Acting Grand Master Jean paused for a moment before continuing, "It's possible that the Abyss Order has contacted him. Given their usual methods, they could easily supply him with those resources."
"But if that were the case, there's no reason he would keep traveling with Klee and Fischl."
"I originally wanted to ask Klee directly about those resources, but she ran off early this morning."
"According to the reports from the Knights of Favonius, Klee, Fischl, and Kairo all left Mondstadt together. It looks like they went out on another commission—nothing unusual about it, really."
"When Klee returns, we'll question her."
Albedo thought for a moment, then nodded. "We can ask how exactly they're finding so many resources."
"Since Kairo doesn't seem to be hiding anything from Klee and Fischl, it probably means his resource source is legitimate."
"When I left last night, I went to the Adventurers' Guild to check the activity of Mondstadt's regional specialties—all the ones they turned in were freshly harvested."
Jean nodded slightly. "Good. Keep gathering information. If he's just an ordinary adventurer, we won't disturb him."
"Understood."
After a short nod, Albedo took his leave and exited the headquarters of the Knights of Favonius.
Returning to his alchemy workshop, he resumed his analysis of that strange, destructive energy found on the Whopperflower corpse.
He worked until nightfall before finally stopping.
Staring at the dissected remnants of the plant, Albedo rubbed at his temples in mild frustration.
"An entire day and night, and still nothing. The structure refuses to break down…"
"It can't even be reconstructed… what in the world is this energy?"
The chief alchemist of Mondstadt had spent a full day researching it—and achieved no results at all.
That mysterious, Destructive Aura—utterly unidentifiable. Not even its elemental composition could be reassembled.
Just what kind of power could this be?
"…Klee should be back by now."
Casting a glance out the window at the deep blue night sky, Albedo rose decisively and left his workshop.
Mondstadt at night remained as lively as ever.
The streets glowed with lanternlight; taverns brimmed with laughter and song.
Adventurers traded tales and rumors over mugs of ale.
The night breeze carried the damp sweetness of Cider Lake, lending the whole city a peaceful, comforting warmth.
Yet under this surface calm, the atmosphere at the headquarters of the Knights of Favonius was anything but.
In Jean's office, the soft lamplight illuminated neatly stacked documents.
Sitting behind her desk, Jean frowned faintly as she read a report freshly delivered from the Adventurers' Guild.
Outside the door came the sound of steady footsteps.
"Come in," she said without looking up.
The door opened, and the blond alchemist stepped inside, still dusted with faint traces of reagents—clearly just back from his lab.
At a glance, Albedo could tell Jean's expression was complicated. His eyes shifted to the paper in her hand.
Jean raised her gaze briefly, then handed him the report. Her tone carried a trace of bemusement.
"Good timing. We just received word—Kairo struck it rich again today."
Albedo blinked, scanning the report.
"Nearly a million Mora… several bags of high-quality resources."
"…"
A flicker of surprise crossed his usually calm eyes.
A million Mora?
That wasn't a small number.
Even an elite adventurer would need exceptional luck—or the discovery of a secret domain or rare monster—to earn that much in a single day.
And Kairo…
A man without a Vision, a mere "ordinary" adventurer, had managed to bring in such bountiful hauls three days in a row.
That wasn't normal.
Jean noticed his expression and smiled faintly. "Well? Still think he's just a regular adventurer?"
Albedo exhaled softly and set down the report. "I suspected he might have a unique ability, but it seems… he's more complicated than I thought."
He turned to the window.
Night blanketed Mondstadt; stars glimmered faintly in the sky.
"Still, we shouldn't jump to conclusions," he murmured. "It's possible he simply discovered an uncharted resource site…"
Jean raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced.
"So what do we do next?"
"Find Klee," Albedo said simply.
"She spent the day with Kairo again. She must know something."
"If Kairo really discovered some secret domain or hidden resource trove, Klee would've seen it."
"I'm not concerned about the resources," Jean said quietly. "I just want to know whether any of this is connected to the Abyss Order."
"Fair point," Albedo nodded. "Let's go."
The two left the office together.
In a small room of the Knights' headquarters, warm orange lamplight flickered against the stone walls.
A faint smell of gunpowder hung in the air.
Clack, clack.
The wooden table was covered with bomb-making materials.
A small, red-clad figure worked busily, her rosy face smudged with soot—but her expression was pure delight.
Klee was completely absorbed in crafting her bombs, eyes gleaming, humming softly to herself.
Today had been so much fun!
She'd blown up so many things—and gathered a whole mountain of resources!
But… she hadn't brought nearly enough bombs.
"No way! Tomorrow I need to bring way more bombs!" she muttered to herself. "Lots and lots of Jumpy Dumpties!"
Her small hands darted skillfully among the materials, working with the confidence of long habit.
Then—
Knock, knock.
The sudden sound startled her.
Klee froze, tilting her head in confusion.
Who could be visiting this late?
The door creaked open, and two familiar figures appeared—
The blond alchemist, and the commander of the Knights of Favonius herself.
"Eh? Albedo? Acting Grand Master Jean?" Klee blinked her big red eyes in surprise.
Jean sighed as her gaze swept over the bomb parts scattered everywhere.
As expected—Klee was making explosives again.
She'd already restricted Klee's access to materials… where had she gotten all this?
Albedo's eyes glimmered slightly as he surveyed the room. "Klee, busy making bombs again?" he asked gently.
"Mm-hmm!" Klee nodded eagerly. "Klee had so much fun today! So I need to make more bombs—so I can blow up even more stuff tomorrow!"
Jean: "..." (This child really can't be left unsupervised.)
Albedo chuckled softly, then his tone turned more serious. "Klee, you had quite a harvest today. Did you find some kind of domain? You've been bringing back a lot of resources lately."
"???"
Klee blinked, tilting her head. "Domain? Nope!"
Albedo narrowed his eyes slightly. "Then how did you find so many resources?"
Klee thought for a moment, then clapped her hands. "Brother Kairo found them!"
"…"
"…"
The room fell silent.
Jean and Albedo exchanged a look—both deep in thought.
They'd expected as much, but how exactly had he done it?
"Brother Kairo's like a Treasure Radar!" Klee said proudly. "He just leads us right to the good stuff! Fischl and I just pick things up along the way!"
"My backpack got so full I couldn't even carry it all back!"
"Today we found even more because we went deeper into Whispering Woods! The past two days, we only stayed around the outskirts."
"'Treasure Radar,' huh?"
Jean and Albedo both narrowed their eyes.
A special ability, then?
Very unusual.
But if that were true, it didn't sound like the Abyss Order's doing.
After exchanging a brief glance, they bid Klee goodnight and returned to Jean's office.
"For now, we can tentatively conclude that Kairo has no connection to the Abyss Order," Jean said slowly. "Though his ability is remarkable."
"Agreed," Albedo replied. "Still, let's keep observing. If he is involved, more contact will show soon enough."
"Understood."
"Then I'll continue my research. Keep an eye on Klee's movements. That destructive energy I mentioned earlier—it's fading fast. If I don't finish analyzing it soon, it'll vanish completely."
"Got it."
With that, Albedo took his leave. Jean sat back down, picked up Kairo's file again, and fell into silent contemplation.
Elsewhere, in Mondstadt's renowned blacksmith workshop—
Kairo stood before his weapon prototype, nodding in satisfaction. "That'll do."
His Mora reserves had grown rapidly over the past few days. Through the Adventurers' Guild, he'd contacted Wagner to order more mineral supplies.
Today, he'd come to finalize details about the custom weapon order.
After delivering his latest commissions, he'd treated Klee and Fischl to a meal at the Good Hunter before stopping by the forge.
"Well, since you've paid extra and brought plenty of fine materials, I'll have it ready within a week," Wagner said cheerfully.
This young man had brought him rare magic crystals—good business for both of them.
After settling the matter, Kairo left the forge and started home.
"Maybe I should take a rest tomorrow…" he mused aloud.
He'd been pushing himself hard lately.
But then he frowned slightly. Fischl's unique ability—Nir Skill: Path of Nacher—was still unacquired.
"Why is that skill so damn elusive…" he muttered, rubbing his temples.
Shaking his head, he decided to stop thinking about it. It wouldn't be long now.
With that, he returned home and turned in for the night.
The next morning.
Without warning, the skies above Mondstadt turned dark.
The bright morning light was swallowed by swirling clouds.
A violent gale swept the streets, scattering leaves in a frenzy—like a storm conjured from nowhere.
At the Good Hunter, Kairo was enjoying a leisurely breakfast—fresh honey-braised meat and a glass of milk—while planning his day.
But just as he took his last sip, the light outside dimmed.
"Hm?"
He looked up—just in time to see a massive shadow sweep across the sky.
Then came the roar of the wind.
A monstrous gale howled, rattling windows and whipping up debris.
"—Stormterror!"
Panic broke out in the streets.
From the distant horizon, a colossal blue dragon dove toward the city, its wings slicing through the air like a hurricane given form.
Whuuuuu—!
The wind howled like thunder.
Each beat of its wings stirred torrents of wind, birthing cyclones that ripped through the city.
"Run! Everyone, run!"
The townsfolk screamed and scattered.
Stalls were overturned, crates and fruit rolling everywhere as chaos swallowed the streets.
Children cried, women shrieked, knights shouted orders—the city descended into pandemonium.
Stormterror's roar split the sky.
A flap of its wings conjured enormous twisters that tore through the plaza!
BOOM!
The violent wind shredded the air, uprooting flowerbeds, flinging stones and wooden beams through the air.
Even the great statue of Barbatos, the Anemo Archon, stood amidst a maelstrom of slicing wind, as if about to be consumed by the storm itself.
Kairo stood at the restaurant's doorway, watching, pupils contracting sharply.
Stormterror—Dvalin.
Of course he knew the name.
The Wind Dragon of Mondstadt, once its protector—yet here it was again, attacking the city!
It hadn't even been a week since the last assault.
"Damn it! Why again?!"
"Where's the Knights of Favonius?! Where's Acting Grand Master Jean?!"
"Get to the shelters—now!"
The city was chaos.
Knights rushed to evacuate citizens, but against the wrath of a dragon, their efforts were a drop in the storm.
Standing in the wind, Kairo narrowed his eyes.
The gales whipped at his coat, stinging his face with raw elemental power.
He'd just planned to eat, meet Klee and Fischl, maybe pick up another commission.
He hadn't expected this.
Stormterror again… far too soon.
The Knights would be busy for days after this.
"Trouble never ends," he sighed.
Then—his eyes twitched.
In the distance, a figure ran desperately against the gale—
A girl with bright golden hair, her pace hindered by the roaring wind but refusing to stop.
Her golden locks whipped wildly, glowing like sunlight in the storm.
Two white Small Lamp Grasses gleamed faintly in her hair, shining like stars in the chaos.
Kairo's brow twitched.
"…The dumb blonde?"
(To be continued...)
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