Mona had been held in Aether's arms more than once, but this particular pose seemed to be the first time in her memory.
In the air, she could hear the whistling wind, but more often, it was the strong and powerful heartbeat from Aether's chest.
Each beat struck directly at her heart.
"Mona, we're here." Aether's voice suddenly came, and Mona finally opened her eyes.
They had already landed; after all, that cliff wasn't very high.
The time in the air wasn't long, but Mona surprisingly felt a lingering desire, not wanting to leave Aether's embrace just yet.
"Mona?" Aether looked at Mona, who was lost in thought in his arms, with a puzzled expression.
"Ah, I, I know!" Mona snapped back to reality and quickly struggled to leave Aether's embrace.
Standing on the ground, she even felt a bit weak in the knees.
"Mona, are you not used to flying with a Wind Glider?" Lumine asked Mona with a hint of mischief.
"N-no way! I'm a genius astrologist! Even without a Wind Glider, I can manage trivial things like flying. How could I not be used to it?!" Mona immediately said with a blush.
If it weren't for her strength being depleted just now, she wouldn't have needed Aether to carry her down at all.
"Is that so?"
"Of course!"
Fischl looked at Mona, who was blushing and arguing with Lumine, and felt an indescribable feeling.
She didn't know why, but after only a few days of going out with Lumine, the relationship between Mona and Aether seemed to have undergone some subtle changes.
She didn't quite understand, but she always felt that the three of them had formed a strange circle that she couldn't join.
This feeling was not good, but she didn't know the specific reason.
After the playful banter ended, the group refocused their attention on the main matter.
"This meteorite is really huge!" Paimon looked up at the floating meteorite.
It should be dozens or hundreds of times his size. For Paimon, this must have been an absolute behemoth.
"I can feel an unprecedentedly powerful element power from it." Oz flapped his wings and couldn't help but exclaim.
"The root of pitch-black annihilation… has descended!" Fischl also couldn't help but say. This giant meteorite brought a lot of shock to all of them.
"Are the Fatui coming for the element power?" Paimon stroked his chin and asked curiously.
"It's not impossible, but if that's the case, other creatures should also want this power." Mona's face still had some lingering blush. Being in Aether's arms always made her body temperature rise unconsciously.
Especially after Lumine's teasing, and Fischl's intentional or unintentional stares, made her feel even more embarrassed.
Fortunately, everyone's attention was now focused on this giant meteorite, and Mona finally felt a little better, returning to her usual self.
"But what should we do with this meteorite? Should we destroy it?" Aether also looked at Mona and asked.
Previously, they had relied on clearing meteorites to help those who had fallen into a coma wake up. Now, this meteorite had landed on an almost uninhabited beach, so it shouldn't cause a particularly large impact on people.
However, with such a large volume, it was hard to say for sure. If this meteorite's huge size also affected a wider range, it would be best to get rid of it as soon as possible.
Of course, whether to clear it immediately or keep it for future research, Aether would defer to Mona's opinion.
After all, in this regard, they were still relying on Mona's astrology.
"It's best to clear it. Such powerful element power, leaving it like this is too dangerous. I just need to collect some samples for divination." Mona thought for a moment, then said to Aether.
Without Aether, such a large meteorite would certainly be beyond their capabilities.
But Aether's power could be trusted; clearing this meteorite should not be difficult.
Mona walked to the meteorite, took out a small knife from somewhere, and scraped some powder from the meteorite.
Mona's small knife was surprisingly sharp, capable of scraping powder from such a hard meteorite.
"Hmm, this should be enough. I'll leave the rest to you." Mona looked at the powder in her hand, nodded, then said to Aether.
"Don't worry, leave it to me." Aether was already eager to try. He immediately took out his baseball bat.
Seeing this, the others also immediately retreated to a safer place.
"Rest in Peace Homerun!"
Then, a flash of white light passed, and a huge sound came from Falcon Coast.
----
After all the work, it was almost dark, and Aether and the others planned to return to Mondstadt City.
Today could only end here. After this, it depended on whether Mona could research anything from the powder of that giant meteorite, and it was also necessary to go back to Mondstadt to investigate this person named Leonard.
However, Fischl chose to say goodbye to the group at this time.
"Are you just leaving?" Aether looked at Fischl with some reluctance.
Fischl said that when she came this morning, she had promised other Adventurers to help them there, so she didn't plan to return to Mondstadt so early.
The continuous meteorite shower intensified the coma phenomenon, and various places were overwhelmed. Moreover, people with Visions were, after all, a minority.
Even strong soldiers were struggling to withstand the meteorite's effects, and there was a shortage of manpower everywhere.
Unlike part-time Adventurers like Aether and Lumine, Fischl, as a member of the Adventurers' Guild, had an obligation to obey the Adventurers' Guild's dispatch and go to places where help was needed.
So this time, they would likely part ways completely, and whether they could meet again in the future was unknown.
"Mm, Aether… Goodbye." Fischl was reluctant, but there was nothing else she could do.
"You are a very good listener, willing to chat with me, unlike those Adventurers who only want to get Oz's observations from my mouth, very different."
"I'm also very reluctant to part with you… you all are very good people."
Fischl slowly sighed in her heart. For such a long time, there had been very few people who were willing to truly accept her and communicate with her calmly.
Fischl had never really had true friends, and this time was truly rare.
Lumine and Mona were both very good people; Fischl could feel that they were sincerely interacting with her.
And Aether…
Fischl remembered that morning again. Although it was only a brief taste, that feeling would definitely be unforgettable for her.
If only Aether had continued then, if that had happened…
"Huh? Fischl's way of speaking, isn't it a bit different from usual…?" Paimon's voice suddenly interrupted Fischl's thoughts, startling her.
She only then realized that she had been so engrossed in thinking about Aether that she had unintentionally zoned out.
"Cough, uh, Her Highness means that you are so brave, and possess wisdom beyond ordinary people, that any riddle will vanish before you!" Oz quickly made an excuse for Fischl.
"Why does it feel like Oz and Fischl have swapped roles…?"
"In short, Her Highness wants to say that if it's you few, you will definitely be able to reach the truth behind the illusion."
"N-no, that's right, you are all the Princess's retainers, the Knights of Condemnation, and you will surely lead them out of the darkness and back to the land of light."
"Who's your retainer…?" Mona complained, somewhat speechless.
"Fischl, Oz, thank you. We will definitely meet again." Aether smiled, then said to the two.
Fischl should be living in Mondstadt City, and she is also an Adventurer of the Adventurers' Guild, so they have many opportunities to meet.
"I'll come visit you later, Fischl."
"R-really?" Fischl visibly brightened when she heard Xingbao's words.
She didn't consider whether Xingbao was just being polite, but it was enough that Xingbao was willing to say it; she would wait patiently.
"After all this is over, let's get together for a drink," Oz said to the group.
Of course, by "a drink," he meant juice, as there were very few people of legal drinking age here.
And as a raven, it was hard to say if he could even drink alcohol...
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