The day I walked into Fontaine, it was drizzling. It was not a thunderstorm, but a kind of quiet wetness, like water mist, like a sigh, like those words that have never been spoken. This is a city built with water, without the high pitch of flames, only the deep blue silence.
I have come all the way from Mondstadt, Liyue, and Inazuma, and my steps have become accustomed to the wind and rain. But Fontaine still made me stop. There is a calm atmosphere here, like an old friend who doesn’t speak but is willing to accompany you through the night.
People say that to open the daily commissions of Fontaine, you must first complete two main quests: “The Prologue of White Dew and Black Tide” and “The Light Rain that Falls as if for No Reason”. I did it.
Those two quests are like two long roads, some places are difficult to walk, and some places are so quiet that people forget the time. I have seen disputes and compromises here; I have seen heroes and losers. But everyone lives truthfully, no one is perfect, and no one is completely wrong.
This reminds me of some people in the past – they also did wrong things and said harsh words in turbulent years, but they still deserve respect. Because they tried to live and believed in something.
After completing the quest, I met Catherine from the Adventurer’s Association. Her eyes were calm and her tone was as polite as ever. She said, “You can accept daily commissions now.”
In this way, I started my daily quests.
Some people say that these daily commissions are mechanical and repetitive. But I don’t think so. I have seen too many workers, farmers, and soldiers in reality. They do the same thing every day, without applause or praise. But it is their persistence that constitutes the true background of life.
Fontaine’s daily commissions also have this flavor. You may just deliver a document, repair a device, and fight off a few enemies, but what you do is to make the city more stable and safer. You are not the protagonist, nor the savior, you are just someone who blocked a storm for others one morning.
I like this feeling.
As time goes by, my reputation rises little by little. Those indifferent NPCs begin to remember me, and they will say thank you after the task is completed, and sometimes ask me if I am tired.
This change is not vigorous, but very warm. Just like some people in my memory-teachers, neighbors, and even villagers I have never met-they always stand by you silently when you need them.
After the reputation is upgraded, I got some rewards. Some are practical tools, and some are comforting little things. But what really touched me was not the awards themselves, but the recognition behind them.
This is a feeling of “you have lived here, you are remembered”.
I am not the kind of person who pursues vanity. Since I was young, I have believed that as long as it is useful and honest, it is worth doing, regardless of whether it can bring benefits. Regardless of whether others remember you or not.
But when you are really remembered, there will still be a little ripple in your heart.
During my time in Fontaine, I also felt tired and had doubts. What is the purpose of doing these tasks? Is it for rewards? Or just to kill time?
But every time I want to give up, I always see a detail: someone I helped stood up again; a bridge I repaired can be safely crossed again.
Then I realized that all this was not in vain.
I once wrote in a book: The most beautiful things are not those dazzling, but those things that are unknown but lasting and shining. Like a father’s shoulder, a mother’s meal, or a letter sent in the cold winter.
Now I would like to add one more thing: there are also those tasks you complete every day, those daily commissions that make the city more complete and bring people closer together.
If you ask me: “Is such a life worth it?”
I would say it is worth it. Because I have lived, because I have worked hard, because in this fictional land, I have found a little bit of real warmth.
That’s enough.