The crown of the North.
The city of wind and song, the land of dandelions, the free city of Mondstadt!
Lumine appeared outside Mondstadt after using the Teleport Waypoint and quietly looked up.
"Mondstadt, huh~
Your Honorary Knight is back."
Paimon stood with her hands on her hips, face full of sentiment.
"We've only been away from Mondstadt for, what, not even two months…"
"But it feels like it's been forever."
They hadn't actually stayed in Mondstadt that long—
In total, maybe a month or two at most.
But ever since they went to Liyue, it felt like time was racing.
As if you blinked and an entire day vanished in style.
Why was that?
Why else?
When you're busy every single day, feet never touching the ground, who has the leisure to notice whether time is fast or slow?
Lumine shook her head inwardly.
As a starter city, Mondstadt was comparatively friendly.
By contrast,
Liyue was indeed more ancient and full of charm…
But for an outsider like her, it might as well have been set to "hell difficulty."
Here in Mondstadt, they'd met Barbatos—disguised as Venti—before they had even passed through the city gates.
But over in Liyue…
To this day she still hadn't managed to meet Morax even once.
"Anyway, forget that."
"Let's head to the Adventurers' Guild and ask Katheryne first."
"No idea if that Dainsleif guy has left yet."
Lumine clenched her fist and strode toward the city.
When it came to her brother's former traveling companion, her curiosity was reaching critical mass.
Captain of the royal guard of Khaenri'ah, "Twilight Sword"…
And that pure-blood Khaenri'ahn, Chlothar Alberich.
What exactly had those people done to her brother?
Lumine had a stomach full of pent-up anger, just waiting for the best opportunity to vent it properly.
Step one: beat them until they were half-paralyzed.
Step two: ask questions, nicely.
"Honorary Knight, Paimon, welcome back to Mondstadt."
The gate guard Lawrence's eyes lit up. He thumped his fist to his chest in salute.
"Do you need me to report to Acting Grand Master Jean?"
"No need for now."
Lumine shook her head slightly.
"I received a letter from the Adventurers' Guild. I'm just here to look for someone."
"I might be leaving again soon, so there's no need to trouble Jean."
"Understood."
Lawrence nodded lightly. "Honorary Knight, please enter!"
"Thanks~"
Lumine nodded back, then hurried through the gate with Paimon in tow, heading straight for the Adventurers' Guild.
Watching the Honorary Knight leave, Lawrence waved to his fellow guard.
"Cover for me a bit. I'll cut through the side alleys and report to the Knights."
"Got it, just be quick."
"I will."
Lawrence glanced back once more to confirm the Honorary Knight had disappeared from sight.
Only then did he hunch down and dart into a nearby alley, sprinting along a shortcut toward the Knights of Favonius headquarters.
How could he possibly not report something as big as the Honorary Knight's return?
If he didn't, that would be dereliction of duty.
The Honorary Knight was the great hero of Mondstadt.
Not reporting this? Unthinkable.
On the other side—
Lumine had already reached the Adventurers' Guild.
Before Katheryne could even greet her, she spoke up directly:
"Katheryne, is that strange blond man still in Mondstadt?"
"If he hasn't left yet, where is he now?"
"And also—"
"Adventurer, please wait a moment~"
Katheryne smiled as she pulled out a little notebook,
looked it over carefully, then said:
"That unfamiliar blond man is currently still in Mondstadt. He just returned yesterday from completing a commission. Right now, he should be inside Master Diluc's tavern, Angel's Share."
"Thanks, Katheryne!"
Having gotten the answer she wanted, Lumine's gaze hardened.
Without hesitating, she spun on her heel and ran toward Angel's Share.
"Hey, Lumine, wait for me!"
Paimon, who had almost been left behind if she looked away for one second, stamped her foot,
shot Katheryne an apologetic smile, and then rushed off after her.
"Safe travels, you two~"
Katheryne waved them off with a smile,
watching as the pair disappeared from view.
Before long—
In front of the doors of Angel's Share.
Lumine shoved the door open and strode in.
"Charles, I'm looking for someone."
She called out to the bartender in greeting, and before he could respond she was already heading straight for the stairs.
"Eh, wait—Paimon, what's the Honorary Knight—"
Charles hurriedly stopped the slightly-late Paimon, confusion all over his face.
"Here's the thing." Paimon spread her hands.
"The guy Lumine's looking for at the tavern supposedly has news about Lumine's brother, so that's why she rushed back in such a hurry."
"Oh, I get it~"
Charles nodded in realization.
"News about family is indeed important."
"At the moment, that man is the only one upstairs. You two go on ahead; I'll guard the stairway for you. We won't be seating any other customers on the second floor for now."
Putting a pause on upstairs seating was all it was—
Nothing major.
Master Diluc thought very highly of this Honorary Knight.
Lending a small hand like this… there was a good chance Master would even praise him for doing a good job later.
And besides, the Ragnvindr family was hardly hurting for Mora.
"Thanks~"
"You get back to work, I'm going up now."
Paimon nodded vigorously, then shot upstairs with a whoosh.
"Ha~ no problem."
Watching the two of them head up,
Charles casually pulled out a little slip of paper and quickly jotted something down.
He twisted a mechanism beneath the counter and fastened the note into place, sending it down the tube.
After that he went right back to humming a tune, one hand polishing a glass, the other holding his cloth,
and slowly sauntered over to lean against the wall at the base of the stairs.
Angel's Share, second floor.
As soon as they stepped onto the staircase,
there was only one place on the entire second floor that could possibly draw their eyes—
A lone blond man in a cloak.
"That must be him."
Lumine's right hand curled as if around an invisible sword-hilt—she could draw in an instant.
Her footsteps were light but unwavering as she walked straight up to him.
"Captain of the royal guard of Khaenri'ah."
"You're Dainsleif, the 'Twilight Sword', aren't you?"
Before the man even raised his head, Lumine had taken the seat directly opposite him.
She didn't hesitate in the slightest, cutting straight to the point:
"I heard you once traveled with my brother."
"Do you still have any news of him now?"
"Talk. What exactly is going on with Aether?"
"..."
Dainsleif's head snapped up, pupils shrinking in an instant.
His expression turned complicated and hard to read.
Aether's… little sister?
How did she know all this?
"Don't play dumb."
"Right now, I really want to know why."
Seeing Dainsleif remain silent, Lumine's brows drew together.
Just from his expression, it wasn't hard to tell—
The intel she'd gotten from Taro was genuine.
"…I'm sorry. There are some things I can't—"
Dainsleif slowly shook his head. He clearly didn't intend to answer her questions directly.
But before he could finish, Lumine, face set and voice cold, cut him off:
"I don't want to hear you spout a bunch of useless nonsense, and I don't want to sit here trading riddles with you."
"I have my own sources of information."
"Right now, all you need to do is answer my questions."
"What exactly… happened to Aether?"
"..."
Dainsleif frowned faintly,
uncertainty flickering in his eyes for a moment.
(End of Chapter)
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