...
...Will my days for the next week only consist of being unable to do hard work...?
Laying down on a bed, waiting for my neck to heal...
...Not that I don't trust Albedo to be able to organise a festival properly because his forte is in alchemy.
But Albedo does have amazing art skills, as seen by the portrait he drew of me.
"3̴̝̈́͜g̴̜̜̕ṡ̶̯͂͝i̶͉̲͑̈̊ͅv̶̤̯̰̈́̄v̵̭̣̓̃̒3̶̱̜̓.̶̠̻̅̈́x̷̯̏̈́͠z̵̠͐͗i̵̩͖͗̊͘͜ȉ̶̺͉̰w̴̠͛͜.̷̬͖͐x̵̥͊l̷̢̿̕"
All of a sudden, the wind blew harshly through the window, as the curtains danced to its rhythm.
It was a nice breeze...
But something broke the peace once the noise of someone's sole tapping against the windowsill sounded through my ears.
"...What?"
I looked towards it to see a boy in green hopping through the window ever so gracefully.
"4̷̮̮̹̝̿̐̃̍͆y̵̨͚̬̹̰̳͂́͆̽̒̋̓͂͝ĝ̸̢̘͚̬͉̓x̸̧̱̒͒k̶͕̍͛̐́̑͝4̶̼̺̙̬͖͐̀̒͋̈́̇̄͝͝.̶̧̛̥̩̤͉͇͚̳͇͑̊̔̏̔ë̷̡̧͖̣̠̜̝̟̖́̇͂q̸̡̳̦̥̘͈͙̙̺͌̓k̸̢͙̙͙͛̅͝k̶̢̨̩̲̖̹̈̎̌̉̒́̾̋̕r̴̪̠̄̈́͛͝.̵̢̌ȩ̵̡͖̭̗͎́͜ǧ̷̨̢̘̟̙̠̰̘͍̊̾́̀̕͝ "
He tried to speak but the wind blew even harder, masking his voice.
"Venti." I blinked.
Hang on...Isn't he...?
"Whoo. Now that the wind has settled..." He skipped towards my bed, and sat down beside me.
"Wait. Venti..." I looked at him, "Are you not...Injured?"
The time we went to rescue Nimrod, he...
"Injured? Silly you. You should be more worried about yourself!" He grinned at me, gesturing at my neck.
"This injury isn't as worse as what I saw you had that day." I slowly tried to bring myself up to a sitting position.
"Ack-" I stopped immediately as I accidentally stretch the wound of my neck, just by a little bit.
"See? Take it easy on yourself." He pulled me up.
"Thank you..."
I stared at my feet that poked out of the blankets.
"So," Venti began, "I caught wind that Chief Alchemist Albedo will be taking over your job for the time being?"
"Yes, yes...For the time being..."
"Man, I wonder how we will celebrate my birthday next week." Venti smiled.
"Ah, the main venue will definitely be the Angel's Share Tavern, you drunk bard." I punched his arm.
"Ehe, you know me so well, Luminescent Knight!" He winked.
"...I wonder if Master Jean will overwork herself again, thanks to my absence...?" I stared at, nothing in particular, as I softly spoke my mind, "It's not good to keep yourself with work when it's the Anemo Archon's birthday."
"I wouldn't want any of you to work for my birthday either, to be honest..." Venti put his feet up on the bed, resting his head on his knees, "Even when I don't govern this nation, the people still worship me."
"But that's because they choose to. That's their freedom..." I looked at him, "Isn't that what you wanted in the first place?"
He let out a laugh, "Ahah, true that, true that. . ."
"I'll make sure Albedo can organise the best birthday you will ever experience."
He smiled, "Thank you, (Y/N)."
And it all fell quiet again.
I must've felt obliged to cut off the silence.
"...I feel bored."
"Bored? Well..." Venti wondered, before his eyes suddenly lit up and snapped his fingers.
"Let's play a game." He grinned widely, "It'll be a fun one, trust me!"
"Sure then. Go on." I nodded.
"Right then. Ahem,"
"I spy with my little eyes,
Something that begins with ' Y '!"
"I spy? Classic." My eyes darted around to room, looking for an object that meets the criteria.
"Hmm...I'm not very sure. Yeast...?" I pointed to a plate of bread on another patient's side table.
"Oh, not quite. Want to give it another go?"
"Not really. Not a lot of things that start with that letter here..." I sighed in defeat.
"Ahem!"
"Whatever is true,
The answer is ' You '!"
He gestured to the sketched portrait of me that leaned against the wall on the table.
"Aha...I consider that a trick question. Another one, bard!" I laughed.
"Hmm..." He scanned the room, "Ahem,"
"I look through the little room,
Something that looks like a tomb!"
"Woah, excuse me?" I blinked. I thought that it was only letters.
"Go on, go on. Guess!"
"Fine then..." I darted my eyes across the room again, and landed on something that could be the answer.
"Is it...The cross on the wall?" I pointed to the crucifix picture that hung beside another patient, "That looks like a tomb."
"Ding ding diiing ~ Bingo! You got it right!" Venti softly clapped his hands.
"Yes! Hit me with another one, Venti!"
"Sure then, Ahem,"
"My eyes are looking at something,
An object that looks like a string!"
"Hey, there are a ton of things that look like strings in here!" I lightly hit his arm.
"That's where the fun comes ~ ! You have to guess exactly which object I was referring to."
I huffed, "Sure. I'm up for the challenge."
"I'll give you a little hint, though. It is something very important for a room like this!"
"Huh. How generous." I began to think.
We are in an infirmary...Something that looks like a string...
As I pondered, my eyes slowly gazed towards Bennett's sleeping body.
"..."
Then it clicked!
"I've got it!" I snapped my fingers, "Bandages! They relate with healthcare, and they look like strings individually!"
"Wow...! Little (Y/N) is so smart! You got it right again!"
"But of course." I nodded with pride.
"Okay, this will be the last one." Venti said.
"Aw, last one? I was just beginning to enjoy myself."
"Do not whine, my dear, let us just savour while it lasts." Venti closed his eyes, and cleared his throat, "Ahem!"
"Looking across the room diligently,
My eyes land on what starts with ' B '!"
"Okay, I'll be sure to get this one right." I looked around the room for the last time.
"Hmm...B... What could it B?" I suppressed my laugh at my own joke, "Bed?"
He shook his head, "Nope, try again."
"Hm...Butterfly...?" I pointed at the little creature that was depicted in another painting that hung on the wall.
"Last chance!"
"Darn." I bit my bottom lip.
"...Bard...?" I pointed at Venti himself.
"Nope! All chances have been used. The answer is...!" Venti stood up from my bed and walked towards the window, where he came from.
"Bennett waking up!" He laughed, before waving, "Bye bye!"
And there he goes, hopping out of the window.
"...What was all that talking just now?" Speak of the devil, Bennett open his eyes slowly, and started to speak.
"Talking? You must be imagining things." I told him.
"I-I was...?"
"Just don't worry about it."
Bennett blinked, "Really...? Okay then..." He closed his eyes again.
My mind wandered to the game that me and the bard just played.
"Aha."
Why not have the people of Mondstadt play that game during his birthday next week?
...
"If you're happy, then I'm happy."
...
Chapter 3: Bard of the Breeze.
To Be Continued...
...
Yet another puzzle. Good luck ~