Bai You remained silent for a moment, thought for a while, and finally reached out and put the money pouch away.
"I appreciate your kindness, sir," she said. "I also remember your innocence."
Pantalone watched her pack her things, his eyes behind his glasses curving into a smile, as if he were both relieved and somewhat surprised by her decisiveness.
He picked up his teacup, about to say a few more polite words to smooth things over and see the guest off—
Bai You's movements suddenly stopped.
She remembered.
When she woke up yesterday, she heard that familiar system notification sound, but she didn't bother to read it carefully before casually swiping it away.
At that moment, a thought struck her, and the system's light screen in her mind opened in response.
"System, what was yesterday's sign-in reward again?"
[...]
A flash of light appeared on the screen, and a line of golden characters slowly emerged.
[500 packs of premium cigars]
[See for yourself in the storage space.]
The next moment, Bai You extended her consciousness over and was taken aback. There was indeed a whole large box of things in the storage space.
There were five hundred packs of cigars, neatly stacked, like a small, dark wall.
Her consciousness sensed a faint, deep fragrance emanating from the small wall.
She glanced at it, and the item description appeared on the screen.
[Premium Cigars]
[Description: Each pack contains three sticks, made from the world's finest tobacco leaves, naturally fermented through seventy-two processes, aged for five years, and then hand-rolled by master craftsmen. When lit, the smoke is mellow and smooth, with the initial aroma of sun-dried tobacco, followed by the subtle fragrance of aged tobacco in the middle, and a sweet finish.]
[Note: It does not harm the throat even with prolonged inhalation, and the aftertaste can last for half a day. For any smoker, obtaining it is like finding a treasure.]
Bai You looked at the phrase "a treasure beyond measure" and then at Pantalone, who was sitting opposite her, sipping tea with a gentle and refined demeanor. Suddenly, an idea came to her.
Isn't he Uncle Cigarette Butt in the game's storyline?
She didn't rush to move, her gaze returning to the screen—today's check-in.
[Check-in successful.]
[Congratulations, host, you have received today's reward--]
[ Object Fusion Device ×1]
As the light faded, something quietly appeared in the storage space.
[ Object Fusion Device ]
[Note: Up to five items can be combined into one.]
[Usage Rules:]
[I. Once merged, the process is irreversible;]
[I. This item is a single-use consumable. It will be destroyed immediately after one use. Please use with caution.]
Never mind, I don't have time to watch it now, I'll watch it later.
So she withdrew her consciousness from the storage space, because she hadn't thought about it for long; in reality, it was just a fleeting moment.
Bai You raised her hand, took out a pack of cigars from the five hundred packs in her storage space, placed it on the table, and gently pushed it forward with her fingertips.
Pantalone paused in his tea-serving hand.
"This is?"
"A small token of appreciation."
Bai You looked at him and said.
"I've heard that Lord Pantalone has a particular fondness for tobacco. Given the two generous gifts you've given me today, one for official business and one for personal use, I can't just accept them for nothing."
"This pack of cigarettes is just a small token of my appreciation; please don't find it offensive, sir."
Pantalone looked down and glanced at the pack of cigarettes.
The packaging is plain black, with no brand name printed on it, and looks quite ordinary.
He was in charge of the Northland Bank; what good stuff hadn't he handled?
Even the finest cigarettes from Liyue Harbor were simply placed on the outermost drawer in his study, to be taken out at will.
What kind of unusual cigarettes could a little girl possibly produce?
He thought this in his heart, but his face showed no sign of it. Instead, he became serious and took the cigarette with both hands.
" Harbinger Bai You, you're too kind," he said with a smile.
"Since it's such a thoughtful gesture, it would be too formal for me to refuse. I'll accept the gift and savor it carefully later."
"You can open it now, sir." Bai You blinked. "If it's not to your liking, it'll save me the trouble of embarrassing myself by taking it out again later."
Pantalone chuckled at her words: "Very well, then I shall gladly accept your offer."
He wasn't in a real hurry to dismantle it. He simply put the cigarette aside, chatted with Bai You for a few more minutes, and then personally got up to see her to the door.
"Have a safe journey." He nodded as he stood by the door.
"If there's any inconvenience in Mondstadt, please feel free to visit the branch; don't hesitate to ask."
"Thank you, sir." Bai You bowed and took her leave, then turned and went downstairs.
The sound of footsteps faded away down the stairs.
Pantalone closed the door, returned to his desk and sat down, then picked up the pack of cigarettes, rubbing his fingertips against the grimy black packaging.
"Hehe."
He chuckled softly, with a hint of nonchalance.
"It's rare to see someone give you cigarettes, especially just one pack."
He broke the seal and pulled one out.
The moment his fingertips touched the tobacco jacket, his movements froze without warning.
It's oily, smooth, and has a slightly sticky elasticity that comes from years of sun exposure.
He'd touched countless cigarettes in his life, but in that one moment, he knew something was wrong.
Its color was even more uniform and lustrous than the tribute items locked in his treasure room, which were said to be "worth ten gold pieces per piece".
Pantalone's casual smile slowly faded.
He brought the cigar to his nose and took a shallow sniff—
"This taste... it's no ordinary product..."
He struck a match and lit the cigar.
After taking the first puff of smoke, Pantalone sat motionless in his chair, as if frozen in place.
The smoke was so rich it was almost smoky, and it went down my throat with a warm sensation.
When he exhaled, the room was filled with fragrance, even suppressing the other smells in his study.
He stared wide-eyed at the flickering light between his fingers, speechless for a long time.
He smoked cigarettes his whole life, thinking he had tasted the finest cigarettes from Seven Nations, only to realize today—
Those tributes he once treasured now seem as rough as unkempt weeds in the face of this cigarette.
This is hardly a good cigarette.
This was like taking all the knowledge he had accumulated over half his life and teaching it to him from scratch.
The first one, in his Kamisato, burned his head and fingers before he snapped back to reality.
He didn't say anything, then pulled out a second one and lit it again by the flame.
He pulled the stick out a little too quickly this time. He closed his eyes, his brows furrowing at first, then gradually relaxing.
For the first time, the perpetually poised and calculating expression on his face completely vanished.
When the second one burned out, he reached out to touch the third.
He stopped just as his fingertips touched her.
A pack of cigarettes contains three cigarettes. Three cigars, at his usual smoking pace, would be finished in less than ten minutes.
If I smoke this third one in one big puff, there won't be any left.
Pantalone paused for two seconds, lit his cigar, but didn't immediately smoke it.
He leaned back in his chair, looked out the window, took a very slow and light breath, held it in his mouth, waited for the aroma to spread in his mouth, and then slowly exhaled it.
The wisp of smoke dispersed before his eyes, and he stared at it as if he were looking at something rare and precious.
He smoked this one for as long as he would normally smoke four or five.
The last spark extinguished between his fingers.
He looked down at the neatly arranged, grayish-white cigarette ash, then at the empty cigarette box on the table, which had no brand label.
"I misjudged him."
Pantalone picked up the empty cigarette box, examined it from all angles, and then brought it to his nose to smell the lingering aroma at the bottom.
Those three cigarettes, no matter how you look at them, surpassed all the cigarettes in his collection room; there was no comparison whatsoever.
" Water Nymph " Bai You..."
He suddenly felt that the small amount of personal compensation he had just given was both too much and too little.
Pantalone raised his hand and carefully put the empty cigarette box into the locked drawer on his right—alongside several of his important belongings.
Wait for the Bai You Harbinger to return from Mondstadt.
He had to find out for himself where the cigarette came from.
After a while, he took out a new pack of cigarettes from the drawer, took one out, and smoked it.
It was thrown into the ashtray as soon as I smoked it.
"That's way too bad..."
"No, waiting for her to come back will take too long."
"Someone, please investigate Bai You's whereabouts in Mondstadt."
"I must prepare a generous gift and inquire before she departs for Mondstadt."
The moon before my eyes is the moon in the sky, and the person on the moon is the person in my heart.
I should be looking up to see the moon, but I long for the person in my heart to see me.
Wishing everyone peace and happiness every year, and a joyous Mid-Autumn Festival! つ♡⊂