"Oh no, it's Captain Jean!"
"Captain Jean?"
Zephyr was confused. "Where is Captain Jean? I don't see her."
"Klee doesn't know where she is either, but my Klee radar tells me she must be nearby. Sis, let's run while we still can!"
Just as she finished speaking, a figure emerged from the corner.
Golden hair, white stockings, a stunning figure wrapped in white silk…
In short, Captain Jean had a look no one could ever forget after seeing her once.
Paimon tilted her head in confusion. "That's Captain Jean? She looks like a nice person. Klee, are you really that scared of her?"
Zephyr asked, "Klee, be honest. What did you do to make Captain Jean come after you?"
"K-Klee didn't do much… Klee just accidentally injured a few hilichurls with a bomb outside…"
Lumine said, "You injured some hilichurls? Well, kids playing with bombs is bad, but hilichurls are monsters. That's not such a big deal. Klee, why are you running?"
Come on, do you hear yourself?
"A-and then the hilichurls started running everywhere and almost caused a forest fire…"
"..."
"..."
"Alright, now I understand why Captain Jean is so mad."
From a distance, Jean scolded sharply, "Klee! Have you forgotten everything I've taught you? Stand right there! Don't move!"
"If you set off bombs in the city, it's straight to the confinement room. If your bombs hurt someone, Jean will come for you. And if you set fire to a mountain—Klee is doomed! Ahh! Klee doesn't want to be doomed!"
She grabbed Zephyr and ran off.
"Klee, stop running!"
Zephyr ran after her but couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
"Wait… why am I running? I didn't set the fire."
He glanced back at Jean's murderous glare and felt a chill.
"Hold on… That look—don't tell me she thinks _I_ corrupted Klee?"
Panic set in. "How am I supposed to romance Captain Jean now?"
Paimon said, "You're unbelievable! Every person you see, you want to romance them!"
"That's not true! I'm focused! It's just that… the mission forces me to do this!"
"Excuses!"
I bounce, I hop, I climb, I fly!
Klee said, "Sis, your wind glider is so pretty!"
"Pretty, right? Amber gave it to me."
"Amber? Aww, Klee's so jealous."
Behind them, Jean furrowed her brows. That's the Wings of Honor—how did a stranger get that? This moment of hesitation made her lose the chase entirely.
"Damn it!"
"Looks like I'll need to investigate the recent travelers in Mondstadt."
…
"Phew, looks like we've shaken off Captain Jean."
The two of them were hiding behind a large windmill.
"Whew, that was close. By the way, there sure are a lot of windmills in Mondstadt."
Lumine explained, "Mondstadt is built above sea level, so they probably use windmills to pump water up."
"Correct answer."
"Sis, sis, do you have a Vision?"
"Uh… no."
"Aww, that's too bad. Klee was hoping to go fish-blasting with you next time. But Captain Jean said the outside world is too dangerous, and I can't take just anyone with me to play."
"No worries. I may not have a Vision, but I'm not an ordinary person either."
She summoned the Wind Vortex Sword.
Klee's eyes lit up. "Wow! So cool! Sis, how did you do that? Did you get Lord Barbatos' approval too?"
"Too?"
"Yeah, look, sis!" Klee pulled out her Vision.
"This is Klee's Vision! This little glass orb represents Lord Barbatos' recognition of me."
"But Klee is really curious—what part of me did Barbatos approve of?"
"Was it my love of freedom? Should Klee show even more freedom by going out and blasting more fish to meet his expectations?"
Zephyr twitched. Please don't!
"That green-hatted guy—next time I see him, I _have_ to give him a serious talking-to!"
At the Mondstadt Winery, Venti sneezed. "Who's talking bad about me?"
"Sis, next time let's go fish-blasting together! But for now, Klee's going home~!"
…
Paimon clasped her hands together in silent prayer.
"Let's hope Klee's okay."
"So do I."
"By the way, did you really trick Klee into signing a contract just like that?"
"It was all for the mission!"
"Excuses!"
"I only did it for Lumine!"
Lumine was shocked. "What does this have to do with me?"
"I'm doing it all so you can become stronger! If I don't do the main quests, where would we get experience books? Where would we get Primogems? Without EXP books and Primogems, how are you going to level up or ascend?"
"Uh…"
For a moment, Lumine was speechless. After thinking about it, she realized… Zephyr kind of had a point.
"Could he really have done all this… for me?"
Zephyr revealed a smug, scheming grin. "Yes, yes, exactly that."
"Of course, I still have _some_ moral standards. In future battles, I won't force Klee to tag along."
"Well, at least you have a shred of conscience."
…
"Strangers, what are you doing here?"
Suddenly, a voice rang out.
Paimon said, "Who's there? Who are you?"
The man had darker skin, and strangely, an eyepatch over his right eye.
"Me? I'm Kaeya, cavalry captain of Mondstadt. What are you all doing here?"
Paimon gasped. "C-Cavalry Captain…"
She whispered to Lumine, "Sounds like an important person…"
Zephyr whispered too, "Don't worry. This cavalry captain doesn't have a horse. He's not a threat."
"We weren't doing anything."
"You're lying. I clearly saw you talking to Klee just now. Let me guess—were you trying to _kidnap_ a child?"
"No way! You can't just say things like that!"
Kaeya laughed. "Haha, just kidding. I doubt anyone, no matter how bold, would dare try to kidnap Klee in Mondstadt."
"What do you mean? Is Klee really that special?"
"Haha, seems like you truly don't know Klee. Otherwise, you wouldn't ask that."
Klee—the _Red Devil of Mondstadt_—once changed the _terrain of an entire hill_ in the region. Who'd be bold enough to try kidnapping _her_?
"Judging by your looks, you must be from out of town."
Paimon replied, "That's right! We're travelers!"
Kaeya said, "I have a question."
"You must be wondering what adorable creature Paimon is, right? Well, not to brag, but Paimon is actually a little fairy!"
"...I didn't even ask yet."
"Are you a foreigner? Your skin's kind of dark."
Kaeya replied, "You've got quite the mouth, little one. I may be a bit dark, but I'm a _real_ Mondstadter!"
"Oh, Paimon get it! Sorry, sorry!"
Zephyr's expression shifted. That's the scent of a lie!
But he didn't call Kaeya out. He vaguely remembered that Kaeya _was_ a foreigner—possibly even a prince. He never leveled Kaeya, so the details were fuzzy. It didn't concern him, so no need to expose it.
"Well, I have matters to attend to. I'll leave you now."
Kaeya walked away.
"What was that guy even doing here…? Oh right—Zephyr, what did you mean earlier when you said the cavalry captain doesn't have a horse?"
"Did you forget? The main forces of the Knights went off to fight in the Sea of Ashes, and they took _all_ the horses with them. So now this 'cavalry captain' is basically a captain in name only."
"Ohh, so _that's_ what you meant."
//END
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