"What!? You secretly hid the wine bottle too?"
Paimon shouted indignantly.
She flew over to Venti and quickly found the hidden bottle.
Sure enough—
She pulled the wine out from his loose pants and hugged it tightly.
She removed the cork.
Sniffed it.
Her face wrinkled slightly.
She realized she didn't actually like the smell very much.
But…
It was expensive!
Just as she was about to drink from the bottle—
It disappeared from her hands.
"Kids can't drink alcohol."
Lumine put the cork back in and held the bottle high.
Paimon froze for a moment.
Just as she tried to grab it—
The bottle was already in Jiang Chen's hands.
She immediately stopped causing trouble.
Jiang Chen dumped out the two plates of red wine steak that had barely been touched.
Paimon watched with heartbreak.
Such waste!
"It could still be eaten if reheated…"
Paimon muttered quietly.
Lumine blushed slightly, embarrassed by her.
Discussing the Lyre
"Boss Jiang Chen, can you bring out the Holy Lyre der Himmel now?"
Venti asked while sipping the red wine in his glass.
"I thought you only liked Dandelion Wine."
Jiang Chen replied, taking the lyre out of his system inventory.
"Hehe, there's a difference between favorite and just liked."
Venti set down his glass.
His gaze toward the lyre carried deep nostalgia.
"Rosewood with wind-carved patterns… cool star-iron strings…"
"It feels just like old times."
He looked at Jiang Chen again.
"But how exactly did you obtain it?"
"You don't look like someone who broke into the cathedral."
"I intercepted it from the Fatui."
Jiang Chen replied.
"Oh?"
"So the Fatui were the ones who stole it?"
Venti fell into thought.
He seemed to have discovered a new clue.
Can They Use It?
"Venti, now that we have the lyre…"
"Can we call Dvalin and awaken his true self?"
Lumine asked.
Venti sighed helplessly.
"Even though this is truly Barbatos' sacred instrument…"
"It still won't work."
"As you can see…"
"After thousands of years, the power of the wind within it has already run dry."
"At this level, I can barely use it for street performances."
"?"
Paimon instantly got angry.
"Hey, bard!"
"You stole the Holy Lyre just to perform music!?"
She vented her frustration from losing the wine earlier.
"Ehe~"
Venti chuckled.
Paimon's face reddened.
"What does 'Ehe' even mean!?"
Venti continued calmly.
"In short, with the lyre's current power…"
"It's far from enough to communicate with Dvalin."
"But the problem isn't the instrument."
"It's the strings."
He turned toward Lumine.
"Your turn now, Honorary Knight."
Lumine immediately shook her head.
"I don't know how to repair instruments."
"Relax."
Venti smiled.
"I'm not asking you to repair the lyre."
"The problem is the wind-element concentration in the strings."
"Did you keep Dvalin's Tear Crystals?"
"Drip them onto the strings."
Lumine paused.
Jiang Chen had previously told her the crystals contained concentrated Anemo energy.
She took them out.
Together with Venti's crystal, there were two.
She dripped them onto the lyre.
Immediately—
The Holy Lyre regained a visible glow.
Its energy seemed refreshed.
"As expected."
Venti nodded.
"But it's still far from fully restored."
"We'll need more Tear Crystals."
Finding More Tears
"More Tear Crystals?"
Lumine looked at Jiang Chen.
He shook his head.
"If we can't find the dragon…"
"How are we supposed to make it cry?"
"Boss Jiang Chen always jokes…"
Venti scratched his head.
His expression grew slightly sad.
"Even now, Dvalin is suffering and crying somewhere."
"We don't need to make him cry."
"If we search the wilderness for his resting places…"
"We might find traces."
"Poor big guy…"
Paimon suddenly felt sympathetic.
Lumine tugged Jiang Chen's sleeve, looking at him expectantly.
Jiang Chen sighed.
"Emotion is one thing."
"But realistically, the few of us searching alone won't work."
He turned to Lumine.
"Go invite Jean."
"Jean?"
Lumine nodded.
She took Paimon with her and headed toward the Knights of Favonius headquarters.
Then Jiang Chen turned to Venti.
"You go to Angel's Share."
"See if Diluc has returned."
"If he's not there, write down our discussion and ask Barton to deliver the letter to Dawn Winery."
"Returned?"
Venti looked confused.
"He's probably been hiding at his winery to avoid me."
"But yesterday I accepted his wine, so he probably thinks we're even now."
"So I'm not sure whether he's returned to Mondstadt yet."
Jiang Chen explained.
"Alright."
Venti finished the wine in his glass and stood up.
Running errands wasn't a big deal.
Besides—
Maybe he could sneak some drinks while he was there.
Unfortunately for him—
Diluc had just returned to Mondstadt that day and was personally tending the bar.
Venti clicked his tongue.
His plan to sneak free drinks was ruined.
After explaining the situation—
Diluc nodded.
He called Charles, the bartender who thought he was getting the day off.
Then Diluc left with Venti for Good Hunter.
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