"Leave, don't ask anything, let me be alone for a while..."
Stanley said quite decadently.
"But…"
Paimon also wanted to comfort the crying middle-aged man, but Stanley ruthlessly refused.
"Let's go! Don't let me say it a second time!"
Just when Paimon was at a loss, a familiar young voice came.
"Knight of Honor, Wendy, and Paimon! Great, you're all here!"
"I've been looking for you everywhere! I'm here to say thank you. Thanks to the sword and shield you helped me find, and the words you told me, my parents allowed me to take the risk!"
It was the afternoon, and Jack was running home in a hurry.
"Oh, really?"
Wendy asked suspiciously, what he said was okay to deceive the newcomers who had just joined the Adventurers Association, but what if Jack's parents...
"Really! They also said that they would pay Master Wagner to repair the dagger and shield and let me take them on the road."
Jack said with excitement, looking at Stanley who was pretending to be drunk and lying unconscious on the table.
"That's great. Jack, are you leaving Mondstadt and embarking on a tour of Teyvat?"
Neither Wendy nor Ying revealed Stanley's disguise, they just asked the simple Jack.
"No, I won't leave just yet. With my current ability, I'm afraid I won't be able to walk too far."
"Also, I want to hear Mr. Stanley's story again. Hehe... After all, he is the starting point of my dream."
"but…"
Jack shook his head and looked at Stanley on the table.
"Mr. Stanley...is drunk again..."
"See you tomorrow, sir. When you sober up, can you tell me some stories?"
After giving Stanley a helpless look, Jack turned around and left the tavern.
"Don't pretend to be asleep, Jack has gone back."
Leaning on the railing on the second floor, Wendy watched Jack walk out of the tavern, then turned around and knocked on the table where Stanley was lying.
"You really like this kid."
"Really... Then, thank you for not telling my secret."
Stanley propped up his body on his elbows and slowly sat up.
"Eh? Are you suddenly facing reality? This is not like you before."
Wendy smiled and teased Stanley without any malice.
"I...I didn't even dare to look at him just now. His sincerity for adventure has no impurities..."
Stanley lowered his head and looked at the bumpy wine table with cloudy eyes.
"I'm a useless liar, but that kid is still a shining newcomer, so we can't destroy his dream."
"Stories...experiences...heh, forget it."
"This is my biggest secret and biggest fear... The only thing I can't forget is that he died in the windless Sea of Ember Silence. The wind can't take away his soul!"
Stanley pressed his whole face against the table, letting his tears and saliva mix together.
"His life is so overwhelmed by guilt that he only has imaginary friends left..."
Wendy sighed deeply,
"The real Stanley, in his memory, is no longer even that living friend. Instead, he is forever fixed in the appearance of a scarred warrior, binding him all his life."
Both Ying and Paimon looked pitifully at the fake Stanley lying on the wine table without saying a word, and then looked at Wendy at the same time.
"Hans Archibald."
Wendy walked across Stanley's desk and whispered a name.
"You, how do you know my real name?"
Stanley, no, it should be Hans, when he heard the name, he raised his head in surprise, his pupils dilated rapidly, as if he had thought of something possible, and he stared at Wendy motionlessly.
"Give me your old friend's soul, okay?"
In an instant, the overwhelming green wind enveloped the entire second floor, obscuring everything in the tavern. Only the reassuring light blue remained in the field of vision, as if falling into some kind of illusion. However, what you can feel when you are in it is incomparable. Clear tenderness.
Wendy held out her hand to Hans.
But in Hans's eyes, what appeared was Stanley, his best friend, mentor, and savior, smiling at him.
"Is that you? Stanley..."
Hans stood up and instinctively grabbed the phantom in front of him with his hands.
What he got was a figure blown by the breeze, but that familiar warm feeling let him know that Lord Barbatos had received Stanley's soul.
"It's... it's incredible."
"Thank you...Thank you, Lord Barbatos..."
"Sorry, I still need some time to adjust my mood..."
"But I think I'll be fine..."
Stanley felt a little dizzy and couldn't tell whether he was in a fantasy or the real world.
Finally, the swaying Hans sat down again, lay down at the table, and fell into a deep sleep.
"Maybe he can have a good dream"
"Well, that's great! Stanley has found his true self, and Jack has successfully become self-reliant."
Wendy smiled happily and nodded to Ying and Paimon.
"Is this the true strength of Lord Barbatos, the God of Wind?"
Paimon opened his mouth wide. The drinkers on the first floor of the tavern were still eating and drinking without any scruples, as if nothing had happened just now. Only Ying and Paimon knew that the place where the boundless wind fell in love was not an illusion, but a warm place. The windless sea of silence in Di's mouth.
Just now, Wendy retrieved Stanley's soul directly from the Sea of Ember Silence.
“So many good things combined, it’s worth celebrating with a drink!”
Ignoring Paimon's sigh, Wendy looked at the shocked Ying with satisfaction.
"Are you going to stay in this pub and stay drunk?
Paimon, who didn't know whether to say he was heartless or extremely adaptable, asked immediately.
"Haha, the wine here is too expensive. Jack hasn't paid me the payment he owes me yet. He promised me the precious wine, do you remember?"
Wendy shook her head, moved slightly, and was about to leave.
"I'll go find him first and ask for the bottle of wine. Let's meet at the 'old place' soon!"
"Hey? Why don't I know about this old place? Hey! Hey, the singer!"
Seeing Wendy leaving, Paimon was about to stop her, but Wendy had already disappeared.
"I think I might know...maybe."
Ying nodded gently, "Well, see you at the same place!"
"Hey, what riddles are you talking about!"
Ying and Wendy's riddle made Paimon frantically kick his legs in the air, and flew to Ying's head in a puff of anger, ruffling Ying's golden hair with his little hands.
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PS: Thanks to Pikachu for using the 1,500-point reward from Boss Wan Lei Tian Lao! The 127-point reward for the sunset shining on the snow, the 500-point reward for beating up the owl because you are so beautiful, the 100-point reward for the book friend 1156928!
And really ignorant, night, aaa, Pikachu used Wan Lei Tian Lao Yin, hohenheim, a monthly ticket that I was confused on the road of life! Two monthly passes for Boss Above the Moon!
Thank you guys! Σ(|||▽|||)
