"However!"
In the next second, Fischl's tone shifted. She planted her hands on her hips, her expression pivoting back to haughty defiance. "Thou dared to ignore the Prinzessin just now... Very well! I shall demonstrate who truly reigns supreme in swiftness upon this realm!"
Hearing Fischl muttering her challenge, Kael's expression turned strange.
He glanced at her sideways, his tone flat. "Oh? Are you sure about that?"
Fischl lifted her chin slightly, her golden eye brimming with confidence. "The gears of fate have begun to turn. Our speed shall determine the victor!"
Oz translated: "My Lady means: She refuses to accept defeat."
Kael laughed helplessly, the corner of his mouth curving into a meaningful arc. "Fine. Let's test it."
As he spoke, Kael focused his will.
An invisible energy rapidly permeated his limbs and bones. A sensation of weightless agility enveloped his entire body.
[Ripple] applied.
Whoosh!
In that instant, Kael's body became impossibly light.
It was as if he had merged with the air itself. His footsteps became silent, ghostly.
Even the two massive sacks of Mondstadt specialties on his back seemed to lose their weight entirely.
He took a single step.
In the next second, he glided forward like a gale!
"?!"
Fischl, who had been brimming with confidence and mentally drafting her victory speech, froze.
In the blink of an eye, Kael had shot forward like a phantom. His speed was so fast it blurred the edges of her vision!
Even Oz flapped his wings violently, his pupils contracting. "My Lady, Mr. Kael... seems genuinely fast?"
Fischl's pupil shrank rapidly. The arrogance on her face stiffened into a mask of shock as she watched Kael, who was already a dozen meters away.
This isn't right!
He's carrying two giant sacks of supplies! How can he move that fast?!
Before Fischl could process the physics violation, Kael turned his head back effortlessly.
He even casually adjusted the sacks on his shoulder, throwing her a teasing look.
"Aren't you coming?"
"!!"
In that moment, Fischl's cheeks puffed out visibly. Like a provoked kitten, she stomped her foot hard, her purple twin-tails bouncing in the air.
She sprinted.
But while Fischl ran with everything she had, Kael was still strolling.
Strolling with the speed of a sprinter.
Even though she pushed her legs to the limit to catch up, the difference was humiliating.
She was running.
He was walking.
His steps were steady, his posture relaxed. He didn't look like someone hauling heavy cargo; his breathing wasn't even elevated.
What is happening?
Within seconds, Fischl began to pant.
Her bangs stuck to her forehead with sweat. Her footsteps became messy, nearly tripping over the hem of her own cape several times.
Just then, Kael looked back again, the corner of his lips raised. "Is that all the speed you have?"
"!!!"
Fischl puffed out her cheeks, her eyes filled with resentment and a golden fire of refusal. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to chase him.
And so, under the setting sun, the race for "The Swiftest Existence" continued.
A few minutes later.
"...The Prinzessin... is weary."
Fischl abruptly stopped. She braced her hands on her knees, gasping for air. Golden strands of hair were plastered to her temples with sweat.
Her chest heaved violently, and her delicate face was flushed red.
The short burst of sprinting had completely drained her stamina.
She looked up, staring resentfully at the figure ahead who was still relaxed and composed.
Finally, she took a deep breath and whispered unwillingly, "Fine. I admit thy swiftness exceeds the cognition of mortals... This round, the Prinzessin shall not pursue the matter. Consider it thy victory."
Oz chuckled as he flew overhead. "Kael, My Lady means: She can't run anymore. She surrenders."
Hearing this, Kael stopped leisurely.
He adjusted the heavy sacks on his shoulder with one hand and looked back at Fischl with a teasing glint in his eyes. "Giving up after such a short distance?"
Fischl frowned instantly, her mouth puffing up again. "Hmph... The Prinzessin merely allows thee a momentary triumph. After a brief respite, I shall surely..."
Before she could finish her defiant speech, Kael reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.
Invisible energy flowed from his fingertips into her body.
[Ripple] applied.
Instantly, Fischl's pupil contracted.
She felt her body suddenly become incomparably light. It was as if heavy shackles had been shattered.
Her entire being felt buoyed by an invisible current—agile, weightless, ethereal.
"...?"
Fischl subconsciously looked down at her legs, blinking in confusion. Her brows knit together.
Why did my body suddenly become so light?
Before she could react, Kael's voice sounded calmly. "All right. Let's go."
Then, he turned and walked away.
He moved even faster than before, opening a gap of ten meters in a split second.
"Wait—"
Fischl instinctively took a step to follow.
Whoosh!
In that single step, her body shot forward, covering the distance of three normal strides!
"!!!"
Fischl's eye widened in horror. She looked down at her legs, unable to believe her own senses.
Just now...
Did I really cross that much distance?
It felt like the wind itself was carrying her. Every step was incredibly fluid, meeting zero resistance. The world beneath her feet felt frictionless.
"Th... What is happening?"
Filled with shock and doubt, she tentatively took another step.
Whoosh!
Again, she shot forward, covering twice her usual distance effortlessly.
An invisible force pushed her from behind, making her feel several times faster than normal!
"..."
Fischl was stunned. Her fatigue vanished, washed away by the sheer thrill of this newfound speed. Disbelief flooded her mind.
My speed... has increased to this extent?!
She looked up.
Kael was already walking leisurely in the distance, adjusting his load as naturally as if he were on a Sunday stroll.
"...!!"
Fischl narrowed her eyes. This time, she didn't hesitate. she kicked off the ground and sprinted toward Kael.
Unlike her exhausted struggle moments ago, this run was effortless!
She could clearly feel the air pushing her. Every step felt like gliding.
This wasn't the movement of a normal human. It was the natural swiftness of a born hunter.
The thrill of speed made her heart race, her breath catching with excitement and confusion.
Kael... How on earth did he do this?!
Thou... Could it be thou hast mastered the mysteries of the Wind?!
Fischl's golden pupil trembled. She stared at her legs, feeling the eerie weightlessness.
Her mind raced through possibilities, finally landing on the only reasonable explanation.
Could it be... Kael has obtained an Anemo Vision?
This sensation felt exactly like Anemo power propelling her.
She never imagined that Kael could instantly boost her speed, granting her the agility of a Wind-Blessed entity.
This ability was terrifyingly similar to the effects of an Anemo Vision.
But strangely, she couldn't sense any actual elemental energy.
"Mr. Kael might have a hidden Vision," Oz suggested thoughtfully as he flapped alongside her. "Though... I don't sense any Anemo energy either."