"So you're telling me that's the Bard from Mondstadt?" Keqing looked at Mona with disbelief that the girl that Aether was with so often now was just a simple bard.

"Yes, that is what my astrology tells me and it is never wrong." Mona says with her arms crossed and her pride very much intact with her skills as an astrologist. She had did what Keqing wanted, which was basically doing a background check on Venti.

"Wait a minute, wasn't the bard from Mondstadt that knew Aether a boy?" Keqing argued with her arms just as crossed. She knew Aether well enough to know about a few of his friends too and she recalls the bard from Mondstadt was referred to by Aether as a 'he' not a 'she.'

"That I do not have an explanation for, but I am 100% certain it is the same bard." Mona says with no intention to figure out further since she wasn't hired to do more than what she just did for Keqing. She was a busy woman and she wanted to get back to her lab in Mondstadt right away to begin working on whatever else caught her fancy, not be a pawn in the game of romance and jealousy. "That is all I will divulge, astrology isn't at the disposal of your jealousy." Keqing fumed a little at the accusation Mona was placing on her, that she was only asking her because she was jealous.

"J-jealousy?" Keqing would have corrected Mona, but she hardly had any comeback because she would admit that she was a bit jealous. Keqing takes a deep breath in and out, perhaps she was acting a bit improper and she'd see to that correction right away.

"Perhaps I can be of service." Approaching the two was none other than Albedo, accompanied by his assistant Sucrose. They had gone to Liyue to pursue Aether and Venti, but had also caught wind of what Mona and Keqing were trying to do. Albedo figured this may go a bit faster with the help of Mona's astrology and Keqing's influence in Liyue's governing body. Keqing and Mona looked at Albedo and he began to explain his findings.

Meanwhile…

A large group of people had gathered in Inazuma City, near the huge statue that used to have many visions taken by the Vision Hunt Decree, implanted in the stone and serving as a massive reminder that people were helpless to challenge the rule of the Shogun, however thanks to the help of Aether and his new Inazuman friends, they shook the Shogun and Inazuma's policies to change for the better.

The Raiden Shogun walked to greet the people of Inazuma. Surrounding her were a dozen Shogun samurai and military, amongst them was Kujou Sara, the Shogun's right hand and a member of the Tenryou Commission, one of the three commissions of Inazuma's Tri-Commission. It looked like a massive city-wide gathering that was being hosted by the Shogun herself.

"Citizens of Inazuma. With the abolishment of the Vision Hunt Decree and after much thought, I have decided that we will reopen Inazuma's ports to neighboring nations." The Shogun's voice boomed loud and clear for everyone to hear and there was mild chatter about how this would mean excellent things for merchants and people who simply wanted to travel to other nations and get a change of scenery. "In addition…" However, this official meeting was about to be cut short very quickly.

"What's that?!"

"Ah!"

"Oh my!"

The citizens in the area gasp in shock as a huge dragon the likes of which were beyond anything they've ever seen was circling the city and causing the winds to spiral around it as if the dragon was commanding the winds itself. The daylight had become cloudy in mere moments and it looked like a hurricane would form as Dvalin circled. From the dragon's back, a green sparkle jumps off and dives towards the city like a missile. All the same, the Shogun's eyes were narrowed and she expressed little emotion at what was going on. "Almighty Shogun? What is that?" Sara got the impression that the Shogun did know what was going on due to her lack of surprise. Sara wanted to know if she ought to engage who or whatever that was, as she would want to defend her master and nation no matter the threat. Although Sara would have to admit that the presence of a gigantic dragon and a hurricane that almost blew everyone off their feet would be a difficult foe to take on.

The Shogun doesn't bat an eye to Sara and instead conjures a powerful electric energy in her palm. The enormous presence of Electro was giving everyone goosebumps from how powerful their Shogun is as she is the Electro Archon.

"The Almighty Shogun's going to fight?!"

"Take cover!"

In moments, the Shogun fires an intense Electro blast at where the green light was coming from. The blast rips through the air and it's met by a gigantic gust of focused wind that meets it halfway, heavily clashing and creating a massive Swirl effect, which bundles up into a huge sphere of elemental energy and explodes, sending massive shockwaves all over.

"Urgh!" Sara and the other Inazuma military were almost blown right off their feet by the collision of power between two Archons. 'That was stronger than before, did Barbatos decide to rule his nation?' The Shogun didn't voice her thoughts, but she was curious to say the least as to how Barbatos canceled out her attack when he was regarded as the weakest of the seven archons currently active, even if the Shogun didn't wield the power of her Gnosis in battle, she had recently gotten word that the Harbinger she had killed was responsible for taking Barbatos' Gnosis as well. What Aether said during his confrontation with Signora only confirmed the rumor. "Hmm?" The Shogun's eyes narrowed further as she got a closer look at who she thought was Barbatos, his appearance had certainly changed from what she remembered, although she would admit that his outfits were always a bit more feminine than necessary. "Ugh." The Shogun puts her hand to her forehead and shakes her head, she knew this may be a bother. It was really bad timing for an old 'friend' to show up in the midst of a public meeting.

"Hey! Long time no see!" Venti floats down to the Shogun, keeping herself levitating with her wind power constantly keeping her wind glider gliding. She soon got to the ground right next to the Shogun in plain sight of literally everyone in Inazuma. It was certainly a more flashy entrance that was necessary for a simple visit. "Sorry I made such a fuss. The thunderstorm around Inazuma made it difficult to get over without Dvalin's help. Did I interrupt something?" Venti looks at the multitude of people staring at her from the crowd of Inazuma residents. She certainly got all their attention so Venti just gave a meek smile as it was a bit too much attention and it wasn't when she intended to perform songs for them, but that option was on the table if they so wanted.

Sara and the military soldiers surround Venti immediately, arm their weapons and point bows and spears in her direction. "Do not take a step closer." Sara says with poison in her tongue. Her eyes showed that she wasn't going to have trouble aiming for Venti's face or chest with her bow, the level of disrespect she just showed for the Raiden Shogun was beyond that of what anyone in Inazuma dared to do. "How dare you come in and interrupt the address of the Almighty Shogun. You will face punishment for misdeeds." Sara says with the intent to make it very clear how angry she was. She forgave a lot of people for their misdeeds, but this one had no righteous intent, it was just inconsiderate. Bad timing, but inconsiderate.

"Hey! Hey! I didn't know! Let's not fight, okay?" Venti says with a cute smile and a sweatdrop to back up her tone that suggested she didn't intend to fight any of them, although self-defense may be necessary given that she was surrounded on all sides by people armed with weapons. Venti just holds her hands up, showing that she didn't want any trouble, but she was ready to grasp a bow at any instance if something is fired at her.

"You dare to mock me and the Almighty Shogun's supremacy?!" Sara took that tone of voice that Venti was using as way too calm for a situation that clearly was more dire than it sounded. Anyone who sounded that innocent was no doubt mocking her and just about anyone in battle would probably either agree or be too dumbfounded.

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry! Just don't shoot please!" In truth it would be relatively easy for Venti to wipe the floor with everyone around her aside from the Shogun herself. The Shogun's military didn't stand a chance against the very winds that blew apart and ravaged the entire snowy landscape that used to be Mondstadt centuries ago. Venti wasn't that type of person, so she didn't want to hurt anyone if she didn't need to. She already made that mistake a few days ago in Liyue, tying into the very reason she came to see Ei, the true Raiden Shogun, not the puppet that stood before Venti at the moment.

'Hmm… that vision.' Sara took note of the vision that was on Venti's hip. That signaled that she was a vision user like everyone else with Anemo abilities. However Sara also knew that someone capable of repelling a direct attack from the Raiden Shogun would be a very formidable foe. It's likely that Sara can't win a direct fight, but at least Venti didn't seem to be resisting, better for them. Sara gave the Shogun an eye as if to ask for particular directions, but the Shogun didn't say a thing, she just kept her eyes on Venti as if she just wanted to get a good, stern look at her.

"Arrest her at once. We'll question her in the Police Station." Sara after considering her options. If Venti wasn't going to fight back then they ought to take her in for questioning. Perhaps the Vision Hunt Decree was no longer in effect, but such a powerful Vision user in Inazuma may become a problem even if it wasn't directly related to Eternity. Two of the soldiers close in on Venti's sides and she contemplated fighting back because being arrested would cause a lot of unnecessary trouble, but on the other hand, fighting back may cause even more trouble and honestly she came here for Ei's help and injuring her friends wouldn't be a great greeting after all these years. Venti puts up an uncomfortable demeanor as her hands are tied up and she's brought to the police station by Sara and a pair of samurai.

About an hour later, Venti had been locked in a jail cell with nothing, but a singular bench to be sat on while waiting for a transfer into a proper cell. Venti was certainly feeling down about how miserable jail was, it was the exact opposite of Freedom, Venti's ideal, so she was absolutely disgusted by how uncomfortable it was. A guard walks up to Venti's cell and takes a good look at her with a thinking face. "Heard you interrupted the Shogun's address. Big mistake, but it should only cost you a fine, nothing more."

Venti meekly tried to smile when told that. "Uhh… Sorry, I don't have any mora." Unfortunately Venti is and always was a bard and bards don't work for money, they work just to pass on their music to others. The times for payment were never upon the likes of Venti, a free-spirited traveler, going wherever the wind took him.

"Well that's too bad. It's either that or 30 days in prison according to this." The guard says with a disappointed tone as he looks at the statement behind what is to happen to Venti. Venti could hear that the guard had some sympathy for her, which meant at least some prison guards had souls too and feelings for those who weren't as fortunate. The guard prepares to turn around and go upon other business, but Venti quickly snaps up from her seat and pleads with the guard.

"Wait! Isn't there anything else I can do. I'll play you as many tunes as you want if you let me go." Venti pressed her hands against the cold cell doors and gave the guard a face pretty much no one with a heart could refuse. It was clear that the guard wanted to do something for Venti, he gave it a very long thought before finally addressing it.

"Well… there may be one thing you can do." The guard says simply and then begins to explain what he needed. It settled Venti's caution for the moment. "You see my niece, Ogura Mio is searching for fashion inspiration and her deadline to create the next hot brand of clothing is approaching quickly. She needs something, but your clothes… They are unlike anything I've seen in Inazuma. Unique, exotic, your beauty makes my heart beat intensely, and I've been a married man for 40 years now." Venti raised a brow at what exactly they were trying to get at here. "That leads me to my offer. If you give me your clothes, I'll count it as the payment for your fine."

"Well… okay…" Venti didn't want to give up her clothes, they were custom-made after all from someone way far in the past that Venti no longer remembered. Venti had these clothes, or at least the male-fashioned version of them, since the times of Vannessa, so long ago. Although still, clothes were still just clothes, they can be replaced with the right tailor and Venti did know a good few tailors due to his travels to all the nations.

"Then we have a deal." The guard unlocked the jail cell door for Venti and guided her throughout the prison to a bathroom that Venti could change in. It didn't take long for the guard to have all of Venti's clothes and Venti was reduced to just wearing a simple brown cloak, at least it was covering her entire body, but there was a chill running down her spine thanks to the cold prison environment. Unfortunately that raggy cloak was all the prison had other than prison clothes and wearing those in public would probably be worse than the cloak was so Venti didn't have a choice.

Venti walked out of the prison free of further charges, but she knew she'd have to get more proper clothes first and foremost, before she goes to meet up with Ei. Venti makes a decision to wander Inazuma for the moment, surely something could be of use. She did earn quite a few worried and glaring stares from the populace, who were whispering as to whether Venti was okay, being nearly naked and the only clothing she had on being close to a rag. A few moments later, storm clouds began to engulf Inazuma City, it looked like rain was coming in fairly quickly and a drizzle rained on the city.

'Rain right now? Thanks a lot Ei...' Venti didn't mind rain for the most part, but the fact that it came when she was like this was really bad timing. This was probably Ei's way of telling Venti, 'bad timing is punished by bad timing' although Venti didn't know Ei to be that petty for a mistimed appearance.

"What the?" Another person wandering the streets of Inazuma was Thoma, head housekeeper of the Kamisato Household and one of Ayaka Kamisato's most trusted friends. His face turned from confused to concerned when he saw Venti walking in the rain without even minimal protection. "Woah." Thoma came over with an umbrella to shield Venti's head from the rain. "Hey, if you stay in the rain like this, you'll catch a cold." Thoma offered his generic good guy smile, he was a naturally generous guy, giving out a little help here and there where he could and he couldn't let someone as cute as Venti ruin her hair and catch a cold in the rain.

"Uh yeah…" Venti wasn't sure how to respond, but she did remember Aether telling him about some of his friends in Inazuma not too long ago. One of them was a blond male housekeeper and economic fiend who was somewhat of a brother to the Kamisato House's princess. To Thoma, Venti looked like an innocent damsel, someone who the world had simply not smiled upon despite her doing nothing wrong.

"Ha, what could have possibly led to this?" Venti smiles weakly at the curiosity that Thoma expressed, it was one thing after another since Venti turned into a girl. It was probably enough to be written into a tale that would be told throughout Mondstadt about a beauty who appeared one day and enchanted everyone with a voice as gentle as the breeze.

"Come with me, you can stay in Komore Teahouse for the time being." Something about Venti was familiar to Thoma, he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but whatever it was, it made him feel like it was a necessity to help her out. The two of them made their way to Komore Teahouse, a very nice place that Thoma and Ayaka liked to visit whenever needing to come to Inazuma City. It was private and spacy, a good place for friends to enjoy Hot Pot together and especially memorable after meeting Aether. Thoma opens the door to let Venti inside, as Venti walks in, the water drips onto the floor as she walks across the carpet. Venti glances down at that, a bit concerned with the mess. "Don't worry about it, nothing I can't take care of." Thoma dismisses that with no frustration. Thoma's life was a lot of cleaning and tidying so a little wet floor was child's play for the likes of him.

Thoma leads Venti into one of the rooms that contained a single low table and soft mattresses to act as seats, as was appropriate with Inazuman culture. Venti had been to Inazuma a few times before, so he was aware of a little of Inazuma's culture. Venti appropriately kneels down at said table as Thoma places a nice warm blanket on Venti's head. "Thanks, uh." Venti turns her head to face Thoma as he proceeds to circle the table.

"It's Thoma." Thoma says as he introduces himself. "Ehe." Venti smiles a bit more fondly because he actually remembered someone named Thoma being born in Mondstadt several years ago, so this was him right now. "Like a retainer of a princess or a white knight of a fair lady, yet carrying an inner flame aren't ya?" Thoma snickers at the way Venti described him, it was a fairly accurate description, but he was more than just a simple servant, he provided for more people than just the Kamisato Household. "Well you're certainly… curious." Thoma felt like that kind of speech definitely wasn't from Inazuma, just who was this girl?

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