Isaac walked through the paved cobble streets paths of Mondstadt, enjoying his stroll as he took on the scenery around him.
Not far from him, a giant windmill was slowly rotating its sails beneath the clear blue sky, carried by the gentle winds that seemed to endlessly dance throughout the City of Freedom.
Then, a breeze brushed against his face, once more flailing his cloak.
But he didn't dislike it.
On the contrary, he liked it very much. 'Not as cold as Windrise... But definitely still fresh.'
It was as though it carried with it a greeting from the city itself.
His gaze lingered on the towering windmill for a while longer before drifting elsewhere as he continued his walk.
The quaint houses lining the streets stood proudly beneath the afternoon sun. Their red rooftops and stone walls were simple, yet possessed a warmth that made the entire city feel alive and gave it identity.
Children ran across the roads with carefree laughter, holding little toys that resembled a familiar traveler and a dragon.
Merchants called out from their stalls.
Residents carried baskets beneath their arms as they went about their day.
None of it was extraordinary and yet it was precisely why he found it quite beautiful.
'Oh, Mondstadt... Never change.'
There was a reason Mondstadt as a region was well beloved by many people, Isaac included.
It was because it gave the feeling of returning to a place one had long known despite never truly having stepped foot within it before.
It was an odd sensation, to say the least.
'After everything, after all the nations, quests, adventures and sufferings... It's nice to call this place a home to always come back to.'
He looked up, and above him, doves were perched upon rooftops and railings.
A few took flight the moment the breeze shifted, their wings carrying them across the bright sky.
Others remained where they were, peacefully observing the bustling city below.
At some point, Isaac found himself smiling warmly.
As he continued walking, he found his attention constantly being stolen by the little things around him.
From a familiar florist selling her flowers, to an elderly couple strolling leisurely, to even an adventurer beginning his first quest.
They made the city feel more vibrant than any grand monument in Fontaine ever could.
His gaze then landed toward the massive statue standing at the heart of the city. The sunlight bathed it in gold.
For a brief moment, Isaac simply stood there and admired the sight.
Then, a content sigh escaped his lips.
Eventually, he shook his head and retracted his wandering gaze.
Only then did he realize that while he had been lost appreciating the scenery around him, his feet had continued carrying him forward.
And before he knew it, he had already arrived near his destination.
'Ah... Have I been that distracted?'
With a self-deprecating thought, he smiled wryly.
Still, he didn't dislike it. Nothing in Mondstadt ever will.
---
Not long after arriving at the doorsteps of the Knights of Favonius headquarters, Isaac approached a knight by the door.
"Excuse me, this is the Knights Ordo's headquarters, right?"
"Indeed." The Knight by the entrance answered politely. "Do you have a purpose here?"
Isaac nodded. "That's right. I'm here to meet..."
At that moment, he stopped.
He was just about to state that he was gonna meet up with the Spark Knight Klee, infamous for her effective explosives and fish blasting in the area.
But if he had said that... he was afraid that he'd get two odd reactions. One would be concern, and the other would be suspicion.
Either way, it involved Klee, an infamous but beloved child.
'Darn it...'
In that split of a second, Isaac had to change his mind and adapt to the new situation he found himself in.
"...with Acting Grandmaster Jean. Is she here?"
'Jean...' Maintaining his composure outside, Isaac was sweating metaphorically inside. 'If I did this... It's technically meeting her for political reasons, right?'
He had to admit, those papers given to him by Neuvillette were proving much more helpful than he had given it credit for.
He pulled them out and showed them to the Knight who accepted them for a moment before nodding.
"I'll have Acting Grandmaster Jean to be notified of your arrival, Special Envoy from Fontaine. In the meantime, please sit on our lounge, we'll have you be served with drinks if you'd like."
"That will be much appreciated. Thank you." Isaac nodded.
Soon, he was allowed in the headquarters.
As he walked, however, Isaac was thinking of another matter while eyeing the area around him.
'Klee isn't anywhere outside... So there's only one place she could be in right now.'
His gaze shifted and landed on a specific door just adjacent to the office of the Grandmaster.
It was the Solitary Confinement room.
'Do I need to break her out of there?'
Although Isaac had told Klee to behave on the day he was about to visit, something must have happened for her to be sent into the confinement room once more.
That, or she just had to blow something up again for good measure.
Either way, Isaac was quite confident that she was in there.
After being dropped into the lounge, he waited for a bit, bidding his time for when to sneak into the confinement room.
But with the amount of Knights walking around, he couldn't get the right chance.
And with the eventual meeting with Jean, he knew that his time was limited.
He needs to act sooner or later.
'If only I had more of those potions Albedo made...'
Remembering his heist in Palais Mermonia, Isaac couldn't help but covet the potion that allowed him to become invisible for a limited time given by Klee.
Right now, all he could do was conceal his presence by burning through his system points via one of the functions of the system. But other than that, he was still completely visible.
'Think, think... Should I just do it?'
He looked around a bit more, feeling the pressure starting to weigh down on him.
But after watching the Knights coming and going for a while now and noticing that they were slowly falling in number and intervals, he knew that this was his time.
'Hah... let's just do it!'
He just needs to get Klee out, just like that. In and out.
He activated the system's concealment function, and soon, a serene coat enveloped him.
To those that might see him, they might mistake him for a ghost due to how lifeless he looked and how his breath was silenced in addition to his movements producing no sounds.
It wasn't a perfect concealment, but it was enough.
After watching the last Knight turn his back on Isaac, he lingered for a moment before sprinting to the room where Klee was in.
Again, no sound whatsoever was produced. Not even the wind currents changed.
'This is it!'
Seeing how close he was to the room, Isaac knew that he was about to succeed in taking Klee out and officially starting his mission.
'Now I just need to take both of us out of here and find a place for us where Klee can be used to call her mother.'
He knew very well that the famous adventurer, Alice, was not someone who just easily appears anywhere without reason.
She was a busy woman guarding the borders of the world, and only occasionally appears when her daughter needs her or when work is too little.
So, Isaac thought that if he could have Klee ask for her mother out loud, then she would come.
He even thought of something like faking an accident for Klee just to summon her. But of course, that was the last, last, last, and very last option he had.
He would never actually put his little friend in danger.
'I just hope that Alice can take this bait so that I can accomplish the mission, and even get a lead on Nicole...'
It was hitting two birds with one stone.
One one hand, he could get to finish his mission by just convincing Alice to come with him to Nod-Krai to meet Varka, while on the other hand, he might meet Nicole and convince her also to help with his Abyssal problem.
This plan must work. If not, then he will have a much harder time.
Finally, having not been seen by anyone thus far, Isaac successfully grabbed hold of the doorknob.
He twisted it.
"Alright, Klee, let's go—"
"Oh ♪"
But at that moment, someone appeared right beside Isaac and had tapped him on his shoulder before he could even open the door.
"And now what could you possibly be wanting to do there, young man?"
Isaac froze.
He felt shivers instantly run down his spine as color drained from his face.
In that split of a second, his gaze shifted to the person that had tapped him out of nowhere, who had escaped even his senses.
And there...
"You seem a bit agitated. Why don't we have a nice chat, hm?"
A cheery yet with a hint of mature voice spoke to him.
And the moment his eyes landed on the figure of the person that possessed said voice...
'...damnation.'
The moment he saw the witch hat, the long blonde hair, and the elf ears, he instantly recognized who it was.
Especially with that curious smile on her face that reminded him of Klee.
"Come, let's go have a nice tea party."
Without even having uttered a single world, both Isaac and the woman vanished.