Venti: May the Anemo Archon Fool You.

Furina, seeing that Nahida had called her idle, retorted indignantly, "I—I'm actually very busy! Filming and all that is really exhausting."

Ei refused to be outdone and said, "So am I. I still have three hundred Light Novels to read."

Seeing the other two gods being so "tactfully shameless," Venti chimed in, "And I have over thirty wine-tasting events I haven't attended yet."

[Theresa: So... the gods in your world are busy with this?]

[Stelle: Suddenly, the divine aura just vanished.]

[Kiana: This godly lifestyle isn't what I imagined.]

[March 7th: Yeah, the gods in your world are a bit... down-to-earth?]

[Barbara: Please don't misunderstand. That bard is not our Anemo Archon, Barbatos.]

[Diona: That's right. Our Lord Barbatos would never be that drunkard.]

[Kujou Sara: Our Lady Shogun is the same. She personally handles Inazuma's affairs every day and would never read something like Light Novels.]

[Yae Miko: Is that so... Lady Shogun @Raiden Ei]

[Raiden Ei: ...]

The people of Fontaine wanted to argue too, but when they thought about their own god's daily routine... there really wasn't much to argue about.

[Furina: ...] (Wah... why isn't anyone defending me...)

Marika, seeing her seniors acting so unreliable, could only weakly complain, "What kind of gathering is this supposed to be?"

Nahida popped up from under the table. "It's fine. I often feel out of place because I don't slack off enough."

"Buer, that's not quite right!" Zhongli objected upon hearing Nahida call herself a slacker. "These past few years, I've been working a proper job."

Seeing Zhongli's dead-serious expression, Venti couldn't help but laugh at the thought of his so-called "job." "Hahaha... what kind of underworld job is that?"

"Huh? You can retort like that?" Furina, attending her first gathering with other gods, felt she had learned something new.

"Barbatos, you can drink recklessly, but you can't speak recklessly." Zhongli wasn't angered by Barbatos mocking him and calmly rebutted, "The rituals and procedures of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor are intricate and refined—not something a loafer like you could understand."

[Barbara: Wait, what did the Geo Archon just call that bard?]

[Kaeya: I must have misheard, right?]

[Venti: I told you I was Barbatos, but you didn't believe me.]

[Rosaria: The Anemo Archon is a bard? That actually fits the vibe of this city of freedom.]

[Diona: I can't believe even the Anemo Archon is a drunkard. This nation is doomed...]

[Barbara: No~! I don't believe it! How could Barbatos be that drunken poet!]

Barbara, who was in the middle of praying, felt her faith crumbling.

Staring at the solemn statue of the Anemo Archon before her, then thinking of Venti's usual drunken antics, Barbara simply couldn't accept that they were the same person.

In her imagination, Barbatos was supposed to be an upright, selfless, gentle god who loved his people.

But Venti and the Barbatos she had imagined weren't just different—they had nothing in common.

Sometimes, when she came home late from practice, she'd often see Venti, dead drunk, passed out on the street alongside other drunks right outside the tavern.

Back then, she had even prayed to Barbatos for forgiveness because those drunks—including Venti—were ruining the city's image. And now you're telling me that the guy who passed out on the street after drinking was Barbatos himself?!

[Jean: Barbara, calm down!]

As Barbara's sister, Jean knew just how devout her sister's faith in Barbatos was.

That's why, after learning Venti's true identity, she never dared to tell Barbara.

[Barbara: No, Sister, tell me—that's not Lord Barbatos, right?!]

[Jean: Well...]

[Lumine: Barbara, think of it this way—you worship Barbatos. What does that have to do with Venti?]

[Amber: Yeah! Barbara, you worship Barbatos, not Venti.]

[Rosaria: That's right! You worship the Anemo Archon Basbato, not this drunkard.]

[Barbara: It's Lord Barbatos, not Batobas.]

Even though she felt her faith was crumbling, Barbara still instinctively corrected Rosaria for getting her god's name wrong again.

[Jean: Barbara, Lord Barbatos might have been asleep for so long that he's now watching over Mondstadt in secret as a bard.]

[Barbara: Is that really true, Lord Barbatos?]

[Venti: That's right, exactly that.]

[Barbara: So that's how it is... I'm sorry, Lord Barbatos, I misjudged you.]

[Venti: It's fine. I can feel your devotion. The wind is free, and the wind is gentle. The wind will forgive you.]

[Barbara: Lord Barbatos...]

Seeing Zhongli fire back at Venti, Furina thought to herself, "Huh? You can retort like that?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure!" Hearing Zhongli call him a "loafer," Venti didn't argue and just brushed it off dismissively.

"Four years have passed in the blink of an eye." A faint smile tugged at Venti's lips, a trace of nostalgia softening his expression. "I really miss the stories that unfolded back in Mondstadt."

"Indeed, it has been a long time." Zhongli responded to Venti's words, though perhaps still nettled by Venti's earlier jab, he couldn't help adding, "Aside from remembering that you never did any real work, I doubt anyone recalls much else."

Venti shot back without backing down, "Well, that's nothing compared to you—faking your own death and dumping all your troubles in one go."

[Cloud Retainer: What! A fake death!?]

[Xiangling: Does that mean the Lord no longer intends to govern Liyue?]

[Xingqiu: Impossible! The Lord has protected Liyue for a thousand years—why would he suddenly step away?]

[Sparkle: Oh my my~ No way, no way, could it be that a certain nation has been abandoned by its own god...]

[Sparkle: I hear your world has seven gods ruling seven nations...]

[Sparkle: Guess which god abandoned their nation?]

[Sparkle: It's you guys~]

[Ningguang: Friend, please don't mislead others.]

[Ningguang: His Lordship will never abandon Liyue.]

[Hu Tao: That's right, that's right! Besides, Zhongli is still our Guest Official at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.]

[Hu Tao: If he really faked his death, then his funeral would have to be handled by us at the Parlor anyway.]

[Hu Tao: Wouldn't that mean he'd have to arrange his own funeral? How unlucky. Right, Guest Official? @Zhongli]

[Zhongli: ...]

(Let me clarify something here—about Venti's drinking.)

(Drinking and being a drunkard are two different things. For example, picture the difference between someone elegantly sipping red wine and someone chugging case after case of beer before collapsing into a drunken frenzy.)

(These two are completely distinct.)

(Venti's love for drinking and his tendency to go on a drunken rampage afterward are two separate matters.)