Genshin Impact, I, a mere mortal, cannot accompany you to the very end.

"All packed." Rosalyn lifted the huge backpack and placed the large bag of clothes on the carriage rack. "The books are packed too."

She was leaving Mondstadt and her hometown to study at the academy in Mount Meru.

As the second-in-command, Rustam cannot leave Mondstadt.

"Water bottle, clothes, dry food..." she counted on her fingers as if reciting a familiar story, "Everything is packed."

“Then we should go,” Rustan said.

She paused for a moment, then echoed, "Yes, it's time to go."

The summer breeze is gentle and peaceful; if it weren't for the occasional breeze that stirs the clouds, the whole summer would seem like a still painting.

On the long bridge at the gates of Mondstadt, the girl suddenly said, "You must write me a letter."

"what?"

“You must write to me.”

Rosalyn's shoulders trembled slightly. She looked up, grabbed Rustan's collar, and saw that the distance between them suddenly closed. They were pressed together for a long time, their moist and warm breaths mingling and slowly dissipating.

"You must write to me... Don't forget me, I want to receive your letters, you must write to me every month!" she demanded stubbornly and arrogantly, in a commanding tone and manner.

You absolutely must write it for me!

Rustan was caught off guard. He raised his hands in surrender and said helplessly, "Okay, okay, I'll definitely write it for you."

"Really?"

“This is the knight’s promise,” Rustan said earnestly. “You should trust the knight’s promise, Lady Rosalind.”

"A knight's promise is sacred and inviolable."

Rosalind stared straight at her.

Rustan looked at the latter for a long while, then loosened his grip on her clothes.

"Fool."

She said softly.

But then she smiled faintly, as if she were thinking of the past.

That was many, many years ago. Because of a joke she made, this silly blockhead started appearing in that square every day, waiting from day to night, just to hear her sing a song.

If this isn't an idiot, then who is?

You big idiot.

She gave a soft hum.

"Oh, right."

Rustan took out an hourglass from his pocket—no, it should be called a water clock; it was very beautiful, with transparent glass scattering the summer sunlight.

"This is for you."

“What is this?” Rosalyn asked.

“The Water Clock takes about a week to complete, which is the same amount of time you spend studying at the Academy. Once the Water Clock has finished running, I will be able to see you,” Rustan said with a smile.

More of these cheesy and shameful things! Where do you get the nerve to say such things? Are all the knights this shameless?

Rosalyn was annoyed. This guy always managed to say embarrassing things in such a serious, sunny, and relaxed manner.

"...Fool."

She accepted the hourglass, waved goodbye, and got into the carriage.

Rosalyn said loudly.

"I never want to see you again!"

Time flies, and things change; these were their last words.

Human beings are as fragile as fireworks; do not mistake a fleeting moment for eternity. Cherish every word you can say to your family, your lover, and your elders. Life is as fragile as dust; every word is a farewell.

-

Time slowly passed, and the wear and tear of the years gradually eroded Qingye's heart.

Inside the academy of Sumeru.

The girl listlessly counted the leaves outside the window, lying on the clean table, feeling restless and agitated.

She had just had a fight with Rustan in a letter not long ago, about three weeks ago.

Or rather, she unilaterally wrote a letter scolding Rustan.

This guy wrote a letter saying that as the deputy commander, he was busy with official duties and that the transportation between Mondstadt and Sumeru was inconvenient, so he would stop writing to me for the time being to avoid delaying my studies. He told me to study hard over there and not to come back for now, and not to worry about him.

asshole!

The girl bit her lip angrily, her nails digging lightly into her palm. "Who likes to write you letters?"

Didn't you yourself say it was some kind of 'knightly promise'?

Knight, knight, knight—Rosalind hates nothing more than someone who talks about knights all the time.

The wooden letter was filled with messages like "How was the Knights doing today?", "How many petty thieves did you catch today?", and "I thought I caught a petty thief, but I ended up disturbing the Abyss Order's lair." The boy's tone was eager and expectant.

Busy with official duties.

She was angry, but didn't know why. This emotion wasn't entirely anger; it was more of a feeling of being wronged. Her emotions were mixed and unstable. Miss Rosalyn had never been treated like this before. In a fit of pique, she replied with a letter filled with accusations, in her usual defiant tone:

"If I don't want to write, then I won't."

"You'll regret this!"

"Nobody likes you!"

They had a fight.

Usually when they argue, the idiot will take the initiative to make up after a day or two. He has a very good temper and is very patient, so every argument ends with the girl's victory.

The girl was very confident.

But this time, Rosalind did not receive Rustan's apology letter.

Three weeks have passed, and it seems that, just as he wrote in his letter, the other party will no longer write.

Every day, when Rosalind passed by the post office, she would glance at it casually, then quickly look away. After doing this many times, the post office owner remembered Rosalind's appearance and would proactively say, "No, thank you."

Rustan did not reply.

The girl looked somewhat bewildered.

After her initial confusion, she became even angrier, scoffed, and said, "Who cares!"

Rosalyn stopped thinking about faith, or rather, she tried hard not to think about faith, and devoted herself to her studies.

Time passed just like that. The life of a scholar was monotonous and uneventful. He would wake up in the study, walk through the emerald green corridor, and go to the Academy to listen to the sages' lectures.

As spring days grew longer, cherries ripened on banana leaves. She spent her time reading, writing, and working on papers, a routine that was both tiring and fulfilling. She seemed to have truly stopped worrying about Rustan. Her studies were demanding, and she lay wearily in bed, with no one to talk to.

The girl was a foreigner, alone in a foreign land, and coupled with her nasty personality, she actually had few friends.

When she couldn't sleep, she would take out the letters Rustan had written to her, one after another. Letters were truly wonderful things. Between the snow-white paper and the black ink, amidst Rustan's simple and unromantic household chores, she felt as if she had returned to her hometown, to the land of windmills and pastoral songs.

She took out the water clock, which hadn't even finished running halfway.

I'll write to him tomorrow.

Rosalyn said to herself.

The next day.

"I'm sorry," the post office owner said somewhat awkwardly, scratching his head as he explained, "the mail can't be delivered to Mondstadt right now."

"Can't be delivered?"

surprised.

My first reaction was surprise.

"Yes."

The boss said, "Mundo's mail service is down right now."

"why?"

"...Mondstadt seems to have lost contact," the shopkeeper said.

blank.

A long, long period of blank space.

Her brain seemed to be processing every word her boss had said, but no matter what, she couldn't arrive at an answer through logic, leaving her completely blank.

"Eh?"

“Yes, they’re out of contact,” the boss said. “We just got the news. Emails have been down for the past few weeks, and it turns out Mondstadt is out of contact.”

Dizziness.

A sudden, inexplicable feeling of dizziness.

Rosalyn calmed down, forcing herself to calm down, "...Why did they lose contact?"

"The specific reason is unclear." The honest-looking middle-aged man scratched his head, "but according to the wise men, it seems to be because of a 'disaster'."

disaster...?

This is yet another blank word.

Disaster, disaster, disaster.

The unease and restlessness in her heart grew stronger. Rosalyn forced herself to calm down and took a deep breath, but she couldn't suppress the throbbing in her heart no matter what she did.

No, that guy is so strong. He's the vice-commander of the Knights of Favonius. He'll be fine.

They were simply out of contact due to the disaster.

Rosalyn comforted herself in her heart.

“I want to go back to Mondstadt…” she said. “I want to go back to Mondstadt.”

　But no coachman was willing to go to Mondstadt.