The Angel's Share.
"…So—you are the Wind God?"
After hearing what Diluc had said, Lumine stared at the bard in disbelief. She hadn't expected him to be the Archon.
It just… didn't match how she'd pictured it. Then again, maybe she was overthinking.
"That's right. Standing before you is the Wind God Barbatos in person. How do you feel? Shocked? So touched you might cry? Finally meeting the god you came to find—what an emotional moment, right?"
Venti wore a rare serious expression, and even a hint of smug pride.
Lumine: "…"
Is this guy really the Archon?
She had thought his lazy, teasing manner might be an act to hide his identity. But now that he'd openly admitted it, he was still the same—so she couldn't help but doubt whether he truly was the god.
"…Hmm. Is that really the Wind God? He doesn't look the part at all."
Paimon voiced her skepticism.
"Gods have moods too—anger, joy, sorrow. They don't have to scowl all day, right?"
Su Mo, who already knew Venti's identity, thought that temperament fitted an Archon just fine.
"To be honest, I had trouble believing it too. But that's the fact of it."
Diluc spoke with a tone of reluctant acceptance. If the bard hadn't shown his power, Diluc might never have believed such a deity existed.
"What a world to live in—such odd gods…"
"Heh—Su Mo gets me."
"Then… do you know anything about my brother?"
Lumine hurried to the point. If Venti really was Barbatos, this was the most important question.
"Short answer is—I don't know. But there are other things I can tell you. Not now, though. The fake Wind God plans to 'descend' over Mondstadt during the day; I have to handle that first."
Venti's face turned serious when Lumine asked.
"…What are you going to do about the fake Wind God?"
Lumine's disappointment at not getting a straight answer was expected—after all, the Archon hadn't taken Lumine's brother. Still, she wanted this impostor dealt with as soon as possible.
"Here's our plan." Venti explained what he and Jean and the others had discussed. "The knights have already announced that the Wind God will appear. A few citizens heard the messenger yesterday, and the impostor might already have spread word—so hiding things isn't possible anymore. We'll use the ruse against them: since the fake intends to impersonate me in Mondstadt tomorrow, the real Wind God will also make an appearance tomorrow. I'll show everyone who the true Wind God is."
"If many citizens gather, what if the impostor attacks them?" Paimon asked—this time she'd raised a good point.
"If he meant to impersonate me, he probably won't harm people. But we can't rely on that. So we've planned contingencies: only a limited crowd will be allowed into the square tomorrow; the Knights will deploy across the city to evacuate people at the first sign of danger—and there's me too."
Venti and Jean had discussed Paimon's worry in detail. If the impostor had even taken Dvalin, their objective was clearly either to pose as the Archon or to lure the real Archon out. That meant they couldn't take chances. The Knights had made extensive preparations to protect citizens.
"I'll help set up the evacuations tomorrow," Lumine offered.
"Me too—an honorary knight doesn't slack off," Su Mo added.
"Then let's wait for tomorrow."
"Is the Wind God really appearing today?"
"The Knights already announced it—this isn't a prank."
"Why not let us into the church so we can see the Archon?"
"Maybe they're worried about safety—Ugh, stop pushing me!"
All morning Mondstadt buzzed about the Archon's descent. Citizens wanted a sight of their god, but the square was restricted; people grumbled but still crowded rooftops, windmills, and the edges of the plaza to glance at the ceremony.
"People of wind—"
As Jean fretted over the crowd, a familiar voice drifted to her on a breeze. It was Venti's voice—Barbatos' voice—and everyone there seemed to hear it, though from no single direction. The Anemone spirits carried his words.
Barbatos…
Barbara opened her eyes, searching for the Archon. She was thrilled at the chance to see him.
Venti's figure formed from wind, appearing before the crowd—white hood, pure wings. This was the image of Barbatos: noble and serene. The faithful wept with reverence.
Venti felt awkward at all the devotion—yet the impostor's strength could not be ignored. He had to act; otherwise he might truly become a stand-in. In truth, he wouldn't mind someone else caring for Mondstadt if they did it as well as he did, but the odds of that were low. He could not allow Mondstadt to get another false Archon.
"Barbatos—welcome back to Mondstadt," Jean intoned, playing her part. But all eyes were also on the missing fake.
Where is he?
Diluc watched the perimeter. If the impostor's goal was to impersonate the Archon, he would most likely show up here.
"Barbatos has appeared. He even looks like the statue…"
"Isn't that obvious? The statue is modeled after him—what else would he look like?"
"Hey—look! The statue's gone! What happened?!"
"Maybe the Wind God did it?"
"…Did he think the statue was ugly?"
Crowds began to mutter as someone noticed the plaza statue had vanished in an instant. No one understood—had the fake done it?
"Where's the statue?"
"Barbatos—did you do this?"
As Venti stepped toward Jean, people looked behind him in panic. The statue was gone—one moment it had been there, the next it wasn't. Diluc, who had just seen it seconds ago, was stunned.
How had it disappeared?
Shrugging it off, Diluc ran toward the statue's plinth to investigate.
"Stop, Diluc—don't go there."
Venti grabbed him. He'd felt something odd at the statue's spot: the wind signatures around it were strange—enough to suspect the statue hadn't truly vanished so much as been hidden by winds.
Diluc froze, seeing Venti watching the location intently.
"This is interesting—even if I don't know how you did it."
Venti waved toward the empty plinth; a gust tore across the square.
The statue reappeared.
A murmur rose: the statue had returned. But Diluc's eyes swept the plaza and saw no sign of the impostor.
"Wow—the statue's back. A miracle!"
"But who was Barbatos speaking with?"
"Two Barbatoses? Are there two Wind Gods? Is this a brother-sister thing?"
"No one told us there were two…"
The crowd's chatter ran wild. As surprise turned to bewilderment, another figure materialized atop the statue—someone who looked almost exactly like the first Wind God.
Wait. So he copies my appearance too?
Hold on—that one's female?!
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