That afternoon, Jean left the Good Hunter and walked back toward the Knights of Favonius headquarters.
Her mind wandered.
"If possible… once the Stormterror situation settles down, maybe going to Cape Oath before dawn wouldn't be so bad… right?"
"If I invited Jiang Chen… would he refuse?"
"If only there were really time for it…"
An Unexpected Encounter
Meanwhile, in Mondstadt's upper plaza.
This area connected the Statue of Barbatos Plaza above with the commercial fountain square below.
The Goth Grand Hotel, currently occupied by the Fatui, dominated the area.
Originally Lumine and Paimon had planned to go to the library.
But they encountered someone suspicious halfway there.
Or perhaps—
A thief?
Lumine stopped before a banner-covered wall and looked up.
"So the Anemo trace ends here?"
Above them lay the plaza of the Anemo Archon statue.
"That green guy climbed up from here?"
Paimon urged:
"Lumine, hurry! Let's follow him before he escapes! He might have clues about Stormterror!"
"Alright."
Lumine glanced around.
Too many people.
Climbing a wall in a dress—even with shorts underneath—wasn't ideal.
So they took the stairs instead.
"Why would he run toward a crowded place?"
Paimon wondered.
Lumine thought for a moment.
"Maybe it's what people call hiding in plain sight. The more people there are, the less noticeable you become."
"Oh!"
Paimon looked at her with genuine admiration.
The Bard's Performance
When they reached the Statue of Barbatos plaza, people were scattered everywhere:
couples chatting
children flying kites
citizens basking in the sun
But beneath the statue's shadow, a large crowd had gathered.
"Let's check it out."
Paimon suggested.
Lumine nodded.
A breeze from Cider Lake carried a beautiful harp melody through the air.
Paimon closed her eyes happily.
But then she noticed everyone else standing silently, listening.
Lumine pushed through the crowd.
There—
They saw the performer.
It was exactly the green-clothed person they had been chasing.
A bard.
The bard plucked the strings again and began to sing.
"The story I tell begins in ancient times…
When gods still walked the earth."
"A dragon descended from the skies, curious about the world."
"The dragon searched for answers, yet could not understand the chaos of mortal life."
The bard's soft voice and gentle melody painted ancient scenes in the listeners' minds.
The singer of wind played the harp, answering the dragon's questions one by one.
"The dragon was but a curious child,
flying freely without worry."
"It listened to poems and tried to learn song—
hoping all things would understand its heart."
"The bard and dragon became legend…"
Suddenly—
The melody changed.
The once gentle music grew rapid and tense.
Rain seemed to echo within the notes.
The bard paused.
His voice turned heroic and tragic.
"Then came the age of darkness…"
"The lion's fang decayed, the eagle banner fell."
"Another dragon approached Mondstadt."
"Suffering covered the cathedral like shadow."
"And poets once more turned sorrow into song."
The harp rose sharply.
The audience felt their hearts tremble as if dark clouds had been swept away.
"The dragon of the skies answered the call."
"In the storm it battled the evil dragon."
"The sky dragon swallowed poisoned blood…
and fell into deep slumber."
The epic seemed to pause there.
But the harp had not stopped.
The sorrowful notes tightened every listener's chest.
"Years later, none recognized it upon its return."
The bard whispered emotionally.
"Why do the people now reject me?"
"The Holy Lyre der Himmel said nothing."
"Anger and sorrow… life and poisoned blood…
turned into tears falling from the dragon's eyes."
"The poem fell silent. Corruption spread easily."
"And the Sky Lyre could no longer speak."
The harp suddenly stopped.
Silence filled the plaza.
Everyone absorbed the story quietly.
Then—
Someone asked:
"Venti, what happens next?"
The bard scratched his head.
"Eh-he… I don't know either!"
The crowd exploded in complaints.
"Hey! Don't perform poems without endings!"
"You're losing the title of Mondstadt's favorite bard this year!"
"My excitement just started!"
The audience soon dispersed.
Lumine Realizes Something
But Lumine remained deep in thought.
"Dragon tears… poisoned blood…"
"That's exactly what Jiang Chen said."
She remembered the purified dragon tear crystal they had found.
Could the bard's poem actually be true?
If so—
This green-clothed bard was far from ordinary.
Venti finally noticed the two of them still standing there.
He squinted thoughtfully.
Then suddenly remembered.
"Oh!"
"You two…"
"Aren't you the ones who scared Dvalin away that day?"