Victor Wang spent quite some time coaxing Little Wen, telling it to refrain from speaking around strangers and to keep quiet in crowded places.
It reluctantly agreed.
That evening, upon returning to the Goth Grand Hotel, Victor Wang ran into Lumine and Paimon. The three of them chatted in the hallway about recent adventures. As they reached their room doors, preparing to part ways, a voice rang out.
["White floaty! Heehee~"]
Paimon's brows furrowed as she looked around angrily. "Who?! Who's talking smack about me?!"
But she couldn't find anyone.
["Angry! She's angry, she's angry, hahaha!"]
Victor Wang gave the sword's sheath a pat. "Little Wen, stop being naughty!"
"Huh?" Paimon suspiciously floated over to Victor Wang, almost diving under his cloak to see who was mocking her.
["Pfft! Sorry, I usually don't make fun of others unless I really can't hold it in… Puhahahaha! I've crawled and rolled for a hundred thousand years, but I've never seen a creature like this! It's like a stunted Seelie! Puhahahaha!"]
"Aaah! I'm so mad!" Paimon stomped furiously at the air, fists clenched and raised high, her eyes practically spitting flames.
Victor Wang coughed awkwardly. "This is a newly awakened sword spirit. It's a bit mischievous. Watch me give it a spanking."
He unsheathed the Wentian Sword and gave it a hard slap—only to hurt his own hand.
"Ahem… never mind."
"A sword spirit?" Lumine curiously stepped in for a closer look.
"Sword spirit? I'm giving you an awful nickname!" Paimon put one hand on her hip and pointed the other at the Wentian Sword.
["Hmph! I am a spirit born of heaven and earth, ten millennia old! I've crawled across Teyvat for ages and seen floral spirits, grass spirits, town spirits, Seelies, sword spirits, floating spirits, lightning spirits, fire spirits, pure water sprites—but I've never seen an unidentified flying object like you!"]
"Aaah! You brainless chunk of rock!"
["Hmph! Unidentified flying object!"]
"Brainless chunk of rock!"
As the shouting match escalated, Victor Wang hurriedly shoved the Wentian Sword back into its sheath and consoled Paimon, "Don't be mad, don't be mad. Tomorrow I'll make it chop one hundred wooden stakes as punishment."
But to his surprise, the Wentian Sword flew out of the sheath on its own, hilt upward, floating right up to Paimon's face.
["Hmph! So, what if she can fly and talk? I can too! And I don't even need food! Master, aren't I better than this unidentified flying object?"]
"Why can you fly? Don't tell me you've been secretly draining energy from the 'portable elemental particle generator'?!" Victor Wang facepalmed.
Paimon was fuming too. "I'm Lumine's best partner! Sure, I eat a lot… but I-I can give her shoulder massages! Can you?!"
She floated to Lumine's side, placing her tiny hands on Lumine's smooth shoulders and began massaging them with effort.
Lumine squinted her eyes and smiled, clearly enjoying the pampering. Watching the two "kids" argue ended up getting her a bonus massage—what a surprise.
"Good girl, Paimon~" Lumine reached her left hand forward and gently stroked Paimon's head, fingers brushing through the floating ring above it.
["Hmph! I can do that too!"]
The Wentian Sword flew to Victor Wang's shoulder, patting it with its blade—softly, then harder.
"Enough." Victor Wang grabbed the sword, feeling a weak force struggling to break free. But it was light. Little Wen soon gave up and stayed still.
"Hmph hmph!" Paimon tilted her chin high, triumphant, her hands still kneading Lumine's shoulders.
["Uuu! Master, am I really worse than that unidentified flying object?"]
"…You're my sword. I'd never say bad things about you. But Paimon is my good friend—I'd never badmouth her either. There's no better or worse between you two. And stop calling her that. Her name is Paimon."
"Hmph!"
"Hey, I'm super magnanimous, okay? Now you—give me your name, stinky rock."
["Listen well! I am Wen—"]
"It's called Little Wen!" Victor Wang interrupted loudly.
Paimon crossed her arms. "Little Wen, huh? Got it."
Once everyone returned to their rooms, Victor Wang unsheathed the Wentian Sword and asked again, "How are you able to fly?"
["Hmph! My affinity with elemental energy is off the charts. I just didn't have any until now. With it, borrowing some for flight is perfectly natural."]
"So, you are using energy from the 'portable elemental particle generator.' If energy gets low, you have to tell me in advance. Don't wait until it fails mid-use."
["Hmph! I know what I'm doing."]
...
Two days later.
"Alice in Wonderland should be printed by now. Time to find Lisa."
Early in the morning, Victor Wang didn't head to sword practice but made his way straight to the Knights' Library like a regular.
What he didn't expect was to find Emma there too—rocking sheer black stockings, a pencil skirt hugging her hips. As he opened the library doors, she was sitting beside Lisa, the two deep in conversation.
"Your guest has arrived," Lisa said, shooting Emma a look.
Emma immediately noticed her longed-for "Mr. Dust." She quickly got up, her heels clicking rapidly as she approached.
"Mr. Dust! Let's hold another signing event!"
"Huh? Bit sudden, isn't it? Also, what are you doing here?"
"I came just to see you! After the Tales from the Box signing, so many readers said they regretted missing it. They really want another chance. This time, with Alice in Wonderland, we must do a first-release signing!"
Her eyes shimmered with hope and pleading, hands clasped in front of her ample chest, nervously rubbing together in case Victor Wang declined.
"Calm down. The book still needs to go through approval."
"I already arranged it. They finished the review yesterday. Just waiting for you to sign off!"
Figures—Mondstadt Publishing was a Knights of Favonius enterprise. Connections sure made things smoother.
"At least let me see the printed book first?"
"That's on me—I should've shown you already! I brought a copy! Please look! The layout and design are top-notch!" As the editor in charge, Emma proudly promoted her work.
They walked over to Lisa's desk, where three printed copies of Alice in Wonderland sat. The cover featured Alice at the March Hare and Mad Hatter's tea party—illustrated by Albedo. Like Tales from the Box, it had a gold border, the title and author's name in the center, and "Mondstadt Publishing" at the bottom.
Two copies were already open—Lisa and Emma had been discussing the contents.
The remaining one was clearly meant for Victor Wang.
Lisa rested her chin on her hands, watching the flustered Victor Wang with a sly smile.
He reached out and touched the gorgeous cover, then picked up the unopened copy and flipped it open. The first page featured his hand-written dedication: To the most dazzling and dreamlike of humanity's treasures—Imagination.
It was his own handwriting, not printed.
The rest of the book held familiar stories, filled with illustrations by Albedo and Klee. Each character had two drawings, placed on facing pages with credit lines to the artists—"Chalk" and "a little girl who wishes to remain anonymous."
He closed the book and asked Emma, "Do you think this one will be as popular as Tales from the Box?"
Emma replied without hesitation, "Absolutely! As the editor, it's my job to spot a book's value. While the target audience might change, this level of whimsical imagination will definitely appeal to many readers. And let's not forget—you brought in Master Chalk for the illustrations. It's a double treat!"
Just a month ago, Mr. Dust said he wouldn't write another book anytime soon—and here he was, already presenting another masterpiece. Incredible!
Emma didn't hide her excitement one bit.
Feeling slightly guilty about the plagiarism, Victor Wang rubbed his nose, trying to dodge Emma's blazing gaze. He nodded. "Alright, let's do a launch signing event. Time and place—you decide."
Emma couldn't help but cheer. "Yay!"
"Dear visitor, no shouting in the library," Lisa reminded. Then she added, "Such a grown woman, still so lacking in poise."
"Ha! If you like poise so much, go weigh yourself. Hope you get heavier and heavier."
"Looks like someone needs a good scolding~"
"The Witch of Purple Rose is mad—Mr. Dust, run! I'll go with you to the third floor to sign." Before Victor Wang could react, Emma grabbed his hand and whisked him out of the library.