Lumine and Paimon reached Mondstadt's central plaza, their eyes widening as they found it teeming with people, circles upon circles of onlookers buzzing with excitement.
Cheers erupted intermittently from the crowd's core, a lively hum that piqued their curiosity as they hovered at the edge.
"What's going on in there—why's everyone gathered like this?" Paimon asked, her voice tinged with wonder as she craned her tiny neck.
"Let's slip inside and see for ourselves," Lumine replied, a subtle gust of wind swirling from her side to part the throng just enough.
Seizing the gap, they darted through, weaving past shoulders until the spectacle at the center came into view, prompting a shared burst of laughter.
There stood Wendy, strumming his lyre with flair, narrating Digimon: First Frontier while Meowthmon, his reluctant feline Digimon, acted out the tale beside him.
Wendy's melody wove through the air as he spun the story, his voice rising and falling, while Meowthmon shifted roles—now a menacing tyrant, now a timid Rollermon—with uncanny precision.
Their teamwork flowed seamlessly, a tacit harmony that captivated the crowd, drawing gasps and claps with every dramatic beat.
"Ying, didn't Wendy freak out around cats—how's he so cozy with Meowthmon now?" Paimon whispered, her brow furrowing in confusion.
Lumine shook her head, equally baffled—she'd seen his sneezes and shudders around felines, yet here he stood, unruffled.
Wendy, though, hid a grimace beneath his bardic charm, his heart wrestling with a silent ordeal he couldn't quite escape.
Meowthmon's insistence on shadowing him had worn down his resistance—blow it away with wind, and it'd scamper back, golden eyes pleading.
It sensed his unease and kept a cautious distance, never clawing or crowding, just yearning to stay near its chosen master.
Guilt tugged at Wendy—he'd summoned this creature into Teyvat, and abandoning it clashed with his free-spirited creed.
Cats might haunt his allergies and fears, but freedom was his gospel, and Meowthmon deserved its right to follow him too.
After a tense heart-to-heart, they'd struck a deal: Meowthmon could tag along if it stayed back, while Wendy plugged his nose with paper to fend off sneezes.
"This is too good—I've got to record it!" Paimon squealed, yanking out her camera, its lens glinting as she framed the duo's antics.
She adored this gadget, a prize from her comic read—far more fun than brawling, it let her capture moments like these forever.
Wendy's tale hit a crescendo, his voice rich with suspense. "As the gate to the human world creaked open, the Vampiremon's army surged forth, hunting the eighth child to snuff her out!"
"Tai and his crew fought to intervene, but the gate slammed shut, stranding them—will the eighth child survive, and can they claw back to reality?" he continued, pausing with a theatrical flourish.
"Today's saga ends here, folks!" he declared, strumming a final chord as the crowd groaned in unison.
"What—no way, you can't stop there!" a man shouted, frustration rippling through the listeners at the cliffhanger's edge.
"Keep going—I'll tip you—what happened to that kid?" another chimed in, coins jingling in his hand as an eager bribe.
"Did they beat Vampiremon or not? Don't leave us hanging!" a woman added, her voice sharp with impatience.
Wendy raised his hands, his smile apologetic. "Sorry, everyone—that's all I've got from the free preview at the bookstore; the rest is behind a paywall."
"Bookstore? What bookstore—Mondstadt's got no Digimon tales lying around!" a skeptic called, confusion knitting the crowd's brows.
Wendy cleared his throat, seizing his moment. "It's Galehaven Comics, a treasure trove of stories like Digimon: First Frontier, One Piece: East Sea Saga, and Cardcaptor Sakura's Magic—check it out if you're hooked!"
He poured his bardic soul into the pitch, desperate to funnel customers to Harlan—free comics hung in the balance, and Mora was better spent on cider.
"There's a place like that? I've got to see this Digimon ending," a burly man mused, intrigue lighting his eyes.
"Yeah, I need that Vampiremon finale—count me in!" a young woman agreed, her curiosity snared by the tale's threads.
"One Piece sounds epic—I'm sold on that!" a sailor roared, his taste for adventure stoked by the name alone.
The crowd buzzed with excitement, Wendy's words sparking a ripple of intent—until he dropped the real hook.
"It's not just stories—read there, and you can claim rewards, like this Meowthmon I got from Digimon," he said, gesturing to the cat at his feet.
"Dream of commanding a fierce WarGreymon, charming a Celestialmon, or bonding with a noble Leomon? Galehaven Comics makes it possible with luck!" he pressed, his voice a siren's call.
"No way—that cat's a Digimon? You're pulling our legs!" a grizzled vendor scoffed, arms crossed in disbelief.
"Rewards from reading? Sounds like a scam—never heard such nonsense," a merchant added, his tone dripping with doubt.
"Could he be for real? Nah, too wild," a teen muttered, half-hopeful but leaning toward skepticism.
"I'd sooner believe Barbatos is juggling apples in this plaza than buy that tale," an old woman cackled, shaking her head.
Wendy's grin faltered as he layered on the details—100,000 Mora per read, one book a day—and the crowd's disbelief solidified into jeers.
"Seriously? That price screams con—who'd charge that much for a book?" a baker snapped, his faith in the pitch crumbling.
Still, a few lingered, their interest unswayed—Fischl among them, her gothic flair cutting through the skeptics as she weighed the gamble.
Rich enough to spare the Mora, she saw potential—if Wendy spoke true, the rewards could be a jackpot worth every coin.
***
Support me on Patreon to read 50+ advanced chapters: patreon.com/Nocturnal_Breeze