Hu Tao Is Monetizing My Existence. [215]

“We actually managed to get the Holy Lyre, just like that.” Even after they’d retrieved the Lyre, Paimon could hardly believe it.

Diluc glanced at the empty, windswept wilderness. It had taken them quite some time to get here from the city, and now it was well past lunchtime.

“In any case, let’s head to my winery. This isn’t the place for a conversation.”

“Alright.”

Dawn Winery wasn’t far; after crossing a few hills, the vast estate came into view.

Standing on a hillside, Jiang Bai looked out over the landscape, Klee still asleep on his back.

The manor below was enormous—what stood out first was a sprawling three-story mansion, its grounds covering dozens of acres. It was an impressive sight.

Around the mansion stretched endless vineyards, rows upon rows in every direction, thick with green leaves, the neat fields stretching all the way to the horizon.

“Wow! What a huge estate!” Paimon spun around in the air, excited.

An estate this size could only mean one thing—she was in for a feast!

“Come on. I’ve already asked the butler to prepare food.”

Diluc didn’t disappoint. With stars practically sparkling in her eyes, Paimon fought to keep from drooling as she zipped ahead toward the winery.

Good food was the quickest way to soothe a tired soul—especially for this group, whose last proper meal was ages ago.

The butler even brought out a pot of wine for a certain poetry-loving bard, who praised it to the skies.

Once everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Aether took out the Holy Lyre.

This ancient instrument, a thousand years old, was now faded and dim.

Venti stroked the cool strings, a nostalgic look in his eyes.

“Rosewood grained by the wandering wind, and star-iron strings, cool to the touch… It really takes me back.”

“So? Venti, can you use it to call Dvalin now?” Paimon asked.

“I’m afraid not. As you can see, after a thousand years, the wind’s power is all but gone. In this state, it’d barely be good enough for a bar gig.”

The others fell silent, waiting for him to go on.

Rescuing Dvalin had always been Venti’s plan—they didn’t really know the details.

Venti looked at Aether. “You’re still holding onto the tear crystals, right?”

“Yeah.” Aether produced the crystals.

“There’s still not enough wind energy on these strings. What we need now is to increase the wind element’s concentration.” Venti pushed the Lyre toward him. “Try dripping the crystals onto the strings.”

Aether nodded, carefully letting two drops fall onto the Lyre.

Under Klee’s eager gaze, the instrument began to glow a little brighter.

“It’s shining!”

“Ha, just as I expected.” Venti put his hands on his hips. “But the anemo element is still too thin. We’ll need more of Dvalin’s tears.”

“How do we collect more tear crystals?”

Venti’s eyes dimmed. “Even now, Dvalin is still weeping, suffering somewhere far from people…”

Klee’s head drooped. “Poor big dragon…”

Jiang Bai spoke up. “No time to waste. Let’s split up and search! If Dvalin’s somewhere remote, we should all check the less-traveled places.”

Jean nodded. “Right. This isn’t something for one person alone—I’ll have the Knights help search, too.”

Sitting among the wine barrels at Dawn Winery, Venti, true to form, showed no sign of moving. “Allow me to play you a farewell tune!”

“You just want to slack off and talk!” Paimon accused, annoyed.

“Playing takes hands, you know,” Venti said, perfectly justified.

“You’re impossible! I’m giving you a terrible nickname!” Paimon fumed, thinking for a moment. “That’s it—‘Tone-deaf bard’! From now on, that’s what I’ll call you!”

Venti just shrugged, indifferent.

Diluc gave the maids instructions: “Watch that bard. Don’t let him steal any wine.”

Jiang Bai headed outside with Klee.

No one knew where Dvalin might show up. They’d be searching for a needle in a haystack all across Mondstadt—especially with a certain bard refusing to budge, this mission was not going to be easy.

Jiang Bai looked down at Klee. “Where do you think we should look?”

He didn’t know much about Mondstadt’s geography, and had no idea where Dvalin liked to hide.

Klee thought for a bit. “Let’s go to Starsnatch Cliff! It’s really big and high, and there are lots of flowers with really long names. Maybe the big dragon will be there!”

“Alright, let’s go!”

Everyone else chose their own places, and so Jiang Bai and Klee set off toward Starsnatch Cliff.

“Klee wrote to you at first because she wanted to go pick flowers at Starsnatch Cliff with you…” Klee’s voice was a little downcast.

They’d been running around for days and she hadn’t had any time to play.

And after all that, she still hadn’t even seen the big dragon.

“Pick flowers?”

“Yeah! There are so many flowers there, with really long names, and they’re all so pretty! Mama took me there once—we picked flowers and tied them together into a giant flower crown…”

“Then let’s pick some while we’re there! We’ll make a big flower crown for you to wear!”

“Klee wants to go fish-blasting, too!”

“We probably can’t blow up any fish right now, but maybe we’ll find some wild rabbits. Tonight we can roast rabbit for dinner.”

Jiang Bai pulled out the map. Starsnatch Cliff was a long way off—on foot, it might take them a few days.

Might as well take their time, enjoy the journey, and search as they went.

It wasn’t all on them anyway. Jean was mobilizing the Knights, and Aether and Paimon were searching too—no need to shoulder everything alone.

Besides, Venti didn’t seem too worried. That meant Dvalin’s condition wasn’t critical yet.

“Yay! Roast rabbit!” Klee was instantly excited.

The two set off at a leisurely pace, searching for tear crystals along the way.

Klee was delighted—picking flowers by the roadside, poking through the grass for rabbit holes, trying to climb trees for apples.

Once outside the city, she was like a wild pony set free, racing and playing in the grass.

Jiang Bai didn’t stop her—she’d been cooped up in Mondstadt long enough, and if they were going to search, she might as well have some fun too.

Before they knew it, the sky had started to darken. Suddenly, Klee’s voice called from the bushes, “Jiang Bai, rabbit!”

“I see it!”

Jiang Bai had already spotted the rabbit darting his way, eyes wide with panic. He jumped, trying to catch it, but the frightened animal suddenly swerved and sprinted in a different direction, running for its life.

That gray rabbit’s eyes were full of desperate hope as it fled.

“It’s getting away!” Klee cried, and dashed after it on her short legs, pulling out a little Jumpty Dumpty bomb as she ran.

She tried to throw the bomb ahead to block the rabbit, but her foot caught on a stone, sending her sprawling to the ground. The bomb rolled away—right up to the feet of someone wearing wooden clogs.

—

This is a fan translation of 胡桃拿我冲业绩 by 余溯. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!