[Genshin Impact] A world where only travelers are alone

Cecilia could clearly feel that she was dreaming, because the feeling now was exactly the same as the countless times she had dreamed before, and she had just been arguing with Master Lawrence in his study, so it was impossible for her to suddenly appear in such a place.

As she thought about this, she looked around quietly.

Warm lights, beautiful wallpaper, a warm fire, and - a woman with long light blue hair beside the fireplace.

Her back was turned to her, and Cecilia could not see her face.

"...Who are you?" After thinking for a long time, Cecilia spoke.

Then she heard the woman laugh softly: [I have been looking forward to meeting you, Cecilia. I am the gatekeeper of the Lawrence family trial. Being able to meet me means that you are not far from finding your goal. ]

"Have you found your goal..." Cecilia smiled bitterly with her eyes downcast, "But why do I feel more and more confused? I no longer understand what I am insisting on. After all, even my father and brother have completely deviated from my vision and have become the person I hate the most."

"It's just a little setback, dear." The woman stood up from the sofa and gently stroked her head. "You need a little help now, and that's why the family trial exists."

[Cecilia, you need to prove to yourself that what you insist on is right.]

*
"So that's why you suddenly showed up here?"

By the campfire in the cave, after hearing what she said, the young man swallowed the cold and hard bread in his mouth with difficulty and asked.

Cecilia lowered her head and used a small wooden stick to pick up the charcoal underneath. She said calmly, "Yes, I think this may be the reason why I suddenly appeared here."

"Oh, it looks like you've accepted the fact now." The boy came closer with a playful smile, "You are completely different from the way you looked when you just woke up. At that time, you looked stupid and dazed. If you hadn't answered me when I asked you questions, I would have thought that I had saved a fool."

As he spoke, Cecilia recalled what happened not long ago.

She had just opened her eyes when she saw a hurricane covering the sky.

If it weren't for the stinging pain caused by the wind blade cutting across her cheek, she would almost think that she was still in a dream instead of the family trial that had already begun.

The boy appeared when she was still in a daze thinking about the principles of the family trial.

"Hey! This place is too close to the border drawn by Lord Diocletian. It's very dangerous! Even if you want to die, don't do it this way! This way of dying is not pretty at all, and it's super painful!"

Before Cecilia could realize what he meant, she was tackled.

Only after he pulled her several dozen meters away from the wind wall did the young man finally let go and lectured her with a stern face: "Hasn't your family taught you how dangerous wind walls are? If you are accidentally caught in them, you will be cut into pieces in an instant. Aren't you afraid at all!"

He spoke excitedly, but the person being lectured did not react at all and just stared at his face blankly.

The boy felt a little embarrassed, touched his face and complained: "I told you that I should wear a mask when I go out, but Gunhild said it's not necessary. How could it be unnecessary? This handsome face will make others lose their minds. Although I don't make a living by my face, but - well, since you are so unfortunate that you want to commit suicide, I will let you take a few more glances."

After saying that, he moved a little closer, as if he wanted Cecilia to see more clearly, but the latter's reaction was not what he expected. Instead, she pushed him away with a weird expression.

The boy could see that this was called disgust.

"Hey, hey, this is too hurtful." He muttered and complained.

After all, he just saved her. Cecilia patiently explained, "I'm sorry, I was rude just now. It's just that you look a lot like a friend of mine. I thought I saw him here, so I was distracted."

"A friend who looks like me?" the boy muttered. "This shouldn't be possible. Is there someone as handsome as me in this world? If there really is, why haven't I seen him before? It's really strange. This place is so small. I must have run into him anyway, right?"

Cecilia could now tell that he was truly narcissistic and talkative, completely different from the Wendy she knew. Even though they had the same face, they gave completely different impressions.

Besides, Wendy shouldn't appear in a place like this...

She looked at the completely unfamiliar scenery, and combined with the "Diakarabian" mentioned by the boy before, she finally realized that this was the era of the Lone King of the High Tower more than a thousand years ago. It was after the battle against the Lone King of the High Tower that the Lawrence family became one of the four great nobles of Mond.

Why on earth did that person send himself to this era?
She was still thinking, but the boy on the other side had already finished his struggle: "Forget it, forget it. If there really is someone who looks like me, there will always be a chance to meet him in the future. There is no need to rush. By the way, what is your name? Where do you live? It's a rare good deed, why not help him to the end? I'll take you home?"

Cecilia was stumped by his question and couldn't answer any question except her name.

Seeing the boy's increasingly suspicious expression, she could only point in a random direction: "My home is right there, no need to trouble you, I can go back by myself!"

The boy's expression suddenly changed and he understood.

"I see..." He smiled maliciously, "But if I remember correctly, there is no other place to live in that direction except the border and a lonely cave."

Cecilia quickly made up for it: "Yes, my home is in that cave!" "Unfortunately, that cave is a secret base for me and other friends, and we have never seen you there. Cecilia, lying is not what a good child should do~"

He had obviously guessed it a long time ago!
Cecilia knew that she had jumped into the trap he had dug, but it seemed that he didn't intend to care.

She tentatively admitted the incident.

The young man showed an expression that said, "Just as I expected." "In that case, I will be merciful and let you rest in my cave for a while."

So, things have developed into what they are now...

"Well...Cecilia, you really can't stand being praised. I just praised you, why are you daydreaming again?" The boy stretched out his hand and waved it in front of her eyes.

Wendy had done this action before, and the sense of immediacy was so strong that for a brief moment Cecilia felt that their figures overlapped.

She quickly shook her head and changed the subject: "Anyway, thank you very much for taking me in today. Speaking of which, I don't even know your name."

"You just realized this problem now?" The boy raised his eyebrows and tapped her forehead. "But even if you asked, I wouldn't tell you. My name is a secret. I won't tell it until the day my dream comes true!"

Cecilia fell silent.

Perhaps the emotion on her face was too obvious, the boy couldn't help but explain: "You don't understand, keeping secrets is a man's romance!"

Cecilia really didn't understand, but that didn't stop her from respecting the boy's decision.

"But speaking of it, I don't know whether to say that your family is cruel or powerful. They actually threw you to a place like this just for a so-called family trial. Aren't they afraid that they won't be able to get you back later?"

When explaining her identity to the boy, Cecilia made some embellishments. The boy believed, as she guided him, that she was an outsider and was thrown into the territory of the lonely king in the high tower by her family elders because of a family trial.

Although it's far-fetched, it's more reliable than telling him that he came from a thousand years later.

Cecilia calmly replied, "Who knows? But I still haven't figured out how to pass this trial. Maybe I will never be able to leave here again."

The boy was groping in his backpack. Hearing this, he didn't even raise his head. "Don't be so pessimistic. Didn't that person tell you that you just need to convince yourself? Maybe you should start learning to hypnotize yourself so that you can firmly believe in one thing? Don't you have anything you want?"

"Freedom?" Cecilia blurted out.

But after she finished saying it, she herself felt it was outrageous.

What is freedom? Now that she has freed herself from her father's control, does that mean she has gained freedom?

These two words are too vague and too outrageous.

But the boy seemed to like her answer very much and immediately became excited: "That's what I told you! Freedom is something that everyone wants. So it's understandable that your elders sent you here. After all, who else would desire freedom more than the people here?"

The territory of the "Demon of Tornado" Dekalapian, a strange place where everyone is trapped in a wind wall in the name of protection.

"Hey, since you come from outside, you must have seen a lot of things, right? For example, the sea, the forest and the flying birds?" The boy's eyes flashed with anticipation.

Cecilia thought he would ask something strange, and was even worried that she wouldn't be able to answer it after being confined in Lawrence's mansion for so many years. But she didn't expect that what he said in the end was such a simple thing.

She nodded. "I have seen them all, the soaring eagles and the gorgeous flowers. I have also heard the waves of the sea and the whispers of the forest."

"Wow, this is so cool!" The boy jumped up excitedly. "I've decided. Since you want freedom, why not join our team? You can compile your experiences into a book and use it as a propaganda tool to make everyone realize that the current situation is wrong and we should have a broader world!"

"My friend, you think so too, right?"

"Chirp!"

A loud cry drowned out Cecilia's puzzled voice.

She looked in the direction of the sound blankly, and suddenly found a small unidentified creature sitting on the boy's shoulder, holding the apple he had taken out of his backpack earlier, chewing it and making sounds of approval.

Cecilia: Huh?

(End of this chapter)