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By this point, all three stories of Love and Teyvat had been told.
During the time everyone was reading, Lucian also located Vacher's factory.
He didn't enter it but instead left an elemental marker nearby before leaving.
"I wonder if Navia's awake yet. She'll like this news." Returning to land, Lucian headed back home.
Worth mentioning is that upon entering the city, Lucian happened to run into Charlotte, who was on her way out.
She was set to depart for Mondstadt today—by the time she arrived, the dragon crisis would likely already be resolved.
Because now, Venti had finally stopped slacking off.
He'd decided to resolve the dragon crisis before "Shikikan" could write the third act.
The teammates Venti recruited were still Jean, Diluc, and the Traveler—no changes there.
After reading the second act, Eula had gone off to deal with the Fatui, while Kaeya went to fish out some Treasure Hoarders.
With everyone heading out, someone still needed to keep an eye on the Fatui within the city, a responsibility that fell to Lisa.
In the end, the group heading to Stormterror's Lair remained unchanged from the original storyline.
"Ba—Lord Venti, won't we need the Holy Lyre der Himmel to dispel the barrier at Stormterror's Lair?" Jean asked.
"Hmm..."
Venti scratched his head. Truthfully, the Holy Lyre wasn't all that important.
For him, any lyre would work just fine to dispel a wind barrier of this level.
But he couldn't just say that outright.
After reading the second act, everyone knew Venti had made them go through the trouble of stealing the lyre and painstakingly gathering dragon tears.
If it turned out the Holy Lyre was never needed in the first place, wouldn't that be awkward?
"Well, you see, this wooden lyre I've been using has been with me for a long time. It's soaked in plenty of divine energy—no less potent than the Holy Lyre."
"Huh? So if we just let Tone-Deaf Bard carry around a lyre long enough, could we sell it as a treasure later?"
Paimon's eyes sparkled with mora signs as she hatched a money-making scheme.
"Ehe." Venti dodged the question.
What a joke—if that actually worked, I'd have made a fortune by now. Would I even be struggling to afford drinks?
Don't compare me to the Electro Archon—forging divine weapons isn't my specialty.
At best, I could sing a buffing tune while she hammers away.
Wait, that actually sounds like a decent idea—old man Morax provides materials, Lesser Lord Kusanali drafts the blueprints, and the Electro Archon does the forging.
Any divine weapon crafted under the joint effort of three Archons would surely sell for a fortune!
"What do you mean 'Ehe'?! Can we make money off this or not?!" Paimon grumbled.
"Enough. Enemies are approaching." Diluc cut off their antics.
Sure enough, while they'd been talking, a large group of Hilichurls had surrounded them.
There were many Hilichurls, but unfortunately for them, their opponents were all monsters in combat—none of them took the threat seriously.
"Clearing the stage shouldn't require the bard to lift a finger, right?"
Venti had already perched himself on a gust of wind, waiting for the others to handle things.
Paimon naturally hid behind Venti—she'd picked the strongest (and laziest) person present as her shield.
"Of course, there's no need for Lord Venti to intervene directly." Jean raised her sword.
"Let's make this quick—before the Abyss Order sends reinforcements." Diluc crossed his arms.
Only the Traveler charged forward immediately, Harbinger of Dawn in hand.
She'd won this sword from Kaeya—not that he minded, since it was meant for her anyway.
After a couple rounds of Genius Invokation TCG, she'd smoothly "claimed" it as her prize.
"Fighting! Fun!" Lumine darted nimbly through the Hilichurl horde.
A single swing of her sword reduced a wooden shield Hilichurl to ashes.
"Scatter!"
Her left hand unleashed a burst of Anemo, igniting the torch-wielding Hilichurls that rushed at her.
Seeing her bully the smaller Hilichurls, a mitachurl roared and charged with its wooden shield raised.
Lumine remained calm, summoning a gust of wind that spread the flames onto the shield, burning it to cinders in seconds.
She slid forward with a low sweep, and before the mitachurl could process its vanished shield, her blade cleaved it in two!
Just then, a bolt of lightning struck toward her—a Hilichurl shaman in the distance had finished casting.
Mid-motion, Lumine couldn't dodge in time and raised her sword to block.
A barrier of wind deflected the lightning as Jean strode forward.
She'd already cut down the shaman and a large axe-wielding Hilichurl, now offering a hand to Lumine, who was still on the ground.
"Next time, prioritize the spellcasters." Jean advised.
"Got it." Lumine took her hand and let herself be pulled up.
All those years of gaming wasted—how could I forget to focus the ranged and healers first?
But the shaman had been so tiny, hiding behind the mitachurl that she hadn't even noticed it.
Now she understood why Jean and Diluc hadn't immediately joined the fight—they'd been assessing the battlefield.
Guess I really did just Leroy Jenkins this… Almost got caught off guard.
"Bravo! I'm almost tempted to compose a song for this." Venti clapped.
"Hehe, that's our Traveler for you—always amazing!" Paimon puffed her chest as if the praise was for her.
"But Tone-Deaf Bard, aren't you gonna help too?!"
"Ehe~"
Though his tone remained playful, Venti's hands didn't idle.
A few quick plucks of his lyre strings, and the Wind Barrier before them dissipated instantly.
"Whoa! That fast? Huh, maybe you're not completely useless!" Paimon acknowledged begrudgingly.
"Alright, everyone—please proceed with caution from here." "Mom" Jean reminded them.
Stormterror's Lair had been sealed for a long time, and with the Abyss Order meddling, she couldn't be sure what dangers lurked inside.
The group nodded and stepped into the ruins.
Before them stretched an enormous pathway, leading to a massive stone gate at the far end.
"So this is the 'main entrance' to Stormterror's Lair?" Paimon eyed the gate thoughtfully.
"It's huge for us, but how does Dvalin even get inside? At his size, wouldn't he get stuck?"
Lumine's brain worked overtime.
Right—Dvalin's massive. This gate is tall, but not wide enough… Wouldn't he get wedged in?
"He doesn't use the pedestrian entrance. He flies." Venti said.
"...?" Lumine's brain short-circuited.
Right. Dvalin can fly. This gate is just decoration—the real entrance is the open sky above.
"Paimon, maybe I should enroll you in school." Lumine deadpanned.
"Huh?!" Paimon panicked.
"Alright, let's keep moving." Jean cut off their antics.
Traveling with Lumine and Paimon was never dull—these two were a nonstop comedy act.
"Alright, let's keep moving." Venti entered echo mode.
===✧✦✧===
Character Voiceline · Diluc: Reminder
"Every action carries risk—proceed with caution."