"The immortal had understood her role from the very beginning. For she was a fairy born of the people's wishes, destined to be their savior and martyr." I smiled slightly, remembering the climactic battle I had with Durin. "And so at the eve of a brand new day, her soul returned to the world in a plume of sunlight, and the world finally reached a brand new day." I rolled the scroll close, patting it fondly. "The end."
"Y-You really saw all that?" The girl asked.
I nodded solemnly. "That I did." I brought out the harp I'd made before my voyage here and gave the strings a slow strum. "It is my duty to ensure such tales are never lost."
The boy stared silently, though he was no longer glaring. "So you escaped from Mondstadt?"
I nodded. "That I am." I gave the harp another strum. "Decarabian has shrouded our home with a grand storm, one designed to both shackle and protect. And though I find myself understanding his intentions, this soul of mine could never agree to such methods." I winked. "And so with the aid of my good friend, we staged a grand escape."
That was our cover story, at least. Since my name took some roots from Mondstadt, I decided to become a bard that escaped with the help of Lumine, a descender from the stars. Most of Lumine's story was the same, just with her location of arrival changed from Liyue to the shores of Mondstadt.
He went silent again. Contemplative. I let the boy stew in his thoughts as I brought out another pork bun for the girl. She whispered a shy thanks as she accepted the gift and began to eat.
Then,
"So you're strong, right?"
I tilted my head. I was unsure why that was the first thing he asked. "I…suppose I am, though I feel quite conceited for saying so." I frowned slightly as I placed my scroll back into my Inventory. "What is the matter?"
He grit his teeth. "I-, we need your help." He spat out, as if saying those words physically harmed him.
The girl squeaked. "K-Kojirou?"
I would've laughed slightly at how unused the boy seemed with asking for help, but it also brought up some worrying connotations. "Speak, young one." I said, unconsciously letting my usual persona leak through.
"We're from Watatsumi, and we need help." He began, his voice slowly getting more and more heated. "People are starving, and sick, and injured, and whatever." He hissed. "But Baal hasn't done anything. The whole war between gods is over, but all she's done is hide here in her little castle while my family and friends are dying!"
I frowned. I could see where this boy's anger was coming from. It was only natural to expect that Baal would immediately be available once she returned from Celestia after being crowned as Inazuma's Archon.
But I knew better. Morax had mentioned that it took him at least a year before he acclimated to the new threshold granted by the Gnosis within him. He had to physically disappear for quite some time due to that, and it was only because of his and Guizhong's efforts in teaching the people that Liyue Harbor could run smoothly in his absence.
Baal likely now faced the same issue. And though I was not one to lambast another god, it was clear that she hadn't aided the people like Morax and Guizhong did. For these children's first thought to be to ask for aid instead of innovating some novel solution—it implied that these people relied on Baal quite heavily and were now suffering in her absence.
Haiyah.
"So, what is it that you need?" I then asked.
"Find and ask help from Baal." He admitted, his fists clenched tight. "There's still ronins and bandits everywhere, and it's only because we're lucky we even got on that ship to this island." He looked up at me, hope in his eyes. "But you and your friend are strong, right?" He pursed his lips. "I don't have any Mora to pay you, but-"
I held up my hand. "Speak less, young one." I smiled gently. "We will aid you, that I promise. And there is no need to pay. To demand something in such a dire time will only harm us both."
The moment I said that, both the children's shoulders slumped—a great weight finally lifted. "T-Thank you, Adventurer-san." The girl shyly said as she bowed.
I blinked at the new suffix, before I smiled. "There is no problem, young one." I winked as I tipped my beret. "You may call me Wendy." I jabbed my thumb at the still sleeping Lumine. "And my friend over there is Lumine."
She nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Wendy-san!"
The boy scowled for a moment, before he looked away. "You already heard our names, but-" He sighed. "I'm Kojirou. She's Hanami." He bowed slightly. "We'll be in your care."
"And I'll be in yours." I smiled wryly. "Though I believe it's time to rest." I glanced up at the night sky. "The night is still young, and you two will need all your strength if we are to cover as much ground as possible." I pointed at my unused bedroll. "Unfortunately, I only have one blanket, so you may need to share."
"...thanks." Kojirou whispered.
"W-What about you, Wendy-san?" Hanami then added.
I smiled. "Do not worry about little old me. I am a seasoned adventurer, you see? I have spent quite a many sleepless nights." I winked. "And besides, it would be remiss of me to not enjoy the starry skies this time."
"Yeah, whatever." He said as he tucked himself in. "Come on, Hanami. Let's sleep."
She glanced between him and I for a few more moments before she retreated into the bedroll, tucking herself beneath the blanket. "Um," She peeked out of the blanket and smiled shakily. "G-Good night, Wendy-san."
I smiled. "Good night, Hanami."
I watched them gently as the two children quickly drifted to sleep. They fell asleep even faster than Lumine did—they must've been exhausted. I frowned as I held back a sigh. On one hand, it was incredible that these children had made it all the way here. But on the other hand, why did the people of Watatsumi send children to ask for aid? Was it due to some sort of tradition?
Or maybe because the situation there is so dire that these two were the only ones who could?
…
I sighed.
There is no point in mulling over this for now. I wouldn't get the answer until these two willingly opened up to us.
Now that the two were asleep, I openly reached into my Inventory and pulled out an ornate-looking cup, filled with some tea. But this was no ordinary tea, evident by the way the tea itself seemed to be glowing.
[Mystical Herbal Tea 2★
A tea brewed from herbs grown in the Sublime Spicewood, infused with its primal energy.
When consumed, it rejuvenates the user. This only works 2 times every day]
I drank the cup dry, and I hummed as I felt a gentle warmth course through my being. The slight exhaustion I'd built up was washed away as if it'd never even been there, and in seconds I felt as energized as I was this early morning. I groaned softly as I stood up and stretched, before I pulled out another item. This time, it was a green staff, created from my Anemo energy.
[Windsail Beacon 4★
A mystical staff forged from the hands of the User. Molded from elemental winds, the chimes of falling leaves emanate from it. It lights the hope for any weary traveler.
When planted into the ground, it creates a powerful barrier of Anemo, both shrouding the area around it from foreign entities and protecting it from harm. When the barrier has taken enough damage, it will violently shatter and alert the User]
I smiled as I planted the staff into the ground. And the moment I did, a pulse of Elemental Energy pulsed out, forming into a barrier of wind that was nigh invisible to the naked eye. Though the winds were gentle now, they were more than ready to grow violent whenever a threat came.
It was something I made a few days after I returned from my Adventure. Inspired by the tales of Mondstadt's freedom that Rosalyne had shared, I created this [Windsail Beacon] to act as a form of night-watch, so that there was no need for either Lumine or I to stay awake to keep watch for any threats.
Well. Now that everyone was safe,
I easily stepped out of the wind barrier and took a deep breath. The night air was cold and crisp. Silent and lonesome.
And perfect for some treasure hunting!
I turned North and began walking. In truth, I'd already spotted a treasure chest when we were first setting up camp, but I pretended not to notice. After all, those chests were only visible to me, and I didn't want Lumine to worry.
I made my way over to where that chest was, and soon I found it. And boy did it feel good to finally see an unopened chest. It felt like it'd been years since I last saw one, and then stopped when I realized that it had been years since then. I'd pretty much cleaned Liyue of any treasure chests after a couple years of exploring.
I took a shaky breath as my hand hovered just inches from the chest.
Fuuu. Damn, I felt like some sort of opioid addict. But it couldn't be helped! I didn't know what it was. Their rewards weren't all that great since I now had my Personal World as a source of Primogems, but there was always that rush of excitement whenever I found one of these.
Alright, enough stalling. Tentatively, my hand reached forward. I placed my hand onto the chest, and the chest suddenly flung open, and a shower of light erupted from within as its contents spilled out across the ground.
My eyes were wide as I watched the chest's contents slowly roll across the grass, and I gulped as I shakily reached down and grabbed a single Mora. It-, was just one Mora, no different than the other Mora in my Inventory. The same could be said about the 80 Primogems and the Talent-Upgrading Item.
But.
But!
My grin stretched ear-to-ear as I hoovered up my treasure into my Inventory. It didn't matter that this chest's treasure was fairly mediocre; I'd already expected that. No, what was important was the fact that treasure chests existed here as well, which meant that there was an entirely new stock of treasure chests for me to reach for.
And even more treasure chests to search for once I began exploring the other regions of Teyvat.
I shivered in delight, and I immediately began scouring the area around me, more than eager to get that next hit. I would continue exploring long into the night, and I only returned to my camp minutes before sunrise.
But no one needed to know that.