Chapter 42: The Kingdom of Selfishness

"Leave it to me."

Inside the Cathedral of Favonius, Chen and Paimon stood back, watching with composed interest as Venti put on a performance.

Venti: "Greetings, Sister."

Gotlinde: "May the Anemo Archon bless you, young bard. Is there something you need?"

Venti: "Actually, I possess a secret that could save Mondstadt from the crisis it faces."

Gotlinde: "Oh, may the Anemo Archon be praised. But you should report such matters to the Knights of Favonius. What could an unrelated sister like me possibly do for you?"

Venti: "Ah, haha, of course there is something you can do, Sister. For instance... the Holy Lyre der Himmel. With its power, I could help the Stormterror..."

Gotlinde: "Please, leave."

Gotlinde: "Though that dragon is ferocious, as long as the Acting Grand Master is determined, there is no threat that cannot be vanquished."

Venti: "Eh! That won't do! If that happens, wouldn't the Stormterror die?"

Gotlinde: "A wayward beast that has turned its back on the East Wind—even if the Anemo Archon himself were to descend, he would not easily forgive it!"

Venti: "Hmm..."

Venti (blinking coquettishly): "Uh... well, big sister~~"

Gotlinde (heart skipping a beat): "No means no, little bard."

Venti: "Phew... there’s no helping it."

Venti: "I can no longer hide the truth!"

Venti: "My devout follower, rejoice! Standing before you is none other than Barbatos, the Anemo Archon himself!"

Gotlinde: "If there is nothing else, I am going back to finish processing the cathedral's documents."

Venti: "Eh, eh—"

...

Chen and Paimon stepped forward to the dejected Venti. Seeing them, Venti scratched his head in embarrassment and said, "Oops, that was a failure!"

Seeing this, Paimon couldn't help but huff, mocking him mercilessly, "Humph, and I thought you were so impressive? Turns out you're just as useless."

Little Paimon still held a major grudge against this suspicious individual who had nearly caused Chen and herself to face mortal peril at the hands of a giant dragon in the forest earlier.

"Haha, you can't say that. At least Gotlinde didn't deny that the Holy Lyre der Himmel is in the cathedral, right? That counts as a gain." Venti remained optimistic, still finding the heart to console himself.

"By the way," Venti’s eyes darted toward Chen, a spark of anticipation in his gaze, "why don't you give it a try? As the current rising hero of Mondstadt, perhaps you have enough weight to borrow the Holy Lyre temporarily!"

Chen glanced at him, ignoring this terrible idea that sounded doomed from the start. Instead, he was preoccupied with Venti’s earlier claim of being the Anemo Archon.

The statement might have seemed like a mere ruse to trick the sister, but to Chen, it felt like a key—a sudden unlocking of a shackle in his mind, causing many of his previous thoughts to snap into place.

Could he really be...

Reflecting on this, Chen looked at Venti, deciding to probe further.

Fixing his gaze on the sister’s retreating back, Chen suddenly spoke: "It’s quite pathetic, don't you think?"

"Eh?" Venti blinked, caught off guard by the sudden comment.

"They were the ones who forgot the hero who sacrificed everything to protect them, indirectly fueling this catastrophe. Yet now, knowing the true identity of the Stormterror, as a follower of the Anemo Archon, the sister’s first thought isn't to repent for their faults, but to blindly label the hero a traitor and call for his execution.

"She even had the audacity to claim that if the Anemo Archon returned, he would side with them to kill his own kin. How self-righteous can one be? If even the sisters of the cathedral think this way, what of the rest of the people in Mondstadt?

"All things considered, would you not call this a tragedy?"

Chen’s voice was calm, yet his words cut to the bone. Venti’s expression dimmed; he wanted to refute, but as he opened his mouth, he found he didn't know where to begin.

If forgetting a hero is a form of betrayal, then among the believers in Mondstadt today who clamor to kill the Stormterror, who is truly the traitor?

"Perhaps they simply do not understand the full situation..." After a long silence, Venti finally uttered the dry, weak defense.

Chen was noncommittal toward his self-deception. He turned his head slightly to look at the darkening sky outside the window, his tone indifferent.

"If the 'freedom' pursued by the Land of Freedom includes viewing the responsibility of honoring past heroes as a shackle, then this land is less of a 'Land of Freedom' and more of a 'Land of Selfishness,' wouldn't you agree?"

The Song of the Wind fell silent.

Chen said nothing more and turned to walk out of the cathedral.

Venti's reaction had essentially confirmed his identity.

In truth, the guy hadn't intended to hide it from him at all. Knowing full well he wouldn't be believed, he had used that childish method to reveal his identity to the sister specifically to hint at it to Chen.

Yet, why would he refuse to state it plainly? Was he held back by some concern?

As for the Holy Lyre, it was clearly impossible to obtain it through official channels now.

Ask Jean for help?

Heh, the Church of Favonius were fanatical followers of the Anemo Archon. Want to take away a divine relic left behind by the Archon from them? Unless the Archon himself came to claim it, even Varka would have to follow protocol.

...

...

At midnight, Mondstadt was shrouded in a deep veil of darkness.

Outside the Cathedral of Favonius, a secretive shadow, taking advantage of a shift change in the guards, slipped silently into the cathedral.