"By the way..."
Having just finished their conversation, Isaac and Neuvillette were just about to go their separate ways when the former asked the latter to stop.
Neuvillette halted and looked back at him, awaiting what he had wanted to say.
Isaac lingered for a moment before asking, "How has Furina been lately? I haven't been able to meet her due to my work at the café, and she hasn't been visiting lately. I'm... Well, you know, worried."
It was the truth.
After she had told him that she has an abrupt matter to deal with, Furina hadn't shown up since then to his café.
He had considered going to Palais Mermonia to find her, but due to the amount of work and preparation he had been doing for the past few days, he hadn't been able to do it.
Even when he had just visited this morning, he was told that she was busy and couldn't meet him.
It... It did make him a bit worried.
Neuvillette considered his answer for a moment before promptly replying, "She has been doing fine. Albeit, she has been staying up more lately."
"Staying up? What for?" Isaac probed.
Neuvillette shook his head in lieu of lack of knowledge. "I do not know. All I am aware of is that she has been frequenting the Opera Epiclese on top of it. Beyond that, she has mostly been to herself lately."
'The Opera Epiclese...'
Finding this behavior odd, Isaac frowned a bit. Furina wasn't exactly known to be the reclusive type, at least outwardly.
The only reasons he could think of for her to have done this was either when she was in a bad mood or thinking of something quite deeply. But to what extent, he did not know.
'If I remember correctly, within the Opera Epiclese, specifically the Oratrice Mechanique d'Analyse Cardinale... The divine portion of Focalors resides in it...'
Could there be a correlation between the two?
'But that's impossible.' He thought. 'Focalors wouldn't show herself to Furina just like that due to the fact that it could ruin their plan...'
'So what could truly be the reason?'
He couldn't help but think that Furina was dealing with something alone that would endanger her. He didn't know why or how, but he just felt like it.
...and it was making him uncomfortable.
Remembering that nightmare he had, of losing Furina in some vague but grim way, he felt a shiver run down his spine.
He did not like how he thought of that memory.
"Monsieur Neuvillette, if I could be so bold, can I request you to check up on her? Ask if she's feeling okay or even going through something. Anything."
"You needn't worry." Neuvillette solemnly nodded. "As the Iudex of Fontaine, it is also my top priority to safeguard her."
"So long as Lady Furina remains unharmed, I will make no move. But that does not mean I will not place some level of caution. You have my word."
Hearing that she was in such capable hands, Isaac heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Monsieur Neuvillette. Really."
Neuvillette once more solemnly nodded before turning his back and leaving. And with his departure, the rain that had been persisting since earlier slowly died down until it had eventually stopped.
And Isaac, left there all alone, continued to stare at the horizon.
Then, he breathed out a deep exhale.
"Guess it's time."
It was time to start the mission.
---
A few days later, Isaac didn't open his café this time.
Because today, he was once again leaving to go on another business trip requiring his urgent attention.
Although it weighed on him that he wasn't able to spend as much time with the café as possible, he had no choice but to temporarily give up his comfort in exchange for his peace.
There was a tainted part of him influenced by the Abyss, so, in his opinion, that was a pretty decent reason to get it immediately treated.
And so, after operating the café for a few days, he had once more decided to temporarily close it again for a few more days.
"Mondstadt... The City of Freedom, as well as dandelions, wines, and the wind..."
Standing in front of his café's door, Isaac muttered to himself.
He then adjusted his cloak, preparing for the potential windy environment that might assault him.
Just to be on the safe side, he decided to wear a traveler's outfit today, wearing only a simple and compact shirt and pants packed with pockets for utility purposes. And on top was a white cloak, not only to serve as his shade for a sunny day, but also as an additional garment to complete his outfit.
He always kept his eye on his outfit, as what one wore was a reflection of who they are.
And to him, being simple yet pragmatic with a side of aesthetics captured who he was quite well.
For a while, he stared at the door in utter silence, contemplating what he should do once he gets there.
"Since I told Klee that I'd be arriving today, she should be waiting for me in Mondstadt, but..."
He paused. "Where exactly am I gonna be dropped in?"
The last time he used the teleportation function of the system's quest for Nod-Krai, he was dropped on the outskirts of Nasha Town and had to walk through the snow for a while.
But thinking about it now, there should be no reason for him to be worried that much.
"Since it's Mondstadt, it doesn't really matter where I get dropped in..." He muttered. "Anywhere on that land is basically a safe space, besides the Hilichurl camps."
The worst case scenario is that he'd get teleported on top of Dragonspine Mountain. Now that... that would certainly not be an ideal scenario.
Summoning the system window, Isaac's hand hovered over the mission panel for a while before sighing.
"Well, no matter what happens, it is what it is..."
With that said, Isaac pressed the teleportation function of the system's quest requirement.
And soon enough, his body began to be enveloped in a soft light, which was quickly followed by the eventual disintegration of his corporeal body.
It continued deconstructing his body, until finally, Isaac was nowhere to be seen.
And somewhere, in Mondstadt, his body had just been reconstructed.
---
"...peaceful."
Lying down on the grass and staring up at the sky, Isaac felt at peace as the susurrus winds brushed past his face.
The warm air was mixing with the cold winds, bringing forth a calming breeze through the lands.
And Isaac, who was lying down beneath a great tree, took all of this in with nothing but peace in his mind.
"A peaceful nation like this, with this morning wind..." He muttered. Then, a relaxed sigh followed. "I wouldn't mind staying here for a tad bit longer..."
He had to admit, Mondstadt itself was the ideal place if one wanted to rest and take it easy. Not only did it have the least amount of dangerous entities within its borders, it also enjoyed wide open fields and welcoming winds from the sea and from the north.
If opportunity had allowed it, he would have surely chosen Mondstadt as the location of his café.
Who knows? He might have just opened some sort of book café or something where he would sell books, comics, and even manga on the side.
But that was all just a daydream.
Soon, the rustling branches swayed with the coming of new winds, prompting Isaac to hum a soft tune.
It was a tune he had always heard when visiting Mondstadt in the past, in the game. It was a nostalgic tune that never fails in making him nostalgic of this land.
And, at that moment, another tune accompanied him.
It resonated with his humming, producing a gentle yet embracing harmonious symphony between a man's vocal cords and the note of an instrument.
Indeed, an instrument.
'...could it be?'
Isaac opened his eyes, and looked up at the giant tree where he was resting beneath. And sure enough, upon one of its thick branches, the figure of a person could be seen playing a flute.
It was the figure of a person with an outfit reminiscent of that of a bard, with motifs of green and the flowing wind.
Isaac instantly knew who it was.
And upon recognizing who it was, he didn't interrupt the bard's performance.
He continued to listen while gazing out at the blue calming skies of Mondstadt, of a nation free of suffering and constraints of a deity.
It was... sublime.
He continued to listen until, finally, the bard had finished. And upon the closing performance, Isaac applauded with his hands in respect.
"Bravo." He said while still lying down on his back. "A wonderful tune it was, bearing love for Mondstadt and its people."
"Oh? Sounds like you have a way with words, dear sir." Atop the tree branch, the bard put away his flute and looked down at Isaac with an amused gaze. "But how can you tell that that tune of mine was from Mondstadt? Why not other nations? As a bard, I could be playing any other song from any other nation I've already been to, after all."
"That is true." Isaac nodded. "But which bard would sing the song of another land in a foreign one, much less the land known as the land of bards and musicians?"
"Ehe, that is true."
The bard replied, followed by him jumping down from the tree branch where he had been resting for a while now.
And as he descended, it was as if the wind itself was aiding him as he landed near where Isaac was lying at.
"I didn't think there would be another fellow who would sleep beneath this great tree like I do." The bard said as he approached Isaac. "Since when did you get here, oh traveler from afar?"
"How did you know that I'm a traveler?" Isaac smirked.
The bard chuckled. "Ehe, well that much is easily guessed. Let's call it... A bard's intuition!"
"Do bards really have that?"
"Well I have!"
"Right, and you represent all the bards?"
"Not all, but certainly some."
He and the bard went back and forth, and to be honest, he felt quite amused. It wasn't every day that you could have a peaceful day like this while in the presence of some you know is not a simple person.
"Well, I'll take your word for it. You are the first bard I've met in Mondstadt, after all."
He passed briefly, then added, "I'm Isaac, a traveler from Fontaine. How about you?"
"Fontaine?" The bard exclaimed. "That's a long way from here, but for you to visit, it must mean that you're here for something special, am I right?"
"You're not far off, yeah."
The bard nodded, proudly. "Very well. Then, as the first bard you've seen in Mondstadt, allow me to formally welcome you."
Isaac looked at him, and the bard looked back, both with amused smiles on their faces.
"Welcome to the Nation of Freedom, traveler. I'm Venti, just your every day bard you see here and there, and occasionally everywhere or nowhere."
Indeed, he was now truly in Mondstadt.