"Right now, my friend, this cup of wine… is the most precious of all…!"
In Angel's Share tavern, Venti—quietly nursing a drink—suddenly felt a massive, terrifying burst of pyro erupt somewhere to the north of Mondstadt.
"Huh? Did that old auntie from Natlan drop by?"
He shook his head.
A sharp jab of pain pricked his chest—like something very important had just been shattered.
"…Eh. Whatever. Drink!"
He raised his mug again.
Next to him sat the very drunk bard, Six-Fingered Jose, who enthusiastically shoved another cup into Venti's hand.
"Drink!"
Venti took it without a second thought.
If that old Natlan god really came knocking, that was business between old gods and a new king.
What did any of that have to do with Barbatos?
Meanwhile, at Starfell Lake—
Klee stared in shock at the completely transformed lake island.
The entire central island—together with the Statue of the Seven to Barbatos—had been reduced to rubble by Farmas' strike.
Water surged violently, pouring into the gigantic crater he had just punched into the lakebed.
This explosion was louder than all the previous ones combined, shaking the world and sending a wave of water splashing over them—instantly undoing all the drying Klee had done a minute earlier.
Farmas, watching the waves settle, exhaled in satisfaction.
Years of pent-up restriction had finally been released.
As he dismissed the flame-formed general spirits behind him, Farmas' gaze shifted across the lake.
Near the edge of Starfell Lake…
A girl with blue hair, wearing a sleeveless brown-and-yellow cheongsam, was floating face-down on the water, completely unconscious—as if his blast had knocked her out cold.
"Farmas big brother, look! Someone's in the water!"
Klee pointed excitedly.
"Is she fishing too?!"
"No, Klee… she's drowning."
Farmas already knew—he was the reason this girl went under.
"That outfit… she looks like someone from Liyue."
The two hurried to the lakeshore. A swirling wave of pyro launched Farmas toward the immobilized girl.
With the blunt end of his spear, he hooked the unconscious girl up and flung her toward the bank.
"Heave—! I'll catch her!"
Klee dashed to the landing spot to try catching the blue-haired girl.
"Wait, Klee—watch out!"
Even though Klee could survive explosions daily, she was still a child. Getting hit by a falling person wasn't exactly safe.
"…Sigh."
Farmas teleported instantly to her side and caught the girl before she could crash into Klee.
"Liyue's chef… Xiangling?"
He laid the drenched girl gently onto the soft grass.
Dark ocean-blue hair.
A crimson polearm.
A pyro Vision at her waist.
There was no mistaking it—this was Xiangling.
"A gift… from Celestia?"
His eyes almost sparkled.
He had been wondering how to get Klee's Vision—
and now one had literally washed itself right to his feet.
"Ahem… save her first."
Even though Vision holders were blessed and hard to kill, he still knelt down and began CPR.
"…Huh. Never noticed—Xiangling's actually pretty… sizable."
"Pff—!"
Klee tried her best to support Xiangling's body. Under Farmas' firm compressions, Xiangling finally sputtered a mouthful of lake water—followed by rough coughing.
Klee quickly propped her up and patted her back with her small hands.
"She woke up!"
Klee leaned in close, studying Xiangling's face with excitement.
While Xiangling was still dazed, Farmas quietly reached toward her waist—
fingers about to unhook the Vision.
Suddenly—
CHOMP!
A round chubby creature burst out from Xiangling's waist pouch and bit down hard on Farmas' hand.
"Ow—ow—OW!?"
Startled, Farmas raised his arm.
Dangling from his hand was a tiny, brownish-yellow bear with deep chocolate paws and matching back patterns.
"Guoba! Don't bite the person who saved me!"
Still dizzy, Xiangling finally came to her senses.
Seeing Klee and Farmas, she realized they were the ones who pulled her out.
She grabbed Guoba by his tail and yanked him off Farmas' hand.
"Thank you both for saving me! Does the bite hurt? I know some emergency field medicine—I can treat it!"
"N-No, it's fine."
Farmas hid his injured hand behind his back.
Guoba peeked out from behind Xiangling and glared at him with those dark circles under his eyes—pure, smug mockery.
"Guoba normally isn't like this! Maybe he swallowed water with me just now!"
Xiangling squeezed Guoba's cheeks, scolding him.
"Apologize, Guoba!"
"Mmph!"
Guoba stubbornly turned away.
"…You little furball. I'll remember this."
Smiling, Farmas waved it off—
but he had absolutely written the creature's name in his mental blacklist.
"Oh—right, I forgot introductions!" Xiangling said cheerfully. "I'm Xiangling from Liyue Harbor. And you two?"
"I'm Farmas. This is Klee. We're Mondstadt residents."
Klee tilted her head.
"Xiangling big sister, why were you in the lake? Were you fishing too?"
"No, Klee. But I was trying to catch fish!"
Xiangling frowned thoughtfully.
"I heard Mondstadt has a creature called the East Wind Dragon. If I could catch one—it'd make an amazing dish!"
Her eyes sparkled with culinary fantasies.
"So I came here… and then I saw there were rare Golden Bass in this lake! I dived in to catch them and then…"
She turned around—
and froze.
"Eh?! Where's the island?! Where's the Statue of the Seven?!"
Xiangling, who had been facing away from the lake the entire time, finally saw it.
The once radiant wind statue—reduced to tiny fragments.
Many pieces had sunk into the murky water; others had completely vanished.
The entire islet was gone.
The lake water was cloudy, sizzling with pyro residue.
"…What… happened here?"
She gaped at the battlefield-like scene.
"Klee knows! It was Farmas big broth—"
Smack.
Before she could finish, Farmas clamped a hand over her mouth and squished her puffy cheeks.
Xiangling blinked, bewildered.
"Mm—we felt the battle here and rushed over."
Farmas said with the most innocent expression possible—his ahoge flicking in the pyro-tinted breeze.
Standing with a completely ruined lake behind him only made it look more suspicious.
"…I think I heard Klee say something about… exploding fish?"
Xiangling eyed Farmas.
"Nope! Absolutely not!"
Klee pried off Farmas' hand, and the two shook their heads in perfect synchronization.
"…Alright…"
The three stood by the lakeshore, wind quietly blowing.
Someone… seemed to be approaching.
~~---------------------------
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