Chapter 24: The Bard in Green

"And then, and then?!"

"Well, the boy couldn't beat this grown adult by himself, right? So, he used his Pyro Vision and sent out a flare into the sky, but it suddenly exploded in the air!"

"So scary, nya!"

"It was actually prettier than you'd think, the boy made something called a firework. It's like if you used fire to make a flower in the sky."

"Woaah…"

Subaru grinned at the little catgirl barmaid's reaction, taking a sip of his drink. He didn't expect a young girl like Diona to be a bartender of all things, but she certainly made an insane strawberry slushie. She was all too happy to make something without alcohol for some reason.

"The girl this boy was protecting was so mesmerized by the sight that she didn't even notice her bodyguard finally arriving on the scene and stopping the bad guy. That was the day she got her Pyro Vision as well."

"Hey, Diona! Could Paimon get another one of these?"

"That's your fifth one, nya! Anyway, what happened next?"

"Next?" Subaru casually took his final sip. "What happened next is…"

Diona leaned in, caught in suspense.

"… going to be saved for tomorrow!"

"Hey! So cruel, nya!" Diona huffed and turned away from him. "Just for that, I'm charging double price for your drinks!"

"I mean, I just had one, so – "

"Paimon's included."

"Okay, let's talk about this, please."

Paimon chuckled nearby, not offering any help in the slightest. Subaru sighed at the fairy's reaction.

"I really didn't think you'd love the story that much, though," Subaru said, hiding his smirk as much as he could. "I have things I need to do, but if you looove the story that much…"

"W-Wha?! Shut up, nya!" Diona hissed at him. "Y-Your story was awful! Just pay and go away, nya!"

Shaking his head at Diona's tsundere nature, Subaru summoned the Mora needed and paid her in kind. "See you tomorrow, neko!"

"Stop calling me that, nya!"

Grinning, Subaru waltzed out of the Cat's Tail, Paimon trailing behind. "Hey!" Paimon chided him. "Paimon wanted more drinks!"

"And skip dinner?"

"Paimon will be good."

"Hm! Just remember who's paying your bills, you fairy loli!"

"You shut up about that, Stinky Space!"

Walking down the Market Square, Subaru took the chance to wave at the people nearby. His recent rise in reputation made him far more popular than he'd expected, especially considering how his daily ritual of radio callisthenics picked up as a Mondstadt fad yet again. The kids adored him for playing with them, so the parents warmed up to him as well.

"You've returned, Natsuki Subaru," Katheryne greeted him as soon as he walked up to the front desk of the Adventurer's Guild.

"Yeah. Did you confirm the commissions yet?"

"We have. Here is your renumeration."

Subaru eagerly pushed the offered Mora into his inventory. "Anything new for me?"

"You've reached our limit of commissions for the day, so I wish you a good day. Ad Astra Abyssosque."

Nodding back, Subaru and Paimon left the guild. However, just as they turned, Subaru's view was entirely obstructed by a person's face.

"Gah!" he yelped, jerking back in shock. "Little distance, man!"

"Ahaha, sorry," Bennett muttered as he rubbed the back of his head. "But, could I get your help?" He raised his left arm to reveal black marks on its surface.

"Another one?!" Paimon cried out.

"Haha, I don't know why I keep finding these, but it's better that they're on me than anyone else, right?"

Subaru sighed and unwrapped the bandage over his right arm, placing his palm over Bennett's arm. The marks reacted with each other, Bennett's Infection easily being swallowed up by Subaru's own mark.

"Be a little more careful, won't you?" Subaru chided him as he wrapped his hand back up again.

"Of course! I just came back from meeting Barbara, after all!"

"That's not helping your case!"

"Katheryne, any commissions?!" Bennett immediately moved away from him, making him sigh out loud.

"It's alright, we can keep healing him, right?" Paimon supplied. "He can't help his luck, after all."

"Yeah, I guess so," Subaru shook his head and walked away. Despite his initial concerns, the life of an adventurer was a lot more fun than he'd expected. His last few days followed a set routine: wake up, freshen up, radio callisthenics in front of the church, feed Paimon, start commissions, feed Paimon in camp, dodge any errant Fatuus gazing at him, feed Paimon a little more, train on his own for a while or read some books in the Teyvatian language while feeding Paimon, then going to sleep after a quick midnight session of feeding Paimon. He was so glad that he got that money from the mitachurl.

"Heeey! Subaruu! Paiimooon!"

Subaru perked up hearing that voice, although it was odd that the sound was coming from overhead. Looking up, he noticed Amber jumping down from the top of the fortress wall, deploying her wind glider to slow her descent and land right in front of them.

"Hey!" she called out as she withdrew her wings. "How's your new license?"

At the sight of the girl, Subaru couldn't stop his smile. "Well, I'm not getting in trouble for gliding with you anymore." A few days before, Amber had taken him to get a Gliding License. It surprised him that such a thing existed, but considering how driving was treated in his world, it made quite a bit of sense.

"Well, if there's anyone that should be left out, it's you. You rode that tornado, after all!"

"Didn't you do it as well?"

"Oh yeah! Aaa, we should both be left to glide as we like!"

"Hihi, Paimon can fly as much as she likes! Be jealous, you two!"

"Aww, give me your flying skill, Paimon!"

"H-Hey, let Paimon go!"

Subaru laughed at the sight of Amber strangling Paimon in the air. "Anyway, what brings you here?"

"Oh, right!" Amber finally let go of a now coughing Paimon. "Kaeya lent me these coupons for Angel's Share, so I thought I'd ask you two out!"

Subaru felt his cheeks warming up. "Y-You mean… like a date?"

"Hm? Yeah, sure!"

Paimon hovered next to his ear. "Paimon doesn't think she's getting what you're saying. Poor Stinky Space."

He slapped Paimon on the back of her head.

"Hey! Stop the violence on Paimon!"

"Come on, you two!" Amber dragged Subaru forward, ignorant of their little discussion. "There's a Berry Juice with my name on it there!"


The moment the trio entered the pub, Amber separated from them to let Charles, the bartender, know of their order. Meanwhile, Subaru and Paimon went to find a seat. Angel's Share was busy as always that night; Subaru could see several familiar faces as he walked about. However, he stumbled upon one more familiar than the rest.

"Ah, it's you, lad!" Cyrus wobbled to a stand, moved to him and laid a heavy arm on his shoulder. "Come on, join us!" Despite Subaru's protests, Cyrus easily dragged him back to his table, where he noticed two other adventurers getting sloshed with him. Paimon chuckled and hovered behind him.

"Subaru, meet Paul and Steven. Paul, Steven, this is Subaru, the newcomin' Hero of Mondstadt!"

Subaru tried to reel back from Cyrus' foul breath worsened by the booze, but failed because of the arm on his shoulder. "Y-Yeah, but I wouldn't call myself a hero…"

"For real?!" one of the adventurers, the blonde one aside from the other brunette one, exclaimed. "He's the guy that beat Stormterror, right?"

"Mhm, he got the commission from that mitachurl too," the brunette groaned into his glass. "Damn, we couldn't get any money for a few days… chk, *sob*…"

All of a sudden, the man started sobbing into his arms as he cradled his drink, the blonde grinning while cradling his back. "… is he okay?" Paimon wondered out loud.

"Don't worry, little fairy! Steven there just cries a little when he's drunk," Cyrus roared. Without any fanfare, he snatched his glass up and chugged the rest of it down. "Paah! Anyway, aren't you a little too young to be here, kid?"

"Well, yeah, I'm just having juice."

"Baby stuff, that!" he roared out, looking once at Paimon on the way. "Hmm, the little fairy's looking smaller than normal… you ain't getting old, right?"

"Hey! Paimon's young and beautiful as always!"

"Haha! So what, you two are here for some, whatsit, juice?"

"Hey, you're here!" The group's attention was caught by Amber, who eagerly skipped towards them. "Oh, we've got company too! Nice choice, Subaru!"

Cyrus looked at Amber for a moment, then looked at Subaru and grinned widely. "Subaru, ya sly dog!" He eagerly let go of his shoulder and slapped his back hard enough for him to choke out.

"I-It's not what it looks like, man!" Subaru cried out in alarm, gently rubbing his back and stretching his now-free shoulder.

"Haha, sure, sure," Cyrus finally let him go and got up from his seat, taking his glass with him. "Come on, you lads. Let's leave these two to their date. Enjoy your night!"

Paul somehow managed to stop Steven from crying, them both finally standing up and following Cyrus to another side of the pub.

"That guy…" Subaru sighed and pressed his forehead. "Sorry about that, Amber."

"Nah, that was fun!" Amber said as she took the seat opposite him. "It's always fun to see people like that, it's so funny! It's so kind of them to give their seats to us too!"

"Yeah, Paimon agrees!" Paimon cried out as she sat on Subaru's shoulders. "But why'd he have to call Paimon old…"

"Paimon's a loli granny?" Subaru wondered out loud.

"Hey! Paimon doesn't know what that means, but Paimon knows it's nothing nice!"

The group were interrupted by a loud set of laughs. They looked back to see Cyrus, Paul and Steven now sitting around another person, a boy wearing green.

"And then, and then?!" Cyrus roared out while slamming the table, looking expectantly at the new entrant to their group.

"Give me a moment, I've got the perfect song for this…" the boy hummed while summoning a lyre, quickly strumming a few notes on it.

"Songs… waa!" Steven cried out, yet again slamming his head onto the table and sobbing his heart out. Subaru shook his head at Steven's actions.

"Subaru, look at that," Amber called out to him. Looking back, Amber nudged back at the group. "That boy with them… haven't we seen him before?"

Subaru blinked, then looked back at the bard with a little more focus. That white undershirt with a short green cape, hair starting black but turning blue as it drifted down into twin braids before his ears, a green beret touched with a flower and a pair of leaves… yes, he'd seen him before. He remembered the boy from the day Stormterror attacked. He was the one who tried to talk to the dragon. He looked back at Amber. "You think he might know more about Stormterror?"

"Paimon thinks so too," Paimon spoke up, jumping off Subaru's shoulder and spinning in the air. "Let's try asking him!" Paimon immediately dove away from Subaru and approached the group, making Subaru and Amber charge after her to stop her.

"Ah, fairy, you're here now?" Cyrus muttered as he noticed her approaching. "Don't let us interrupt your little date! Have fun, why don't you!"

"Hey, green guy!" Paimon called out. "Why were you talking to Storm-"

Having caught up in time, Subaru immediately covered Paimon's mouth, stopping her from speaking in front of everyone about the matter. "W-What she's saying is… what were you guys talking about?"

The green-clad boy finally looked at Subaru and widened his eyes, a frown on his face despite his flushed cheeks. "You know," he said, standing up from his seat, wobbling a little as he stood. "I think our new friends here deserve another song!" He topped off the statement with another set of strums from his lyre.

"Yeah, song!" Cyrus cried out. "You should really hear this guy, kids! Venti's a riot, trust me!"

"Venti?" Amber echoed.

"Venti the Bard, at your service," the boy bent at the hip before them, only to stumble and fall onto the ground. Subaru immediately picked him up and supported him. Looking down, he was glad to see his lyre dissolving into sparks, suggesting that Venti put it back in his inventory just in time.

"Hmm…" Venti still muttered next to Subaru. "For Dark can be bested by only Dark… but the Void is all that remains…"

"Come on, I think this guy can't sing anything now," Subaru declared. "You guys know where he lives?"

"Hmm, dunno," Cyrus muttered, letting out a loud yawn soon after. "Speaking of, we should head out too… don't wanna drink too much with tomorrow's expedition…"

"Aw, already?" Paul groaned out, still consoling Steven who was still crying for no reason.

Subaru saved that fact for later, then looked at Amber for any advice.

"Maybe we can ask Charles?" Amber asked. "If he's a regular here, Charles might know more about him."

Together, Amber and Subaru hoisted Venti's limp body down to the front of the bar counter. Charles looked up from his drink mixing to see them coming, then sighed.

"Ah, him," Charles said. "If you're helping him, I guess you'll be paying for him tonight?"

"Huh?" Subaru cocked his head. "When did this become me paying for someone?"

"This guy has far too many drinks in his tab. Just now he's downed 5 Dandelion Wines."

"Well, I don't think 5 is that bad – "

"Bottles."

"Why me…"

"H-Hey, I've got this coupon!" Amber presented the coupon from earlier to Charles, even though she struggled because she was still holding Venti. "Could this work?"

"… it'll make a tiny dent, sure," Charles replied. "You guys asked for three Sparkling Berry Juices earlier, right? Pay for this guy, and that's on the house."

"… isn't this more expensive, though?"

"That's how far we have to go for Venti's habits," Charles muttered. "He drinks enough for an elephant, but we've never seen a single Mora from him."

Subaru looked at the babbling drunk he was holding on to. "And… if I don't want to pay for him?"

"You sure you want to leave this guy here?" Charles grinned at them. "You're holding onto him, so if you leave him behind, that's on your head, right?"

"… we can just take him back, though?" Amber supplied.

"And do you know where he lives?" Hearing their silence, Charles grinned and shrugged. "Can't help it. I'll only give you his address if you pay for him."

Subaru looked back at Amber and Paimon, finally realizing the trap he'd fallen into. "… Fine. I'll pay."

"L-Let me pay half the bill too! And this coupon can help, right?"

Charles finally accepted the coupon and nodded. "Sure. Here's the bill."


Subaru could feel the lightness of his summoning inventory as he left the store several hundred thousand Mora poorer. Amber held a similar downcast expression as well.

"All that Mora… for some drunk bard… and no food," Paimon sadly slurped up the ends of her juice despite having just gotten it.

"Haah, I guess that's what we get from trying to be a little good," Subaru groaned.

"Hey, don't forget why we're helping this guy in the first place!" Amber reminded them. "What was he doing that day?"

"Dvalin…"

Subaru looked back at Venti who'd just muttered. His eyes were opened, albeit glazed over.

"Dvalin… don't let them take you away…"

"Isn't 'Dvalin' the name that Lisa gave Stormterror?" Amber wondered out loud. "Stormterror's real name when he was part of the Four Winds?"

"Yeah, I do remember something like that," Subaru replied. "You think this guy knows more about this situation?"

"He's our best lead so far, isn't he? We need to see what we can get from him."

"Why are you here…" Venti muttered again. "Natsuki Subaru…"

That stopped Subaru in his tracks. "… how does he know who I am?"

Amber stared at Venti as well, then looked up at Subaru with a frown. "… I never told you earlier, but I noticed how he looked at you the first time we saw him," she finally admitted. "It was as if he became worried after seeing you. Do you think… he remembers you from when you were with the Abyss Order?"

"Huh?" Paimon called out. "But that can't be – "

"Paimon!" Subaru stopped her from speaking too much yet again. "… I don't know. Maybe." He hated having to lie to Amber, but he had to keep the guise up to keep himself safe.

Amber looked at Subaru for a while, then nodded. "It's okay. Whatever it is, we'll ask him when he wakes up. For now, we should get him to his place. I'm so glad Charles told us where that was."

"Yeah, but the whole scam was not needed."

"… that's true."


Venti groaned as he woke up, rubbing his eyes rather violently. Mornings tended to disagree with him, especially with the slight hangover from the previous night. Of course, being who he was, it would never move any further than 'slight'. With a quick glass of water, he cured himself and dressed up for another day of music and frolic. He freshened up a little more, dressed up, and then finally picked up his beret before he left his place. However, as he tipped it over, something fell out of its concave. Looking down, he noticed it was a piece of paper. Reaching down to grab it, he noticed something was written on it.

"Come to the front of the cathedral, where the statue is. – Natsuki Subaru."

Venti blinked, frowning. This was happening already? Pocketing the note, he left the room, his mind filled with thoughts on what he'd encounter upon finally meeting that person face to face.

It was a wonderful day in Mondstadt as always. Venti always enjoyed walking through the village, simply watching everyone live their lives the best way they could. It tickled a joy within him he couldn't get from anything else. This freedom of theirs was what he once fought for, after all.

Moving up the spiral steps to the cathedral, Venti could actually hear him before he saw him.

"Victory!"

"VICTORY!"

Venti skipped up the last few steps to see, to his dismay, Natsuki Subaru in the flesh. However, he was in front of an army of children, all raising their hands in the air and laughing for no particular reason. Venti's brow furrowed at the odd sight.

"Great job, everyone!" Subaru turned back to the children, and even the few adults and even some really old folk among them all. "You'll be A-OK for the day!"

"A-OK!" the children cried out yet again, immediately dispersing. Noticing sparkles, Venti's eyes caught the tiny fairy appearing before them.

"Stinky Space, I just finished-"

Before she could finish, the children yelled in excitement upon seeing her and immediately ran after her.

"No, no, not these little demons again!" Paimon yelled as she shot away from the children chasing after her, crying the whole time while the children laughed as they ran after her. Subaru chortled at the sight but then chanced upon looking right at him.

Smiling mainly because of the heartwarming sight of children laughing, Venti quickly ran up to him.

"Venti, right?" Natsuki Subaru asked, his smile slowly fading. "We need to talk."

"Oh? And what does the infamous 'Victory!' child want with pure ol' me?" Venti replied, summoning his lyre with a flourish. "I'm sure I can make a song about these morning rituals of yours. Let's see – "

"How do you know Stormterror?"

Venti blinked at the question from him. "Storm…?"

"Haah, okay, look, I'm in far too good of a mood to be mad at you now. I honestly thought you'd take more time to come here considering how you were last night. Also, how are you not doubled over right now? I've heard hangovers are awful."

Venti chuckled, still strumming his lyre. "A little hangover can't stop a bard of my capacity. I'm always looking for a good story, after all! Thanks for the note, too. It was definitely worth it to come here and see that display of yours. Thank you for looking after those kids."

Subaru's head jerked to the side. "Huh? I thought you hated me for some reason?"

Venti raised his brows at the question.

"… you mutter when you're drunk," Subaru clarified. "You mentioned Dvalin being in the Dark… and you wondered why I - specifically me, by name - was here."

"Oh! Ahaha…" Venti gently scratched his chin. "That's why you asked me about Stormterror."

"So you admit to knowing him!"

"Well… I don't like that name of his. Just call him Dvalin, please," Venti stashed away his lyre, lightly toying with his braids. Looking up, he took in the sight of the Statue of Barbatos looming behind them. "Say, what do you think about that statue?"

"Stop changing the question!"

"Haha, come on, just humor me for a while, won't you? Every story needs to be crafted properly, after all. So, what do you think?"

Subaru held his gaze for a while, then huffed and turned at the heel, looking up at the statue holding its hands up to the land as if it were presenting something to them. "Yeah, it's a well-made statue. So what?"

Venti skipped ahead of him, moving in the way of his sight. "Have you ever wondered what it's like to sit up there?"

"Huh? Where?"

"On Barbatos' palms, of course! It's the best view of Mondstadt there is!"

"… is that even allowed?"

"Well, I do it all the time," Venti hopped away from him, leaning back playfully. "Come on, why don't you?" Venti looked around for a while, noticing that every possible witness was currently looking away, then grinned. With a swish of his hand, wind was summoned beneath Subaru's feet, making him cry in confusion as he felt himself being taken into the air. He shot up high, crying out for dear life but Venti stalled the sound from moving any further past him. Sparks shimmered behind Subaru's back, revealing a pair of wings fighting against the wind. Venti grinned and guided the wings to push him to the statue. Subaru yelled as he noticed Barbatos' head in his way, then immediately collapsed his right wing to push himself off course. Thankfully, Venti could use that to guide him onto the Statue's arm safely.

"Gah!" Subaru yelped as he clambered through the arm and finally reached the palms. "Hoo, what the hell was that?! Was that guy trying to kill me?!"

"Please, if I wanted you dead, you'd be dead already," Venti grinned as he suddenly appeared behind him.

Subaru looked back and gaped at him. "I was waiting for others for this talk."

"That's a shame," Venti shrugged, even though his grin gave away his lack of guilt. "But have a look!"

Shaking his head, Subaru followed the command and looked at the view the Statue got every day. His breath hitched in his throat.

The sun hadn't risen completely, so there was still a faint orange overlapping the already bright view of the entire city of Mondstadt below them. People were living their lives freely, casually, happily. Windmills were slowly spinning throughout the entire city, adding an oddly medieval look to it despite the anachronism. The fortress walls were towering over them all, protecting the people within, but even the lands beyond looked more peaceful than anything. So high up, there were no signs of anything that Subaru was so worried about. No hilichurls or mitachurls, no dragons out for his life, no masked fellows finding a reason to blame him for something.

"It's magical, isn't it?" Venti said. "It's why I love this country so much. Do you know how much history this land has? After everything with Decarabian, with Vanessa's rebellion, with the two cataclysms, Durin's invasion… no matter what, Mondstadt always stands free."

Meanwhile, Subaru let out a sigh of relief. With everything that happened with Stormterror, Subaru had made it out. He managed to keep Mondstadt safe; he managed to keep that view safe. A rare smile crept onto his face. That sight was everything that he was dying for.

"Venti… thanks for this," Subaru found himself saying. "But I need to keep these people safe." His fists curled into balls as he spoke. "Please, please help me out here. I remember you from that day. You were trying to talk Storm – no, Dvalin out of his attack. If there's anything you can tell me to stop him and the Abyss Order, please tell me. For the sake of Mondstadt, please tell me."

Venti smiled, although it seemed more crestfallen than normal. "Well, that's certainly a situation you're putting me in," he chuckled albeit mirthlessly. "I will… try. I want to help you, but… I cannot."

"… what do you mean?"

"You know, when you were fighting Dvalin, I wanted to help. I really wanted to offer my support. But I couldn't. All because it was you, Natsuki Subaru."

Despite Venti's regretful look, Subaru was taken aback. "Huh?! But why?! What did I do?!"

"I can't explain that. All I can say is that you are despised."

A bitter look overtook Subaru's expression. "Despised? Really? By who?"

"…"

"Tell me! After everything I'm doing for this country… why the hell aren't you telling me anything?!"

"… You haven't asked me a question I can answer yet. If you keep on asking me the source of this hatred, then you will get no answer. I am sorry, but I cannot answer that."

Gritting his teeth, he cast his glance away, feeling the sight of Mondstadt soothing his building nerves despite everything. "Fine." The sight couldn't soothe him completely, not with the sheer feeling in injustice permeating through him, but he still turned back to Venti. "What were you doing back there, with Stormterror?"

Venti cast a forlorn gaze down. "… Dvalin is… hurt, that's the best way I can put it. He's Infected, I'm sure you know about that."

"I know. I tried to cure him, but Rem stopped me."

"Rem? I don't know who that is, but I am glad you tried. I've heard of your escapades, and your ability to heal the Infection. Single-handedly defeating a mitachurl and driving away a violent Dvalin? Truly the marks of a hero, in my eyes."

"… answer the question."

"What a shame…" Venti shook his head and crossed his arms. "But I will continue. I'm sure you know how the Infection is able to control people."

"Yes, I'm familiar with that. I stopped someone from spying on us a while back, it was the day I discovered my ability to absorb the Infection. Stormterror is being controlled by them similarly, right?"

"… Not exactly. Normally I would agree, only if Dvalin weren't one of the Four Winds, closely tied to Barbatos and Celestia."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Don't you know? I imagined you would, knowing your history with the Infection."

"… what do you mean by that?" Subaru widened his eyes in alarm.

"Relax, relax, it's nothing so awful, I just thought you'd realise this after healing so many people." Subaru couldn't tell for certain, but it seemed like Venti's smile quivered a little at the end of that statement. "Anyway, the point is that those who are tied to Celestia cannot be controlled by the Infection. For humans, that would be Vision Bearers."

"… Bennett," Subaru realized. "He always ends up with the Infection, but there were no signs of him working for the Abyss. He had all of his memories, nothing was missing."

"Exactly. I know he has a Pyro Vision, so he cannot be controlled."

"… you know him that well?"

"I people-watch." Venti shrugged casually. "Anyway, Dvalin is supposed to be resistant to the Infection, but somehow he's still under their control. I truly don't know how he is, unfortunately."

Subaru looked at Venti's depressed frown for a while, then remembered something. "Oh, right! That day you left, Stormterror left something behind." He summoned the diamond that was left behind from Stormterror before he took off that day. However, expecting a bluish-clear crystal, he was surprised to see it glowing ominously red instead.

"That's…" Venti muttered, gulping at the sight. "Those fools are going too far…"

"What are you talking about?" Subaru demanded. "And why did it change colour?"

"It's only because you absorbed the Infection from it that this is clear," Venti said, slowly accepting the gem. "I thought that the Abyss Order only used the Infection to influence him, but… it doesn't work that way, doesn't it?"

"Did you discover something?"

Venti nodded. "Dvalin is Infected, but he should not be under their control. But with this…" Venti looked back at the red glow on the crystal. "He was possibly under their influence even before the Infection took hold of him."

"What is it?" Subaru asked.

"This is… Dvalin's corruption," Venti explained. "The negativity that he harboured after he was forgotten for so long… and especially after Durin…"

"… sorry, who's Durin?"

"Durin was an Evil Dragon that attacked Mondstadt a long time ago and was defeated by Dvalin. It was because of this victory that Dvalin was named part of the Four Winds," Venti recited the story.

"And what does this have to do with him?"

"This colour is the shade of Durin's taint. I think Dvalin was far more wounded than I first thought after their fight, and over time, he succumbed to Durin's venom coursing through him." Venti looked back at the crystal once more then handed it back to Subaru. "You should hold on to this a little more. It would serve you better than me, after all. It's no use to me in its current state."

Subaru hesitantly accepted the jewel back from Venti, retreating it into his inventory.

"As much as I would love to help you more, I cannot. I hope you can accept that now."

Subaru balled his fist at the thought of it. "I still don't get it, though. Who could that be? Who could hate me for no reason like that?"

"I will tell you, it isn't for no reason. You have angered quite some people, Natsuki Subaru. You merely don't remember it."

Subaru blinked it. "Wait, my amnesia-"

Venti was gone. All that was left of his presence was a slight wisp of wind, nothing else. Subaru gaped at the sudden disappearance but then bit his lip in frustration. "That bastard…" he cursed under his breath.

Subaru angered people, he said? But who? And what did this have to do with his amnesia?

Looking down, Subaru blinked as he noticed a group of sparkles rapidly shooting around the base of the statue. Blinking, he identified those sparkles as Paimon's trails.

"They're probably looking for me," he realized. Huffing and shaking his head, he casually stepped off the hands of the Statue, deploying his wind glider immediately upon free fall. Controlling himself midair was much easier than normal after so much practice; he easily positioned himself at the base of the statue.

"Subaru!" Paimon immediately shot at him and uselessly slammed her fists on his chest. "Where were you?! Paimon was so worried!"

"… sorry about that, Paimon," he muttered, still rubbing his head. "I was speaking to Venti."

"Huh?! You spoke to him already?!" Looking ahead, he noticed Amber approaching them as well. "I thought we agreed to speak to him together!"

"… sorry. He pretty much pulled me away to speak in private."

Amber blinked, looking back up at the Statue's palms. "… up there?"

"He had an Anemo Vision."

"T-That's so not safe! I thought we covered that in the License training!"

"Not like I had a choice… he pretty much pulled me into it without consent."

"So he kidnapped you!" Amber crossed her arms and pouted. "I knew that boy was bad business the moment I saw him!"

"Yeah, Paimon agrees!" Paimon crossed her arms too, mimicking Amber. "Nobody steals Paimon's meal ticket away!"

"Is that all I am to you, you fairy loli?" Subaru groaned. "But forget about that. I need to tell you everything he said."

And so, he recounted the details of the conversation. The others waited with bated breath as Subaru went through the whole story.

"And… that's it?" Amber frowned. "Sure, that information's useful, but it's hardly a lead! Durin's ancient, there's no point in knowing about him anymore! Couldn't you bug him for a little more?"

"I tried, trust me," Subaru said. "He said something about being hand-tied because someone hates me."

"Eh? That makes no sense," Paimon supplied.

"Exactly! That's what I told him, but that guy didn't listen! But… he said that I angered several people and I just don't remember it."

"Eh?! He knew about your amnesia?!" Paimon once again asked.

"I mean, it isn't surprising that you angered people," Amber hummed, making Subaru and Paimon look at her in confusion. "… what? You were part of the Abyss Order, weren't you? You don't remember what you did with them either because of your amnesia."

"Oh, right," Paimon muttered. "There's that."

Subaru sighed as well, understanding where Amber came from. After all, that was a lie, wasn't it?

"You merely don't remember it."

Blinking, Subaru recoiled as that treacherous thought entered his head. As much as he didn't want to, his brain worked through to the most reasonable solution there was – no, that couldn't be it. Subaru left that other world and woke up on that beach. There was no in-between.

But the Abyss Order still addressed him respectfully. He still remembered being called their 'Lord' when he went to them in that one timeline. Could that mean… no, that's impossible, the Abyss Order is just delusional. Perverting Rem's love for him must have spread like a disease throughout their ranks.

Also, what could be the chances that his made-up lie was actually the truth? That would be such a ridiculous coincidence, after all. There's no way it could be true, even if he couldn't remember anything – shut up already, brain!'

"Haaa… anyway, I'll bring this up to Master Jean," Amber scratched her head in confusion. "It's all so weird… but why would a simple bard know about all this? That's got to be the weirdest part of all this."

"Paimon doesn't know, but it's good that we got this much at least, right? What's that saying… can't look a Sweet Madame in the butt?"

Subaru balked at his flying companion. "It's 'can't look a gift horse in the mouth'. But how did you turn it into that?"

"Ahaha! Paimon, you sure know how to change the mood!" Amber clapped at her, immediately reaching for her and pulling her cheeks.

"H-Hey!" Paimon tried slapping Amber's hands away from her cheeks, Paimon's own lips being far too stretched for her next words. "Wew Waiwo oo!"

"Teehee, sorry, just couldn't resist," Amber surrendered to Paimon's whims, letting go with her hands up. Paimon rubbed her sore cheeks and pouted at her. Subaru, meanwhile, could only wonder why he'd never thought of pulling her cheeks like that to annoy her before.

"Hah! You shouldn't pull Paimon's cheeks like that, you know! They're not some bread dough!"

"Play-dough, but that probably doesn't exist here," Subaru tried to correct her but corrected himself instead. "Anyway, we should get a move on. I need something to eat."

"Ooh, Paimon too!"

"… Didn't you just come from breakfast?"

"Well, what about second breakfast?"

"… why did I have to tell you about Lord of the Rings… okay, fine."

"Yaaay! Amber, Amber! Subaru's buying us food!"

"Hehee, thanks Paimon, but I already had breakfast. I'll go tell Master Jean about this in the meantime."

"Okay! Stinky Space will miss you, though."

"Just what are you implying, you fairy loli?!"

Amber couldn't hold back her chuckles at their antics. "A-As much as I'd love to stay here and hear you guys out, I really have to go. Sorry! See you later!"

With a wave, Amber dashed away from them, leaving the two of them alone.

"Alright, now to get a second Fisherman's Toast!" Paimon did a shirt jig in the air. "They're yummy."

"Yes, you've emphasized that time and time again, Paimon."

"Teehee."


With their bellies full, Subaru's next stop was the Adventurer's Guild. Looking for his daily commissions, he stopped before Katheryne's office.

"Ah, Natsuki Subaru, Ad Astra Abyssosque," Katheryne identified him, setting down a piece of paper before her. "You're just in time."

"For what?"

"I'd like to offer you an extended commission with a temporary party. While you have helped us quite a bit, you are still lacking in high-ranking experience. This particular quest should help you cover that issue."

Subaru blinked. "It seems like some big thing. Are you sure the Knights aren't needed instead?"

Katheryne shook her head. "Matters pertaining to places outside of Mondstadt City are typically handled by the Adventurer's Guild. It's only when the matters influence the lives of Mondstadtians that the Knights get involved. But if we leave this matter for too long, there is a chance that the Knights would have to get involved."

"Come on, kid, it'll be fun!" Subaru looked past Katheryne to see Cyrus waving at him from past the receptionist's entrance.

"W-What are you doing here?"

"Just a minute." Moving away from the frame, Cyrus left through the main door and approached Subaru, clapping him on the shoulder. "I'm the leader of this party, is all, and we could really use you." Cyrus grinned at him, leaving him be only to stretch his neck and arms. "Ahh, Dragonspine. Sometimes you crave that biting cold after so long without it."

Subaru clicked his tongue at him. "Aren't you supposed to be hungover, old man? You were pretty out of it last night."

"Haha! Not like those few drinks will bring me down."

"It was because of his and his party's hangovers that I suggested adding another member to his party," Katheryne clarified. "I gave your name first, but he said something about a 'hot date'?"

"Like I said, that wasn't what it was!" Subaru gnashed his teeth at a now laughing Cyrus, ignorant of how his cheeks were blazing red in embarrassment.

"Yeah, Subaru's right!" Paimon added in support of him. "It's not like he'd actually have a chance with a girl like Amber." Or not.

"Amber… interesting choice," Katheryne nodded at him.

"T-That's… Gaah! You stupid, pixie loli!" Subaru immediately grabbed Paimon by the crown of her head and shook her around like a coke can.

"WaAaAhh…"

"Gah!" Subaru finally stopped shaking her and gently let go, leaving Paimon to spin around in the air, swirls in her eyes.

"Fisherman… roast…"

"Look, there's nothing between us like that, okay!" Subaru clarified to both Katheryne and Cyrus who were sniggering the whole time. "Seriously, why can't anyone take this seriously?!"

Cyrus shook his head, coming down from the high of his laughter. "Ha, you're seriously a riot, kid. Seriously, you gotta join us! Sure you can't think o' your lady friend when you're freezing your nuts off in those frosty peaks!"

Katheryne nodded as well, having recovered too. "There is a lot to explore in Dragonspine, and it is mostly untouched territory. The land still houses Durin's remains, so there is a lot that is yet to be uncovered from it."

"Wait, did you say Durin's remains?!"

Katheryne flinched at the sudden remark. "Yes. I never knew you were interested in history of that nature…"

Subaru blinked blankly, noticing the oddness of his reaction. "Ah, yeah, sorry." He sheepishly rubbed his head. "It's just… interesting, you know? I read about him in a book in the Library, but I couldn't finish it and I couldn't find the book after that." That was a good lie.

"Trust me, kid, you'll get more stuff than the history books tell ya if you look at the source straight!" Cyrus helpfully added to his lie. "You gotta join us! You met Paul and Steven last night, right? They'll be there too!"

Subaru didn't need any more convincing after hearing about Durin. Venti had already pointed out that Stormterror's problem lay with Durin, this was their best bet to finding out more about the situation.

Subaru still remembered the look of Mondstadt from atop the Statue's hands. He'd already vowed to himself to protect the land, no matter who thought ill of him. Resolving himself, he internally agreed that his death would be entirely worth it if he could keep that view as serene as it was – as it should be.

"When do we head off?"


A/N: It's surprising how different a first draft can be from a second. What you just read was my second draft to this chapter, and it is so unusually different from my first draft. Sure, the concepts covered were identical, but the change in setting changed the vibe of the entire chapter. The first draft ended in a very negative note, with Amber actually being there to hear Venti call Subaru the "Lord of the Abyss Order". In the end, I ended up writing this whole bit with Venti pulling Subaru up to the top of the Statue on the spot of my second draft, and I was lucky it ended up so well. Yeah, I really am glad for it.

Did I mention that I'd be making the Unreconciled Stars event the next arc? Did I? I don't remember? Well, I don't remember keeping my promises anyway. So, yeah, the next arc is gonna be in Dragonspine instead. I took the time to check out the event, and I didn't see any good way to fit that into my story. Meanwhile, there's a lot that I could use from Dragonspine. Trust me, I've got an entire bit planned out for this, it's going to be insane.

I'm slowly getting back into the track of my life. I took a long time off, and now I need to find a place to do my Masters. So, I'm doing some courses in my spare time because I'm planning on changing degrees, essentially. It's all fun, though. I'm just glad that I found something that I could turn into a career that actually interests me. Seriously, AI is cool. Even Data Science is cool, that's a clear sign that this is meant for me. I think.

Now, onto the reviews!


artem-abramov-2004: No, definitely not. I'm separating each nation into different books, and Liyue is Book 2. Expect about 30 more chapters for this story, and knowing my upload rate, Liyue might only come out 10 years from now.


Pleyades0104: I hope things fixed themselves for you, I genuinely don't know what happened. If all else fails, feel free to check the chapters out on AO3.


Rangda: Well... yikes.


MisakaLover: Yeah, that's around my estimate too. Feel free to join in then.


DashingSlayer2001: You know, I got into this story knowing all this stuff, then I heard from so many other people about how useless the whip is. In the end, I just sway to my audience's wishes though. Now, I've not looked up anything about whips recently, but I already knew that the bullwhip crack does come from it breaking the sound barrier. The real question is if you can accurately strike someone at that speed. In a combat situation, a whip's speed can get all over the place. You'd have to be in the perfect distance and apply the proper force without interruption, both incredibly rare things on the battlefield, if you want to hit someone at sonic speeds. I'm not denying that the whip is a dangerous weapon, but it is difficult to damage people to its maximum potential in the battlefield. It's why it has better use in a slaver's hand instead of combat. Of course, the whole reason why Subaru was hesitant to use his whip in this story was because of that connection. In a land of freedom, it's wrong to use a slaver's weapon. Unfortunately, that's what he's the most skilled with.

I've not watched Castlevania, something I need to work on, so I'm not sure how the Belmonts use their whips. However, in combat, it's always best to use whips for midair navigation and trapping while dealing a medium amount of damage in order to fully optimise it at that speed and haste. You've mentioned these points, but that's not something I've omitted. Subaru stayed on Stormterror's back because he could catch its spine with his whip.

All in all, the whip is an extremely complicated weapon to master. You've emphasised as much, but you are not seeing that the feats you've mentioned will be difficult to see in an actual battle. It is a very powerful weapon, I'm never going to disagree with that. However, it is complicated, and with Subaru merely using it out of muscle memory before he recalled Guiltywhip, it was much harder for him to use it before. From now on, however, the whip will be his primary source of damage, only with him switching to the polearm to deal crippling damage when accurate. For all its strengths, the whip does not have the ease of a bladed weapon, and simply attaching a blade to the end of the whip will throw the weight of the weapon completely off, rendering it unusable to Subaru. Ergo, the polearm is still needed.


And that's it! Let me know what you thought of this chapter in the reviews. I'll see you next chapter.