Chapter 97: Dissonance

The report from the debt handler left the "Lady" deep in thought. With a wave of her hand, she dismissed her subordinate.

"Surprisingly, there's no news of him..."

She had tasked her underling to investigate the whereabouts of Xianyu, merely to ensure her own plans wouldn't encounter any unexpected obstacles. Xianyu's unpredictability was a cause for concern.

Now, hearing that there was no news of him, was somewhat reassuring.

With him absent, he wouldn't be a stumbling block.

"However, it doesn't seem easy to seize the opportunity to act..."

The lights in the room flickered, casting alternating shadows on half of her face, leaving others wondering about her thoughts.

...

The once bustling tavern was devoid of other patrons, only a few familiar faces gathered there.

Diluc lent out his tavern, playing various roles and even moonlighting as a chef, resulting in a table full of dishes.

Barbara, Amber, Lisa, Kaeya, Diluc, Venti, and the last but not least, Jean, were all present. The series of tasks undertaken by Diluc indirectly contributed to "vacation" time for Venti.

Similarly, Venti, like Aether, wasn't aware of these tasks until afterward.

...

It was a day of relaxation and joy, a collective celebration among everyone during this period.

During the celebration, Barbara casually reminded Venti and the others about returning the Skyward Harp soon, as it might be awkward to explain to the other nuns in the church if it remained overdue.

Upon hearing Barbara's reminder, Venti and Aether's expressions became somewhat awkward, but they quickly regained composure.

"Yeah, yeah, okay. The Skyward Harp is still in my place. I'll take it over tomorrow."

Venti then raised her glass of fruit wine to Jean, diverting the topic smoothly.

The Skyward Harp, damaged by the Abyss Mage, had been kept by them, delayed in its return.

As for how Barbara knew the Skyward Harp was in their possession?

The Acting Grand Master and Barbara were sisters, so it was natural for her to know.

Now it seemed inevitable to return it tomorrow. Today was not the time to think about that thing.

...

The cheerful time was short-lived.

The next day, Aether and Wendy looked at the damaged Skyward Harp and felt a headache coming on.

"It's tricky... how about... Aether, you go hand it over to Barbara?"

Aether was speechless at Venti's suggestion. He looked at Venti as if he were joking.

Feeling uncomfortable under Aether's gaze, Venti continued jokingly, "Oh, I was just kidding. We're friends. I wouldn't let you go alone."

With that, he walked ahead towards the cathedral.

As Aether and Wendy reached the cathedral's entrance, they saw Jean was already there, giving them a sense of relief.

With Jean's presence, the atmosphere should improve.

However, when they took out the Skyward Harp, Barbara's entire demeanor changed.

"How could this happen!?"

"The Sky... ward... Harp..."

Afterwards, there was a session of repentance, with Barbara muttering things like "Barbatos won't forgive" and such.

This made everyone present feel awkward, and the fact that Venti inadvertently involved the Archon herself, Aether, made it even more embarrassing.

This scene, sigh.

Aether wanted to say something, but didn't know what to say.

Helpless, Venti had to speak up.

"Give me the harp. I can repair it."

Though Barbara was skeptical, she reluctantly handed over the damaged harp.

When Venti took it, he didn't use any magical materials to repair it.

Just holding it in her hands, a breeze appeared in the enclosed space, gathering around the Skyward Harp.

"Ding!"

A clear sound rang out, and everyone saw that the damaged corner of the Skyward Harp had been restored, with a hint of vitality that wasn't there before.

Seeing this, Barbara snatched the harp back and hugged it tightly to her chest.

Aether and Jean were curious, wanting Barbara to show them, but she refused.

"Hmph! I won't let you touch the Skyward Harp again!"

With that, she turned and walked towards the basement.

Barbara left with the Skyward Harp, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

However, Wendy's next words made them tense again.

"We need to hurry, my illusion... no, my spell won't last much longer."

Saying this, he closed one eye and made a mischievous expression. Then he ran towards the door, but this time, Aether didn't see Jean. She probably had something to discuss with Barbara.

As the two of them exited, they were ambushed by the Fatui, and before Aether and Venti could react, they were pinned to the ground.

Yes! Pinned to the ground. But the next moment, Venti flung them away.

Just as the fools attacked, there must be more than just a few people coming.

The "Lady" had been watching them closely.

After Venti flung the two debt handlers away, a chilling wave came from behind, freezing Venti's legs. Fortunately, it only froze her legs, not her strength, so he could still resist.

However, the strength was so overwhelming that it was almost blinding. With his current wind power, it was probably comparable to the force he used to fling those two fools just now.

What could this little strength do? At most, it could scare people.

Surprisingly, when the wind appeared, the "Lady" was momentarily taken aback, but the next moment, she "dug out" Venti's Archon Gnosis.

"Venti!"

Seeing Venti's heart being ripped out, Aither shouted, but unfortunately, no one paid attention to him.

There wasn't much to be said. The lady's actions were aimed at avoiding unnecessary complications, but speaking too much was, of course, included.

This situation differs from the original. It was not sure whether, if it's because of the addition of Xian Yu or other reasons.

After obtaining the item, the lady raised the "Archon Gnosis" in her hand and examined it.

"Is this the Archon Gnosis?" she asked, seeming somewhat emotional before stashing it away.

"What should I do with this person, Madame? Should I kill him?" the debt handler inquired, gesturing towards Aither and the tiny frozen entity implicated by Wendy.

"Don't worry about him. We've been closely monitored by the knights. We can't afford to cause trouble. Just knock him out," the lady replied, waving her sleeves before departing.

Upon hearing the lady's directive, the debt handler had no intention of disobeying. He had initially wanted to kill Aither to prevent further issues, but with the executive officer present, such action was impossible.

The lady's behavior is highly contradictory, yet no one dares to question it.

In fact, when Xian Yu was playing games before, he couldn't understand why the "lady" would leave "evidence".

From his understanding, the Fatui's executive is generally not a good person.

Unable to comprehend and faced with such inconsistency, there might be hidden secrets involved, secrets unknown to him.

It was precisely due to the other party's conflicting behavior that Xian Yu chose not to get involved in this matter.