"I'm so stuffed. Hey, Traveler, do you think when we go help haul Fang Qiu's books tomorrow, we'll get to sneak a peek at the sample copies?"
Paimon patted her slightly bulging belly as she floated alongside Lumine, asking the question.
"No, we can't. We can't go pulling special privileges."
Lumine shook her head as she spoke.
"True enough."
Paimon let out a sigh.
"But, we can wait until release day and have the publisher set aside a copy for us, that way we won't have to line up."
Lumine said.
"True enough."
Paimon nodded, then said, "I can't wait! We'll get to read Fang Qiu's new book really soon!"
It wasn't until the Traveler and Paimon had walked far off that Diona, frozen in place, finally snapped back to her senses.
Her little fists clenched tight, and she stamped her foot hard, just like a kitten with its fur standing on end, her eyes brimming with grief and indignation.
The lingering might of the old books was still running rampant across Mondstadt, and now a new book was already on its way so soon!
That day, after she finished reading Your Lie in April, she'd gone on to read two more, and every single one of them had left her bawling her eyes out.
Even she, someone who hadn't lived through the pasts in those books, was crying like this, to say nothing of the people who had memories that resonated with them.
She gritted her silver teeth, looked off in the direction of Liyue, and said, "Demon King Fang Qiu! I won't let you off the hook. Once I meet you, I'll definitely mix up the most awful-tasting drink and make you drink it! Boo-hoo... Lord Barbatos, please bless me, and make Demon King Fang Qiu write only happy endings from now on!"
The cat beside her, hearing Diona's furious tirade, lazily stretched itself, then scratched its ear.
A melodious breeze drifted past, and Mondstadt City was a picture of peaceful, tranquil days.
Quiet, and serene.
"This breeze, could it be a response from Lord Barbatos?"
Diona felt a little delighted.
And then she saw a youth dressed in green clothes, a green cap, and a green cape come running around the Cat's Tail, headed straight toward the Angel's Share.
As he ran, he was also muttering to himself with a flustered look on his face.
"This is bad, this is bad, I drank too much and overslept. The Angel's Share wouldn't have given my storytelling performance to someone else, would they? They shouldn't have, right? In all of Mondstadt City there shouldn't be anyone who understands Fang Qiu's books better than me, right?"
"Hmph! A fellow who botches things by drinking, Barbatos definitely won't bless him! Come to think of it, isn't he that bard who holds storytelling sessions at the Angel's Share to lure patrons into drinking? Hmph! Lord Barbatos, please bless me, and let his performance get taken over by some other bard! And also, let Fang Qiu's book be released later."
Watching that loathsome drunkard poet run off into the distance, Diona pressed her palms together and prayed.
After that bard had run completely out of sight, Diona let out a sigh, her mood a little low.
Just as she drew in a long breath, intending to return to the Cat's Tail and toil away at destroying Mondstadt's wine industry, she suddenly saw two familiar figures walking step by step from the other side of the street corner.
"It's Acting Grand Master Jean and Sister Lisa."
Seeing them stroll over, Diona couldn't help but freeze.
They wouldn't be coming to drink again, would they?
Sister Lisa was one thing; though it was rather heartbreaking to see such a gentle big sister drinking, she did come to drink often, so Diona had more or less gotten used to it...
But to think that even Acting Grand Master Jean had been poisoned by Fang Qiu...
Coming for a drink every two or three days.
Although Jean was extremely restrained with alcohol, only ever taking the smallest sip each time, still, alcohol was such an evil thing—drink one cup this time, and next time it might be two cups, three cups!
Until she became a useless wreck who couldn't live without drink.
Just like her own father, rolling around on the ground when he got drunk.
She absolutely could not imagine Jean drunk and rolling around on the ground...
If that happened, Mondstadt City would be finished!
How could this be....
How could it come to this!
At the mere thought that Jean too might become a drunkard, Diona trembled all over with anger, her body going cold.
Only, just as she'd assumed they were going to come to the Cat's Tail, Jean and Lisa, after exchanging a greeting with her, simply continued walking onward.
This left Diona quite puzzled.
They weren't coming to drink?
Wonderful!
Diona's mood instantly grew much more cheerful.
Exactly.
How could the conscientious and responsible Acting Grand Master Jean possibly drink so often? She'd been overthinking it.
Jean must be out on patrol through Mondstadt City in person together with Sister Lisa.
Just as she was about to return inside the tavern with a relaxed expression, she suddenly realized that Jean and Lisa had gone off in the very direction that the drunkard bard had run off in earlier.
That direction, she recalled, was...
the Angel's Share!
And so, without the slightest hesitation, Diona tiptoed after them.
"I hear that bard's storytelling analysis is wonderfully done. If he weren't a Mondstadter, quite a few people would have thought he was the original author."
Lisa said with a smile.
"Is that so."
Jean nodded, growing all the more certain of the conjecture in her heart.
According to the records in the poetic texts and classics, when overthrowing the rule of the old aristocracy, Barbatos likewise had not directly stepped in to topple the old nobility himself, but instead chose to guide Vennessa, leading her onto the path of resistance, and thereby led Mondstadt out of its darkest age.
This was Lord Barbatos's consistent way of doing things.
And this time, he had likewise chosen not to interfere directly, but instead chose to guide the populace by way of storytelling in a tavern.
Seeing them head toward the Angel's Share, Diona felt a touch of despair.
Who would have thought that Jean and Sister Lisa really were going to the Angel's Share to drink.
Not only that, Diona's fists clenched even harder!
Who would have thought that their going to the Angel's Share to drink was actually because of that drunkard poet's storytelling!
Fang Qiu and that drunkard poet were both enemies!
Fang Qiu was the root of all evil, the Demon King!
And that drunkard poet, to put it in the words of Fang Qiu's books, was aiding a tyrant in his cruelty!
In other words, he was Fang Qiu's accomplice! Fang Qiu's lackey!
This couldn't go on any longer, she had to think of something!
Meanwhile Lisa and Jean chatted as they walked.
They had long since noticed Diona secretly tailing them from behind.
But what bad intentions could a little kitten possibly have? So they didn't expose her, letting Diona follow along behind them.
They walked all the way to the Angel's Share, and with a jingle, pushed open the door and stepped inside.
There were a great many patrons inside the tavern. Though it wasn't exactly boisterous, it also wasn't like before, when the tavern was packed full of people yet utterly silent as the dead.
And in the center of the crowd, a green-clad youth was sitting atop a tavern table, drinking Dandelion Wine, his little face flushed red from drink.
Beside his hand were several copies of Sword and Fairy 1.
Everyone sat before their tables, craning their necks in anticipation, waiting for him to begin.
Before this bard told a story, he always had to drink first, drinking until tipsy before he'd start.
He claimed only then would he be in the right state.
Besides Venti, they also spotted several familiar figures.
For instance, Eula and Amber sitting in the front row, not paying the bard any attention at all; the nun who cared only about her drinking; and the red-haired young man standing before the backstage area.
Since everyone's gaze was focused on Venti, their arrival didn't draw much attention from the people present.
"Good evening, Senior Diluc."
Jean greeted him.
"What brings you two here?"
The red-haired young man asked offhandedly, "Here for a drink? Or are you two also interested in his storytelling?"
"A bit of both reasons, I suppose."
Jean said.
"What would you like to drink?"
Diluc asked.
"A glass of strong liquor, and a glass of Dandelion Wine."
Lisa said.
Hearing this, the bartender beside them immediately began preparing them.
After Jean and Lisa took their seats at the bar counter, the two drinks were soon brought over.
"Coming to listen to that fellow's storytelling—you must have read the books by that author called Fang Qiu too, I take it?"
Looking at the bard up on the stage—who not only showed up late but also used the excuse that he needed to drink to work up his mood, scrounging free food and drink here at his place—Diluc said in a flat voice.
"Senior Diluc knows of Fang Qiu's books too?"
Jean asked, puzzled.
"I wouldn't have thought Diluc would read books written by Fang Qiu either."
After taking a sip of the strong liquor, Lisa said with a smile.
"I haven't read them."
Diluc said plainly, "It's just that these past few days I keep hearing about his books, and quite a few of the people under me are reading them. Many of them cry their eyes out after reading, then spend money buying drinks at the tavern where they work, and the next day you'll see them holding yet another of Fang Qiu's books, reading away."
"So that's how it is."
Jean nodded and said, "Senior Diluc could give them a read too, they're truly excellent works."
"Once you've finished reading, you'll understand why the people under you cry their eyes out, yet still want to keep reading."
Lisa said from the side.
"We'll see about that when the time comes."
Diluc said.
Still, ever since the books by that author called Fang Qiu had been released, business at the Angel's Share had indeed picked up considerably.
The Angel's Share's wine stock had even been cleaned out at one point, and it was only by urgently transporting wine over from the Dawn Winery that the crisis had been averted.
Especially on rest days, the tavern's business was downright terrifying.
It couldn't help but make him a little curious—just what exactly had that author called Fang Qiu written, that it could trigger such a drinking frenzy.
As it happened, Venti was doing a storytelling session at the tavern, so he came along to listen in.
Only, he hadn't expected that even Jean held Fang Qiu's books in high esteem—reading Fang Qiu's books was one thing, but she even carved out time to come to the tavern and listen to someone tell their stories.
Before long, Venti had drunk until his pretty face was flushed red.
He slapped the cover of the Sword and Fairy 1 on the table. Though he'd drunk himself a bit tipsy, his speech was nonetheless perfectly clear, and listen to what he said: "This time, we'll be discussing the book Fang Qiu wrote with Liyue as its backdrop, Sword and Fairy 1. This story, I'm sure everyone has already read it—it tells of how a greedy little nobody transforms, step by step, into a great hero who shoulders the fate of all the world."
"A gallant hero of Liyue?"
Diluc raised an eyebrow, his interest somewhat piqued.
Still, interest was interest.
Listening to the storytelling would do.
He certainly wouldn't waste time reading these boring novels.
Venti, meanwhile, spoke on and on without pause, and many of those present listened while wearing expressions of sudden realization, while some, upon hearing the parts that stirred their emotions, lifted their wine cups and took a fierce gulp.
Drowning their sorrows in drink.
Jean and Lisa, for their part, watched quietly.
Amber listened with an earnest face, while Eula beside her drank her wine offhandedly.
They hadn't noticed Jean and Lisa at all.
And the nun sitting in the corner cast a glance at the crowd with their varied expressions and at Venti at the center of them all.
Their joys and sorrows were not shared in common; to her, these people merely seemed noisy.
In the blink of an eye, two days later.
Inazuma.
Within the heavily guarded Tenshukaku, the great general of the Tenryou Commission, the Tengu Kujou Sara, was reporting on military affairs to the Shogun Almighty.
The atmosphere was solemn.
It concerned the matter of the peace talks with the Watatsumi Island side.
Kujou Sara spoke in an orderly, methodical manner.
After she finished reporting, Ei up on the dais gave her reply, and Kujou Sara, having received it, was about to take her leave.
"Kujou."
Just as she had finished saying she would take her leave, Ei rose to her feet and spoke.
"What are the Shogun Almighty's instructions?"
Kujou Sara asked.
"The trade fleet that does commerce with the Liyue side—is there any news of it?"
Ei said.
"In reply to the Shogun Almighty, the fleet has not yet returned to port. According to the plan, the fleet's time of return to Inazuma should be ten days from now."
Kujou Sara said.
"Is that so."
Ei said, "That's all, you may withdraw."
"Yes, Shogun Almighty."
Kujou Sara nodded.
Only, the moment she turned around, she paused again and said, "Ah, that's right, Shogun Almighty, I have one more matter to report."
"Speak."
Ei said.
"These past few days, I discovered some new books from Liyue over at the Yae Publishing House in Inazuma, so I made some inquiries with the editors at the Yae Publishing House. It turns out that Lady Guuji Yae has reached an agreement with the Traveler—the Traveler will go to Liyue before each release day and bring back the new books by an author called Fang Qiu. If the Shogun Almighty has important matters to discuss with the Liyue side, you could entrust her to convey them when the Traveler comes to deliver books to Inazuma."
Kujou Sara said.
"Fang Qiu's new book?"
Ei was slightly taken aback, then recovered her dignified bearing and said, "Understood. Go and attend to your duties."
"Yes, Shogun Almighty."
Kujou Sara accepted the order and took her leave.
She made her way out of the Tenshukaku all the way, heading toward the Tenryou Commission.
Walking beneath the cherry blossom trees, Kujou Sara couldn't help but reveal a strange expression.
Just now, why would the Shogun Almighty bring up, all on her own, that one line, "Fang Qiu's new book?"
As she recalled, the last time Lady Guuji held a concert for Your Lie in April in front of the Tenshukaku, the book Lady Guuji had recommended to the Shogun Almighty was the very one Fang Qiu wrote.
In her room she still had two of Fang Qiu's books that Beidou had given her.
Could it be that the Shogun Almighty also greatly likes the books written by that person called Fang Qiu?
Does she really write that well?
She couldn't help feeling a little curious.
What's more, a few days ago, after Fang Qiu's books were delivered to Inazuma by the hand of the Traveler, they triggered a book-buying frenzy in Inazuma.
For many days on end, all the major bookstores of the Yae Publishing House had been packed with long queues.
Perhaps... she ought to go back and flip through them too?
Just as she was walking into the Tenryou Commission, deep in thought, a soldier of the Tenryou Commission came up to greet her.
"Lady Kujou, something has happened."
"What is it?"
Kujou Sara furrowed her brow and asked.
"Today several of the brothers received a report saying there was something amiss near the Sacred Sakura, so they went to investigate, and discovered that there was actually a Rifthound attacking the Sacred Sakura. After a fierce skirmish, several of the brothers all sustained serious injuries. In the end, it was the head of the Kamisato Clan passing by who saved the brothers. But no sooner had they returned to the Tenryou Commission than we received several more reports, all of them concerning the Sacred Sakura."
The soldier reported.
"I understand. Take good care of the wounded; just leave this matter to me to handle."
Kujou Sara furrowed her brow and gave the order.
Having said this, she went on to issue several more orders in a row.
Before long, she personally led a squad of soldiers out to investigate the situation.
The Sacred Sakura absolutely could not be allowed to come to harm.
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