Amber's expressive eyes looked at Gong Qu with a glimmer of hope.
She was waiting—waiting for him to say something like, "That was just Eula joking around."
But Gong Qu wasn't the kind of man to offer such a feeble lie.
As Lumine had put it—
Since the feelings of these girls were all directed at him, he had to stand right at the center of the storm.
"Eula was right. Ah Qing and Lumine… they're both my wings. I really am that shamelessly fickle and guilty kind of man."
But in the very next second, Gong Qu realized he had seriously underestimated the freedom-loving spirit of Mondstadt.
"Uh, well... here in Mondstadt, our East Wind guardian, Dvalin, has three pairs—six wings."
What was that supposed to mean?
Angel Amber, were you... were you hinting at something just now? You were hinting, weren't you?
Gong Qu said nothing. Amber said nothing either—just kept sneaking glances his way.
Then she suddenly remembered something. "Oh no! I totally forgot—I was supposed to find Klee!"
"Klee?"
"Yeah! A few days ago she blew up some fish at Starfell Lake, and Acting Grand Master Jean grounded her. I was supposed to take her out for a bit of fresh air today. But then Jean and the others headed out to clear monsters from Whispering Woods, so she asked me to keep an eye on Klee."
Gong Qu noticed that Amber had been heading out of the Knights' HQ, not in. He raised a brow. "Let me guess—your little sunshine of the Knights has slipped away again?"
"Ugh... yeah!"
"Well, I've got nothing urgent. I'll come help you find her."
That was a lie.
He'd finally gotten the chance to travel into the world of Teyvat.
And of all the characters who weren't "waifus," but rather felt like an adorable daughter—Klee was the one he most wanted to meet.
"Really? Thanks a million!" Amber pulled out a small gadget resembling a pocket watch. "Lisa made this elemental locator—it can track the trail of Klee's escape."
She pressed a button.
A bright red filament of Pyro elemental energy streamed out, pointing straight toward the southern district.
"Oh no... you don't think she overheard Eula and Jean talking last night and decided to run off to Whispering Woods too, do you?"
"Logically speaking, it's not impossible."
"Suddenly I feel a chill down my spine…! Uh—Traveler, not blaming you! Come on, let's go!"
After being hit by a wave of nonsense on the level of Liyue's philosophy classes, Amber decided to spare Gong Qu from embarrassment and sprinted ahead.
Gong Qu followed with an easy stride, admiring her silently: What a great girl...
Clip-clop-clop!
"What the—what the hell was that?!"
"Swan, why are you yelling again?"
"Lawrence! Just now—something zipped past! Something red. Like a ghost!"
"Did you not sleep again? Were you drinking all night yesterday?"
"I wasn't drinking! I swear something just flew by—so fast I didn't even catch its shadow!"
"Pfft. Yeah right. I'll believe it when it—"
Whoosh!
Whoosh-whoosh!
Two shadows—one red, one black—raced openly through the space between the two Mondstadt guards.
A sharp, bone-chilling wind followed in their wake.
Lawrence and Swan exchanged a glance. What they saw in each other's eyes was unmistakable: sheer terror.
"See?! I told you! Something bad is out here today!"
"We… we should report this to the Knights. Let Jean handle it."
"Agreed!! Six-Fingered Jose wasn't lying—there is a red devil loose in Mondstadt!"
"Six-Fingered Jose? Isn't he that bard at Angel's Share? Didn't you say you weren't drinking last night?!"
"Klee! Stop running! Come back to Mondstadt with me—I won't tell Jean you snuck out!"
Amber leapt nimbly over trees, stone posts, and lampposts, her legs moving in a blur, steadily gaining on the little red figure dashing ahead.
Her agility alone proved that Mondstadt's Outrider Knights weren't just for show.
But Amber's calls didn't slow Klee down one bit—in fact, they seemed to make her run faster, like an adrenaline-fueled game of tag.
Still, a child's stamina is limited.
Even though Klee wielded a Vision, she soon began to tire from the intense sprinting.
And the moment she lost focus, she tripped—missing a step and tumbling forward, head-first toward the ground.
"Klee!—"
Amber's heart jumped. She didn't hesitate—she ignited the Pyro energy in her legs, ready to burst forward at the cost of muscle and bone if necessary.
"Don't panic—I've got this."
A large hand gently held her back.
The violent Pyro aura flaring off Amber faded away, and in a blink, Gong Qu—who'd been trailing her—flashed past at lightning speed, positioning himself in front of the falling child.
With a soft thud, Klee slammed into his belly.
Thump!
The impact rang out dull and heavy.
Gong Qu skidded backward across the sand, his back scraping the ground—but the little girl in his arms was completely unharmed.
"Klee, are you alright?"
Klee blinked dizzily and looked toward Amber. "Klee... Klee's okay. S-Sorry, Amber-sis..."
"It's okay. But actually, Klee, you should be apologizing to someone else."
Only then did Klee realize she was still sitting on someone.
Her head turned slowly.
When she saw Gong Qu's face, her eyes—timid as a baby deer's—suddenly lit up.
"Yay! It's Big Brother Traveler! You finally came back to see Klee!"
She threw her arms around Gong Qu's neck before he could even get up.
Her little legs kicked excitedly in the air, her joy radiating from every inch of her body.
Gong Qu gently patted her back.
"Long time no see, little Klee. Did you miss me?"
"I did! Mama said you went somewhere really far away and wouldn't come back for a long time, so I drew all my adventures in pictures while I waited for you to come back and see!"
"Wow, that's amazing, Klee." He playfully booped her nose, heart melting at how serious she looked.
He wondered—if he and Keqing or Lumine had a kid someday, would they be this adorable?
The thought drifted through his mind like sunlight through leaves, and he suddenly gave off the gentle aura of a doting father.
Honestly, he and Klee really did look like father and daughter right now.
Amber shook her head, pushing the dangerous idea from her mind, then shot a silent apology to Miss Alice.
"Alright, Klee, time to stop clinging to your big brother—we need to get back to Mondstadt before Jean and the others start worrying."
"No! Klee has to help Captain Jean!"
To everyone's surprise, the little girl instantly shook her head like a rattle.
"Klee, be good." Amber folded her arms, putting on her big-sister voice.
Klee shrank into Gong Qu's chest, mumbling, "Klee saw lots of fluffy things yesterday... they were setting traps to hurt Captain Jean! Mama said fluffy things are bad people... so Klee has to go help beat the bad guys!"
"Fluffy... things?"
Amber blinked, trying to decode the child's logic.
"I think... I think she means them."
—lanlanlu~
A group of blue-furred Abyss Mages—looking more like plush toys than monsters—chanted strange spells and launched an attack at the trio.