Chapter 21: Chapter 21: A Thousand Dandelions
The most renowned tavern in Mondstadt is 'Angel's Share', and its signature drink is dandelion wine. The owner of the tavern controls half of Mondstadt's wine industry and also happens to be an old acquaintance of Victor Wang—Diluc.
Victor Wang rushed straight to Angel's Share.
Pushing open the main door, he found the interior layout just like in the game, but more spacious, with more seating. Directly ahead was the bar counter.
It was just past lunchtime, so there weren't many customers in the tavern. Still, Victor Wang noticed both Venti and Rosaria were here. Venti, catching Victor Wang's gaze, even smiled and raised his glass in greeting.
'Venti, you're quick.'
Victor Wang walked nonchalantly toward the bar.
The bartender, Charles, noticed the newcomer. "New face, huh? Want to try Mondstadt's specialty dandelion wine?"
"Two glasses. One for you, one for me."
"Heh."
Charles nodded and leisurely took two wine glasses from under the counter. He went to the other end of the bar and filled them with a colorless liquid from a barrel. He pushed one glass in front of Victor Wang, then lifted his own and took a small sip.
Victor Wang held his wine, raised his left arm to shield his face, and took a small taste.
It had a slightly bitter and slightly sweet taste, but what lingered most was its fragrance. At least it didn't burn the throat. As someone who didn't know wine, that was all Victor Wang could say.
He put down the glass. "My visit today is actually related to this wine."
"Oh?"
"I'm hoping to purchase some dandelions."
Charles shook his head. "We do have dandelions in storage, but they're used strictly as ingredients for wine. We've never sold them directly."
"Can't you talk to the owner?"
"How many do you want?"
"One thousand."
"In that case, I'll report it to the master. Come back tomorrow morning—whether it's approved or not, we'll let you know then."
Victor Wang raised his glass again, left hand shielding his face, and downed the wine in one go. "I hope there'll be good news."
After putting down the glass, Victor Wang didn't leave right away. He glanced over at Rosaria, who was still drinking heavily, then made his way toward Venti.
"What are you doing here?"
"Drinking."
"…I can see that. I heard Lumine was looking for you. You didn't miss her, did you?"
Victor Wang was worried the main questline would stall here.
"Oh—" Venti looked up in thought. "I already told her what I needed to say before I came to drink."
"Good. I'll head out first."
"Wait, order me a glass of dandelion wine too. The bartender won't sell it to me, hehe." Venti rubbed his hands together, full of anticipation.
After fulfilling Venti's small wish, Victor Wang felt a little tipsy as he left Angel's Share and headed to the city's stables to return his horse.
The stables were operated by the Knights of Favonius and located nearby. There, Victor Wang ran into Lumine and Amber.
'Lumine, you're fast too. I only made a quick round-trip and you two are done talking already?'
Then he slapped his forehead. 'How silly of me—Lumine can teleport using anchors.'
Amber was explaining wind currents and speed rings to Lumine.
"Lumine's taking the gliding exam?"
"Yeah."
"Good luck!"
When Victor Wang returned to Angel's Share again, it was the following morning as agreed.
He pushed open the tavern's main door to find Diluc behind the bar, which surprised him a bit.
At that moment, Diluc was expertly preparing a drink for a guest with impressive skill. After finishing, he looked over at Victor Wang.
"You're here."
"I'm here."
'Are you waiting just for me?' Victor Wang wondered.
"Charles." Diluc called the bartender over and handed over the bar duties. "Let's sit upstairs."
Though that last line wasn't directly addressed to Victor Wang, he knew it was meant for him. He followed Diluc up to the second floor of the tavern.
Diluc Ragnvindr—master of the Dawn Winery, head of the Mondstadt Chamber of Commerce, former cavalry captain of the Knights of Favonius. On the surface, a perfect gentleman; in secret, a dark night hero who enacts justice alone.
His attire matched his preferences: aside from his fiery red hair and white shirt, everything else was black.
Victor Wang silently observed the man in front of him.
Many say Pyro characters are usually lively—except for Diluc.
But Diluc once kept a pet turtle as a child. His father's death clearly left a deep impact on him.
In Victor Wang's mind, Diluc was the type who was intelligent, carefree about trivial matters, but would take extreme actions in extreme times.
In the past, Diluc stood against evil like a blazing fire, refusing to compromise. But ever since being defeated by one of the Fatui Harbingers, something in him had changed.
'The unyielding breaks easily; those who bend remain undefeated.'
Diluc sat down at a corner table on the second floor, and Victor Wang took the seat across from him.
"Victor Wang, apprentice adventurer, author of Tales from the Box. You've been in Mondstadt less than a month, already kidnapped once by the Fatui. And these days, you've been hiding under that cloak, yet somehow the city guards didn't notice."
Diluc rested his elbows on the table, his interlaced fingers covering his mouth, and looked at Victor Wang inquisitively.
'Please don't do that, Master Diluc… you look just like him when you do that…'
Victor Wang replied, "I'm allergic to sunlight. Senior Alice saw how pitiful I was and gave me this cloak—it shields me from the sun and doesn't attract attention."
He brought up Alice for credibility. Diluc knew Alice well; beyond that, she was also Albedo's mentor and Klee's mother.
Though Diluc himself had done undercover work and clandestine activities, as Paimon once said, Kaeya is the type to play dirty openly, while Diluc does honorable things in secret.
Compared to someone as slippery as Kaeya, Diluc was definitely easier to deal with.
"…Doesn't matter. I don't care about that. I care about what you've done. What do you need a thousand dandelions for? Aside from winemaking, I can't think of any use."
Victor Wang replied seriously, "It's to treat my sunlight allergy. You know Venti, right? He said he could cure me, but I need a thousand dandelions. That's why I came here."
Diluc was well aware of Venti's identity as the Anemo Archon.
"Venti… huh?" Diluc looked thoughtful.
"I'm telling the truth. If you don't believe me, next time Venti comes to the tavern, ask him yourself."
Victor Wang sensed Diluc was speechless, which made him inwardly gleeful. Then he added sincerely, "Master Diluc, I really need those dandelions. Going out to collect them myself would be way too dangerous."
"…Alright. I'll sell them to you. Three hundred Mora per dandelion. One thousand dandelions, three hundred thousand Mora."
Since he'd now acquired them, and still needed to gather other ingredients, Victor Wang thought for a moment and asked, "Can I pick them up later once I've collected everything?"
"Other ingredients?"
"The Tail of Boreas. Do you know where the Great Wolf is?"
Diluc shook his head.
'Crap… has the Wolf trial not unlocked yet? Whatever, as long as Lumine's not in a rush, I'm not either. Stick with her and I'll be fine.'
"There's also Tears, Plumes, Nails, and Sighs of Dvalin. Who is Dvalin? Do you happen to have any of these? If so, I won't need to go searching."
With a pained look, Diluc shook his head. "The winery will reserve the one thousand dandelions for you. When you need them, just contact Charles to retrieve them."
Victor Wang could tell he was being dismissed. "Thanks so much! I'll take my leave then."
Three hundred thousand Mora—much cheaper than he expected. For Diluc, this was probably just a small transaction.
Why had he wanted to meet face-to-face? Probably to test him. In the end, he'd been rendered speechless.
'Master Diluc is a good man.'