'System... Look, I'm a person with a title now! I'm basically a big shot in Mondstadt!'
[...]
After leaving the Knights of Favonius headquarters, the Flügel who had earned the rather useless title of Honorary Knight stretched and turned to look at Lumine who appeared to be deep in thought.
Not long after, Jibril pulled Lumine to sit down on a chair.
"Lumine, wasn't there something you forgot to tell Acting Grand Master Jean just now?"
"Oh yeah!" Paimon suddenly shouted. "The dragon and crystal wasn't the only thing we saw, we also saw that green guy as well."
"I think that person shouldn't be a bad guy." Lumine said, looking slightly dazed. "And... he seems to be able to communicate directly with Dvalin."
"I think the two of us can handle investigating this..."
For some reason, Jibril felt Lumine's eyes sparkling when she looked at her.
It was hard to refuse.
Paimon looked toward the other side of the street as if she had suddenly discovered something. "He looked exactly like that guy down there!"
Lumine and Paimon quickly exchanged glances, grabbed Jibril's wrist and chased without further explanation.
The two chased in the direction the man had gone, reaching the vicinity of the Goth Grand Hotel. Although he had been nearby, they couldn't find that flash of green anywhere now.
Lumine pressed her fingers to her brow, then suddenly opened her eyes. The surrounding elements were all visible to her. A string of green, Anemo element footprints clearly appeared in her sight.
The blonde slightly frowned, her expression growing a bit serious.
Even with an Anemo Vision, he shouldn't leave footprints like this, right? Could he... be an evolved Slime?!
"He went up."
"Up? When did that guy get up?" Paimon said, shocked.
Following the trail again, they ran toward the Statue of Barbatos not far away. From a distance, they saw a huge crowd packed tightly in the plaza, seemingly watching something.
"So many people..."
Jibril turned around, interlaced her fingers with Lumine's and before Lumine could gasp, she spread her wings. As the rainbow halo circulated, space twisted into a vortex. Paimon, startled, grabbed Lumine's neck and the three vanished from the spot.
The next second, they were standing on the stone pavement of the Cathedral Plaza, a breeze brushing through their hair accompanied by the church bells.
Lumine stumbled half a step, picked up the dizzy Paimon, and looked in shock at their still-clasped hands: "This is...?"
"Lumine, look over there."
Jibril casually released her hand, but her fingertips secretly rubbed the area of her palm where a slight warmth still lingered.
Not far away, a clear, melodious lyre sound drifted on the wind. The green Bard was plucking his strings, slowly beginning to tell his story.
As for the story he sang, the surrounding listeners looked somewhat confused, but not Jibril, Lumine and Paimon; they could understand the content of the story.
He was singing a story related to Stormterror, or more rather Dvalin.
When the story concluded, everyone present cheered. If Lumine hadn't been right next to her, Jibril might have wanted to cheer for Venti in a more enthusiastic way.
Jibril: Lord Barbatos, I'm your fan! ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و
"Since everyone enjoyed listening so much, then..." Venti smiled slightly and took off the green hat on his head.
"Uh... Suddenly I have a bad feeling..."
"Hmm? Is Jibril feeling sick?" Lumine looked at the Flügel beside her in confusion.
The Flügel shook her head. Immediately after, under the shocked gaze of Lumine and Paimon, Venti started circling the crowd, holding his hat.
"Those with Mora, please contribute some Mora! And those without, please show your support! Thank you, everyone!"
"Oh! Beautiful Miss... may the Anemo God protect you!"
"..."
"..."
----
He must really be short on cash or why would he be out here begging for mora?
Jibril looked at Venti, whose eyes were shining at the sight of gold coins and suddenly felt that this guy wasn't faking it.
"Hey, Travelers, would you like to hear me play another song?" Venti walked a few steps toward them as he pretended to examine them closely.
"Oh, that's right! You're the ones who scared Dvalin away that time!"
Venti suddenly turned his gaze to the Flügel, showing a meaningful expression.
Lumine would certainly be a bit flustered. But she naturally glared back without hesitation, even rolling her eyes.
"Dvalin? Don't most people call him Stormterror?" Paimon asked curiously. "Why do you call him that? Are you two meant to be close or something?"
"Ehe~ Guess?"
"Hey, Jibril, Lumine, Paimon thinks this guy is really weird..." Paimon turned her head and openly criticized him at a volume she thought Venti couldn't hear.
"Yes, very weird~" Jibril replied while smiling.
"Hey! You can't talk about me like that!" Venti gave the Flügel a resentful look and cleared his throat.
"Anyways... Greetings, Travelers! I'm Venti the bard. Three-time winner of the Most Popular Bard of Mondstadt, to be precise."
Venti stood before them with his hands on his hips, seemingly very proud.
"Hello, my name is Lumine. This is Jibril and this is Paimon." Lumine answered seriously.
"So, what do you need from me?"
"Given that you recognize us, Paimon doesn't believe that we need to explain any further. Of course it's about Stormterror!"
When he heard the words Stormterror, Venti was visibly displeased. "Storm...?" He then immediately started acting as if he had amnesia.
"Hey! Cut it with the amnesia act! Lumine, show it to him."
Hearing Paimon say that, Lumine nodded and pulled the crystal from her pocket. However, the moment she took it out, the blonde realized something was wrong.
The ominous crystal, which had originally emitted a blood-red light, had turned into a pure sky-blue.
"This is..." Venti subconsciously moved closer, his expression shocked.
"Strange... I-I don't know what happened. but the last time I checked it, it was full of impurities."
The wings behind Jibril and her two small ear feathers gently trembled. Pure Anemo element lingered around her and gave off a very comfortable feeling.
"Dvalin, he... the anguish he feels... has brought him to tears..."