In the end, they still couldn't find Lumine's trace. They asked a few people, and the answer they got was: The Honorary Knight seemed to have left the city.
Therefore, the person undergoing the Wind Glider license assessment became Star alone.
Ann seemed to have gotten what she wanted, but Star wasn't sure if it was her imagination.
"Star, don't be nervous, relax, you can do it." Ann stood below, waving at Star and shouting loudly.
"Okay~" Star also waved back, but she wasn't particularly nervous, even without Ann's encouragement.
She hadn't flown well before because she hadn't flown many times, was unfamiliar with it, and was flying too high and too fast.
This time, since the purpose was an exam, there was no need for complex or fast flying maneuvers, and Star believed she would be fine.
"Alright, if you're ready, then prepare—"
Go!
Star took a deep breath, then directly leaped, unfurling her Wind Glider in the air.
Her movements were clean and precise, without any hesitation, and she quickly glided through the air.
Now, she just needed to follow the predetermined route and fly towards her destination.
Star looked up into the distance. This time, her endpoint was precisely the entrance to Mondstadt City.
Flying from her current location to there would probably only take a few minutes for a smooth landing.
Star carefully controlled her direction in the sky, hearing Ann's encouraging words, and everything went very smoothly along the way.
Looking down, Ann was running along in the direction she was flying. It seemed that to prevent any accidents, Ann hadn't waited at the destination but chose to follow along the entire way.
Looking at that fiery red figure, Star couldn't help but smile, then glanced elsewhere.
"Mondstadt is truly lively after the Dragon Disaster," Star thought to herself.
People looked content and prosperous, a stark contrast to the somewhat desolate scenery during the Dragon Disaster; the changes could be said to be earth-shattering.
"Stop!"
Just as Star was engrossed in watching, a sudden shout came from behind her, startling her and almost causing her to lose control of her Wind Glider and fall.
She barely managed to stabilize herself in the air, avoiding an accident.
A surge of inexplicable anger rose in Star's heart. She wanted to turn around and see who had such a loud voice and suddenly shouted to scare people for no reason.
However, just as she turned her head, she saw a dark figure rapidly flying towards her from the sky.
"Oh my god!" Star was greatly alarmed, almost cursing.
That should have been a person flying with a Wind Glider, but the speed was so fast that Star found it hard to comprehend.
This person seemed to be in a panicked rush, not even noticing that there was someone else flying in front of them.
If they collided, Star herself should be fine, as her physical quality as a Pathstrider was not something ordinary people could compare to.
But it was hard to say about the person opposite; it felt like they would either die or be seriously injured.
There was no time for Star to think too much. She turned her body at the last second. Although she lost her balance in the sky, she fortunately managed to avoid the collision.
"Star!" Amidst Ann's cry of alarm, Star plunged downwards.
And that dark figure continued towards the outskirts of Mondstadt City without stopping.
"Stop! Someone seems to be hurt!"
----
"Ugh…" Star looked at the few people around her, feeling a bit embarrassed.
She was actually fine. These people, especially Ann, were simply overly anxious.
The only problem was that she accidentally made a huge hole in the road.
"I'm really fine, no need to go… Alright, alright, I'll go." Seeing Ann's tearful expression, Star quickly changed her mind.
She really couldn't argue with Ann, so she had to agree to go see Barbara first.
She really didn't want to go, after all, she and Barbara… now that the two of them had run into each other, although there shouldn't be much of a problem if they were careful, she always felt very uneasy.
"But, can you tell me what's going on, why is someone flying so fast in the city?" Ann looked at the few Knights who had landed behind them, frowning as she questioned them.
"We are very sorry, Outrider." The Knights clearly knew Ann as well. They exchanged glances, all of them sighing deeply.
"That was Monster Bird just now."
"Monster Bird? But he looked like a person to me?" Star scratched her head in confusion.
"Uh, no, his codename is Monster Bird. He's a habitual thief who recently appeared. Because he habitually uses a Wind Glider to commit crimes, he got that codename. We didn't expect him to be so audacious as to steal from the Westwind Church this time." The Knight explained to Star.
"As you saw, he flies very fast, we simply can't catch him."
"So he's a thief." Star nodded.
If she had known he was a thief, she wouldn't have dodged. She would have just let that Monster Bird crash into her.
That way, the Knights of Favonius wouldn't have to bother with the arrest; they could just pick him up ready-made.
"Flies very fast?" Ann was immediately indignant, especially thinking that the guy almost hit Star just now and even caused Star to fall from the sky. She was so angry she didn't want to speak.
"Hmph, you can report to Acting Grand Master Jean when you go back and tell her that I want to join the investigation of this matter."
"Uh, but…" The Knights looked a bit troubled.
The Knights of Favonius naturally had their respective divisions of labor. Although the Outrider squad was now a nominal existence, Ann was still diligently fulfilling her duties as an Outrider.
Having her participate in the work of apprehending a thief was somewhat against procedure.
"It's okay, Acting Grand Master Jean will agree. I promise to apprehend him and bring him to justice!" Ann said indignantly, then pulled Star towards the Westwind Church.
If Star hadn't just gotten up from the ground and been able to run and jump, Ann would have even wanted to carry Star on her back.
"Ann, it's a rare day off, are you really planning to go catch that Monster Bird?" Star couldn't help but advise.
In her opinion, professionals should do professional things, especially since it was Ann's rest time.
"It's okay. This is not just for Mondstadt, but more importantly, he almost… no, he already hurt you. How can I let him go?" Ann's attitude was very firm.
"Alright." Star could only nod at this.
Since Ann said so, she would just follow along later.
"Sigh, I wonder if Barbara is busy today…" Ann said with some concern.
Star's heart instantly tightened.
"I, I still think I'm fine."
"No way! Stelle, don't think like that. Even if you seem fine now, it'll be troublesome if you have internal injuries that just haven't flared up yet!" Amber pouted.
How could there be internal injuries that don't flare up temporarily when falling from the sky…
Stelle gradually started to get nervous.
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