Venti was visibly taken aback when he heard Yae Miko describe the Man with a Top Hat in such a way.
He hurriedly pressed her for details.
"Indescribable? Don't tell me… you actually saw his true form with your own eyes?"
Yae Miko's thoughts were instantly pulled back to that night, to the scenes that had unfolded at the Grand Narukami Shrine.
Her brows furrowed slightly as she assumed a pensive pose, speaking slowly.
"How should I put it… at the time, I couldn't make out his true face at all."
"But in that moment when our eyes met, for the first time in my life, I felt a chill seep up from the depths of my heart—a fear that came straight from my soul."
When she finished, Yae Miko cast her sharp gaze toward Venti and asked softly,
"From the way you're speaking… you've crossed paths with that mysterious fellow too?"
Venti drew a deep breath, the memory of the Whispering Forest rising once more from the depths of his mind.
"Yes, I've met him once—and even fought him."
"I swear on the name of the Anemo Archon, we didn't hold back in the slightest. Teyvat and I both fought with everything we had… but that guy came away without so much as a scratch!"
Suddenly, a thought flashed in Venti's mind.
Perhaps all the strange and unexpected events had started only after Shao Yun encountered that man.
Upon hearing that Venti had fought the mysterious figure, Yae Miko pressed further.
"Then, in your opinion… how strong is he, exactly?"
Venti slowly shook his head, answering gravely.
"I don't know. But there's one thing I can be sure of—he never strays far from Shao Yun."
"I'm not sure if he's bound to Shao Yun for some reason… or if he simply chooses to follow him, refusing to leave."
Here, Venti paused, weighing his next words.
Lowering his voice, he confided to Yae Miko an important clue.
"Also… there's something else. I once spoke with the old man—the Geo Archon—about this monster."
"The old man asked it a few questions, and every one was answered. He said the thing was frighteningly intelligent—perhaps even omniscient and omnipotent."
"And it's very skilled at exploiting the desires in people's hearts to sway them."
Venti remembered that after hearing its words, he had gone after Shao Yun.
If not for the fact that Shao Yun, at the time, was still the sort to consider the bigger picture (being heavily restrained by the system), Venti might well have been erased then and there.
When she heard the Geo Archon describe the entity as omniscient and omnipotent, Yae Miko's beautiful eyes widened with a flicker of panic.
She blurted out,
"Could it be… that fellow is even wiser than Lesser Lord Kusanali?"
Venti frowned slightly, deep in thought.
"In terms of sheer wisdom… that's hard to say. But when it comes to manipulating hearts… even I'm not immune."
As he spoke, the image of Beelzebul's tragic death surfaced in his mind, along with the memory of himself in the Whispering Forest.
"I once acted on its words and went after Shao Yun. At the time, Shao Yun could still be called someone who weighed pros and cons and kept the greater good in mind. After injuring me, he even gave me medicine to heal my wounds."
"But if it were him as he is now, and we crossed blades again… he wouldn't hesitate to kill me."
Hearing such revelations, Yae Miko felt she had gained much—and so she asked a crucial question.
"Then… what exactly happened to make him turn out this way?"
In her eyes, Shao Yun hadn't gone through any major upheavals…
Well, Lumine being wounded by Beelzebul probably counted.
…
Venti's thoughts drifted back to that cold, biting night atop the Dragonspine Mountains.
"As for that question, I've thought it over many times. No matter how I turn it over, everything seems to point back to that one time on Dragonspine."
Yae Miko's eyes narrowed in curiosity.
"Dragonspine? I've been wondering why you keep bringing up Dragonspine. You mean the one in Mondstadt? What happened there? Can you tell me?"
Facing his new colleague among the Seven Archons, Venti didn't hide anything.
"Hmm… how should I say this… Let's start with the conclusion."
"Before what happened on Dragonspine, sure, Shao Yun killed people—but most of the time, he was a warm and generous man. Sometimes, he would even help others without expecting anything in return."
Then Venti's tone shifted abruptly.
"But… on Dragonspine, in that final moment, when I met his gaze… I felt an almost frenzied emotion. I think that's when the real change happened."
"Before then, I could never have believed Shao Yun would kill an Archon."
…
Venti then told Yae Miko that Lumine's initial journey had been to find her brother.
She was utterly shocked.
"You mean… Lumine set out on her journey from the very start just to find her lost kin? But… Shao Yun, Lumine, and Paimon never told me that."
Venti nodded, explaining further.
"That's the root of the issue."
"About a month ago—don't ask me how—Shao Yun found Lumine's brother. Then he took Lumine, her brother, and Paimon to Dragonspine. They decided to end the journey, and that set off a chain of major troubles."
In Venti's mind appeared another traveler—Aether—who had failed to reach the journey's end.
"The last traveler who didn't reach the end… has already—"
He stopped short of saying joined the Abyss, choosing to conceal Aether's fate.
…
"I can't gamble on what might happen if this traveler with absolute power stops traveling…"
With Aether as a cautionary tale, if Lumine stopped traveling and lost contact with the Seven, that would be bad enough.
But if she took Shao Yun—with all his might—to join the Abyss… Teyvat would be finished.
"That's why, for now, keeping Shao Yun, Lumine, and Paimon traveling is the best choice for everyone. It's the only way to avoid unforeseen disasters."
Venti rubbed his left wrist thoughtfully.
"To make sure they kept moving forward, the old man and I paid any price necessary… we even gave Shao Yun our blood. Honestly, I still don't know why he wanted it."
If he knew Shao Yun had used the blood of both him and Zhongli to summon that terrible demon… who knows how he'd react.
Yae Miko raised another key question.
"I don't quite get it—if Lumine, Shao Yun, and Paimon gave up this journey, what exactly would happen?"
Countless thoughts surged through Venti's mind, but after careful consideration, he chose the reason most favorable to all.
"There are many reasons. But I'll tell you one—this journey of theirs can reconnect the Seven Archons. That's good for Teyvat… and for everyone."
…
After hearing all this, Yae Miko felt she had learned enough—and suspected Lumine's journey was tied to the fate of the whole continent.
At last, she let out a long sigh, her voice tinged with emotion.
"All right… I think I know enough. What's done is done—no point dwelling on it."
"Look at the long term. Even if Shao Yun has, as you say, grown more unhinged, he still listens to Lumine. The outcome isn't perfect for me… but at least Inazuma still stands."
She clapped her hands lightly, breaking the heavy air around them.
"Enough—information exchanged. Let's focus on the Irodori Festival and enjoy this rare moment of peace."
Venti agreed—no amount of looking back could change the fact that Beelzebul had been killed by Shao Yun.
"Mm, that's that. Oh, by the way… can I visit Tenshukaku?"
Yae Miko blinked, thinking he meant to pay respects to Ei.
"Sure, but… if you're going to mourn Ei, you should know—the coffin in Tenshukaku holds the Shogun puppet, not the real Ei."
Venti smiled gently.
"Besides honoring Beelzebul, I'm also here to bring Mondstadt's citizen back home."
"Your citizen?" Yae Miko asked, puzzled.
He nodded slowly, his smile calm yet firm.
"I'm here to take Rosalyne-Kruzchka Lohefalter… back to Mondstadt."
In Inazuma, many had kept their promises.
Now, the Anemo Archon would keep his—bringing Rosalyne home.
…
After leaving the Foreign Magistrate's office, Shao Yun returned to his seat from before.
A while later, Venti emerged, and not long after, Yae Miko also left—but instead of returning to read light novels, she departed the courtyard entirely.
Shao Yun was left alone, savoring delicious inari sushi and the light novels of Yae Publishing House.
As he hummed a cheerful tune and lost himself in his book, a familiar voice called out.
"Shao Yun, finally found you."
He immediately set down the novel and saw Lumine, Paimon, and Klee walking toward him.
"Whoa, it's Lumine, Paimon, and Klee!"
Klee, standing sweetly beside Lumine, lifted her innocent, smiling face.
"Hello, Brother Shao Yun."
At her pure, guileless greeting, Shao Yun's softer side emerged.
"Little Klee, how are you liking Inazuma?"
Klee nodded happily.
"Very much! Albedo told me lots of fun stories about Inazuma on the ship. Now, Honorary Knight and Paimon are going to take me into Inazuma City to play!"
Shao Yun knew this was part of an event quest—probably ending with a copy of The Dodo-King in Inazuma.
Smiling warmly like a proud father, he said,
"That's great. Have fun—and don't wander out of Lumine's sight."
(Because Shao Yun had once said that in the future, he hoped to have a daughter like Klee.)
Then he turned to Lumine, curious.
"So, Lumine—what brings you here for me?"
Hands on her hips, a bright smile on her face, Lumine answered cheerfully,
"Hehe, Paimon and I are taking Klee into Inazuma City. Want to come with us?"
"I mean, we could all enjoy some relaxing, quality time together. We've hardly had fun since coming to Inazuma."
Shao Yun was surprised—he hadn't expected to be included in a Klee-related quest.
While a Mondstadt–Inazuma arms dealer meetup might be amusing, in this event the most important thing was the fifth painting board.
Honestly, the idea of touring Inazuma City didn't appeal much to him.
With a teasing smile, he said,
"Hmm… if the two of us wanted a romantic date, I'm not sure bringing Paimon and Klee along would be the best idea."
The word date clearly stumped Klee.
She blinked her big eyes, touching her chubby cheek in puzzlement.
"What does 'date' mean?"
Lumine's cheeks flushed instantly.
She shot Shao Yun a playful glare.
"Hey, could you not bring that up in front of Klee?"
Shao Yun laughed.
"Hahaha, fine, fine—for little Klee's healthy growth, I'll behave!"
"Besides, I spend more than half my time in Inazuma City—I'm tired of it. Better to stay here and read free novels."
"After all, it's not easy to get freebies from Lady Yae Miko!"
He added,
"Besides, the Irodori Festival lasts a while. We can enjoy the peace and quiet later."
Lumine found his reasoning fair enough and nodded.
"Mm, all right."
She turned to wave at Paimon and Klee.
"Let's go! Next stop—Inazuma City!"
Shao Yun waved them off.
"Have fun!"
Lumine looked back, smiling.
"Don't worry—we will!"
…
Meanwhile, at Tenshukaku.
A coffin rested in the center of the room.
Inside lay the Raiden Shogun—what remained of her body and face.
Since Tenshukaku was designated to house Beelzebul's casket, the place had fallen silent.
Aside from a few Yashiro Commission guards, it was empty.
Why not the Okuzumeshuu? In grand terms, they'd all followed Kujou Sara to join Ei in another world.
In plain terms—they'd all been killed by Shao Yun.
In the stillness, the sound of footsteps broke the air.
Venti approached the coffin, paying his respects to one of the Seven.
After a long moment of mourning, he drew out his lyre, took a deep breath, and whispered,
"Rosalyne… I've come to take you home."