On the street, a green figure strolled through the avenues and alleys.
The wind carried the cheerful voices of the people of Mondstadt to him, a stark contrast to the previous days.
He relished this joyful, hope-filled atmosphere, and as he walked, he couldn’t resist spinning in a 720-degree circle.
Unfortunately, he failed to maintain his balance, and the youth’s foot slipped, sending him tumbling backward.
But it didn’t matter; a gentle breeze caught and lifted him up.
“Ehe, that was close.
I almost took a tumble.” If Emperor Ying and Amber were here, they would recognize this voice as being identical to the mysterious one they heard during their battle with Dvalin that morning.
This was the true deity, Barbatos—or perhaps he should be called Venti.
He was also the Anemo Archon of Mondstadt…
well, he should probably be called the former Anemo Archon now.
Just then, the wind brought him a little story from the church canteen.
Venti struck a pose as if listening intently, and after hearing something, he even nodded.
“My, my, it seems our new Anemo Archon is doing quite a good job, much better than me.” “How about I go see her?
Maybe I can even snag a free meal.
I’m getting a bit curious about that taste; it looks like it would be delicious.” Just as Venti had this thought, he was interrupted by a bartender stepping out nearby.
“Listen up, you old drunkards!
Our Master said that to celebrate successfully overcoming the dragon disaster and the return of our Lord Anemo Archon, all drinks will be free for three days starting today.
Today’s stock is limited, first come, first served!” “What!
Free drinks?
Is there really such a good thing?
Thank you, Master Diluc.
Master, you’re so generous!” Hearing this, the bartender reminded them, “Hey—Master said you should thank the Anemo Archon.
Otherwise, we wouldn’t even be alive to drink.” “Right, right, thank the Anemo Archon.” “The Anemo Archon protects us.” “Anemo Archon, we love and respect you!” “Anemo Archon…
Hey, stop pushing me!” “Tch, who cares about you?
The winery is far away; new wine won’t arrive until at least tomorrow noon.” …
After returning to his post, the first customer the bartender encountered was Venti, dressed all in green.
Before Venti could even speak, the bartender said, “Minors aren’t allowed to drink.” “What minor?” Venti pointed to his young and tender face with a look of disbelief.
“Please, I’m older than your grandfather!” “Eh, fine, fine.
I’ll take your word for it that you’re an adult.
Speak up, what do you want?” Hearing this, Venti immediately beamed with joy.
“Thank you, big brother bartender!
I want 10 bottles of Dandelion Wine and 10 bottles of Cider.” “Drinks are limited.
Only two bottles per person per visit.” “Eh?
How can it be like that?
Then I want two bottles of Fire-Water.” “Oh?
You even know about Fire-Water?
Alright, you have good taste.
Drink slowly, kid; this stuff goes to your head easily.
Don’t push yourself.” Venti took the wine and affectionately rubbed his face against the bottles.
“Hehe, thank you, big—” Before he could finish, he was pushed aside by an old drunkard behind him.
“Move it, brat!
Don’t get in the way of an adult’s drinking.
I want two bottles of Fire-Water too.” The bartender spread his hands.
“None left.
The two that kid just took were the last ones.” “What!” The burly drunkard glared fiercely at Venti.
Venti flashed a victorious smile, stuck his tongue out at the man, and quickly slipped away, planning to find a deserted corner to savor them.
The wind had already told him the story of Emperor Ying and Kaeya from yesterday evening; he didn’t want to experience the feeling of having his wine stolen.
…
By evening, Venti was dead drunk in a dark little corner, his eyes glazed over and his mind hazy.
At this moment, he still had half a bottle of Fire-Water in his hand.
Just as he was about to bring it to his lips, he heard a loud roar from the house he was leaning against.
“Don’t come over here!!!” Startled, Venti downed the remaining Fire-Water in one gulp.
With a thud, the great Barbatos Venti collapsed.
A burly man standing nine feet tall with bulging muscles walked out of the house behind Venti.
He held a thick stack of blueprints and handed them to a lady waiting nearby.
This lady wore a black crown-like mask and a black-and-white dress.
Her sleeves were connected to a red, striped cape.
She was a member of the notorious Fatui, the strongest organization on the surface of Teyvat—the Eighth of the Harbinger, code-named ‘The Fair Lady,’ originally named Rosalyne.
“My Lady, the City Defense Maps have been obtained.
Should we move against the Knights of Favonius immediately?” A voice that was pleasant yet laced with dark danger came from her beautiful red lips: “You did well.
Unfortunately, these are no longer needed.” As she spoke, flames appeared in her hand, burning the documents.
“Because our true target has appeared.” The Fair Lady turned her gaze toward the drunken youth in the dark corner.
“Hehehe, oh my…
In the end, the family hamster has been found~.” “Gnawing on logs and biting rice bags…
causing so much trouble for Mondstadt~.” The Fair Lady crouched down gracefully, pinched Venti’s face with her ornately decorated right hand, and lifted it to her own to examine it closely.
She then heard Venti’s nonsensical response.
“Ehe, ehe, ehehe.” Veins began to bulge on The Fair Lady’s forehead.
Slap, slap, slap—she gave the unconscious Venti three ringing slaps across the face.
However…
“Burp—” A strong smell of alcohol wafted out.
The Fair Lady’s expression darkened completely.
She could no longer suppress her rage, but her pursuit of elegance kept her from getting her hands dirty.
So, she gave the burly man behind her a look, then let go and stepped back a few paces.
Losing his support, Venti slumped to the ground in an extremely ungraceful posture.
Receiving the instruction, the burly man stepped forward, grabbed one of Venti’s feet with his thick right hand, lifted the entire god, and began slamming him around the narrow alley—up, down, left, and right with loud thuds and crashes.
Watching from the side, The Fair Lady giggled.