Stellar Train: I Open a Small Shop on the Train-Chapter 180

Theresa said,

"Mm, as a Valkyrie who made outstanding contributions to humanity, of course your deeds would be recorded in books.

This way, future Valkyries can learn about the events of the past and be inspired by a proper role model."

Kiana then proceeded to introduce the others, such as Fu Hua, Himeko, and so on.

After chatting with the group for a while, Cecilia suddenly asked,

"Kiana, how do you get to that other world you mentioned? I'm really curious about it."

Kiana replied,

"Through a portal! The portal is at my place. Mom, stay at my place tonight, and I'll take you there tomorrow.

There are so, so many good friends over there too—

Stelle, Firefly, Amber, Hutao, and even March who's a little sick. So many people~"

Cecilia smiled and agreed.

"Alright~ I'll listen to you, Kiana."

Seeing that Cecilia agreed, Kiana was overjoyed and happily held her mother's arm as they headed to the dormitory.

Theresa and the others saw this and, after saying goodnight to Cecilia and Kiana, went their separate ways.

In Mondstadt,

Under the moonlight, Venti sat quietly atop the Statue of the Anemo Archon, silently gazing at the resurrection card in his hand.

To ensure there would be no mistakes, Venti had spent the entire day organizing his memories.

So many years had passed, and his memories of that old friend had grown hazy.

After confirming everything once more, Venti tore the resurrection card and murmured softly,

"Come back, Venti."

As the card was torn, it transformed into glowing motes of light and formed a doorway before Venti. The door slowly opened, and a young man who looked exactly like Venti appeared before him.

The boy slowly opened his eyes.

"You are... Barbatos?"

The boy instantly recognized that the person who looked just like him was Barbatos in disguise.

Venti smiled and nodded.

"Yes, it's me. Long time no see, Venti."

As Venti finished speaking, his form shifted and returned to his original appearance—a wind spirit.

The boy asked, confused,

"Wasn't I dead? What's going on?"

Venti thought for a moment.

"It's a long story. Let's find a place to sit, order a couple bottles of wine, and talk it over."

The boy agreed.

Venti then took back his boyish form, and the two of them made their way to the Angel's Share.

New Mondstadt wasn't finished yet—currently, only construction personnel were working there.

Most of Mondstadt's residents still lived in the old city.

As soon as they entered the tavern, they saw Diluc, who was temporarily acting as bartender.

Diluc was briefly surprised to see two identical Venti figures, but quickly understood.

Though the two looked very similar, there were differences.

Lord Barbatos was wearing the attire of a bard.

The other wore something more akin to a ranger's outfit.

"Boss Diluc, please get us a private room," Venti said.

Diluc nodded and led the two to a private room on the second floor.

Once seated, Diluc poured three glasses of red wine and looked at the two.

"Venti, who is this?"

Venti introduced him,

"This is the young man who once wielded the Skyward Harp and helped overthrow tyranny alongside your ancestor."

Hearing this, Diluc confirmed his suspicions.

He turned to the young man.

"Hello, My lord. I'm Diluc, owner of this tavern. What should I call you?"

The boy glanced at Venti.

"A name, huh... I'll have to think. Since you've been using the name 'Venti' for so many years, Barbatos, you keep it.

As for me... let's see—just call me 'Wind.'"

Diluc responded,

"Alright, Lord Wind. I didn't expect Venti to resurrect you."

Wind was surprised.

"Oh? Diluc, you know about my story too?"

Diluc nodded. Then he and Venti spent over half an hour explaining all the events that had transpired over the years—

Mondstadt's history, its current state, and the story of his resurrection.

After hearing it all, Wind said,

"I didn't expect so much to have happened... but it's wonderful. Mondstadt has become just what I dreamed it would be."

Diluc added,

"Yes. After Lord Barbatos took the throne, he returned freedom to the people of Mondstadt. It's now known throughout Teyvat as the land of freedom."

Wind was very pleased.

"Let's go. I want to take a stroll around Mondstadt. Venti, be my guide."

Then Wind turned to Diluc and smiled in thanks.

"Diluc, your wine is excellent. Thank you for the hospitality."

Diluc shook his head.

"No need to thank me. You are one of Mondstadt's great heroes. If you ever want to drink again, just come by anytime—it's on the house."

Wind agreed.

After that, he left Angel's Share with Venti.

The two strolled through Mondstadt. Wind looked around curiously like a child seeing the world for the first time.

Seeing how prosperous, peaceful, and thriving Mondstadt had become, he smiled in satisfaction.

As they walked, they arrived at the front gate of the Knights of Favonius.

Venti introduced it,

"This is the Knights of Favonius headquarters. Thanks to them, Mondstadt is what it is today."

Wind smiled.

"Come, let's take a look inside."

The two entered the building and were greeted by Lisa and Jean.

Lisa saw the two identical Venti figures and, after a moment's thought, guessed the other's identity.

Jean, however, immediately saluted.

"Lord Barbatos."

Venti waved dismissively.

"Jean, how many times have I told you, no need to salute when you see me.

Oh, and let me introduce you—this is Wind."

Jean turned to Wind and greeted him,

"Hello, Wind. Welcome to Mondstadt. I'm Jean, Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius.

By the way, I'm really curious—why do you and Lord Barbatos look so alike?"

Before Venti could explain, Lisa suddenly said from the side,

"If I'm not mistaken, this must be the youth who led the charge to overthrow tyranny back in the day, correct?"

Wind looked at Lisa and smiled.

"That's right. It's me. How did you know?"

Lisa explained,

"Because I once heard Lumine say that Lord Barbatos took his current appearance from an old friend.

And according to historical records, there are only two who could be called Barbatos's dearest companions—

One is His Excellency Morax, and the other is the young man who led the people to freedom by overthrowing tyranny."

Wind looked at Lisa with admiration.

"That's correct. You're very clever to have guessed it so quickly."

Lisa replied,

"I wouldn't say clever. There are many smart people out there. I just happened to have read a few more books than most."

Wind shook his head, not agreeing with her modesty.

"No need to be so humble. Your intellect is indeed exceptional."

***

Lisa smiled.

"That's too much praise, My Lord."

Jean was surprised upon learning about Wind's identity.

"What! You're that Lord!?"

Wind smiled and said:

"Don't keep calling me that—just call me Wind, that's my name now."

Jean nodded in agreement.

"Alright, Lord Wind, what are you doing? Need any help?"

Wind replied:

"No need. I just asked Venti to show me around Mondstadt. You all go about your own business—don't mind me."

After chatting for a while, Wind and Venti left the Knights of Favonius Headquarters.

The next day arrived.

At Ye Yun's shop, nearly everyone had gathered.

Today was the first round of the Spirit Tournament eliminations, and basically everyone in the group had a match.

Stelle yawned as she walked out from the realm rift.

"Morning~ Xiangling, Ye Yun, Jammy-chan."

As usual, she first greeted the three chefs.

Jammy-chan was at the griddle frying eggs with a spatula.

"Morning, Stelle. Today you get eggs made by yours truly, the invincible feisty little devil—want a few more? Hehe~"

Stelle raised her eyebrows.

"Sure, gimme three. I've got a tough battle today!"

Hearing Stelle talk about a tough fight, Silver Wolf came over to tease her.

"Stelle, tsk tsk, I've got a feeling you're gonna lose in the first elimination round. So sad~"

Stelle crossed her arms confidently.

"Heh, today's me is different from yesterday's me!

Miris! Come on out!"

With that shout, a humanoid Spirit with a V-shaped cursor on its forehead appeared in front of everyone.

Silver Wolf scanned Miris with her Spirit Book.

[Spirit: MirisLevel: 60Type: LightDescription: Known as the Queen of Light-type Spirit, standing at the top of the Spirit pyramid.]

Silver Wolf read the info and practically dropped her jaw.

"What the heck! You actually spent money?!"

Stelle smugly wiped her nose.

"What? Problem? I got cash~"

Himeko, Jing Yuan, and others also looked at Miris' info and were amazed.

That "Light Spirit Queen" title... impressive.

ing Yuan commented,

"Tsk tsk, to be called a Queen—it must be truly powerful."

Stelle waved her hand confidently.

"Ah, just average. I'll probably casually win the whole tournament~"

Silver Wolf tugged on Ye Yun's sleeve.

"Ye Yun, can I spend on my Nier too?"

Ye Yun checked the system.

"Sure. 100,000 star coins, and Nier can evolve straight into her final form, Esphea, at level 60. And it'll be a shiny variant."

Silver Wolf immediately started digging through her pockets.

A minute later—

She pulled together just over 98,000 star coins.

Grinning, she nudged Ye Yun.

"Ye Yun~ Think I could..."

Ye Yun smiled at her.

"Fine, I'll let you owe me. You're short 2,000 star coins—remember to pay me back."

Silver Wolf cheered and jumped three feet high.

"Yes! My Nier can pay-to-win too!"

Ye Yun took the 98k, bought a Nier-exclusive evolution stone, and handed it over.

Silver Wolf slapped it onto Nier.

As soon as the stone touched Nier, she was enveloped in a holy light.

A few minutes later—Under everyone's gaze, the light faded, revealing Nier's final form: Esphea.

Silver Wolf scanned her with the pokédex:

[Spirit: EspheaType: PsychicLevel: 60Description: An extremely rare Spirit who often shapeshifts to play with others.]

Ye Yun felt a bit nostalgic looking at Esphea.

Back in the day, he had to battle tons of Sharpfang Fish just to find Nier.

Nier would only appear randomly in wild battles—it was all luck.

Not long after, Nier became a limited-time Spirit—no longer catchable in the wild.

Silver Wolf nodded in satisfaction.

"Mhm, very nice! Level 60. Gotta say, pay-to-win is the way. Grinding would've taken forever."

Just then, the little evil god's voice rang out.

"Breakfast time, everyone!"

At that, they stopped admiring the elves and sat down at the table.

Stelle took a fork, stabbed an egg, and started chewing.

While eating, a portal shimmered—and Kiana and Mei walked out with Cecilia.

Kiana immediately greeted everyone:

"Good morning, everyone!"

Xiangling called her over.

"Morning, Kiana! Had breakfast yet? Come eat with us."

Kiana nodded.

"Yes!"

She pulled Cecilia over and sat down at the table.

Stelle swallowed her bite and asked:

"Kiana, who's this?"

Kiana, about to eat another egg, put her fork down.

"This is my mom!"

Stelle, Firefly, and the others were surprised.

"Your mom? This is the first time I've heard you mention her."

Kiana replied,

"That's because she just got resurrected."

Cecilia smiled.

"Hello, I'm Cecilia, Kiana's mother."

She looked around at the others.

"You're Stelle, right? Kiana told me last night that you're a close friend of hers.

And you must be Firefly, Amber, Hutao, and Lumine."

Lumine was puzzled.

"Aunt Cecilia, how did you recognize us? We never introduced ourselves."

Cecilia smiled.

"Kiana described your appearances to me last night. I matched you based on those descriptions.

Judging by your reactions, I didn't get it wrong."

Blonde beauty.

Bunny-eared beauty.

Silver-haired beauty.

Plum-eye beauty.

Little gray hair.

Let's just say, although her daughter's descriptions were super vague, she still managed to guess correctly.

If Stelle knew Kiana called her "little gray hair," she'd definitely complain.

Everyone else got "beauty," why is she just "little gray hair"???

Lumine gave her a thumbs up.

"Impressive!"

Welt walked over to Cecilia.

"Cecilia, it's been a long time."

Cecilia looked a bit surprised.

"It has been, Welt. You've changed a lot."

Welt nodded.

"True. You, though, haven't changed a bit. As expected, I knew Theresa would bring you back."