"What's Dvalin?"
Paimon scratched her head and floated closer to Lumine, whispering.
"Uh… I don't know either."
"We can just ask them later."
Lumine wasn't very clear on it either.
As for the Four Winds' guardians—never mind an outsider like her—before Rowan brought Dvalin back, even Mondstadt's citizens didn't really know much.
Right now, Lumine hadn't experienced the "original story" events, nor had she gone around purifying the Four Winds' temples.
So she knew very little about the Four Winds' guardians.
Basically, she knew nothing at all.
"I can't be bothered with you. I'm tired."
"I'm heading back to Mondstadt for a drink."
Venti had originally planned to argue with Rowan for a bit more, insisting that Dvalin wasn't a mount or a pet.
He was one of the Four Winds' guardians, a favored companion of the Anemo Archon. He wasn't Rowan's personal ride!
But then he remembered how Dvalin had clung to Rowan like a puppy last time, begging him to roast a whole pig…
Venti just mentally shut down.
He couldn't be bothered anymore. As long as the two of them were happy with the arrangement, what was there to say?
Venti dissolved into a breeze and drifted away from beneath the great tree, heading back toward Mondstadt.
"Rowan, this Dvalin you mentioned is…?"
Once Venti had left, Paimon finally floated up to Rowan's side and asked curiously.
"Dvalin?"
"He's the East Wind Dragon, one of the Four Winds' guardians and also Venti's companion."
Rowan turned toward Mondstadt and began walking back as he explained.
Seeing him head toward the city, Lumine hurried to catch up.
"Companion of the Anemo Archon? Don't tell me he's the dragon that rampaged across Mondstadt a while back…"
"The one Xiangling mentioned?"
Xiangling had said she came to Mondstadt specifically to look for a dragon.
If Dvalin was that dragon, then wouldn't he be the same one people called the Stormterror?
"That's right, but the name 'Stormterror' is a misunderstanding."
"At the time, he'd been corrupted by the Abyss, his mind was clouded, so he attacked Mondstadt."
"Now he's recovered, and he's currently living in Stormterror's Lair."
"I made a deal with him. As long as I need him, I can ride him to any place I want."
"At Dvalin's speed, he could probably circle all of Teyvat in a single day."
"Oh, so that's how it is."
"No wonder you said you were only leaving the day before the Rite of Descension. Turns out you've got Dvalin."
Paimon tapped a fist into her open palm, suddenly enlightened.
Lumine nodded silently.
No wonder. With such a convenient way to travel, of course he wouldn't bother walking.
"All right, you two just stay put in Mondstadt for the next few days."
"When I'm ready to leave, I'll have someone come get you."
Rowan grabbed Paimon from the top of his head, pulled her down, and tugged gently at her cheeks with a grin.
"Hey, you… let… goooo!"
Paimon struggled in Rowan's grip, but she was too weak. She couldn't break free at all.
Looking at the tiny Paimon wriggling in his hand, Rowan lowered his head and studied her seriously.
Who would've thought that this little thing might very well be Phanes, the Heavenly Principle?
Tsk, tsk, tsk. The world really was full of surprises.
After squirming for a while, Paimon realized she really couldn't escape. All she could do was look pitifully at Lumine.
Hoping Lumine would come to her rescue.
"All right, stop bullying Paimon."
"We'll be waiting for your good news."
"Let's part ways happily for now."
Lumine noticed Paimon's pleading eyes. She'd originally planned to ignore them.
After all, Paimon spent all day either eating or sleeping and was barely any help.
Letting Paimon take a little punishment wasn't exactly a bad thing.
But after watching for a while, she finally softened, and rescued Paimon from Rowan's hands.
Then she said goodbye to Rowan, and left with Paimon.
Watching the noisy backs of Lumine and Paimon as they bickered their way down the path, Rowan couldn't help showing a warm smile.
Such a familiar scene.
"What, getting tempted?"
"If your heart's moved, go chase her then."
Rowan was just about to turn back toward the royal palace when a familiar voice sounded from behind.
He turned around helplessly and saw Istaroth in front of him, cheeks puffed out. He answered honestly:
"You're overthinking it. I don't have any particular feelings for her."
"I only see her as a little sister."
Istaroth circled around Rowan twice. When she saw that his expression didn't change, she finally relaxed a little.
She warned him:
"Rowan, I don't care whether you like her or not."
"But if you really want to be with her one day, you have to tell me."
"Don't go looking for women behind my back. If you do, I won't let you off."
Istaroth didn't mind Rowan having other women. She wasn't even hung up on the idea of him going out to find more.
If it weren't for the fact that her colleagues weren't exactly suitable to introduce to him…
Istaroth would've already thought about introducing the other three to Rowan.
She didn't mind—but he had to tell her.
She refused to accept a situation where Rowan had a bunch of women, and she, as the queen, knew nothing about it.
What she hated most was being lied to.
"You really are overthinking things. If I do ever find another woman, I'll definitely tell you."
"Stop worrying so much. Come on, let's go eat."
Rowan smiled and rubbed Istaroth's head, giving her a classic headpat.
Then he took her small hand and led her back toward the royal palace.
The next day.
Albedo arrived at the palace to report.
"Your Majesty, according to the blueprints you gave me, I've finished building the signal tower. Its range covers roughly from Mondstadt City to the Whispering Woods."
"If we want to cover all of Mondstadt, we'll probably need four or five towers."
The design Rowan had given Albedo was a kind of advanced-tech signal tower.
It was similar to ordinary signal towers, but its coverage area was exceptionally large.
Basically, a single tower could cover around ten thousand square kilometers.
Mondstadt as a whole was currently about fifty to sixty thousand square kilometers.
Of course, most of that was wilderness.
So four or five towers were enough to cover all of Mondstadt.
"Very good, Albedo. Since you've completed the signal tower…"
"In a bit, take the tower, then discuss things with the Knights of Favonius. Have them send a squad to protect you while you go install it. The sooner the better."
Rowan glanced over the data Albedo had handed him and nodded in satisfaction.
Then he pulled two more sets of blueprints from the Gate of Babylon.
"Then take a look at this."
"This is your next research objective—our top priority."
"The signal towers were built for this."
(End of Chapter)
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