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nhttps:

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nFew seconds after the alarm rang in the church, Lumine and Paimon ran upstairs and forced the door to close behind them, pulling nearby benches to block whoever was coming after them.

n“We’ve got the lyre! But we need to run now!” Paimon announced, a bit distracted by the alarm which woke her up from her sleep.

nLumine, short of breath, handed Venti the lyre.

nIt was almost stolen by somebody else, but in the end, they managed to obtain it, ironically, also by stealing.

nThe lyre was beautiful, no matter which way you looked at it. The wood and string instrument was the perfect length for your arms to reach the strings or the tailpiece without straining.

nThe round bowl was a deep crimson with the golden edges rounding off the corners. There were two golden armrests at the bottom and two golden arms at the top.

nThe sound holes were symmetrically placed on each side of the bowl, so both the left and right-handed could use it.

nIt was the view of the instrument that was most impressive.

nPurely divine.

nLooking at it from the side, you could see through some of the holes onto the strings and the holes.

nThe strings were incredibly thin and pliable, allowing the player to have control over the sound just how he pleased. The strings were dyed to match the wood of the instrument, rather than the common colors of gold or silver.

nThe craftsmen and women who had made this instrument must have taken untold hours of their lives, toiling away in the great hall, making each individual string by hand, only to slowly thread the entire thing into the final product.

n“The lyre itself had been silent for as long as I was asleep. No mortal being unskilled in the arcane arts could bring forth music from it. Only me. I’m thankful for what you two did for me and Dvalin.”

nThey were all captivated by the magical lyre, but now, they didn’t have time to gawk at the beauty of the lyre, as they were busy running.

nThey ran through the empty streets of Mondstadt.

nTheir steps rang against the wet concrete, their hearts beating strong.

nTiny droplets of water that formed on cool surfaces at night, made the ground wet as the atmospheric vapor condensed.

nThe sound of their footsteps was audible to those whose ears remained open, fortunately it seemed that the Knights of Favonius had lost them, somehow.

nIt seemed to be true that the capable Knights left on an expedition with Varka, and the rest was a lazy plague that stayed in the city.

nLucky them.

nSoon they spotted their way out.

nAngel’s Share bar was open.

nThey all swiftly entered the pub and immediately closed the door behind them.

nOut of everyone present, Paimon was the only one panting when they entered the pub, “Wooooh…haah…Paimon’s out of breath…haah…Did we…get away…?”

n“How are you even out of breath when you are floating?” Yomite’s brow creased. Something didn’t add up.

n“Hey! Flying takes its toll on Paimon as well! It’s not easy! Try flying yourself!”

n“I hope you’re well aware I can’t do that, right?”

n“Tch…what is this supposed to be?”

nA frustrated hand wiped a wine glass from behind the counter.

nThe hand’s owner, a man with slicked back crimson hair, spoke with a rather hostile tone, “Who do we have here this early in the morning…Let’s see…Kaeya’s adopted brother, a minor, a flying infant and the most infamous beggar Bard…It seems like your group of troublemakers has expanded but you lost one along the way…”

nAn offended gasp escaped Paimon’s small mouth.

nIt seemed like this time, she really had no words to describe the ugly nickname she was given.

nOr at least it seemed like that.

n“Ah, Diluc, hey there…” Yomite greeted him while hugging Paimon.

nIt turned out Yomite was muffling Paimon’s screams with his hand.

nIt also turned out she had a lot to say about how Diluc called her, she just wasn’t able to.

n“We would like to order some non-alcoholic drinks and a few seats somewhere private, let’s say on the second floor.” Yomite left a lot of mora on the table and the group moved upstairs.

n“…Sure, it’s indeed the least conspicuous up there.”

nAs they walked up the stairs, Diluc silently gazed at the growling Paimon, whose eyes were still hostile to him, because of his small remark earlier.

nThe ‘flying thing’ was a tad bit weird. He had never seen such creature or a friendly monster before.

nHe did note the constellation-like pattern that seemed to adorn the imps movement, the sparkles themself being scarily similar to something he read in a book before.

n‘White hair, star-shaped hair pin and that cape…How strange.’

nOnce on the second floor, the group seated themselves at a nearby table.

n“Paimon will get him for sure! In the future! He called Paimon an infant! Can you believe this!?” Her little stamping with her small boots was a bit less impactful when she didn’t actually hit anything other than air.

nThe group laughed at the pixies strange behavior.

n“Well, you certainly do sound like that! Can’t deny that! But actually, a small correction, he called you…a flying infant!” Venti provoked her as well.

n“And you too!? That’s it! Paimon has decided! Paimon will give you an ugly nickname! Let’s see…Considering you are a bard…” She seemed to be thinking really hard this time.

n“Oh, yes, why of course, I’m the best bard in the world and my voice is the most soothing thing your ears will ever hear! I have a lot of nice fans too!”

nYomite shivered as he recalled a weird instance from before, while he was walking around the city.

nIt was then, when Venti’s ‘fans’ talked about which hole was better to explore and Yomite couldn’t bring himself to say anything about that to Venti.

n‘It’s best it stays a secret… Although for some reason I kind of want to see his reaction on that…’

n“Aha! Paimon’s got it! Paimon will call you… a Tone-deaf Bard! Bu-haha!”

nVenti frowned a bit but didn’t say anything regarding the nickname.

nHowever, anyone present could kind of feel Paimon was starting to get on his nerves.

nYomite couldn’t tell whether he was offended by the nickname, or if he had some other reason he didn’t wish to share.

nSo he changed the subject,

n“Well, Paimon. Why not give Diluc a nickname as well then? You said you would make an assassination attempt at his head in the future.” He raised his voice a bit on purpose, so that Diluc could hear them from downstairs.

n“Pa-Paimon didn’t say that! Not even close! But…Ehm…that…Paimon is irritated by him…but he is kind of…scary…”

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