After traveling a while longer, the trees grew increasingly sparse. They encountered no further sign of the dragon along the way, and the three finally reached the edge of the Whispering Woods.
"Look, Mondstadt is just ahead!" Paimon floated higher, pointing excitedly into the distance.
Lumine followed her gaze.
In the middle of a vast lake stood a city with a distinctly medieval air. This was where Gabrielina and countless online comrades had once fought.
Within its towering walls, several enormous windmills turned in the breeze, and the spires of a cathedral were faintly visible.
Compared with later regions like Liyue and Sumeru, Gabrielina actually still preferred Mondstadt.
...Blacksmiths and trusty starter swords, churches and little priests, knights, adventurers, and dragons-the otherworldly atmosphere practically spilled out of the screen! And there was the nostalgia for the starter town, too...
"...It's magnificent." Lumine gazed at Mondstadt, a little entranced, an unconscious smile on her lips.
Yet while some people admired the scenery, they had already become scenery in someone else's eyes.
The girl stood quietly beside the lake, bathed in sunlight like scattered gold. Her gemlike eyes brimmed with a smile, and her long lashes cast delicate shadows across her cheeks.
The lake breeze playfully swept past, lifting her almost translucent golden hair.
She raised a hand and gently tucked the loose strands behind her ear. With the movement, her pure white skirt swayed softly, tracing the hazy outline of her lovely figure.
At that moment, the girl seemed to embody everything beautiful in the world.
...Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, the angel thought, watching the scene with an involuntary chuckle.
What wouldn't be so bad?
Nothing.
"Let's hurry into the city! Mondstadt has loads of delicious food!" Paimon's eyes gleamed as she looked ahead, seemingly unable to wait any longer.
"...Why do I feel like little Paimon is always hungry?"
"Well... that's because there's so much delicious food!"
Then the pocket-sized girl's stomach let out a growl.
At the sound, Gabrielina immediately burst into merciless laughter. Even Lumine turned her head away and covered her mouth.
"Stop laughing!"
"...Paimon, if you eat too much, you won't be able to fly anymore~"
"Ugh... you..." Paimon glanced at Gabrielina and muttered in a small, aggrieved voice, "You're not... flying right now... either..."
"I can fly whenever I want, of course. Besides... I don't need to eat."
...I've got nothing. How could someone like this exist?
She wasn't even interested in delicious food. What did she have left to live for!?
Since she really didn't dare argue with Gabrielina, Paimon pouted and floated over to Lumine, successfully earning herself a round of head pats.
"There, there. I'll treat you!" Lumine said with a gentle smile.
"Yay!" Paimon flew up happily, even spinning in the air.
Just as they were about to head into the city, however, a voice suddenly rang out from the woods.
"Hey! You up ahead, wait!"
They turned around together, just in time to see a red figure leap out of the woods.
It was a girl dressed in red, holding a bow. Her legs, clad in tall white boots and long red stockings, moved powerfully, bringing her before them in just a few bounds.
Lumine and Paimon stared wide-eyed in surprise, while Gabrielina remained unmoved.
Her gaze was fixed firmly on the two ribbons atop the girl's head, which looked just like rabbit ears.
After coming to a stop, the girl in red seemed briefly startled by the sight of Gabrielina, but then gave the two a simple salute.
"May the Anemo Archon protect you-or pull your leg! I'm Amber, an Outrider of the Knights of Favonius!"
Amber lowered her hands and regarded the two with some wariness.
Gabrielina took a small step forward, unobtrusively shielding Lumine and Paimon behind her. Though the movement was hardly noticeable, it still made Lumine pause.
Faced with Gabrielina, who was noticeably taller than her and looked rather "out of the ordinary," Amber visibly lost some of her confidence.
Still, she feigned composure and said, "You're not citizens of Mondstadt, are you? Please state where you're from!"
Lumine was about to work out how to answer when Paimon suddenly began waving her hands frantically, perhaps nervous at being treated as a suspicious person.
"Calm down! We're not suspicious!"
"That's what all suspicious people say. Besides, there's..." Amber looked at Gabrielina, who was smiling silently. "This lady seems to have quite a background."
Gabrielina immediately returned the look.
She wasn't deliberately trying to antagonize Amber. She had simply noticed how reserved Amber was around her, and had more or less guessed why.
"Miss Amber, I'm Lumine. We're just travelers who wanted to visit Mondstadt!" Seeing the atmosphere turn a little strange, Lumine hurriedly spoke up.
"My name is Lumine."
As Amber looked at Lumine, some of the wariness faded from her eyes, though a little suspicion remained.
"Hmm... that doesn't sound like a local name."
"Miss Traveler, could you explain this... traveling companion of yours, and... uh, this mascot?"
Lumine glanced at Paimon floating in the air. Paimon put her hands on her hips and was just about to say,
"Hehe, we're really close..."
"Emergency food."
"That's completely wrong! That's even worse than a mascot!" Paimon immediately stomped her feet in protest.
Watching the farce before her, Amber's lips twitched. She coughed softly twice to draw their attention back to her.
"...All right, what about this lady?"
"Her name is Gabrielina. She's a friend we met on the road, and we agreed to travel together." Lumine glanced at the angel's profile, just as she turned to meet her gaze.
This time, however, Amber didn't answer immediately. Instead, she studied Gabrielina closely.
Her gaze wandered over the girl's face, then shifted to her wings, as if searching for something. Her expression was indescribably strange.
"...No."
"Miss Amber." Gabrielina stepped closer and lowered her head slightly to look at the somewhat dazed Amber.
"You seem very interested in my wings. They're quite soft. Would you like to touch them?"
In just a dozen or so seconds, Gabrielina had taken control of the exchange.
The Outrider became visibly flustered and hurriedly retreated out of the angel's shadow.
"No, no, thank you... miss, um, well..." Amber suddenly felt a little puzzled. For some reason, the girl who called herself Lumine seemed a little disappointed.
But that expression seemed to last only an instant... had she imagined it?
Lumine: I want to touch them, too.
"A-anyway, you're all travelers, right?"
"A dragon has been appearing around Mondstadt lately, so you'd better get into the city as soon as possible," Amber advised Lumine. "We're not far from Mondstadt. As an Outrider of the Knights of Favonius, I'll escort you the rest of the way."
"No need! We have..." Paimon was halfway through speaking when Gabrielina covered her mouth with a wing.
"You must have come out here on a mission. Won't this interfere with it?"
"Not yet, but don't worry. It's not a very difficult mission." Amber rubbed the tip of her nose proudly. "As an outstanding knight, this is all part of my duty."
Despite her words, Amber also wanted to keep observing them-perhaps Gabrielina in particular.
And Gabrielina knew that perfectly well.
But... let her look. Hadn't the system made me this pretty so people could admire me?
"...All right." Lumine seemed completely unsuspecting.
"Stay close, everyone!"
Amber led the way, with Lumine and Gabrielina walking side by side behind her.
As they advanced, Mondstadt grew clearer and clearer.
Although most of its buildings vanished behind the increasingly imposing city walls, it still looked breathtakingly grand.
On the way, Amber suddenly asked Lumine, "By the way, you... unfamiliar yet respectable travelers, what brings you to Mondstadt?"
Amber had already begun quietly gathering information, but...
Wasn't that line a little different?
"Lumine got separated from her brother during a journey from very, very far away."
"I-we're her traveling companions. We're helping her look for her brother."
"That's right!" Gabrielina agreed, giving Paimon a very approving look.
"Oh... you're looking for family!"
Amber lowered her head and thought for a moment, her rabbit ears drooping slightly too.
"Hmm... all right! Once I finish my current mission, I'll help you put up missing-person notices around the city. I promise!"
"Thank you..."
"Haha, no need-shh!"
Amber suddenly held out a hand to stop them, then pressed her index finger to her lips, signaling for silence.
Lumine pulled Gabrielina into a crouch. The angel adjusted her wings to keep them from dragging on the ground while also partially concealing the halo above her head.
"...It's a Hilichurl!"
Amber gripped her bow and peeked out from behind the boulder where they were hiding.
"Lately, these wilderness monsters have been coming closer and closer to the city, and my mission this time..."
The moment the Hilichurl looked away, she drew her bow to full stretch.
After a brief moment of aiming, a flaming arrow shot out with a whoosh, striking the Hilichurl squarely between the eyes and bursting into blazing sparks.
Watching the monster gradually turn to ash, Amber showed no sign of relief. "My mission this time is to clear out their camp!"
"It must be nearby. Come on, let's finish this quickly so we can get into the city sooner."
The three quietly crossed the hillside and, before long, discovered a Hilichurl camp just as expected.
There were six Hilichurls in total: two stood on watchtowers with crossbows, while the other four were inside the fenced enclosure below.
"I'll handle the two up high," Amber whispered, then deftly climbed a tree without making a sound.
"Gabrielina, let's do this together..."
The angel glanced at Lumine, who had already drawn her sword, and nodded with a smile. Black energy began surging in her palm again.
What should I make this time? A sword, a spear, a bow, a scythe...
Actually, could this thing make firearms? If I had a gun, wouldn't that-
[Side quest issued: Kill 100 Hilichurls (0/100). Must use Manifestation Art.]
*...*
As Amber drew her bow fully and fire flared at the arrowhead, Lumine charged out alongside the flying arrow.
One of the Hilichurls on the towers died instantly. Alarmed by their companion's death, the others picked up their weapons and attacked the charging Lumine.
"Ya!"
Bang-!
As her black blade collided with a wooden club, Lumine knocked her opponent's weapon cleanly away.
The girl's swordplay was actually quite simple, but its speed allowed her to suppress the clumsy monster with ease.
"Traveler, behind you!" Amber's warning came with a second flaming arrow. Lumine immediately turned and blocked the sneak attack with the back of her blade.
Watching Lumine fight from a distance, Paimon silently broke into a nervous sweat.
"...That was close. Gabrielina... huh? Where'd she go??"
The angel was already gone from her side, and she was nowhere to be seen in the chaotic camp either.
Of course, Lumine no longer had the attention to spare for any of that. All she could see were the enemies before her.
A low growl escaped the girl's throat as she kicked the Hilichurl in front of her several meters away, then nimbly twisted aside to dodge a hurtling stone.
She held her blade across her chest. The previously dim gemstone there suddenly gave off a faint teal glow, beginning to pulse as though awakened.
"Wind pressure...!"
In an instant, even more violent currents swept past her from both front and back, and the Hilichurls vanished along with them.
After three screams, the entire camp fell silent.
When Lumine slowly sheathed her sword and turned to look, all that remained on the distant rock face were three enormous black spikes, driven deep into the stone.
Before you continue