"This bit of the past is really moving…"
On the way back to Mondstadt, Su Mo felt a little wistful after Lisa's story earlier. After they'd cleared the temples they were responsible for, the group split up again to help Lisa and Kaeya clean the other two sites. It was during that time Lisa had told them about the Stormterror.
"Look — isn't that Acting Grand Master Jean? She seems to be talking with someone."
Paimon spotted Jean a short distance ahead, and beside her stood a strange woman wearing a mask.
"…So this is how we'll approach it."
"If we can't eliminate the rampaging dragon, we might as well hand Mondstadt's defenses over to the Fatui."
"We can handle the dragon. We only need to subdue that beast…"
Anastasia spread her hands arrogantly, speaking with contempt.
Jean cut her off with a cold edge: "'Beast'?"
"Hmm? Acting Grand Master, how do you mean?"
Anastasia's tone remained disdainful.
"Hope your diplomats can show a more professional attitude."
"You're suggesting to deal with one of Mondstadt's Four Winds? I won't tolerate that kind of madness in front of the Knights of Favonius."
Jean crossed her arms, struggling to contain anger while looking at the proud diplomat from Snezhnaya.
"Heh… haha… not as mad as you make it sound."
Anastasia forced out a laugh. Seeing Jean's cold gaze, she lost interest in the conversation.
"Good. That concludes today's talks. The result: both sides exchanged constructive opinions honestly, yes?"
"Hmph, I will—"
"Please wait a moment — miss, don't rush off."
Who's that? Why is the voice so melodious? Wait — have I seen him before?
As Anastasia turned to leave, a voice, oddly filled with charm, called after her. A fair-haired young man with black hair stood there, a faint smile on his face as he looked at her.
For some reason, Anastasia felt almost spellbound — as if she would do whatever that boy suggested.
"You… who are you?"
"My name isn't important. Your pretty face looks dirty."
Su Mo stepped forward with a light smile. Inside she was barely holding it together — the system's task was on. Did I not use the character cards enough?
Right then the system had popped up, scolding Su Mo for not making full use of the character cards. It delivered a side mission instructing her to preemptively use the powers of one of the cards: Unfading Star Anchor, the Knower (Zhi) of Laws, or the Sixth Nocturne — and teach Anastasia a lesson.
Su Mo was annoyed at the system; she didn't need to go all out — a casual play would finish this. Her Kallen card could probably even make the heavens tremble. Still, the task and the ten-thousand Mora reward were tempting, so she chose the Knower-of-Laws ability — subtle and nonviolent.
"I… am dirty…"
At Su Mo's words, Anastasia touched her cheek reflexively, then stared toward the nearby fountain. She must wash it off. She must wash it off!
Thump-thump-thump —
Action speaks louder than intention. Anastasia, dazed, ran to the fountain. Splash-splash—
Jean: "..."
Lumine: "..."
Paimon: "..."
Everyone stood dumbfounded as Anastasia frantically scrubbed her face like something filth-covered it — she even soaked her clothes. What happened? Was there really something on her face? And who was that boy? Dirt… what did he say?
Jean turned her gaze to the black-haired youth beside him — she had seen Anastasia act because of one sentence from him. Huh? The Traveler? She also noticed the Traveler and Paimon standing nearby.
"Acting Grand Master, are you all right?" Lumine stepped forward.
"Yes, Traveler. I'm fine. Thank you for your help — the elemental circulation around the city has stabilized."
Jean put herself together and smiled faintly.
What am I doing? What just happened? I was talking to Acting Grand Master Jean about Stormterror… then… what did I do after that?
Anastasia stopped scrubbing and stared at her reflection, bewildered. She clearly remembered talking with Jean about the dragon, but everything after that was blank; she had no idea how she ended up at the fountain washing her face.
"Wow, what is she doing? Bathing here?"
"Nah, who bathes in clothes?"
"Is it black inside?"
"No, it's purple…"
People had gathered, whispering and pointing. Damn — it must be the locals. She noted the slight in her heart like a grudge.
Embarrassed and angry, Anastasia stood up and fled, drenched and humiliated.
"Wow — Su Mo, did you do that?" Paimon zipped over, curious.
"No, I only told her to pay attention to her makeup. Who'd expect she'd dash to the fountain? Maybe she's obsessive about cleanliness… or maybe I'm just too handsome."
Su Mo protested his innocence to Paimon's teasing.
"Bah. If you think you're so handsome, make me go bathe in that fountain and let's see if your looks convince me."
Lumine crossed her arms: not impressed. Being handsome alone isn't enough for her. Su Mo's claim that looks plus power equals charm was a bit much.
"You sure? If you flash something, don't blame me."
Su Mo grinned. Yes, vanity is a kind of charm.
"Su Mo? So you're that mysterious hero?" Jean sounded surprised — she'd finally met him.
"Hello, Acting Grand Master. Hero is too grand a title — I just did what I ought to. By the way, that woman was from the Fatui, right?"
Su Mo modestly deflected Jean's attention.
"Sigh… yes. The Fatui delegation — agents of the Cryo Archon — their pressure is getting hard to ignore…"
Jean explained about the Fatui and their ambitions, adding that she did not think killing Stormterror outright was right. The Fatui, aligned with the Cryo deity, were covetous of the wind god's kin's power — suspicious in itself.
"Speaking of power…"
Lumine nudged the topic. "Traveler, I have something I want the Knights to check."
On the way to Mondstadt, Lumine had picked up a strange object and wanted Knight experts to examine it.
"Hmm? Let's return to the Knights' headquarters — not the place to talk about important matters."
Jean agreed; anything of consequence should be discussed under the Knights' roof.
"Ah, another little rescuer of Mondstadt, are you?"
Lisa peeked in as the young man trailed behind Jean, smiling.
"Little rescuer? I prefer Big Handsome Guy, Miss Lisa."
Su Mo laughed at the label and suggested a different nickname.
"Mr. Su Mo is very witty. But to avoid misunderstandings, I'll call you Mr. Su Mo."
Lisa smiled; he was more amusing than she expected.
"Lumine, you can bring out the object you found."
Lumine produced the red-glowing crystal she'd found near Mondstadt. Jean grew serious.
"It's a crystal suffused with some kind of power… Lisa, can you analyze it?"
Lisa inspected it closely.
"…Anyway, let the Little Rescuer keep it. In our hands it'll only cause trouble; it interacts strangely with elemental energy, and only Lumine and Su Mo are unaffected."
"So you want me to hold it? Or maybe Lumine should — I might lose it."
Su Mo considered but Lumine and Lisa protested; Su Mo insisted Lisa call him "Big Handsome" instead of "little rescuer." Lisa laughed.
"Mr. Su Mo — you've got a thick skin," Paimon observed.
"Hmm. Any clues about these peculiarities — these traits you manifest yourselves?" Jean asked. She'd seen how the crystal didn't repel them and wanted to know why.
"No idea," Lumine shook her head.
Su Mo shrugged — he had suspicions, but that was a secret he couldn't share.
Jean expected that. She then solemnly offered both Su Mo and Lumine honorary knighthood of the Knights of Favonius as thanks.
"An honorary Windknight of Mondstadt?" Paimon perked up immediately, imagining paychecks.
Lumine was equally surprised but accepted humbly. Su Mo accepted too — though he declined behind-the-scenes errands.
"Lumine, will you accept?" Jean asked.
"I accept."
"Please help us continue investigating these mysteries. The dragon's upheaval and the strange crystal — their answers are key to Mondstadt's peace. May the wind clear your eyes and reveal the truth. If we find anything, meet again here."
"What will you do next?" Su Mo asked after they left the headquarters.
"You were looking for your bard friend, right? Let's find him together."
Since the dragon crisis was unresolved, Lumine offered to help Su Mo look for his friend — after all, she understood the feeling of searching for a lost sibling.
"Thanks, Lumine. If you really miss your brother, you can call me 'brother'… jk. Let's split up."
Su Mo narrowly avoided Lumine's playful stampede.
"By age, you should call me 'sister,' you little brat," Lumine scolded jokingly. She'd slept for so many years; no one here was older than her.
Wait — would that make me ancient…? She paused and then Su Mo was already walking off.
"Su Mo, I'll call you brother if you give me money. A thousand Mora each, I promise… Hey! Wait!"
Paimon, smelling profit, followed after them.
"Is that green fellow Su Mo's friend?" Lumine noticed a green figure darting by below.
"Let's go!" The goals were set, and they hurried off.
"My story begins in the old days, when gods walked the earth and a sky-dragon descended…"
They found Venti by the statue and listened quietly to his performance rather than interrupting.
"You listened to my song. How was it?" Venti asked once finished.
"Your friend Su Mo is worried about you — he thinks you might've been blown away."
Lumine relayed Su Mo's worry. Venti chuckled. A bard singing of dragons won't be blown away easily; he'd go find Su Mo later.
"I don't believe it — you were just lucky," Paimon proclaimed.
Venti didn't mind Paimon's teasing. Then Paimon urged Lumine to pull out the crystal to show proof against Venti's supposed knowledge.
"Whoa — this is—"
Venti was surprised when seeing the purified crystal. "It's been cleansed? When did that happen?"
Lumine didn't know either. Then Venti said the words: "This is connected to Stormterror."
"Stormterror?" Lumine echoed.
"Let me tell you about him," Venti offered.
"The Sky-String is right ahead — hurry."
Sneaking into the cathedral cellars, Lumine and Paimon reached the Sky-String of Anemo. They had a plan to use the instrument's power to heal Stormterror, but the church refused to lend the Sky-String — so they were preparing to steal it.
"Ah! Who's there?"
As Lumine reached for the instrument, someone emerged and snatched it.
"What—?"
Golden chains fired from behind, binding the lightning-caster who tried to flee. The Sky-String was taken.
"You mean me? I'm Kallen Kaslana, the envoy sent by the Anemo Archon to take the Sky-String. Consider this a first warning — leave immediately."
Su Mo didn't show himself from the shadows; he simply announced that and left with the Sky-String.
"Stop! What are you doing?!" A Knight arrived at the noise.
"Run!"
Lumine and Paimon fled; the lightning-mage vanished.
"The Anemo Archon's envoy? So he's finally revealed himself. If so, that Archon's heart is mine for the taking."
The masked woman — the Fatui operative — was thrilled at her informant's news: a surprise wind-god lead. Her mission would be complete!
"The envoy of the Anemo Archon?"
Venti was stunned by Lumine's words.
Oh no — I've become a stand-in.
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