40 Tone-Deaf Bard

"One more~!" Shouted a person.

"Venti... This is already your 37th cup of dandelion wine..." Replied a worried person besides the person that just shouted.

"That's right! Paimon thinks that you'll pass out any moment right now, Tone-deaf Bard." Added another person.

Of course, there three are none other than Lumine, Paimon, and Venti. After defeating Dvalin, the three of them decided to return the Holy Lyre to the cathedral. However, after they left, they were attacked by the 8th Fatui Harbinger, La Singora.

After being attacked, La Singora beats up Venti and took his Gnosis away from him. A Gnosis is an item that looks like a chess piece that connects the Archons to Celestia. It also represents their status as one of the seven archons, without it, their connection to Celestia gets destroyed.

Shortly after taking his Gnosis, La Singora left Mondstadt, and along with her, the Anemo Archon's Gnosis. Venti was slightly injured and healed himself beneath the giant tree in Windirse, a tree that represents his old friend as well as the hero Vanessa.

All of that happened just this morning. And now, it's nighttime in Mondstadt. But oddly enough, Venti soon returned to his usual carefree manner. It was as if everything that had happened this morning was nothing.

And here he is, drinking at Angel's Share. And together with him, the savior of Mondstadt and the Honorary Knight, Lumine.

Speaking of Lumine, she talked a bit with Venti in Windrise and decided to head to Liyue, in search of the Geo Archon in hopes of finding her brother. She made some plans and decided to leave in five days.

"I advise you to stop drinking and see yourself out. Although I said that you can have any drinks for free just for this night, abusing my words is not acceptable." A voice came from the counter. He sounded a bit frustrated but calm at the same time.

It was Diluc. The current owner of Dawn Winery and Angel's Share. And, he is also one of the few people that knows Venti's real identity. However, even though he knows that Venti is the Anemo Archon, his attitude to him and other people did not change.

As for the matter of free drinks, he figured that letting a God drink some wine got free just for this time is fine. But he was wrong as Venti is a heavy drinker. He immediately regretted his decision.

"Haha, it's fine Master Diluc~ *Hiccup* I didn't drink that much~ It's only... Thirty? Haha, rooky numbers!" Laughed Venti.

"Get out." Diluc deadpan said.

Noticing the atmosphere, Lumine decided to act. She stood up and grabbed Venti's shoulder. "Venti, let's not disturb Master Diluc anymore..."

"Yeah! You're drinking everything they have, you Tone-Deaf Bard!" Shouted Paimon.

"Hehe~ just a little more~ *Hiccup*" However, it seems that the alcohol has already affected Venti.

Lumine sighed and reached for Venti's shoulder and carried him. Fortunately, the latter seemed to have already succumbed to the alcohol and is on the point of passing out, making it easier for Lumine to carry him.

After picking him up, she headed for the tavern's door. But before leaving, she apologized to Diluc. "I'm sorry for Venti..."

"It's fine. Just get that bard out before he drinks every dandelion wine we have." Diluc said, still keeping that deadpan expression while folding his arms.

Lumine nodded and exited the tavern.

* * *

It was already nighttime in Mondstadt. Eight o'clock, to be precise.

Lumine carried Venti on her shoulder to find an Inn for him. She doesn't know where he sleeps so she just decided to find one for him.

However, while walking, even though he's still a bit drunk, Venti slightly jerked up. His eyes were a bit fuzzy as he looked around. "Hey~ Do you smell that? *Hiccup* It smells nice..."

He then separated himself from Lumine and followed the scent.

"Hey wait! Where are you going, Tone-Deaf Bard?!" Asked Paimon. Lumine also got confused and followed Venti.

They soon reached a place where the lights are on.

"The smell of wine... With apples! *Hiccup*" Venti said. Strangely, he seem to know what he was smelling. "Apple Cider? No, it has the smell of wine!"

He kept following the smell and went up a set of wooden stairs. His eyes were still a bit fuzzy so he rubbed them. He then saw a sign in front of the door saying "Open".

"An open sign, huh? *Hiccup* Then this must be a store!" He said. Without sparing any more thought, he opened the door to what he assumed was a tavern selling wines.

To tell the truth, Wine is not Venti's favorite food. In fact, it is the second. The first is... Well, a plain sweet apple found in the wilderness.

As for the Apple Cider in Angel's Share, it does not have a single drop of alcohol. Furthermore, it is said to have a strong sobering effect, making it a perfect drink for drunk people.

So when Venti smelled his two favorite food, he followed it immediately. And seeing that the smell is from what seemed like a shop, he did not hesitate to enter.

"Venti, wait!" Behind Venti, Lumine shouted.

The door opened and Lumine and Paimon managed to get a glimpse inside.

On the ceiling, a light was illuminating the whole room. On the sides of the room, couches were present, and in front of the couches, glass tables were also placed.

On the side of the room, a counter was present. Behind the counter, a sit was present and behind it, a bookshelf was placed with a few books on them.

And spread across the floor, a giant blue mat was placed.

At the back of the room, a staircase was leading to the second floor.

Sitting on one of the couches was a youth that has his mouth open while holding a fork that has meat on it, signifying that he was about to eat. His meal was on one of the glass tables along with a bottle of Apple Cider Wine.

And sitting across him, another youth was present that had golden eyes and raven-black hair. He appeared to be reading a book.

Of course, these two are none other than Sasori and Igarashi. After entering the new shop, Igarashi immediately started renovating the whole place. He bought many furniture from the system, and because he had over 1,000 System credits, It did not affect him that much.

However, it seems like luck was not on his side. Even though put up an "Open" sign in front and made Sasori advertise his shop, only a dozen people came. And from those dozen people, only a handful bought a manga.

"...Huh?" Igarashi, who was about to eat, stopped. 'Isn't that...'

Before he could finish speaking, Venti already got close to him. "Is that *Hiccup* An apple wine, by any chance?!"

Igarashi was a bit confused and looked at the wine he bought from Liyue. Oh, and yes, the portal connecting to Liyue is working fine. He came back there and made some quick purchases. He plans to open his shop there tomorrow.

It was a wine he bought from Xiangling. She said that she made it by gathering some weird ingredients that Igarashi didn't want to remember. However, it did include some apples and... slimes. Cryo slimes, to be precise.

Yeah, she uses slimes as an ingredient.

Anyways, he loved the way it smelled and bought one bottle from her for 12,000 Mora.

Igarashi put down his fork and answered Venti. "It is. Why?"

Although he sounded calm, his thoughts were a mess. 'Why and how is Venti here...?! No, more than that, even the traveler is here!'

Igarashi already anticipated that Venti is gone traveling while Lumine is off to Liyue. He didn't think that they were still here!

"Good! Good! *Hiccup* How much are you selling that wine for?" Venti asked. He really wants that Apple Cider Wine.

"Umm... Not for sale. And this is not a tavern." Igarashi explained with a flat tone and a deadpan expression.

Hearing his reply, although he was still a bit drunk, Venti heard it clearly. He immediately got sad and lowered his head.

"Serves you right, you Tone-Deaf Bard! Barging in anywhere you want..." Paimon said at the back

"Let's go Venti, you disturbed another shop owner..." Lumine added.

Just then, Igarashi's voice was once more heard. "However... I can give you the whole bottle if you do one thing for me."

Hearing this, it was as if Venti immediately sobered up, and his eyes gleamed. "Really?! What is it?! What is it?!"

Igarashi stood up and gave his meal to Sasori to be eaten later.

He then put his arm behind his back and took out a manga from his system inventory.

"I'd like you to read this, please." He said as he handed over a book to Venti.

Venti received it and inspected it. "What is it?"

Lumine and Paimon also got curious and looked at it. "Yeah, what is it?" Paimon asked.

A kind smile was still on Igarashi's face. "It's a manga, a type of book from Liyue. I came all the from Liyue to expand my business here in Mondstadt."

'And reaping in those sweet Archon System Credits and system achievements...' He secretly thought.

The manga he handed was merely the first chapter. As for the cover, it had a cover of a girl with beautiful crystal-like blue eyes with blonde hair. And on her face, a bandage was placed.

And on the top of the cover, the title was displayed.

Violet Evergarden.

Really, how would the God of Freedom react to the story of a girl that has freedom but is shackled by her past?