"Why?"
Swan was silent for a long moment, then said, "What color is my knight's armor?"
Paimon tilted her head, confused. "Black. Your upper armor is black, and your pants are white."
"And what about my partner, Lawrence—what color is _his_ armor?"
"Hmm… also black. Eh, maybe a slightly lighter shade?"
Swan sighed. "Actually… my armor _used to be white_."
"Eh?? But it's clearly black now!"
At this, Swan's eyes filled with tears. "It's those damned pigeons… Those stupid birds do nothing but eat and sleep, sleep and eat—and poop all day long. Most of it ends up on me.
And the most frustrating part? When I wear _white_ armor, they poop _black_. When I wear _black_ pants, they poop _white_. I'm on the verge of a breakdown!"
Beside him, Lawrence was also crying tears of pain and emotion.
"Uh…"
Paimon was so startled she backed away immediately. Even the Traveler instinctively pinched their nose and took a few steps back.
The two knights, with tear-streaked faces, said, "You taking a few steps back… is a huge wound to our hearts."
"S-Sorry, but… your armor…"
"Ugh, forget it. It's fine. We've gotten used to it. We wash our clothes daily, but the wear and tear on the armor from all that cleaning… it's irreversible now."
Zephyr pondered for a moment. "I have a question. There don't seem to be _that_ many pigeons around here. Are they really that much of a problem?"
"Don't underestimate that flock. There used to be _thousands_ of pigeons here. It's only because of Stormterror scaring away tourists that the numbers dropped a bit.
But even now, the pigeon population is still massive. I really can't take it anymore."
Zephyr nodded. "I see. Don't worry. I'll be here first thing tomorrow morning to avenge you!"
The two knights were overcome with emotion. "Hero! We've been waiting for someone like you! Regular adventurers can't catch those agile pigeons.
Only someone like you—blessed with the power of a Vision—can save us from this torment! Please, we beg you!"
Paimon muttered, "Paimon didn't know a Vision holder could do _that_ kind of thing…"
"Hero," said Swan, "if you have somewhere you want to go, I can give you directions."
Lumine asked, "Is there anywhere fun in Mondstadt that you'd recommend?"
Lawrence stepped forward. "Allow me to answer that. Hello, I'm Lawrence.
Mondstadt is the crown jewel of the north, the City of Song and Freedom—a place so wonderful that words can't do it justice.
If you're looking for fun, I recommend the Cathedral Square. There are always lots of people playing with their Wind Gliders there, and the church's weekly performances are definitely worth seeing.
Oh, and there's a new bard in town lately. Listening to him sing and play is quite entertaining too."
"Weekly performances at the church?"
Hearing this, Lawrence became visibly excited. "You don't know? Mondstadt's famous idol group performs there, led by none other than Miss Barbara. It's like a dream come true. Ah, Miss Barbara, my goddess~"
Zephyr was speechless. _Seriously? Getting this hyped over a concert?_ He thought back—he used Barbara to climb cliffs and glide across valleys every day back then, and didn't say a word!
Come to think of it, Barbara wasn't just a healer—players could maintain a sage-like calm and rationality while using her. Great for Dragonspine runs, too.
"Alright, got it. Thanks, you two. I'll be here tomorrow to rid the land of evil pigeons."
Tears welled up in both guards' eyes again. "Hero, we're counting on you!"
Paimon grumbled, "You're clearly just bullying innocent little creatures… how did you spin that into 'saving the world'?"
"Let me ask you—am I helping these two by doing this? Doesn't that count as a good deed?"
"Twisted logic."
Lumine nodded in agreement. "Exactly."
"Waaah, it's fine if _Paimon_ says that, but you too, Lumine?! Have you forgotten we're best partners who share one heart and soul?"
Lumine huffed playfully. "Bad guy."
Paimon sighed. "Paimon can't with you two… Anyway, where are we heading next? Oh—there's a flower shop over there! Want to check it out?"
Zephyr said, "You think this is a vacation? Wait… isn't that shop run by Chloris's little sister?"
"Should we go over and have a look?"
"Forget that for now. The most important thing is to go find Amber!"
With that, they headed toward Amber's residence.
"What should I say when I see Amber again? I'm actually kind of nervous."
Paimon narrowed her eyes. "What are you nervous for? Don't tell me… you've got _feelings_ for Amber?"
"Ahem… Look, what I mean is, Amber's a good friend. We disappeared so suddenly—she must've been really worried about us.
She probably thought something bad had happened. So we need to meet with her ASAP, explain everything that happened back then, and clear up any misunderstandings."
Paimon clapped. "Perfectly written essay."
"You're not getting dinner tonight."
"Paimon is sorry~~"
"No sincerity. No dinner _tomorrow_ either."
As they walked, they saw a missing person notice posted on the wall. It was for a missing blonde girl.
Lumine was deeply moved—it meant that Amber had never forgotten their promise.
Previously, Zephyr had stayed at Amber's house, so they found it quickly. Otherwise, they really might've gotten lost in this maze-like city.
Arriving at Amber's home, Zephyr took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
No answer.
"…"
"She's not home? Maybe she went out looking for us? Or maybe she's on duty?"
As an Outrider Knight, Amber was quick at finding others, but it was notoriously hard for anyone to find _her_.
Zephyr was thinking when an old man happened to pass by.
"Excuse me, sir, do you know where Amber went?"
The elderly man stroked his beard and said, "Amber? She went out on a mission."
Zephyr grew a little anxious. "Do you know when she'll be back?"
"That I'm not sure of. What's your relationship with her?"
"We're friends."
"Oh, friends! Now that you mention it, she did speak of a friend—a blonde girl who suddenly vanished. That's you, isn't it?"
"Uh… probably."
"Young girl, I've got to say something—how could you leave without saying goodbye!"
Zephyr's eyelid twitched. _Oh no, an old man speech incoming._
"Thanks, sir. We've got something to take care of—see ya!"
And with that, he left in a hurry.
"Ah, young people these days… Oh shoot, I almost forgot—Old Zhang's waiting for me to play mahjong!"
…
"We'll come back tonight."
Paimon asked, "So what do we do in the meantime? Oh! Paimon just remembered—the special Honey-Carrot Roast Amber treated us to last time was _so_ good. How about we go—"
"You said you wanted to look at flowers, didn't you? Let's go to the flower shop!" Zephyr cut in.
"P-Paimon was just saying that casually… Honestly, Paimon did rather go eat."
"The sun's shining, the skies are blue, red flowers bloom on fields of green. I'm cheerfully skipping forward, aging not though mountains I've seen~"
"Hey! Are you even _listening_ to Paimon?!"
As he skipped along playfully, he accidentally bumped into someone.
"Ouch! Watch where you're going!"
"Oh? You trying to tell me how to walk now?" Zephyr said, then deliberately bumped into the guy again—this time knocking him straight onto his butt.
"You! What's wrong with you, little girl?!"
Zephyr was stunned. _Wait, I actually knocked someone over?_ In the old game, NPCs wouldn't even _flinch_! Later updates added some surprised expressions, sure, but their positions were still fixed—they couldn't actually be moved.
But now? _Wow._ He could _physically knock people over_. He was stunned.
Then it hit him—this wasn't a game anymore.
"Uh… was that a bit much?"
"Sorry about that."
"Forget it, just be more careful next time, little miss."
"Okay~" Zephyr replied, bouncing away just as cheerfully.
The first time he accidentally knocked someone down, he felt a little bad. But after doing it a few more times… he kinda stopped caring. He even started learning how to bully kids, dine-and-dash, and all kinds of shady behavior.
Soon enough, the surrounding crowd began to actively avoid this oddball traveler.
Paimon covered her face. "Ugh… so embarrassing…"
Before long, they arrived at the flower shop.
"Hello, welcome to 'Floral Whisper'~ Hehe, is there anything you'd like to know about our flowers?" a sweet voice greeted them.
Paimon blinked. "Are you the shopkeeper? You're _so_ cute!"
Flora puffed up her chest proudly. "Thanks! Hehe, I _know_ I'm super cute!"
"Uh… suddenly not that cute anymore…"
Zephyr asked, "What kinds of flowers do you have here?"
"We carry a full variety of flowers! Anything you want, we've got it! Is there a particular one you'd like to know more about?"
Paimon pointed at a dandelion. "What about this one?"
//END
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