Although Stelle's words to Diona just now were a bit off-putting, it might not be a good idea to have Diona escort her to Angel's Share.
After all, in Diona's eyes, Angel's Share should be a BOSS-like existence, a target she always wanted to destroy. If she ran there late at night, Diona would probably throw a tantrum.
To be fair, Cat's Tail Tavern was already considered a rare business in Mondstadt that could threaten Angel's Share in recent years, but even so, the gap between it and Angel's Share was still visible to the naked eye.
Diona truly had a long and arduous journey ahead of her... Stelle mused, and soon she arrived at the tavern's entrance.
"Oh?" Stelle noticed the small blackboard in front of the tavern.
Many notes were posted on it, but the one at the very top caught her attention.
"Searching for a missing youth. Eagerly seeking information and assistance from kind-hearted individuals. The missing person has golden hair, wears exotic clothing, and is very conspicuous..."
This was Amber's missing person notice. From the description, it should be Lumine's brother, Aether, right?
Stelle didn't continue reading. She walked to the door, knocked, and then pushed it open directly.
"Stelle! You're finally here!" Seeing Stelle push the door open, Paimon excitedly waved at her.
"I shouldn't be late, right?" Stelle nodded at Paimon, looking around at the tavern's environment and the people present.
Angel's Share was quite a bit larger than Cat's Tail Tavern, and it had two floors, but the decor didn't feel as cozy as Cat's Tail Tavern.
Perhaps this was Cat's Tail Tavern's differentiated competition strategy?
As for the people present, besides Lumine and Paimon, there was a red-haired man with a cold expression, a woman wearing white tight pants that perfectly accentuated her hips, and... "Eh? It's you?" Stelle looked at the green-clad Damselette standing opposite her with some surprise.
She had a strong impression of this Damselette, after all, she later learned that in this world, those who could converse with dragons were few and far between.
"Haha, so Miss Stelle still remembers me." The green-clad Damselette smiled, then greeted Stelle and introduced himself: "I'm the best bard in this world, just call me Venti."
"Hmm, hello. And these two..." Stelle then looked at the other two people.
"Let me introduce, let me introduce!" Paimon flew in front of the two.
"This is the owner of Angel's Share, Master Diluc of Dawn Winery." Paimon first pointed to the red-haired, cold man.
"Hello." Diluc's greeting was equally cold, with hardly any change in his expression.
"And this, is the renowned Acting Grand Master Jean."
"There's no need to use 'renowned' to introduce me... Hello, Miss Stelle, I am the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, Jean." Jean looked at Stelle and extended her hand to Stelle proactively.
"It's an honor to meet you. I often hear the Mondstadters speak of Acting Grand Master Jean, I never expected to have the privilege of meeting you." Stelle also quickly reached out and shook Jean's hand.
Her knowledge of Jean came entirely from the mouths of the Mondstadters.
It was all phrases like "With Jean, there's no problem" or "The Acting Grand Master will surely solve the issue."
She had thought Jean would most likely be a middle-aged uncle or aunt, but she never expected her to be so young.
"Oh, no, Miss Stelle is also a guest from afar. I should have visited you proactively, but I've been truly swamped lately." Jean's expression seemed to become a little unnatural, and she stiffly withdrew her hand.
'What just happened...'
Jean was very puzzled.
Just by shaking hands with the Grey-haired girl opposite her, a tingling sensation ran through her hand, and her heart seemed to beat much faster.
Fortunately, this feeling didn't last long.
"Miss Stelle, thank you very much for being willing to help us." Jean regained her composure, pushing aside that strange feeling, and spoke to Stelle again.
She knew Stelle; Amber often mentioned her, and after all, she was the one who came with Lumine.
Regrettably, she was busy with the matters of the Four Winds' temples before, and when she finally had some time, she heard that Stelle had taken an Adventurers' Guild commission and was not in Mondstadt, which led to them never meeting.
She had no prior knowledge of Stelle's strength, but now, she had a good idea.
Just a short while ago, a report on the completion of a Cryo Hilichurl Armor King commission was delivered to her desk, and the person who completed it was Stelle.
It took less than a day to successfully defeat a Cryo Hilichurl Armor King; factoring in travel time, the actual combat time might not have been long.
This was enough to prove that the Damselette's strength was not to be underestimated.
"You're too kind. After all, I've received a lot of care from Mondstadt during this time." Stelle shook her head. Even from her own perspective, she was already prepared to rent a house, so she couldn't let this Dragon Disaster continue.
"Alright, alright, let's stop being so polite here, and let's get down to business." Paimon interrupted.
"Then, I shall perform for you two again, free of charge." A lyre appeared in Venti's hands at some point.
"The story I'm about to tell begins with..." Venti began to sing. His gentle and slow tone made people feel relaxed, yet the story he told made it difficult for people to feel at ease.
Stelle listened silently, and at the same time, she couldn't help but look at Venti again, carefully observing him.
Venti did seem to be different from ordinary people.
Although it was just Stelle's own feeling, she couldn't quite describe what that feeling was.
...Many years later, no one recognized its resurgence." Venti finished singing the narrative poem he had already recited twice. Everyone was lost in their thoughts, and no one spoke up proactively.
"East Wind Dragon, one of the Four Winds. I could never imagine the reason for its betrayal of Mondstadt, but I never expected it to be like this..." Jean broke the silence. She frowned, speaking words that she, as the Acting Grand Master, could not openly voice.
As the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, even if she knew that the matter of Stormterror was not so simple, due to the diplomatic pressure from the Fatui, without evidence, she could not publicly express goodwill towards Stormterror.
"So, the sound of the skylyre can purify Stormterror and restore him to normal, is that also true?" Jean looked at Venti again, asking once more.
"Absolutely! Lumine is dedicating herself to the front lines for this, truly living up to her name as the Knights of Favonius's supernova Damselette." Venti nodded, then complimented Lumine.
...Although what you're doing seems like an illegal act." Stelle couldn't help but interject.
"The situation is urgent, there's no other way." Lumine said helplessly.
If she could, she wouldn't want to steal the skylyre.
In the end, it was even intercepted by someone, how annoying...