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nSome foreign and unknown words will be explained in the Author’s Notice.

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n***

nYomite and Lumine looked at each other and did not speak another word.

nBoth were starting to doubt whether Venti was a god…

nActually, they were pretty sure he was a failure since a long time ago.

nWhat kind of God wouldn’t mention something so serious beforehand!?

n“Dont mind dont mind! We luckily have everything we need to fix it! The lyre itself is in pretty okay condition, but the strings…uff…Welp! That’s where our dear outlander stepps in!”

n(An outlander?)

nNone of them knew who Venti actually had in mind.

nSeeing that Venti was looking at Lumine, Yomite sighed in relief.

nHe had no idea how to repair instruments, so he was glad that Venti didn’t pick him to repair it.

n“I… Don’t know how to repair instruments…Sorry.”

nTo his surprise, Lumine was on the same page as him.

nMuch less cooking, she couldn’t even sew…

nWhen she was traveling worlds with her brother, he was usually the one that did everything and she was like a spoiled and a lazy brat. Now she deeply regretted it, as she could have picked up so much from him.

nThere was no doubt that she had absolutely no experience with repairing instruments.

n“It’s not that hard, look, Traveler, do you still have Dvalin’s Teardrop Crystal with you?”

nLumine nodded and put her hand into her pocket, activating her Inventory ability to sneakily pull out the purified teardrop.

n“Great! Now place it onto the strings.”

nShe did as she was told and placed the moderately sized crystal onto the Lyre, and soon enough, the light coming from it, lit up the dark sky.

nAfterward, a green glow erupted from within the Lyre, indicating that the power from within had been recharged.

nLumine sighed in relief as it was just a simple process.

n“This youthful glow…” Jean couldn’t help but admire the now, fixed Lyre. “How beautiful…”

nPaimon rolled her eyes, “Praising yourself? Really?”

n“Wha-!? No! I-I meant the Lyre! Not myself!”

nVenti held the Lyre in his hands and happily nodded, “Mhm! This is it! The power was fully replenished! I was afraid for a second that we would be forced to get more of the tears, but it seems like one was enough for the instrument to be filled to the brim!”

nYomite waved his hand to catch Venti’s attention and then spoke, “Say, wouldn’t Dvalin be mad if he saw me? I think I should just go and hide somewhere so that he doesn’t see me, right? I injured him greatly, after all.”

nVenti thought for a while before answering, “Nah, its fine! Don’t worry! Dvalin is a good friend! Dvalin wouldn’t attack you out of nowhere!” He reassured him.

n“…Is that so? Alright…”

n***

nIn the distant past, many mighty Dragons roamed Teyvat.

nNoble and intelligent beings that rivaled Archons and Gods in strength in a subtle way.

nMost dragons have either disappeared without a trace, or perished.

nAll but one.

nOne of The Four Winds of Mondstadt: Dvalin, the Dragon of the East, the Protector.

nDvalin was said to be one of the weakest of its kind.

nHowever, that didn’t mean it was powerless.

nAlthough none of the estimations were perfect, Its power was roughly above that of the current Wind God, Venti, and could even compete with some of the other Archons.

nWith the passages of long years and amid boundless darkness, even the purest gem became dulled by dust, and even the noble dragon was corrupted and cankered by hatred.

nBut people shouldn’t forget, that dust could be wiped away, and the power of doubt and poison could be shattered. If only you gave it a little push….

n***

nThe moon’s bright smile, which had been on for most of the day before drifting away, slowly died. The stars started losing their brightness as the sun sank down the face of the earth.

nIt was midnight.

nAnd Venti began his performance.

nWhile he was busy singing and playing on the Holy Lyre, the rest of the party enjoyed his songs and relaxed, as if they were on a family picnic.

n“Hey, Diluc. I heard that the Fatui have recently proclaimed you as ‘Persona non grata’.” Jean pointed out.

n“Hmph. What an honor. Nobody was ever proclaimed as ‘Persona grata’ by the Fatui anyway…” Diluc scowled, crossing his arms.

n“The Fatui? The diplomatic delegation from Snezhnaya? What have they got against Master Diluc?” Paimon was curious about a new source of knowledge.

n“Well…The Fatui are a problem not only for the Knights, they also present a real threat to the whole of Mondstadt…And when it comes to threats of Mondstadt, Diluc is especia—”

n“—That’s enough, Jean.” Diluc cut in and didn’t let her finish, “You knights are subject to too many restrictions. You can’t directly confront this so-called ‘diplomatic’ scum…Personally, I despise them. And will get rid of them eventually. I’m already in the process of doing so anyway…If I were to choose between ‘eating a Cryo Slime alive’ or ‘joining the Fatui’…I’d prefer to be crushed to death by a meteorite.”

n“Geez…so dramatic…As expected from an edgy loner…” Paimon silently mouthed under her breath.

n***

nFischl went up to Hu Tao, to vent her feelings of nervousness, “Say, my eternal rival, Demon King of Salvation, heed my call! Are you perchance scared of the upcoming Ragnarok?”

nHu Tao thought for a while and then replied, “I think I was a bit scared the first time I saw the Dragon, but I’m strangely calm now. Maybe because the Dragon is wounded and doesn’t look that strong to me anymore? Anyway, once I thought about it, the worst thing that can happen is that we die, but that’s just a normal progression of life. There is no need to be scared, and I came to my senses immediately.”

n“…Is that so?”

nUnbeknownst to Hu Tao, her words strangely comforted Fischl greatly.

nHu Tao then spotted Yomite who was quietly sitting and listening to Ventis’ song.

nShe sneaked up on him and slapped him on his back a few times, “Uwaaah! Did I scare you?”

n“Not really, but you can continue with the massage if you feel like it.” He replied, uninterested in what she was doing.

n“Me? A Director should massage her Assistant? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Oh, by the way! I think I finally came up with a name for our party!”

nYomite rolled his eyes but decided to listen, “So? What is it?”

nThe name of their party was put on hold for now, and it’s just called ‘The Yomite’s party’, although it would definitely not stay that way forever. They just couldn’t think of a good name yet.

n“Demon King of Salvation and her coffin operators!” She announced, feeling proud of the finished product.

n“Huh? You? A Demon King of Salvation…?” Yomite let out a wry smile.

n“Yep! Fischl named me as such. And I quite like the title! Maybe I could rename a part of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor…” She was already thinking of a new brand she could use the title for.

n“It’s cool…yeah…Sounds like you will die a lot…” Yomite murmured under his breath.

n“Huh?”

n“It’s…nothing…” He dropped the issue.

nHu Tao didn’t understand what he wanted to say, but Fischl on the other hand, squealed with girlish delight, startling everyone present.

n“Ehm…Fischl? Are you okay??”

nYomite just stared at her in confusion, and so did everyone else.

n(I would like to think of myself as pretty bright, and not a clueless or dense protagonist, but even I don’t get what the hell just happened to trigger a flag…)

n“I…*cough!* The Prinzessin is fine and ready to punish all sin! Don’t mind the battle cries of the ancient!” She played it off somehow but deep down she was happier than ever.

n(He knows the boooooook!)

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