While Ken was busy with game matters, the Mondstadt Specialty Shop officially opened.
Though the items weren't anything particularly tasty or special, they still drew many adventurers—their light weight and long shelf life were exactly what adventurers needed.
For a time, Mona was run off her feet.
But with Lumine helping between rifts when she wasn't dealing with Stormterror, Mona had it much easier, and would occasionally chat with curious visitors.
For example, Cat's Tail tavern's bartender Diona, who was very close by, or the chuunibyou girl Fischl, who still wanted to visit Blue Star.
Both were deeply curious about Blue Star. Mona simply smiled and said everything depended on fate.
Knights of Favonius members would also drop by to help occasionally.
Once Mona adapted to sales, she grew more and more adept, and the shop's name began to spread among adventurers.
Canned meat that kept fresh for two to three years, compressed biscuits, vegetables, and clean water attracted many trade caravans from other nations seeking cooperation.
Even the Snezhnaya diplomatic delegation visiting Mondstadt seemed very curious about shelf life.
But Ken was extremely busy lately. Mona did her job diligently and never disturbed him unless it was to restock—and to snag a meal while doing so.
Elsewhere—
With Lumine's help, purifying the tears crystals went quickly. All they needed now was to find Venti to resolve the Dvalin matter.
…
At noon in Mondstadt, the air was filled with the aroma of food.
Paimon, belly bulging, munched on chips as she followed Lumine to the Anemo statue in Mondstadt.
"Wow! He really is busking!"
Seeing Venti surrounded by a crowd, Paimon was a bit surprised.
Just like the files said: the Anemo Archon Barbatos really was out here singing for coin!
"Let's wait till he's done performing."
In Lumine's brilliant golden eyes, there was a trace of helplessness.
It was hard to imagine the god of Mondstadt busking on the street.
But after watching the Liyue storyline… and learning that the Geo Archon strolls around Liyue in person, her sense of astonishment had calmed a lot.
An Anemo Archon who busks, a Geo Archon who likes to wander.
Perhaps this is the gods'… unique style of governance in Teyvat.
She wondered whether the gods of Inazuma and other nations were also… unconventional like that.
"Hello there… Venti!"
When the crowd began to disperse, Paimon put her hands on her hips and shouted to him.
When Venti saw Lumine and Paimon, his expression grew a bit complicated.
On the night Dvalin attacked Mondstadt, he had called Dvalin to a place far from the city, intending to awaken the dragon's true will.
But at the critical moment, a split of Lumine's consciousness had interfered from the shadows, causing him to fail—and he'd even been ambushed by the Abyss Order.
Seeing Lumine and Paimon again now, Venti recognized them at once.
Only…
"You know me?"
Venti asked curiously.
The green-clad youth approached, like petals blooming in the wind, carrying the freshness of boyhood.
"Of course… You're Mondstadt's most famous bard," Paimon said with a mischievous grin, hands on hips. "We're here to ask about the Anemo Archon. Do you know anything?"
"The Anemo Archon… That guy's been gone from Mondstadt for ages. Unlike Liyue's Geo Archon or Inazuma's Electro Archon who are still around, the people of Mondstadt haven't seen their god in a long time," Venti replied with utmost seriousness.
Paimon: "…"
Lumine: "…"
Watching Venti speak so earnestly, Lumine sighed.
"May the Anemo Archon bless you"… more like "May the Anemo Archon bamboozle you."
And he said it with such conviction.
If they didn't already know he was Barbatos, Venti could've fooled both of them.
"Lord Anemo Archon, you wouldn't want your identity exposed, would you?"
Lumine didn't want to keep teasing him. She recalled a strange clickbait title she'd seen on Ken's computer and used it directly.
Sure enough—
Venti, who'd been bluffing with a straight face, suddenly froze.
"???"
His eyes flew wide, clear as a lake with ripples trembling across them.
Exposed just like that?
Venti instinctively went, "Ehe…"
"Ehe te nandayo!" Paimon puffed up her chest and drawled.
Venti: "???"
"Lord Anemo Archon, I have the ability to purify the Tear Crystals. I've already collected them all and secured the Holy Lyre der Himmel. All that's missing is your aid."
The video had foretold that the Fatui would steal the lyre, so Acting Grand Master Jean had coordinated with the Church of Favonius and civic representatives in advance to store the lyre with the Knights.
As for the lyre currently in the cathedral—it was a fake.
"???"
Listening to Lumine rattle all that off, Venti looked even more baffled.
Wait…
They've already brought out the lyre?
"Please come with us to the Knights, then. Let's save Dvalin—your former companion."
Before Venti could react, Lumine spoke earnestly.
Even as an outsider, seeing a former hero of Mondstadt fall so far pained her.
Venti: "Th—this… alright!"
He was still in a daze.
What perplexed him most was… how did he get exposed?
Was his acting not good enough?
Ehe?!
…
…
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