"Let's go then."
Kairo smiled and nodded. "Sorry to trouble you, Klee."
"It's not trouble at all!"
Klee quickly waved her little hands. Then she took Kairo's hand and led him down one of the paths marked on her map.
As she hopped ahead, she turned her head curiously. "Big brother, what's your name? Klee is the Spark Knight of the Knights of Favonius, you know!"
"I'm just an adventurer," Kairo replied with a chuckle. "You can just call me Kairo."
"Ohhh~ Kairo–gege!"
Hearing his answer, Klee's eyes lit up with delight. She then said excitedly, "Hey, Kairo–gege, do you want to join the Knights of Favonius? If Klee recommends you, you can join right away! Then we can play together every day!"
"I don't have plans to join the Knights for now."
Kairo shook his head lightly and patted her head. Joining the Knights would mean rules and constraints—freedom was what he valued most. Mondstadt wasn't a place he wanted to linger in for long.
"Oh…"
Klee scratched her head, clearly puzzled. It was rare to meet someone who didn't want to join the Knights.
But the thought passed quickly. She began chattering about all sorts of random things while hopping merrily through the woods, leading Kairo toward the nearest resource site marked on her map.
Kairo followed behind, keeping a casual but alert eye on their surroundings.
The Whispering woods were peaceful by day, yet the faint aura of Destruction that lingered within him made the air around subtly distort.
Before long, the pair reached a secluded clearing.
The grass here was sparse, sunlight spilled through the branches in dappled patches, and at the center of the glade, five small blue flowers quietly swayed in the breeze.
Each blossom was shaped like a tiny lantern, its petals thin and translucent, glowing faintly even under daylight—a sign of the energy sleeping within.
"Here we are!"
Klee crouched down, pointing proudly. "Look! Five of them! When Klee came last time, they were still growing, but now they're ready to pick!"
Kairo knelt beside her, studying the plants closely. The stems were covered in fine hairs, perhaps to shield them from moisture loss. A dim blue light pulsed faintly from within the petals, like distant starlight.
"These really are unique," Kairo murmured, squinting slightly. "That's about half the mission done."
"Yup!"
Klee nodded seriously, looking especially cute. "Small Lamp Grass likes quiet, damp places, and they glow only at night! We gotta pick them during the day—if we wait too long, other adventurers will come and snatch them!"
Kairo smiled and began harvesting them carefully. The petals trembled under his fingertips, cool and soft with a hint of elasticity.
Klee, meanwhile, chattered away enthusiastically. "Lamp Grass is super popular with alchemists! You can use it for potions, decorations, all sorts of things!"
In no time, the five flowers were safely collected. They continued on to the next spot.
By noon, they had visited three sites and gathered fourteen Small Lamp Grasses—enough to complete Kairo's week-long commission in less than half a day.
"Smooth work," Kairo said with a small grin as he glanced into Klee's bulging backpack.
Her resource map was worth its weight in Mora.
"Ahh… Klee's hungry," she suddenly mumbled, clutching her belly with a pitiful pout. Then she looked up, eyes bright and hopeful.
"Kairo–gege, let's go to Starfell Lake! The fish there are super big and fat! Klee wants to eat fried fish for lunch!"
"Fried… fish?" Kairo blinked, his expression turning a little strange.
"Yeah!" Klee nodded eagerly. "Fried fish is Klee's specialty! One boom and the fish are all ready—crispy and delicious!"
Kairo's lips twitched.
But seeing the little girl's excited face, he sighed and nodded. "Alright then. Lead the way."
"Yay!"
Klee cheered, grabbed his hand again, and hopped along the path, her red hat bobbing with every step.
Soon, they emerged from the woods onto the shimmering shores of Starfell Lake.
The lake's surface sparkled like liquid glass. Sunlight danced across the ripples, scattering into countless points of silver light—like stars fallen from the sky.
Kairo took a deep breath of the fresh air, his eyes scanning the tranquil water where fat fish swam lazily beneath the surface.
"Kairo–gege, Klee's all ready!"
As she spoke, Klee dug into her oversized backpack and proudly pulled out a bomb the size of her fist.
It was bright red, painted with smiling faces—somehow both cute and terrifying.
"Klee's bombs are super strong!"
She aimed carefully at a spot teeming with fish, eyes gleaming with mischief. "The trick to fishing with bombs is to pick the spot with the most fish, so we don't waste any explosives!"
And with a practiced swing—
"BOOM!"
The bomb hit the water and exploded. A huge splash erupted, sending waves rolling across the lake.
Moments later, several fish floated to the surface—some stunned, others… not so lucky.
"Success!"
Klee jumped up, clapping her hands in delight. "See? Bomb-fishing really is the best!"
She scurried to the shore, scooping up the spoils before turning expectantly toward Kairo.
"Your turn, Kairo–gege! It's way more fun when we do it together!"
With that, she eagerly handed him another bomb.
Kairo looked down at the bright red sphere in his palm—and an idea flickered in his mind.
He still had the Destruction Path ability he'd recently mastered, "I Want to Help Too!"
What if… he infused the bomb with the power of Destruction?
It would be a good test—and if it worked, he'd have a powerful ranged weapon option for the future.
Closing his eyes, Kairo guided the seething energy within him into the bomb.
Immediately, dark crimson light began to crawl across its surface like living veins, pulsing with a terrifying rhythm.
The air thickened. Even Klee blinked, sensing the pressure radiating from it.
Kairo could feel the destructive essence eating away at the bomb's structure, pushing it toward critical mass.
"Alright," he murmured, a faint glint in his eyes. "Let's see how powerful this is."
With a smooth motion, he hurled the bomb toward the lake's center.
It traced a perfect arc through the air—
And then—
"BOOOOM!!!"
A thunderous explosion tore through the stillness.
A massive water pillar shot skyward like a geyser, tens of meters high, raining back down in a torrential downpour. The entire lake churned as if struck by a meteor; the shockwave rolled across the surface, flattening reeds, snapping branches, and sending startled birds screaming into the sky.
The air itself trembled with heat and static. White mist rose in thick clouds, shrouding the lake in a smoky haze.
Kairo stood silently, watching the chaos with narrowed eyes.
The destructive aura still lingered—wild, unstable, overwhelming.
If Klee's normal bomb was a pebble tossed into a pond…
Then there was a full-blown storm that shattered the lake itself.
"So that's how it is," he muttered thoughtfully. "Bombs are the perfect vessel for Destruction energy. Efficient, compact… devastating."
A small smile tugged at his lips. He'd found his ideal portable weapon.
Beside him, Klee stood frozen—her mouth forming a perfect 'O', big enough to fit an egg.
That… that was her bomb?!
How did it explode that hard?!