Back to the present, this is ‘the place where the wind begins’.
A place whose name I could never forget.
Lumine’s ascension material, windwheel asters, and crystalflies, which are materials for condensed resin, are flying around in abundance here.
It was a place familiar to me, as I would start farming from here, ‘the place where the wind begins’, right after logging into Genshin Impact.
Seeing the landscape I had always only seen in the game with my own eyes gave a different feeling.
The ray of sunlight squeezing through the shade of the tree or the realistic sensation from the cool breeze was beyond imagination.
“…Paimon?”
“Yeah! Have you calmed down a bit now?”
To calm my mind for now, I called the silver-haired guide flying next to me.
The mascot character of ‘Genshin Impact’ and also Lumine’s partner in the story.
She, named Paimon, flew over with a flutter when I called her and gently patted my back as if asking if I was okay now.
When I was in a mental breakdown for a while, Paimon was flying around here and there, not knowing what to do, checking my mood.
Now that I think about it, I feel a bit sorry.
I also said harsh words to her without realizing.
Paimon was the character I felt the next closest to after Lumine in the game.
That makes sense, as she is the mascot, her role is overwhelmingly the top among all characters.
“Paimon, can you go over there for a bit? I want to be alone right now.”
“Huh? Oh, okay. Rest easy.”
As Paimon left to give me space and went elsewhere, I grabbed the handle of the sword on my back and drew it.
Naturally, I thought it would be the basic sword given at the start, ‘Dull Blade’, but the sword in my hand wasn’t such an ordinary weapon.
I stared in awe at the deep green blade, sharply forged, and stroked the blade with my white hand.
The cleanliness that seemed to come from its sharpness and the cutting power from its keenness would be beyond imagination.
“Aquacrest Saber..”
There’s no way I wouldn’t know it.
It was the first 5-star weapon I pulled and the one I gave to Lumine.
I heard so much from people around me, like why the hell give that to Lumine, that my ears got calloused.
It was a weapon that at least made Lumine, whose overall performance was on the crappy side, somewhat useful.
As I alternately looked at the place I was standing and the green blade of Aquacrest Saber, I realized one fact.
The landscape I’m seeing now matches the one I saw the last time I logged into Genshin Impact.
That is, it matches the landscape I saw right before deleting Genshin Impact.
The ‘place where the wind begins’, which left the strongest impression and memory on me right before quitting, and Aquacrest Saber that I gave to Lumine.
It exactly matched the appearance of Lumine in the game that I saw last.
That means the current point in time is after clearing all the quests released so far.
“Really.., this is insane.”
I let out a deep sigh, feeling like I was hit hard on the head again.
A thin voice that I couldn’t imagine was mine echoed.
The strange sensation of hearing Lumine’s voice actor’s voice, which I only heard in the game, directly made my mood complicated.
If I heard it from the side, it was a voice pretty enough to make me dazed, but the problem was that this was my voice.
But now, there’s a bigger problem than that.
Coming at the point when I last logged in means..
That is, it’s the point when Lumine’s recognition as a crazy b*tch is deeply rooted.
So, if I go into Mondstadt like this, it’s obvious I’ll receive boos from all the citizens.
Mondstadt..,
In Genshin Impact, it’s the first village the protagonist Lumine heads to.
It’s a place that gives off a strong vibe of that era, perhaps modeled after medieval Western backgrounds.
Mondstadt is uniquely managed by the Knights of Favonius, not the region’s god.
Because of that, it can be called a free village compared to others.
After all, Mondstadt’s god, Barbatos, loves freedom.
The statue I’m stroking with my hand right now is also the statue of the Anemo Archon Barbatos.
Knowing the true nature of that crappy god, I don’t feel any faith or anything, but still, the statue itself holds symbolic meaning.
So, I decided to at least refrain from violent acts like kicking the statue when angry.
“First, Mondstadt, I guess..,”
I have to go to the village anyway.
Sleeping rough in Lumine’s body feels off, and the Teyvat continent is especially dangerous at night.
The only village I can reach on foot from here within today is Mondstadt.
But going to Mondstadt has a huge problem.
Lumine.., no, I am quite marked by the citizens of Mondstadt.
I’m worried that as soon as I enter the village, I’ll hear countless criticisms and boos.
Then, there are two choices here.
The choice to go around to Liyue even if it means walking all night, and the choice to endure the pouring blame and stay in Mondstadt.
I racked my brain.
No matter how much I went around doing bad things, Lumine was the hero who saved Mondstadt.
Yeah, the hero who calmed the Stormterror and even received the position of Honorary Knight from the Knights, a somewhat influential protagonist.
There’s no way the recognition is that bad.
[Because of you, I was abandoned by the citizens of Mondstadt.. Now, no one looks for me like before..]
At best, they’ll think it’s an occasional minor whim.
Although Lumine’s last words to me bother me, it must be an exaggeration to hold me back.
You know, when you’re too desperate, you make up words that aren’t there.
“Paimon? It’s okay now, so let’s go slowly.”
“Huh? Okay! But where are you thinking of going?”
“Mondstadt.”
“Whaaat!? Even after what happened last time, you’re going to Mondstadt again!?”
Paimon freaked out and waved her hands.
With an expression as if recalling a fearful past, I tilted my head.
“What do you mean what happened?”
“Traveler, don’t you remember? There was almost a fight in Mondstadt City back then!”
A fight? No way?
No matter how much I stirred up the village doing all sorts of bad things with Lumine, in the end, Genshin Impact is just a game, so nothing deviated from the big story frame.
So, there’s no way a variable like Lumine fighting someone would occur..
“Paimon, do you remember when I burned all the haystacks at Dawn Winery a week ago?”
“Of course I remember! I almost fainted from shock back then!”
Her reply reminded me of Paimon screaming in the game text, asking what I was doing.
“Then, do you remember what I did after burning those haystacks?”
“Ugh.. We got chased out of Dawn Winery and ended up sleeping rough because we couldn’t get the reward that day.. Don’t you remember that too?”
That’s a story I don’t know..?
I remember receiving the daily quest ‘Big Cleanup at Dawn Winery’ a week ago and burning all the haystacks.
After all, I did it myself by controlling the game character.
But I quit Genshin Impact right after clearing that quest.
Then, who is the Lumine that Paimon is talking about?
The Lumine who talked to me before I fell into this world seemed like she had her own personality.
She was aware that she was a game character and even used the term ‘login’.
What was happening in this world during the time I wasn’t logged into Genshin Impact?
No, what time did Lumine spend during the time I wasn’t logged in?
[Do you even know how I feel sending you this message right now?]
If her time continued to flow even during the time I wasn’t logged in, if I was controlling her body regardless of Lumine’s will, then I gave her a wound that she can’t erase for life.
“Hmm.., but if the Traveler wants to go, I’ll follow. After all, I’m the Traveler’s guide!”
“Yeah.., we have to go anyway..”
Even while thinking like this, time was passing, so I put the complicated thoughts behind and took heavy steps toward Mondstadt.