The mysterious person acting strangely in front of them removed the hood from their head, revealing a head of dazzling golden long hair tied in a single Horsetail.
Seeing the familiar appearance of the person before her, Amber first wanted to exclaim, but immediately covered her mouth, whispering, "Acting Grand Master Jean!!!"
Jean looked at the clean and tidy environment and neatly arranged trash cans in the alley. A helpless expression crossed her face. Just as she was about to open her mouth to explain, she was stopped by the excited Amber, and all her pent-up desire to talk and the words in her heart were forced back down.
Amber was so excited that even her "rabbit ears" stood straight up. She gently shook Acting Grand Master Jean's arm in a very affectionate manner.
"Acting Grand Master Jean, you don't need to explain to me. You must have come here in disguise because of something important concerning Mondstadt's safety!"
"Protecting Mondstadt is an unavoidable duty for Outrider Amber."
"Just give me any mission you have!"
Looking at Amber, who was fully prepared and brimming with energy, Jean smiled and shook her head, saying, "Amber, calm down a little. Today, I am not appearing here in my capacity as the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius. I am just an ordinary Mondstadt citizen—Jean."
Jean pulled open her black robe, revealing the casual clothes she was wearing underneath.
The classic Mondstadt style attire, the most fashionable cut this year, instantly made people's eyes light up when worn by Jean.
"Acting Grand Master Jean, no, Jean! You finally changed out of those clothes!"
"Although the outfit you usually wear is also very beautiful, always wearing the same clothes can lead to aesthetic fatigue. The girls in Mondstadt City have closets piled high with beautiful clothes!"
Amber circled the newly dressed Acting Grand Master Jean, constantly commenting on and praising Jean's beauty.
"Acting Grand Master Jean, your outfit today is so beautiful. Why cover it with a black robe? Isn't that too much of a waste!"
"It's like... putting onions in delicious honey glazed carrot fried meat!"
Jean sighed helplessly, pulled Amber over to the trash cans next to the alley, and gestured for Amber to look at them.
Amber suspiciously walked forward and carefully observed the trash cans. To get a closer look, she even reached her hand inside to feel them.
Could there be evidence of the Treasure Hoarders hidden inside these trash cans?
Wait! Why are these trash cans... so clean!!!
Amber noticed something was wrong. She reached out and touched the bottom of a trash can, sticking more than half of her body inside. Under normal circumstances, Amber would definitely be covered in dirt, but when she emerged from the trash can, there wasn't a single smudge on her clothes.
No smudges!
Amber immediately opened the next trash can; it was equally clean, almost reflective.
Acting Grand Master Jean quietly walked to Amber's side, sighed, and asked, "Amber, you've noticed something is wrong, haven't you?"
Amber looked down solemnly at the trash cans that in no way resembled actual trash cans, and said in a deep voice, "These trash cans... are cleaner than the plates at my house!"
Acting Grand Master Jean curved her lips into a smile, "Then Amber should go home and scrub her plates well."
Amber, who had been a little disappointed moments before, was immediately amused by Acting Grand Master Jean's dry joke.
"Haha, Acting Grand Master Jean, your serious expression while delivering a dad joke is even funnier than a Bard in a tavern."
Jean: "..."
Amber took a deep breath, adjusted her emotions, and said softly, "Acting Grand Master Jean, Noelle cleaned all these trash cans, didn't she?"
Jean nodded, "This morning, I received a complaint from a citizen that all the trash cans in Mondstadt City were cleaned to this extent, which affected their daily lives."
Amber clenched her small fists and said indignantly, "Noelle works so hard cleaning Mondstadt's sanitation, washing the dirty trash cans until they are cleaner than my plates, so clean they reflect the sun, and they still complained!"
Under Amber's regretful gaze, Jean put on her black robe, pulled up her hood, and hid her expression in the darkness.
"The citizen's anonymous letter said that Noelle cleaned the trash cans too well, making them feel a sense of guilt when throwing trash inside."
"Uh, well..." Amber was instantly speechless.
"Trash cans are meant to store trash. We can't demand that trash cans be empty just for the sake of aesthetics. What's the difference between that and those nobles who oppress the Mondstadters with their power?"
"Besides, with so many people in Mondstadt City, thousands of trash cans—even Noelle cannot clean all of them by herself."
"To solve this problem, I specifically asked Lisa to cover for me for one day."
Amber suddenly realized, slapping her forehead, "So, Acting Grand Master Jean, you came here to look for Noelle?"
"No." Acting Grand Master Jean shook her head. "As repayment for Lisa covering for me, I promised Lisa I would bring back some of the honey glazed carrot fried meat we ate that other day."
"The honey glazed carrot fried meat you brought back that day was truly too delicious, Amber. Not just Lisa, but even Klee and I have been thinking about it constantly. So, on the way to look for Noelle, when I reached this place, I decided to queue up first to buy two portions to take away."
"The reason I wore this black robe is because my usual image attracts too much attention. Mondstadt citizens often seek me out for help, like asking me to help find cats or dogs. But I need to focus on finding Noelle right now, and honestly, it's a bit troublesome..."
"After all, whether it's Acting Grand Master Jean or ordinary Mondstadt citizen Jean, neither of us can turn away someone who needs help."
As the two were talking, a dark figure flashed and hid nearby, interrupting Amber and Jean's continued conversation.
"Eek!"
"Amber! And... good morning to you too."
"Sara, what are you doing here?!"
It turned out to be Sara, the waitress from The Good Hunter Restaurant, who had hidden there. When she saw Acting Grand Master Jean in the black robe inside the box, she was startled, thinking she had bumped into a bad person in her panic, until she saw Amber standing nearby and relaxed.
To calm the flustered Miss Sara down, Acting Grand Master Jean removed her hood, revealing her true face.
"Miss Sara, please calm down. Anything difficult, Amber and I will help you solve it."
Upon seeing Acting Grand Master Jean's familiar and reliable face, Sara, who had been very panicked moments ago, immediately stopped panicking, and a relieved expression appeared on her face.
"Acting Grand Master Jean, it's so good to have you here."
...
...
After Sara's explanation, Acting Grand Master Jean and Amber learned the whole story.
It turned out that after the honey glazed carrot fried meat made by The Good Hunter using extremely high-quality carrots became wildly popular, the owners of other restaurants in Mondstadt became jealous. They contacted the Treasure Hoarders and had them steal all the remaining miraculous carrots from The Good Hunter Restaurant.
Who knew that after getting the miraculous carrots, this group of Treasure Hoarders suddenly turned against them, not only hoarding the stolen carrots for themselves but also beating up the restaurant owners who hired them and robbing them of their Mora.
The next morning, Miss Sara, upon arriving at The Good Hunter Restaurant and discovering the carrots were stolen, immediately planned to report it to the Knights of Favonius and initiate an investigation.
However, on her way to the Knights of Favonius, Miss Sara encountered the restaurant whose owner had been beaten and robbed by the Treasure Hoarders. Thinking the restaurant owner had been robbed, Sara quickly sought help from a passing patrol Knight, coincidentally running into Noelle.
So, Sara took Noelle back with her. When the two entered the restaurant, they saw the owner sitting on the ground, weeping loudly.
To get revenge on the Treasure Hoarders who violated professional ethics, the owner confessed the entire sequence of events and promised to cooperate fully with the investigation by the Knights of Favonius. As long as those Treasure Hoarders could be caught, he wouldn't mind going to jail.
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