A short time later.
Inside a room at the most luxurious inn in Mondstadt, the Fatui agent who had separated from the crowd earlier was kneeling on one knee.
Seated before him was a tall woman with platinum-blonde hair and pale skin. She was wearing an elegant red-and-white gown. Finally, an elegant black-and-silver mask partially covered her beautiful face.
She was La Signora, the 8th Harbinger of the Fatui faction known as The Fair Lady.
One of her long legs dangled above the floor as she crossed her shapely thighs.
From her position, she looked down at her subordinate with a condescending gaze. The man reporting to her didn't dare lift his head, or even admire the beauty of the pair of legs in front of him.
He simply stared at the floor as he reported what he had seen earlier.
"Creating an inter-country teleportation gate… with just a snap of the fingers?" Signora repeated her subordinate's report while elegantly twirling her fingers. "And a gigantic object called the Astral Express that can traverse the sky?"
"Y-Yes, Lady Signora!" The man who served as her subordinate answered, breaking out in a cold sweat. "That foreigner named Eiji did it right in front of all the Favonius knights and many of the citizens in this city."
Signora's pair of blue eyes gleamed sharply from behind her mask. A cold yet intrigued smirk slowly etched itself onto her captivatingly beautiful face. As a Harbinger, she knew all too well the value of a power that transcended the bounds of common sense in Teyvat.
Of course, before this, she had actually heard something about the Teleportation Gate created by Liyue. Many low- to mid-level Fatui agents had been tasked by Childe (another Harbinger carrying out a mission in Liyue) to steal that technology so their organization could study it.
However, none of them were able to steal or even destroy the object known as the Teleportation Gate. Elemental powers didn't even leave a single scratch on it.
Previously, Signora had dismissed the reports she'd heard from Childe, thinking they were simply too weak.
How could an object—especially one created by humans—be indestructible against elemental powers?
But now...
"Interesting… very interesting." Signora said in a voice that sounded elegant, a manipulative expression on her beautiful face. "So, that man named Eiji is the one who created the Teleportation Gate? He's the one behind Liyue's recent technological advancements. With his abilities, he's even created advanced technology that allows people to traverse the skies..."
Signora narrowed her eyes; combined with her smile, she looked sinister.
"He is an extraordinarily rare asset. If the Fatui faction can recruit him into our ranks in Snezhnaya, the Tsaritsa's plan to shake up the world order will proceed ten times faster."
She suddenly had the idea to recruit Eiji and make him her subordinate! That way, her superiority among the other Harbingers would increase.
"But before that…"
Signora rose from her chair, her cloak fluttering gracefully as the freezing air in the room surged. However, she was in no hurry to meet Eiji.
For her, diplomatic matters with the local deities had to be settled first. Come to think of it, she'd been staying in Mondstadt for quite some time now for the mission.
"Before we move to recruit that man, we must first complete our primary agenda in this city." Signora commanded all the agents in the room with a haughty and cold voice. "Ignore Eiji for now. Focus all our agents on preparing to hunt down and seize Gnosis from the Anemo Archon, Barbatos. Once the power of the Wind God is in my hands, only then will I personally approach Eiji and make him an offer he can't refuse."
Signora thought her idea was brilliant.
The man kneeling before him, and the other agents lined up in the room, certainly didn't object.
Not a single one of them dared to defy her orders.
Still, Signora didn't know her target—the god of wind had been kidnapped! Just a few moments ago, in a certain alley in Mondstadt.
A young man with a feminine appearance, dressed entirely in green, was tightly bound by Merraid's black silk threads. Combined with the buff from the Master-Servant contract, her current power was many times stronger than the original work.
That young man—the Wind God, or Anemo Archon named Barbatos, also known as Venti in his current form—was unable to free himself from the threads wrapped around his body.
Well, there was also the fact that he wasn't really trying to break free and was staring at the three women in front of him in confusion.
He wanted to know why they had suddenly ambushed him after he finished singing a song for a group of people in the city park.
"Ouch, ouch… This is really rude to a sweet traveling poet like me." Barbatos—or just call him Venti—complained. He tried to force a playful smile even though he was breathing a little heavily due to the threads binding him. "I wonder… what do these beautiful yet terrifying sisters want from me? If you want a song, I can sing it for free. But if it's money… I only have 12 Mora in my pocket, and if I give them to you... I won't have anything to eat today! Wuuuu! Please have mercy on me!"
He pretended to cry.
His acting skills are pretty good
Venti also insisted on hiding his true identity. He acted like an ordinary, unfortunate person, assuming that his kidnappers had simply targeted the wrong person or intended to rob him.
Still, he was quite curious about how one of the women could control so many insects and release her from the web and her grip.
Is she Spider-Woman!?
Just kidding—Venti knows nothing about Spider-Man or Marvel.
One of the women, dressed as a maid, also had four arms, and the last one was able to leap across rooftops with ease, proving that her physical strength far exceeded that of an ordinary human.
The three beautiful women in front of him were clearly out of the ordinary.
"You can stop your ridiculous charade, God of the Wind, Anemo Archon… Or should I call you Barbatos?" Merraid said in a voice that sounded melodious yet pierced as deep as ice. "Pretending to be a poor, drunken poet is useless. We know who you really are."
"!?" Venti was taken aback.
His true identity had been discovered?
How is that possible!?
"G-God of the Wind? Wah, you must have the wrong person! I'm just Venti the poet!" With an awkward laugh, Venti tried to keep up the pretense.
He had absolutely no idea that Merraid, Cassandra, and Gilberda already knew every detail of his true identity directly from Eiji—specifically, from the telepathic message he'd sent them.
Then, he told them to look for a man with the exact same characteristics as Venti.
To be precise, he was the only person in this city dressed entirely in green and looking feminine even though he was a man.
Gilberda turned to their group leader and whispered to her, "Merraid-sama, is he really our target?"
As the god of wind, Venti's appearance was highly unconvincing, and he seemed very weak.
She couldn't help but think they had the wrong person.
Merraid understood why Gilberda was skeptical about the identity of the man standing before them, and she calmly replied. "We haven't got the wrong person. Venti is another form of Barbatos. Eiji himself told me that."
"I see. This world is full of surprises." Gilberda stopped asking questions.
Deep down, she wondered how someone like Venti could have become a god worshiped by the people of Mondstadt?
Through the wind, Venti could hear the whispers between Merraid and Gilberda. He now knew that those women were under the command of a man named Eiji.
Isn't that…!
Venti, of course, also knew that Eiji had recently been the talk of the town in Mondstadt. At first, he had a favorable impression of him, since he helped this country connect with Liyue using the technology he created. He himself had wanted to say hello to him later.
But now...!
Did he misunderstand Eiji?
He doesn't seem like a good person!
Venti suddenly felt a little anxious.
"Our leader said you like to hide your identity, just like the Stone God of Liyue. If you want to keep doing that, go ahead." The one who said that flatly was Cassandra.
Venti fell silent.
Why did Eiji know so much about him?
He even knew about the things Morax liked to do.
"Ugh... Setting aside my identity. What exactly do you want from me?" Venti sighed and asked.
Merraid gave a faint smile and extended one of her slender hands. "Our leader wants the object inside your body... Give us the Gnosis you possess."
"W-Why does your leader want it?" Venti froze and nervously asked why Eiji wanted the Gnosis.
Merraid withdrew her outstretched hand—thousands of insects swarming behind her—and stared at Venti with a reddish glow in her eyes.
Venti shuddered.
"Is that important for you to know? You don't even use that thing yourself—you'd rather just laze around." Merraid was still smiling, but her gaze had turned cold.
If Eiji hadn't told her to negotiate with Barbatos first, she would have forcibly taken that thing called Gnosis from him and killed him.
In her eyes, no man other than Eiji was capable of buying her time—even if it was just a few minutes.
"Eh… Beautiful sister, asking for something that's the very essence of a god isn't something that can just be given away, you know?" Venti replied anxiously, yet there was a seriousness in his eyes. "If that object falls into the wrong hands, the entire balance of Mondstadt and Teyvat could be shattered. How am I supposed to know you don't have malicious intentions?"
In the original story, he pretended to be weak and let Signora take the Gnosis from him.
It wasn't just because he didn't want to keep the Gnosis any longer, but also because he knew who Signora was working for.
Therefore, he believed that even if Signora took his Gnosis, Mondstadt and its people would be fine.
But Eiji...
Venti knew almost nothing about him. He couldn't just hand over his Gnosis willingly. Even though he was the laziest god among the others, he still had a little sense of responsibility.
[Merraid: That's what Barbatos said, Eiji. Should I kill him and extract that Gnosis directly from his body?]
[Eiji: Try to persuade him once and tell him... If that doesn't work, kill him and forcibly take the Gnosis from him.]
Merraid silently communicated with Eiji using the Master-Servant contract.
Venti felt the wind around him grow colder.
He didn't know that if he made the wrong decision, he would truly die. Even if he used his true power as the Anemo Archon.
Why?
...
Right now, at the Knights of Favonius headquarters. Eiji is actually watching to see how Merraid and his two women are dealing with Barbatos.
He isn't doing it himself because he's busy right now.
[You're just on a date, host.]
'Miss System, that's what you call being busy. What normal guy would willingly deal with another guy when he's on a date with a beautiful woman?'
[Hmm... That makes sense.]
Miss System lost that argument.
Eiji glanced at the two blonde women walking not far ahead of him. Actually, it wasn't just one—there were Lumine and Barbara walking with him in Monstadt.
Ah, Paimon and Xianyun were there too.
A little while ago, Barbara offered to give him a tour of all of Mondstadt. Since Jean was still busy dealing with the residents who wanted to try out the Teleportation Gate at the time, she allowed her younger sister to accompany their honored guests, of course.
As for Lisa? She had other things to do. From one of the shadow soldiers Eiji had sneaked into her shadow, he knew the woman was just taking a nap at home right now!
The woman was actually lazy, but he liked her and would deal with her again later.
"Is it just me, or did you bring me on this trip just to increase the number of women in your group?" Xianyun, walking beside him, asked.
Eiji glanced at her and casually replied, "That's just your imagination. And Xianyun, have you forgotten that you were the one who offered to compensate me for misunderstanding me?"
"Well…" Xianyun couldn't argue, but she hesitantly added, "But it seems like I'm not really needed. There's Jean, and a young woman named Barbara who can guide you around Mondstadt. They can do that better than I can."
"It's okay, Xianyun. I'm just happy that you're here with me." Eiji teased the beautiful Adeptus casually.
Xianyun was taken aback and snorted. "Hmph! Do you think you can woo me like you do with those young women?"
Even though she said that, there was a slight blush on her cheeks.
Eiji found it amusing. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see several notifications from Leme. Xianyun's positive level had gone up a few points just because he'd teased her.
This woman is a bit of a tsundere.
How cute.
He couldn't wait to get a taste of her!
[Hehehe. At this rate, you'll definitely achieve that feat soon, our King.]
'Leme, thanks for the motivation!'
Miss System: "...."
How much longer will her host be busy wowing those women?
Before long, someone's going to have to pick a fight with him. Ah, sorry, it's not like I'm waving a flag or anything.
...
"My man, Eiji, is the one who wants that thing." Merraid said Eiji's name just as he had ordered. "You have no reason to doubt, Barbatos. Eiji has absolutely no malicious intent toward this world or even Mondstadt. He's not like the Fatui faction or the god of Snezhnaya, who seek to defy the Heavenly Principles. Eiji doesn't need Genosis to do that, because his own power is more than enough."
Broadly speaking, she also knew about the Fatui and Snezhnaya.
Eiji has told her a lot about the world.
Still, what Merraid said left Venti confused and curious. Who exactly is Eiji?
The way Merraid described him made it sound as if she were stating a fact. If she wasn't lying, Eiji seemed to be stronger than the Archons and even the highest gods of Celestia!
That's hard to believe.
But Venti felt like taking a gamble. Instead of giving his Genosis to the Tsaritsa, who seems to be gathering Genosis from the other Archons to defy the Heavenly Principles.
He chose to...
Merraid further reassured Venti by saying, "Eiji will actually help many people in this world through his own methods. The presence of the Astral Express and the Teleportation Gate technology he built in front of your city are proof of that—he brings prosperity, not war. Handing over the Gnosis to him is far safer than letting it be forcibly seized by the Fatui."
Hearing this, Venti felt it made sense. At the very least, Eiji wouldn't destroy Mondstadt or harm the people living here.
That reason was enough.
As long as he could hand over his Gnosis to someone else who was decent enough, he could truly just laze around without being bothered again in the future!
If the citizens of Mondstadt knew what their god was thinking, they'd surely be disappointed.
Especially Barbara—her favorable impression of the Anemo Archon, Barbatos, would be shattered into pieces.
"Well... I guess I really don't have any other choice, do I?" Venti gave a faint smile and said, "Seeing how Eiji connected the two nations with just a snap of his fingers… I think Mondstadt and Teyvat really do need a new, better method than just letting this fate continue to run its course."
*WHOOSH!!*
Instantly, a light green gust of wind enveloped Venti. Merraid's silk threads were instantly torn to shreds.
Merraid, Cassandra, and Gilberda were slightly startled. They were, of course, on guard and ready to fight at any moment.
But Venti didn't seem to have any intention of fighting. He slowly raised his right hand to his chest. The next moment, a burst of turquoise light—incredibly pure and sacred—erupted from within his chest. Highly concentrated Anemo energy flowed gently through the night air, causing Cecilia's invisible flower petals to flutter all around them.
From the center of that light, a brilliantly shimmering chess piece—the Anemo Gnosis—slowly emerged and floated gracefully above Venti's palm.
"Take this to him." Venti said, gazing at the glowing chess piece before extending it toward the woman in front of him.
The Gnosis flew toward her.
Merraid caught it.
"Tell Eiji that I'm entrusting this object to him. If possible, treat me to a meal and a drink later, too."
Venti didn't know that Merraid was actually a little disappointed because she didn't have to kill him.
"Allright, I'll let him know. We're leaving now."
She didn't want to waste any more time with Venti. So, she and the others left right away.
They used the teleportation magic they were able to use after receiving their Master-Servant contract.
Seeing the way the women left, Venti's eyes widened.
"They just vanished? I didn't sense even the slightest trace of elemental power. How mysterious. Eiji... I can't wait to meet you and find out who you really are."
If Eiji heard Venti say that with his beautiful face, he'd just pretend not to hear him.
He wasn't interested in meeting a man in person. Even so, he suddenly had a strange idea to bring Venti and Ye Chen closer together...
[How evil.]