[*Main quest* (easy mode) completed. Reward obtained: Cross Magic: Shoot-Down Formula, unlocked. "Saint Peter, one of the twelve apostles, forbade Simon the magician from flying by the devil's hand!!"]
Yes, Gabrielina hadn't killed Strange Bird in the end. She had merely tossed down two spears to scare him, as a little warning.
Ultimately, she simply couldn't summon any enthusiasm to get serious with someone who only committed petty theft, fled whenever things looked bad, and had no fighting spirit whatsoever.
Mm, it definitely wasn't because I wanted that Mamba power...
"Mamba! Out..."
"Gabrielina, what are you talking about?" Paimon floated closer curiously.
"Ah, n-nothing." Gabrielina stammered and stepped back twice, avoiding Lumine's probing gaze. "Um... have you dealt with all those Treasure Hoarders?"
Lumine didn't answer immediately. She merely watched Gabrielina's constantly darting eyes thoughtfully, only speaking slowly once the other girl's face was almost red.
"Yes, we've dealt with the Treasure Hoarders you took down, too... Amber should..."
"I'm here, I'm here!!"
Before she finished, the girl's energetic shout came from afar, followed by light footsteps drawing closer.
Amber jogged up to them, wiped the glistening sweat from her forehead, and let out a long breath. "Whew... finally got all those guys locked up!"
"Oh, right! The sisters were just complaining to me that some people were so badly injured, they had to spend a lot of extra effort treating them. Haha..."
"Y-yeah..." Gabrielina laughed awkwardly too, her fingertips unconsciously twisting her clothes.
Perhaps feeling that Gabrielina was rather pitiful being "bullied" like this, Lumine took the opportunity to steer the conversation back to what had happened earlier.
"Speaking of which, Amber... you really gave Paimon and me a fright back there."
"What did Amber do?" Gabrielina asked, feigning confusion.
"Gabrielina, remember that really high cliff?" Paimon immediately flew over, gesturing wildly. "Amber flew straight across without even blinking!!"
"Hehe, i-it wasn't that dangerous..." Amber chuckled sheepishly. "Actually, you could only tell once you were in the air, but that was the only wind current."
"The direction Strange Bird said he'd escape in ended in a complete dead end. In other words, if he wanted to get out, he'd have to come past us."
Hearing Amber's explanation, Paimon finally understood. "Oh-so that's why he kept putting on that act. He wanted to trick us into giving up, then fly back and escape."
"But we're not that easy to fool, either."
Amber nodded with a smile, then looked at Lumine. "Thankfully, Lumine figured it out. That's what they mean by [once you've eliminated every wrong answer, whatever remains, however unlikely, must be correct], right?"
"Ahh... anyway, mastering flight is seventy percent skill and thirty percent instinct!"
"Thirty percent is actually instinct?" Paimon's eyes widened in shock.
"No! There's another ninety percent reserved for courage!"
"..."
Everyone except Amber exchanged looks, their faces filled with helplessness.
"Ah... it was just like the first time I took my Gliding License exam... I was really nervous, but I still passed without any real trouble."
At this point, she actually sighed regretfully. "Unfortunately, I never felt that nervous during the later exams. It always felt like something was missing..."
"You... hang on." Paimon keenly picked up on the crucial detail. "If you already got your Gliding License, what were those later exams for?"
"Well..." Caught off guard, Amber scratched her cheek sheepishly. "Because in Mondstadt, you can't glide here or there, and you can't land here or there..."
"So my Gliding License keeps getting revoked! All told... I've retaken the exam fifteen times."
"Hehe~ but I passed every retest on my first try. My guide really is the best!"
Lumine lowered her head and looked at the brand-new Gliding License in her hand. As though something had suddenly occurred to her, a mischievous gleam flashed in her eyes.
"Amber, you said you were the gliding champion, right?"
"That's right!" Amber said excitedly. "Why don't you sign up for the next Mondstadt gliding competition too? I fly so fast nobody can keep up, so I'm always flying around alone. It's so boring!"
"Sure, I'll definitely come, but..." Lumine patted the girl beside her.
"Let Gabrielina compete against you!"
Let one expert take on another.
"Me?" Gabrielina blinked in surprise.
"Huh?" Amber froze too.
Gabrielina quickly recovered, a competitive smile appearing on her face. "Don't worry, Amber. If we're competing, I'll give it everything I've got."
"Ahaha, you... you don't really have to..."
Looking at the darkening sky outside the window, Amber clapped her hands. "It's already this late. How about dinner together at Good Hunter? We can celebrate catching Strange Bird!"
"You treated us last time, Amber. How about letting us pay this time?"
"Sure..."
Night deepened, and before long, it was time for their appointment with Diluc.
Lumine, Gabrielina, and Paimon stepped through the tavern doors again. The familiar aroma of alcohol filled the warm light, but there were very few customers tonight.
"You're back?" Venti raised a glass toward them with a grin.
"Diluc, why is Grand Master Jean here..."
Ignoring Venti's greeting, Gabrielina's gaze landed on Diluc, who was wiping a glass behind the bar.
Seated beside Venti was none other than the Acting Grand Master, who was usually busy at the Knights of Favonius headquarters.
"Huh? Gabrielina... Lumine?" Jean turned at the sound, wearing the same surprised expression as them. "Why are you here..."
"First, I contacted more than one person." Taking in their reactions, Diluc slowly set down his glass and cloth, then raised his head. "Second, this is Jean, but not the Jean you know as Grand Master."
"This is someone you wouldn't have the chance to meet even as Honorary Knights."
After that brief introduction, Lumine couldn't help studying Jean. Somehow, she seemed... different from the previous times they'd met at the Knights of Favonius.
There was less of the sternness and tension she carried as Grand Master. Her brow was unusually relaxed, and there was even a gentle smile on her lips. Everything about her invited people to draw closer...
"It's quite a surprise to see you here!" Jean said with a smile.
"I heard about the Skyward Harp, but I never expected you to be involved."
"Venti has it now~"
"Gabrielina, you just gave us away!" Venti glanced at Jean beside him and helplessly pressed a hand to his forehead.
"It's all right, Miss Gabrielina. What I'd really like to know is-is it true that the sound of the Skyward Harp can restore Stormterror to normal?"
"That's right! Our two Honorary Knights are actively throwing themselves onto the front lines of the Stormterror incident!" Venti spread his arms, praising them in an exaggerated tone.
"They truly live up to their reputation as the Knights of Favonius' two rising-star maidens!"
Not a maiden.
Listening to Venti's overly flowery praise, Lumine felt her cheeks burn. Her toes curled involuntarily, almost enough to scratch a three-bedroom apartment into the tavern floor.
Yet when she sneaked a glance at Gabrielina beside her, she found that the other girl was still beauti... still perfectly calm, with a composed smile on her face.
Is this the composure of the strong? Looks like I still have a long way to go...
Of course, Diluc was equally unmoved by the bard's performance.
For now, he could only profess belief in Diluc's explanation. After all, those mythical stories still seemed rather insubstantial without verification.
Until he obtained solid evidence, he would rather trust the efforts of the Knights of Favonius... or rather, his own.
"As for this, I suggest having the bard perform again. Perhaps that will persuade..."
"I believe you."
"Persuade our stubborn Grand Mast... hmm?"
Diluc turned back in surprise to look at Jean, who was smiling at him.
As far as Lumine and Paimon remembered, this was the first time they'd seen such an obvious shift in this man's emotions. Clearly, he hadn't expected Jean to agree so readily.
"I've never been able to understand why Dvalin, the Dragon of the East Wind among the Four Winds, betrayed us," Jean continued.
"But if he was afflicted by poisonous blood during the war to protect Mondstadt years ago... and then corrupted by an Abyss Mage after awakening, it would indeed leave him unable to control himself. But..."
Jean folded her arms and sighed softly, a trace of weariness actually appearing on her face. "-But these are things the [Acting Grand Master] must never say aloud."
If the Knights of Favonius showed any goodwill toward Stormterror, diplomatic pressure from the [Fatui] would follow relentlessly. That was something neither Jean nor the Knights of Favonius could bear right now.
"Hmph... that's one of the reasons I dislike the Knights of Favonius. Everything has to follow regulations," Diluc said quietly.
Then he looked at Jean, a hint of approval in his eyes. "Still, I didn't expect you to simply trust strangers of unknown origin..."
"Didn't someone as strict and cautious as you also choose to trust them, senior?" Jean replied with a smile, meeting his gaze openly.
"I told you not to call me senior..."
At Jean's reply, Diluc gave her a cold glance and immediately turned away, avoiding her eyes.
..."Senior"?
After a moment's thought, Lumine decided to pretend she hadn't heard that word.
"What does 'senior' mean~?"
Lumine: "!"
Gabrielina's voice rang out at precisely that moment, brimming with curiosity.
The instant she finished speaking, the entire room seemed to have been muted, falling into an uncanny silence.
Keep stirring things up, kid. Sooner or later, someone's going to stir you up, the system said in a cheerful tone that perfectly matched Gabrielina's current delight.
That's a problem for later... besides, don't you think they're really entertaining like this?
The girl's gaze swept from left to right, over Jean and Diluc in turn, her interest completely undisguised.
Jean's cheeks were slightly flushed, her fingertips unconsciously stroking her wineglass as she looked away from Diluc. Diluc was facing the opposite direction too, and although he appeared calm, his tense profile and the bulging vein on his forehead still betrayed him.
System, I'm telling you, I don't want to be [Gabriel] anymore.
Holy crap! What are you planning?
I want to be [Cupid]. Aren't there two targets for my arrows right here?
*...*
After that brief "interlude," Venti took out the Skyward Harp under everyone's expectant gazes.
The Vision at the boy's waist glimmered, and gentle Anemo lifted the sacred relic softly into the air.
"How is it, Venti? Can we use it to call Dvalin?" Jean asked eagerly.
"Though it's a genuine treasure of the Anemo Archon, I'm afraid not just yet." Venti brushed his hand over the strings, carefully sensing them before shaking his head helplessly. "As you can see, after a thousand years, its [wind] power has long since run dry."
"In this state, it might still work for a resident performer at Diluc's tavern..."
Before Venti could finish, however, Diluc raised a hand to interrupt him. "Plenty of singers compete for tavern performances, too. Don't take it for granted."
"Master Diluc, shouldn't you be criticizing something more important?" Paimon stomped her feet angrily in midair. "Hey, singer! Gabrielina had to fight someone to get that harp. Was all that just so you could play it for drunks!?"
"Ehe."
"What do you mean, 'ehe'-!!"
Watching Paimon practically steam with anger, Venti gave two affected coughs. "Ahem... anyway, this is nowhere near enough to communicate with Dvalin. But the problem isn't the harp itself. It's the strings..."
"So, it's your turn, Lumine!"
Hearing Venti call her name, Lumine immediately waved her hands. "I-I don't know how to repair this kind of instrument..."
"Oh, don't worry. I'm not asking you to repair this precious harp!" Venti explained with a smile.
"The Anemo attached to these strings is nowhere near concentrated enough. Lumine, you've kept Dvalin's Tear Crystals safe, haven't you?"
"Ah... yes."
Lumine rummaged through her backpack for a moment and took out the two tears she had purified earlier.
Who knew how many of Dvalin's tears Venti had secretly stashed away? At least Gabrielina knew there were definitely more than these. After all, she had already "eaten" one earlier.
Honestly... that sensation really did linger pleasantly in her memory.
"Very good." Venti nodded in satisfaction. "Now try dripping them onto the Skyward Harp."
Taking the Skyward Harp from Venti, Lumine carefully let the two tears fall onto the strings.
Almost the instant the crystals touched the strings, they seemed to come alive, rapidly merging with the entire Skyward Harp.
The formerly dull harp suddenly shone with a warm luster. Its strings glimmered turquoise, and the fresh breath of wind flowed through the air.
Jean gazed at the restored Skyward Harp, her eyes full of wonder. "The harp seems... rejuvenated?"
"Grand Master Jean is praising herself!" Paimon said, watching her.
"Pfft..."
Hearing Gabrielina's barely suppressed laughter beside her, Jean belatedly realized the ambiguity in her words and explained awkwardly, "I meant the Skyward Harp!"
Lumine smiled and let go. Nourished by the dragon's tears, the Skyward Harp could now float on its own, even without Venti's support.
"It's only thanks to Lumine purifying the crystals that the Anemo within it stopped dwindling," Venti said, gently stroking the strings. "But it's still some way from being full again. If we could get a few more crystals..."
Everyone lowered their heads in thought, but Gabrielina timidly raised her hand.
"How about beating him until he cries? I can handle the beating."
"No," Venti hurriedly refused. "We're going to save Dvalin. Besides, even now, he's probably still crying, isn't he? Suffering such pain somewhere far from anyone..."
"Dvalin..."
"What a poor big guy..." Paimon's shoulders drooped as she sighed softly.
The Angel who had just proposed "beating" Dvalin "until he cried" immediately nodded sympathetically too, a watery sheen even appearing in her golden eyes.
"Ah... yes..."
What a tragic pair of lovebirds...
System: ?
"This isn't just a matter for our two Honorary Knights. We'll all take action immediately," Jean said firmly. "Once we obtain the Tear Crystals, we'll have to trouble Lumine to purify them again."
"Leave it to me!" Lumine nodded solemnly.
While they discussed their plans, Venti had somehow already picked up his own harp. "Mm... how lovely. Heroes bringing out the best in each other, setting out hand in hand-such scenes are always so captivating. Let me send you off with this song-"
"Huh? Are you trying to slack off... and only contribute with your mouth?"
"Playing the harp takes hands, too."
"Aah, I'm so mad!" Paimon planted her hands on her hips, her little face bright red. "I've decided to give you an ugly nickname."
"Hmm... from now on, you're the tone-deaf bard!"
"Ehe?"
Before you continue