Little Diona led Mu Yang into the [Cat's Tail Tavern].
If it weren't for the Windblume Festival,
she wouldn't have come this early.
Also, if an early-coming drunkard showed up, she would definitely give them a harsh scolding.
Fortunately, Mu Yang had left a good impression on her before.
The few times he came, he only drank juice.
By the time Diona opened the door, Mu Yang was already surrounded by all sorts of cats.
If Rosaria didn't usually only appear at night, she would probably be jealous.
Mu Yang carried Little Prince inside.
He sat at the bar counter.
Diona asked, "Mr. Mu Yang, still having juice?"
Mu Yang pretended to be surprised. "Miss Diona still remembers me?"
"Of course I remember. The only one who comes and never drinks alcohol is Mr. Mu Yang."
And he looks so handsome, making people feel close to him.
The latter part was something she could only say secretly in her heart.
Mu Yang didn't like drinking alcohol. If it weren't for Beidou dragging him along
or if there happened to be a drinking atmosphere, he didn't like to drink.
Compared to alcohol, his character setting preferred tea.
Moreover, he knew that Diona disliked customers who drank alcohol.
Not drinking would definitely catch her attention.
It could also earn her approval and favor.
Clearly, this was the effect he wanted to achieve now.
It was too early, and there weren't many people in the shop.
Diona prepared a chilled Hookfruit drink for Mu Yang
and chatted with him while tidying the bar.
During the conversation, Mu Yang casually asked Diona
if she had ever tried non-alcoholic beverages.
With Diona's talent, creating delicious, unique non-alcoholic drinks wasn't difficult at all.
"I've heard there's someone in Liyue working on that. Does Mr. Mu Yang want to try?"
"Can Diona make them too?"
Diona didn't stop what she was doing.
For her, mixing drinks never had a question of 'can or cannot.'
She casually added some things, and soon prepared a non-alcoholic beverage.
Mu Yang knew with one sip—this was the power of a cheat.
So this is how others felt drinking the beverages he made and eating the food he cooked...
"Why not use this to achieve your dream?"
Diona's answer was very sincere; she felt it would be meaningless.
Just developing something delicious couldn't replace [alcohol].
If alcohol didn't become disgusting, it was pointless.
Those drunkards might drink this today, but crave alcohol tomorrow and go back to it.
That wouldn't help her grand plan.
Only making alcohol disgusting would work.
With the topic reaching this point, Mu Yang felt his poaching plan probably didn't need to continue.
He had originally planned to help Diona by fancy-marketing non-alcoholic beverages.
But the other party didn't seem to want to achieve her goal this way.
After thinking it over, he still asked Diona if she was willing to work at [Muyu Snow City].
Diona refused without even thinking.
Mu Yang thought it was because she knew about his cooperative relationship with Diluc.
Unexpectedly, Diona's answer was very innocent.
Liyue was too far away.
She didn't want to work in such a distant place.
Even if Mu Yang could offer high pay and help her buy property in Liyue,
those weren't what she needed.
What Diona wanted was very simple.
Just for her father to spend more time with her.
Her desire to destroy the Mondstadt alcohol industry was simply to make her father drink less.
So he wouldn't encounter danger while hunting,
and with more sober time each day, he could spend it with her...
In Liyue, Mu Yang was used to scheming and fighting with information and people.
He didn't expect to stumble in front of a child from Mondstadt.
Sometimes, the purer a person is, the harder they are to deal with compared to those who scheme.
Because Mu Yang no longer had leverage against Diona.
He knew Diona didn't truly hate [alcohol].
Everything she did was out of [greed] for her father.
She wanted her father to forever be the idol she admired.
She cherished every second of family companionship.
She absolutely refused to share that happiness with [alcohol].
For this poaching attempt,
it was doomed to fail the moment Diona said she had no interest in non-alcoholic beverages.
Mu Yang accepted it gladly.
He respected Diona's choice.
He actually had other methods.
But things that went against others' wishes
were something Mu Yang didn't like to do.
He had a contingency plan before coming.
If poaching failed, he could just buy the [Cat's Tail Tavern].
So, after finishing the beverage and paying, Mu Yang bid farewell to Diona.
Next, he was going to find Margaret.
This boss was truly blessed with good fortune.
She picked up a Diona off the streets and then became a hands-off owner.
In Jean's personal story quest,
she even had the Acting Grand Master help her find cats.
So Mu Yang didn't have a very good impression of her.
Mu Yang found Margaret at the fountain plaza across from the Deer Hunter.
Diona had already started working seriously.
Yet this big boss was still here sunbathing.
Mu Yang didn't waste words; after a few pleasantries, he got straight to the point.
He wanted to buy the Cat's Tail Tavern.
Unexpectedly, Margaret also refused without thinking.
Mu Yang thought the offered price was too low, so he raised it.
Who knew Margaret would say,
"I didn't open this tavern for money. Mr. Mu Yang, you should learn more about it before coming to talk again."
With that, she got up and left.
Mu Yang was a bit puzzled. Characters like this had relatively little background information.
He could only investigate himself.
Mu Yang thought of the message board at the shop entrance.
Could it be that she wanted to turn it into something like a worry-relieving general store or a late-night diner?
Mu Yang flipped through the little booklet hanging on the message board.
In the middle, one message caught his attention:
[Even I sometimes recall my past leisurely life.]
[The warmth of the Knights of Favonius, friendship, Father as well—everything back then was so wonderful.]
[But it's impossible to go back.]
[One cannot indulge in sweet dreams for the sake of the future.]
[Or rather, for people to have the leisure to indulge in sweet dreams, someone must stay awake and face the darkness before dawn.]
[Some things, though rationally understood as necessary to let go, still evoke nostalgia emotionally. It's truly troubling.]
[Wishing your business prosperity. The alcohol industry competition is quite fierce.]
The message in the booklet was also unsigned.
But Mu Yang knew this was probably left by the Darknight Hero.
Perhaps on a night battling the Abyss,
the Darknight Hero passed by the tavern and wrote it out of sentiment...
The Cat's Tail Tavern responded:
Life is like alcohol; it needs refining and fermentation to mature.
But the doors of the Cat's Tail are always open to everyone.
Even to competitors.
No one can return to the past, but anyone can return to the Cat's Tail.
Put aside your worries and sorrows for a while.
Besides the Darknight Hero, there were those from the drunken nun, the dark-skinned wasp-waisted cavalry captain, the young Jean...
All sorts of troubles and sorrows were recorded in the booklet.
Along with the Cat's Tail Tavern's responses.
Mu Yang closed the booklet.
He didn't go looking for Margaret again.
The matter of the Cat's Tail Tavern—let's drop it.
Mu Yang smiled. "I don't have the habit of listening to Mondstadt people's confessions..."
This handling might not be very rational.
It would consume more popularity points to unlock the Genius Invokation TCG venue.
However, Diona's reaction, plus the many sides of people he learned about in this incident,
led Mu Yang to have a new view of the Teyvat world.
Is this place really just the "Genshin Impact" game world?