"Food and local specialties?" Columbina thought for a moment. "I think Sweet Madame and mushroom chicken skewers are both pretty good."
"As for local specialties... I heard Sandrone say the lyres here are quite distinctive."
"Rest assured, Miss Columbina," Acting Grand Master Jean said gravely. "As long as you're willing to help us resolve the crisis facing Mondstadt, those things won't be a problem."
"All right, thank you." She nodded slightly. "So, when do we set out?"
"Probably... tomorrow at noon." Acting Grand Master Jean settled on the time.
"Tang Wang, are you going too?" Columbina turned her head to ask him.
"Of course I am." He nodded as though it went without saying. "Besides, Yaya, there's really only one thing I need you to do."
"And that's to tear open that monster's carapace."
"Are Lili and Nana going too?" Instead, the somewhat flighty girl asked another question.
"Of course they are. There's strength in numbers."
"Then I don't have any other questions." With that, she drew back in her seat, like a chick curled up quietly in its eggshell.
"Acting Grand Master Jean, we've discussed everything we needed to about working together, right?" he asked.
"If you don't intend to make any changes, then yes." She nodded.
"In that case, shall I take Yaya back first?" He pointed toward the door with his left hand, the one that wasn't being held.
"Take care." Acting Grand Master Jean gave the two a polite wave and watched them leave.
"Yoo-hoo!" Before they had gone very far, Venti appeared in front of them again. "The wind has brought the moon's radiance. I really didn't expect you to convince her to come, Tang Wang."
"Who's this? Is he a friend of yours too?" Columbina turned her head to ask again.
"I don't think we're friends." Tang Wang shrugged. "He's one of The Seven, the Anemo Archon of Mondstadt, Barbatos."
"Of course, while in Mondstadt, please call him Venti."
"Huh? You're the legendary Anemo Archon?" Columbina's blindfold shifted. She pulled Tang Wang over to Venti, then reached out and poked his cheek with her finger.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't do that," Venti said, waving his hand and backing away as her poking distorted his face. "Rather than Anemo Archon, I prefer to be called the best bard in Mondstadt City."
"Barbatos!" But behind him, a sharp female voice rang out without mercy.
Hearing that voice, Venti turned around instinctively. Then he saw... Ronava, dressed in Mondstadt's local clothing.
"Barbatos, you've got some nerve! It's your own land that's in trouble, so how dare you let him clean up your mess for you?" Red hands had extended from her hand, reaching for Venti's waist and arms.
"Wait, wait," Venti said, strumming the lyre in his hands. "Don't be so hasty."
As he used a breeze to disperse Ronava's attack, he deliberately used the wind to conceal Tang Wang and Columbina completely, both their voices and their figures.
"First, tell me why you're so furious."
"Simple. Dealing with the disaster in Mondstadt was your responsibility in the first place!" Ronava raised her voice. "So why are you making him bear all of this for you?"
"Ahem, ahem. Lady Ruler of Death, who exactly is this 'him' you're talking about?" Venti hurriedly used the wind to lift himself into the air and continued questioning Ronava below.
"Ruler of Death? No, just call me Ronava. I'm no longer the Ruler of Death under the Heavenly Principles." Her tone returned to its usual coolness.
"He's my... family. But if you want the truth, he's my new master."
"I see..." Venti glanced at Columbina and Tang Wang off to the side with a hint of schadenfreude. "Then I'm terribly sorry. It's really not that I don't want to resolve this; my power simply hasn't recovered yet."
"Besides, if I solved every problem right now, then..." He dispelled the wind barrier. "Tang Wang went to the trouble of inviting Miss Columbina here. Wouldn't that make all his effort a waste?"
"Uh, I don't mind bringing Yaya to Mondstadt for a visit," Tang Wang corrected him. "But Nana, so that's... how you see it?"
"Yes." Ronava admitted it without hesitation. "To me, you're my new master, an existence like the Heavenly Principles."
"I know you'd rather I became your family, but I... can't do that yet." She shook her head regretfully.
"Why not?" Columbina asked curiously.
"I've never had what you'd call a family. I've only ever known enslavement." She sighed regretfully. "To me, other than 'master,' there's no other relationship or word I can find to describe my... love for him."
After some thought, she had chosen the word the Heavenly Principles liked best: "love." The Heavenly Principles demanded that all gods love humanity, and that the Four Shades love the Heavenly Principles.
But this time, her love did come from the heart. She wasn't sure what kind of love it was, though, so she could only regard Tang Wang as her new master and love him as she had the Heavenly Principles.
"So that's how it is..." Suddenly, Columbina released Tang Wang's hand.
Invisible pressure swept over her at once, and that familiar feeling of being rejected bore down on her body once more. She was like a diver who had finally reached the surface, only to be dragged back into deep water.
But she ignored the water pressure and floated toward Ronava, moving her feet one step at a time.
"Ronava, I don't know what you've been through." As she spoke, she held out her arms and embraced Ronava. "But I know there's a similar sadness between us."
"Ronava... no, I'll call you Nana. Since we're all friends, we should count as each other's family from now on too, right?"
"Mm." After a moment's hesitation, Ronava put her arms around Columbina in return.
"Then you won't be lonely anymore. Neither will I."
Watching the "hearts" of the two girls connect, Tang Wang was suddenly moved and heartened, like an old father seeing his daughter grow up.
"What an unexpected outcome." Venti's expression was a little complicated. "But I suppose it's a good thing?"
"Tang Wang, as for tomorrow's battle with the Electro Abyss Lector, I can only give you one piece of advice..."
"Don't let your guard down, not even for a moment. It isn't the greatest enemy. Someone else is the true mastermind."
"Can you give me a clue?" Tang Wang asked.
"I'm afraid not." He shook his head. "That being seems to have authority over time as well."
"But when you're fighting, the wind that symbolizes hope will surely blow by your side."