Teyvat Survival Guide

After taking a look, Samuel returned the hair tie to Giuliana.

Perhaps because he usually didn't pay much attention to it, Samuel suddenly realized that his hair could be tied up and developed a strong interest in "tying hair" and began to secretly fiddle with his white shoulder-length hair.

While shopping with two knights, a nun and an adventurer, he would look at the small mirror handed to him by Giuliana from time to time when no one was paying attention, and imagine himself tying his hair into a braid, then a single ponytail on the left side, and then a bun on the back of his head.

He also wanted to try some funny hairstyles like the "sky rocket" hairstyle, but he was outside and it would damage his image to fiddle with his hair in the street, so he didn't try it and just pretended to do it.

He will try again when he gets home in the evening. After all, as His Holiness the Pope who has become very famous recently and may be photographed by reporters at any time, he has to save his face.

And Eula, who was standing next to him, noticed something strange about Samuel.

Although we didn't see Samuel tying his hair, and he always had a gentle and calm expression, he seemed to be no different from usual.

However, with her keen observation, Eula discovered that His Majesty would secretly look at his hair in the mirror from time to time.

It seems... Your Majesty is quite interested in his hairstyle...

Well, I won’t bother him and just pretend I didn’t see it.

Having made the decision, Knight Eula transformed into the blind Dora on the spot, unaware of what was happening behind her, and continued to chat with Amber beside her.

Bennett on the other side was different from Eula and Amber, who were too embarrassed to talk to Samuel.

He really wanted to have a chat with His Holiness the Pope, and wanted to know whether the thousand-year-old elemental dragon knew where there were hidden secrets and treasures.

If he could find the most precious treasure in the world, all the old men would be able to live a good life, and Mondstadt's Adventurer's Guild would become lively.

But he didn't know how to start... The Adventurer's Guild didn't have the complicated rules like the Knights and the Church, and he and the elders in the Guild were always laughing and joking, but it would definitely not work to talk to His Majesty in this manner...

Bennett hesitated and began to wonder whether he should learn the salute posture of the Knights Templar or the prayer posture of the Church?

After thinking for a moment, he felt that since this was the first time he met His Majesty, it might be inappropriate to ask these questions right away.

…Forget it, I’ll ask again if there is another chance in the future.

He let out a sigh of relief and suddenly caught a glimpse of a slime store on the side of the road from the corner of his eye.

In the special cages placed next to the store's door, there are slimes one after another with different appearances due to their different elemental properties. Labels are attached to the outside of the cages, indicating the type and price of the slime.

There are many such shops in Mondstadt. Bennett sometimes buys some ice slime to apply to wounds when he gets injured during adventures, so as to temporarily relieve the pain.

Looking at the slimes in the cages, he suddenly remembered the wind slime he had met in Dragon Ridge Snow Mountain and the one that had impressed him deeply, and he became curious about its current situation.

So he walked up to Amber and Eula, who also knew the wind slime, and asked:

"Hey, do you remember the wind slime named 'Little Wind' in the snowy mountains?"

Upon hearing this, Amber stopped chatting with Eula and looked at him with surprise.

Then she looked at Samuel behind her, looking puzzled, but said nothing.

However, Eula immediately understood the whole process.

...Bennett probably forgot that "Xiao Feng" also has another name, "Samuel".

After all, it was she who first introduced Samuel to him and said that the wind slime was called "Little Wind"...

…It seemed that His Majesty did not explain his identity to Bennett at that time, so it was not easy for her to make the decision on her own.

So she thought about it for a moment and responded: "I remember, what's wrong?"

Amber looked at Eula in surprise, then looked at Bennett beside her, without saying anything.

"I heard from you, Eula, that you were going to send him to the Knights of Mondstadt to receive education, right?" Bennett asked curiously, "How is he doing now?"

"He's... quite good. He seems to have taken a liking to reading recently and often hangs out in the Knights' library." Eula chose her words carefully.

Amber looked at Eula in surprise again, with confusion in her eyes.

My brain was working at high speed, as if I was thinking about the birth of mankind and the destruction of the universe.

Bennett stroked his chin and responded:

"Is that so... I just can't concentrate on reading. I feel like I know every word, but when I put them together I don't understand what they mean...

“…No one in the Knights said anything, right? No one should bully him, right?”

Amber looked at Bennett in surprise again.

My Lord Barbatos, who dares to bully him?

It was not until Eula looked at her, with the corners of her eyes twitching as if giving hints, that she roughly understood the current situation.

——Bennett didn’t seem to know that “Saint Samuel” was “Xiao Feng”. When Amber figured this out, she was surprised and a little confused.

But after thinking for a moment, she realized that judging from the time, Bennett had already been trapped in the secret realm when Samuel was still on his way to Mondstadt.

If he didn't remember that "Xiao Feng" also had a name called "Samuel", it's possible that he would think that these were two different people...

After all, when she saw the words "two thousand year old elemental dragon" in the newspaper, she almost believed it if she didn't know what the original situation was.

Thinking about it, she took the initiative to speak: "...No, everyone in the Knights thinks Xiaofeng is very cute, and everyone treats him very well."

"Xiao Feng Ben Feng" noticed what the three of them were talking about together and listened to the message brought back by the wind, which was exactly this sentence.

It had been a long time since he was called by this nickname, and for a moment he couldn't react to who "Xiao Feng" was.

...Bennett is asking about his current situation?

The suppressed evil taste in his heart gradually surfaced. He raised the corner of his mouth and walked over quietly, and asked curiously in a clear and gentle boy's voice:

"Who is 'Xiao Feng'? Is he your friend?"

Amber and Eula suddenly stopped talking.

Silly Bennett didn't realize anything was wrong yet and nodded excitedly.

"Yes, it was a wind slime that we met in the snowy mountains before..." As he was explaining, he suddenly thought of something and quickly changed the subject, "-a little boy who was bullied by a wind slime. He was later rescued by Eula and sent to the Knights for discipline."

Phew... Fortunately, the secret that Xiaofeng is the incarnation of wind slime was almost exposed.

Amber heard that Xiaofeng is doing well in the Knights Temperance now, and we cannot let his current life change suddenly because of his momentary slip of the tongue.

God knows what His Majesty would think if he knew that the wind slime could transform into a human form... Bennett thought with some fear, and at the same time was glad that he reacted quickly enough and made up for it.

Hearing him say this, Samuel was thankful that several months of training had enabled him to control his expression, otherwise he would have been unable to suppress the smile.

He coughed to hide his smile and continued curiously:

"Bullyed by the wind slime?"

Bennett was startled by his bright blue eyes and quickly looked towards Eula.

Eula twitched her lips.

She could see that His Majesty simply wanted to tease Bennett.

She shouldn't have taken up the subject.

However, under Bennett's pleading gaze, she still held on and spoke with difficulty:

“…To be precise, it was a boy surrounded by a group of wind slimes.

“I killed—drove away—those wind slimes and brought him back.

"Come to think of it, Your Majesty, he looks quite similar to you. I could almost mistake him for the same person."

After saying this, she winked at Bennett, as if she wanted to give him some hints.

...Your Majesty can take this as a joke, so he definitely doesn't care about this matter.

Come on, you unlucky guy, I've pasted the answer on your face, recognize it quickly!

Bennett was stunned when he received the hint from her eye twitching, then he thought of something and suddenly realized.

——Eula is smart. She brought the topic to appearance, so His Majesty will not ask about Xiaofeng’s background!

So he quickly agreed:

"Yes, yes, yes! Xiaofeng has the same white curly hair and blue eyes as you, Your Majesty!

“And…and he looks a lot like you!

"When I saw you, I almost thought you were his brother!"

Amber slapped her forehead when she heard that, looking both annoyed and helpless.

Eula stared at Bennett with eyes wide open, wanting to open his head to see what was going on inside.

Giuliana behind him was confused.

A boy with white hair and blue eyes who looks similar to Your Majesty?

…Impossible. If such a person really existed, he would have been dug out by those omnipresent reporters and given a headline:

"Shocked! This boy actually looks so similar to Your Majesty! Perhaps he is Your Majesty's long-lost blood relative?!"

In order to attract attention, those reporters can come up with any headline.

Dean Grace had told her more than once with a tired look on her face, asking her to pay more attention to His Majesty's words and deeds, and to remind His Majesty not to be caught by reporters and create public opinion.

Well... although she didn't know how to remind her.

Moreover, when His Majesty first came to Mondstadt, he had the body shape of a child.

So...the "Xiaofeng" mentioned by the adventurer named "Bennett" is actually Your Majesty?

But he was later trapped in a secret realm. I wonder if His Majesty was crowned by Lord Barbatos and given the status of Pope after arriving in Mondstadt?

Your Majesty must have understood after listening to Bennett's explanation at the time.

So what is he doing now...?

"..."

Looking at Samuel's performance in front of her, Giuliana, who had figured out the whole story, didn't know what to say for a moment.

The degree of shock was no less than when he was cleaning the room a few months ago, and accidentally saw His Majesty, with his white wings spread out, bringing back a bunch of strange and hideous alchemical materials from the window...

To be honest, in the past few months, His Majesty's behavior was so consistent with people's noble impression of the title "Your Holiness" that she almost forgot that His Majesty could occasionally be unserious.

She took a deep breath and kept repeating in her heart, "Lord Barbatos, Your Majesty is noble, holy, wise and unparalleled"...

...Your Majesty must have his own reasons for doing this.

——Damn you floating spirit! Your Majesty is just trying to tease this adventurer named "Bennett"!

Even the quiet Sister Giuliana couldn't help but start complaining in her heart.

……

——In the end, Bennett still failed to recognize that "Samuel" was "Xiao Feng".

With Samuel's smooth series of "Really?", "What a coincidence?", "If I have the chance, I really hope to meet him in person", the naive Bennett could not detect any problem.

They even responded confidently, "Yes," "I think so too," and "There will definitely be a chance."

It was quite amusing, but there was no point in continuing the topic, so Samuel smiled with his blue eyes and changed the subject.

After buying the small items he wanted and saying goodbye to Amberula and Bennett, he and Giuliana returned to the cathedral.

Seeing that His Majesty had left and his injuries had been healed by Samuel, Bennett could no longer suppress his love for adventure, so he said hello to Amberyula and ran to the Adventurer's Association to try to take on some outdoor commissions.

So, the matter just passed.

On the way back with Eula, Amber thought back on Samuel's behavior today and finally roughly understood the character of this former little slime and now His Holiness the Pope:

In the past, I was completely naked and it was easy for people to see what I was thinking. I was also easily shy and blushed.

Now he has learned to hide his emotions, but despite this, his essence has not changed, and he is still that wind slime.

But it is also for this reason that, even if the essence has not changed, the way of expression has changed greatly.

Hmm... maybe this is what growing up is?

I don’t know how he transformed from a shy little boy into the noble Pope he is today in just a few months.

Thinking of this, Amber couldn't help but relax.

Understanding Samuel's current personality means that when you get along with him in the future, you won't be confused about what to say and what not to say.

This means you can relax a little.

Thinking about this, she sighed to Eula beside her:

“I didn’t expect Samuel to be a bit…what’s the word? ‘Black-hearted’! Right?

“I don’t know how he changed from what he was like at the beginning to what he is now…

"Ah, I didn't mean it was bad to be like this now..."

Eula listened to Amber's words, lowered her eyes, and did not respond.

She was born into the old aristocratic "Lawrence" family and was strictly required to pay attention to etiquette and behavior since childhood.

But after leaving the family, the aristocratic manners he had learned were suppressed everywhere, and he was forced to change his habits.

Growing up in such an environment, she naturally understood how Samuel became like that.

Environment changes habits, and habits change character.

If he had not decided to leave his family and join the Knights Templar, he might have ended up in a similar situation.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but admire Samuel in her heart.

If it weren't for the responsibilities and obligations, who wouldn't want to be a free and happy person?

Your Majesty, he must have his own mission, right?

Thinking of this, she sighed slightly.

After saying goodbye to Amber and agreeing to meet again later, she returned to her home in the station area.

I originally planned to go home, bring back the things I bought while shopping, and then go out to look for Amber.

But I saw a familiar figure at the door.

The thin middle-aged man wore gold-rimmed round glasses, had a shaggy face and a goatee, was elegantly dressed, and had a stern and serious look.

Her eyes widened slightly, as if she couldn't believe that he would appear in front of her, at her doorstep.

This isn't right... He shouldn't be here...

Hasn't he been thrown into jail for leaking the city's defense layout?

"Eula Lawrence." She heard the familiar old-fashioned voice calling out.

Then he shook his head slightly and sighed:

"It is unfortunate for our family to have a traitorous monster like you."