Jean's words plunged Ace and Sabo into a long silence.
Freedom.
In the Goa Kingdom, this word was only fit to appear in a drunkard's ramblings and a noble's hypocrisy.
But here, it was spoken with such solemnity by a ruler who held power.
"Alright! Amber!" Jean tapped the table, interrupting their thoughts, "Take them to see the city! Let them see what true Mondstadt is like!"
"Yes! Jean!"
Amber stood at attention, then, with a bitter expression, led these three little rascals, plus an emergency food, out of the Knights of Favonius Headquarters.
"Ugh... my Mora..."
She was still mourning her two months' salary.
"Amber, don't be sad," Sabo walked beside her, full of guilt, "We will definitely pay you back that money."
"Right! I'll go catch a huge Sea Kings! Selling it will definitely get a lot of money!" Luffy thumped his chest, promising.
"You shut up!" Ace's fist hardened again.
The group walked down the long staircase and returned to the bustling streets of Mondstadt City.
Sabo looked at the smiling faces around him, the shock in his heart unable to subside for a long time.
He took a deep breath, as if having made a decision, and quickly walked up to Amber.
"Amber."
"Hmm?" The girl in red turned her head listlessly.
"We want to know something about Stormterror."
Sabo's tone was incredibly serious.
This was their true mission in this world!
"Stormterror?"
Amber's steps suddenly stopped.
The 'bankrupt' gray shadow on her face instantly faded, replaced by an extremely complex expression.
There was wariness, sadness, and even a hint of... anger.
"Why are you asking about this?"
"Stop talking nonsense." Ace walked up, hands in his pockets, a belligerent fire burning in his black eyes.
"We're here to deal with that guy."
"Tell us, how strong is he? What are his weaknesses?"
His matter-of-fact tone completely ignited Amber!
"Deal with?!"
Amber's voice suddenly rose, drawing curious glances from passersby!
Her face was flushed with anger, her chest heaving violently, as she pointed at Ace's nose.
"What do you take that matter for?! An adventure game?!"
"That's not some monster! And it's not a trophy for you to show off your might!"
"His name is Dvalin!"
"He was Mondstadt's former protector!"
Ace was stunned by her shout, a trace of displeasure flashing across his unruly face.
Luffy also tilted his head, asking in confusion: "Protector? But he looks very angry."
Luffy's words made Amber's anger deflate like a punctured balloon.
The anger in her eyes receded, replaced by deep sadness.
"Yes..."
"He's angry..."
"He's in pain..."
Amber lowered her head, her voice full of bitterness.
"Dvalin... he was once the most intimate familiar of Lord Barbatos, the Anemo God, Mondstadt's 'Dragon of the East Wind,' and one of the Four Winds guardians who protected this sky!"
Familiar?
God?
More incomprehensible words.
But the three words "the protector" made Ace and Sabo frown simultaneously.
"Why would a protector attack the city he protects?" Sabo asked the crucial question.
It didn't make sense.
Amber's lips moved. She glanced at these three curious children, who also possessed a seriousness beyond their years.
She sighed.
"Because... he was forgotten."
"A long time ago, Mondstadt suffered a great disaster. A dark dragon named Durin came to invade."
"It was Dvalin who stepped forward and fought a desperate battle with the dragon at the peak of the snowy mountain. He ultimately bit through the dragon's throat, protecting Mondstadt."
"But..." Amber's voice trembled slightly.
"He himself was also contaminated and corroded from swallowing the dragon's poisonous blood."
"In extreme pain, he fell into a deep sleep."
"By the time he awoke, several hundred years had passed. The people of Mondstadt had long forgotten their former hero. What greeted him was not welcome and gratitude, but fear and swords."
"He thought... Mondstadt had abandoned him."
The air fell silent.
Paimon covered her little mouth, her eyes red.
Luffy's always cheerful face also lost its smile.
He scratched his head and asked in a very, very soft voice.
"So... he's just... too hurt, and too sad?"
Sabo's heart was fiercely clutched.
A hero who protected everyone, yet was ultimately forgotten and hurt by everyone.
What an... injustice.
Even Ace, whose face was always filled with "displeasure" and "I'm the strongest in the world," showed a momentary flicker of emotion.
The feeling of being abandoned by the world.
He understood it more than anyone.
"Tch."
Ace turned his head away, not wanting others to see his expression.
"What a... foolish guy."
"So, what does the Knights of Favonius plan to do?" Sabo pressed, "Do you also want to... hurt him?"
"Of course not!" Amber immediately retorted, her eyes becoming firm again.
"Jean is trying to find a way. We want to cleanse the pain from him. We want to... save him!"
"We want Mondstadt's Dragon of the East Wind to return to this free sky!"
After she finished speaking, she realized she had said too much to a few unknown kids.
"Wait! Why am I telling you all this!"
Amber suddenly snapped back to reality, put her hands on her hips, and forcibly adopted the stance of a guardian.
"Anyway! This matter is very dangerous! You absolutely must not interfere! Do you hear me!"
However.
What she saw were three pairs of astonishingly bright eyes.
In Luffy's eyes, there was pure curiosity and sympathy.
In Sabo's eyes, there was clarity that understood everything and respect for a hero.
And at the corner of Ace's mouth, there was a wild and untamed arc, brimming with fighting spirit.
"Ha."
"Now, things are getting interesting."
Just then!
"Everyone! Make way! Make way!"
A clear and anxious shout from a young girl, accompanied by hurried footsteps, came from the other end of the street!
The crowd automatically parted to both sides, making way for a path.
A young girl in a blue and white priestess dress, with dazzling golden twin pigtails, was running towards them with an anxious expression!
Behind her were several nuns also dressed in church attire.
"It's Lady Barbara!"
"Lady Barbara! What happened?"
The surrounding passersby exclaimed, their eyes filled with respect and adoration as they looked at the girl.
"She's the Church's Deaconess, Mondstadt's idol!" Paimon whispered to Luffy and the others.
"Idol? Can she be eaten?" Luffy asked curiously.
Bang!
Ace's fist once again accurately landed on Luffy's head.
The girl named Barbara completely ignored the commotion around her. She ran to the center of the plaza and shouted with all her might to the surrounding Knights of Favonius members and citizens!
"Just received news!"
"Stormterror... Dvalin... attacked the merchant caravan near Springvale outside the city!"
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