"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 are 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 agreed for me to take the risk!"
It was afternoon, and Jack was running home in a hurry.
"Oh? Really?"
Wendy asked suspiciously, was it okay to deceive the newcomers who had just joined the Adventurers Association with the words he said, but if he talked about 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 excitedly, 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... was 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 pub, 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 used his elbows to support his body and slowly sat up.
"Eh? Have you suddenly looked directly at 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, my biggest fear... The only thing I can't forget is that he died in the windless Ember Sea, and the wind couldn't take away his soul!"
Stanley pressed his whole face against the table, letting his tears and saliva mix together.
"His life was so overwhelmed by guilt that he only had 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 table and softly called out 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 thought of some possibility, and stared at Wendy motionlessly.
"Give me the soul of your old friend, 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 inside is incomparable.
Clear gentleness.
Wendy stretched out her hand to Hans.
But in Hans' eyes, what appeared was Stanley, his best friend, mentor, and savior, smiling at him.
"Is it 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, and 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.
"So many good things put together, it's worth having a drink to celebrate!"
Ignoring Paimon's sigh, Wendy looked at the shocked Ying with satisfaction.
"Are you going to stay in this pub until you get drunk?
Not sure whether he should be said to be heartless or extremely adaptable, Paimon asked immediately.
"Haha, the wine here is too expensive. Jack hasn't paid me the money he owes me yet. He promised me the precious wine. Do you remember it?"
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? What's this old place? Why don't I know about it? Hey! Hey, the singer!"
Watching Wendy leave, 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 playing!"
Ying and Wendy's charade made Paimon frantically kick his legs in the air, flew to Ying's head with a puff of energy, and ruffled Ying's golden hair with his little hands.
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ps: Thanks to Pikachu for using the 1500-point reward from Wan Lei Tian Lao to attract the boss! The 127-point reward for Guangxizhao Ningxue, the 500-point reward for you being so beautiful and beating up the owl, and the 500-point reward for 龘靝rough鱻焱歮盯
, a 100-point reward from book friends!
And really ignorant, night, aaa, Pikachu used the Ten Thousand Thunder Heavenly Lao Yin, hohenheim, a monthly ticket that I was confused on the road of life! Two monthly tickets from the boss above the moon!