Chapter 39: The Spindrift Knight—Eula Emerges

Upon hearing the good news brought back by Chen and his companions—that the Temple of the Falcon had been cleared—a look of relief finally appeared on Jean’s face.

Jean expressed her sincere gratitude to Chen: "Traveler, thank you very much for your help. Had it not been for you, the current situation would likely be far worse."

Chen shook his head and replied, "You are welcome. Since I gave my word, I would naturally see it through."

As a Reconnaissance Knight, Amber still had duties to attend to for the day. After reporting the situation, she prepared to depart. Jean offered a few words of caution regarding her safety before watching her leave.

Chen, however, showed no signs of rushing off. Seeing that he seemed to have something on his mind, Jean asked, "Traveler, is there anything else?"

"Whew—" Chen exhaled and said, "I have something I would like to show you and the Acting Grand Master, but I would prefer to wait until Miss Lisa returns before I reveal it."

Jean was somewhat puzzled, wondering what Chen could possibly want to show her. However, noting his solemn expression, she realized it was no ordinary matter. She invited him to wait in her office for Lisa to return, while she went back to attending to her official duties.

...

"Whew..."

As night fell, inside the hotel room, Chen emerged from the bathroom, wiping his hair while letting out a long sigh.

As an extraordinary being from beyond this world, even with his powers sealed, the faint residual energy within him was enough to keep his body free from dust and perfectly clean. Yet, having slept in the wilderness for so long, even if it were merely a psychological burden, he felt as though he were covered in grime.

Last night, he had to prepare for battle, leaving no time to properly freshen up. Now that he finally had a moment of leisure, he naturally wanted to bathe thoroughly.

Since only he and Paimon were in the room, and he did not consider Paimon an outsider in terms of gender etiquette, he simply draped a plain bathrobe over himself. As he walked, the hem of the robe swayed gently, revealing glimpses of the youth's sleek and graceful muscle definition through the fabric.

(Lumine, watching: Hehe, ehehe, *hiss-ha*, *hiss-ha*~~)
(Amber, watching: o(*////▽////*)q)

After Paimon went to wash up as well, Chen walked slowly to the window, gazing quietly at the street scene below while contemplating his next steps.

The operation to clear the temples of the Four Winds had gone smoothly, and the storms within Mondstadt had ceased for now. However, the dragon crisis stirred up by Stormterror was clearly far from over.

As for how to handle the aftermath regarding Stormterror, that was a matter for the Knights of Favonius to consider. For his part, he only needed to wait and see how things developed. If the Knights were in need, he could lend a hand—if only for Amber's sake.

While lost in thought, the corner of his eye caught a glimpse of a green figure moving slowly along the street below.

Upon seeing this figure, Chen’s calm pupils constricted sharply. In the next instant, he swiftly changed his clothes, leaped directly out of the window, and pursued the direction of the green figure...

[To be continued...]
Mondstadt Arc, Episode 2, End.

...

In the pitch-black dormitory, Amber stared at the "To be continued" text on the screen, her finger hovering as she hesitated whether to click on the next episode.

Just then, an abrupt voice rang out behind her.

"What is this?"

"Waaahhhh!!!"

Caught completely off guard by the person standing behind her, Amber jumped straight up from her chair.

"Snap!"

Still shaken, Amber flicked on the dormitory light, only then recognizing the person behind her.

"Eula? When did you get back? You didn't make a sound at all."

Their dormitory was a double room; Eula was Amber’s roommate.

Hearing Amber’s slightly complaining question, Eula gave her a blank look and said, "I’ve been back for a while. I called your name several times and got no answer, so I walked over to see what was going on."

As she spoke, she glanced at the glowing screen that was still running and asked, as if nonchalant, "What are you watching? *Genshin*? You’re so absorbed in it that it’s gotten dark, and you haven't even turned on the lights."

If Amber had possessed her usual keen observational skills, she might have noticed a strange, inexplicable glint hidden within Eula’s supposedly casual gaze.

Unfortunately, in her current flustered state, Amber’s attention was entirely focused on Eula’s remark about having been back for a while, failing to notice anything unusual in her tone.

She subconsciously shifted her body to block Eula’s view, covering up, "No, it’s nothing. Just the game plot. I was just watching, just watching, that’s all."

Amber was panicking inside. She didn't know how long "a while" really was. What if Eula had seen her giggling like an idiot at the video?

If that were the case, it would be too, too, too embarrassing!

Then again, if Eula found out she was losing her appetite and sleep over a virtual character, that would be even more humiliating!

However, the more one fears something, the more likely it is to happen.

No sooner had this thought crossed Amber's mind than her stomach let out an untimely growl.

In an instant, the room fell silent, and the two standing face-to-face remained motionless.

Amber felt she could never face Eula again.

She hung her head, standing stiff as a board, eyes squeezed shut, not daring to look at Eula’s reaction as steam rose steadily from the top of her head.

Seeing that she was about to suffocate herself, Eula finally gave up on the idea of questioning her further. She coughed lightly and said, "Ahem! Come to think of it, training went so late today that I haven't had dinner yet. I was planning on going out to grab a bite. Would you like to come along?"

Amber remained standing there with her head down, offering no response.

Seeing this, Eula had no choice but to reach out and take her by the arm, leading her out of the dormitory.

"Let's go! Just consider it keeping me company."

With her brain completely stalled, Amber could only move like a puppet, allowing Eula to lead her away from the dormitory...