Lumine couldn't help but turn to look at Star.
Fischl merely glanced at Star and found her gaze unwilling to move.
Star could only give an awkward smile; there was nothing she could do about it.
"Ahem, Honorary Knight of the Knights of Favonius and her companion Paimon, and also the hero who saved Mondstadt, Miss Star, it's a pleasure to meet you." Seeing Fischl staring blankly at Star without speaking, Oz quickly spoke up to greet them.
"You, you all, also wish to contend against that boundless, profound dark Crystalize?" Fischl seemed to have just come back to her senses, covering her exposed eye with one hand.
It looked like she was trying to make a cool gesture, but in reality, it seemed only to conceal her embarrassment and shyness.
"Contend against… what dark what?" Star asked, confused.
What this Damselette said was a bit hard to understand, but Star could roughly grasp what kind of condition this was.
It seemed to be called, chuunibyou?
She hadn't expected to find people with this condition in this world; how peculiar.
However, looking at the Damselette's age, it seemed about right for this phase.
How cute, I want to… wait, I don't.
Star shook her head, averting her gaze from the Damselette.
At the very least, she couldn't think about it right now.
"Aren't we supposed to investigate the meteorites?" Lumine also looked at Katheryne in confusion.
She truly hadn't understood what Fischl was saying.
"What the Damselette means is, those meteorites." Oz skillfully began to translate for Fischl.
"The Adventurers' Guild cannot yet confirm the cause of the meteorite shower nor its other side effects besides the unconsciousness," Katheryne added.
"Therefore, for this commission, we hope you can look out for each other and act while ensuring each other's safety."
"Since it is a request from the loyal Katheryne, this Prinzessin can only grant it." Fischl crossed her arms, then looked at Lumine and Star—of course, her gaze was primarily on Star.
"Rejoice! To embark on a journey with Fischl, the Prinzessin der Verurteilung, your remaining life should be filled with pride for this!"
"To formally introduce, this is my master, the Prinzessin Fischl from the alternate world of Immernachtreich. I am her familiar, the Night Raven, Oz." Oz turned to look at the two who were bewildered by Fischl's pronouncements.
"I'm Paimon, and these two probably don't need much introduction. Please take care of us!" Paimon also skillfully greeted them. Perhaps because they were both floating beings, her impression of Oz seemed quite good.
"You said, you're from another world?" Lumine's eyes sharpened, and she asked Fischl with a slight frown.
"Uh, you'll gradually understand later… you'll understand once you spend more time with Fischl." Katheryne said to Lumine somewhat awkwardly.
"It should just be…" Star leaned into Lumine's ear, whispering something, trying to help Lumine understand what chuunibyou was.
"Oh~ I see." Lumine nodded in understanding.
"It is expected that a mere Traveler has not yet comprehended the greatness of the endless Immernachtreich. Fear not, I forgive you."
Fischl didn't know what Star had said to Lumine, but seeing Lumine's look of sudden realization, mixed with a hint of a smile, she let out a displeased huff.
"The Damselette's meaning is, 'Hello.'" Oz quickly explained.
"Such a long sentence was only translated as 'Hello'…" Paimon couldn't help but complain.
And ever since they started, these two had been working in tandem like a double act; the master was mysterious, but the familiar raven kept undermining her. It was truly strange.
"I'm sure you two have many questions. Why don't we talk as we go?" Oz smiled slightly, then said to them.
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Near Springvale, in the temporary outpost jointly established by the Knights of Favonius and the Adventurers' Guild.
The group had already arrived here; Springvale was the closest incident location to Mondstadt.
Looking at the numerous tents, it seemed that quite a few people were affected, and the situation was more serious than imagined.
"Star, why don't you try your… Imperishable Ire?" Paimon stroked her chin, taking a long time to recall the name of Star's healing skill.
"Doesn't look like it'll work." Star observed several patients lying there and shook her head.
"I can treat external and internal injuries, but for mental unconsciousness… I don't have much of a solution."
"Is that so? What a pity." Paimon sighed regretfully.
"Knight, please respond to this Prinzessin's inquiry: what is the condition of this unfortunate soul?" Fischl walked up to the Knight standing by and asked.
"Uh, he… he's been unconscious for a whole day now, with no signs of waking up. Besides mumbling a few words in his sleep, there are no other symptoms."
The Knight standing there was clearly startled by Fischl's manner of speaking, but still dutifully informed them of the situation.
As he spoke, the unconscious person let out a murmur, speaking a few disjointed words in his sleep.
The content was also very strange, something like "can't walk anymore" or "let's rest for a bit."
"The dream of darkness is like a fierce beast holding an Eden fruit; its night-black eyes will cause the weak to fall into an abyss…" Fischl said with a solemn expression.
Although no one understood what she was trying to convey with those words.
"Meaning, something in the dream is tempting him?" The first to react was surprisingly Paimon, and she very accurately stated the true meaning of Fischl's words.
"Although there's no proof, the Prinzessin's intuition has always been very accurate." Oz nodded.
"Hmm… Let's go investigate further." Star rubbed her chin, then said to the others.
The group nodded and dispersed to question different people.
These people's dreams seemed to vary; some even dreamt they were on a mountain and felt very cold.
"A curse! This must be a curse!" Fischl couldn't help but say to the others, "It's the curse of the demon of Dragonspine! Has Springvale, protected by the Spring Fairy, finally been targeted by the demon as well…?"
"Are there demons in this world too?" Star couldn't help but whisper to Lumine.
"I don't know either…" Although Lumine couldn't be called a newcomer, she had spent most of her time in slumber, so her understanding of this world was not much more than Star's.
"Everyone!" Just as they were about to say more, a familiar voice suddenly came from afar.
"Eh? It's Mr. Dulaf!" Paimon turned her head to look, then said in surprise.
Having frequently come to Springvale for commissions, they were clearly very familiar with Mr. Dulaf.
"Ah, it's you all." Mr. Dulaf's eyes lit up when he saw them.
"Excuse me, are you all free? There's something very important I hope you can help with."
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