After flying for a while and indulging his dragon high, Dvalin finally descended.
Xia Zhi landed beside him, reverting to human form.
Dvalin lowered his head, eyes glimmering with a trace of wistfulness.
He was so terribly lonely. Opportunities like this—having another dragon to play with—were almost nonexistent.
Xia Zhi stroked his face gently. "I'll play with you again next time."
Dvalin let out a low whine, almost sulky.
Xia Zhi chuckled. "Don't be like that… Fine, fine. I'll change into another dragon."
He had once encountered Azhdaha. This time, he tried shifting into Azhdaha.
Compared to before, his body grew vastly larger and bulkier, his wings vanishing, his form now a near match for the great dragon beneath Dragon-Queller.
Dvalin froze again, staring up at the colossus now towering over him.
Looking down, Xia Zhi felt as though Dvalin had shrunk into a schoolchild standing before an adult.
He flexed his massive claws. One swat could probably send Dvalin bawling for hours.
Since this form lacked wings, he couldn't fly. After a short two-minute trial, he reverted to human again.
Afterward, he grilled some meat for Dvalin.
Once the little dragon was fed and spoiled with affection, he pulled out his guqin and played a few songs for Dvalin before riding back to Mondstadt.
At the contest grounds, Xia Zhi found the Dragon King and Venti still locked in battle.
Two hours had passed. The two had nearly drained the organizers' entire wine stock, yet both remained steady as stone, not even flushed.
The crowd was in awe.
In the end, the officials had no choice but to declare them co-champions, just as in the music contest before.
When it was over, everyone congratulated the pair.
They'd meant to eat together afterward, but since Venti and Diona refused to share a table, the two drunkards decided to head to a tavern and keep drinking instead.
"Mr. Xia, after tasting your wine, this stuff is like… plain water. Utterly dull…"
"Alright, alright. I'll send you some more later."
"Dearest friend!"
Satisfied, they stumbled off together.
Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper said their farewells as well.
But before leaving, they gave Cloud Retainer a couple of long, meaningful looks. Her complexion seemed different from just a few days ago. Almost… transformed.
They exchanged glances.
Could it be that Cloud Retainer…
Most likely.
Looks like Ping lost this round.
Wouldn't you say?
---
That evening, at dinner.
Xia Zhi handed Diona a Black Iron Treasure Chest.
She hugged it, posed for a picture with Charlotte's help, then brought it to Ganyu to unlock.
Inside was a small wine flask, whose effect allowed any wine stored within to grow finer and richer with age.
A weaker version of [Contain].
Diona was delighted.
At the table, Qiqi and Fischl sat side by side.
Oz tilted his head, staring silently at the little snowfinch.
Its eyes shone with nothing but vacant stupidity.
Since last night, he had tested it repeatedly. Unlike himself, it had no intelligence whatsoever.
This so-called "Ba Ba" was nothing more than an ordinary pet bird.
Fischl whispered, "Are you going out again tonight?"
Qiqi glanced at her eyepatch and asked, "Is your charge full again?"
Fischl faltered. "Not yet…"
Qiqi looked away. "Then wait until it is."
Fischl bristled. "What about you? Are you fully charged?"
Qiqi replied flatly, "Yes."
"…!?"
She ignored Fischl's incredulous stare.
After all—she was a zealot. She wasn't like her.
---
At night, Fischl sat on her bed, staring down at the black eyepatch in her hands as though deep in thought.
Beside her nightstand stood a metal perch, and Oz was resting on it.
Fischl finally spoke: "Oz, why do you think Qiqi is so much faster than me?"
Oz's tone was a little helpless. "My lady, I am but a night raven…"
"Weren't you the one who used to know everything?"
"That's different… When it comes to that Mr. Xia, his affairs truly lie beyond the scope of my knowledge."
"Then tell me, is there some way to make my charging speed faster too?"
"Well…"
"There must be, right?"
"I'll try to think…"
"Hurry up and think!"
The girl's voice carried that touch of spoiled willfulness unique to her age—but instead of being annoying, it only made her seem adorable.
Oz tilted his head, as though racking his brains.
He recalled once asking Mr. Xia that very question.
[And what is the price?]
Mr. Xia had chuckled and answered:
[Your faith.]
Mr. Xia required his lady's Faith Power. That alone revealed what sort of lofty rank his true identity must belong to.
Perhaps one of the Seven Archons themselves… or perhaps some ancient god returned from the far seas.
Oz looked at Fischl and said, "My lady, perhaps you should try approaching it from the aspect of faith."
Fischl frowned. "Faith… and how exactly am I supposed to do that?"
"I do not know."
"Then what use is saying that?"
She had no intention of relying on something so vague and intangible.
But then, Fischl suddenly remembered the Knights' Library, where she often visited. That place had books on everything—maybe even instructions on how to offer faith.
Her mood brightened immediately.
Clutching the black eyepatch, she closed her eyes and began picturing Mr. Xia in her mind, softly repeating his name in her heart.
---
You couldn't keep a cat cooped up indoors forever.
Rosaria picked up the white cat in her room and took it outside for a walk.
In the cathedral hall, she ran into the ever-kindhearted idol priestess, Barbara.
The moment Barbara saw her, she headed straight over, clearly intending to once again lecture her about quitting smoking.
But as she drew near, Barbara blinked in surprise. Today, Rosaria wasn't carrying that long cigarette holder at all—instead, she was cradling a gorgeous white cat she'd never seen before.
"Sister Rosaria, why are you always going out at night?"
"Something wrong?"
"I'm just worried about you."
"…Thanks."
"You can't keep staying up at night like this. No wonder you have no energy during the day, needing to rely on smoking just to stay awake—you don't even attend hymn practice anymore…"
Rosaria ignored her words and simply strode outside, leaving only one remark behind: "The wind's not bad tonight."
Barbara stomped her foot in frustration. She really couldn't do a thing about her.
In appearance alone, Rosaria could barely pass as clergy. But her behavior and mannerisms carried none of the grace a nun was supposed to show.
In fact, her reverence for the divine was even less than that of an ordinary Mondstadt citizen. She never attended any church activities.
Rosaria—independent and unconventional—was really nothing more than a nominal member of the Church.
---
Last night had finally passed in peace.
But tonight, Xia Lin came knocking at the door again, pillow in her arms, insisting on sleeping with her father.
The excuse was the same tired one: a nightmare.
Most likely it was because Xia Zhi had spent the day with Dvalin, returning covered in another dragon's scent, and the little girl was feeling jealous.
Xia Zhi picked up his phone, staring at the [cry-laugh] emoji Ganyu had just sent him. He couldn't let the little girl keep bending the rules like this.
Time to solve her "nightmare" problem.
And to solve it, he first had to analyze it—find the source.
Her "nightmares" were simple enough to trace: the trauma of being bitten to death by Dvalin five hundred years ago.
In other words, as long as she no longer feared Dvalin, the nightmares would stop.
Xia Zhi looked down at Xia Lin, who was nestled against his chest and acting spoiled, and fell into thought.
He remembered Dvalin once expressing the desire to take human form—even asking him how it could be done.
Xia Zhi had promised to think of a way.
The simplest—though most expensive—solution was to feed him a Transformation Pill, like Durin.
But only a diamond-tier pill would work for Dvalin. Even with high luck, it would cost several thousand points to evolve one.
Still, if he went through with it, once Dvalin transformed into human form, Xia Zhi could send him to sleep with Xia Lin at night. That way, the girl could face and overcome her shadow of fear.
And Xia Zhi himself would finally have extra time in the evenings… to spend with Shenhe and Ganyu.