Amber's face turned bright red as she landed on the ground in a flurry.
Orion took a close look. "Hey! It's the pre-remodel Amber!"
In that case, I can look forward to Mona's butt, Acting Grand Master Jean's chest, and Rosaria's fishnet stockings.
While Amber was patting her slightly perky chest to calm down, Orion walked back to the three of them.
Skirk's expression remained unchanged.
Paimon tapped him on the head with her small hand. "Moneybags, you ran way too fast! It was clear that she could land on her own!"
"I wasn't… I just got distracted!" Orion quickly retorted. When he turned back, he found Lumine looking at him with a face full of disdain.
"I'm going to turn you in to the local authorities," Lumine said, looking at Orion as if he were trash.
"That would be a huge help—wait, no!" Orion shrugged. "I was clearly doing a good deed. The city of freedom will surely understand me!"
"Go tell that to the Knights of Favonius's judicial department! Or unless…" Lumine suddenly gave a sly smile, and Orion had a bad feeling. "Unless you turn into a little Shota tonight and let me hug you while I sleep!"
Orion:... What just splattered on my face?
In the distance, Amber, who had been fanning her flushed cheeks, finally stopped. She turned to the four of them, cleared her throat, and introduced herself. "May the Anemo Archon protect you, strangers! I am Amber, Outrider of the Knights of Favonius! I stopped you because, from my observation, you are not Mondstadters, right?"
Paimon quickly interjected. "There might have been a misunderstanding just now! But please, listen to me, we are not suspicious people!"
Amber crossed her arms. "That's what all suspicious people say!"
Then Paimon pointed in Orion's direction. "Well, he might be."
"Tsk, hey, hey, hey! No dinner for you." Orion pointed back at her with the Great Desolation Imprisoning Heaven Finger.
Paimon gave a wicked smile. "You're going to be held by the Traveler while sleeping tonight, so I wasn't counting on you anyway. Skirk said she would take me to eat grilled fish."
"...When did you two plan this?"
Amber, who was watching from the side, twitched her rabbit-ear hair accessory. Are they performing a play?
Skirk sighed and said to Amber, "Don't mind them. We are Travelers passing through this place. My name is Skirk, a wanderer without a home."
Lumine also raised her small hand. "My name is Lumine!" She then pointed to Orion, who was still bickering with Paimon. "This is Orion, he is… he is a person from a faraway place, just like me."
Amber nodded and finally looked at Paimon. "And what about this… mascot? What's the story there?"
For a moment, the gazes of Orion, Lumine, and Skirk all fell on Paimon.
Oh right, now that you mention it, what species is she anyway?
Skirk hadn't really thought about it before, because she had seen plenty of strange things since arriving in Teyvat, such as Seelies, Moon-spirits, Specters, and the like.
She had subconsciously regarded Paimon as something similar.
Before Orion transmigrated, the Genshin Impact hadn't finished yet, but he guessed that Paimon was likely related to the Great King Fa. Don't you agree, Paimon-kemonin?
After all, considering Rhinedottir carries the Flower of Life, Ronova carries the Plume of Death, Asmoday's spatial storage clearance corresponds to the Goblet of Eonothem, and the relationship between Istaroth, the God of Time, and the Sands of Eon goes without saying—calculating it this way, only the Circlet of Logos is missing from the five artifact slots, and Paimon just happens to fiddle with her little crown during her idle flying animation.
But come to think of it, Istaroth's bare feet are really beautiful, hehehe.
Among everyone, only Lumine seriously started to ponder the question of what Paimon actually was.
At this moment, the scene of her home's destruction, the unshakeable catastrophe in the universe, the colors circulating among the stars, the customs of different planets, the creatures wandering in the universe—countless wondrous scenes and starry vistas flashed through her mind. It seemed as if a BGM as vast as the starry sky echoed in her ears. In the very end, all her thoughts gradually converged into four words.
"Emergency food."
"That's completely wrong! How is that even worse than mascot?!"
Watching them bicker, Amber burst into laughter. It seemed they weren't bad people, perhaps just ordinary Travelers?
"Ahem! Interrupting for a moment!" Amber suddenly clapped her hands. "If you are just Travelers, I suggest you head to Mondstadt to settle down. It just so happens that we're not far from Mondstadt, and I can take you there!"
Orion glanced at the giant windmill, which was visible even if the map scale changed. He felt that he could probably walk there without anyone leading the way.
Among the group, there was a slacking Traveler, a flying mascot, and a Planet King who, barring any accidents, no one could defeat. The three of them were all carefree, but only Skirk was most sensitive to danger. She opened her mouth and asked, "You seem very urgent. Do you have any concerns?"
Amber nodded. "Because Mondstadt has been suffering from a dragon disaster recently. If we don't get back to the city quickly, I'm worried there will be danger."
Paimon was a bit scared upon hearing this. "A dragon disaster?!"
"Yes." Amber looked at the sky. "Let's not chat here anymore. Besides urging some Adventurers to return to Mondstadt quickly, I also have another purpose in coming out this time: to clear out some small, newly formed Hilichurl camps near Mondstadt.
In a moment, you should hide. I'll quickly wipe them out, and then we'll rush back to Mondstadt! I can tell you about the dragon disaster on the way."
Paimon quickly said, "Then we can help too!"
Amber was stunned for a moment, but then immediately said, "Thank you, strange Travelers, but protecting the safety of Mondstadt's residents and passing Travelers is also my responsibility and obligation as an Outrider! You don't need to worry about me, I will protect everyone!"
Showing her white teeth, a tremendously sunny smile appeared on Amber's face.
... With eyes wide and mouth slightly agape, an expression of utter astonishment appeared on Amber's face.
These few Hilichurl camps would never have dreamed they would encounter such a terrifying thing.
That cold and beautiful older sister waved her blade, and countless icicles appeared. Then, that blonde, beautiful girl suddenly summoned a tornado, and an icy-white tornado with countless sharp thorns destroyed the entire Hilichurl camp. Countless Hilichurls were skewered like sieves, leaving only some broken masks behind.
On the other side, Orion faced another camp by himself. That camp had two Wooden Shield Mitachurls. Their wooden shields were condensed directly from the elemental power of Dendro Slimes and had to be destroyed using pyro element attacks.
Amber was just about to go over and help when she saw Orion extend his palm. Countless unobstructed, clear winds turned into a sphere and enveloped the entire Hilichurl camp, and then—it flipped completely over.
Literally, he flipped the small hill into the ground, and the moist soil and rock layers were swapped to the top.
Amber's consistently professional expression management finally failed. She seemed to have truly encountered some extraordinary outsiders.
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