That day,
Mu Yang came to Degel's Tavern early in the morning for breakfast.
From afar, he spotted Amber and Eula.
The two seemed to be arguing about something.
But when Mu Yang approached,
they stopped talking.
Mu Yang merely gave Amber a simple nod.
Then he sat down at a nearby table.
He ordered a simple breakfast.
Although Amber and Eula did not continue their discussion,
Mu Yang could more or less guess.
It was probably about the unusual movements of the Hilichurls and Demonic Beasts.
Under Aether's instructions,
the Abyss Mage had not only manipulated Stormterror,
but was also preparing to have the Hilichurls besiege Mondstadt City.
It should happen within the next few days.
In the game,
the player's perspective would only show Jean announcing the end of the dragon disaster,
followed by the Knights of Favonius clearing away the defensive fortifications at the city gates.
That scene
was where Mu Yang had chosen to make his final appearance in Mondstadt's main storyline.
It gave off the feeling of leaving after the deed was done, with fame and achievement hidden away.
Though he was not exactly hiding them.
He still had to collect some Mora.
Otherwise, it would not fit his persona.
While Mu Yang ate breakfast,
he noticed Amber constantly sneaking glances in his direction.
Yet she never spoke.
Mu Yang simply made a joke.
"Miss Scout Knight, may I ask?"
"Does my table manner fail to meet the standards of the Knights of Favonius Handbook?"
Amber had not expected Mu Yang to say something like that.
"Uh..."
Eula, sitting beside her, burst out laughing instead.
"Haha, I told you not to be so rigid all the time. You recite the handbook whenever you meet someone, and now you are being laughed at, aren't you?"
Amber looked a little embarrassed.
She lightly smacked Eula on the shoulder.
"Seriously, even you are making fun of me!"
Then she turned to Mu Yang.
"No, Mr. Mu Yang. There is just something I wanted to discuss with you."
"I was wondering whether it would be convenient for you."
Mu Yang briefly tidied the tabletop.
He had the waiter take away the dishes.
Only then did he speak.
"Go ahead."
Amber's expression became serious.
After all, the embarrassment of being teased
was nothing compared to the safety of Mondstadt City.
She asked Mu Yang,
"Mr. Mu Yang, do you accept commissions other than Dragon Slaying?"
The reason Amber had hesitated and remained silent for so long
was, first, because she could not gauge Mu Yang's background.
He did not seem to belong to the Adventurers' Guild.
Yet he did this kind of work.
Perhaps Liyue had its own mercenary organizations.
The second reason was
that she did not know whether Mu Yang was interested in defending Mondstadt.
She knew that some people became mercenaries
not because they lacked Mora,
but because they found things interesting or challenging.
Mu Yang said, "Tell me about it. What kind of commission is it?"
Amber explained the commission in full detail.
The Knights of Favonius had detected strange movements among the Hilichurls.
They were preparing defensive checkpoints at every city gate.
They hoped to hire Mu Yang to help defend Mondstadt City.
But the priority was not defending against Demonic Beasts outside the city.
It was preventing La Signora from launching a sneak attack from behind.
The Knights of Favonius truly had difficulty sparing forces to deal with La Signora now.
Mu Yang pretended to think for a moment.
Then he replied to Amber.
"Defending Mondstadt City does not interest me much..."
Eula immediately stood up.
She grabbed Amber and tried to leave.
"I told you there was no need to waste time on an outsider like him."
Amber pulled Eula back instead.
"Eula!"
She knew this was not the time to be willful.
With Acting Grand Master Jean, the pillar holding things together, absent,
La Signora could very likely sabotage Mondstadt City from within.
She could deliberately let Demonic Beasts into the city,
then find an excuse to send out the Fatui's so-called reinforcements.
In the end, she would ignite public outrage among Mondstadt's citizens
and thoroughly disgrace the Knights of Favonius.
That way, the Fatui could interfere with Mondstadt's internal affairs openly and legitimately.
Amber still knew what mattered more.
The core strength of the Knights of Favonius in Mondstadt
had almost all been taken away by Grand Master Faruzan.
Otherwise, how could they be suffering so much at the hands of a single La Signora?
Mu Yang looked up at Eula.
"This lady is quite impatient."
"I truly have little interest in defending Mondstadt, but opposing the Fatui..."
"That interests me greatly."
To be honest,
Mu Yang did not truly have any deep-seated hatred toward the Fatui.
Before being transported here, he had even been saving pulls for Arlecchino.
Yet whenever he mentioned the Fatui now,
he felt irritated inside.
Perhaps this was because the world had added details to his character background.
A god was sealed beneath the sword pool.
Mu Yang did not believe The Doctor had never come to "visit."
It seemed that after this trip to Mondstadt was over,
he needed to flesh out his backstory as soon as possible.
Upon hearing Mu Yang's answer,
both Amber and Eula were stunned.
Amber had originally been planning to persuade Eula first
before begging Mu Yang.
But Mu Yang had agreed?
Amber and Eula sat down at Mu Yang's table.
"So, you agreed, right?"
Mu Yang nodded.
"That is wonderful, Mr. Mu Yang. Do not worry."
"Our Knights of Favonius will definitely give you a satisfactory reward."
Eula turned her face away.
She was clearly somewhat dissatisfied with Mu Yang.
"Do you have to talk in broken sentences like that?"
"I will remember this grudge."
Amber smiled as she explained to Mu Yang.
"Mr. Mu Yang, Eula is used to acting like this. She is not really holding a grudge, so please do not mind her."
"How do you know I am not really holding a grudge? Amber, I will remember this grudge against you too."
Eula changed the subject.
"Even though it was Acting Grand Master Jean's decision, is it really all right to leave something this important to him alone?"
Joking aside,
Eula had already carefully assessed Mu Yang.
Other than being handsome, this young man was simply handsome.
He even looked a little slender.
It was difficult to associate him with a warrior or mercenary.
But if one looked carefully,
one could see many things in his deep eyes.
Eula was no ordinary person either.
Because of her unusual background, she had learned early on how to observe others.
Beneath Mu Yang's handsome and calm exterior
lurched a dangerous aura.
It was not the aura of a beast waiting for an opportunity to strike.
It was the aura of something that could tear beasts to pieces—
something even more terrifying.
That was why Eula did not want Amber to have too much contact with someone like him.
She did not trust Mu Yang.
A dangerous person like him worked for money.
What if the Fatui bought him off instead?
Wouldn't that be disastrous?
Mu Yang, however, thought
that Eula was implying he was inferior to La Signora.
He reminded Eula,
"Trust is the foundation of cooperation, Miss Eula."
"Or would you like to personally verify... my strength?"
Eula could feel it.
When Mu Yang said that second sentence,
his gaze had been icy.
She recalled the comparison she had made earlier.
It felt as if he were being torn apart.
Then swallowed by a darkness.
He wanted to struggle, but the more he did, the deeper he sank.
It was terrifying!
Amber sensed that the atmosphere between the two was not quite right.
She hurriedly tried to smooth things over.
"She didn't mean it that way. The Honorary Knight has great faith in your abilities."
"So of course we have no doubts either, right, Eula?"
Amber shot Eula a meaningful look.
The latter nodded awkwardly.
And so, the commission was settled.
This was somewhat beyond Mu Yang's expectations.
He had originally only planned to show off a few skills at the city gates.
He had not expected that he would now have to solo defend against La Signora.
"Could it be that I overdid it yesterday and actually made La Signora angry?"
The system replied in a strangely sarcastic tone.
"Not at all, not at all. Weren't there still a few people left at the stronghold?"
Mu Yang did not mind the system's teasing.
Instead, he asked for its opinion.
"System, how was that angry glare just now? Wasn't it getting more and more convincing?"
System: "One word: Awesome!"
"You hid in the inn and practiced that look for three whole days!"
"With that level of dedication, if you became a top celebrity on Parallel Blue Planet, wouldn't your fans keep you trending for three days and three nights?"
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