Does she seem to know me?

"Miss Gabrielina really is as kind as she is beautiful~" Venti raised his glass. "May the Anemo Archon watch over you!"

"Cheers!" Their glasses clinked, and both swallowed their drinks.

Although Diluc had insisted on apple juice, Venti's relentless wheedling had eventually convinced him to bring over a few glasses of wine.

"...Ah~ Angel's Share really is the best tavern in Mondstadt!" declared a certain bard with a cat allergy.

"Do you come here to drink often, Venti?"

"Of course, especially on days when Master Diluc is here."

They looked toward the counter, where Diluc gave them a nod from afar. "His bartending skills are among the finest in all of Mondstadt!"

"Still, most of the time I help bring in business for the tavern, too. You know, I'm a bard~"

Gabrielina smiled politely. "Diluc told me you're a very famous bard in Mondstadt."

"Haha, you could even call me the greatest bard~" Venti said proudly, taking another swig. "...But of course, Miss Gabrielina is far more important than any bard!"

The angel narrowed her eyes slightly, her right hand unconsciously clenching beneath the table.

Shortly after Venti appeared, Gabrielina had immediately asked the system about the current gap between their strength. Its answer had been... a slight difference.

Using a scoring system it had "invented," the system claimed to have rated every mighty contender, from Phanes down to Slimes.

If King Phanes received a perfect score of 100.000, the current Anemo Archon would score around 62.528, while Gabrielina ranged between 50.721 and 81.096.

The system said, "Three decimal places make it more rigorous!"

As for why Gabrielina's strength fluctuated so drastically, the key lay in the power of Heaven's Strike.

If the girl unleashed her power without restraint, she could severely injure an Archon, or even threaten their life.

But... even thinking with the halo above her head, she knew she might be capable of unleashing Heaven's Strike in Mondstadt, but actually unleashing Heaven's Strike in Mondstadt was hardly possible.

She wasn't some demon, and Mondstadt clearly had no need for deurbanization...

Besides, using too much power would turn her into a little girl!!

Determined to play dumb, Gabrielina tilted her head and asked in confusion, "Why do you say that?"

"Because someone like you is destined to feature in the verses bards sing!"

Venti fixed his emerald eyes on the girl.

In those two sky-like mirrors, Gabrielina could clearly see herself, down to every detail of her face.

"Stand in the sunlight, and you shall become a hero. Stand in the shadows, and you may usher in calamity," Venti declared with conviction.

"Heh, then I suppose I'll have to become a hero." Gabrielina pointed at the halo above her head. "It's just too bright. Never mind staying in the dark, I can barely even sleep..."

She wasn't lying. It really was bright!

"Hahaha! Then I'd better start composing something for you in advance!" Venti raised his glass in a toast to the angel.

"You flatter me... really... Honestly, I only acted on a whim. My main reason for coming to Mondstadt was to help a friend find someone."

"Oh? Do tell!"

"The Anemo Archon!"

"The Anemo Archon?" Venti asked curiously.

"Yes, the Anemo Archon!"

"But that fellow hasn't appeared for centuries. The Knights of Favonius, the Church... not a single person in Mondstadt has seen him! Finding the Anemo Archon might be a little difficult, you know?"

The bard shook his head regretfully. Gabrielina kept getting the feeling that a faint trace of pity lurked in his gaze.

Today, she'd finally witnessed a true veteran actor in action.

"But everyone in Mondstadt seems to have such faith in him. Has he really disappeared?"

"Hmm..." Venti looked troubled. "He is still here... and yet he isn't."

"Hahaha... That's quite an enigmatic answer, Master Venti!" Gabrielina raised an eyebrow, propping her cheek on her hand as she leaned sideways against the table.

"Then... care to explain? Where exactly is he?"

"Every breeze, every shift in the wind, is a sign of Barbatos, the Anemo Archon! The wind is free, and so are the people of Mondstadt..."

They clinked glasses again. This drink was to freedom!

Gulp, gulp, gulp...

"Still... arriving in Mondstadt just recently really isn't the best timing..."

"Someone told me that just this afternoon."

Venti sighed. "The City of Freedom has certainly run into considerable trouble. You must have seen Dvalin this afternoon, Miss Gabrielina?"

"I saw him... and then some," Gabrielina muttered, tapping her fingers lightly on the table. "But don't most people call him Stormterror? Why do you call him Dvalin?"

"Could it be... you know each other well?"

"Take a guess~"

Seeing Gabrielina turn her head away, Venti hurriedly offered an apologetic smile.

"...Sorry~ Just a little joke. Ahem... actually, I know his story!"

The angel watched the slightly uneasy bard quietly, one eye half-open.

"Once... he was a gentle child, too. But now he's become sorrowful and angry." Venti paused briefly, giving Gabrielina a seemingly meaningful look. "Even if no one strikes him down, he'll gradually burn himself out."

"Ah~ So you really do know him well?" Gabrielina returned an equally teasing look. "Master Venti, I seem to have run into an old acquaintance myself."

"Oh? Surely not someone you met today?"

Gabrielina slapped the table. "He's no ordinary mortal. Long ago, we formed... a deep friendship!"

"What a remarkable connection! Then... how did it begin?"

"Amid the fading lantern lights, I suddenly turned! And there he was, hidden in their shadows."

"Then that moment back then..."

"Was just like this moment now."

"Could they really be so alike?"

"Yes! Very alike. But you have one thing more than he did!"

Venti asked in confusion, "You don't mean... a little more fabric, do you?"

"Of course not."

"Then what?"

The angel pointed at the tip of Venti's nose. "You're better at playing dumb!"

"Exactly! My friends have been telling me for ages: your greatest strength will be playing dumb! Tell me, can I still change?"

Gabrielina looked at Venti and rolled her eyes. "No! Drink by yourself, great bard!"

"Hey, don't go~ I'll pay my own bill. You won't have to!"

That sounded rather unrealistic, and in fact, it was hardly believable. The girl frowned. "Are you sure you have Mora? Besides... weren't you supposed to perform tonight?"

"Even the greatest bard needs inspiration~"

"Are you sure... you aren't just trying to squeeze in another drink or two while I'm here?" Gabrielina countered.

"Of course not!" Venti blurted out. "More than a drink or two."

"..."

There had always been tales of a certain kind of person.

They loved joining drinking parties but never paid the bill. Whenever the bill arrived, they would go from lively and energetic one moment to dead drunk the next.

Gabrielina didn't know whether Venti was one of those legendary people, but when the bartender brought the bill to their table, he certainly became drunk all of a sudden.

Fortunately, he hadn't slid straight under the table like a puddle of mud. Otherwise, Gabrielina felt certain her toes would curl hard enough to claw someone's Gnosis right out on the spot.

"To our guest from afar! To... our great... Mondstadt!"

Thud!

Looking at the peacefully sleeping young man, Charles covered part of his forehead with his hand. "Sorry, miss. There probably won't be a performance tonight."

"It's fine, it's fine..."

Gabrielina counted the figures on the bill, drool slowly trickling from the corners of her eyes.

Although that Mora wasn't much use to her, a careful calculation showed it would have been enough to take Lumine out for several lavish meals in Mondstadt.

"Gabrielina, you don't need to pay for him. The debt will be added to his tab."

Diluc came down from the second floor and slowly approached them, his arms folded across his chest.

"He already owes me plenty anyway. Enough to work at the Dawn Winery for an entire year... no, two."

You haven't thrown him out even though he owes that much!? Diluc, you're the real angel here...

"...Apple wine... yummy... hehe..." Venti mumbled indistinctly, rolled over, and went still again.

"Master Venti... is quite talkative."

Diluc paused briefly as he cleared the glasses. "Talkative? Certainly... What did you talk about?"

"Mostly... things around Mondstadt, I suppose. Scenery, food, festivals, that sort of thing..." The girl suddenly hummed a couple of notes, her wings stretching unconsciously. "Oh! He also kept saying I was beautiful, that I looked 'like poetry'~"

"Idiot! You think he was praising you? He was praising his own poetry!" the system complained, exasperated.

"Heh... That fellow..." Diluc shook his head and took the Mora from the girl's hand.

Gabrielina glanced up at the wall clock. Almost two hours had slipped by without her noticing.

Right, time to go back and get down to business!

She had just stood up when Diluc stopped her.

He leaned closer, candlelight casting deep shadows across his shoulders. "...Do you know the Fatui?"

"Uh... never heard of them. Are they famous in Mondstadt?"

Diluc glanced toward the corner upstairs, the glass making a faint rubbing sound in his hand. "Dangerous troublemakers. Two of them are upstairs... I heard them talking about you."

Those two Fatui... did La Signora send them? Is she worried I'll interfere with her plans?

"It's fine. I don't know them~" The girl moved her chair aside. "Maybe they saw me in the city during the day?"

Seeing Gabrielina's utterly unconcerned expression, Diluc could only step aside silently to let her pass.

"...It's getting late. Head back to the inn."

"Got it~" The girl brushed past Venti, waved, and skipped out the door.

Yet she had barely taken a few steps before her smile vanished. She looked up toward the tavern's second floor. By the window, those two Snezhnayans were still eating and drinking to their hearts' content.

You think you can keep tabs on me with skills like that? Still eating? I'll make sure you never get another four-course meal in your life!

Gabrielina stood in the middle of the deserted street, her golden eyes gleaming coldly beneath the moonlight.

The girl looked left, then right. Once she confirmed no one was around, a dangerous smile curved her lips.

An almost tangible killing intent surged through the black energy in her hand. Countless strands gathered, overlapped, and split apart again, writhing like living creatures before finally forming two long, slender needles.

Night has already fallen... die quietly!

"Girl, these don't count toward rewards. You need to go out and farm wild monsters."

*"..."*

Gabrielina paused, clicked her tongue impatiently, and casually crushed the two needles into dust.

"You could've said so sooner."

The night breeze swept past, leaving only a lingering iridescent afterimage in the alley.