"Ha!" The knight guarding the city gate yawned as he leaned against the city wall, looking completely exhausted.
"Hey, why are you so sleepy right after starting the night shift? There are still three hours left. Can you hold on? Don't fall asleep."
The knight's companion stood on the other side, looking helplessly at his comrade who seemed unable to stop himself from getting sleepy.
"I can't help it. It hasn't been long since the dragon disaster. In the morning, I went outside the city to clean up debris on the main road, and after that I came back to repair the buildings damaged during the disaster. I've been doing manual labor all day, and now I still have to stand the night shift. I'm just exhausted."
As he spoke, the knight yawned again, looking truly drowsy.
"There is no choice. Manpower is extremely tight right now. Those who can rest normally at night are the ones who go out during the day to clear monsters. Haven't you seen how the adventurers at the Adventurers' Guild have been working around the clock lately? There are simply too many things waiting to be done."
"Even if you say that, why do you still look so energetic?"
"Because I have something in my mouth."
After saying that, the knight opened his mouth and took out something that looked like candy from under his tongue.
"I asked Timaeus to make it. It contains mint. Keeping it in my mouth helps refresh my mind."
"Nice. You have something that good and didn't give me any. But speaking of it, did that guy Timaeus really manage to learn alchemy?"
"Although he says his knowledge is still shallow, at least in our eyes he is already very impressive. At least he can actually understand those formulas. To me, those things look like ancient scriptures. Just looking at them makes me sleepy."
The two knights on guard duty chatted enthusiastically. This was also to relieve the drowsiness caused by the night shift and prevent themselves from falling asleep while standing.
However, the two gatekeepers did not notice at all that someone was standing right beside them, casually listening to their gossip about Mondstadt.
Before Caelus entered Mondstadt, he could already sense a certain atmosphere within the city. It was like a resonance produced by most of the people in the city sharing the same emotion.
This city was peaceful and calm. Even though the residents had recently experienced the aftermath of a disaster, they were still full of hope for life and anticipation for tomorrow.
However, perhaps because it was too peaceful and quiet, Caelus, with his sharp perception of negative emotions, could sense that this peace and tranquility also carried quite a bit of weariness and laziness.
At this moment, Caelus had already put on the Eater of Emotions Mask, savoring the peace and tranquility drifting from the city, along with that sense of laziness.
It was a very strange feeling. When he tasted this emotion, he could clearly sense a flavor appearing in his mouth. That flavor was called laziness. It was called giving up. It was called not wanting to do anything. It was called hating trouble.
This feeling was similar to nothingness, yet also different. Nothingness came from believing everything in the world was meaningless, which caused one to rot away. Laziness was simply the unwillingness to do troublesome things, choosing instead to enjoy a life of pleasure that required no effort and no thinking.
"Can someone really feel happy while doing nothing?" Caelus was slightly confused. Why would doing nothing and thinking about nothing bring happiness?
["Because people are too tired. Many people need to do nothing and think about nothing for a while, just letting their minds go blank to relieve their stress. In life, people constantly face troubles and dilemmas. They must work, think, and do many exhausting things. Just like how people need rest after exercise, what they enjoy is a feeling called relaxation. Laziness is becoming addicted to that relaxation."]
"Setting aside worries about the future, the pressure of life, financial needs, and the pain of interpersonal relationships, and only enjoying the pleasure of the present moment, that is laziness."
Caelus fell into thought. Then he looked at the two knights who had finished chatting and were now seriously guarding the entrance to Mondstadt. After thinking for a moment, he opened the mouth on his mask and consumed a small portion of their desire to rest. It was not much, but it was enough to keep them from feeling sleepy while performing their duties.
After that, Caelus walked straight into the city right in front of them. The two knights stood there seriously on guard, completely unaware that a masked man who looked rather suspicious had just walked into Mondstadt.
Following the diary that resembled a character introduction he had found earlier, Caelus located the residence assigned to his identity. After taking out the key and opening the door, he discovered that the interior was exceptionally tidy. It looked as if someone had just moved in. There was no sign that anyone had lived there before.
Caelus placed his backpack on the table, took out the items inside, and organized them. Then he lay down on the sofa, feeling the lazy emotions he had torn from the spirits of the majority of people in the city. That sense of relaxation became stronger and stronger. Eventually, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
By tasting laziness, Caelus learned what relaxation meant and finally regained the ability to sleep.
"Good night. May you have a good dream," the system said.
Soon the night passed quickly. When the morning sunlight shone through the window and onto his body, and the noisy sounds from outside reached his ears, Caelus slowly opened his eyes.
"It seems I lost consciousness for a while?"
["Yes, you were asleep."]
"So this is what sleep feels like? This sense of relaxation and relief. No wonder many people are willing to indulge in it, even willing to become decadent and lazy. In sleep, one can escape all worries while also relaxing the body and eliminating fatigue."
Caelus even felt that his body had improved slightly after this sleep. It was not that he had grown stronger. Rather, it felt smoother, as if a machine had been properly lubricated.
"Yesterday I heard those two gatekeeping knights say that Mondstadt previously suffered from a dragon disaster, and that an Honorary Knight solved it. It sounds like a story full of heroic legend. I should go ask around about it."
However, during the daytime, places where information spreads easily, such as taverns, probably had not opened yet. So Caelus decided to go to the Mondstadt library first and browse through the records to understand the past history of this world and this region.
Caelus walked through Mondstadt. His presence was extremely faint. Even though he wore a black coat with a hood and looked like a suspicious person, no one questioned him, and he did not attract any attention.
While heading toward the library, Caelus passed by a fountain and heard someone singing. He paused slightly and saw a lively young girl dressed in clothing similar to that of a member of the clergy, softly humming a song.
Many people had gathered around the girl, seemingly her fans, their gazes filled with excitement.
"Barbara. Barbara."
When the song ended, the fans shouted her name loudly, their expressions extremely enthusiastic.
Facing this scene, the girl named Barbara politely thanked everyone for listening before quickly leaving.
Is this a way of using song to stir people's emotions and help them face life more positively?
Caelus thought to himself as he sensed the emotional changes among the surrounding crowd.
However, he did not stay any longer. Soon he arrived at the library in Mondstadt, which also served as the headquarters of the Knights of Favonius.
Similarly, although there were people guarding the entrance, that man who could not be perceived by normal beings walked up openly, pushed the door open, and entered. He even thoughtfully closed the door behind him.
Closing the door behind you is good manners, after all.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)