Fellow Unfortunates? No, I'm the Only One Who's Broke

The young man looked to be in his early twenties.

He had an extremely handsome face, with hardly a flaw to be found from any angle.

His short blond hair was immaculately groomed, stirring gently in the breeze.

He wore an understated dark coat. Though simple in style, it was impeccably tailored and fit his figure perfectly.

Most striking of all was the fabric. In the afterglow of the setting sun, its dark surface shimmered with a soft, subtle luster like that of pearls.

It was high-grade Silk Flower fabric imported from Liyue. Exceptionally light and breathable, it was outrageously expensive.

A single inch of the fabric could be traded on the City of Mondstadt's black market for ten bottles of Angel's Share's finest signature Dandelion Wine.

At that moment, the wealthy young man held a small, exquisite silk pouch filled with crushed almonds.

Wei Zhenzu sniffed. A distinctive nutty fragrance drifted through the air.

They were premium spiced almonds from Sumeru, an ingredient usually supplied only to top restaurants for desserts. Even ordinary people with money had a hard time buying them.

A bird with bright emerald-green feathers perched unguardedly on the young man's fingertip.

With his other hand, the young man picked up a pinch of crushed almonds and carefully fed it to the bird.

After giving it a mouthful, the young man lowered his eyes and let out another long sigh.

"Alas... poor little bird." The young man's voice was low and rich, as though it could put someone at ease in an instant.

Hiding behind a tree trunk and watching the young man from behind, Wei Zhenzu suddenly arrived at an entirely reasonable conclusion.

Out here in the middle of nowhere.

A grown man was sitting here alone without a guard, sighing away, skipping dinner to come here and feed almonds to a wild bird.

He must have run into some enormous trouble!

Case solved, Wei Zhenzu thought to himself.

Looking at how melancholy he is to the bone, he probably ran into the Treasure Hoarders out in the wild, or got ambushed by those Hilichurls who know military tactics. His carriage and luggage must have been completely looted, and even his attendants might have all run off.

At that thought, a powerful, almost pathological sense of kinship suddenly welled up in Wei Zhenzu.

Great, so I'm not the only unlucky bastard in Teyvat who gets beaten up.

We're both unfortunates adrift in the world. We ought to band together for warmth!

He straightened his tattered tie, doing his best to make his scorched suit look a little more presentable.

He brushed the dust off his trousers, cleared his throat, and strode over.

"Brother!" With all the familiarity of an old friend, Wei Zhenzu slapped the young man on the shoulder.

"Sitting here sighing all by yourself?"

The sudden gesture startled the young man. The bird on his fingertip flapped its wings, let out a shriek, and flew away.

He turned around and looked at the stranger before him with a somewhat bewildered expression.

The man's face was black and blue, and his suit was full of holes. He looked just like a beggar who had escaped from a refugee camp.

Wei Zhenzu figured he must have been starving too, forcing a smile as he fed the bird.

He grabbed Paimon, who had been following behind him and was about to resume gnawing on her Sunsettia.

Without the slightest hesitation, he pried the half-eaten Sunsettia from Paimon's hands and eagerly offered it to the young man.

"Here, have this to tide you over!" Wei Zhenzu's face was full of sympathy, and his tone was sincere.

"Brother, was it that bunch of Hilichurls who know military tactics up ahead in Whispering Woods? Did they gang up and kick you around with that rotten ice-and-water permafreeze tactic of theirs too?"

Paimon stomped her feet anxiously in midair, her little hands grasping wildly.

"Traveler! That's my dinner! I couldn't even bear to finish it myself, and it's got my teeth marks on it!"

Wei Zhenzu glared at Paimon.

"Adults are talking. Kids shouldn't interrupt. When we're away from home, we need to help each other out. Right, brother? Did they even take the money you had for dried noodles?"

The young man stared at the meager half of a Sunsettia before him. There was indeed a clear row of little teeth marks on its skin, and he froze in shock.

But he neither took the fruit nor got angry.

He merely reached into the inner pocket of his coat and, with the utmost elegance, took something out.

It was a snow-white silk handkerchief.

Around its edges, an intricate and magnificent family crest had been embroidered by hand in pure gold thread.

The young man used the handkerchief to gently wipe the fingers he had just fed the bird with.

He was meticulous, wiping every finger until it was spotless.

Then he carefully folded the costly handkerchief and put it back in his pocket.

"Hilichurls?" The young man frowned slightly, as if trying hard to understand the word.

He shook his head, his tone perfectly calm and polite. "No, my friend. I haven't been attacked by any monsters. Also, please forgive my ignorance... but what are dried noodles?"

The hand holding up Wei Zhenzu's Sunsettia froze in midair.

"Huh? You weren't robbed?" Wei Zhenzu blinked, looking dumbfounded. "Then why are you sitting here sighing all by yourself?"

The young man raised his head.

He gazed at the fiery clouds gradually fading on the distant horizon, his eyes growing deep and melancholy once more.

"I was merely lamenting," the young man said slowly, his voice as ethereal as a bard's verse.

"Though this bird has wings to fly freely, it does not know where it should fly. Just like my empty soul, which, amid this breeze filled with the fragrance of flowers, cannot find the slightest meaning in having a place to belong."

The air suddenly fell silent.

The gentle breeze of Windrise wafted past, bringing with it the pleasant scent of grass, but it could not blow away the turmoil in Wei Zhenzu's heart.

Paimon quietly flew over. She leaned close to Wei Zhenzu's ear, her big, round eyes fixed on the young man's pocket. She gulped.

"Traveler..." Paimon lowered her voice, her tone full of awe at the money involved.

"That cloth he just wiped his hands with looks really expensive. I think that cloth alone would be enough to buy us a month's worth of Sweet Madame. He isn't poor at all. He's just got nothing better to do on a full stomach."

Wei Zhenzu's hand remained frozen in midair.

He looked at the meager half of a Sunsettia in his hand, complete with teeth marks, then at the noble young man before him, whose entire being radiated money and melancholy.

He suddenly felt that the sympathy he had just been overflowing with, and the way he had looked like a poor wretch trying to "band together for warmth," were nothing short of a huge joke.

Expressionless, Wei Zhenzu withdrew the half-eaten Sunsettia and casually shoved it back into Paimon's hands.

A trace of toe-curling awkwardness hung in the air.

The young man stood, placed his right hand over his chest, and bowed slightly, giving Wei Zhenzu a flawlessly executed salute in the ancient style of a knight.

"Please forgive my earlier lapse in composure, stranger."

The young man's tone was sincere and elegant.

"Allow me to introduce myself properly. My name is Charles Torolfo. I am the current head of Mondstadt's Charles Family, and my ancestor was the Supreme Saint of France-Roland."