Under the statue of the Anemo Archon in Mondstadt, a gentle melody floated through the air. A melodious voice sang a tale from an ancient myth.
The story took place in a time when gods still walked the earth. A dragon descended from the sky, curious about all things in the world. However, the dragon could not understand the intricacies of the world until it met a bard. Songs and poetry became the bridge that connected them, and they became friends.
But then, the dark age came. Mondstadt was decaying, and another evil dragon descended from the sky. The bard and the sky dragon went to fight it. Though they defeated the evil dragon, the poisonous blood and curse seeped into the sky dragon's heart through its wounds. Severely injured, the sky dragon fell into a deep slumber.
When it woke again, the bard no longer responded to its calls. The people on earth feared its presence. Over years of suffering, the curse caused the sky dragon to fall from grace and become a corrupted dragon.
As the story ended, the bard's lyre played the final notes, and the crowd surrounding the statue broke into sincere applause and cheers to express their admiration. However, a few individuals seemed lost in thought.
The bard on the high platform bowed to the audience as a gesture of thanks and then left the stage. Lumine and Paimon quickly caught up to him, trying to stop him.
"Hey, bard! Wait up, we need to talk to you!"
The bard halted, turning to look at the little floating creature sparkling with starlight. A flicker of curiosity appeared in his eyes, and he smiled slightly, a bit teasing in his tone, as he spoke cheerfully, "Hey, I have a name, you know! It's Venti, and I'm Mondstadt's three-time winner of the most popular bard award. Are you my fans? Do you want an autograph?"
"Do you remember us? We met in the woods outside Mondstadt, at the place where the red crystal fell from the sky!" Lumine stopped and pointed at herself and Paimon. She asked Venti, "We saw you there, looking at that crystal with such a sorrowful expression. We need to understand more about that crystal. Would you be willing to tell us?"
Venti raised his head and took a closer look at Lumine, then sneaked a glance at Hiroshi standing nearby. With a sudden look of realization, he gestured at their surroundings full of people. "Oh, right, I remember you now. You're interested in the matter of Dvalin, correct? This isn't the best place to talk about it; let's go somewhere else."
Lumine nodded and began to follow Venti.
"You all go ahead. I've been busy since yesterday, and I need some rest," Hiroshi waved to Lumine and Paimon.
"If you find anything or need my help, feel free to come find me. I'll be off for now."
"Hey! Wait, young man!" Venti quickly blocked Hiroshi's path, smiling widely. "This concerns the major crisis of Mondstadt's Stormterror. As the honorary knight of Mondstadt, aren't you at all interested?"
Hiroshi looked at Venti, his face expressionless. His voice was flat, devoid of any emotion. "I told you, I'm exhausted. I need to rest. Bard, would you please step aside?"
Seeing Hiroshi's emotionless response, Venti grew anxious. His eyes darted, and then he said, "Young man, don't you want to know about the loud booms last night that kept the whole city awake, coming from the southeast direction?"
"You must be exhausted because you patrolled the entire night trying to find out the reason, right? Come with me, and I'll explain everything. How about it? Sounds like a fair trade, doesn't it?"
Hiroshi shoved Venti aside gently, waving farewell to Lumine and Paimon. He leaned closer to Venti's ear and whispered, "Barbatos, can you do something productive for once? If you're looking for someone to pull into this mess, Lumine and Paimon are perfect candidates. Why insist on dragging me along?"
Venti gave Hiroshi a surprised look, then chuckled. "Haha, well, you're quite the impressive one, young man. It makes it hard to let you go."
"Alright, alright, I'm going back to rest." Hiroshi turned his back to the three of them, waving as he slowly walked away towards the new house assigned to him. "Once you figure things out, feel free to call me if you need my help."
Watching Hiroshi's retreating figure, Venti sighed helplessly and turned to Lumine and Paimon with a smile. "Alright, let's find somewhere else to talk."
*Bang!*
Hiroshi closed the door behind him and walked over to the living room, collapsing onto the couch with a long sigh. He took a moment to appreciate his new home.
It was a two-story, Western-style building with three bedrooms and two living rooms, fully furnished with high-end appliances. It was move-in ready. Apparently, this house was originally owned by a shady merchant who had his assets confiscated after being arrested, and it was now reassigned to Hiroshi by the Knights of Favonius.
Stretching lazily, Hiroshi got up from the couch, walked to the fridge, and grabbed a bottle of ice-cold cola. He took a sip and sank comfortably back into the couch, opening the chat group.
The group chat was buzzing with discussion about the recent mission.
**Kazuma Satou:** Wow, that mission was really intense! If it weren't for the little girl Hiroshi brought in as support, we definitely wouldn't have been able to complete it.
**Kazuma Satou:** Damn, I didn't think the first mission would be this hard. What are we going to do if it happens again? Should I go learn explosion magic from Megumin?
**Hiroshi:** Wait, Kazuma, are you turning into a bomb maniac now too? The "It always smells good" law strikes again?
**Luo Xiaobai:** ?? What's the "It always smells good" law?
**Hiroshi:** Everything ends up being appealing eventually.
**Kuroneko:** I don't get it.
**Kuroneko:** Thanks for protecting me during the mission, everyone. I promise I won't be a burden next time!
**Kazuma Satou:** Oh wow, I never thought I'd see this side of the tsundere loli where she's just dere.
**[Ding. Kuroneko has retracted a message.]**
**Kuroneko:** Roar, roar, roar! What are you saying, Kazuma the Pervert?! I am the Fallen Angel Dark Black Cat, destined to master the primordial powers of the otherworld! You should be grateful to witness my future glory!
**[Ding. The first group mission has been completed.]**
**[Kazuma Satou, Kuroneko, Luo Xiaobai, and Hiroshi are now group admins.]**
**[The group chat will now automatically add new members each month.]**
**[Group admins can invite one member per month.]**
**[The item shop has been updated.]**
**Hiroshi:** ...
**Kazuma Satou:** ...
**Luo Xiaobai:** ...
**Kuroneko:** The group chat got an upgrade!
**Kuroneko:** Does this mean I can add my little sister to the group?
**Kuroneko:** Goodbye, I'm logging off now!
**Luo Xiaobai:** I'm going to talk to my mentor.
**Kazuma Satou:** I'm going to tell Aqua and Megumin about this.
As the chat suddenly went silent, Hiroshi clicked on the new feature that had appeared and quickly grasped its purpose.
The group admins could now add one new member per month, or they could condense this privilege into a token and give it to someone else. It all depended on their choice.
Hiroshi condensed a token and put it away in his inventory, planning to give it to Klee tomorrow to fulfill his promise. He could have added her directly, but this would be more of a surprise.
He then opened the shop, where an array of newly updated items appeared before his eyes.