Hans sat at his desk, bored as he processed documents. Normally he would not need to handle these matters, but the problem was that Acting Grand Master Jean had led everyone out of the city to clear monsters, so he had to deal with the accumulated paperwork.
Honestly, it had been a long time since he last handled these documents. Back when Grand Master Varka was still in Mondstadt, he had been a clerk responsible for processing these files. Later, after the Grand Master took a large group on an expedition, manpower became scarce, and he, a clerk, was transferred into the city patrol squad.
Most of the paperwork had been taken on by Acting Grand Master Jean. It was truly difficult to imagine how much work one person had to handle and how exhausting it must be.
It was said that Acting Grand Master Jean even found time to practice her swordsmanship, and she could also help people find lost cats in the city.
Just as Hans was dealing with the documents in front of him, the office door was suddenly knocked.
A young man wearing a black coat and a hood pushed the door open. He had a striking appearance and dull golden pupils. He asked Hans, "Where is the library?"
Hans glanced at him briefly and pointed toward the door.
"Turn around, go out, turn left, walk to the end, then turn right. You'll find it there."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
After thanking him, the young man closed the door and left.
Hans continued reading the documents for a while. Suddenly he looked up. He set the papers down, rubbed his brow in confusion, and muttered in puzzlement.
"Am I too tired? Why do I feel like I just had a hallucination?"
Soon this strange feeling quickly faded. Hans forgot about the confusion that had appeared and simply picked up the documents again and continued reviewing them.
Caelus had already arrived at the library.
After pushing the door open, he saw a mature woman sitting not far away. She was dressed in purple and looked like a witch. She was flipping through a book, appearing intellectual and full of charm. She carried the mature and charismatic temperament that young men would find hard to resist.
"Hello. I would like to research past history. May I ask where I can find those books?"
Lisa, who was reading, heard the question and pointed to a nearby bookshelf without lifting her head.
"That is the history section. Whatever books you want should be there."
"Thank you."
"Mm."
Lisa responded briefly and continued immersing herself in the knowledge recorded in the book in her hands.
Caelus began searching the history section shelves for books that recorded the past history he wanted.
[System: Seeing this scene, I cannot help but think that if this ability were obtained by some malicious people, they would probably already be staging a "Transparent World" series.]
"What is that?"
The curious Caelus asked.
[System: Because your existence is weak, as long as you do not remove the shroud of nothingness covering yourself, you will not easily attract attention no matter what you do. In other words, even if you play pranks on people, or do even more excessive things, they might react to those actions, but the reaction will not be intense. Once you leave and the shroud of nothingness stops affecting their perception, they will return to normal, and then you can enjoy all kinds of wonderful expressions.]
"Uh, haven't I already done that before?"
[System: Have you?]
"Yes. For example, stabbing Kiritsugu and Kayneth to death with a single sword."
[System: Ah, well... that does not seem incorrect.]
After reading for a while, Caelus learned about the situation of the continent called Teyvat. After understanding the past history of Mondstadt, he closed the book and walked over to the witch who was still reading.
"Regarding the dragon disaster that happened in Mondstadt not long ago, do you know anything about it?"
"I was a firsthand witness, so I basically know the entire story."
Lisa answered subconsciously after hearing the question. She did not even think about why she had answered someone automatically, nor did she notice why someone had suddenly appeared beside her.
"Then could you tell me the cause and result of this incident?"
Hearing this question, Lisa frowned slightly. Explaining everything from beginning to end would be troublesome. It would waste time and affect her schedule for learning new knowledge. She also had several small experiments planned later and had no time to explain the entire story.
"If you want to know everything, go check Jean's office. I remember she recorded the whole incident in writing."
"Alright. May I ask where Jean's office is?"
After receiving the answer, Caelus turned around and left without hesitation. He intended to investigate what this so called dragon disaster was about.
After Caelus left the library, Lisa suddenly lifted her head sharply. She looked around the library with a confused and surprised expression.
There was no one else in the room.
"What just happened? Why do I feel like someone asked me a question and I even answered it? Was it some kind of hallucination, or did I zone out?"
Lisa frowned slightly and stood up to check the area, trying to confirm whether someone had actually been there.
However, after walking past a bookshelf, her expression froze again.
What was she doing?
Oh right, she was inspecting the condition of the books in the library as usual.
With a look of sudden understanding, Lisa continued walking through the library. This time her attention was entirely focused on the books on the shelves.
Meanwhile, Caelus entered Jean's office. After searching around for a moment, he found the record mentioned earlier. He sat directly in the office and began reading the file.
The content of the record could actually be summarized very simply.
Dvalin, the former wind dragon who once protected Mondstadt, had been left alone for a long time because his god had disappeared and allowed him to wander freely. Eventually he was exploited by the Abyss Order, who used abyssal power to corrupt him. After awakening from his slumber, he caused massive destruction.
Later, the blonde traveler from another world arrived. Together with the Knights of Favonius, they resolved the crisis.
As for how exactly the problem was resolved, the records were written very vaguely and did not provide much detail.
However, based on the earlier and more detailed entries, it was clear that the solution must have involved certain secrets. Because of that, the record used very indirect wording and avoided detailed explanations.
Caelus returned to the library to ask further questions. After asking around, he learned that the hidden meaning behind that vague record was that a certain drunkard bard who frequently appeared in Mondstadt was actually the Anemo Archon, Barbatos.
After learning this information, Caelus immediately opened his mission panel. He felt that part of the mission had already been completed, but the progress still showed zero.
"What a pity. The fact that that drunkard is Barbatos apparently does not count as a secret at all. That guy never tried to hide it anyway."
Caelus sighed slightly in regret.
Then he decided to find the blonde traveler whose background was unknown. Someone with an unknown origin, searching for their sibling while helping a passing city resolve a major crisis sounded like the protagonist of a heroic epic. Such a person likely carried some secrets, or at least could reveal many secrets.
"According to the records, that person has already headed to Liyue."
Caelus decided to go to Liyue as well.
After he left, Lisa, who had unknowingly acted like a question answering tool, suddenly froze again. She clutched her head with a slight headache.
"Strange. Why have I been feeling so absent minded so many times today? Have I been too tired lately?"
At that moment, a bard dressed in green appeared out of nowhere.
A strand of green wind drifted from his hands and brushed across Lisa's face, making her complexion improve.
Lisa noticed the sudden visitor and asked in surprise.
"Lord Barbatos, why did you appear here so suddenly?"
Barbatos, also known as Venti, did not wear his usual relaxed smile. Instead, he asked with a rare seriousness.
"Someone came here earlier and affected your mind. Can you still recall what happened before?"
Lisa's expression immediately changed. She frowned deeply and tried hard to recall what had happened.
However, she could not find anything unusual in her memories. From beginning to end, she believed she had been the only one in the library and had not encountered anyone.
Seeing Lisa thinking deeply yet unable to find any clues, Venti told her not to worry about it further. Then he turned into the wind and left.
When he appeared again, he was already standing at the top of the Cathedral in Mondstadt, searching for the discordant winds within the city.
Venti's expression was unusually serious. At this moment, he finally looked somewhat like the Anemo Archon.
(To be continued.)