"Sigh… so this is the real Mondstadt?"
Gazing at the grand city before him, Rowan Galehart couldn't help praising it.
Such a magnificent citadel truly befit the stature of King Arthur.
After all, Mondstadt's prototype was Great Britain, and everyone knows Arthur was the king of Britain—the emblem of a sun that never sets.
Only the pigeons were a bit of an eyesore. Noticing the flock hopping about on the stone bridge, Rowan's eyes froze for a beat.
In an instant, the pigeons seemed to sense something and scattered from the bridge in a panic.
Timmy, happily feeding them, immediately looked stricken.
He ran off in tears.
Tsk, tsk… what an assault on Mondstadt's cityscape.
Once he became king, this sort of behavior would have to be strictly forbidden.
Feeding pigeons at a key entryway to Mondstadt obstructed foot traffic in and out of the city.
That absolutely had to be banned.
Watching Timmy's sorrowful retreating back, Rowan couldn't help curling his lip.
Even in the game, that brat had already gotten on his nerves.
Just now he'd merely used his own draconic aura to scare the pigeons away—that was already him being kind.
If it had been someone else, they would've likely thrown a big skill and harvested the birds in one go.
He'd shown plenty of compassion.
Timmy's episode was only a small interlude. After the boy left, Rowan headed for the city gate.
Unlike in the game, Mondstadt actually had a massive gate—proper doors.
It was a huge city; of course it couldn't be without a fortified gate.
And with dragon calamities getting worse lately, the doors were basically kept half-shut.
When he reached the gate, the Knights of Favonius guards merely glanced at Rowan.
They didn't stop him, didn't even ask a question, just let him in.
They seemed to take him for a passing adventurer.
That alone lowered Rowan's impression of the Knights considerably.
He'd already thought it outrageous that some of them slipped off at night to drink while on guard duty.
Now it seemed even gatekeeping was done half-heartedly.
When a stranger arrives in Mondstadt—no matter how hard to provoke—Knights of Favonius have both the duty and the authority to question him.
But these two, deciding he looked troublesome, simply waved him through.
No wonder that guy Schubert could collude with the Fatui inside and out.
What use were gate guards like these?
Leaks everywhere. Once he took over, he'd have to reorganize everything.
Knights who neglected their duties would be kicked out.
Taking the Knights' pay and goofing off all day—
Did they think the Knights of Favonius were all easy marks?
Forget it. No use stewing on it; time to find an inn.
And so, Rowan settled down in Mondstadt.
One month later.
In that month, Rowan truly witnessed what it meant to be overgrown children.
How reality could be even more absurd than the game.
The "giant baby" antics in the game already left people speechless.
Reality was even more fantastical.
Dumping one's own work onto Noelle; asking Acting Grand Master Jean to handle lost-cat and lost-dog errands—
Those were the small things.
Some people would ditch work halfway to sneak a nap or go drinking.
Blacksmithing one moment, teasing cats and walking dogs the next.
It was all giant-baby behavior—downright ridiculous.
No wonder Venti couldn't stand it anymore.
What riled Rowan most, though, was how certain Mondstadters treated Eula.
She'd saved them in the wild, and what then? Not a single word of thanks.
They even shoved away Eula's hand in disgust and let loose with curses.
He'd witnessed such heartless, ungrateful scenes more than once.
How did people like that survive in this world?
Utterly brainless.
If this were Liyue, people like that were destined to live and die alone—with neither father nor mother.
It was only because Eula was too soft-hearted. If it were Rowan, he'd have left Mondstadt long ago.
Family, Mondstadt—if you don't want me, then I go.
Today you can't be bothered to give me the time of day, even spit venom at me—
Tomorrow I'll rise beyond your reach, and when I can hold sway over Mondstadt, I'll return.
By then, he hoped Mondstadters would still dare speak to him like that.
But as for Eula's loyalty, he acknowledged it.
With that resolve, courage, and loyalty, she was indeed a fitting member of a Round Table.
That's right—since Rowan had inherited the Saint Graph of King Arthur,
Forming a Teyvat-style Round Table wasn't out of the question.
Eula would be the first knight he recognized.
Jean was excellent, too—only her temperament was too gentle; she wasn't suited to be a military commander, but perfect for pacifying the populace and handling state affairs.
Yes, Rowan had already made up his mind: Jean would take charge of Mondstadt's internal administration; Eula would command the Knights of Favonius.
And Barbara would steward the Church of Favonius.
Army, governance, and sacred authority—three powers in balance.
It was just that Barbara's father, Seamus Pegg, had gone on an expedition with Falga.
Otherwise, the Church would still be under his management.
Barbara herself wasn't well suited to wielding authority.
Her father, though, fit that role well—a famed adventurer across Teyvat in his youth.
After he met Jean's mother, Frederica, they fell in love.
After Jean and Barbara were born, the couple's relationship frayed.
Jean lived with her mother Frederica, learning the way of the knight from childhood.
She eventually became today's Lionfang Knight, the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius.
Barbara, meanwhile, lived with her father Seamus, growing up in the Church, becoming the priestess who soothed the people and nurtured faith in the Anemo Archon.
That's why, though Jean and Barbara were sisters, their personalities and habits were completely different.
In Rowan's view, Frederica and Seamus didn't separate for lack of love.
It seemed more like a prudent way to avoid suspicion.
Whether or not this world was a theocracy, the notion of one family monopolizing power would always be taboo.
The Knights oversaw Mondstadt's defense and civil administration; the Church guided the people and the Archon's faith.
If those two fused into one, it would lead to one outcome:
A single house towering over all. And once an ambitious schemer emerged, Mondstadt might relive the old-nobility era of a thousand years ago.
So the clever Frederica and Seamus chose to divide their paths.
A very wise couple. If they could assist him, Mondstadt might return to former glory all the faster.
Perhaps he should ask Venti?
During that month, Rowan also discovered how to use his system.
It could extract extra items from chests scattered across Teyvat.
He spent the month acclimating to his power in the wilds,
Gaining quite a few things—though most were nothing special.
The only true treasures came from a Luxurious Chest: Invisible Air (Barrier of the Wind King) and Arthur's warhorse, Dun Stallion.
Which meant he'd obtained all of King Arthur's Noble Phantasms—save for the Holy Lance.
By now, Rowan's power had already approached that of the Seven.
He wasn't joking; his mana and combat strength grew by the day.
Thanks to the red dragon heart—how strong an adult red dragon truly was in Teyvat, Rowan didn't know.
But he knew this: with his current mana, firing an Excalibur-class light cannon without lifting the seal would be more than doable.
Because of that, he finally had the confidence to enact his earliest plan.
Snezhnaya's Fatui—are you ready?
I, Arthur Pendragon, will bring you ruin!
(End of Chapter)
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