Diona and Joker's Deal

'To be honest, Mask of Illusion is far more potent than I thought...'

Logan thought, sitting down on the sofa at his home after finishing a chat with Amber this morning.

Looking at the red actor mask, which is the Mask of Illusion, Logan twirls the Mask of Illusion in his hand.

As he continue to act as Joker, he can see the memories and emotions of the Clown Prince of Crime.

In those memories and emotions, Logan can feel the swirling madness and insanity of Joker, enough to drive anyone insane.

'I can see why the Mask of Illusion is so feared...'

Though it is not the case every time, generally, strong beings have feelings or emotions far beyond what normal human beings can tolerate.

So anyone with weak mental strength, daring to wear the Mask of Illusion, would be immediately devoured by the powerful being they recklessly chose to act as.

Even people with strong mental strength aren't totally safe either.

If he weren't emotionless and had perfect control over his emotions, Logan wouldn't easily use the Mask of Illusion for fear of being devoured.

Because while he may have lost his emotions, he still has his biological instinct that wants to survive, and dying by being devoured is a completely pointless death in Logan's eyes.

But he doesn't care.

He doesn't care about the memories or feelings of the character he chose to act as. His only goal is to regain his memories, and besides, it is merely feelings and memories of the past.

'So...I guess I should keep gathering more Essence Spark.'

Logan thought, glancing at the setting sun from his window and the approaching dark storm.

Then Logan put the red actor mask on his face, and the Mask of Illusion quickly changes his appearance and physique to a tall person with green hair, chalk-white skin face, red paint over the lip, and a crazy smile on his face.

'Let's start the party, shall we?'

---

Mondstadt, Cat's Tail, late at night.

Cat's Tail tavern is owned by Margaret, a famed drinker, and is the only tavern in Mondstadt beside Angel's Share tavern.

Cat's Tail is a unique tavern with its interesting gimmick of having cats inside the tavern, attracting many cat lovers and also a few drinkers too.

But even so, Cat's Tail tavern is much less popular compared to Angel's Share tavern.

Angel's Share tavern is opened by Dawn Winery, the chief winery owned by the Ragnvindr Clan for many generations in Mondstadt. It is particularly famed for making a range of wines that are popular across the land of Teyvat.

And to make it even worse, the Dawn Winery is inherited by the current master of Ragnvindr Clan, Diluc Ragnvidr, one of the strongest persons in Mondstadt and also a genius in business.

So the Angel's Share tavern monopolizes all of Mondstadt's wine industry, and Cat's Tail couldn't do anything about it.

Until one day, the situation changed when Margaret hired a new bartender, who originates from Springvale.

The new bartender swept the wine industry by storm, creating alcoholic drinks so good that it is said the new bartender can create delicious alcoholic drinks from any ingredients, as if it is almost like magic.

Now Cat's Tail tavern has grown into a formidable rival toward Angel's Share, though it always makes less money compared to Angel's Share.

Today, Cat's Tail got a new visitor, though whether it is good or bad is unknown...

Cat's Tail tavern is desolate, saved for a few cats mewing in their preferred place. In the middle of Cat's Tail lies a bar with a lone cat-girl standing, brewing a drink.

The cat-girl is brewing a drink when she heard the door open, revealing an elegant man quickly rushing inside, drenched from the rain outside.

"Phew, it is rather stormy, isn't it?"

The man grinned, shaking his body to get rid of the wetness on his suit.

This man has a tall and lean physique, and look around thirties to forties. He has a well-groomed, neat appearance, characterized by short, dark hair. His facial features include a chiseled jawline and a straight nose. His eyes have a sharp and observant eye, almost like a hawk.

He is wearing a dark stylish and well-tailored suit, though it is wet due to the storm outside.

Sitting down casually on the chair in front of the bar, the man asked the cat-girl in front of him.

"Hello, my name is Jack Napier. May I ask what your name is?"

Though initially surprised by the man's question, the cat-girl curtly replied.

"Diona. Diona Kätzlein."

Hearing the familiar name, Jack Napier or Logan carefully looked at the cat-girl in front of him.

Diona's center bangs are pulled into a stiff, upwards pigtail at the front of her head.

Diona is wearing a large dark indigo cap, along with shorts of the same color with gold paw-print decorations. She also wears a dark midriff-baring sleeveless turtleneck shirt with an orange-yellow scarf, pale pink sleeves, a vest of the same color, and white gloves with light pink paw-like patterns on the undersides.

In addition to this, she is wearing a cat collar with her initial written on the tag and an orange handkerchief tied around the base of her tail.

And most noticeably, is the blue-whitish emblem attached to the drink canteen on her waist. The emblem has a symbol that looks similar to ice, silently telling outsiders that the holder of this emblem is a Cryo-Vision Bearer.

Diona is the rising star bartender who works in Cat's Tail tavern, and a 4-star Cryo Character from Mondstadt!

"Diona? That's a nice name."

"Thanks. So, are you going to order an alcohol or not?"

Diona said impatiently. She despises anyone who indulges in alcohol, and in her opinion, Jack Napier, who looks like an elegant nobleman, is no different from other drinkers.

"No thanks, I would just like a hot tea, please."

Hearing that, Diona raised her eyebrow in surprise, and her initial impression of Jack Napier suddenly became much better.

"Sure, coming right up!"

Soon Diona handed Jack a cup of hot tea.

"Thank you, Diona."

Jack raised his cup of hot tea and slowly sipped it, savoring the taste of it.

'As expected of Diona... No... to be more accurate, as expected of the Oceanid's blessing...'

He is well aware of Diona's life experience.

Diona originates from the Springvale village, from the south of Mondstadt, and is the daughter of the head hunter, Draff Kätzlein.

She is also a descendant of Kätzlein bloodline, renowned for their feline features and hunting prowess, which is why she has cat ears and a cat tail.

From early childhood, because of the absence of her father, Draff Kätzlein, who often goes out to drink late at night, Diona was often lonely, so she would occasionally visit Springvale's spring and reveal her feelings and loneliness.

That is the reason why Diona came to hate alcohol and the wine industry, as she perceives that if it weren't for the wine industry, her father wouldn't be turned that way, often going out to drink.

Callirhoe, an Oceanid, worshipped as the Spring Fairy in Springvale who happens to live in the spring, listened to Diona and came to pity her.

So on Diona's seventh birthday, Callirhoe chose to reveal herself and gave Diona a blessing that would make all her drinks taste delicious no matter what. Afterwards, she disappeared, and Diona came to believe that the Spring Fairy that she saw was just a dream.

But Jack knew that it was not a dream. Diona really did see the Spring Fairy, and that Callirhoe is the culprit for why every time Diona tries to make a disgusting alcohol, it turns out delicious in the end.

'To be honest, I can't decide whether to feel pity or be amused by Diona's circumstance...'

Jack thought as he slowly savored his cup of hot tea. As he sipped his cup of hot tea, he asked Diona a question.

"So... I heard that you want to bring down the wine industry?"

Diona mildly raised her eyebrows. It's no secret among Mondstadt citizens that she wants to bring down the wine industry of Mondstadt.

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just I'm curious that if that was the case, why are you working as a bartender?"

As if poking a cat's sensitive spot, Diona quickly defended herself.

"T-thats because I want to create a terrible alcohol drink, so terrible it would make the wine industry's reputation plummet down!"

Hearing that, Jack raised his eyebrow and asked a soul-torturing question.

"From what I see, you say you want to bring down the wine industry, but have you done anything besides contributing to it?"

"I-I know! Its just this is the only way I can think of..."

Speechless, and knowing that Jack is right, Diona dropped her head down, her cat ears drooping down meekly.

But Jack knew that Diona is lying.

Diona had a very good friend named Klee, the Spark Knight of the Knights of Favonius, and is a bomb manic.

So if Diona wanted to, she could have asked Klee to literally destroy the wine industry.

But out of kindness, she chose not to, and instead decided to make terrible alcoholic drinks to make the wine industry's reputation plummet though it had the opposite effect instead.

Knowing this, Jack offered a suggestion to Diona.

"Then how about this? What if you were to make a non-alcohol drink that tastes similarly to alcohol and yet would not make people drunk?"

"That would make drinkers flock to Cat's Tail tavern, clamoring for it and soon the wine industry will soon be desolated."

Diona's eyes widened at Jack's suggestion. She had never thought of this idea!

But then her cat ears drooped down again.

"But it would take a long time to create on... and how do we know if it is feasible?"

Jack merely chuckled at Diona's reaction before continuing.

"My dear, it is indeed feasible... after all, I do indeed have a few recipes in my possession."

Diona's eyes widened, and she immediately wants to ask Jack for the recipes, but she didn't lose her cool and cautiously asked.

"Whats in it for you? There's no reason for you to help me for free."

"Good, good. You already understood the truth that free things are often the most expensive."

Jack nodded appreciatively. While Diona may still be a 12 years old child, she is one of the rare Vision Bearers among Teyvat, and is smarter beyond her age.

But fortunately, he already had his own reason to help Diona.

"Nothing much, it's just I have a little enmity with Diluc Ragnvidr, and so I want to bring down his business."

"I see." Diona's eyebrow finally relaxed upon hearing Jack's reason. And as for Jack's reason? She didn't care as she didn't like Diluc very much as she believes that he is the culprit for her father being that way.

"Then I accept the deal, Jack!", then Diona stretched out her hand, wanting to shake Jack's hand.

"Great. And if you don't mind, you can call me Uncle Jack. After all, I trust that we will have excellent cooperation for a long time..."

Jack said, smiling darkly as he shook Diona's outstretched small hand.

And so a strange sight is formed, where to an outsider, a strange uncle is shaking hands with an innocent small cat-girl.

If someone from the modern age were to see this, they would definitely call the police and 'politely' escort Jack to the police station for a drink.

But unfortunately, there is not, and so a strange uncle and an innocent cat-girl made a deal that would shake the foundation of the wine industry in the future and cause a headache for Diluc.