"Keep it safe,"
Jiang Yan gestured for Lumine to put away the purified tear of the wind dragon.
"Okay."
Lumine nodded obediently.
If Jiang Yan needed it later, he would say so.
"Then… I'm going back to my room."
Lumine said.
Halfway through the sentence, she suddenly realized something. Her face flushed red, and she hurriedly covered her mouth before slipping inside and shutting the door.
The way she said that…
It almost sounded like she was hinting at something.
Like she was waiting for him to stop her.
Waiting for him to ask her to go to his room instead.
Lumine realized that, deep down, she even felt a faint trace of anticipation.
That realization made her even more embarrassed.
She flopped onto the bed, pulled Paimon into her arms to use as a pillow, and closed her eyes.
"…Didn't you rinse your mouth?"
Jiang Yan stood in the hallway, a bit stunned.
But she'd only had some wheat porridge—probably not a big deal.
And besides, for a traveler, being easygoing about little things was a good habit.
After a night of rest, on the second day following the dragon crisis—
Mondstadt had already returned to its usual orderly rhythm.
Early in the morning, Sara arrived, moving the cooking equipment from inside the Good Hunter restaurant back out to the street stall.
She then began coordinating with the various suppliers they had contracts with.
Market Street, the stairway roads, and the Fountain Plaza were once again filled with lively noise.
Knights of Favonius patrols could be seen weaving through the crowd.
A pair of knights stopped by in front of Good Hunter.
"Sara, have Boss Jiang Yan and the traveler who protected Mondstadt as soon as she arrived woken up yet?"
one of them asked.
"Lumine?"
Sara had just gone upstairs to hang ingredients and had run into Lumine and Paimon coming down from the attic.
They had briefly introduced themselves.
"Miss Lumine did get up early…"
Sara said while preparing cured foods.
"As for the boss—don't even think about it."
If nothing special was going on, the boss usually slept until noon.
Up on the second floor, Lumine was sitting at a table, propping up her cheek in silent frustration.
So much for travelers never sleeping in…
"Sara, Sara! Is my Fisherman's Toast ready yet?"
At that moment, little Paimon flew straight down from the second-floor window.
Drawn by the smell of food from the stall, she was drooling slightly.
"Give it a bit more time,"
Sara replied.
"I still need to serve the customers first."
She added,
"These two Knights of Favonius are here looking for the boss and for Lumine. Paimon, do you want to take them upstairs?"
"They're looking for Jiang Yan and Lumine?"
Paimon turned around, sizing them up.
"Do you two have some kind of business?"
She put on an old-fashioned, bossy attitude.
Riding on someone else's authority was her specialty!
"Uh…"
"Well, she seems to be that…"
The two knights exchanged glances.
"The lucky mascot next to the traveler!"
They had a vague impression of her and didn't mind her tone.
Who would argue with such a tiny little thing anyway?
"We're here to pass along a message. Acting Grand Master Jean hopes to meet with you today."
Preferably right away.
That way, they could complete the task nicely and earn some goodwill.
But judging by the situation, that didn't seem likely.
"Got it, got it."
Paimon said with her hands on her hips.
She flew back upstairs and relayed the message.
"Then we'll have to wait for Jiang Yan to wake up,"
Lumine said.
She had no intention of going on her own.
Besides, they'd said clearly that they wanted to see both of them together.
"Paimon, come help carry this—consider it a special treat from me."
Sara called from downstairs.
"Thanks! Hehe!"
Paimon happily flew down and carried up two portions of Fisherman's Toast.
That was their breakfast.
After eating, savoring the lingering flavors on their tongues,
they decided to take a walk around Mondstadt since there was nothing else to do.
Mainly, they wanted to see the missing-person posters that the Knights of Favonius had put up for them.
Not long after the two left—
A sudden commotion erupted in Fountain Plaza.
"Ah, it's Barbara!"
"Miss Barbara is looking this way—she waved at me! Oh my god!!"
"To see Barbara so early in the morning… may the Anemo Archon bless me, today is definitely going to be a lucky day!"
The crowd clustered around a cute girl wearing a white deaconess dress and a cleric's hat, her twin tails swaying.
Barbara curved her bright eyes into a smile, hands clasped in front of her chest.
Her fair, delicate face wore an incredibly infectious expression as she said:
"Seeing everyone in such good spirits really puts me at ease."
"Please disperse now—if you want to hear me sing, it's not performance time yet~"
"And gathering like this will obstruct traffic in Mondstadt. Thank you, everyone."
As she spoke, she felt genuinely happy.
Not because of her popularity, but because yesterday's dragon disaster hadn't caused serious harm to Mondstadt's citizens—
neither mentally nor physically.
Everyone looked just as they always did.
As for the few injured, they had already been taken to the Cathedral yesterday.
She'd come out early this morning specifically to observe whether the dragon crisis had dampened people's spirits.
Spotting the Good Hunter sign in the distance, her eyes lit up.
"Sara, good morning!"
She jogged over to greet her.
Sara instantly understood.
Using Good Hunter as a refuge to shake off overly enthusiastic fans was one of Barbara's well-practiced tricks.
Jiang Yan's name alone was enough to intimidate the vast majority of Mondstadt's residents.
Who would dare to disturb other diners or cause trouble inside his restaurant?
They'd probably end up thrown into Cider Lake to feed the fish.
According to underground rumors, the two places in Mondstadt you absolutely must not provoke were the tavern Angel's Share and the restaurant Good Hunter.
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