Crash Formula

[*Main* Quest Issued: Eliminate Treasure Hoarders member "Strange Bird"

Reward: A pack of infinitely regenerating Wei-O Spicy Strips

Tip: You can never reach the truth of finishing it]

[*Main* Quest (Easy Difficulty) Issued: Assist Amber in arresting Treasure Hoarders member "Strange Bird"

Reward: Cross Magic: Shoot-Down Formula

Tip: Forcefully causes flying units (pigeons, angels, helicopters, etc.) to crash, cannot be cast on oneself, may be countered by a higher-tier "Flight Formula".

Man! What can I say?]

After listening to the new quest issued by the system, Gabrielina gradually fell into confusion.

Why does the easy difficulty reward sound even better than the normal difficulty!

Child... are you really willing to give up a pack of eternal spicy strips for the elbow-strike divine power of Black Mamba?

*...*

Well... setting aside the infinitely restocking spicy strips, this formula really did seem to have some substance to it, didn't it?

Since the Dharma Overlord had such a high aura, he should hold a few abilities like "Anti-'Shoot-Down Formula' Formula" in his hands, which presumably couldn't be successfully elbow-struck. But... what if she locked the casting target onto Celestia itself?

Shoot-down? Crash!

"Heh... hehehe... nia hahaha..."

Watching Gabrielina suddenly fall silent and start foolishly giggling, a cold sweat dripped down Paimon's forehead.

She had to admit that sometimes she looked a bit foolish.

"Coo--"

A white pigeon flying from somewhere flapped its wings and let out a long, lingering coo.

It circled around half a circle as if no one else was present, and finally landed squarely on the halo atop Gabrielina's head, as if treating that place as a spot to rest its feet.

The girl's laughter abruptly stopped.

Gabrielina raised her head extremely slowly, her gaze moving upward from below to look at the top of her own head. Meanwhile, that pigeon also tilted its fluffy little head, innocently sizing her up.

"Pfft..."

"Are, you, still, laughing?"

Paimon immediately fell silent, tightly covering her mouth with both hands, but her shoulders were still trembling uncontrollably.

At the same time, that pair of brilliant golden pupils suddenly flashed with a trace of faint light, as if an invisible force was flowing outward. The pigeon standing on the halo shivered all over and instantly froze in place.

It was not until the young girl unhurriedly took it into her hands that it reacted again, instead letting out a series of more hurried and confused "coo coo" sounds.

"Silly bird." Gabrielina curved the corners of her eyes triumphantly, poking the pigeon's little head with her fingertips. "Where did this silly coo come from? Are you here to deliver dinner to me?"

Facing the angel's gradually approaching face, the "silly coo" immediately struggled violently, like a soft and tender little loli who had run into a wicked woman and wanted to resist yet was easily pushed down.

"Coo coo coo!?"

"Coo coo coo!"

"Hmm... perhaps it was actually attracted by you?" Paimon asked doubtfully.

She pointed at the restrained halo wings behind Gabrielina and those few soft feathers beside her ears. "Look at your wings, um... and your ears? Is it mistaking you for its own kind, Gabrielina?"

"Your imagination is quite rich, Paimon." Gabrielina wore a sly smile.

"You say... could it be that I'm actually a pigeon sprite, or that all angels actually have some unspeakable kinship with pigeons?"

Paimon paused in mid-air, her small face scrunched up into a ball, and actually followed this train of thought to fall into deep contemplation.

"...Really?"

"I'm totally lying to you!" The young girl let out a snort of laughter, using her free hand to poke Paimon's puffed-up cheek.

"Hey, you two over there!"

A anxious shout broke the relaxed atmosphere.

Gabrielina and Paimon looked toward the direction the voice came from. A young knight wearing the standard armor of the Knights of Favonius was running toward them, panting and pointing at the pigeon in Gabrielina's hand.

"Th-This is... phew... this is a carrier pigeon of the Knights of Favonius, why did you catch it? Quickly let it g--"

"Gabrielina, Paimon, move aside!!"

Before the knight could finish his sentence, with a thump, Lumine landed steadily in front of several people with a somewhat heroic "macho man landing" posture.

Looking at the chaotic scene before him, the knight took a deep breath, raised a hand to press his temples, and his entire person looked somewhat bleached out.

"...Favonius Knight Otto, please show your flight license."

Lumine's gaze instantly drifted away, her fingers unconsciously scratching her cheek. "Was, was it eaten by Baron Bunny?"

Looking at the young girl who was obviously spouting nonsense and Gabrielina in the distance who was clutching a pigeon while holding back her laughter, Otto sighed helplessly, his expression growing increasingly exhausted:

"Unlicensed illegal flight. According to Article 7, Paragraph 12 of the Mondstadt Security Management Law, you must come with me!"

"?"

Lumine: I am taking the test right now?

Otto: Unlicensed illegal flight, you are committing an illegal act.

Lumine: How am I supposed to take the test without flying??

Otto: Then take the test!

Lumine: If you won't let me fly, how foreign slang am I supposed to take it!?

The scene plunged into an eerie silence.

...Great, a single-minded idiot just became a dead end on both sides.

Gabrielina floated off to one side and whispered to Paimon, "This guy isn't Otto at all... he's practically an Ultraman..."

"Uh, what's an Ultraman?"

"You have the right to remain silent," Otto seemed not to hear her roast and simply declared gravely to Lumine, "However, the wind shall remember every word you say."

Just as Otto prepared to step forward to execute his official duties, an energetic voice came from afar.

"Wait, I can vouch for her!"

Amber stowed her Wind Glider and descended from the sky with her signature smile on her face. "We are indeed in the middle of a gliding license exam! In fact, she's about to pass right now~"

"Ah... is that so?"

Seeing Amber's figure, Otto's tense body finally relaxed. He stood at attention, saluted Lumine, and wore a remorseful expression on his face.

"Terribly sorry, beautiful miss. It seems I was too nervous... It's just that the timing of your exam was truly rather unfortunate."

"Did something happen?", Amber asked in puzzlement.

"The Knights of Favonius just received a report from the church nuns that the Strange Bird used his Wind Glider to escape again, so earlier I thought your examinee was that fellow's accomplice."

"The Strange Bird...?" Paimon floated forward, pressed a finger to her chin, and inquisitively asked, "Such a strange name. Who is that?"

"He's a repeat offender in Mondstadt. He always commits crimes using the Wind Glider, which is how he earned the nickname Strange Bird."

After listening to Otto's explanation, Amber's eyes lit up. "That guy... does he fly fast?"

"Up to now... we haven't been able to catch up to him even once," Otto awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "This time we originally intended to use a church artifact as bait to catch this fellow..."

"And then, you didn't catch the Strange Bird, and you lost the artifact too-mm-mm-mm-mm--!"

Before Gabrielina could finish speaking, Lumine rushed over and covered her mouth, nearly sending the pigeon she was holding in her arms flying out as well.

However, contrary to what Lumine had anticipated, Otto did not feel embarrassed or angry because of this; instead, he laughed heartily.

"It's useless for him to steal it! This time the nuns have already used elemental magic to leave a marker on the artifact in advance. Hmph... trying to escape!?"

The man first crossed his arms in full confidence, but then immediately slumped like a deflated ball, his tone turning dejected. "Unfortunately, he flew too fast, and we couldn't keep up even by following the elemental trail."

So you still didn't catch him after all!

"He's actually a flying expert too, huh... Looks like I'll have to take the field!" Amber gazed at Otto with blazing eyes. "Which way did that guy go?"

"As far as I know, the last place he was spotted was near Springvale."