112. A Young Dragon Story

Ryūhei once said to Ayaka that he learned Adeptus Arts from an Adeptus. And that Adeptus was Morax, the Geo Archon. Although he couldn't manipulate the Adeptal energy, he used a method that only he could use, and eventually he learned a lot under Morax's tutelage.

That explained a lot of how Ryūhei became so powerful, even surpassing her brother in a short time.

Venti commented after hearing that story.

"I see. So that's why you could unleash such a bizarre aura. But, how come you consider the Archons as useless beings? I understand if you talk about the blockhead Morax, but I'm not useless."

"One of them always bought something without even paying. And one of them was a drunkard who couldn't do anything when a dragon attacked the city. Tell me, are you two and the Raiden Shogun somewhat similar?"

"Ugh!" Venti hurted by Ryūhei's words. He couldn't help but retort. "I helped to fend off the dragon, you know!"

That was interesting news for Ryūhei. Wanting to know more, he decided to play.

"How come I heard it was a blonde traveler that fended off that dragon?" Ryūhei said while holding his chin. This was the news he got from Albedo. But, it seemed the so-called traveler got outside help to fend off the dragon.

"I helped him by using the power of thousands of winds."

"I see."

He's the Anemo Archon. It is normal if he can manipulate the wind as he pleases.

What puzzled him was Zhongli said that Venti should be powerful. Yet, he didn't bring forth his real strength against that dragon. Or perhaps, he was worried that his power might hurt the citizens.

In any case, the wind element, or the Anemo power was so versatile in his opinion. Combining it with lightning resulted in the emergence of a lightning storm, a blizzard after combining it with ice, and so on. But, Venti didn't do that. Or perhaps, he couldn't think that far!? Who knows?

Throwing away that thought, Ryūhei asked once more. "Last night, I heard that a blond-haired man and another person stole the Holy Lyre. Are you one of the two?"

"That's me! But I'm not the one who stole it!" Venti denied. However, that actually made him a suspect.

Ryūhei covered his eyes with his hand. That was expected. The thing he wouldn't expect was the Holy Lyre wasn't in his hand.

"You know, if you say that, of course, other people will suspect you."

"But, I'm telling the truth…"

Ryūhei looked at him sarcastically. Then he sighed.

"Haaah. Dear Lord Barbatos. Let me tell you the facts about humans. The thing they do the most is lying, be it lying for the good or bad. One would lie to give someone a better life and another would lie to cover up a person's crime or bad things. So, if you were caught, it was futile even if you tried to tell the truth when the evidence was pointed at you as the culprit. Luckily you decided to escape."

Venti started to digest what Ryūhei said. On the other hand, Ayaka was amazed by Ryūhei. Who would have thought that Ryūhei would lecture an Archon? If she told her brother, perhaps her brother just laughed at her, thinking that she was fooled by Ryūhei.

When Ryūhei asked why Venti didn't expose himself as the Archon, he said he already did. Then, Venti explained that he suddenly said that he was Barbatos to the nuns inside the church.

Ryūhei laughed out loud when he heard that because he thought the possibility of Venti doing that was zero. But, to think that he did exactly what he thought previously.

"Do you know what kind of bird to describe you?"

"A dusk bird?" Venti replied in a questioning tone.

"Wrong. It's Stoo-bird." Ryūhei corrected as he imitated Steven He.

"..."

"Think about it, man! I don't know why you need the so-called Holy Lyre, but if you want to take it back by using your own identity, then you have to do what the Archons do, which is to protect this city by showing off your power! Yet, you missed that chance since the traveler I heard from the citizens' mouth, took the credit from you. If you show your power at that time, I bet all of the people would believe you as an Archon."

Venti looked down dejectedly since Ryūhei's words implied that he was an incompetent Archon.

Seeing that, Ryūhei added, "Forgive me for being blunt and I might be a hypocrite here. But, I think you should learn to think thoroughly before acting, Lord Barbatos."

"No, you're right. And I'm a little glad that you can be straightforward with your words even after finding out that I'm an Archon." Venti shook his head while saying that.

Then, he started to tell a story about him and the dragon. And it seemed the dragon was called Dvalin.

The story was so fascinating. It was about a dragon that was just born 2,000 years ago. This young dragon was very curious and descended to the continent of Teyvat to observe the world. Its presence unintentionally caused havoc and destruction, instilling fear in humans. And it got hurt by the treatment it received as a consequence of its actions.

One day, it was attracted by music and landed next to a bard that was none other than Barbatos himself. Though the humans panicked, Barbatos remained calm and sang of the dragon's beauty. Seeing that the god wished for it to be understood as well, it decided to stay by his side and befriended him. And the dragon has continued to protect Mondstadt ever since.

However, a huge battle occurred 500 years ago. Dvalin eventually fought alongside Barbatos against an artificial dragon, Durin, that went berserk due to Abyssal energy within Durin's body. Dvalin and Barbatos eventually prevailed at the cost of ingesting Durin's poisonous blood.

"That's the reason I need the Holy Lyre, to calm him down before trying to figure out how to cure him."

'He calls Dvalin "he", huh? More importantly, it's a poison, not Erosion.' Ryūhei said to himself. That was a nice story to be honest. But, it seemed Ryūhei was mistaken in his guess about the dragon. Oddly, Venti couldn't seem to find any cure for Dvalin after 500 years. Is it possible to find the cure in a short time after he couldn't find it for 500 years? Perhaps, no. But, perhaps yes since Rimuru was immune to such a thing. Perhaps he should try. Getting a connection with another Archon might be good and it might benefit him in the future.

"I see. Good luck then. Anyway, let's talk about that later." Then, he walked toward the inn.

Honestly, he wanted to see a dragon and ride it. It is a men's romance after all. But, he thought it might be better if Venti invited him directly.

Behind them, Ayaka seemed to be thinking about something after Venti revealed knowledge that she had never heard before. But, Ryūhei seemed unperturbed after hearing such a wonderful past. Perhaps, that's what makes him special. Ayaka praised him inwardly since he could act in such a manner in front of an Archon, which made her think that she should have started to act like that as well.

And more importantly, his technique earlier was too scary. And she was sure that he performed that technique without putting on any effort. That means, his technique can be stronger as well. It was no wonder that he didn't even flinch when he summoned a dragon called Veldora.

—————

In the room, Veldora laid himself on the bed while reading the manga and Rimuru was trying to do something. Meanwhile, Ryūhei showed Venti his manga while Ayaka brewed tea for them.

"Eh, these manga are from your company in Liyue?" The Anemo Archon, Venti, lined up several mangas on the table.

If Venti already recognized those mangas, he must have read them before. Especially Dragon Ball and One Piece.

"Have you ever read them?" Ryūhei asked.

And Venti nodded.

"Yup. Dragon Ball was so interesting. I snuck into that Favonius building and read it. Seven dragon balls, The Seven Archons, The Seven Dragon Sovereigns. Don't you think it's interesting?"

Ryūhei knitted his brow. It was as if there was a connection with seven Archons. Or rather, their Gnosis. More importantly, what's with The Seven Dragon Sovereigns thingy? He had never heard of that before.

"Are you implying something here?"

"Hehe, nope."

There was no use to play dumb at this point. Ryūhei already knew that there was something deep about the Archons. And it seemed, there was a connection between Archons and Dragons. He recalled that Zhongli mentioned a dendro dragon called Apep from Sumeru. Was that one of the Dragon Sovereigns? Anyway, he didn't want to think that much, so he put that thought aside.

"Never mind, then. The manga, you can have them, as long as you pay."

"Ehh? You're not gonna give them to me? I don't have Mora." Venti exclaimed with a shocked expression. This made Ryūhei twitch his cheek. Did he think he could get them for free just because he's an Archon?

Before Venti snatched the manga, Rimuru immediately swallowed all of them.

"Ah, my manga!!!"

'Since when those mangas were yours?' Ryūhei retorted in his mind.

Then he said,

"Are all Archons so poor nowadays? Have a little dignity, can you!?"

"I can pay you with my performance."

"No, thank you! I have my own preference in music."

Venti looked dejected since he couldn't cough out a penny. But then, he realized something.

"Eh, wait. What kind of slime is it?"

—————

AN: Sorry. I was so busy and I have a farewell meeting with my colleagues, cuz I'll be in my new workplace this Monday.