Varka heard that Venti had run off to Natlan, and he wasn't surprised in the slightest.
When the Anemo Archon has nothing to do, he likes to visit old friends for a chat—or sample the wine of other nations.
"The phrase 'gathering of the Seven' really feels like something from a bygone age."
Varka had only heard about it, after all. The last time the Seven gathered was five hundred years ago.
After the Khaenri'ah incident, no one ever convened another gathering. Mainly because several gods had fallen—and the second-generation gods weren't exactly close with the old guard. There was simply no need for a reunion.
"Venti sold Mondstadt to Liyue. Did you ever talk to the Anemo Archon about that?" Koji asked.
"I've heard of it," Varka said, raising an eyebrow. Venti had never explained the details—only that historians had recorded a few fragments.
With that many embarrassing details involved, there was no way Venti would ever give the full version.
Koji gave him a simple summary anyway. "Venti didn't lift a finger himself. He forged a contract and settled the Lawrence matter. That Anemo Archon really knows how to have fun."
The "Covenant of the Leeward Wind" had been written up as a treasonous transaction: the upper ranks selling Mondstadt to Liyue. It even carried a divine sigil carved into it, chilling the soldiers to the bone.
That sigil was Venti's special prank—he'd practiced a fake signature just to mess with the Geo Archon. He'd never managed to get it right… until the nobles' crisis, when it finally found a use.
"If it's him, then yes, that's exactly the kind of thing he'd do," Varka said, accepting it without much fuss. "When it comes to human affairs, gods generally don't step in to deal with humans directly."
If every human upheaval were suppressed by divine power, humanity would never grow strong.
"I should be going, too. I only came because I noticed you were… a bit special."
Koji's interest was piqued. "Special how?"
He'd activated a blessing—his aura shouldn't have been leaking. So what exactly had Varka sensed?
"Your presence feels no different from an ordinary person," Varka said. "But my instincts tell me you're not ordinary."
"As expected of the Knight of Boreas."
Koji couldn't help admiring him. This was that mysterious, hard-to-explain intuition only true powerhouses seemed to have.
Varka smiled, turned around, and left.
Koji glanced at the statue of the girl—and then he, too, vanished from the place.
…
Above a sea of moon-blue flowers, a young girl strolled slowly through the blossoms. Accompanied by faint strains of music, she hummed a distant, beautiful song.
"Is that you?" Columbina lifted her head. When she saw Koji approaching with food, surprise colored her voice.
Very few people should've been able to find this place.
"Are you here to capture me?"
The Fatui's objective in Nod-Krai was her—and Koji was a Harbinger. In that instant, the flowers underfoot glowed with a dim red light.
"No. It's not like you don't know this—Lumine and I became Harbingers, but aside from bringing back a few Gnoses, we haven't done anything else."
"So this is power different from elemental energy… the power of the moon?" Koji asked, openly curious.
It was the first time he'd ever seen the girl use it. And for some reason, Nod-Krai seemed to have traces of that power as well.
Columbina nodded. That was precisely why so many people coveted it.
"Want something to eat?"
"…What?"
Columbina sounded curious. She'd been here for a long time, and she hadn't eaten in ages.
"Local snacks from all kinds of nations. Nothing's spoiled—you can eat without worrying," Koji said as he opened the steamer basket. Dishes billowing with heat came into view.
Many of them were things Columbina had never tasted before.
When she first began walking this world, her first stop had been Nod-Krai. After that, she went to Snezhnaya. She hadn't really tried the specialties of other nations.
"Give them a try. I've tested these shops myself—the cooking is all genuinely good."
"…Mm."
…
"How is it?"
Watching a beautiful girl eat with elegant composure was a pleasant sight in itself. Truly—beauty could be a feast.
"It's delicious. I can feel the flavors of different nations."
Koji stared at her, baffled.
It's just food. How are you "feeling" all that?
He'd eaten plenty of things himself, but he'd never gotten that kind of impression.
"When I came, I saw Sandrone. She's in Nod-Krai," Koji said.
"Mm. I know. We've already met," Columbina replied, nodding.
Even though the Fatui's purpose was to bring her back, Sandrone hadn't tried to do that.
Back when she was with the Fatui, Columbina had only gotten along well with three people—and they were all women.
Arlecchino the Knave. Sandrone the Marionette. Rosalyne, La Signora.
"Sandrone and Arlecchino were both good to me," the girl said softly. "Rosalyne taught me that I should remember to thank others."
Koji paused for a beat. But thinking about it, it made sense—girls talked. They could get along.
"Back then, I used to sing at the entrance of Sandrone's workshop. Later she told me not to," Columbina said, sounding genuinely puzzled. "She said she does research at night, and my singing during the day would run into the time she sleeps to catch up on rest. So I only went to sing at her door at night… but she still chased me away."
"Pfft—"
Koji couldn't hold back his laughter. You really are a genius. Nothing wrong with that logic at all.
If she sleeps during the day and you can't sing then, you sing at night when she's awake.
The reasoning was flawless.
Except from Sandrone's perspective, being disturbed while researching was probably even more infuriating than being disturbed while sleeping.
And since she couldn't beat Columbina, all she could do was chase her away.
"I can understand how Sandrone felt," Koji said. "If you sing at night, she might get distracted and won't be able to focus on her research in peace."
Columbina's relationship with her female coworkers really was… impressively good.
"Mm. Arlecchino seems to really want to spend time with me," Columbina continued. "She always appears behind me without making a sound."
"So I tried to play the same game with her. I had to use the moon's power, but I finally managed to suddenly appear behind her and give her a scare."
"But after that, she stopped playing that game with me."
Koji forced himself not to laugh.
Columbina looked like someone detached from worldly matters—and somehow, she truly was. That untainted kind of beauty was indeed special.
Arlecchino probably stopped because she was used to scaring other people. When did she ever get scared herself?
And once Columbina used the moon's power, Arlecchino simply couldn't compete.
So… could it be that Arlecchino got embarrassed after taking a loss with Columbina, and then ran off to Fontaine to scare that silly little Furina instead?
If that were true, it would be hilarious—an esteemed Harbinger, frightened by her own coworker, running to Fontaine to bully the Hydro Archon. That would be downright scummy.
And honestly… it might even be possible.
The "experiment" may have been an experiment—but whether she mixed in a little personal grudge as seasoning… only Arlecchino herself would know.
(End of Chapter)
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