"Cough cough... cough..." Stelle covered her mouth and nose to avoid inhaling too much dust.
"Stelle! Are you alright?!" The golden-haired Damselette quickly ran to Stelle's side, holding Stelle's hand, anxiously checking her physical condition.
"I'm fine, I'm fine." Stelle shook her head.
Stelle always felt that Lumine seemed to have deliberately squeezed her just now, whether it was her illusion or not.
Moreover, her anxious attitude towards her felt a little strange.
They had just met, and it hadn't been that long...
"Are you really alright?" Lumine asked again with concern.
"I'm fine, really. That hit just now didn't hurt me at all." Stelle smiled confidently.
Although in reality, the force of that blow was very strong, Stelle only felt that the tiger's mouth gripping the baseball bat was still numb, but how could she say she was not okay in front of a beautiful Damselette?
"But what exactly happened?" Stelle didn't quite understand why the giant dragon, which had been speaking amicably with the green-clad Damselette just now, instantly changed its demeanor.
Everything seemed to have changed after the Anemo element glowed on Lumine's body.
Could it be that the Anemo element on Lumine stimulated that giant dragon?
"Wow, that was close, I almost got blown away. Good thing I grabbed your hair." Paimon said with lingering fear.
"My scalp almost came off because of you." Lumine rolled her eyes at him, a little speechless.
"What was going on with that weirdo talking to the dragon just now..." Ignoring Lumine's complaint, Paimon stroked his chin, pondering what had just happened.
"Um, is talking to dragons considered normal in this world?" Stelle asked curiously, raising her hand.
Lumine also looked at Paimon. Although he had been in this world longer than Stelle, he had basically been wandering around for such a long time, and his understanding of this world might not be much more than Stelle's.
"Of course not, dragons aren't that easy to see... Eh? What's that?" Paimon just noticed that a crimson glowing crystal had been left at the original location of the giant dragon.
"Let's go take a look." Lumine suggested.
"Be careful, it gives me a bad feeling..." Paimon warned.
The group walked towards the crystal.
"Paimon, do you know what this is?" Stelle frowned slightly. She had never seen such a thing before. Its appearance was like a teardrop, but the stone emitted a scent that she disliked.
It seemed her instincts were repelling this object.
"I haven't seen it either, I can't be sure what it is." Paimon shook his head.
"Anyway, for something so dangerous, it's better to keep it safe for now."
Paimon seemed to possess some magical ability. Before Stelle could react, he had already retrieved the crimson crystal in front of them.
"Alright, let's get out of here quickly!"
"Mhm."
---
The group continued on their way to Mondstadt City. For a long time afterwards, no other strange incidents occurred. Chatting idly with Lumine, time passed quickly.
It wasn't until they were not far from Mondstadt City, even vaguely able to see the city walls, that a call suddenly came from behind them.
"Hey, you! Wait a minute!"
The three turned around in confusion. They saw a nimble red figure constantly approaching them, then, using the slope above, he leaped, landing directly in front of the two.
And he even gracefully rolled to absorb the impact of the landing.
Seeing this, Stelle couldn't help but applaud him.
Perfect score!
"May the Anemo Archon protect you, strangers!" A Damselette with long black hair, dressed in red, and wearing a rabbit-ear-like hair accessory on his head.
Is that a red headscarf or a headband...? It looks soft, I kind of want to pet it.
"I am Amber, the Outrider of the Knights of Favonius." The Damselette didn't notice Stelle's impolite gaze and performed a Mondstadt knight's salute to the two of them.
"You aren't citizens of Mondstadt, are you? Then please state your identities and your... intentions." Amber's latter words gradually became stuck.
Because his gaze happened to move to Stelle, and coupled with Stelle's eyes still staring at him unblinkingly, Amber's face immediately flushed.
"Calm down, we are not suspicious individuals—" Paimon quickly said.
"Cough cough cough, su, suspicious individuals all say that, but this young lady might not be a suspicious individual..." Amber pretended to cough a few times, averting his gaze from Stelle.
The latter sentence was very quiet; even at such close proximity, no one heard it.
"Hello, I'm Lumine."
"I'm Stelle."
"Those don't sound like local names. Do you come from the same place?" Amber asked, looking at Lumine with some curiosity.
He was a little afraid to look at Stelle; otherwise, he felt he would lose his composure.
"No, why do you ask?" Stelle said, puzzled.
"Because both your names are single characters."
"That's just a coincidence." Lumine explained.
That question should be directed to miHoYo, asking why they give their female protagonists single-character names.
"So, you are Travelers, right? Then what's with this... mascot by your side?" Amber's gaze shifted to Paimon.
He had never seen a similar creature before, one that could talk, had a humanoid form, and was so small.
However, Teyvat is vast and full of wonders, so he didn't pay too much attention to it.
"Oh, him, he's emergency food." Stelle subconsciously spoke for Lumine before he could.
"That's completely wrong! How could you also learn bad habits from Lumine, and so quickly!" Paimon stomped his foot in the air, very indignant.
Lumine always joked about emergency food at first, and now even Stelle, whom he had only just met, was saying the same thing... Wait a minute! They wouldn't really be treating him as emergency food, would they??
"Cough cough, anyway, there have been giant dragons appearing near Mondstadt City recently, so if you want to enter the city, it's better to do so quickly." Amber said, secretly glancing at Stelle.
"This, this is not too far from Mondstadt, so I, as a Knight, will escort you for a while." Amber patted his small chest.
For some reason, Stelle always felt that Amber seemed to be looking at her side intentionally or unintentionally.
Moreover, the tone of his words just now was strange, as if he felt a little guilty.
Could it be that he said he would escort them into the city, but actually had some impure motives...? Stelle's gaze towards the Damselette carried a hint of wariness.