[Side Quest in Progress: Defeat 100 Hilichurls (3/100), Must use *Manifestation Art*]
Lumine propped her longsword on the ground and looked up in the direction the black spikes had come from.
She saw the Angel hovering in mid-air, carelessly shaking her right hand, the residual black energy between her fingers dissipating like smoke.
Lumine cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone, stood on her tiptoes, and shouted, "Hey! Gabriela!"
The Damselette had just finished speaking when the Angel in front of her vanished with a swoosh.
Lumine felt someone poke her right shoulder. She hurriedly turned around but saw no one.
"Where are you looking~"
A smiling voice suddenly came from the left.
Gabriela tilted her head and peeked out from behind Lumine's shoulder. Her pink hair hung down between the two of them, and a mischievous light flickered in her pupils.
She reached out and gently brushed off the dust that had clung to the girl during the fight. "How is it? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine…," Lumine looked at Gabriela and said with a smile.
Their previous "chance encounter" had been too intense for Lumine to take a close look, and only now, with the two of them so close, did she belatedly realize something.
Gabriela was very tall, at least half a head taller than herself, and the other party was even barefoot... "Gabriela, those black—"
"Traveler!!"
The two turned their heads to look. Paimon and Amber were running toward them from the slope.
The fiery-red girl first carefully checked the campsite before putting away her bow and arrows, looking at Gabriela with a somewhat complicated expression.
"Miss Gabriela, your strength... is immense." As an Outrider, Amber naturally possessed skill, yet she, who was known for her agility, couldn't even clearly see the Angel's movements.
It seemed she had only lightly waved her hand, and three black shadows had killed the monsters.
"Do you also have a Vision?"
"A Vision?"
Amber looked at Gabriela's confused gaze, then turned to Lumine, only to find that she, too, was looking back with a helpless expression.
"It's this... this, look," Amber pointed to the red jewel on her waist. "Most people need it to use the elements."
Gabriela spread her hands. "I have never seen one."
Lumine also shook her head, indicating she had never seen one. Helpless, Amber could only cover her forehead and sigh.
"...Forget it. Let's enter the city first. We won't figure these things out right now."
"Wait!"
Under everyone's gaze, Gabriela quickly teleported back and forth across the campsite several times. When she reappeared, she was holding a pile of items.
They were all fragments of Hilichurl masks, along with some arrows that had fallen to the ground.
"Why are you picking these up?" Amber looked at Gabriela suspiciously. The latter shoved everything into Lumine's hands.
"Amber, do you desire power?"
"?"
Gabriela nodded affirmatively, signaling Lumine to put the items away. "If you desire power, they will definitely be useful."
Although she didn't understand, Amber still led the group onto the road toward Mondstadt.
Before long, they arrived in front of a stone bridge.
The wide bridge surface stretched as far as the eye could see. There was only one small boy leaning against the side of the bridge, and besides him, the bridge was filled with delicious... er, cute pigeons!
So, Mondstadt bridge blockade incoming!!
However, before Gabriela could begin her "pigeon collecting" operation, Amber interrupted her with a warning look.
Thus, the outsider's first attempt at blocking the bridge was declared a failure.
"...Gabriela, and you said you weren't hungry!" Paimon said angrily, leaving Gabriela completely confused.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"W-weren't you trying to catch the pigeons just now to roast and eat them??"
Gabriela was once again impressed by Paimon's bizarre thought process and weakly gave Paimon a thumbs-up.
She had no response.
Is she really an Archon or the Heavenly Principles? How can she be this cute!?
After crossing the long stone bridge, the group finally arrived at the gate of Mondstadt.
"Travelers... from foreign lands! Allow me to formally introduce you," Amber glanced at Gabriela intentionally or unintentionally, and then continued her introduction,
"Welcome to the City of Wind and Dandelions, the City of freedom. Welcome to Mondstadt City!"
"Wow…," Lumine looked up at the towering city walls, her mouth slightly agape.
"Finally, we don't have to sleep rough anymore!"
While the group stood there, two Knights had spotted them from afar and performed a standard Knight's salute.
"Miss Amber!"
"Miss Amber, your mission is com—com—"
Both Knights stammered, unable to finish their words, staring at Gabriela, who was next to Lumine, with exaggerated expressions.
Clang—
One of them even dropped his weapon.
"The Wind..."
"Relax, they are all Travelers from other places."
Amber said calmly. The two Knights exchanged glances, and after sweeping their gaze over the Angel once more, they seemed to calm down slightly.
"M-Miss Amber, are you sure?"
"Yes, they are guests from a foreign land."
After a brief silence, the two guards finally cleared the path under the confused gazes of Lumine and Paimon.
Led by Amber, the group finally entered the city. Gabriela even saluted the guards, immediately earning an expression that wasn't much better than crying.
"...Amber, why are they all reacting so strongly?" Lumine leaned closer to Amber and asked quietly.
Ever since they approached Mondstadt City, the surrounding residents had more or less stopped what they were doing.
Blacksmiths, merchants, Knights—everyone was looking at Gabriela, yet no one spoke.
However, Gabriela, the center of all the focused attention, seemed completely unconcerned, merely shaking her head slightly, her two ear feathers swaying gently with the movement.
"...We are heading to the highest point in Mondstadt City now. Once we get there... you will understand."
Lumine and Paimon exchanged glances, but eventually continued walking upward with the unconcerned Gabriela.
The interior of the city was even more beautiful than it looked from the outside, but they noticed that besides surprise, the residents' expressions didn't seem very good either.
Everyone looked tired and somewhat restless.
"Everyone looks like they are not doing too well…"
"Ah... it's because of Stormterror. Many trade routes have been closed recently, and few outsiders are coming here."
The steps slowly receded beneath their feet, and at the same time, a gray silhouette gradually rose from the horizon.
Amber said while leading the way, "Not only the people in the city, but everyone in the Knights of Favonius is also very tired recently..."
The usually energetic Damselette's tone was briefly subdued, but she quickly put on a smile again. "Alright, look!"
She stepped aside, opening her arms. "This is the Plaza of the Anemo God, and—" Her voice suddenly became solemn, "the Statue of Lord Barbatos, the Anemo God!"
...(Brief silence)
"Why are you all staring at me?"
Gabriela crossed her arms, feeling uncomfortable under the scrutiny of Lumine and Paimon.
Paimon scratched her head, switching her gaze back and forth between the statue and the Angel.
Suddenly, she flew forward and used her small hand to cover the halo above Gabriela's head, instantly realizing something.
"Oh! This statue is you!"
"Huh!?"
"…"