𝑴𝒚 𝒈𝒐𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒔 | 𝑷𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒙 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓

7.

-???-
I watch carefully our target walking around the harbor along with a good looking girl.First plan was to take him down but since we can't,this girl appeared and made things easier for us.We can't get to him,no problem.We'll get to her.She'll be the key to our plan.

-Next day,Y/n-
It's afternoon and I just got home after going out to buy some groceries and just take some air.Unfortunately,I didn't see Pantalone around Liyue Harbor today,I wish I did but I guess he's busy.He owns so many things I bet he's a very busy man.Who can blame him.

But even so,I had a strange feeling the whole day.I constantly felt that someone's watching me.I tried brushing it off multiple times,laughing and making jokes in my mind that Pantalone is watching me from somewhere.

But now that I think about it,I don't think it was Pantalone.It felt too weird to be him.And also,I'm sure he would've called my name or something to get my attention.I'm pretty sure he would've done that.But he didn't.I didn't even see him today.

I'm paranoid again.It's just the fact that I live alone maybe but I can't get rid of that constant feeling that someone's watching me which is very unsettling.I should just calm myself down and not think about it anymore.

I made myself a cup of tea and got the book Pantalone recommended and bought me.I didn't start reading it yet so since I have nothing to do,I'll start reading it to see if Pantalone was right.I'll tell him if the book was good or not.

Heart's Desire
Volume 1

—Moonlight—
Legend tells of a corner of the city that has been forgotten by the wind.
To reach that place one must stand before the fountain and close their eyes, then wait for thirty-five heartbeats, then walk seven circles clockwise around the fountain followed by seven further circles anticlockwise. Upon opening one's eyes, one will find they have arrived at a little shop...

————

"Excuse me, is... is anyone there?"
Veiga asked timidly as she stepped through the door.
As the door closed behind her, the bell that hung from it rang out, its crisp and clear sound filling the room and cutting through the dimly lit drudgery.
The dull glow of twilight seeped gently through the frosted glass of the display case windows. Stacks of curious objects filled every part of the room. Veiga made her way through the store cautiously, for fear of stepping on something and breaking it.
There was no answer.
Veiga now began to examine the objects around her more closely: an obscure mechanical component, an ornate ancient lyre, a broken ceramic tile engraved with incomprehensible markings, a pair of old manacles, dented and scratched from years of use, a forgotten crown that once belonged to an aristocrat...
At some point as she was inspecting these objects of no apparent utility, the shopkeeper appeared beside her. The shopkeeper's eyes were like those of a fox, with long slender pupils at their center.
"That fang once belonged to a wolf king. Aside from the gods, it is probably the only thing left that remembers that land the way it used to be... every inch of it covered in ice and snow."
She spoke softly,
"Welcome to the store. Do you see anything that takes your fancy?"

"Do you have anything here that can help someone... to forget?"
"Why, certainly."
Veiga clutched her chest as she pursued the question further.
"... To forget anything? Even... someone very important?"
The fox-eyed shopkeeper's expression turned stern, and she nodded as she continued:
"I know that the one you wish to forget is a young man with limpid eyes as clear as moonlight. He disappeared a long time ago, and left a deep hole in your heart. Nothing else can fill that hole... all other blessings, no matter how joyful they may be, feel elusive and out of your reach... just like the moonlight before your eyes."
Veiga was stunned into silence. All she could do was nod along. The fox-eyed shopkeeper smiled and, seemingly out of nowhere, presented a bottle of wine.
"This wine will help you forget your pain."
"Long time ago in the age when the icy winds blew, our forebears brewed this wine in secret, deep within the frozen earth, to give them the strength to keep surviving. The method they used to brew this kind of wine was forgotten when the people's fate took a turn for the better, and their lives became more joyful."
She tilted the wine bottle back and forth.
"There is not much left. And since it seems you have an affinity with this store, this one is for free. Provided, of course, that this is what you really want..."
Veiga took the goblet of wine from the fox-eyes shopkeeper's hand.
The goblet must have once been adorned with a precious gemstone. But it had since been removed, and now the only clue to its existence was the empty, lonely indentation it had left behind...

It's not even all the full volume but it's very interesting and I love it so far.Pantalone really has great taste in books I'll definitely thank him again for the book next time I see him.Speaking of which,I wonder when I'll see him again.

I have to admit,I kinda miss him.I mean,who wouldn't.I'm excited to see him and talk more things.I wonder if he'll pay me a visit or maybe I have to search for him.I guess I'll go find him tomorrow.