It was currently early afternoon,
When Venti decided to visit Collei,
As she now lay in bed, in her room at the Lawrence estate...
*The "special tablets" no longer working and the teen now...
-Don't look at me with such a sad face, Lo...Venti. I am not going to give up so easily. -His thoughts were soon interrupted by reassuring words, as Collei looked at him with a grateful smile on her face, before turning to look between the equally worriedly looking Amber and Eula. -...Big Sister Eula, Big Sister Amber, you shouldn't worry about me either. -She continued in even more reassurance, as she proceeded to take a certain journal titled "Return to Mondstadt" from her bed table and show it to everyone. -This journal that Miss Lisa left me for..."Safekeeping", I...I promised to take good care of it, so that I could give it back to her when the time comes.
She soon added, still sounding reassuring, as well as bittersweet,
With the teen soon clutching it to her chest, this keepsake that Lisa left for her...
*Venti knew what it was, as he was given one of the three journals in the collection,
It was titled "Time in the Akademiya", while Jean got the "Childhood memories" one...
...
...
Ever since Lisa died around a week and a half ago, he...
...
He tried to come to terms with the situation...
*A situation Lisa knew was coming and instead of asking for help...
...
...
"Please, don't be mad at Chief Alchemist Albedo and Alchemist Emillia, Barbatos! They were just following Librarian Lisa's plan!
...This is the way she wanted her death to happen...And she was the one who asked for their help..."
...
...
Was there really nothing that could have been done...?
*If he used his Time Power on her, then perhaps...
"Venti, I know that you have to be very careful when you use your Time Power, both with its frequency and especially the amount.
One wrong move and you will surely invite THEIR wrath. You getting severely punished or even murdered is something I would never want.
You are Mondstadt's...And my, Adorable Archon and an equally Adorable Friend/Family member, right...?~"
...
Lisa's letter to him,
And just this part alone...
*She was clearly protecting him...
...
When she herself was...
...
...
"Lisa is dead. We recently had her funeral and now there's the Leichenschmaus...Funeral feast...
...T-they are starting to leave me again, Traveler. T-they are starting to die on me and I...I-I can't do anything to stop it...!"
...
...
At that time, he felt so hollow,
So anguished and guilt-stricken that it hurt...
*To think that he was going to lose everyone, once again...
...
The Traveler tried to help him,
To reassure him that his people wouldn't just leave him...
*And hearing more about Lisa's future plan, she truly didn't want to hurt him...
...
But if the plan failed, he...
...
...
The journals were given away for a reason, right...?
*They are part of Lisa's "Plan B" in case she wouldn't remember.
...
...
Paimon tried to help him as well, in her own way,
As she told him of an "interesting story":
During "Lord Rukkhadevata's Wrath", Karkata went out of control like the rest of the mechanical beings,
But since he is now the "Forest Rangers'/ Amurta scholars' Mascot", many people came to his defense when one of Azar's cronies arrived,
Insisting that if the Akademiya wants to punish him, they would have to punish them all, as well,
With Alhaitham, who was near the area at that point, noting that it's going to be unproductive if so many people are going to get punished...
...
And so in the end, Azar's underling reluctantly let the matter go.
...
...
Honestly, this story made Venti feel slightly better,
But still not enough to not linger on Lisa's recent passing...
*And so, after thanking the Traveler and Paimon for the support,
He stayed there for a few more minutes, before teleporting back to the city...
...
It was during the bequest giving,
Where he also got one of Lisa's journals...
...
People left him some of the Flaming Red Bolognese and Zuckerkuchen,
But he was too crushed at the time to eat any of those, putting the dishes in his "Hammerspace"...
...
And instead, he decided to drink as much as he could,
Trying to fill the hole in his "heart" with alcohol...
*Diluc soon worriedly asked him if he is going to be alright,
To which he truthfully answered that he didn't know...
...
So Diluc let him drink, saying "it's on the house",
While some people, including the children and Barbara,
Trying to reassure him, in their own ways, that it's going to be alright…
*He was probably hugged a few times, but he was too distracted to really notice it at the time…
...
...
It's been some time since then and Windblume should be in three days...
*Another Windblume he would be able to celebrate with his people,
One that Lisa wouldn't be able to, since she was dead...
...
And there were so many new activities prepared this year...
...
...
Hopefully, Collei could still be saved,
He wasn't sure he could take another death so soon...
*The Traveler...They are going to make it, right...?
...
...
"Ṫ̴̥͎͔͍̣͈̰̬̖͑̀̄̌̈́͆̆̒͜͝h̴̢̲̗̦̰̉̉̀̔̏̃̓̓̈́è̵̘͌y̶͖̱͖̲͓̜̗͍̘͂́͒̓̍̃̕ ̴̤̩͎̞̆̈́̂̅͌͐̈́̏a̴͉̣͚̞̯̙͙̋̉́ḷ̴̳̣̭́̈͆̾̈́͗̊͋͒͝r̵̙͐̂̍͌͒̈̕ȩ̴̡̹̯̥̠̲̩̔̈̓͒̀͂a̴̡̜̭̤͋͗́́̇d̷̘̳̜̾̎̊̽ÿ̶̲͓̙̥̻̦͙͂̕ ̴̜͈̥̮̙̟̈́̾͌̿͗̌̒͑͌̏d̵̼̼̀̂̒̾͗́̀͋̄ǐ̷͙̪͚̖͇̬̆́̌̏́̕͝͠ͅd̸͇̻͓̤͇̺̤̈́́̐́̅͜͝"
...
...
Huh...?
...
"They already..."...?
-COLLEI, THE SCALES ON YOUR BODY JUST DISAPPEARED! -His thoughts were interrupted by the overjoyed voice of Amber, who was now happily looking her friend's body over. -Y-your Eleazar...Your Eleazar is gone now!
-...My Eleazar...Is gone...? The Traveler...Succeeded...? -Collei couldn't help but mumble in shock, as she too, checked her body over. -...There are really no scales...And I also feel lighter...-She continued, as tears started to gather in her eyes. -...Am I really...Healthy now...?
And with these words the tears started flowing freely down her face,
With Amber soon enveloping the other in a warm hug, with Collei returning it moments later...
...
-We could hold a small party to celebrate Little Sister Collei's recovery. -Eula suggested, looking and sounding grateful.
And soon, a small and happy discussion started between the three "sisters"...
*One that Venti didn't join, or rather, couldn't join,
Feeling bittersweet about the whole situation...
...
On one hand he was happy for Collei,
While on the other hand, Lisa...
...
Lisa was still dead and he still felt guilty for...
...
...
No, he should stop thinking like this,
He should be glad for Collei's recovery...
...
...
He was not the only one affected by Lisa's death, after all.
-...Lisa, it has already been more than a week and a half since you died, yet I still...-Jean couldn't help but sadly mumble, before she sighed. -...For you to have left so soon, if I was more persistent in stopping you back then, would things...?
Her words suddenly trailed off, as she realized that not much could have been changed even if she did...
*Lisa was already dying from her curse and there was nothing that she could have done to save her...
...
But still, Lisa, she...
...
She was her friend...
...
...
And all she left her were all of those memories of them together,
As well as a few of her belongings, her legacy...
...
The journal recording her past before she left for the Akademiya,
As well as all of those photos, both in a frame and in an album...
...
All of the framed photos were group ones,
Some of which reminded Jean of the past...
*A past that was already long gone, but the memories...
...
The memories still remained.
…
…
And the album, there were so many photos put inside,
All of them memorable, yet some also incredibly embarrassing...
*Like the one with Surveyor Mika in a puffy pink dress, a deep blush on his face.
...
Photos of "Cherub Venti", the "Photoshoot" during Ludi Harpastum,
And even ones from their "Adventure at the Golden Apple Archipelago"...
*Where Lady Vennessa and Lord Dvalin were turned into toddlers, Klee grew up,
And herself and Barbara...Were so embarrassingly turned into babies...
...
Lisa also had some photos of "Miniature Lord Dvalin" and him in human form,
As well as photos of "Kitsune Venti"...
*This was during the time they visited Inazuma, right...?
...
There were photos of people enjoying the "Fun Place" by Cider lake.
*Jean couldn't help but wonder if the water slides would be open for Windblume,
Or if they will wait until Ludi Harpastum to open it to the visiting public...?
...
There were even photos of shops selling different kinds of plushies...
*Venti's Plushies alone made a very impressive collection!
...
There were some photos of Diluc Jr. And Charlotte's wedding.
*That event was truly an adorable one...~
...
Though she was still confused about the song Venti sang back then...
*And why did the Traveler and Paimon look so weary at the time...?
...
...
There were even some photos of Venti and his long dead friend...
*When did Lisa take those photos...?
And...Did it really matter...?
...
And why does Lisa have photos of "Toddler (Yaksha) Xiao"...?
*When did the Traveler give them to Lisa...?
Lisa's birthday was on the 9th of June, so it was definitely later...
...
...
Lastly, there were different photos taken during Collei's "Welcoming Party"...
*It wasn't that long ago, a little under a month, but still...To see everyone so happy...
...
Including Lisa herself...
*Who surely knew she was going to die soon...
...
...
...
All of those photos were carefully put into Lisa's Album.
With short messages under each one of those...
"Babies Jean and Barbara were simply Adorable~ And Jeanie dear could finally get all the rest she needs and let herself be pampered~"
It was just like Lisa, always looking out for her,
As her friend told her again and again that it was okay to take a break...
*Perhaps, if she wasn't usually so busy, she could have spent more time with Lisa...
...
...
Still, seeing all those photos,
It really looks like Lisa enjoyed her life...
*Even if it was so short, she still...
...
"My Life's Happiness",
Was the album's title...
*Lisa, she...
...
...
If only she didn't die so soon,
Jean still wanted to...
...
-UGH. W-why is there, suddenly...? -Jean couldn't help but blurt out, as she tried really hard to ignore the sudden pain in her chest, the album having almost fallen out of her hands. -...T-this pain...W-why do I suddenly...?
...
...
"Make sure not to overwork yourself and take constant breaks, alright, Jeanie dear...?",
She suddenly heard a familiar voice...
*It was...Lisa, wasn't it...?!
...
The usual mischievous Lisa that...!
...
...
Wait...
...
Lisa was dead, right...?
...
...
Then,
Why did she...?
...
...
And this sudden...
...
Pain in her chest...
...
It was...
...
Getting stronger...
...
...
Just what...
...
Was going...?