Chapter 158: Fairy Tales Are All Lies

What Venti was drinking wasn't the angels' signature dandelion wine, but merely the most ordinary grape wine—also one of the cheapest wines among the angels' gifts.

But even so.

Venti still drank happily.

Mondstadt's wine is famous, especially the dandelion wine from the Dawn Winery, which, with its unique cool, slightly sweet taste and rich grain aroma, sells well across the entire Teyvat continent.

However, the dandelion wine is not cheap.

Usually.

With Venti's meager earnings from busking, he can only afford cheap loose dandelion wine.

Seeing that he can only afford grape wine today, he must be low on cash, unable to even buy the cheapest dandelion wine.

He might even have no money at all, planning to pay his bill by busking.

Luo De walked straight over, sat down boldly beside Venti, and bought a glass of dandelion wine.

It was bottled, neither the cheapest nor the most expensive, just the kind Mondstadt folk usually drink.

The glass had just been served.

Venti, who had been lost in the grape wine, immediately turned his head, sniffing with a blissful expression.

Luo De said nothing, silently pushing his glass of dandelion wine over, then ordered another glass that was slightly better than the first.

Venti wasn't polite either.

Faced with Luo De's silent treat, he not only didn't question it, but directly picked up his glass and drank heartily.

After one glass,

Luo De then pushed the second glass over.

Just like that.

After downing several glasses, Venti felt a bit embarrassed, scratched his head and said: "Um, you."

"I have something I'd like to ask you to help with."

Luo De bluntly stated the reason for treating him, then opened his mouth and silently said a few words.

The wind god Barbatos.

Anyone who reads lips could tell at a glance what he was saying.

Fortunately, everyone in the tavern was drunk and having fun, no one paying attention to them, so naturally no one noticed what Luo De was saying to Venti.

Venti, who had still wanted to mess around with Luo De a bit, was completely thrown off by Luo De's sneaky move.

Although upon seeing the floating, glowing little machine behind Luo De, he knew Luo De must have already discovered his identity, which is why he deliberately approached.

But if you come out and expose someone's identity right away, that would ruin a lot of the fun!

"Eh——"

Venti scratched his head in distress, then drew out his voice: "Alright, you say what you need, but let me say first—I'm just a weak, powerless bard; I can't help with anything too difficult."

This sounded like a coerced statement, coupled with that aggrieved expression, and combined with Venti's innocent, youthful face that looks underage at a glance.

If he didn't know some method to keep his and Luo De's conversation from being overheard, someone would have already started intervening, stepping forward to ask what was going on.

"Nadixa wants to borrow your Gnosis; as payment, I'll stay in Mondstadt to help you deal with the Te walin madness."

Luo De was unmoved, stating bluntly the deal regarding the Gnosis.

Having said that,

He then locked eyes with Venti, silently waiting for the wind god's reply.

There's no need to elaborate further on the details.

Venti is the god who commands the thousand winds.

Just as all plants and trees serve as Nadixa's eyes and ears, the flowing thousand winds are Venti's senses; as long as the wind does not cease, there is nothing he does not know.

Thus Luo De knows the situation.

Venti must certainly be fully aware of his earlier conversation with Qin and Lisa in the library, and also aware that he knows many things and can provide much useful help regarding the Te walin affair.

Moreover.

Just now Venti readily accepted the drink I offered him, without even asking why I was treating him out of the blue.

This shows he had already been mentally prepared; he wasn't completely clueless beforehand.

"Gnosis——"

Venti indeed didn't immediately refuse the deal, but rubbed his chin and said: "It's not impossible, but taking my Gnosis will bring a lot of trouble—you aren't afraid of trouble, are you?"

"Compared to the withering World Tree, this bit of trouble is nothing."

Luo De earnestly said: "If the World Tree's problem isn't solved in a day, my friends and students will suffer an extra day of magic scale disease, and constantly face the threat of death."

"Hmm, like that."

"This really is a big problem."

Then Venti simply tossed over a greenish chip, saying nonchalantly: "Take it; you definitely need this more than I do."

The situation instantly reversed.

Just moments ago, Venti was caught off guard by Luo De's bluntness.

Now it's Luo De who can't find words!

Is it really that simple?

That is Luo De's only thought at the moment.

He had prepared to thoroughly debate the Gnosis trade with Venti, yet after just saying two sentences, the Gnosis was already in his hands!?

Holding this Gnosis entwined with wind element, he felt the terrifying divine power contained within.

Recalling Nadixa's words before his departure—'The Gnosis isn't something you can easily borrow'—Luo De suddenly felt unreal.

Isn't Venti a bit too easy to talk to?

He's not worried that this stranger would run off with the Gnosis, is he?

Besides, there's no way my outsider identity could escape Venti's notice.

I'm loaded with so many debuffs.

What makes Venti trust this outsider so much?

As he thought...

Luo De's bewildered expression suddenly shifted.

Before he could say anything.

Then Venti giggled: 'Now you owe me a favor, friend~~~'

——!

Luo De's uneasy premonition came true.

Venti really is using the Gnosis to trade for a favor, leaving me unable to profit from the dragon disaster situation.

The key is, once you have the Gnosis, you can't give it back.

That means I can't possibly refuse to owe this favor.

Luo De felt manipulated and asked, head pounding: 'Aren't you afraid I'll take your Gnosis, do nothing, and just run back to Sumeru?'

Heh.

Venti smirked: 'Someone favored by Buyeer would never pull such a scoundrel move.'

Besides.

Leaning in, he chuckled: 'I trust you so much—you won't let me down, right?'

Looking at his innocent smile.

I don't know why.

Luo De shuddered inexplicably.

As expected.

Fairy tales are all lies.

Venti is certainly no naive sweetie who'd stay cheerful after having his heart taken.

He is a god—one who won the Archon War and has lived over two thousand years. Even if his nature is very close to humanity, that doesn't mean he trusts humans unconditionally.

And the reason he's willing to simply hand over the Gnosis to me.

It's not just because the World Tree needs this Gnosis to be saved.

Also because in Mondstadt's tiny plot of land, no matter how I jump around, I can't escape his grasp; plus, I can also snag a strong fighter for the undermanned Westwind Knight Brigade.

'I've walked right into the trap, huh.'

Luo De, Gnosis in hand, muttered with a bitter face.

(End of chapter)