Lin En looked up at the roof, then glanced around.
The inn was only two stories tall, and climbing up from the balcony would not be difficult, but he still hesitated.
Climbing onto someone's roof in the middle of the night to chat with a bard seemed strange any way he looked at it.
But Venti's emerald-green eyes sparkled in the moonlight, and his smiling face had a friendliness that was hard to refuse.
"How about you come down and talk instead? It's a little strange being on someone's roof."
"Come on up. The view's better from here."
Venti patted the tiles beside him, making a crisp sound.
Lin En sighed, stepped onto the balcony railing and climbed onto the roof. The tiles were steadier than he had expected. He carefully walked over and sat beside Venti, discovering that the view really was excellent. He could see most of the rooftops in the City of Mondstadt and the silhouette of the great tree at Windrise in the distance.
"The nights in Mondstadt are beautiful, aren't they?"
Venti held a wine bottle with a little less than half its contents left.
"It's much quieter than Liyue Harbor. There are people coming and going around the old man Zhong all day long. It's really noisy."
"You know Mr. Zhongli?"
Although Lin En knew about their relationship, he still pretended he didn't and asked.
"I do. We're old acquaintances."
Venti took a sip of wine (minors are forbidden to drink alcohol).
"I went to Liyue to have a drink with him a couple of days ago, and he mentioned that an interesting young man had arrived in Liyue, accompanied by a lady who was... well, not easy to speak about openly."
Lin En's back went tense.
"What exactly did he say?"
"Nothing much. He just mentioned that your relationship seemed unusual."
Venti turned to look at him, studying him with his green eyes.
"I happened to be in the tavern next door while you were eating. The wind has already told me everything."
He leaned a little closer and lowered his voice.
"How did you meet? I'm quite curious. Can you tell me? I'm willing to trade a story for it."
Lin En put a hand to his forehead. Venti really did get familiar with people quickly.
"You don't want to? Don't be nervous. I don't have much of a relationship with the Heavenly Principles. The old man said you were going to take on Phanes, and I thought that was pretty interesting. Besides..."
He reached out and poked Lin En's shoulder.
"You have the aura of Geo on you. Zhongli gave you that Vision, right? How could someone he was willing to give a Vision to possibly be a bad person?"
Lin En didn't know what to say, so he could only nod.
"That's right. She really is preparing to settle things with Phanes once and for all."
"Mm-hmm."
Venti took another sip of wine.
"Then do you know how powerful the Heavenly Principles was at her peak?"
"No. But she said that even if she regained all her authority, her chances of winning would be less than ten percent."
"And you still dare to say her name?"
Lin En immediately shut his mouth. He really hadn't known the Heavenly Principles cared about that too.
"Hehe, I'm teasing you. The Heavenly Principles doesn't have time to bother with little things like that."
Venti suddenly fell silent for a few seconds, putting away his joking manner.
"She's right. Phanes isn't an ordinary opponent. Even Nibelung was defeated by her back then. The Ruler of Death alone..."
He didn't finish, but his meaning was clear enough.
Lin En lowered his head and looked at his hand as Geo energy slowly flowed across his palm.
He remembered the scene before the Nail of Retribution in the Chasm, when Ronava had shattered the Ruin Serpent with a single strike of her palm. In mortal eyes, that power was already nearly miraculous, but against Phanes, it was still nowhere near enough.
"That's why I need to get stronger."
He spoke firmly.
Venti glanced at him, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
"You?"
"I know I'm weak right now."
Lin En raised his head, his voice calm.
"But I don't want to just stand by and watch. If she's risking her life out in front while I hide behind her, what's the point of me staying by her side?"
Venti stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled.
"Interesting. There really is something about you that doesn't quite belong to this world. The old man said so too. Your level of existence is strange. You clearly don't have much power, but your origin is very unusual."
He took a small emerald-green bead from inside his clothes and rolled it around in his palm.
"Want to learn something?"
Lin En was taken aback.
"What?"
"How to use Anemo."
Venti handed him the bead.
"Mondstadt is the city of wind and freedom. You're staying here anyway, so you might as well learn something from me. I'm not as particular about contracts as the old man. Learn if you want to, and forget it if you don't."
Lin En took the bead. It felt light in his hand, as though he were holding a ball of flowing air.
"Why help me?"
Venti tipped his head back and finished the last of his wine, set the empty bottle beside him, and stretched.
"Because it's interesting," he said. "Besides, the old man had quite a few good things to say about you. He said you were someone he 'liked the look of.' There are only a handful of people in all of Teyvat that Zhongli would say that about."
He stood and quickly ran off across the roof, looking back to add something.
"Tomorrow morning, at Windrise outside the City of Mondstadt. I'll teach you the basics. If you can learn them, they might help you in the future."
"But what about Ronava..."
"If your lady asks, just tell her you went out to exercise."
Venti winked at him.
"Don't worry, she won't object."
Lin En was a little surprised.
"How do you know she won't object?"
Venti had already jumped down from the roof, his figure disappearing into the night. Only his voice drifted back from afar.
"Because if she wanted to stop you from getting stronger, you wouldn't be standing here talking to me at all."
Lin En sat on the roof and held the emerald-green bead up against the sky.
"There's nothing special about it."
By the time he returned to his room, the little dragon was curled up on the pillow, fast asleep with its limbs sprawled out. He quietly lay down, put the bead beside the pillow, and closed his eyes.
In Ronava's room, she was leaning by the balcony. She had sensed Venti's arrival long ago and knew he had come to see Lin En, but she had not stopped him.
Early the next morning, after discussing it with Ronava, Lin En headed out.
Venti was already beneath the great tree at Windrise, playing an unfamiliar tune on a wooden lyre.
When he saw Lin En approaching, Venti stopped playing and beckoned to him.
"Come over here. First, feel the wind."
He held out his hand, and a gentle breeze rose from beneath Lin En's feet, curling around his ankles and spiraling upward.
"The wind is free. It won't stay anywhere, but if you want to catch it..."
Venti gave a gentle crook of his finger, and the breeze suddenly grew substantial, forming a small whirlwind in Lin En's palm.
"It will respond to you."
Lin En took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and tried to feel the wind as Venti had.
At first, he felt nothing but a faint coolness against his skin. Gradually, though, he sensed something flowing, as if something in the air were gently pushing against his palm.
"Yes, that's it."
Venti's voice came from beside him, carrying an encouraging smile.
"Oh! You're quite talented."
Lin En opened his eyes. A small current of air was turning gently in his palm, a little steadier than he had expected. But learning had taken a long time; summoning this small current alone had taken him the whole day to learn.
By the time he returned to the inn, it was nearly evening. He pushed open the door to find Ronava sitting by the window, a cup of tea in front of her and an ancient book in her hands. The little dragon had gone over to her at some point and was lying on the windowsill, basking in the sun.
"Where did you go?"
She didn't look up.
"I went out for a walk and some exercise."
"Mm."
She didn't press him, but Lin En noticed that her hand had paused for a moment on the book when he entered. The tea in front of her was cold, too; she probably hadn't drunk more than a few sips all day.
"Ronava."
"Mm."
"I'd like to go out and train every day from now on. Is that all right?"
Ronava finally looked up, her golden eyes glancing at him.
"As you like. I happen to need some more time to stabilize this power."
"Why did you start gathering power? The Heavenly Principles is so strong, and you can't beat her anyway."
"The goal of gathering power now isn't to face the Heavenly Principles. It's to have enough strength to sit down and negotiate with the God of Ice."
"But isn't Snezhnaya..."
"That's why I need power. Once Phanes has fallen, I'll naturally settle accounts with Snezhnaya. I'll go to Windrise with you tomorrow."
"How did you know..."
"You can't keep that little matter hidden from me."