Chapter 160

The Skyward Lyre that Venti spoke of.

It was the harp he had played in his youth, left behind in the Church of Favonius after the overthrow of the old aristocracy a thousand years ago, and has since become Mondstadt's treasure, usable only during the Mondstadt Ballad Festival.

If anyone wishes to borrow the Skyward Lyre outside the Ballad Festival period, they must obtain the agreement and signatures of the Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, the Archbishop, and the people's representatives of Mondstadt City.

However, Luo De felt that if he were the one to borrow it, the lyre would likely agree.

Now that the Archbishop is absent, and the people's representatives probably would not agree either, relying solely on the lyre might not suffice to secure its release through official channels.

With the idea of giving it a try.

After confirming that Venti would soothe Tatarigami and Luo De, ensuring his own safety, would seize the opportunity to purify the poisoned blood, the two went together to the Knights of Favonius.

But when they stated their purpose, the gatekeeping Knights of Favonius informed them that the Acting Grand Master had not come to work today.

"The Acting Grand Master led a team last night to apprehend criminals."

"I heard they have been interrogating those criminals nonstop since last night, and still have not returned to the Knights of Favonius as of now."

The gatekeeping Knight of Favonius shook his head and said: "Sorry, I cannot give you a specific time; why not rest here for a while?"

With the badge Lisa gave him.

Even though the gatekeepers have changed today, they remained very courteous and did not, as yesterday, insist that Luo De must queue if he had business; instead, they said that if the Acting Grand Master returned, they would immediately notify Luo De.

"Let's go to my senior sister's place."

Luo De now had nowhere else to go.

Without the Skyward Lyre.

Even if he found Tatarigami now, he could not resolve the issue; it's just a matter of waiting, so he might as well wait at Lisa's place—at least he could browse the Knights of Favonius's collection when idle.

The gatekeeping Knight did not stop them and even assigned someone to guide them, leading Luo De and Venti all the way to the library.

Upon entering.

They heard Lisa's languid voice.

"Hah—"

"For borrowing books, please register voluntarily; books in the restricted section are temporarily not available for loan."

"Huh?"

"It's you, little junior brother."

"You've already made new friends so quickly—how delightful and congratulatory."

Clearly it's work time.

Yet Lisa appeared as if she hadn't woken up; when Luo De entered, she was even dozing while leaning on her chair.

Truly, the saying holds.

In Mondstadt.

Besides the Acting Grand Master, who else would take work so seriously?

"Hey, big sister, hello, I'm Venti, a bard."

Venti showed no shyness; upon entering, he immediately addressed her as "older sister, elder sister," causing Lisa to unconsciously smile.

It was evident.

She truly enjoyed the feeling when Venti called her "big sister."

"Oh~~~"

"You're the bard my little junior brother found, truly a delightful little junior brother."

Lisa greeted Venti, then turned to Luo De and asked: "Little junior brother, are you here to find my elder sister, or to find the Acting Grand Master?"

"I have a small matter and wish to ask the Acting Grand Master for help."

"But she's not here now; I heard she's interrogating criminals, so I came to wait at your place first."

Luo De recounted all these matters in detail.

"Oh dear~~"

"Tomorrow is merely my first meeting with the Acting Grand Master, yet you didn't come specially to visit me—truly heartbreaking."

Lisa showed no sign of sadness; instead, she smiled teasingly as she played with Luo De.

Fortunately.

After enduring yesterday's three-hour dinner.

Luo De could now calmly withstand Lisa's jokes, speaking with a solemn expression: "I have serious matters to discuss with the Acting Grand Master, concerning the Stormterror."

"Oh, is that so."

"Then it's perfect—little junior brother, you stay here and watch over things for a while while I go get breakfast."

Despite mentioning serious business, Lisa not only failed to adopt a serious attitude, but directly shoved all her work onto Luo De, then waved her hand and sauntered out of the library—this "if there's fish, I'll take it" attitude left Luo De stunned.

Thus.

In the blink of an eye, the vast library was left with only Luo De and Venti staring at each other.

"Um"

"Wait then."

Luo De had nothing more to say, so he casually pulled out a book, found a spot, and sat down.

Venti also took out a fairy tale book, plopped down beside him, and began reading with relish, occasionally bursting into laughter at the plot.

At this moment, the library was empty to the left and right.

Luo De also said nothing, burying his head in his book.

The book he casually pulled out was《Forest Wind》.

It is a collection of poems by numerous anonymous bards compiled and recorded by Mondstadt's scholars, paired with the narrative poetry collection《Lake Heart Wind》as upper and lower volumes.

Many of the poems recorded within.

Rather than saying it is a poem, it is more accurate to say it is a history recorded in poetic form.

At least Luo De saw quite a few stories about Venti and Barbatos from this book, Forest Breeze.

It is said that bards' songs often exaggerate or outright distort history to earn listeners and Mora, making most of their content highly unreliable.

But Luo De read on for a long time.

Then he suddenly realized.

Many of the stories recorded in this Forest Breeze, if one strips away the many passages written from imagination and the deliberately piled-up ornate rhetoric, clearly constitute a genuine history book.

The Mondstadt history recorded here.

Is even more detailed and complete than the history textbooks currently used in Mondstadt, covering everything from the Stormterror's rule over Mondstadt during the Archon War, to Mondstadt overthrowing the old aristocracy under the salvation of the Anemo Archon a thousand years ago, to the bloody battle between Barbatos and Dvalin five hundred years ago—one could say it is comprehensive.

As he flipped through the pages.

Luo De noticed something.

That is, the poems in Forest Breeze have significant gaps in their timeline.

For example, the timeline in this book can trace back to over two thousand years ago, but then it jumps directly to one thousand years ago; the intervening over a thousand years are filled entirely with poems about scenery and Mondstadt's changes, severely lacking historical records like those about the Stormterror and the Anemo Archon; after the history of the Four Winds' protection, it leaps directly to five hundred years ago, until the East Wind Dragon was severely wounded and recalled by the Anemo Archon, thereafter falling into slumber, after which historical records cease abruptly, followed only by nutritionally void modern poems.

This strange recording style led Luo De to consider a possibility.

"Most of the poems in here were probably written by you, right?"

Luo De snapped the poetry collection shut with a 'pa' sound, turned his head, and looked at Venti.

He now had eighty percent confidence.

The vast majority of the poems in here should have been written by Venti, then spread through his personal transmission and singing.

Needless to say.

This is indeed an excellent way to maintain faith.

No wonder he has not appeared for hundreds of years, yet Mondstadt's faith in him remains so fervent.

Looking back.

At the deeds of the Anemo Archon recorded in this Forest Breeze.

Leading the oppressed Mondstadt people to rebel against the Stormterror, winning the Archon War and attaining the position of one of the Seven Archons of Teyvat; cleaving mountains, scattering snow, spreading grain, transforming Mondstadt from a land of ice and snow into today's four seasons like spring, allowing the originally wandering Mondstadt ancestors to settle down; overthrowing the old aristocracy, helping Mondstadt's people escape oppression and regain freedom; taming the wind dragon that descended from the heavens, using it as the foundation to establish Monddtadt's cornerstone, the Four Winds Protection; when the South Wind Lion's lineage had a vacancy, the North Wind Wolf died in battle, and the West Wind Eagle suffered heavy casualties, he plucked the harp strings to summon the East Wind Dragon, one god and one dragon fighting to the death against the evil dragon Dvalin, saving Mondstadt from peril countless times.

Many of these stories can even be recited by Mondstadt's children.

In summary.

That is, although the Anemo Archon often disappears, whenever Mondstadt faces a major crisis and the people's livelihood becomes unsustainable, he will surely appear on time, pulling the Mondstadt people out of the mire and restoring their free and carefree lives.

Day after day, year after year, under such enduring praise.

How could the Mondstadt people's faith in the Anemo Archon not be steadfast! Starting from the classic beneficiary discourse, and adding that Venti himself is a bard, Luo De has sufficient reason to suspect that Venti is very likely the author and disseminator of these poems.

Perhaps each time he awakens from slumber, his first dry task is to continue singing these poems, ensuring the Mondstadt people do not forget these past events.

Regarding this question.

Venti did not lift his head, continued looking at that fairy tale book, and said with a hehe: "You guess~~"

Well, no need to guess.

These things must have been done by Venti himself.

And the reason Barbatos's affairs have been forgotten by Mondstadt people is likely because Venti had just awakened not long ago, the old songs were no longer liked, so he had not yet begun his official transmission, which led to Barbatos falling into the pain of betrayal.

Just then.

The library door was gently pushed open.

Immediately after.

A silver-haired girl in maid attire walked in.

Luo De imitated Lisa's manner, raising his head and saying: "Please register yourself when borrowing books; books in the restricted area are not available for loan."

"Huh, isn't Miss Lisa here?"

The maid girl who entered looked left and right, then her gaze returned to Luo De as she said: "Sir, are you the new librarian?"

"Lisa senior sister went out to eat breakfast; I'm just filling in here."

Luo De put down the book in his hand, looked at the maid girl, and said: "Do you want to borrow a book? If so, you can take it and register it yourself."

This style of combining knight attire with maid dress makes it easy to recognize who she is.

Noelle.

Maid of the Knights of Favonius, trainee knight, famous for being 'too busy' and 'kind-hearted'.

From the knights' banquets, to commercial performances in the alcohol industry, to ordinary families' home barbecues, wherever Noelle is needed, she appears like a gust of wind and swiftly resolves all kinds of problems.

Therefore, among Mondstadt's populace.

【109> She is sometimes also called the all-purpose maid.

She is sometimes also called the all-purpose maid.

"I, I'm not here to borrow books."

Noelle's cheeks flushed slightly as she said: "I'm here to find Miss Lisa, wanting to ask if there are any potions here I can borrow."

Quite an honest answer.

Borrow potions for what? Luo De didn't need to guess to know she definitely wanted to try soloing the Stormterror Dragon, thereby directly solving the long-standing disaster troubling Mondstadt from its source.

But he didn't ask further, merely replying: "Wait here a moment; senior sister will return after finishing her breakfast."

"No, no, I'll come back later."

As Noelle's words fell, she heard someone outside the library shout her name loudly.

Upon hearing this sound.

Noelle, like a conditioned reflex, first gave Luo De an apologetic knight's salute, then dashed out like the wind.

Regarding this.

Luo De's comment was just one sentence: "Really busy, huh."

Saying that, he also glanced at Venti, who was humming a tune while reading a fairy tale book, completely unaware of his own slacking off.

Not long after.

The library door was pushed open again.

This time.

The person who came in was a young man with blue hair and an eye patch.

As soon as he entered, he greeted Luo De and Venti as if they were old acquaintances: "Yo, Lisa finally found some help, huh? Hey there, I'm Kaeya, Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius, I don't know how to address you two?"

"I'm Luo De, and Lisa is my senior martial sister."

After Luo De replied, Venti also gave a brief self-introduction.

"Oh~"

"Lisa's junior martial brother, and also that recently popular bard."

"Hello~"

Kaeya smiled slightly, strode over to the two, picked up the teapot on the table, poured a bit, found no tea inside, and muttered: "Lisa really is something—having guests and not even preparing any tea."

Having said that.

He picked up the teapot and said while walking: "Two guests, please wait a moment, I'll go boil some water for tea—proper hospitality is a knight's duty, and neglecting it would be a disgrace to our order."

A few minutes later.

Kaeya returned, still holding a kettle of boiling water.

While brewing tea, he couldn't stop talking, his hands unaffected as he kept asking Luo De and Venti questions.

Like when Luo De arrived, whether he encountered any wind magic dragons or restless monsters along the way, whether this bard was seeking help, and so on.

All very simple, minor questions.

Luo De answered each one truthfully.

At the same time, his Void Terminal issued its first warning to a mortal.

【He harbors slight ill will toward you.】

This is the warning given by the Void Terminal.

The Void Terminal made by Nadixa has standardized alert levels; slight ill will usually refers to being suspected of such trivial matters.

Earlier, when Luo De met Keqing in Liyue and was warned by her not to meddle in official duties again, this warning had not been triggered.

But Kaeya's seemingly ordinary questioning triggered this alert.

"Are you used to gathering information through casual conversation?"

Luo De understood this in his mind, remained expressionless on the surface, and calmly responded to Kaeya.

As they chatted.

When Kaeya personally handed over the freshly brewed strong tea.

Their relationship instantly became that of the closest old friends, showing no sign that they had only just met not long ago.

Venti likes alcohol and won't refuse tea at hand; after taking a sip from his cup, he praised: "Wow, this skill—it reminds me of an old friend I used to know."

Venti's old friend.

Must be referring to Zhongli, Luo De thought to himself, took a sip of tea, set down his cup, and continued chatting with Kaeya.

Kaeya is very knowledgeable.

Which contrasts sharply with his usual appearance and behavior that always seems unserious.

He and Luo De discussed everything from Mondstadt's history to the precise heat control needed for frying eggs—topics so broad they'd make even the old scholars of the Academy sweat.

Yet the two got along extremely well.

No matter the topic, they could communicate without any barrier.

Occasionally Venti would interject a few words, making the already lively discussion even more animated.

In the middle, someone came to borrow a book.

Luo De let them help themselves, then continued chatting with Kaeya there.

Such chatting.

Soon drifted to their favorite stories.

Kaeya mentioned a popular light novel from Inazuma about a protagonist reincarnated as the Thunder God Raiden Shogun, filled with wild imagination and bold worldbuilding—he'd read it several times and still felt unsatisfied, and he even recommended it to Luo De and Venti, urging them to read it when they had time.

Venti talked about the old tale of Mondstadt's people resisting the Storm God, though his focus was on the deeply moving hidden friendship between the Wind God Barbatos and his companion.

Now it was Luo De's turn.

He pondered for a while before saying: "My favorite story is about a wealthy young master."

"A wealthy young master?"

"You know, the kind whose family falls into ruin, then gets hunted, meets an old beggar or falls into a valley by chance, gains a miraculous encounter, learns earth-shattering martial arts, avenges his great grudge, and becomes a renowned hero across the land?"

This is the classic trope of Liyue's chivalric novels—Kaeya has read plenty of them, and hearing Luo De say this, he seemed only mildly interested.

When a trope first appears, it still feels fresh.

But since nearly every chivalric novel from Liyue follows this pattern, it's gotten boring.

"No no no, the story I read isn't like that."

Luo De shook his finger, smiling: "The story I know features a protagonist named Bruce, born in a city called Gotham, his family being one of Gotham's four great families, and he is the sole legitimate heir."

"During Bruce's childhood, he went to the cinema with his parents to watch a film; on the way home, he personally witnessed his parents being killed, after which he inherited his family's business and became Gotham's foremost tycoon."

"However."

"By day, he is the beloved top-tier rich young master; by night, he dons a mask, prowling the dim streets like a ghost, as the Dark Knight, punishing those who commit wicked deeds."

As Luo De spoke, Kaeya's smile didn't change, but his palms were genuinely exerting force.

A man of immense wealth, sole heir of a great family, who watched his parents die before his eyes—by day a top tycoon, by night a dark hero.

Fortunately, Luo De is not a Mondstadt native, and he also has the identity of Lisa's junior disciple.

Otherwise, Kaeya would definitely have put him on the key surveillance list, monitoring his actions day and night.

The person in Luo De's story.

Compared to his sworn brother Diluc, it cannot be said that they are exactly the same, but it can also be said that they are basically completely consistent.

Kaeya, who has always been quite confident in his ability to judge people, actually could not tell for a moment whether Luo De's story was a coincidence or if he truly meant something, implying there that he, as an outsider, knew Diluc's affairs like the back of his hand.

After Luo De finished telling the story.

Kaeya gave a hollow smile and clapped lightly, nodding and saying: "Indeed, it's a good story. This dark night hero truly deserves to be called a hero."

After listening, Venti on the side also joined in the excitement: "Yes, and this is truly excellent material. If I were to put this story into a new song, it would surely be very popular."

Kaeya's cheek twitched slightly, then he forced a laugh: "Good idea."

The atmosphere became slightly stiff.

Just as Kaeya was preparing to rise and take his leave, Lisa, who had been eating breakfast for over an hour, finally returned.

Accompanying her.

And with dark circles under her eyes, walking while drinking coffee to stay alert was Jean.

"Junior apprentice, you've worked hard."

Lisa smiled and greeted Luo De with her voice, and also said to Kaeya: "Oh, the potion you asked me to develop last time I haven't finished yet. The recent Stormterror attacks have kept me so busy I can't catch my breath, and the progress on the potion development has been delayed considerably."

"It's not about the potion."

Kaeya tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Lisa is a highly capable potion master but very good at delaying time; basically, she won't deliver until the last day of the deadline, which is common knowledge throughout the Knights of Favonius. Since the agreed time hasn't arrived yet, he naturally wouldn't come to urge her.

As for why he wasn't doing his duty as Cavalry Captain but instead loitering in the library for half a morning.

Kaeya did not answer immediately, using the corner of his eye to glance subtly at Luo De and Venti beside him without making a sound.

Jean understood, and replied: "Mr. Luo De and this, this."

"He is Venti, someone I found to assist, and he can be trusted."

Luo De gave Venti a self-introduction.

Jean nodded: "They are both trustworthy. If you have something, just say it."

"It's Noelle."

Kaeya, who greatly trusts Jean's ability, stopped beating around the bush, spread his hands and said: "Noelle wants to go solo against Stormterror, so I found her a few jobs to send her away. Coincidentally, I saw her coming here to find Lisa, so I wanted to come tell Lisa that, no matter what potion Noelle wants, I must say there's none or give some other excuse to stall her. Then I happened to meet Mr. Luo De and Mr. Venti here."

"Oh, I see."

Upon hearing "Noelle wants to go solo against Stormterror," Jean also helplessly shook her head.

Jean knows Noelle's personality better than anyone.

It's normal for this warm-hearted trainee knight, seeing Mondstadt's citizens suffering from the wind disaster brought by Boreas, to come up with the idea of wanting to eliminate Stormterror.

"You did well."

Jean sighed, then looked toward Luo De and said: "Mr. Luo De, I heard Lisa say you have something to ask me?"

"Yes."

"I want to borrow the Lyre of Heaven for a use."

Kaeya would avoid Luo De, but Luo De has no intention of avoiding him, and directly stated his request.

"The Lyre of Heaven?"

This request left everyone present stunned for a moment.

Fortunately.

No one raised an objection to this.

Only Jean, with a serious expression, asked: "May I ask what you intend to use the Lyre of Heaven for?"

This concerns Mondstadt's supreme treasure.

Even though Jean is the acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, she cannot make a unilateral decision on this matter.

"Well, this person."

Luo De pointed at Venti: "This bard knows a song passed down from the Wind God. As long as it can be played smoothly, it can calm Stormterror's wrath, let it settle down, and stop it from destroying the city."

Compared to borrowing the lyre.

This statement is truly the heavyweight.

One sentence "can calm Stormterror's wrath" made Jean feel solemnly respectful, and even when speaking to Venti, she became much more polite: "Mr. Venti, is this really true?"

"Exactly."

Venti did not beat around the bush, and following Luo De's words, said: "But I must use an instrument once used by the Wind God to succeed. Using an ordinary lyre, even if I played that tune, would be useless."

"Mr. Venti, can you be responsible for what you just said?"

Even with Luo De here as the Dendro Archon's envoy as a guarantor, Jean still did not fully believe Venti's words, and said, prioritizing force over courtesy: "Since this involves Mondstadt's supreme treasure, please forgive me for having to act cautiously. If you don't have full confidence, out of consideration for the Lyre of Heaven's safety, I'm afraid I cannot authorize lending the lyre to you."

Indeed.

Luo De just knew.

That's how it is in the game—when the protagonist says something, Jean, who holds Mondstadt's great power, would unconditionally believe it.

In reality, her having such doubts is normal.

No matter how you say it.

The Lyre of Heaven is a supreme treasure left by the Wind God, and for Mondstadt, it holds extraordinary significance.

Let alone if it were destroyed.

Even if it were merely bumped or scratched, it would be enough for the fanatics of the Church of Favonius to come after Venti and Jean to fight to the death.

'Tsk, the Wind God's believers seeking the Wind God to fight to the death.'

"Looks pretty fun too."

Thinking of this, Luo De suddenly felt like laughing a little.

But when he thought this matter concerned his and Venti's plan, he suppressed his laughter and again guaranteed to Venti: "This matter has been certified feasible by the Dendro Archon herself, and according to the Void's calculations, the success rate is above ninety-eight percent."

Waving the Dendro Archon's banner.

This trick works extremely well in front of Jean.

"Okay."

Jean took a deep breath, as if making some major decision, and nodded heavily: "I will lend out the Lyre of the Sky as soon as possible, but since the Archbishop is absent, borrowing the lyre will be more troublesome than before; you'll probably have to wait one or two days."

Next.

She then repeatedly cautioned, as if uneasy: "The safety of the Lyre of the Sky is extremely important to Mondstadt; you must absolutely be careful when using it, and under no circumstances damage it."

"Understood."

Only needing one or two days, this is much shorter than Luo De expected.

Originally he thought going through the proper procedure would take ten days or half a month.

For this he had already prepared himself.

If it truly required that much time, he would learn from the Traveler and directly steal it from the Church of Favonius.

If the Traveler can steal it, why can't I, Luo De, steal it?

But now saying it only needs one or two days of waiting, that's fine.

Going through the proper procedure is much safer than stealing the lyre.

If, while stealing the lyre, we encounter the Fatui interfering and expose this matter, then I would have trouble explaining myself to Jean and Lisa.

The matter of borrowing the lyre was settled.

Luo De was in high spirits, seeing Jean's tired expression, and casually asked: "Have you found those Abyss Mages?"

Speaking of Abyss Mages.

Jean had not yet replied.

Kaeya, whose brows had already been furrowed over the lyre matter, instantly furrowed them deeper: "Jean, Acting Grand Master, why didn't you tell me about this?"

Abyss Mages appeared in Mondstadt.

This is no small matter.

As the Cavalry Captain, I knew nothing about this, which made Kaeya feel he had neglected his duty.

"The incident happened suddenly; I only received Mr. Luo De's warning last night and hadn't had time to tell you."

Jean explained apologetically to Kaeya.

The capture of the Abyss Mages last night was done by her personally leading people.

To prevent affecting nearby residents during the capture, Jean acted at the fastest speed and with full force, swiftly subduing those Abyss Mages.

"What a pity."

"Only one was left alive."

Jean said regretfully.

This group of Abyss Mages that infiltrated the city were utter lunatics; after hopeless escape attempts, they would shout 'The Prince will avenge us' and then commit suicide.

Took half a day.

Only one captive was taken, which made Jean feel vexed.

Moreover, this captive's mouth was especially tight; no matter what method was used, he would say nothing. Jean, having been busy all night and half the morning, was now utterly exhausted.

Upon hearing the captive refused to speak, Kaeya immediately became eager, clenching his fists: "Give him to me; I guarantee I'll make him talk."

Luo De then quietly said: "Give him some pure elemental crystals, and he'll confess."

Hearing this.

Kaeya's eyes lit up, he grinned: "Hey, didn't expect you to be such an old hand at interrogation?"

"My senior brother is the Grand Minister of Discipline of Sumeru; he taught me a few tricks."

Luo De smiled, sharing his experience with Kaeya as if no one else were there.

Sikano is an interrogation expert; his Great Memory Restoration Technique is superb—whether it's a living person or even if the Abyss Order fell into his hands, they'd rather die than live.

These experiences inherited from the Grand Minister of Discipline gave Kaeya great inspiration.

As soon as the two finished discussing this topic, he immediately said to Jean: "Jean, Acting Grand Master, I'll go interrogate that Abyss Mage."

After speaking.

His figure vanished at the fastest speed.

And just as Kaeya left.

Jean then, as if she had waited a long time, said: "Mr. Luo De, regarding what you said last night, you still need to help me draft a document."

Spreading rumors about the Fatui.

This matter is not trivial.

To achieve the effect of making the Fatui flustered and unable to attend to other matters, the rumor must be made so convincing that no loopholes can be found.

Therefore, this matter requires not only Luo De, who proposed it, to help, but also Lisa, who has read extensively and is extremely familiar with the 'Magical Dragon Ursa Case' of the past, to participate.

As for Kaeya.

He is the sworn brother of Diluc, the core figure in this rumor; to ensure the rumor's confusion, this matter must absolutely not let him know, at least not for now.

That is why Jean deliberately waited until he left before saying this.

Moreover, this has nothing to do with Venti.

"Let him stay."

"This guy runs around all day, knows many secret things, even more than you Knights of Favonius know."

Luo De said with a smile.

He knows more secrets than the Knights of Favonius? This made Jean's attitude toward Venti change again.

If it's really as Luo De said, then someone like Venti would be the best help for the Knights of Favonius!

(End of Chapter)