Kael sat beside Venti, the two of them sipping wine and chatting leisurely.
"You promised yesterday—you were going to tell me stories from your world."
"Sure. What do you want to know?"
Sitting nearby, Amber's ears perked up at their conversation.
She definitely wanted to know about Kael's past life!
Venti thoughtfully stroked his chin.
"Hmm… share a story with me then. I could use some fresh inspiration for my next poem."
"A poem, huh? Well, our world does have many famous poets—left behind countless masterpieces."
At that, Venti lit up with excitement.
"Really?! Tell me, tell me!"
Mondstadt's culture was clearly inspired by medieval Western Europe.
Even Venti's poetic style was quite close to sonnets.
But honestly, Kael barely remembered the classic poems he was forced to recite in school—let alone entire sonnets.
There was just one line, a world-famous quote, still stuck in his head.
"Life is dear and love is sweet,
But freedom's call none can defeat.
For liberty, we pay the price—
Both love and life may sacrifice."
The moment those words left his mouth, Venti's eyes lit up like twin stars.
"This poem…"
A refined, rich male voice suddenly cut in.
"Which bard penned this verse? It sounds like it was written for Mondstadt—after all, isn't our city the land that reveres freedom more than any other?"
Kael turned his head and saw a man with blue hair, a black eyepatch, and a relaxed smile.
"Kaeya!"
Amber beamed in surprise.
"And Lisa! You both came too?"
Lisa, the famed Librarian of the Knights of Favonius?
Kael looked over curiously—and sure enough, following behind Kaeya was a mature, seductive woman in a revealing, low-cut knight's uniform that perfectly accentuated her gorgeous figure.
To be honest, Lisa's body and face were exactly Kael's type.
He'd always preferred sultry older-sister types like her.
And yet, for some reason, the System in his Life Simulations always matched him with younger girls…
Kael couldn't help but steal a couple extra glances.
Kaeya and Lisa joined the group by Amber's side.
Kaeya said,
"We finished our work for today, so we came for a drink. By the way, my good sir—you never said. Which bard wrote that poem? If he ever performs in Mondstadt, I'd love to hear him live."
Kael chuckled.
"He's not from this world. He's a very famous poet and playwright from my home."
"Ah, I see. What a shame.
Venti, if that poet ever showed up in Mondstadt, your title as 'Most Beloved Bard of Mondstadt'—three years running—might be in jeopardy."
Venti readily admitted,
"That's fair. If he can write verses like that, I'm not worthy to compete."
Lisa, ever observant, caught a key detail in Kael's words.
"Oh? Your world?
So you're the traveler everyone's been talking about—the one who caused such a stir in Mondstadt today?"
Amber proudly chimed in,
"That's right! It's him! Lisa, you heard about us bringing back the Great Snowboar King, too?"
"Of course. The story's spread all through the Knights today.
If it weren't for my shift, I bet everyone would've rushed out just to see it for themselves.
After all, who wouldn't want to lay eyes on a creature of legend like that?"
"Hehe~" Amber puffed up with pride.
"Kael and I hunted that Snowboar King together!"
Seeing the sparkle in Amber's eyes, Lisa gave Kael a meaningful look, her voice teasing.
"Oh? Is that so?
Looks like little Amber is all grown up now~"