of Favonius, I'll teach you the Favonius Bladework. Watch closely."
At this point, Victor Wang had grown quite adept at using Favonius Bladework. Only after demonstrating did he realize—they should probably start with the basics, right?
Timmy was already imitating him step by step. Ignoring technique, he was doing pretty well.
No wonder—he was a hunter's son.
"Ahem! You're doing a good imitation, but there are actually a lot of flaws. I originally planned to jump straight into swordsmanship since time's short, but I guess we can't skip the fundamentals."
And so began a whole morning of training. It had been a while since Victor Wang had done such intense and repetitive drills—his muscles were sore, let alone Timmy's.
Fortunately, he had healing potions on hand, which quickly restored them both.
Without those potions, this kind of training wouldn't be feasible… After giving it some thought, Victor Wang brought Timmy to Timaeus.
"Timaeus, could I leave some Mora with you? When this kid needs more healing potions, you'll brew them for him?"
"Of course, no problem," Timaeus agreed readily.
Lunch passed. Then dinner.
"I'm leaving Mondstadt the day after tomorrow. Remember the Favonius Bladework I taught you. If you forget, ask Kaeya—he's often wandering around town. Or ask Sister Amber… she probably knows it too.
"But it might be hard to find either of them. If you have any other sword-related questions, talk to Bennett from the Adventurers' Guild. See that white-haired kid over there grinning like an idiot?"
The white-haired boy, overhearing someone talking about him, turned with a smile: "Victor!"
"They're all friendly—don't be afraid," Victor Wang said as he led Timmy over.
Standing next to Bennett was Fischl. Victor Wang explained Timmy's situation to both of them.
"You're headed to your next stop?"
"Yeah."
"Before your journey ends, I'll catch up with you—with the Benny Adventure Team!" Adventuring across Teyvat was Bennett's dream.
"Shadow, my friend, we shall meet again at the world's end!" Fischl bid farewell in her usual chuunibyou manner.
Though Victor Wang had openly gone about his day, he never ran into Noelle.
Yesterday, he'd prescribed her some medicine—high-grade explosives.
If she sought help from others and used any excuse to refuse the request, he would be relieved.
He wasn't interested in pretense. If they happened to meet on the street, he'd just tell her he'd been lying. It would be educational at least, right?
But it looked like he'd have to wait another day for the answer.
Upon waking again, a rather peculiar encrypted note appeared on the commission board. It read:
"After days of observation, I've found that Sharon, one of the new recruits in the Knights, seems to have an improper relationship with her brother. While this has nothing to do with the Battle Technique Hunters, it concerns the Gunnhildr family. After much hesitation, I've decided to report it."
"?" Victor Wang's mind flashed with the image of a confused reaction meme.
Wait… by 'improper relationship,' does it mean what I think it means?
Doorway brawls?
This gossip's wild.
At 9 AM, when the Knights started work, he came to say goodbye to Kaeya, then headed to the library with a prepared gift.
"So, this is a parting gift for me?"
Lisa caressed the gift, which was wrapped and shaped like a book.
"I didn't know what kind of stories you liked, so wait until tomorrow to open it. If you enjoy it, that's great. If not… well, I won't be here anyway." Victor Wang shrugged.
"But you're leaving so suddenly—I didn't get a chance to prepare a return gift~"
"I see this rose still looks as fresh as when you bought it. I hope I'll still see it blooming when I return."
"Hehe~"
"By the way, do you know that recruit Sharon in the Knights? Sharon Gunnhildr."
"I do. Why?"
"Who's her brother?"
Lisa eyed Victor Wang playfully for a few seconds before speaking with her crimson lips: "Caesar Gunnhildr. The one who gave me that rose last time."
Wow. Didn't expect that guy—so prim and proper—to be so wild in private. Good thing Lisa didn't like him.
Victor Wang didn't press further, and Lisa didn't either.
His last supper in Mondstadt was at Good Hunter. After finishing the meal, Victor Wang sat quietly, waiting for Noelle's answer.
When it was about time, Noelle appeared carrying a large travel backpack.
With that pack, she couldn't sit in a chair with a backrest, so she stood beside him and said, "Let's go. I'll help you get better."
"This journey will take at least a year or two—maybe even half your life. Are you really ready for that?"
Noelle nodded silently. There was no sadness or gloom in her eyes—she looked just like usual.
"…That's so you."
"Maybe you'll never join the Knights of Favonius, but I'm glad."
Noelle tilted her head slightly. "What are you talking about… I don't understand."
"Sorry, Noelle."
"I lied. My illness isn't getting worse."
"I just wanted you to understand that helping others and joining the Knights can sometimes conflict."
"I wanted you to realize that some shameless people will make unreasonable demands that hurt your interests."
"I wanted you to understand—it's okay to be selfish sometimes. Think for yourself. Learn to say no."
"I wanted you to realize that you can't do everything alone. If you help me, someone else in Mondstadt who needs you will lose out. Ask for help when you need it."
"I wanted you to understand whether you truly want to help others or to join the Knights."
"You want the former. Once that's clear, joining the Knights becomes optional, right?"
"… " Noelle stared at Victor Wang, a bit stunned.
"You are who you are—unique, kind, adorable, well-liked, and strong. You don't need to change a thing."
"I'm sorry. I can imagine how painful these two days were for you—all because of my lie."
"I'm sorry I put you through that. You don't have to follow that silly promise I made when we first met. You don't even have to consider me a friend…"
Noelle exhaled softly, lowering her gaze. Her lips pressed into a thin line as her fingers twisted the wide shoulder straps into ropes.
"Lying is wrong. But it's okay—you lied to me."
After saying that, the heavy backpack spun with a dragon's tail and left with its owner.
"…Noelle."
The backpack stopped.
"Even if it's you, if someone makes a request like that again—I still hope you say no. Even if it's you."
The backpack moved on.
Day 0 of leaving Mondstadt. Victor Wang checked out early—so early that Timmy hadn't even come out to feed the pigeons yet. For the first time, he ran into Jean and Amber on their morning jog.
"Good morning!"
"Good morning."
Both of them waved. Victor Wang waved back, but what he said was, "Goodbye."
Not long after crossing Mondstadt's bridge, a breeze passed. From behind a tree ahead, Venti popped out, holding a letter sealed with a magical barrier.
"You can't open this yourself. Even if you try, you won't succeed. The recipient is 'Zhongli' of the 'Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.' Remember the names. He should help you after seeing the letter."
"Safe travels."
Though it was the Anemo Archon's blessing—no wind blew.
...
"He's left Mondstadt." She reported the moment she got word.
"You're happy."
"That monster the cursed blade couldn't kill has finally walked away from Sister Lisa. How could I not be happy?"
"You never explained—was that why you unleashed the cursed blade?"
"He dared lay a hand on someone you liked. That's enough to deserve death! And he just happened to run into the cursed blade looking for a new host."
Sunlight filtered through stained glass, twisted and refracted, yet still illuminated the two golden-haired figures in the room.
Caesar Gunnhildr and Sharon Gunnhildr.
Caesar sat at the far end, bent over his desk writing something. He beckoned Sharon over, and she quickly walked up.
"Useless thing."
He slapped her, turning her face aside. She obediently turned it back.
He grabbed her chin and yanked her face close.
In her eyes was visible joy, excitement. Her cheeks flushed unnaturally. Her breath was ragged, drawing in his scent and exhaling it back to him.
"You disgust me."
She grew even more excited, a mist of tears clouding her gaze yet unable to mask her desire.
He pressed his mouth to hers, biting hard and drawing blood—letting the taste spread between their lips and teeth…