At the store address Chloris had given him, he bought a lot of materials and hired someone to help with the renovations. On the way back, he spotted a familiar figure reciting poetry in the plaza.
The poem had a classical touch. When the figure saw Zephyr, he waved at him.
"Yo, Traveler, long time no see."
Paimon muttered, "Isn't this the guy with the green hat?"
"Ahem, my name is Venti."
Zephyr lit up with excitement. "My good bro, have you finally come around?"
Hu Tao blinked. "You two know each other?"
Paimon chimed in, "This green-hat guy is a bard who loves drinking. Probably drank so much that his tongue got messed up. Last time he drank vinegar and insisted it was apple cider."
Venti coughed, "Ahem! I've said it already, that was apple cider. Traveler, back me up here, right?"
Zephyr nodded. "Right! Venti's absolutely right. That was apple cider. Paimon, what nonsense are you spouting?"
Paimon pouted, "But you clearly said before that it was apple vinegar…"
"You misheard!"
"Exactly!" Venti nodded in agreement.
Zephyr said, "Bro, since I'm clearly on your side here, maybe you could…"
"I want to ask you a question first, if that's okay?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"What happened yesterday in the wilds—was that your doing?"
"Yesterday, in the wilds?"
Zephyr froze. "Which thing are you talking about?"
"So you're still going to deny it, huh? I mean the incident with the unfamiliar divine aura out in the wild yesterday."
Zephyr stiffened. Paimon gasped and covered her mouth. "How did you know about that?"
"Hehe, I just knew," Venti grinned.
Paimon shouted, "You were baiting us?!"
"Well, I had no choice. I didn't know who was involved, so I had to try this method. By the way, you're the 35th group I've questioned."
Paimon fumed, "You—you—you tricked us! You villain! Liar! Big fat liar!"
"Ehe~"
"What does 'ehe' even mean?!"
"Sorry, sorry. Traveler, if possible, can you tell me what exactly happened yesterday?"
Zephyr rubbed his hands together. "I can, but you'll have to sign this contract first."
"Contract? Can I read it first?"
Paimon was shocked. "You actually want to read it?!"
Venti tilted his head in confusion. "Isn't it normal to read a contract before signing it?"
"Well, yeah, technically… but most of the people who signed contracts with the Traveler barely looked at it," she said, glancing at Hu Tao.
Hu Tao paused. "Oh? Interesting. So besides me, how many other people have you conned?"
Zephyr replied, "Not that many, don't exaggerate!"
Venti remarked, "Ah, I get it. So you're all con artists!"
Paimon retorted, "And who are you to say that about us?!"
Zephyr extended his hand, manifesting a sheet of paper out of thin air.
Venti was stunned. "This… this is such a high-grade contract. Even the ones written personally by that Liyue guy wouldn't be much more refined."
He took the contract, but after a moment said, "...But this contract is way too basic. Is this all there is?"
"Yeah."
"It's way too simplistic—and it has so many loopholes… Sorry, I can't sign this one."
Paimon whispered into Zephyr's ear, "What do we do, Traveler? This guy doesn't seem easy to fool…"
"If you don't understand, don't speak. Who said this is about tricking someone? This is about giving people the key to a new life, leading them to a broader sky.
This is the path to true freedom! Got it? If you don't get it, don't talk nonsense."
Paimon was dumbfounded.
"So this is your excuse for tricking a child who's only a few years old into signing a contract?"
"They're a sprite, not a human."
"And what about it? Even if they're a sprite, they're still just a little kid!"
Venti stroked his chin and said, "Traveler, I'm growing more and more suspicious of your motives. If it were that guy from Liyue, he probably wouldn't say a word before dropping a Planet Befall right on your head."
Paimon asked, "That guy? Who? Stop speaking in riddles!"
Suddenly, Hu Tao looked at Venti with curiosity and said, "You're not an ordinary person, are you?"
"Oh? What makes you say that?"
"I can feel the weight of ancient times in your poetry… like you lived through it yourself. Who are you, really?"
Paimon added, "He says his name is Barbatos, the Anemo Archon—but I don't buy it."
"Anemo Archon… No, he might really be Barbatos!" Hu Tao exclaimed.
Paimon blinked. "Wait, what? Hu Tao, you actually believe that childish nonsense? It sounds like something only a three-year-old would fall for."
"No, it's not nonsense. I can see the overflowing vitality in him.
"All past directors of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor had a unique ability—we can walk between the realms of life and death. We can see the aura of death on people… and naturally, the aura of life as well.
"In my eyes, the life force radiating from him is unlike anything I've ever seen. A human could never possess such vigorous life energy.
"So the odds of him being Barbatos, the Anemo Archon, are very high!"
"Incredible deduction," Venti said with a smile. "That's right—I am Barbatos."
Paimon was stunned. This street musician is actually Barbatos, the Anemo Archon?!
"Traveler, you don't seem surprised at all. Did you already guess who I was?"
Zephyr replied, "Yeah."
Venti tilted his head. "That's curious. How did you figure it out? Do you also have some special ability, like this young lady here?"
"Nope. I played Genshin Impact."
"...A game?"
Zephyr said, "Since it's come to this, I might as well tell you everything."
After all, Venti didn't seem like someone easy to fool.
Paimon interrupted, "Wait!"
"If you want a story," she grinned, "shouldn't you treat us to a meal or something first?"
Venti laughed. "You little rascal, trying to get some benefits out of this. Alright then—what do you want to eat?"
"A whole roast lamb!"
"You're not afraid of bursting your stomach?"
"Just say if you're treating or not."
"Uh…"
Venti glanced at his wallet and twitched a little—but his curiosity about this Traveler and the divine aura from yesterday overrode his hesitation.
"Alright, I'll treat!"
Hu Tao chuckled. "You've got guts, Paimon—extorting the Anemo Archon like that."
"Hmph! He tried to trick me first! And so what if he's an Archon? I'm a Demon God! Back in the day, I ate more gods than there are people in Mondstadt!"
"Talk about the pot calling the kettle fat."
…
Paimon munched happily at the side.
Zephyr began, "Now, where should I start… We come from another world—"
One hour later, Venti was left utterly speechless.
"So, you're telling me… You come from another world, and to you, this world is just… a game?"
"You could say that. But there's also that saying—'Life is like a play, and a play is like life.'
This place… has become more than just a game to me."
//END
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