"Huh? Why is he shouting his own name?" Paimon set her cup down, no longer in the mood to bicker with Lumine. She scratched her head in confusion. "Is there someone else named Stanley? Same name and surname?"
Lumine was puzzled too. Who yells their own name after getting drunk?
Shouldn't it be someone important to them?
Family. A lover. An enemy.
But yelling their own name?
Venti also looked surprised.
"No way. Even I've never heard of a second Stanley!"
As the Anemo Archon, Barbatos, he could be considered the most well-informed existence in all of Teyvat.
The wind could bring news from afar.
As long as he remained the Anemo Archon, he could use his authority to receive information from across the continent—if he actually wanted to listen.
Of course, under normal circumstances, Venti wouldn't eavesdrop on other nations' intel.
And most of the time, this guy was asleep anyway, so he didn't hear much.
But in his memory, there truly was only one person named Stanley.
The very same guy they'd tailed all day.
That man had been bragging nonstop about his "glorious deeds."
Yet in reality, aside from boasting, he didn't have the slightest combat ability.
He had none of the courage from the stories.
He was just good at hiding it, making Jack think he was "testing" him.
That might fool Jack, but it couldn't fool them.
Venti and Lumine followed him the whole way and realized he'd been lying to Jack the entire time.
Especially since "Stanley" even had an imaginary friend—a scar-covered, battle-hardened man.
That made them suspect this Stanley was just fantasizing about being the "great adventurer Stanley," when in truth he was only an ordinary adventurer.
But the way he told those stories sounded so real.
So they kept tailing him.
They watched him cook up those ridiculous things for Jack—some "Sword of Brilliant Courage," some "Shield of Shining Will," and so on.
But it was because Jack's family didn't support him becoming an adventurer, and he lacked confidence.
Stanley was encouraging him.
In the end, Lumine and Venti helped Jack obtain those two "weapons."
And Venti even helped cover the lie, because those two "weapons" were so ordinary they couldn't be more ordinary.
They weren't divine artifacts at all.
All of it happened under Stanley's gaze.
You could say Stanley's lies hadn't been exposed only because Venti was secretly helping him.
And then, at Venti's suggestion, they came here.
Who would've thought the moment they arrived, they'd get a shocking revelation—
Stanley might not be "Stanley."
Just as Venti had said.
Stanley might be someone unwilling to forget the past… someone who chose to abandon the present.
Thinking about it now, perhaps Venti had already known Stanley wasn't Stanley back then.
Lumine gave Venti a long, meaningful look.
Venti blinked in confusion at her glance, then refocused his attention on "Stanley" behind them.
"Wuu… wuu… ngh… Stanley…" "Stanley" lay sprawled on the table, still sobbing.
"Back then, the one who died in Mare Jivari… why wasn't it me?"
"Why… why did I steal your name, and your soul never came to stop me?"
"Stanley…"
Lumine and Paimon exchanged a look, eyes widening.
Paimon still didn't understand what was happening.
But Lumine already did.
She never expected the truth to be like this.
The one who died in Mare Jivari had been the real great adventurer Stanley.
The "Stanley" who survived was only an ordinary adventurer.
But why did he keep spreading Stanley's heroic deeds?
Was it guilt?
Or was it for fame?
Lumine had a lot she wanted to say, but she held it back.
They needed to see what this "Stanley" truly thought—otherwise they might wrong him.
Besides, after what happened in the afternoon, Lumine and Paimon could already tell this Stanley wasn't a bad person.
The reason he did it was only to get Jack's parents to acknowledge Jack.
He wanted Jack to become a brave adventurer.
So they wanted to know whether this Stanley had his own reasons.
"If you hadn't been protecting a newcomer like me, you wouldn't have died in that windless place!"
"You already had the title of a great adventurer, but… but for trash like me… you'll never become a legend again…"
Hearing this, Paimon couldn't help asking, "Th-then… what exactly is going on?"
Venti stared at the "soul" beside Stanley and explained,
"I think… back then, he really did find Mare Jivari, and he truly did run into danger there."
"But the companion who explored with him… that was the real 'great adventurer Stanley'!"
"The real Stanley… died to save the Stanley we know."
Otherwise, there was no way to explain the crushing guilt he felt toward Stanley.
That was also Lumine's conclusion.
The only thing she still didn't understand was why he went this far.
For fame?
For money?
Or because he couldn't forgive himself?
"Ah… so the reason this 'Stanley' is called Stanley," Paimon finally caught up, "is because he 'stole' someone else's name?"
"That's probably exactly it," Venti nodded.
Behind them, Stanley continued mumbling.
"Stanley… I was scared for so many years…"
"I was afraid Mondstadt would forget you completely… so I went everywhere telling your adventure stories…"
"I want everyone in Mondstadt to remember—Stanley reached the center of Mare Jivari…"
"He was the greatest adventurer… he's still alive!"
"Stanley won't die, because I am him!"
"Because I am… Stanley…"
When he said those words, "Stanley's" eyes were filled with unwavering conviction.
But right after, his shoulders slumped, and he said in despair,
"I'm sorry, Stanley… even I'm old now… I'm old too…"
"Ah…"
Now everyone understood.
They understood why he'd done it.
There was no fame, no fortune involved.
It was only guilt—guilt so heavy he wanted Stanley to keep living on in Mondstadt's hearts.
He wanted Stanley's experience to be remembered, so every adventurer would know.
He really was a pitiable man.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For 20+ Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!] [[email protected]/Draumel]
[Thank You For Your Support!]