When it came to their scattered companions, Little Cabbage looked somewhat worried.
However, Ann believed that now with the help of the three knights, it should be fine.
Since there was a dragon, a kingdom, and an evil dragon, now with the appearance of the knights,
the direction of the entire story had become orthodox.
Yes, they were indeed such upright and powerful people.
"Story? Orthodox? Though, I have indeed defeated a dragon…"
Upon hearing that Lumine had really defeated a dragon, the two little companions became even more excited, circling around her enthusiastically.
Lumine felt that sometimes these little ones' train of thought was really all over the place.
But it was fine—she was already used to handling such situations.
She just hoped that in the end, they could find information related to the [Narzissenkreuz Ordo].
Ann began to formulate a plan. To defeat the evil dragon, they had to start with its minions—first, deal with the bitter water!
With that, she began chanting magic, lifting the water surface from the seabed.
This turned the seabed into dry land.
The Place of Slumber of the Narcissus Cross Kingdom also revealed its appearance accordingly.
It was a pointed tower, entwined with a Pure Water Spirit.
[Holy crap, you can play like this?]
[Fish: Hello there]
[Fish swimming into the sea and just falling down is too abstract hhh]
Ann let out a sigh of relief after finishing the spell.
A spell of this level was still quite exhausting.
However, the obstacles to advancing had been greatly reduced.
Next, they were going to search for the next member of the Narcissus Cross Adventure Team.
His name was Al.
During the retreat back then, Al had stayed behind to cover everyone's withdrawal.
Now that Narcissus's power had been weakened, it was the perfect time to rescue him.
With the help of knight Lumine and Mu Yang, the group quickly dealt with the mechanisms left behind by the bitter water.
And they found the imprisoned Al.
He was a Hydro-shaped duck.
His manner of speaking was quite amusing.
"Ahh, dear Little Cabbage, and Ann. We finally meet again. In these dark days, just thinking of you gave me the strength to keep fighting."
"And you all, thank you—for coming to aid in this cause of justice, noble warriors."
"If I had arms as long and slender as yours, I would certainly tip my hat to you in this moment."
Paimon felt like laughing a bit.
Mu Yang told Al there was no need to be so formal—just communicate normally.
As for why a duck would be the older brother of a Finch?
It was the same as why Little Cabbage had the name of a Finch.
No need to dwell on it too much…
Al felt that whether he was defined as a duck wasn't important.
What mattered was that he had a soft body, an iron will, and webbed feet skilled at paddling water.
"This is my pride! Just like my little sister—the sphere is the shape closest to perfection and the most complex, and I am proud of my little sister too!"
Both Mu Yang and Lumine saw the awkward yet polite smile on each other's face.
Though they didn't understand, it probably wasn't important.
[I feel the same way]
Ann seemed to notice this.
She explained that the members of the Narcissus Cross Adventure Team had various forms and identities, but their goal was the same.
That was to save Princess Lyris and defeat the demonic dragon Narcissus.
As Ann spoke, she pointed toward the tower.
Lumine didn't quite get it at first. "Is that Princess Lyris, or the demonic dragon Narcissus?"
"That's the demonic dragon Narcissus!"
"It's the evil demonic dragon Narcissus that invaded the Narcissus Cross Kingdom."
No matter how the three pure water creatures described it, Lumine felt she hadn't seen wrong.
It was a Pure Water Spirit.
She sought Mu Yang's opinion, and Mu Yang also thought it was a Pure Water Spirit.
The two sides argued for quite a while.
Mu Yang felt this was a word game—there was no need to keep debating over definitions.
Al nodded. "I agree with this knight's view. There shouldn't be classifications and definitions dictating essence."
"What determines essence is purpose. Right now, we are brave challengers of the evil dragon, and he is the evil dragon—that's enough."
In short, whether it was a Pure Water Spirit or an evil dragon,
to rescue the sleeping princess, they had to deal with the one coiled atop the tower.
Paimon thought this way.
But Ann said no.
"I mentioned earlier—he's not here right now. That's why we could advance to the base of the tower so smoothly. That's the resentment of the dragon, materialized into a concrete form coiled around it."
Mu Yang watched as they prepared to discuss these meaningless things again.
So he stepped in to stop the conversation.
He directly led everyone to the foot of the high tower.
At this place, they met yet another member of the adventure team—a Hydro-shaped frog named Jacques.
Compared to Al and Little Cabbage,
Jacques's words were much more sarcastic.
He first called Mu Yang and Paimon the knight's attendants.
After the explanation, he mocked, "It seems you're not ordinary feudal little warriors in the usual sense."
"Could it be something like an honorary knight? A title with no real benefits attached."
[So annoying, but can't refute it]
[At least in the Mondstadt storyline, it's still quite respected]
[Still have to do dailies to get primogems]
[Don't bring gameplay mechanics into the plot, hey]
Mu Yang didn't like this frog's attitude and directly drew his sword blade. If there was any further provocation,
Jacques would die on the spot.
"I don't like your attitude—you need to change it."
Jacques broke out in a cold sweat, even though he was a Hydro elemental creature…
"Sorry, it turns out you are two—no, three capable and pragmatic knight adults."
"I was offensive earlier. Now, I sincerely request that you join the [Jacques Orchestra]."
As soon as this was mentioned, Al started arguing with Jacques.
Because one called Lyris princess, while the other believed the title of princess symbolized inequality and she should be called miss.
Mu Yang was speechless.
No wonder your team has zero combat effectiveness. The bitter water doesn't even need to do anything—you'd argue among yourselves.
Under Ann's persuasion and the chilling pressure released by Mu Yang,
Jacques and Al stiffly shook hands and made peace.
Well, they each extended a wing and a webbed foot, bumping them together.
The two stayed quiet for less than a minute before Ann's speech was interrupted once again.
This time, she was truly exhausted.
"The situation… I'll trouble Al and Jacques to explain. I need to calm down first."
The three watched Ann fly away, thinking that being the leader really wasn't an easy job.
Since Mu Yang wasn't good at verbal mediation either,
he went to comfort Ann.
Leaving Lumine to deal with Al and Jacques.
Mu Yang walked over to Ann's side. "You've had it pretty tough."
Ann sighed. "Alas, he wasn't like this before."
"In the past, he had a kind heart, cried a lot, and often took care of the younger children…"
"But one day, he said he would never shed tears again. Then he changed. It might be because of Rene—Rene changed too…"
Mu Yang asked, "Who is Rene? Also one of your companions?"
Ann shook her head. "Hm? Did I just say something? Sorry, I can't seem to remember…"