She Said She Was the Sun!

As the maid knight's "training" was about to begin, Gabrielina had successfully delivered all the packages to the Knights of Favonius headquarters.

But perhaps she had come at a bad time?

"Oww... it hurts..."

Gabrielina looked at the little girl kneeling on the floor before her, clutching her forehead and wiping away tears, and slowly sank into thought.

Of course she knew who this was. Wasn't this the Knights of Favonius's Cremation... Spark Knight, Klee?

Klee was a Klee-tastrophe!

"Are you hurt?"

Gabrielina bent down, gently helped little Klee off the floor, and brushed the dust from her skirt.

"Oh! I-I'm fine! Sorry for bumping into you." Klee hurriedly steadied herself, her little hands wiping haphazardly at her cheeks.

The angel, who had just taken a "super headbutt" head-on yet remained completely unscathed, floated in midair and scratched her head awkwardly.

Why did it feel like more and more new characters were showing up? Was this what an open world felt like in first person...?

"Hey, little one, I think you dropped something." Gabrielina picked up the slip of paper that had fluttered to the floor. "Hmm... what does this say...?"

[Set off explosions in the city, report to solitary confinement.]

[Hurt someone with a bomb, Jean will come knocking.]

[Set the mountains ablaze, and Klee is done for!]

Oh! This looked like some kind of rules-based horror story!

Seeing the slip of paper between Gabrielina's fingers, Klee immediately grew excited. "Th-this is what Kaeya helped me put together... put together... um, my Survival Rules!"

"So if you break them, something really scary happens~?" Gabrielina deliberately lowered her voice and leaned closer to Klee with a mysterious air.

"Oh! You're amazing... you even know about that!"

"Hehe... not really..."

The girl turned her face aside, pretending to be composed, but the ear feathers peeking through her hair began to twitch uncontrollably.

She looked utterly unconcerned, but the cuteness had already slain her inside. Oh, Gabrielina, you little rascal.

Gabrielina: Obviously! Talk about stating the obvious. This was Mondstadt's ultimate weapon of cuteness!

"Ahhh... I forgot to introduce myself." Klee took a step back and gave an awkward knight's salute, her little leather shoes tapping softly against the floor. "My name is Klee."

"I'm Gabrielina~"

"Um... I-I think I heard your name from Master Jean. You're..."

"That's just a title. Remembering my name is more important than anything else." Gabrielina reached out and rubbed Klee's soft little head.

"Okay! Gabrielina!"

"Oh! Klee almost forgot..." Klee suddenly exclaimed, then nervously covered her mouth and stood on tiptoe to peer toward Master Jean's office.

"I-I actually have something really, really urgent to do. That's why I accidentally bumped into you."

"What is it, Klee?" The angel obligingly bent down.

The little girl suddenly clenched her fists, determination blazing in her eyes. "Klee is going to defeat the great demon king!"

"The 'great demon king'?" Gabrielina asked in confusion.

"There was a really~ scary explosion yesterday, way out in the mountains! It must have been a scary demon king, and she's coming to steal Klee's fish!" Klee gestured wildly as she spoke.

"Um... since you're so strong, can you come defeat the demon king with Klee?"

"..."

Who dares accuse the judge in her own court?!

Faced with the girl's innocent gaze, Gabrielina struggled to maintain her nearly frozen smile.

"But that happened yesterday. We might go all that way for nothing, you know? Besides... you don't want Master Jean to put you in solitary confinement, do you?"

At Gabrielina's words, Klee immediately shook her head like a rattle drum.

"But-" Gabrielina changed tack. "I only just put those packages down, so technically, I'm still on a mission. Little Klee, would you...?"

"Honorary Knight, Klee is a knight too! Klee can help!"

Looking at the sweet, well-behaved little girl, Gabrielina nodded in satisfaction.

...This should be okay, right?

After one last look at the still-empty corridor, Gabrielina bent down and scooped Klee up. Her wings spread behind her, and she swiftly departed with Sky Shift.

In the blink of an eye, the splash of the fountain and the bustle of the crowd filled her ears. Gabrielina had returned to where she had set out.

"Wow!" Klee rubbed her eyes, her mouth hanging slightly open. "Gabrielina, you're amazing... even faster than Kaeya's ice slide!"

Kaeya? What had he done now?

"Ahem... I've got plenty of tricks up my sleeve~"

Carrying Klee through the bustling square, Gabrielina soon spotted Lumine among the crowd.

After setting down the still slightly giddy Klee, the angel quietly slipped behind the blonde girl and tapped her right shoulder.

"Paimon?"

Lumine instinctively turned to look, but saw no one there.

At the same time, feathers traced a smooth arc through the sunlight. Gabrielina peeked out from the left and lightly poked Lumine's soft cheek.

"Over here~~" she drawled deliberately, her head swaying with the playful movement before settling onto Lumine's shoulder.

"I'm exhausted after running all over the place! How are you going to make it up to me?"

Feeling the angel's weight pressing against her from behind, Lumine hurriedly steadied herself and murmured reproachfully, "Stop messing around... we're discussing something serious."

"Whoa! You were only gone for a little while... how did you come back with a kidnapped child?"

Paimon's cry drew everyone's attention.

And so Lumine finally noticed Klee standing behind Gabrielina.

"Huh?"

"Spark Knight Klee of the Knights of Favonius, reporting for duty!"

The girl standing opposite Lumine had looked rather bewildered, but the moment she heard the word "knight," her face lit up with excitement. She approached Klee as though she had discovered some rare treasure.

"Wonderful! Another knight... now Quinn is sure to understand how I feel!"

"Quinn?"

"Hello, Miss Gabrielina! I'm Beatrice, but you can just call me Bea." The girl enthusiastically took both of Gabrielina's hands and shook them as she introduced herself.

Seeing Noelle greeting her from a short distance away, Gabrielina slowly remembered who the girl before her was.

Wasn't she that female NPC with the romance troubles in the hangout quest?

Wait, she had just approached Klee... so she wanted a child to help sort out her relationship problems?!

No wonder you got an actual name in the story. Your thought process really was something else.

"I was just worrying about it when I happened to run into Noelle and the others. It's actually a little embarrassing... hehe." As Bea spoke, a blush spread across her cheeks.

"It's about my boyfriend, Quinn. Lately, I keep feeling like he's deliberately avoiding me... but I don't know what to do..."

"So it's time for the Traveler and Noelle to make their dazzling entrance!" Paimon cheered.

Lumine pressed a hand to her forehead helplessly, while Noelle buried her face right in her palms.

It seemed that while Gabrielina had been away, Lumine had already managed to steer this "hangout" smoothly toward its most heart-pounding ending.

"Klee."

Gabrielina rubbed the little girl's sun-warmed head again, refusing to stop until she had mussed up all the hair poking out from beneath her hat.

"What is it, Gabrielina?"

"You see, this is... a knight's work."