To make Ellin's birthday a success, Fischl and the others bustled around Mondstadt City, gathering the materials themselves.
Ellin's sorrow weighed on everyone's hearts. Anyone who had seen her sitting atop the bell tower back then would have ached for her.
When the people of Mondstadt City learned that Ellin's birthday was coming, they all wanted to contribute something.
Some donated money, while others donated supplies.
They also shared their plans with Keqing, Kokomi, and the others inside the Serenitea Pot, asking them to invite Ellin's other friends.
"When they heard about your birthday, the people of Mondstadt, Inazuma, and Liyue all wanted to offer something of their own."
"See that enormous fruit cake?"
"The flour came from Liyue, the eggs from Mondstadt, and the milk from Inazuma. The people donated all of it willingly."
"The apple slices in the cake came from Mondstadt, the sunsettia slices from Liyue, and the lavender melon slices from Inazuma... The people picked those, too."
"Ehe~ I picked the apples!" Venti suddenly chimed in from beside them.
"Mm..."
Ellin nodded. Really, she could tell even without being told.
There were Inazuma's specialty lavender melons, Watatsumi Island's specialty giant fruits, and tables laden with Liyue-style dishes.
Those things had most likely all been donated by the people, too.
The wine was especially telling. Though it all came from Mondstadt, its vintages, styles, packaging, varieties, and ages differed. One glance was enough to tell that the people of Mondstadt had pooled it together, bottle by bottle.
Mondstadt was still rebuilding after the disaster, with everything waiting to be restored. Gathering so much wine for her could not have been easy for its people.
Yet no matter where they came from or what circumstances they faced, when they heard that their beloved god had fallen into sorrow