Returning to the book's content, unable to get his way through pouting and whining, Venti decided to reveal his identity.
"""Alas, there's no helping it, I can no longer hide!"
"""My devout follower, rejoice! Standing before you is none other than Barbatos, the Anemo God himself!""
Venti wore a serious expression.
"""Isn't it shocking? Aren't you so shocked you want to cry? You've finally met the god you serve, how about it? Very touched, aren't you?""
Venti's seriousness lasted less than a second.""
Unfortunately, in Sister Gothlynde's eyes, Venti was merely using another trick after his pouting failed, pretending to be possessed by the Anemo God.
"""If there's nothing else, I'll go back to processing the church documents."" Sister Gothlynde didn't believe him in the slightest.
Indeed, how could Barbatos, who accomplished so many great feats, be a Roving Bard who looked like he hadn't even come of age?
Moreover, Barbatos must be a serious and solemn god, possessing the majesty of a deity, how could he be so mischievous?
"""Eh!?""
Venti exclaimed, "How come people believe me when I lie, but not when I tell the truth?"
Meanwhile, in reality, Sister Gothlynde was crying, just as Venti had said.
"The Anemo God revealed his identity before me, and I actually didn't believe him!"
"As a Sister, I've truly been too negligent; I must go to confession."
Sister Gothlynde could no longer read; she was prepared to spend the rest of her life in the confessional.
It was Barbara's first time seeing Sister Gothlynde cry, but she could deeply understand her feelings.
This was Barbatos, the Anemo God, who had not been seen for hundreds of years, personally appearing and being so approachable.
Yet, as a Sister, she hadn't recognized the deity!
What's more, this book was going to be released throughout Teyvat! Now the whole world would know that Gothlynde hadn't recognized the Anemo God.
She was only crying now; not directly fainting was already a sign of strength.
However, this couldn't be blamed on Gothlynde, after all, the Anemo God had been gone for hundreds of years, so it was naturally impossible for her to have met Barbatos himself.
A statue is merely a sculpture; it can't be perfectly accurate, and moreover, the statue depicts the god in divine attire, full of divinity.
"Sister Gothlynde, please don't cry; Barbatos is so gentle, he definitely won't blame you." Barbara hastily comforted her.
Gothlynde naturally couldn't stop crying just because of Barbara's few words of comfort.
She clasped her hands together in prayer, tears streaming down her cheeks.
A gentle breeze drifted into the church, brushed against Gothlynde's cheek, and softly carried away her tears.
Barbara and Gothlynde realized at the same time: It was Barbatos!
Barbatos indeed had no intention of blaming her! Not only did he not blame her, he even gently wiped her tears.
"Barbatos!" The two women exclaimed simultaneously, clasping their hands in devout reverence.
"Oh?" Rosaria also noticed, thinking Barbatos was much gentler than he had imagined.
Meanwhile, the Anemo God, Barbatos himself, was reaching his sinful little hand towards a nearby wine bottle.
It was leftover from someone who had left.
"Roving Bard, even though I'm reading, I can still see your actions."
Diluc stared intently at the book, turning a page as he continued.
"This drink will also be added to your tab."
"Eh!? How can this be?"
Venti exclaimed, "There's less than half of this wine left; I just wanted to pick up a freebie, why are you doing this?!"
"Don't worry, it will be charged according to the remaining amount." Diluc indicated that he wouldn't take advantage.
Venti deflated, his small hand hesitant, but in the end, he picked up the wine bottle.
If it was going to be on his tab, then so be it; watching open fine wine go to waste in front of him was more painful than killing him!
Diluc's lips curved up by one pixel.
His own god was truly interesting; before, he had only suspected, but after reading this passage, he was certain.
Venti gulped down the wine; in fact, he still liked people like Diluc very much.
Even after knowing his identity, he still treated him normally; this was what Venti wanted.
He now only wanted to be a free Roving Bard, Venti, not some Anemo God Barbatos.
However, being Venti would have to wait until Dvalin's matter was resolved.
Venti was quite grateful to this author now.
Although it exposed his identity to some people, it also made the Dvalin incident much easier to resolve.
Once this book was released, not just Mondstadt, but all of Teyvat would know Dvalin's story.
And originally, his plan to retrieve the skyward harp wouldn't have gone smoothly, but with the groundwork laid by this book, going to the restricted area where the skyward harp was kept was as easy as going to the restroom.
But originally, if he failed to retrieve the harp, he would probably have stolen it, right? I wonder if the theft went smoothly?
To satisfy his curiosity, Venti decided to finish the book and the wine before taking action.
In the book, Venti failed to borrow the harp, so it was the Traveler's turn.
The Traveler used the Knights of Favonius as an excuse, stating that they needed to borrow the skyward harp.
This excuse was clearly more reliable than someone's 'shamanistic dance,' but unfortunately, Sister Gothlynde still saw through it.
"""The lending of the skyward harp requires the Grand Master, the Bishop, and a representative of the people to negotiate and agree, and to sign documents."
"""So, where are the Knights of Favonius's documents?""
"""..."" The Traveler hadn't expected it to be so complicated.
"""Paimon ate them on the way."" The Traveler started making things up.""
Without a doubt, Sister Gothlynde stated that without documents, it was impossible to lend the skyward harp.
Just as Venti had predicted, they began their plan to steal the harp.
Stealing the harp was easier than expected; there were indeed guards in the place where the skyward harp was kept.
However, due to the Knights of Favonius being short-staffed, the guards were severely insufficient.
In the vast restricted area, the guards were only in twos and threes, and blind spots were everywhere.
The Traveler easily bypassed the guards and arrived before the skyward harp.
Unfortunately, someone was one step faster than them.
The Fatui's Lei Ying Warlock, capable of manipulating electro element power, took the skyward harp and vanished in the blink of an eye.
Leaving only the poor Traveler as the scapegoat.
The good news was that the guards hadn't clearly seen the Traveler's appearance, only knowing that the culprit had blonde hair.
This was why the Traveler's reputation as the Honorary Knight wasn't ruined.
Upon seeing this, both the Knights of Favonius and the church fell into contemplation.
Leaving aside the Traveler, how could even the Fatui get into the restricted area?
The guards in this restricted area were practically useless!
"No, we must increase the security for the skyward harp." Jean rubbed her forehead.
She felt a headache coming on; manpower was already insufficient, and now the inadequacy of their security forces had been exposed.
Where could she reallocate personnel from?
The Knights of Favonius had to defend Mondstadt City, clear out monsters, protect trade routes, patrol the city, protect villages and towns.
They needed to reserve personnel for emergencies, monitor the Fatui outside, and communicate with the Fatui inside.
Manpower was insufficient in every area; where else could she pull people from!?
She couldn't possibly send Klee to protect the skyward harp, could she?
If she didn't blow up the skyward harp, that would already be considered a contribution.
Perhaps I should drink more coffee and personally guard it for a while tonight?
Grand Master, you've taken away too many people!
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Character Voice Line · Jean: About Worries
"If there were some magical potion that would make me not need to sleep... Hmm, maybe I should ask Lisa tomorrow?"