The Stingy Knights of Favonius

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After thanking Mona, Wei Zhenzu took Paimon to a spot across from With Wind Comes Glory, the largest general store in the City of Mondstadt, hoping to save money.

He walked up to the stall of the store's owner, Blanche, and cleared his throat. He had decided to put his skills as a chef to use, buying some cheap seasonings to cook with at home.

"Shopkeeper, I'll take a bottle of light soy sauce, a bottle of dark soy sauce, half a jin of star anise, two liang of Sichuan peppercorns, and some dried chilies and doubanjiang."

Blanche was arranging the wheat on the shelves. When she heard him, the professional smile on her face instantly froze.

She stared at Wei Zhenzu blankly, her eyes full of confusion, as if she were looking at an alien.

"Um... Honorary Knight, sir. These things you mentioned... are light soy sauce and dark soy sauce some new kind of alchemical potion?" Blanche rubbed her hands together awkwardly.

"All we have here is coarse salt, ground pepper, and some fresh mint picked today. Oh, and milk and onions."

Wei Zhenzu took a deep breath and closed his eyes in despair.

There was no soy sauce, no chili, and he couldn't even find the most basic spices.

It was like stripping a chef of his very soul.

"Forget it. Give me two bags of salt."

Carrying two bags of coarse salt, Wei Zhenzu continued strolling down the street with Paimon.

Still unwilling to give up, he passed by the famous Angel's Share tavern.

He had wanted to go in and see if the tavern had any salty snacks to go with drinks, like a plate of fried peanuts and salted edamame. Failing that, he could at least fill his stomach with some pickled radish.

But the moment he reached the heavy wooden door, a blast of noise from inside forced him half a step back.

It was only three in the afternoon.

At an hour when most people were still working, the tavern was already packed with red-faced drunks.

They gathered in groups of three or five, raising enormous wooden mugs and loudly singing drinking songs completely off-key.

The air was thick with the rich aroma of Dandelion Wine and the smell of roast meat.

Wei Zhenzu glanced inside through the crack in the door.

He even spotted that familiar green figure at a table in the corner.

Venti was holding his wooden lyre, grinning as he said something to a few half-drunk mercenaries.

He played a jaunty tune while reciting doggerel, making the burly men roar with laughter. One of them casually pushed a full mug of apple cider across the table to him.

From the look of it, this Anemo Archon, who never did any proper work, was clearly tricking people into buying him drinks again.

"Let's go, quickly."

Wei Zhenzu swiftly grabbed Paimon by her cape and pulled her along as he turned to leave.

"Huh? Aren't we going in to find something to eat?" Paimon protested, flailing in midair.

"Find what? If we leave a moment later and that drunken bard sees us, tonight's bill for the whole tavern will end up on my head as the Honorary Knight."

Wei Zhenzu hurried away without looking back.

The people of this city-state spent every day either singing or drinking, or eating sickeningly sweet roast meat.

They were certainly free enough, but for a chef with a stomach from another land, the local customs were a long, silent torment.

At dusk.

Wei Zhenzu sat on a grassy slope outside the City of Mondstadt.

Before him, Cider Lake shimmered, its surface dyed gold and red by the setting sun.

The scenery was beautiful, but Wei Zhenzu's and Paimon's stomachs both rumbled unhelpfully.

"Traveler, we've been hungry all day. What are we going to eat?"

He looked out over the lake, and, unable to bear it any longer, finally cried out from the depths of his soul.

"I can't spend another day in this western culinary wasteland!"

Wei Zhenzu sprang to his feet and spread his arms as if to embrace the distant sky.

"I'm going to Liyue! I want mapo tofu swimming in red chili oil! I want boiling poached fish covered in chilies! I want freshly cooked stir-fried meat with Jueyun Chili! Nobody's stopping me!"

Paimon sat on the grass, still upset that she hadn't gotten to eat Sweet Madame.

When she heard the long list of dishes Wei Zhenzu rattled off, even though she had never seen them, her mind automatically conjured up incredibly tempting images.

A glistening drop of drool slid from the corner of Paimon's mouth.

"Mapo tofu... poached fish..." Paimon swallowed, then sprang into the air, throwing up both hands as she shouted,

"All right! Traveler, I'm with you! Let's leave for Liyue right now and begin our grand culinary pilgrimage!"

The two immediately agreed.

No matter how beautiful Mondstadt's scenery was, it couldn't hold back a stomach from another land that craved the food of home.

"But Liyue is a long way off. We need to make a few preparations first." Wei Zhenzu calmed down and stroked his chin.

"What preparations? Should we get a few new pots?" Paimon asked.

"No, money." Wei Zhenzu turned out his pockets.

Apart from a few pitiful Mora coins, there wasn't a single thing in them.

During his stay with the Knights, everything from food and drink to his daily needs had been taken care of, so he had completely overlooked this practical problem.

The two of them were now utterly penniless.

"How are we supposed to travel without money?" Wei Zhenzu's eyes flicked toward the towering Knights' headquarters in the City of Mondstadt.

"Come on, let's go see Grand Master Varka. We're heroes who saved Mondstadt, after all. It's not too much to ask for a little travel money, is it?"

Ten minutes later, in the Grand Master's office at the Knights of Favonius headquarters.

Varka sat behind his broad desk, an exceptionally complicated expression on his face.

Jean stood beside him, holding a thick stack of documents and looking awkward.

"Well... ahem, Brother Liangzi. It's a good thing that you want to travel to Liyue. I'd also love to give you a generous reward to fund your trip..."

Varka's rough voice sounded somewhat hesitant. He scratched his hair, his gaze wandering.

"Don't tell me the Knights are out of money?" Wei Zhenzu had a bad feeling about this.

Jean sighed and handed over the documents.

"Honorary Knight, I'm truly sorry. The Knights' finances have... indeed run into a bit of trouble lately."

Jean opened the documents and pointed to the entries.

"According to the logistics department's figures, during the battles at Stormterror's Lair and the city gate, you and... those special abilities of yours caused extensive damage to the infrastructure."

Wei Zhenzu froze.

Jean cleared her throat. "Also, the boy Timmie on the bridge at the city gate was psychologically scarred by the aftermath of your battle, and the flock of mutated pigeons also requires considerable funds to calm, shelter, and manage."

Wei Zhenzu sucked in a cold breath. As much fun as he'd had fighting back then-even if he had taken a beating too-he was paying for it just as miserably now.

"So..." Varka coughed twice.

"To commend you for your achievements."

Varka stood up and solemnly produced a gold-trimmed silk banner bearing the words "Mondstadt's Savior, Honorary Knight" in large characters, then stuffed it into Wei Zhenzu's arms.

Holding the banner, Wei Zhenzu walked out of the Knights' headquarters with Paimon.

The last rays of the setting sun stretched their forlorn silhouettes behind them.