It was raining in Mondstadt City.
Dense lines of rain wove into a thick fog, pressing heavily against the leaden sky. Raindrops converged into streams, slowly seeping down the crevices of this ancient city-state.
A curtain of rain hung on the stone pillars of Mondstadt Square. If not for the occasional breeze stirring that rain curtain, one couldn't even tell it was rain. It was a sheet of black.
Was he an idiot?
The girl gazed out the window.
He came again today.
In the morning, it was still a drizzle. He appeared in the square with his sword as before. The girl thought he would wait a while and leave. But unexpectedly, it was now noon and the rain had also intensified—he was still in the rain.
Rostam wiped the rainwater from his cheeks. He was completely soaked. His golden hair tangled together.
His usually neat and tidy knight's uniform also stuck to his body. The pouring rain showered down on his not-so-imposing frame, bouncing off his body's contours in a faint white outline.
Despite this, the boy showed no intention of leaving.
It seemed, even with today's heavy rain, he wasn't planning to leave early.
He was going to stay until dusk as usual.
What an inflexible fool!
The girl had never seen such an idiot in her life.
"Rosalyne-Kruzchka Lohefalter"—this was the girl's name.
She was born into an aristocratic family in Mondstadt. From a young age, she received a noble lady's etiquette education. Her daily lessons were reading and cultivating herself. Her family didn't allow her to go out at will. Her life's path was also clear—to become a scholar.
She had no dissatisfaction with this arrangement. Staying in the study, she read all kinds of books—epics, operas, or popular novels... She quite liked the fantasy stories in books. The knight charging into the valley, the lovers embracing before Dragonspine, the old man dying at Cape Oath...
She liked reading these stories because the girl knew they were false.
The more she read, the smarter she became. The more people she met, the more she found those around her foolish, vulgar, and dull.
She liked to tease these foolish fellows.
That guy named Rostam was the most foolish.
How could he be so foolish?
Foolish and stubborn, with a temper like a mule.
He kept his so-called "oath". Couldn't he tell he was being tricked?
But he still came every day.
It was just a joke. This idiot really came every day... But it was pouring today!
For the past month, the girl never once thought to end this game. Just go down and casually dismiss the boy with a few words. But for some reason, she couldn't take that step. The longer time dragged on, the less she did so.
Was she afraid he would be sad and disappointed if he knew?
Was she afraid he would never come again?
Or... shy?
The girl shook her head.
Nonsense, how could that be. Just afraid of losing the fun later.
She wasn't sure what she was thinking. She couldn't even figure out her own thoughts.
The girl didn't know why she cared so much about this kind of fool.
She lightly pursed her lips, her fingertips unconsciously clenching. The rain fell heavier and heavier. The entire Mondstadt City sank into a world of white water. The sky-filling raindrops struck every corner of this ancient city-state. Not a single person was on the streets. The boy stood alone in the white hazy world, lonely like a little wolf abandoned on a rainy night.
She didn't want this.
Dusk slowly fell. The vast rain completely drowned out the setting sun. Not a bit of sunlight could be seen.
Rostam returned his sword to its sheath. He took one last look at the time on the clock tower and decided to go home.
"The west wind bears wine's fragrance away,"
At this moment, a faint singing suddenly came, mixed with the rain drumming on the eaves, making it blurry and indistinct.
It was Rainy Night at Cider Lake.
Rostam raised his eyes. He still heard the melody of this song clearly. In the vast rain, everything was hazy. The boy couldn't find the source of the singing.
The rain was too heavy and annoying.
That song was melodious and clear, with a bright sorrow, blending perfectly with the sound of rain.
"The mountain wind brings glad tidings new."
"The breeze from afar tugs at my heart,"
"It sings of my longing for you."
...
What a beautiful song.
But the rain was too heavy. That singing hid in the rain. He couldn't find it.
Rostam slowly drew his sword from its sheath. Formless wind gathered. He gently closed his eyes, listening to that song. His hands moved naturally. The raindrops struck the sword wind, slowly shattering, dissipating into fine mist.
He was slashing the 'rain'.
Slashing this rainstorm.
All the accumulation, all the inspiration reached its peak at this moment.
Astonishing elemental power was gathering. The pinnacle of the Favonius Bladework was forged on this day. The entire Mondstadt City felt this staggering change.
He danced with the wind. That wind seemed to be singing too. More and more raindrops were shattered. More and more mist was sliced open. More and more of the heavy, eye-blocking haze dispersed. Rostam's sword grew faster and nimbler. That wind split the clouds, parted the sky. As the wave-like mist receded, sunlight poured down in a deluge—
He had sliced through the rainstorm in Mondstadt City. The name of Wolf Pup began from this day!
As the world cleared, everything revealed its true form. Rostam looked towards the source of that singing.
The girl was still singing, obviously not yet aware that she had been discovered. After a moment of daze, she finally reacted. The singing stopped abruptly, directly meeting Rostam's gaze.
Her fair earlobes slowly flushed red, like a wisp of cloud stained with sunset glow. That blush spread from her earlobes, slowly appearing on the girl's delicate cheeks. Her light purple eyes were as moist as a flowing lake.
As if a long-wrapped veil of shame was torn off, the girl was momentarily at a loss for words.
She put the witch's hood over her head, making an ostrich-like sound,
"You... you idiot!"
"Uh..." Rostam was suddenly scolded, obviously a bit slow to react. He scratched his head, "What's your name?"
"...Rosalyne-Kruszchka Lohefalter."
"You couldn't have been peeping at me all this time, right?"
Rostam was an honest gentleman. He always spoke frankly.
"..."
"WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Nonsense you jerk!"
The weather had completely cleared up.
After the long-overdue wind and rain, Mondstadt City finally cleared up. Limpid and clean flowing light flowed on the clean streets.
—
It finally cleared up.
Seino Fugin coughed. He gazed at the newly cleared Mondstadt streets.
Rostam's memory inheritance was not complete. He knew very little about the past. But he fully recalled the memory of that rainy night when the Favonius Bladework reached its peak.
Indeed another short-lived fellow.
He now knew he was once 'Rostam', the former Vice Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius.
He was now both 'Rostam' and 'Seino Fugin'. But frankly, he had always been himself. Seino or Rostam, never changed. He just remembered the forgotten things.
Actually, none of this mattered. The remnant memories awakened, only to die completely in erosion—returning only to go and die.
This way, the erosion of the past would no longer trouble him.
The Human Principles System issued a new mission.
[Mission: Investigate the Temple of the Four Winds]
[Reward: Memory Fragment Playback (Ⅱ)]
He would slowly recall Rostam's matters. When he remembered everything, when he completed the unfinished mission, it would be the time for Rostam to truly die.
Right, today seemed to be the day the Fatui officially met with the Knights.