"You two… are you all right?" Lumine asked. Ever perceptive, she had noticed the subtle shift in both Lora's and Venti's moods, and her brow furrowed slightly.
"Huh? We're fine! Completely fine," Lora replied with a bright smile, waving it off. She then turned her attention to the two adventurers behind Lumine. "You're from the Adventurers' Guild, right? May I ask your names?"
"Ah! Um—hello!" The younger adventurer scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed. "I'm Jack, and this here is the great adventurer, Mr. Stanley!"
The moment he introduced the bearded man beside him, his tone changed entirely, brimming with undisguised admiration.
"Adventurer Stanley?" Lora repeated the name. In the depths of her vast memories, fragments of a familiar story slowly surfaced.
Oh… so it's them.
"Eh? So you're Mr. Stanley?" Venti exclaimed, eyes widening in surprise as he looked him over. "I've heard your name countless times! They say you reached the depths of the Sea of Ashes—and actually made it back!"
Paimon nearly jumped. "What?! You're that amazing? Then what even is the Sea of Ashes?"
Stanley waved his hands hurriedly, laughing awkwardly. "Ahahaha! That was all a long time ago! Still, I was pretty great back then. No need to admire me too much!"
Jack eagerly chimed in, turning to Paimon. "The Sea of Ashes is a vast wasteland made up entirely of ash—there isn't even a single breeze there. It's a place countless adventurers dream of exploring. Mr. Stanley is one of the few great adventurers who successfully returned!"
Lora clapped her hands, gazing at Stanley with open admiration. "That's incredible! Mr. Stanley, you truly live up to the title of a great adventurer!"
"Hmph! Naturally!" Stanley planted his hands on his hips, pride written all over his face. He pointed behind him, toward where the Hilichurls had surrounded him earlier. "If you hadn't stepped in, those Hilichurls wouldn't have posed any challenge to me at all!"
Paimon and Jack looked at him with even greater awe.
But Lumine felt something was off.
She glanced at Venti and Lora. Both of them were smiling—almost too naturally—as they watched Stanley.
Strange.
For now, Lumine chose to set her doubts aside.
"So, Mr. Stanley," Venti said with an easy smile, "what are you and Jack planning to do next? Would we be honored to join you?"
Stanley looked Venti over, then glanced at Lora and Lumine. After putting on an exaggerated show of deep thought, he finally nodded.
"Hm! Very well. You don't look like the sort to drag us down. You can join—but remember this! During the adventure, you'll be following my commands!"
"No problem!" Lora agreed without hesitation.
Once they set off together, Lumine quietly moved closer to Lora and Venti. Lowering her voice, she asked, "Venti… what's really going on? Why did you suddenly want to join his adventure?"
Venti chuckled and raised a finger to his lips.
"Lumine," Lora said gently, "you'll understand once everything's over. Trust Venti—he may seem unreliable, but he wouldn't do something pointless."
"Oh my, Lora really does understand me," Venti said with a grin.
Lumine looked from Venti to Lora. In the end, she chose to trust her judgment. It was true—Venti might not act like a god, but he wasn't one to waste time on meaningless things.
As they followed Stanley onward, he regaled them with stories of his journey to the Sea of Ashes. Every tale was presented as something he had personally experienced, and even among adventurers, they sounded nothing short of legendary.
Paimon was completely absorbed.
The line Stanley repeated most often was this: as adventurers, they must never die in a place without wind.
That belief wasn't his alone—it was shared by all of Mondstadt. As worshippers of the Anemo Archon, they did not wish to rest eternally in a place the wind could not reach. In another sense, it was their lingering attachment to home.
"Mr. Stanley is truly amazing," Jack said, gazing at him with unshakable admiration.
Eventually, Stanley led Jack to an abandoned Domain. Though it looked dangerous at first glance, its long-abandoned state meant the real threats were minimal. Most of the trouble was dealt with by Lumine, and the group emerged safely.
Once they were outside, Stanley made an excuse and left ahead of them.
After the Domain, Paimon gradually came back to her senses. The more she thought about it, the more something felt off about Stanley. But with Jack still around, she kept quiet, not wanting to say anything that might upset him.
Even so, both she and Lumine had already reached the same conclusion.
Something was wrong with Stanley.
Venti, however, only wore a mysterious smile. "Don't rush it. Tonight, we'll go to Angel's Share. Then you'll understand what's going on with him."
"Huh? Angel's Share?" Paimon stared at him blankly, utterly confused.
Despite that, the group arrived at Angel's Share that evening. The moment they stepped inside, Paimon spotted Stanley sitting alone at a table, silently drinking. Just as she was about to speak, Lumine tugged gently at the back of her cloak, signaling her to stay quiet.
The four of them took seats at the table next to his.
"Stanley… tell me," the man murmured, slumped over the table. "What should I do…?"
Paimon blinked. "Huh? Why is he calling his own name? Don't tell me… there's another Stanley?"
Venti gave her a knowing wink, urging her to listen.
The man's voice slowly broke into sobs.
"Stanley… back in the Sea of Ashes, why wasn't it me who died? Why didn't your soul stop me when I stole your name?" His shoulders trembled. "Stanley! If it weren't for protecting me—a useless rookie—you wouldn't have died in that windless place!"
"You already had the title of a great adventurer… and yet, because of me, you'll never become a legend."
"Th-this…" Paimon stared at him, completely at a loss.
Venti spoke softly, his voice calm and heavy with meaning. "He really did reach the Sea of Ashes. All the dangers he described were real. But the companion who traveled with him… was the true 'Great Adventurer Stanley.'"
He paused.
"That Stanley died to save the 'Stanley' sitting before us now."