Watching Venti's generous display, Su Mo immediately grew suspicious. Venti wasn't like Paimon, who was simply greedy. He wasn't exactly wealthy and generally didn't care much for money. In fact, that made him something of a poor bard. For someone like him to suddenly be so generous, there could only be two explanations—either he needed a favor, or he wasn't planning to pay.
Glancing sharply at Venti's coin pouch, Su Mo quickly confirmed that it was definitely the latter. Still, the amount of food on the table, while excessive for one person, was perfectly reasonable for four, especially with Paimon and Lumine present. Even if he ended up footing the bill, it was just one meal. So, without dwelling on it, Su Mo cheerfully took a seat.
Looking at Venti, who had already finished eating, Su Mo got straight to the point. "Yesterday you said you wanted to discuss Stormterror. I assume there's something important you want to tell us?"
Yesterday, Su Mo had successfully drawn Venti into the conversation using dandelion wine, ensuring that he became part of their plan. They had roughly agreed to work together, but just as Su Mo was about to learn more about Stormterror's backstory, Venti had suddenly chugged half a bottle of dandelion wine in one go—and promptly passed out. That's how he earned the nickname "drunkard" from Paimon.
While Venti's drunken state had been oddly cute, unfortunately, he was still a man—and an extremely troublesome one at that. He hadn't thrown a drunken tantrum, but in some ways, that made him even harder to deal with. The memory alone gave Su Mo a headache. Thankfully, Charles the bartender was experienced in handling such situations and had arranged a separate room for Venti to sleep off his drunkenness, allowing Su Mo and the others to finally escape.
Now, today's meeting was finally their proper chance to talk. Hearing Su Mo's question, Venti tried to recall what exactly he had said yesterday but didn't seem to remember much. Still, after a moment's thought, he nodded. "If it's something I wanted to tell you, then it's probably the story behind Dvalin."
With that, Venti pulled out his lyre from his waist and smiled. "Since you haven't finished breakfast yet, allow me, the world's greatest bard, to tell you a morning tale."
As the gentle melody of the lyre began to flow, Venti's voice blended seamlessly with the music, full of sincerity and grace.
"The story I'm about to tell begins in ancient times… when gods still walked upon the land. Then came an age of darkness. The Lionfang Knight had fallen, and the Eagle Banner no longer flew. A vile dragon approached Mondstadt…"
The soft melody continued as Venti wove the tale of Dvalin. Originally, Dvalin had been drawn to Venti's songs and had become one of his followers. In time, he rose to become one of Mondstadt's Four Winds, protectors of the city—Dvalin, the Dragon of the East Wind.
But during a later era of darkness, when the Lionfang Knight had no heirs and the Knights of Favonius were in decline, Mondstadt was left at its weakest. It was then that the venomous dragon Durin attacked, threatening to destroy the vulnerable city. To protect Mondstadt—
Dvalin had descended upon the land, engaging in a fierce battle against the venomous dragon Durin. In the end, while Durin was successfully defeated, Dvalin himself was gravely wounded and contaminated by the dragon's toxic blood. From that day forward, he fell into a deep slumber. And when he finally awoke, he had become twisted, turning into an enemy of humanity—earning the name Stormterror.
As Venti finished telling the tale, Su Mo and Lumine had also finished their breakfast. The other patrons at Good Hunter, having overheard the bard's story, broke into applause. Though the story was ancient, Venti's performance was undeniably masterful. His title as the greatest bard in the world was no exaggeration.
Once the applause faded, Sarah, the waitress, walked over. "Miss, would you like an autograph?" Venti smiled and shook his head. "Sadly, I'm dining with friends right now, so I can't fulfill your request."
"Oh, that's not necessary," Sarah replied with a professional smile. "Actually, I'm here for the bill. That'll be two thousand Mora."
"Ah, so it's time to pay!" Venti responded without the slightest trace of embarrassment, shifting his gaze toward Su Mo. Su Mo, in turn, looked at Lumine—he had given her the money yesterday. Lumine then cast her eyes toward Paimon, who was carrying the pouch thanks to her storage space.
Having just swallowed the last piece of toast, Paimon suddenly noticed everyone's eyes focused on her. Clearly, they expected her to pay. She instantly bristled, hands on her hips, glaring angrily at Venti. "Hey, Bard! Weren't you supposed to cover the bill today?"
She had even praised him earlier, thinking he was a good person. But as it turned out, he never intended to pay from the start! "I really would have loved to treat you," Venti replied innocently, pulling out his empty coin pouch, "but as you can see, I'm flat broke. Since we're all companions now, how about you cover it this time?"
His shameless words were delivered with a practiced ease. "You're just a freeloader, aren't you?!" Paimon stomped her feet in frustration. "Unbelievable!" But there was no way around it. With no choice, she reluctantly counted out the Mora and handed it over to Sarah.
"Thank you!" Venti beamed, clearly delighted at having gotten a free meal. While Paimon fumed with indignation, Su Mo and Lumine weren't too bothered by the cost. Lumine, however, was still preoccupied with Venti's story. "If what you just said is true, then why would Stormterror attack Mondstadt's people?"
That part puzzled her greatly. As one of the Four Winds, Dvalin should have protected Mondstadt even after awakening. Why, then, did he turn on them and become the very Stormterror who plagued the city?
"I'm not entirely sure myself," Venti admitted, shaking his head. "When I last tried to speak with Dvalin, I sensed that something was clouding his mind. For some reason, he's developed hatred towards Mondstadt, towards me… even towards the Anemo Archon."
"If I had been able to talk to him longer back then, I might have learned the reason behind his change."
As he spoke, Venti's emerald eyes gleamed like gemstones, glancing meaningfully at both Su Mo and Lumine. With a tone full of implication, he sighed dramatically, "What a shame! Just when I was about to get to the bottom of it… I was interrupted by two unexpected visitors. If not for them, perhaps I could have already cleared up the misunderstanding."
With that, he smiled mischievously, staring directly at Su Mo and Lumine. His gaze made Lumine instinctively lean back in surprise. "Wait… are you saying this was our fault?"
The younger and more straightforward Lumine immediately picked up on his hint, unlike Su Mo, who pretended not to hear, unwilling to fall into Venti's trap. The crafty bard, of course, wasn't about to let Lumine off so easily. "Since you realize it, you must take responsibility!" he declared, seizing the opportunity to push the blame onto them.
"What? That's so sneaky!" Paimon couldn't help but complain. But Lumine, in her earnestness, found Venti's words somewhat convincing. If what he said was true, then they had indeed interrupted him. Perhaps it really was their responsibility to help now.
Meanwhile, Su Mo suddenly raised his head, looking toward a certain direction with a peculiar expression. "Venti, if you say we interrupted your chance to communicate with Dvalin, then wouldn't it suffice to simply give you enough time to talk to him again?"
Venti found the question a bit odd but nodded anyway. "That's not wrong. I believe Dvalin's hatred isn't natural, but rather the result of corruption. If I could speak with him more, I might uncover the source of his change."
With that, Venti began to outline his plan. "Therefore, what we need now is the Sky Lyre from Favonius Cathedral. Only with its power can I summon Dvalin and attempt to speak with him again. No time to waste—let's head out!"
Without hesitation, Venti urged them forward, skillfully turning Su Mo and Lumine into his errand-runners. Such was his talent for slacking off while making others do the work.
However, he hadn't anticipated what happened next. Instead of immediately rising, Su Mo shook his head. "I don't think it'll be necessary to go through all that trouble." He stood up, looking toward the sky.
"Is there something up there?" Paimon asked curiously, floating beside him.
In that instant, the sky darkened as storm clouds gathered, and powerful winds swept through the city. High above, a deafening dragon's roar burst forth, sending shockwaves that shook the rooftops of Mondstadt.
"Stormterror has arrived," Su Mo said calmly. As his words fell, the massive, teal-colored dragon descended alongside the raging winds, turning the streets below into utter chaos.
The entire city of Mondstadt was thrown into chaos.