"Me?"
Although Jia Changjiang could clearly see the Vision hanging on Klee's body—and knew full well that her combat power was anything but weak—
She was still a kid.
And no matter how you looked at it, Jia Changjiang really couldn't bring himself to fight her.
(Strictly speaking: fight.)
Still, faced with Klee's question, he put on a friendly smile.
"Well… I'm actually a new knight who just reported in to the Knights of Favonius," he said seriously.
"I heard your name from others earlier, but… how about you introduce yourself, senior knight?"
"You're a new Knight of Favonius?! Yay!"
Klee bounced happily in front of him. Being called senior made her especially delighted.
"I'm the Knights of Favonius' Spark Knight, Klee!"
"I'll take care of you! What about you, what about you? What's your name?"
"I?"
Jia Changjiang paused for a moment, then said,
"My name is… Zhen Huanghe. I just arrived not long ago. Please take care of me, Senior Klee."
Being called senior again, Klee shuffled her feet shyly.
"Ehehe~"
"By the way, Senior Klee," Jia Changjiang asked,
"what are you doing here right now?"
"Ah!"
Only then did Klee remember why she'd come to the training grounds in the first place.
"I'm here to help Acting Grand Master Jean!"
She clenched her little fists.
"I heard from Brother Kaeya and Sister Amber that someone's going to fight Grand Master Jean! And they said he's super scary!"
"I'm going to help Grand Master Jean beat him up!"
"…Hahaha."
Jia Changjiang laughed awkwardly.
"Didn't expect you to care that much about Grand Master Jean. But, you know… that scary guy might not actually be a bad person."
He continued gently,
"What if he really isn't a bad guy? Would you still want to blow him up, Klee?"
"Uuuh… um… uuuu…"
Klee squeezed her little head hard, thinking with all her might.
"But… but Grand Master Jean is such a good person! No one in Mondstadt would bully her!"
"Even though… even though Grand Master Jean always gets mad at Klee for sneaking out to go fish-blasting and locks Klee up…"
She lowered her head, poking her fingers together.
"Klee, you like fish-blasting, right?"
Jia Changjiang reached out and gently patted her hat.
"Maybe that person's the same. He likes fighting, so he challenged Grand Master Jean—not to make things difficult for her, but because he enjoys the feeling of battle."
"When you go fish-blasting, you're happy too, right?"
"Huh? How do you know Klee likes fish-blasting?"
"I guessed," Jia Changjiang replied.
"And… fish taste really good, don't they?"
"Mhm!"
Klee's eyes sparkled as she nodded hard.
"Even though Klee gets locked up every time, the fish are super yummy—so it's worth it!"
"Right? Hahaha~"
Jia Changjiang laughed along with her.
"Klee, how about I treat you to fish sometime?"
"Next time we can go outside Mondstadt together and blast fish—"
"Okay, okay!"
Klee nodded eagerly, then suddenly hesitated.
"B-but… not today. I still need to watch Grand Master Jean duel that… that… um… Jacks person!"
"Do you want to watch too?"
Klee invited him enthusiastically.
"Me?"
Jia Changjiang shook his head lightly.
"I probably can't watch with you. But thanks for inviting me."
"Grand Master Jean is really busy—she'll probably take a while to get here."
"Aww…"
Klee looked a bit disappointed.
Still, she happily chatted with Jia Changjiang about all the fun things she'd done recently.
Catching a lizard with a new pattern while playing outside.
Blasting fish at Starfell Lake and catching two little frogs…
Listening to her animated stories, Jia Changjiang found himself smiling too.
But as they talked, Kaeya appeared at the training grounds.
"Ah! Brother Kaeya!"
Klee waved excitedly.
"Brother Kaeya! Over here!"
"Oh?"
Kaeya walked over, a little surprised to see Klee and Jia Changjiang together.
"How did you two end up here?"
"Grand Master Jean is still busy, so I came early," Jia Changjiang shrugged.
"And then I met this… Senior Klee. She taught me lots of things."
He gave Kaeya a meaningful look.
"Oh~?"
Kaeya glanced at Klee's cheerful face and immediately understood.
"Brother Kaeya! Where's the person who's going to fight Grand Master Jean?"
"You'll find out once Grand Master Jean arrives," Kaeya replied smoothly, sidestepping the question.
"You don't seem busy right now. If you've got time…"
Jia Changjiang looked at Kaeya.
"How about a spar? Just a warm-up."
"I'd rather not," Kaeya smiled.
"Fighting you would be troublesome. Besides—haven't you gone to the church to get those injuries treated yet?"
He glanced at the bandages on Jia Changjiang.
Jia Changjiang rolled his shoulders.
"It's fine. I'll deal with it after today's business is done."
Just as he said that, three familiar figures entered the training grounds.
Jean.
Amber.
Lisa.
"All right, they're here!"
Seeing Jean, Jia Changjiang's expression lit up. He immediately grabbed his massive battle axe and stood up.
"Huh? Brother Zhen Huanghe, what are you going to do?"
Klee looked confused.
"Sorry, Klee. That name was fake."
Jia Changjiang gently patted her head.
"The one who's going to duel Jean today… is me."
"…Eh?"
Before Klee could react, Kaeya quickly scooped her up and carried her aside.
And after saying those words, Jia Changjiang strode forward, his fighting spirit surging, heading straight toward Jean.
"Sorry to keep you waiting,"
Jean apologized lightly.
"Knightly affairs took longer than expected."
"I'm the one who caused you trouble," Jia Changjiang replied seriously.
"Thank you for accepting my challenge, Acting Grand Master Jean."
He stepped onto the training grounds and carefully sized her up.
Jean Gunnhildr—
Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius.
The Lionfang Knight of this generation, inheritor of the title Dandelion Knight.
Whether it was knightly bearing and etiquette, the study of history and poetry to temper the soul, or the swordsmanship and physical training required of a knight—Jean had endured rigorous discipline in all of it.
Though not yet fully mature, though still carrying traces of youth and hesitation—
There was no doubt about it.
Jean was one of Mondstadt's strongest.
"Hahahahaha…"
Standing on the brink of battle, Jia Changjiang felt his emotions surge uncontrollably.
"Acting Grand Master Jean—please fight with your full strength!"
"And then…"
"Let us battle!!"
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