TN: And we're back! sorry for the week long hiatus, it was not intentional since I had to get my right leg in a cast after tripping 3 floors down a stairwell (like an idiot ://) and be unable to use my PC setup upstairs BUT I should be OK now.
Anyways, Thanks for Arcanic Madness, WeissAkumu and WolfWTF for becoming as Supporters!
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My head hurts.
It was a dull, heavy pain.
Time seemed to have reached the afternoon of the next day.
Drunk… there's no need to think about it. I was definitely drunk.
"So where was the hangover cure? You were willing to send me all the way from Gandharva Ville back to Sumeru City, but you couldn't even spare a single dose of hangover medicine?"
Victor Wang suddenly recalled the time he drank with Venti during the Windblume Festival. Back then, there really had been a strong sobriety potion. But what was the point of having it if you weren't allowed to use it when you were drunk? That was no different from not having it at all!
["Hehe! Master, you weren't drunk at all."]Little Wen spoke with a hint of smugness.
"?"
Victor Wang rubbed his head, certain that he couldn't remember anything from the tasting session at all. It was a clear blackout. And that still didn't count as being drunk?
He checked his body and clothes. There was nothing unusual. Then he asked, "What happened last night?"
["Drinking! Tighnari adjusted the spice mix once, Eula drank one cup, Master drank one cup, and it just kept going like that. Later, Eula couldn't hold on anymore and took a hangover cure. By the end, she had taken two in total. Master's alcohol tolerance is amazing, you didn't need any hangover cure at all!"]
"Impossible…" Victor Wang let out a long sigh. "From the way you're describing it, I was probably drunk but didn't show it…"
["That's not right! I couldn't tell at all that you were drunk! You were completely clear when you showed Tighnari, Eula, and Collei how to speak Fungi language and Hilichurlian. You even imitated how an Aranara talks, and told Collei to 'Study hard and make progress every day!'"]
"..."
That was absolutely, absolutely, absolutely not something he would ever do while sober.
Victor Wang covered his face belatedly.
Demonstrating Hilichurlian was one thing, but demonstrating Fungi language—what kind of situation was that?
Then again, if he already knew Fungi language, knowing Hilichurlian didn't seem like such a big deal anymore… If anyone asked, he'd just say he'd studied Ella Musk's Hilichurlian Phrasebook.
He asked again, "They didn't suspect anything, did they?"
["Nope!"]
"And after it ended, did I come back on my own?"
["Yes! Master went whoosh whoosh whoosh flying back, then lay down on the bed and slept soundly until now. Also, Eula stayed one night in Gandharva Ville and should already be on her way back to Mondstadt."]
Only then did Victor Wang finally relax. Still, thinking about it made him feel awkward… Demonstrating Fungi language—just how abstract must that have looked?
After forcefully ignoring all of that, he calculated the days. There were only eight days left until the New Year. Where to spend it was hardly a question—Liyue. Sumeru didn't have much going on for now, so he'd go today.
Actually, it hadn't been that long since he last left Liyue. Four months ago, he'd still been in Liyue Harbor every day, dragging friends along to practice swordsmanship. He wondered whether, after four months, Ningguang's financial management had helped Shenhe make up the last bit of Mora she needed to buy a house…
Teleporting back to Liyue Harbor, Victor Wang headed straight for Wanmin Restaurant.
"Uncle Mao!"
"Oh! Victor's back! Xiangling and the others went out to sea. Go sit inside for now—what would you like to eat?"
"Black-Back Perch Stew. Out to sea… did they go fishing with Beidou again?"
"More or less… they did go out with Captain Beidou."
Seeing Victor Wang was still curious, Chef Mao thought for a moment and said, "Isn't there going to be a music festival during this year's Lantern Rite? Xiangling and her friends said they wanted to search the sea for a singing exotic beast. They set out early yesterday morning and still haven't returned."
Victor Wang understood immediately. For three years in a row now, 'searching for exotic beasts before the Lantern Rite' had practically become a tradition for the Liyue Exploration Squad.
But a singing exotic beast… a mermaid or a siren? Did such a thing really exist?
Entering Wanmin Restaurant, it was empty at a glance. Aside from Chef Mao, there wasn't a single person inside. After taking a seat in his usual spot, Victor Wang asked again, "Shenhe isn't staying to help out? Did she go out to sea as well?"
Chef Mao skillfully handled the black-backed bass, talking without missing a beat. "This late in the afternoon, there aren't many customers. Shenhe wanted to take this time to look at houses, so I let her go."
"She saved enough money?" Victor Wang felt happy at first, then quickly worried. "She's not going to get scammed buying a house by herself, is she?"
"No chance. Lawyer Yanfei is with her. I heard there are some high-quality low-price listings… legal, legal something houses?"
"Foreclosure properties?"
"Right, foreclosure properties!"
Foreclosure properties were usually homes forcibly auctioned by official institutions after the owners got into trouble and became insolvent. Without understanding the background clearly, they could be worrying… but with Yanfei around, they truly were 'high-quality low-price listings'.
"Oh right, Uncle Mao," Victor Wang asked, "this year's Lantern Rite music festival… it's commemorating Sea Gazer, right?"
"That's right. They're building the Mingxiao Lantern over at the harbor. It looks like a giant goose. It really suits that adeptus' rumored carefree nature. I just didn't know the music festival was also connected to that adeptus."
"Ahem… Sea Gazer," Victor Wang improvised. "From the name, it sounds like that adeptus was skilled in music. I just guessed—and didn't expect to be right."
Chef Mao didn't think much of it. For a while, Wanmin Restaurant was filled only with the sound of cooking.
Time, the commemorated adeptus, and the music festival—all three elements lined up. Victor Wang tapped the tabletop lightly with his fingers, recalling the background of this year's festival.
This year's Lantern Rite music festival was to be hosted by one of the organizers of Fontaine's heavyweight music gala, the Iridescence Tour—Dvorak.
'Holding a music festival in every nation' was a shared goal among the organizers of the Iridescence Tour, but their luck was terrible. Something went wrong almost every time.
For example, after Inazuma lifted the Sakoku Decree, they prepared to hold a music festival there. But on the way, they encountered a maritime disaster. Before they even reached Inazuma, the festival was canceled, and Xinyan got dragged into the fallout.
Xinyan had enthusiastically rushed to Inazuma to perform, only to learn upon arrival that the festival had already been canceled. Her temporary travel permit expired, and the permit that should have been applied for by the Iridescence Tour was never obtained. That was why she ended up helping Lumine at the Shuumatsuban to exterminate monsters in exchange for leniency from the Tenryou Commission…
This time, even though Dvorak hadn't originally come to Liyue to host a music festival, misfortune still struck—he accidentally fell into the water. Fortunately, he was rescued by Yaoyao and Lumine.
Dvorak had actually come to Liyue to look for someone, and the story had to start with his ancestor, who had once been a traveler—
That traveler once fell into the water while journeying through Liyue. Just as he was about to drown, accompanied by a melodious tune, a refined and otherworldly woman rescued him. He wanted to chase after her to express his gratitude, but although they were only a dozen steps apart, he could never close the distance. In the end, he stopped pursuing her, thanked her, and left. He later spread the story, which was repeatedly embellished through artistic retellings, and the woman came to be known as a fairy.
Dvorak came to Liyue to find that fairy. He hadn't even been sure she was in Liyue. He had only heard that the Anemo Archon returned to Mondstadt in autumn. Since the Anemo Archon was also regarded as a guardian of music, he went to pray at Mondstadt Cathedral, hoping the Archon would guide him.
When he left the cathedral, a cluster of leaves danced before him, drifting toward Stone Gate. A kind Mondstadter told him that it was the Anemo Archon guiding him toward Liyue. So, he came. To show his gratitude, he spent a great deal of Mora along the way, purchasing fine wine to offer at every Statue of the Seven he passed.
The Anemo Archon's manifestation was real, and the guidance was correct. This alone showed how well-informed the Anemo Archon truly was.
Someone accidentally falling into the water wasn't a big deal anywhere in Teyvat.
An adeptus stepping in to save someone—while not something that happened to every drowning victim—was still not a major event in Teyvat either.
Yet the Anemo Archon knew about it.
If it wasn't that the wind passively reported information to the Archon, then did Mondstadt's Anemo Archon constantly monitor the actions of every adeptus in Liyue?
The incident involving Dvorak's ancestor was at least a hundred years ago. At that time, the Geo Archon hadn't yet 'died'. If the Anemo Archon had been deliberately monitoring things, would the adepti and the Geo Archon have allowed it?
The Anemo Archon's reputation for being well-informed was definitely not exaggerated.
And it was also true that the Anemo Archon loved wine…
Victor Wang could already imagine Venti unceremoniously accepting those fine wines, finding a quiet treetop, pulling out the cork, closing his eyes, and savoring the aroma with an expression of pure bliss.
===BREAK===
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