[Alice: Good, wonderful (expressionless). This screen is broken. Time to give it a thorough repair!]
[Jean: Miss Alice (helplessly holding her forehead), please calm down.]
[Alice: I'm perfectly calm. I couldn't be calmer. I'm so calm right now that I want to use my new invention to celebrate this screen's birth.]
[Klee: A new invention (sparkling eyes)? Mommy, can Klee play with it?]
[Alice: Of course, my little Klee. Mommy promises this new invention can turn every fish in Starfell Lake into delicious grilled fish in one go!]
[Jean: Miss Alice (expressionless).]
[Alice: Boo-hoo, Varka was bad enough, but why have you become so boring too, Jean?!]
[Klee: Don't cry, Mommy. Klee just blew up a few fish. You can have one.]
[Jean: Klee.]
[Klee: Um, Klee, Klee... Klee will go report to solitary confinement right now.]
The Acting Grand Master of Mondstadt's knights really did command respect. She could even keep the lawless Miss Alice completely in line.
Never mind everyone else who had heard of Alice-even a god like Zhongli found himself giving Jean a second look.
[System: Esteemed star users and background users with no rights, I trust you have familiarized yourselves with this system. We will now begin playing videos related to "Genshin Impact."]
[System: This system will play five Genshin Impact-related videos each day, including fan creations and official videos. Each video will have a short question, and those who answer correctly will receive a physical reward. This system's rewards encompass all things and are extremely precious. Be sure not to miss out.]
[System: Friendly reminder: daily check-ins grant points, which can be used to shop in the store, redeem rewards, and more. Keep at it, and even if your luck is exceptionally poor, you will have a chance to obtain the reward you desire.]
Bennett kept feeling that the system was taking a veiled jab at someone.
[System: Those who answer video questions incorrectly will be punished. The system will decide the punishment.]
[System: Now playing the first video-"Genshin Impact" story teaser: "The Boy and the Whirlwind."]
As the system's announcement ended, images began appearing on the playback screen to the left, which had remained black until now.
For a moment, everyone-whether they had recklessly spoken in the system or were silently lurking for various reasons-turned their attention away from the lively discussion area and toward the screen playing the animation.
[Venti: Oh, I have a somewhat bad feeling about this~.]
[Zhongli: ...]
[Hu Tao: Consultant, why didn't you help me advertise just now?!]
[Zhongli: Director, the video takes priority. The video takes priority.]
Sure enough, he couldn't handle this girl.
Surrounded by the good-natured stares of a crowd of background users who couldn't post comments and could only watch them talk, Zhongli continued calmly drinking his tea.
What a joke. He had witnessed countless grand occasions over his six thousand years. What did a few stares amount to? A mere trifle.
Still, this title and this format contained quite a bit of information.
As the introductory "bilibili Games" and miHoYo logos passed, a story from 2,600 years ago slowly unfolded to the familiar chanted verse that made Venti's eyelids twitch.
As the video played, the boy's recitation drifted into everyone's ears.
Barbatos, the Anemo Archon who now occupied a divine throne, had once been merely a wisp among the thousand winds before the Archon War, without human form.
In "Old Mondstadt," ruled by the Lord of Storms, he had befriended a boy...
[Barbara: Hm?! (Noticing something.) Is this a story about Lord Barbatos?]
[Jean: The tower hasn't fallen yet, so this should be a story from before our clan followed Lord Barbatos in rebelling against the tyrant. But this boy...]
[Diluc: Hmph. He looks a little like a certain drunken bard who often skips out on his tab here and owes quite a bit for wine.]
[Kaeya: Oh my, how interesting. Could it be...]
[Diluc: It's perfectly normal for a bard to use his own appearance for a character in his story to make describing it easier. Let's just keep watching.]
Diluc took the initiative to cut off Kaeya's rather bold speculation.
After all, this video was being broadcast throughout Teyvat. Although it had already been a little too late just now, Diluc still didn't want any more information exposed to the Fatui watching the same screen.
In fact, never mind Kaeya-the clever people in Mondstadt had all developed some bold suspicions from that unusual animation.
"No way, right?"
"How is that possible? That guy in green was shamelessly pestering me to bet drinks with him just yesterday."
"What are you talking about?"
"...Hiss. Is it too late to buy him a drink now?"
"Gah, get lost! It's too late! You made your choice!"
Diluc frowned at the chaotic scene now filling his tavern, Angel's Share.
As a tavern, it was perfectly normal for these drunkards to make a racket, but this chaos was entirely different from their usual drunken antics.
This was the chaos of these drunkards showing a rare glimmer of intelligence.
But right now, Diluc really didn't want to see them putting their intelligence to use.
At that thought, Diluc sighed.
Although he had interrupted Kaeya promptly and made a very appropriate attempt to cover for him, his efforts had indeed accomplished very little in the face of an object utterly beyond human understanding.
If so many people among a bunch of drunkards had arrived at that unimaginable guess, what about the Fatui currently running rampant within Mondstadt?
With a grave expression, Diluc looked toward the Goth Grand Hotel. Through the thick wooden boards and masonry, he could almost see the ecstatic expression of the Fatui Harbinger who had rarely ventured out since arriving in Mondstadt.
The screen's playback wouldn't bend to its viewers' wishes. While conflicting feelings filled Diluc's heart, the animation continued on-screen.
In a room, the boy played a lyre for a tiny wind spirit: his yearning expression as he looked beyond the wind wall, the moments he spent with the wind spirit, and finally, the look on his face once his resolve to rebel had solidified.
These little-known scenes clearly went a long way toward satisfying the curiosity of the audience, particularly Mondstadt's people.
Especially with the story that followed, each of them could say a thing or two about it, starting with the battlefield where the boy led a swordsman who was clearly Diluc's ancestor, along with an archer carrying Amos' Bow, in a charge toward the tower.
At last, the boy lay in the red-haired swordsman's arms with two scarlet arrows piercing his body, and the bard's recitation slowly drew to a close.
Diluc watched the screen gradually fade to black, his face expressionless.
He actually knew most of what the poem had just recounted. After all, it was a story handed down by his ancestors.
Only the opening section-the interactions between the rebellious boy and the wind spirit who was very likely the future Anemo Archon, Barbatos-was a secret from thousands of years ago that even Mondstadt's three great clans knew little about.
"So was the bard using his own appearance for the story's protagonist, or was that truly the Anemo Archon's friend from back then?"
If the boy in the images truly was the Anemo Archon's old friend, then-
That green-clad bard in old aristocratic attire who was always scrounging drinks was very likely the actual Anemo Archon, Barbatos.
As for the reason, someone as clever as Kaeya, like Diluc, could figure it out with a little thought.
It was simply to commemorate his old friend, walking the world in his likeness, with an intention such as having Teyvat remember him as well.
"Hmph. Our Anemo Archon really is-"
"Worthy of being our Anemo Archon, isn't he?"
Diluc was interrupted by Kaeya, who entered Angel's Share clapping his hands.
Diluc showed no surprise at Kaeya's sudden arrival, looking expressionlessly at his sworn brother.
"What are you doing here?"
"So cold... Wait, listen. Jean sent me to invite you to the Knights' headquarters. Yes, I know you don't want to go, but this counts as a critical moment, doesn't it? How about making an exception for an emergency?"
Seeing Diluc about to draw his Favonius Greatsword, Kaeya hurriedly raised his hands in surrender.
"Hmph. I'm not as rigid as you lot. But before we go, there's something else we need to do."
As he said that, Kaeya and Diluc both turned their eyes toward the screen.
With the video finished, the first question slowly appeared on it.
[Question: What was the true name of the tyrant against whom the boy and the wind spirit rebelled?]
[A. Barbatos]
[B. Belial]
[C. Decarabian]
[D. Dantalion]
[This is a freebie question. Once the countdown ends, all users, including background users, may buzz in. Correct answers earn rewards, and incorrect answers incur punishment. Please choose carefully.]
[Countdown begins now: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.]
[Begin!]
[Barbara: C, Decarabian (resolute)! I will never pass up a question about Lord Barbatos!]
[Jean: ...]
The corner of Jean's eye twitched. The Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius trained hard every day and also possessed an Anemo Vision.
This little sister of hers really was something.
Even with all that going for her, she hadn't managed to beat Barbara to it. What power of faith was this?
[Bennett: Whoa! Just what I'd expect from Miss Barbara! I was still trying to remember the general knowledge my dads taught me, and Miss Barbara answered instantly!]
[Lisa: Oh my, even I needed a moment to think, but little cutie Barbara simply blurted out the answer.]
Wasn't that practically a conditioned reflex?
Although Lisa had also arrived at the answer by the time the countdown ended.
Rather, for a considerable portion of Mondstadt's people and scholars outside Mondstadt, this question was free points. Just as the system said, it was a freebie.
But someone as resolute as Barbara, who waited for the countdown to finish and answered without hesitation or the slightest suspicion toward this suddenly appearing screen-there really was no one else like her.
[System: Correct answer. Congratulations, Miss Barbara. You have received one bottle containing the Anemo Archon's aura.]
The Anemo Archon's aura?!
The pupils of both Diluc in Angel's Share and La Signora in the Goth Grand Hotel contracted.
Had they known beforehand that correctly answering such a practically universally known question could earn an object bearing a god's aura, they would have competed for it no matter what!
What a pity.
It wasn't just Diluc and La Signora. Many people who had already thought of the correct answer before the countdown ended, but hadn't rashly answered out of distrust and doubt toward the suddenly appearing screen, felt some regret.
After all, the screen had appeared out of nowhere and had even caused considerable disturbances across Teyvat. Yet most of those able to speak in its discussion area were important figures from various nations. So far, there truly weren't many who could speak without a care, like those carefree people earlier.
But as they watched the screen show this strange screen awarding a prize to an adorable nun dressed in pure white, inside what was clearly a bright, magnificent cathedral, many who had still intended to probe and observe decided to take an active part in this suddenly appearing screen's questions.
Meanwhile, inside Mondstadt Cathedral, Miss Barbara, who had been praying toward the front, dressed all in white like a delectable ice cream, stared wide-eyed at the green bottle that had suddenly appeared before her and was slowly floating down.
As a faithful follower of the Anemo Archon Barbatos, a devout believer who wished she could polish the Holy Lyre der Himmel eighteen times a day, Miss Barbara could clearly sense Lord Barbatos's aura within that bottle!
"Heavens, Lord Barbatos above, is this your gift?!"
Miss Barbara held the bottle emanating the fragrance of a god's aura with the utmost care...
Wait, fragrance? The smell of wine?
Somewhat puzzled, Miss Barbara examined the green bottle in her arms. She hadn't noticed earlier, but now that she looked closely, wasn't this a bottle of the very common cider sold in Mondstadt, the kind she had once seen in Rosaria's room?
"Um, Lord Barbatos enjoys drinking and poetry, so it's perfectly normal for a bottle containing his aura to be a wine bottle. Yes, perfectly normal."
Barbara tried hard to convince herself, but seeing the conspicuous production date from last year on the wine bottle, she fell somewhat silent again.
"Yes, Lord Barbatos always shares in his people's joys. He doesn't wish to wear a king's crown, mingling among ordinary Mondstadt citizens in the streets and drinking an ordinary bottle of cider... I can't do this. Lord Barbatos above, how am I supposed to explain this away?"
Meanwhile, Venti, who had sensed trouble as soon as the video started earlier, turned into a breeze, and fled Mondstadt with the cider he had just scrounged from Angel's Share, intending to enjoy himself beneath the great tree at Windrise, stared at his empty hands in confusion.
"That's strange. I'm not drunk yet, am I? Where's my wine? Where did my wine go?!"