Nolan retracted his Wind Glider's Wings, tossing the Electro Cicin Mage casually onto the ground before helping the equally deep-sleeping golden-haired girl to stand up.
Lumine's head rested on his shoulder, her soft lips slightly parted, revealing a glimpse of white teeth behind them when she exhaled warm breaths.
Observing Lumine's peacefully closed eyes, Nolan gently patted her twice, feeling the warmth and smoothness of her skin.
Perhaps his actions were too gentle, as Lumine only felt a bit dry on her lips. She stuck out her tongue to moisten them, then pursed her lips and continued to breathe evenly, showing no signs of waking up.
"What a heavy sleeper. Try pinching her nose and mouth, if she can't breathe, she'll definitely wake up!" Paimon first complained with hands on her hips, then offered a suggestion.
"You can also use water. Suddenly chilling the skin can wake someone up too," added Venti, sharing his thoughts.
"Hey, won't that just get her clothes wet? It's uncomfortable to wear wet clothes!" Paimon crossed her arms, arguing.
"Heh heh! Yeah, that's true." Venti chuckled, adjusting his hat with a smile.
"What does 'heh heh' mean?! What's so funny? I feel like giving you a nasty nickname!" Paimon huffed, lifting her chin in a dismissive manner.
"I think Paimon's suggestion is better," Nolan nodded, pressing his index and thumb gently on Lumine's soft nose wings.
Then.
He saw Lumine furrow her brows, naturally parting her lips wider, shifting her breathing process to her mouth.
"Hehe, let me handle this!" Paimon pinched Lumine's philtrum and lower lip. With her breath completely cut off, Lumine suddenly opened her eyes wide, fully awake.
Seeing this, Nolan and Paimon quickly released their hands.
"Cough, what just happened?" Lumine lifted her head from Nolan's shoulder and took two quick breaths, her fair face slightly flushed from the rush.
"It's all because of this guy. When he used his song to attack the enemy, he accidentally affected you too. I was going to wake you up with water!" Paimon pointed at Venti without mincing words.
"It was an unavoidable accident," Venti shrugged helplessly, "Besides, both Paimon and Nolan managed to wake up the Traveler smoothly, didn't they?"
Lumine didn't pay much attention to these, she just expressed her gratitude to everyone.
[Lumine Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 120 Affection Points, Current Affection Level: Lv.4 (135/400)]
Nolan glanced at the affinity notification that popped up on the character panel, nodding slightly with satisfaction:
"Now that we've captured the Electro Cicin Mage, let's interrogate her first and see if we can find out what the Fatui's conspiracy is."
"Yes, let's do that!" Paimon nodded vigorously, smiling.
Nolan and the others first tied up the Electro Cicin Mage and confiscated her purple Delusion to prevent her from resisting upon waking up.
This time, they didn't bother to be as delicate as waking up Lumine. Instead, Venti used the wind element to scoop up a handful of lake water and splashed it directly on the Electro Cicin Mage's face.
The icy sensation interrupted her beautiful dream, and the Electro Cicin Mage woke up abruptly, shouting angrily:
"Who! Which idiot dared to do this!"
She was about to raise her hand and channel elemental power, but found it useless. Her Delusion couldn't perceive anything, and her limbs were immobilized. Then, she saw several familiar figures appearing before her.
Slowly, her memories of the previous events started to return, especially the fact that she had actually fallen asleep to the sound of the lyre!
How could this be possible?
She was one of the elite members of the Fatui who could accompany the Lady, how could she be caught by a few unknown individuals?!
It was somewhat unbelievable to her.
However, the reality was as such, and the Electro Cicin Mage could only look at the few people in front of her and threaten loudly, "Who are you people! Do you know who you're messing with?"
"Alright, alright, everyone knows you're a Fatui Member, so spill it. Why did you go to steal the Holy Lyre der Himmel? What conspiracy does your Fatui Executive, 'Lady', have in Mondstadt?" Nolan's lips curled up, forming a faint smile as he inquired.
"That's right, spill it, or we'll continue to beat you up!" Paimon, wearing a golden crown, floated in the air with a majestic wave of her little fist.
"Hmph, aren't you all here to steal the lyre too? And you have the nerve to ask me!" The Electro Cicin Mage scoffed sarcastically.
"Oh? So you indeed covet the power of the Stormterror?" Venti stroked her chin, pondering aloud.
No, of course not. If Nolan didn't understand the game plot, he might have been misled by the Electro Cicin Mage's appearance.
It wasn't that the Fatui harbored no intentions towards the Storm Dragon; rather, they didn't solely have intentions towards it.
The ultimate goal of the Fatui was undoubtedly to summon the Storm Dragon using the Holy Lyre der Himmel, then use the Stormterror to lure out the Anemo Archon, Barbatos, and ultimately seize the Gnosis.
In other words, their ultimate goal was you, Venti. Nolan glanced at the green-clad Anemo Archon with a glance.
"It's not that simple, is it? Unless you have a way to control the Stormterror, what's the use of summoning it? Even if it's awakened now and its sanity is affected, normally it's one of Mondstadt's Four Winds Guardians, why would it listen to you, members of the Fatui?"
Nolan attempted to find loopholes to extract more information from the Electro Cicin Mage.
"You don't need to worry about that. Our Lady naturally has her methods," the Electro Cicin Mage retorted stubbornly.
Lumine's amber eyes calmly stared at her, her soft lips slightly parted as she spoke, "You're lying. Back then, the Fatui delegation said they were going to deal with the Stormterror, but in reality, you didn't want to, nor could you control it, right?"
The gentle breeze brushing across the surface of the lake gently disturbed her white skirt, revealing glimpses of her snow-white thighs beneath the knee-high boots.
"That's surprising. What benefit do you gain from going to such lengths to kill the Stormterror..." Venti's pupils revealed a hint of surprise, as he continued to contemplate, "I understand now. As a dragon associated with the Anemo Archon, it would surely attract the Archon if it was in danger. So your target is actually the Anemo Archon, isn't it?"
"What?!" Hearing Venti's words, even Paimon was astonished, covering her mouth in shock.
"If that's the case, it all makes sense." Lumine stared at the Electro Cicin Mage with a smirk playing on her lips.
Whether it was Lumine or Venti, they were both very clever individuals, easily untangling various relationships and connecting the dots.
"You, you... How did you..."
The Electro Cicin Mage was now dumbfounded. She hadn't revealed anything, yet she was so easily guessed.
"So, what is your purpose in seeking out the Anemo Archon?" Nolan asked the final question.
As long as he could let Venti know in advance, perhaps they could protect the Gnosis from being taken away for nothing.
Even if Venti ultimately chose to give away the Gnosis, which was of no use to him, they couldn't let it be taken away for nothing for Archon's sake, just like in the game plot.
After all, the other Archons—Geo, Electro, and Dendro—had all willingly given theirs, while you, the Anemo Archon, were unclear and had it taken away after being kicked by someone else.
No matter what, you have to exchange a sum of money for a drink in the future, right? Nolan thought slightly speechless.
"Hmph, do you think I would know all that so clearly? Such secrets can only be answered by asking our Lady herself," the Electro Cicin Mage sneered, glancing aside.
"Well, since you don't know, there's no use in keeping you." Nolan approached her with a smile, taking two steps forward.
"Wait, you won't get away with this..!"
The Electro Cicin Mage hadn't finished her sentence when she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her neck and consciousness slipped into darkness, fainting.
[Defeated A Powerful Enemy, Obtained 2230 Adventure EXP.]
Looking at the accumulated Adventure EXP, Nolan felt that it was worth being kicked by her earlier.
Although the Electro Cicin Mage hadn't explained why they were seeking the Anemo Archon, with Venti's wisdom from living for so many years, he probably could guess some answers.
"I didn't expect the Fatui to be scheming like this, trying to lure you out, Venti. They're really a bunch of bad guys!"
Paimon stomped her foot in the air, indignantly, while Lumine's amber eyes also showed a worried expression.
"Geez, that's why we need to act fast to save Dvalin, so they won't have a chance to threaten me with it."
Venti said, still not appearing too concerned.
"Now that we've got the Holy Lyre der Himmel, what's next?" Nolan said as he took the lyre out of the Delusion and handed it to Venti.
"The flowing wind patterned rosewood and slightly cool star iron strings, it's really nostalgic" Venti said emotionally as he held the Holy Lyre der Himmel in his hands, But to use it to call Dvalin, we're still lacking something."
"Ah, why is that?" Paimon rubbed her golden crown, feeling its cool metal texture, a little puzzled.
"After so many years have passed, the power of 'wind' on the strings of the Holy Lyre der Himmel has long since been depleted, and we need to replenish it."
Venti explained as he stroked the Sky Lyre.
"So that's how it is, then hurry up and channel the wind element to it to replenish its 'wind' power!"
Paimon struggled to think of a suitable word to describe "replenish the lyre with wind elements", and ultimately gave up after failing to come up with one.
"Haha, Paimon, the usual method of attaching wind elements is far from sufficient. The concentration of wind elements is still too low, and it's difficult to maintain continuously. Moreover, there's a risk of damaging the Holy Lyre der Himmel if not careful," Venti laughed and explained.
"Oh, is that so?" Paimon scratched her white hair, puzzled.
"So, it actually needs 'tears of the wind dragon' to repair it, which is also the reason why you're collecting them, Venti," Lumine speculated, taking out purified red crystals.
"Hehe, indeed, as expected of a Traveler, you've figured it out. Dvalin's tears contain pure and rich wind elements, just a simple drop on the Holy Lyre der Himmel can replenish its wind element," Venti said with a smile.
"Well then, no time to waste. Lumine, go ahead and give it a try," Nolan said without surprise.
Lumine nodded lightly and took two steps forward with her legs wrapped in knee-high white boots, approaching the Holy Lyre der Himmel.
She let the crystal-clear tear of the storm dragon drop onto the strings of the lyre. Like liquid, it was easily absorbed by the strings, and gradually, each string seemed to glow with vitality.
"Wow, it looks even prettier now!" Paimon exclaimed, twisting in the air, seeming quite excited.
"But it's still not enough. We need more wind elements. Help me drop another one," Venti said, feeling that the Holy Lyre der Himmel was indeed in much better condition than before, and the wind elements within it had not continued to deplete. However, there was still a long way to go to reach the level where it could call Dvalin.
He took out another purified teardrop crystal and handed it to Lumine.
"Okay."
As the second wind dragon teardrop dropped, the Holy Lyre der Himmel blossomed with a burst of light, and it felt like the flavor of the wind element on it was even stronger.
However, it should still be insufficient. Nolan remembered that in the plot, more than two tears of the wind dragon were used to repair the Holy Lyre der Himmel
Nolan thought so.
"It's as expected. Just two tears are not enough. Traveler, adventurer buddy, we need to find more tears of the Stormterror," Venti sighed regretfully.
"Ah, why do we have to collect Dvalin's tears again? Where can we find them?" Paimon spread her hands helplessly.
"It's indeed troublesome, and with just a few of us, who knows how long it will take to find them," Lumine, with her hands wrapped in long sleeves, said, placing them beneath her chest.
Nolan pondered for a moment and then said:
"Why don't we explain the situation to the Acting Grand Master and ask for her help? After all, the longer it takes, the greater the chance the Abyss Order will succeed in controlling Dvalin."
"Yes, and we can also ask the Knights of Favonius to help us find them. At the same time, we can hand over these Fatui to the Acting Grand Master, saying that she sneaked into the cathedral trying to steal the Holy Lyre der Himmel and was stopped by us!"
Paimon said happily, looking at the Electro Cicin Mage on the ground.
"That's right. With this handle, I believe the diplomatic mission to Snezhnaya won't dare to meddle with the Knights of Favonius openly," Lumine said, her amber eyes shining brightly.
"It seems that's the only way. Let's hope you two honorable knights can be of some use this time and gain the trust of our Acting Grand Master," Venti said, looking at Nolan and Lumine with a smile.
"If all else fails, you could just reveal your identity as the Anemo Archon," Nolan replied with a smile.
...
As Nolan and the others acted, it was already 6 o'clock in the afternoon. Chasing the Electro Cicin Mage also took quite some time. Therefore, when they arrived at the Knights of Favonius headquarters, the night sky was already filled with stars.
Entering the Knights of Favonius hall and knocking on the door of the acting grand master's office, they found that Jean was sitting at her desk with a worried expression.
Ah, the crisis of the Stormterror has not been resolved, and she was just informed of the news that Mondstadt's treasure, the Holy Lyre der Himmel, was stolen by the Fatui. How could the Acting Grand Master not be worried?
"Hehe, Acting Grand Master Jean, we're here again!" Paimon shouted.
The noise from Paimon's voice made Jean feel a bit uncomfortable, and she rubbed her temples.
Looking up at the unexpected visitors, she said with some surprise, "Oh, Paimon, two honorable knights, and a stranger. Is there something I can help you with?"
(End of Chapter)
Word Count: 2443
❇❇❇
Support me on Patreon - Advanced Chapters There!
patreon.com/RedX43
❇❇❇