"Allow me to formally introduce—
The City of Ballads and Dandelions, the City of Freedom—"
"Travelers under the protection of the Knights of Favonius, welcome to Mondstadt!"
As soon as the group entered the gates, Amber spun around proudly, arms spread wide as though she herself were the city's guardian.
"By the way, Mondstadt's dandelion wine is amazing. You guys should totally try it. And if you don't mind, you can treat m—"
"Finally… no more sleeping in the wild…"
Amber's pitch for free drinks was cut cleanly off by Paimon's blissful sigh.
Seeing no one paying him attention, Wendy quietly shut his mouth again.
"It is worth trying. I've heard from Mr. Zhongli that Mondstadt's wine is quite famous."
Su Mo, seeing the poor wind god about to die of embarrassment, quickly picked up Wendy's unfinished line.
Besides—he actually did like dandelion wine. Kaeya had mixed him a glass once.
"He remembers? I thought he'd forgotten after all these years."
Wendy muttered in surprise. He hadn't given Morax wine in a thousand years. Not once since.
"You two seem to know Mondstadt pretty well already… but why does everyone here look kind of… down?"
At that moment, Ying finally spoke up, eyes sweeping over the passersby with sharp attentiveness.
"It's the Stormterror Dragon. It's been causing huge problems lately.
But with Acting Grand Master Jean around, nothing will be a problem!"
Amber's tone dimmed at "Stormterror"… only to blaze bright again at "Jean."
"Jean?"
Paimon blinked.
"Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius—Jean! Mondstadt's protector!"
"Oh… a really important person.
Maybe she'll know something about the Anemo Archon…"
Ying silently held onto that sliver of hope.
"Right—Wendy, what's that 'Wind Glider' you mentioned earlier?"
Su Mo intentionally asked.
Stormterror was probably going to appear soon, and gliders were essential.
Plus, he needed to play along with Mondstadt's early storyline—stealing Dvalin right away wasn't exactly feasible.
Hell, even switching to Kallen wouldn't magically make "steal a whole damn dragon" an easy task. He'd figure that out later.
Right now, a little reputation as an "Honorary Knight" would help with future missions.
"This lovely knight here will explain everything.
I'll be heading off—bards have work to do!
Su Mo, if you need me, find me at Angel's Share, the tavern. If I'm not there, I'll be at the square near the statue."
With that, Wendy slipped away to earn more wine money.
"No problem."
Su Mo waved at his retreating figure.
"Well then, since you already know—no point being mysterious.
I'll fetch two sets of Wind Gliders for you. Consider it payment for helping clear the hilichurls.
Go wait for me in the square before the cathedral."
Amber waved and dashed off.
"Mr. Su Mo, what exactly are Wind Gliders?"
Ying asked curiously.
"Something that lets us fly.
Come on—let's wait for Amber."
Su Mo smiled.
"Lets you fly…? Then I don't need it! It's useless to me!"
Paimon crossed her arms angrily.
"Then I want a different gift!"
Ying: "..."
Cathedral Square
"These are Wind Gliders?"
Ying examined hers with sparkling interest.
"And my gift? Where's mine?!"
Paimon demanded with hands on hips.
"But you can't use gliders… oh! Tonight, I'll treat you to Mondstadt's specialty—Honeyed Char Siu!"
"W–Wow!! Honeyed Char Siu!!"
She was already drooling.
"Alright! First, I'll teach you two how to use them—"
"You two learn fast!"
Amber smiled proudly as Ying and Su Mo landed smoothly after their trial flight.
Whoooo—
Suddenly, the sky darkened. A fierce gale swept through the entire city.
"What's… happening to the sky…?"
So it begins.
Su Mo lifted his head, searching for the direction Dvalin would appear.
This was one of the few story sequences he knew extremely well.
"It's Stormterror… he's here…"
Amber's face paled.
ROOOOAAAR—!!
A massive azure shape soared through the sky, its shadow blotting out the light as it circled over Mondstadt.
ROAR—!!
Whooosh—!!
The dragon unleashed a deafening cry, and instantly, several tornadoes tore through the city streets.
"Move!"
Even knowing the story, Su Mo's instincts fired.
He grabbed Ying and Amber by the wrists and sprinted for cover.
But—
AAAAHHH—!!
A tornado erupted under their feet and flung them skyward.
Yet somehow, they drifted out of its pull quickly, their Wind Gliders snapping open automatically.
The three soared higher and higher, Mondstadt shrinking beneath them.
"Huh?! Wind Gliders can stay up this long?!"
Paimon gaped.
"I let the thousand-year winds support you… so you will not fall…"
"…Imagine controlling this breeze… bending it to split the clouds…"
A mysterious voice whispered in their ears—almost drowned by the howling wind.
Oddly familiar.
Everyone failed to recognize it.
Except Su Mo.
"That voice… who…?"
Paimon looked everywhere but found no one.
"No time to think. Stormterror's coming."
Right as Su Mo spoke, the dragon twisted its body and dived toward them.
"Scatter!"
They split apart quickly.
But Su Mo did more than dodge—
as Dvalin brushed past, he grabbed onto the dragon's wing and pulled himself onto its back.
"Fancy meeting you here."
He called out—because Ying had also climbed up from the opposite side at the exact same moment.
Ying: "..."
Even now he was joking?!
But something shocked her more—
Su Mo wasn't nearly as helpless as she'd assumed.
He climbed onto a dragon's back as casually as if boarding a carriage.
ROAR—!!
Feeling intruders, Stormterror thrashed violently in the sky.
Vertical climbs.
Sudden dives.
Barrel rolls.
Ying clung on for dear life, eyes squeezed shut from the wind pressure.
Then—
Someone touched her hand.
She snapped her eyes open.
Su Mo was beside her.
He can move around under THIS wind pressure?!
Ying was stunned.
Then she noticed—the boy was gesturing.
He pointed at her weapon.
…Oh.
He wants my sword?
Seeing her blank stare, Su Mo pointed again—at the sword, then at the dark purple spike embedded in Dvalin's scales.
His meaning couldn't be clearer.
He needed a weapon.
Sheath empty, he had no choice but to borrow hers.
Bare fists weren't going to cut it.
Ah, that thing…
Ying immediately understood and handed him her sword.
In that same moment, she conjured another weapon made of Anemo energy.
She wasn't letting him fight alone.
"Hit it!"
Su Mo charged, Ying right behind him.
Their blades struck the corrupted spike—
ROAR—!!
Stormterror shrieked and jerked violently.
Both were flung off its back, spiraling through the sky.
They stabilized their gliders mid-air as the dragon retreated far from the city.
"You two okay?!"
"I thought Stormterror ate you!"
Amber and Paimon hurried to them.
"Eat me? Depends if its stomach's big enough.
Anyway—let's get down."
Su Mo gestured toward the plaza.
"Such power… you actually fought a dragon…"
"You—are you guests of Mondstadt?
Or… a new storm on the horizon?"
Su Mo glanced over his shoulder at Ying, then spoke calmly—
Ying: "..."
Kaeya: "..."
He… he just said what I was about to say?!
Kaeya stepped forward, stunned.
The lines he prepared—word for word—were stolen right out of his mouth.
Can he read minds?!
That had to be a coincidence… right?
"Ahem… Your strength is truly impressive. May I have the honor of knowing your names?"
Kaeya quickly changed lines.
"Captain Kaeya?"
Amber recognized him immediately.
"These two are travelers from afar.
This is Ying, who's looking for her brother, and this—"
"I'll handle this.
You must be Captain Kaeya?
Pleasure to meet you. I'm Su Mo, from Liyue. Came to see the City of Freedom for myself."
Su Mo cut in smoothly.
"And me! I'm Paimon! Traveler's official partner!"
Kaeya smiled lightly.
"Kaeya, Cavalry Captain of the Knights."
A cavalry captain… with no horse.
Su Mo nearly choked trying not to laugh.
"My apologies, Captain. I need to find my bard friend immediately.
With all that chaos earlier, I'm worried about him."
Before Kaeya could continue his scripted speech, Su Mo put on a serious face.
He knew where the plot was headed—he had no time to get dragged along.
"I'll help you find him!"
Amber volunteered immediately, guilt flashing across her face.
"No need. You're a knight—Mondstadt needs you.
If you find any clues, send word to the Knights HQ.
I'll come find you later."
Su Mo refused with righteous sincerity—and before anyone could reply, he hurried away.
Outside Mondstadt
Alright then—
Henshin!
Under the system's stealth cloak, Su Mo transformed.
…Wait.
Something's off.
Golden lance.
Chains wrapping around his whole body.
Su Mo: "??"
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