Genshin Impact: I'm The Envoy of Snezhnaya
Chapter 322: The Reappearance of the Dragon?
"Kaeya, this concerns the Ausbilder and the safety of all Mondstadt. I had no choice but to do this. If you can't even endure that little bit of hardship, then I truly have to question whether you're fit for the position of Cavalry Captain."
Diluc folded his arms across his chest. There was neither righteous indignation nor any attempt to avoid Kaeya's gaze. He simply looked straight at him and spoke frankly.
"..."
Kaeya really wanted to snap back, Why don't you try it yourself then?!
He could swear on his eyepatch that if it had been anyone else, Diluc would indeed have done it purely for the greater good.
But if it was him? Whether his dear adoptive brother was acting for the greater good or not became highly questionable.
Personal grudges definitely outweighed righteousness here.
"Kaeya, we had no other choice. If we don't figure out whether the drying up of Springvale's spring was caused by Ausbilder, we won't be able to do anything moving forward."
Jean poured Kaeya another cup of hot tea and tried to comfort him.
"Drying up of the spring? Springvale's spring dried up?"
Kaeya, who had still been sulking, immediately had his attention pulled away by Jean's words.
Although he had gone there with the Knights of Favonius, because of that cup of alcohol, he knew nothing about what happened to the spring afterward.
"That's right. The spring vanished completely within just a few seconds. And after investigation… no underground rivers or cracks were found."
They had also investigated the so-called conclusion mentioned by the village chief.
Only after asking around did they learn it was merely a stalling tactic the chief used to placate the villagers.
A Sumeru scholar had indeed come by, but she was only investigating the water quality and never said anything about ley lines.
"So, how exactly did you fall unconscious?"
Diluc, who had been leaning against the wall, walked over and sat down in front of Kaeya, lowering his voice as he asked.
At the mention of how he had fallen unconscious, Kaeya felt a bit of saliva well up in his mouth again.
"Diona's alcohol."
"???"
Seeing the doubtful looks from the other three, a bitter smile gradually appeared on Kaeya's face.
He knew the answer sounded absurd.
Even Diluc, who didn't drink much, knew just how good Diona's mixed drinks were.
In fact, Kaeya himself had drunk Diona's cocktails more than once. That magical flavor was simply irresistible.
That was precisely why, when Draff shared half a cup with him, he hadn't been very suspicious and drank it straight down.
That little cat could make delicious drinks even with the strangest ingredients. So how could a drink made with normal ingredients, specially prepared for her own father, possibly taste bad?
"The drink smelled incredibly sweet and enticing. Even before drinking it, it made you want to get drunk just from the aroma alone. But the moment it went down… an extreme sourness exploded, like stuffing hundreds of mint leaves into your mouth at once."
If it had been ordinary alcohol, Kaeya wouldn't have downed it in one gulp.
But as one of Mondstadt's resident boozehounds, he could tell with a single sniff that the alcohol content was very low—mostly fruit juice.
That was why he chose such a bold way of drinking it.
"So… this was all Diona doing?"
"No. Mr. Draff is currently also unconscious. That means Diona had no idea her drink would have such an effect."
Diluc directly rejected Jean's conclusion. No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't imagine Diona, that little girl, having any reason to harm her own father.
Instead, after linking the disappearance of the spring fairy with Diona's unique bartending constitution, another possibility emerged.
"Is it possible that the drying up of the spring is what caused Diona's drinks to go wrong?"
Diluc directed this question to Lisa.
As a genius scholar from the Sumeru Akademiya, Lisa undoubtedly knew far more than he did.
"According to certain records, spring fairies will bestow blessings upon pure-hearted children, allowing their cups to always be filled with wine as sweet and clear as millennia-old melted snow. However, this is only mentioned in old texts, similar cases have been extremely rare in modern times."
As expected, Lisa didn't disappoint and quickly provided the answer he was looking for.
"So… it was precisely because the spring fairy disappeared that the blessing it gave to Diona also lost its effect?"
"This further supports our previous speculation. Perhaps this Ausbilder really did lay hands on the spring fairy."
As he spoke, a trace of unease appeared on Diluc's face.
While Jean worked to maintain order in Mondstadt, he had also been acting in secret as the Darknight Hero, striving in corners untouched by sunlight.
And based on the clues he'd uncovered recently while tracking the Abyss Order… those guys seemed to have their eyes on legendary creatures as well.
Could it be that…
"ROAR—"
A dragon's roar that echoed across the sky caused all four of them to freeze.
The fastest to react was Diluc. He quickly rushed to the window and looked in the direction of the Whispering Woods.
But the creature that let out the roar was flying fast. He only managed to catch a glimpse of a deep blue shape, almost blending into the sky itself.
Dragons, as a species, were… not exactly friendly toward Mondstadt.
In recent years, Mondstadt had suffered greatly under the harassment of the dragon Ursa.
Even the death of Diluc's father was inseparable from Ursa.
But that dragon had long since been eliminated by the Fatui's Doctor. Back then, the Fatui had used that dragon as their bargaining chip to successfully establish a presence in Mondstadt.
Could it be that a new dragon had appeared?
If so, the one with the biggest headache would undoubtedly be Jean.
First the Ausbilder, and now an unknown dragon—after Grand Master Varka went on his expedition, all kinds of monsters were really starting to crawl out of the woodwork.
"Everyone, excuse me for a moment."
Watching the azure figure disappear into the distance, Diluc quickly swept his gaze over the panicked crowd in the city below.
Then, in a rush, he strode toward the door.
"Diluc, should I send someone to go with you?"
In a situation like this, everyone present understood what kind of mindset Diluc had in going to investigate.
Jean naturally couldn't let him go alone.
"No. Mondstadt needs the Knights' help more right now. I'll have Charles pass you the information on a few suspicious individuals—keep an eye on them."
As he finished speaking, Diluc turned his gaze to the silent Kaeya.
"And you—if your body's in decent shape, get back to work. After this, I'll consider giving you a drink."
"You really know how to boss people around. Fine, I'll do my best to help the Acting Grand Master dig out those troublemakers, but don't forget to add some snacks to go with the wine."
With the silence broken by Diluc, Kaeya once again put on his usual sharp and capable demeanor.
. . . . .
If you want to see more chapter of this story and don't mind to pay $5 monthly to read till the latest chapter, please go to my Patreon[1]
Current Chapter in Patreon: Chapter 356: The Depressed Jianna[2]
Link to the current chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/152322852?collection=174425[3]
https://www.patreon.com/collection/174425?view=condensed[4]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/collection/174425?view=condensed
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/152322852?collection=174425
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/152322852?collection=174425
[4] https://www.patreon.com/collection/174425?view=condensed