Early morning at Wangshu Inn in Liyue. Li Mo sat on the stage and spoke the name of his twelfth reincarnation.
A descendant of the Ragnvindr Clan. Diluc's father. His name: Crepus Ragnvindr, the previous master of Dawn Winery in Mondstadt.
When Li Mo said this name, most of the audience stared at him blankly, their faces full of confusion.
"Crepus Ragnvindr? Who's that?"
"Such an unfamiliar name. Was he a knight from Mondstadt centuries ago? Or an adventurer? I've never heard of him."
"In every previous life, he had at least some ability. In this one, is he just an ordinary person?"
"This is the twelfth life? That's it?"
"Better to tell stories about Liyue's adepti—at least they're more famous than this Crepus."
When Crepus Ragnvindr was mentioned, the Liyue audience was bewildered. They showed no respect. After all, how could you expect a Liyue citizen to revere the name of a stranger from Mondstadt?
But among the many listeners, a few had heard of or knew about Crepus. When they heard his name, they were surprised.
"Storyteller, you're talking about Crepus Ragnvindr? Isn't that the name of the previous master of Dawn Winery?"
"He's the father of the current owner, Diluc."
"This isn't some figure from centuries ago—he died only a few years back. I was still doing business with him ten years ago."
"I heard he died in an accident, during an attack by the dragon Ursa."
"I heard the Knights of Favonius appeared and defeated Ursa the Drake."
"Such a pity—Master Crepus was a good man. I never imagined even he was a reincarnation in this story. Unbelievable."
"But Master Crepus was just an ordinary person. Why tell his story?"
Clearly, compared to a plain, ordinary tale, the audience preferred stories of hardship and heroism—tales of adepti, of gods. They did not yet know Crepus's true strength, nor that Ursa the Drake had not been defeated by the Knights of Favonius at all, but by Crepus himself.
That would come later. As Li Mo told the twelfth life, all the truths would gradually surface at Wangshu Inn.
Now, in a corner of the inn, when Barbatos heard the name Crepus Ragnvindr, he was slightly surprised. He even set down his wine cup.
"Eh heh, it's Master Crepus. He was also a reincarnation? No wonder I always sensed a familiar aura about him. So that's why."
"Master Crepus and Diluc are both good people."
Barbatos couldn't help but sigh. When Crepus was alive, Barbatos had already noticed the Delusion on him and glimpsed his hidden power. But what did that have to do with him? As long as he could get his hands on some wine, Crepus was Barbatos's best friend.
But later, when Barbatos had traveled to other nations to sing, Crepus had met with an accident.
Seeing Barbatos's wistful expression, Ei asked, "Barbatos, did you know Crepus?"
Barbatos: "Of course I did."
Ei pressed further, "What kind of man was he?"
Barbatos hesitated. "That's hard to say. Let's wait and see what the storyteller has to say—he probably knows more than I do."
Ei snorted. "Fine, don't tell me."
The next moment, all three Electro sisters, Barbatos, Xiao, Yae Miko, and Zhongli turned their attention to the stage, waiting for Li Mo to continue.
...
Now, on stage, when Li Mo saw the murmurs die down, he resumed his storytelling. As he spoke, Electro energy gathered above the inn, forming vivid projections that shifted with his narration.
In the images, the scene was Mondstadt's most famous winery: Dawn Winery. Inside, young Crepus had already married a local noblewoman and had a son. He had also inherited Dawn Winery and become its young master, busying himself with supervising the winemaking, handling business affairs, researching new vintages, and promoting them across Mondstadt.
Yet despite his busy life, as a descendant of the Ragnvindr Clan, Crepus never forgot his family's former glory. He never forgot the clan's mission: to become a knight and protect Mondstadt. That was the dream of every Ragnvindr generation, and naturally, it was Crepus's dream as well.
So in his spare time, he always practiced swordsmanship. He even hired a Knight of Favonius as an instructor at great expense.
Unfortunately, though Crepus was a genius at winemaking, capable of restoring the declining Dawn Winery to prosperity, he was utterly hopeless at swordsmanship. A complete novice. He had no Vision, no talent for Favonius Bladework. He could only swing a sword wildly, with no technique at all—calling it his "unique new style," which was in truth quite laughable.
Even the ordinary citizens of Mondstadt had better swordsmanship than he did.
But Crepus refused to admit defeat.
"Who says a knight must use Favonius Bladework? My style is no worse than theirs. If I could control the elements, I could become a great warrior too. Ah, you people simply don't understand my sword art."
"Diluc, don't disturb me while I'm training."
And so, Crepus continued down his path of "unique" swordsmanship. Months passed. He swung his sword faster and grew more confident.
Finally, on his way to Angel's Share, he saw a recruitment poster from the Knights of Favonius:
"Do you want to become a hero?"
"Do you want to protect Mondstadt?"
"Come join the knights' selection! The next hero could be you!"