"But isn't it dangerous for a kid to work in a bar? What if some drunk causes trouble?"
Kaeya took another sip of his drink, savoring it slowly. "Don't underestimate Diona. If she really loses her temper, even I'd struggle to handle her."
After all, even he had experienced being clawed at by a certain kitten.
Jiang Bai's eyes flicked toward the Vision hanging from Diona's waist. Ah, a Vision holder—Cryo element, too.
"Hmph! Here's your 'Diona Special.' May it finally cure you of your disgusting love for alcohol!" With a sullen glare, Diona pushed the newly mixed drink across the counter to Jiang Bai.
He stared at the suspicious-looking tentacle sticking out of the glass, hesitant.
He'd clearly seen her add all sorts of bizarre ingredients earlier. Was this thing really drinkable?
Besides, why was a bartender trying to make him quit drinking? Did he really look like some hopeless drunkard?
"Relax. Anything Diona mixes tastes good," Kaeya reassured him, smiling.
Seeing that Kaeya didn't look like he was lying, Jiang Bai took a cautious sip.
Cool, refreshing liquid swept across his tongue, and Jiang Bai's eyes immediately lit up.
"Whoa, this actually tastes great!"
Instantly, Jiang Bai felt profound admiration for the little bartender's skill.
But at his compliment, Diona's expression turned even gloomier.
Confused by her reaction, Jiang Bai helplessly scratched his head and glanced at Kaeya for guidance.
Kaeya shrugged casually, wearing a helpless smile.
"Don't ask me. Even the famous Master Diluc can't win her over."
"Well, alright."
Although curious, Jiang Bai wasn't that desperate for answers. Seeing Diona clearly had no interest in talking to him, he turned away, leaning on the barstool to face Kaeya instead.
"Speaking of which, what exactly is your relationship with Master Diluc?"
Their interactions had always seemed bizarre to Jiang Bai, to the point where Kaeya even used Diluc's name casually in comparisons. This had piqued his curiosity repeatedly, yet both Kaeya and Diluc remained stubbornly tight-lipped.
Kaeya's lips curved slightly as he uttered two infuriating words: "Guess."
Jiang Bai fell silent.
Forget it. Next time, he'd just ask Albedo. The all-knowing Albedo definitely had answers.
Dropping the topic, Jiang Bai returned to the main reason for his visit.
"I'm here to look for an expert on hilichurlian language. I've kept putting it off, but now I finally have the time."
"You've certainly put it off long enough—I assumed you didn't need help anymore," Kaeya teased, chuckling.
Jiang Bai had mentioned this during Mondstadt's dragon crisis, only to disappear without following up. Until today, he'd never brought it up again.
"Can't be helped. Things got pretty hectic in Liyue recently," Jiang Bai sighed helplessly.
Between injuries and numerous troubles, trivial matters naturally slipped down his list of priorities.
"The Musk family has studied hilichurls for generations. Let me finish this drink, and I'll introduce you."
The Musk family boasted a long history; Musk Reef itself was named after one of their ancestors. Obsessed with hilichurl culture, they'd authored many scholarly works on the topic, including titles like Hilichurl Ballads, Observations on Hilichurl Customs, A Comprehensive Survey of Hilichurl Tribes, Hilichurl Society and Beliefs, and Hilichurl Language Quick Reference Guide.
Unfortunately, these texts were so obscure and dull that despite their availability in Mondstadt's library, they gathered nothing but dust.
Kaeya led Jiang Bai directly to the Mondstadt Library. Ella Musk, the current hilichurl linguistics expert, was usually either in the library or out observing hilichurl camps. Finding her was straightforward.
"Here she is, as expected."
Kaeya guided Jiang Bai straight to Ella Musk.
To Jiang Bai's surprise, Ella appeared incredibly young—barely older than Diona, the bartender he'd just met. In his imagination, a renowned scholar would be much older. That she'd already reached such heights at this age could only be described as genius.
"Ella, my friend here wants to learn hilichurlian. Could you help him out?"
Ella Musk looked up from her book, eyes brightening eagerly. "You want to learn hilichurlian?"
Hilichurl studies were a niche field. As far as she knew, only the Musk family and a few scholars from Sumeru had shown genuine interest. Encountering someone who actually wanted to learn their language was incredibly exciting!
"Yes." Jiang Bai nodded. "I'm Jiang Bai. How should I address you?"
"Just call me Ella!"
Ella wasn't overly formal. Enthusiastically, she pulled Jiang Bai over to a nearby reading table, shoving a book into his hands.
"This is An Introduction to Hilichurlian. Start with this!"
Without waiting, she scurried back to the shelves, returning quickly with several more thick volumes that piled up on Jiang Bai's table.
"Read these first. Ask me if you get stuck."
Ella wasn't experienced at teaching others, so her method involved letting him digest theory first. Once he had a good foundation, he could practice in the field.
"Hilichurls have very limited intelligence, so their language is simple. They don't have written language or complex grammar. Oddly enough, hilichurls everywhere speak roughly the same language, though nobody knows why. Just memorize some key phrases, and you'll understand most of what they mean."
Jiang Bai nodded thoughtfully.
"No need to get too complicated—I just want to figure out what their strange chants and expressions mean."
This wasn't exactly a lie—he simply left out his intention to actually communicate with the hilichurls.
From the corner of his eye, Jiang Bai noticed Kaeya still lingering. Clearly, he wanted to know exactly why Jiang Bai was interested in hilichurlian.
Jiang Bai was silently exasperated. After everything they'd been through, this guy still didn't fully trust him.
You're breaking your good brother's heart, Kaeya!
Seeing Jiang Bai absorbed in study, Kaeya finally slipped quietly out of the library.
In truth, he was just curious about Jiang Bai's motives—it wasn't anything critical.
It wasn't a lack of trust, exactly; they'd spent enough time together that Kaeya felt he understood Jiang Bai reasonably well.
But suspicion had long become second nature to him.
After all, survival demanded it, whether he liked it or not.