Waking up the next morning was a difficult thing.
I'm not quite sure how the dreamscape works, but if the side effect of going there is this splitting headache, then I don't think I'd be going there any time soon.
Getting myself dressed, I exited my room, and made my way to Good Hunter to get some breakfast.
Just like yesterday, the weather in Mondstadt is still unnaturally windy, with the sun being blocked by something fog-like.
'This is like one of those local rain thing I see in cartoons whenever a character is gloomy, except it's the size of a city.'
Rubbing my temples with my fingers, I greeted Sara who was busy manning the store despite the weather.
"Hey Sara."
"Morning Mr. Yuu. I didn't think you're the type to drink so much."
"I didn't, Margaret can vouch for that. Anyway, do you have anything that can cure headaches?"
"Well, not headaches specifically, but we do serve Apple Cider, and they're pretty well-known for its strong sobering effect. You might want to try that."
"Ugh… I'll be ordering one then."
"Of course. Anything else?"
"Something warm would be nice."
"Cream Stew it is then. Take a seat inside, Mr. Yuu, I'll be bringing your order in shortly."
"Thanks, Sara."
Making my way inside Good Hunter for the first time, I found that it's actually quite large.
By table count alone, this restaurant could fit several families with no problem, and that's not counting the upstairs dining area as well. Though I probably shouldn't be surprised, given how Good Hunter is the only proper restaurant I've seen in this city.
After taking a seat, I took off my hat and rested my head on top of my hands on the table, trying to catch an extra shut-eye. Hopefully, that'll help alleviate some of the headache.
Unfortunately, just before I could fall asleep, the sound of a certain floating emergency sustenance interrupted me.
"Hey! white mask! Over here!"
Slowly raising my head, I caught the sight of both Lumine and Paimon making their way to my table.
"We were looking everywhere for you, you know!"
"Paimon, for the love of god, please be quiet. My head is hurting right now."
"Are you okay, Yuu?"
Taking her seat next to me, Lumine started rubbing circles on my back.
"I'm fine. Just a headache. It'll go away eventually. I was trying to sleep it off some more, but someone just had to be so loud early in the morning."
At least Paimon has the self-awareness to feel bad about it.
"Ehehe… sorry."
"Sigh. Whatever. Why are you looking for me anyway?"
"We were going to invite you to go eat breakfast together, but…."
"But you don't have any Mora?"
"Well, I was going to say you weren't in your room, but that's also true."
She really should sign up with the Adventurer's Guild as soon as possible. Though after helping the knights, the high paying commission would've all but disappeared.
If only there were ley line blossoms in this world. Unfortunately, they don't exist. I've searched for countless hours and not a single sign of them. All that time spent searching, all of it goes to waste.
'Imagine if they do and they don't cost resin. I'd be filthy rich right about now.'
Putting my head back in my hands, I continued.
"Just go order something, I'll pay for it."
"Yay! You're the best, white mask!"
"Tone it down, Paimon."
"Oops, sorry. Ehehe…."
With the both of them making their way to Sara, the quiet atmosphere returned once more. Hopefully, I'll be able to sleep this time.
After who knows how long, I was shaken awake by Lumine.
"Ngh… how long have I slept?"
"Ten minutes, give or take."
"Ugh… wake me up in six hours…."
"Nope, we're going to be busy today. Here, Sara told me you should drink this."
Placing the Apple Cider in front of me, I carefully took a sip.
For a supposed hangover cure, it doesn't taste that bad. It's fresh and fruity, garnished with slices of apple and mint.
'Whoa, the effect is quite good. Whoever invented this thing must be swimming with Mora right now.'
In a city where the majority of its economy revolves around alcohol, and places like Angel's Share and Cat's Tail that produce high quality drinks that are accessible to the majority of the population, surely a shortage of drunkards would be the last thing that this city found itself in.
After finishing my drink, I ordered an extra glass to Sara and started eating my breakfast.
While I ordered the Cream Stew, Lumine opted for something a bit more light. She ordered a stack of pancakes, covered with syrup and berries on top of it. Paimon, in a surprising twist, is indeed capable of holding back, as she only ordered a Sweet Madame.
"Huh, I would've thought Paimon would take advantage of my generosity to order a lot more food. So you can be mindful, huh?"
"Of course Paimon can. Paimon is not rude, you know!"
"We'll see."
Within the quiet atmosphere of the restaurant, the three of us enjoyed our respective breakfast in silence.
"I finally found you, Yuu!"
Until a certain outrider made her appearance, that is.
Standing at the entrance of Good Hunter is Amber, who was currently busy panting and catching her breath.
"Yes, yes, congratulations on finding me. Unfortunately there is no prize for you, miss outrider.
"Sit, take a deep breath, and explain why you are in such a hurry."
'It's obvious why though. But it doesn't hurt to be polite.'
"The Acting Grand Master is looking for you. And uhh… sorry about yesterday."
"Don't apologize for something you didn't do Amber."
Standing up from my seat, I finished the last of my drink before heading out.
"I'll be back in a bit, you two."
"See you later, Yuu."
"Hey white mask! You haven't finished your food yet!"
"You can have it Paimon."
"Ehehe… don't mind if Paimon do!"
Once I paid for the food, I continued making my way to the knights headquarters.
'Time to get my paycheck.'
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Welcome, Mr. Yuu. Please, have a seat."
After arriving at the Knights of Favonius Headquarter and stating my purpose to the guards outside, I wasted no time and directly made my way to Jean's office.
Inside the office, sitting on the meeting table on the right side of the room was Jean at the head of the table, with Lisa sitting to her right.
Making my way to the table, I took a seat right across from Jean.
"Greetings, Acting Grand Master. I hope you are properly rested now."
"Yes, I am. Before we begin this discussion, there's something that I would like to say beforehand.
"As the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, I would like to extend my apology for my conduct during yesterday's meeting. What I did was inexcusable, even if it is for the sake of Mondstadt."
I would've thought that they find the idea of apologizing like this to a mere wanderer like me beneath them, given how aristocrats typically behave, but I suppose I'm being a bit too cynical, even if I somewhat knew of their personality beforehand.
Though I probably shouldn't expect anything like that from the Lawrence Clan, with the exception of Eula.
"Apology accepted. It's all water under the bridge now, Acting Grand Master."
'Let's get to the part where you'll be giving me Mora.'
"Why don't we get started on why I'm really here?"
"Right, of course."
After composing herself once more, Jean continued.
"As the Acting Grand Master, I would like to ask for your assistance in dealing with the source of Stormterror's power.
"As I have briefly explained yesterday, Lisa has found that the source of its power is located in the Four Winds' Temple. Our objective is to simply deal with three out of the four temples."
"Why three?"
"Ah, I'll be answering that."
Continuing where Jean left off, Lisa began her explanation.
"The Four Winds of Mondstadt that follow the Anemo Archon Barbatos are as follows: Dragon of the East, Lion of the South, Wolf of the North, and Falcon of the West.
"The reason we only need to deal with three temples is because Stormterror, who's also known as Dvalin, the Dragon of the East, has been consuming itself from the very beginning."
'Hmm, as in, he'll kill himself anyway kind of deal? It's amazing how much of an influence hatred can have.'
"And Dvalin is willing to go so far because…?"
"Hatred, I presume. For Mondstadt."
At the mention of this, Lisa starts to get visibly uncomfortable.
'The grand protector hates the very people they were supposed to protect. As a Mondstadt citizen, it must be something hard to swallow, huh.'
"I see. Well, Acting Grand Master, can I assume that you would only be needing my assistance in dealing with the temples?"
"No. Though I hope this would be enough, dealing with the temples will only neutralize the powers that Dvalin uses, not Dvalin itself.
"I would also like your assistance in finding ways to save Dvalin. Though I do not know if it's possible, we would still like to try. Dvalin is one of Mondstadt's protectors, and as its citizen, I do not want to resort to killing it."
After hearing their words, I took some time to process them.
'Dealing with the temples alone is indeed not enough, which means I would inevitably be needed again. And that means more Mora for me.'
"Exactly how much would I be compensated?"
"Three million Mora at the very least, not counting any further assistance we may need."
'Sign me the fuck up!'
"I see. As long as you keep your word, I will do my best to help Mondstadt solve its problem."
"Thank you, Mr. Yuu."
After finalizing our agreement, I asked another question that's on my mind.
"Acting Grand Master."
"What is it, Mr. Yuu?"
"You mentioned yesterday that you'd be able to help Lumine search her brother better if the interference within the ley line were gone. How exactly would that work?"
"Ah, Lisa can explain it better than I could."
Responding to my question, the purple witch continued.
"The ley lines contain elemental energy and memories of everything that has lived in this world, both on the surface and the abyss.
"If the interference disappears, I can access the memories within the ley line of Mondstadt and try to see if her brother had been in Mondstadt or its surrounding area.
"It's not a surefire method, but it would be a lot more helpful, don't you think?"
'I knew that ley line contains memories of the world, but I didn't know people could read them directly from the source.'
"Can anyone access the ley lines' memory?"
"Not if you don't know the intricacies. Though I might not be as knowledgeable about this compared to the Hexenzirkel, I know enough to know how to do it."
'I don't think I've heard of Hexenzirkel before. I don't really pay that much attention to the deeper lore of Teyvat though, so I guess it's not surprising.'
"Thank you for the clarification. When will the operation start?"
"We'll gather at the city gate today. You will be going with Lisa to the Temple of the Lion and deal with whatever it is inside, Ms. Lumine will be going to the Temple of the Falcon alongside Amber, and Kaeya will deal with the Temple of the Wolf."
"Alone?"
"Don't worry, despite his attitude he's actually very strong. You don't have to worry about him. Though I would love to help, the knights are severely understaffed, and I can't risk Mondstadt's safety."
"Understandable. If that's all, then I'll be taking my leave."
"Thank you for lending your assistance, Mr. Yuu."
"You're very welcome, Acting Grand Master."
Our discussion finished, I exited Jean's office and made my way out of the knights headquarters.
On my way back to Good Hunter, I could no longer suppress my excitement.
"I'm rich!"