Lumine turned her head to glance at Jiang Chen.
What kind of talk was that? It felt rather strange.
Were those lines from some bizarre, cringe-inducing public spectacle?
Still, Amber had at least gathered their identities.
Instead of pressing further on that matter, she asked the three of them about what had happened the previous day inside the Whispering Woods.
"Did any of you see what happened deep in the forest yesterday?"
"Could you tell me in detail?"
"I'm currently investigating this incident."
Amber looked at the three of them with a completely serious expression.
Hearing this, Jiang Chen and Lumine exchanged glances, and once again, the silent bride act went live.
Even Paimon kept her mouth shut this time, leaving Jiang Chen to do the explaining.
Seeing their reaction, Jiang Chen was somewhat speechless.
"We were the participants."
"What do you think?"
Without the slightest hesitation, Jiang Chen proceeded to recount the events of the previous day.
Upon hearing this, Amber was instantly filled with question marks.
"Huh?"
They were the participants?
At that moment, Amber was somewhat bewildered.
"Yesterday we ran into a dragon!"
"And then... it roared at me!!"
"I just couldn't take it anymore at the time, so I grabbed my weapon and charged."
"As a result, just as we knocked it down, a scantily clad fellow who called himself Barbatos appeared."
"They said that dragon was Dvalin, some sort of protector of Mondstadt."
"Then he even thanked us for helping him defeat the other party so he could recover, yadda yadda."
"In the end, after he healed the dragon, he left with it."
"Before leaving, though, he said that if we ever travel around Teyvat and run out of money, we can just go to the Knights of Favonius."
Jiang Chen explained with a deadpan expression.
Lumine and Paimon looked at each other.
Oh boy.
Was that last part even true?
Wasn't Jiang Chen just running a scam?
Paimon opened her mouth to say something, only to be glared at by Lumine.
Fine, she wouldn't say a word!!
Still, she felt that lying to people was wrong.
Was this really going to be alright?
Amber actually seemed to believe it!!
"It really was Lord Barbatos!!"
"That's wonderful, Lord Barbatos has appeared again!"
Having listened to Jiang Chen's explanation, Amber was practically buzzing with excitement.
She didn't doubt it in the least.
After all, this lined up almost perfectly with what she had suspected yesterday.
That wind barrier had definitely been created by Lord Barbatos.
Only he could conjure a wind barrier like that.
As for the rest of the story, Amber believed seven or eight parts out of ten.
After all, since Jiang Chen had been of such great help, it was only right for her Knights of Favonius to do this much.
It was only Mora; the Knights still had some to spare.
"You three!!"
"We're setting off for Mondstadt right now."
"Please follow me."
"I'm going to take you to see Acting Grand Master Jean."
"We need to report this good news to Acting Grand Master Jean immediately."
Without a moment's hesitation after confirming these details, Amber resolutely turned around and headed back the way she had come.
Right now, she could barely wait to run straight back and brief Acting Grand Master Jean on the matter.
"Alright!"
Seeing her anxious demeanor, Jiang Chen smiled and nodded.
Then, he gave Lumine a subtle look, signaling her to keep up.
Seeing this, Lumine promptly grabbed Paimon and joined Jiang Chen in following Amber toward Mondstadt.
Amber marched eagerly in the front, while Jiang Chen, Lumine, and Paimon trailed behind.
"Jiang Chen, you're lying to people!!"
Paimon finally couldn't hold it in anymore.
She began to grumble in a small voice.
Barbatos never said any of that!
Hearing Paimon's words, Jiang Chen shot her a sideways glance.
"Don't you want to eat a big feast every single day from now on?"
As soon as those words came out, Paimon was instantly handled.
"Of course I do!!"
"Who wouldn't want that!!"
"Are you going to treat me, Jiang Chen?"
Paimon stared at Jiang Chen with shining eyes.
"No money, not treating you!"
"Lumine and I are completely broke."
"If we don't do this, how do you expect us to eat and stay at an inn once we get into Mondstadt?"
"Go rummaging through trash cans?"
"We're not that person from next door."
"Besides, you'll need money for your travels in the future, too."
Jiang Chen lectured Paimon earnestly.
This little creature had zero street smarts.
If you don't cash in now, what are you waiting for?
Besides, Barbatos wouldn't care anyway.
If he did mind, they could just buy him a few drinks and call it square.
They had helped Mondstadt solve a massive problem after all—what was wrong with asking for some money?
You couldn't just ask for nothing, could you?
Taking some useless honorary title like Honorary Knight?
Get real!!
Mora in hand was what truly mattered.
After Jiang Chen put it that way, Paimon immediately fell silent.
For the sake of her wonderful future life, she declared that she would listen to Jiang Chen.
Lumine glanced at Jiang Chen and nodded.
Very well!
She fully approved of Jiang Chen's approach!!
Doing it this way was simply fantastic.
"Fifty-fifty split!"
Without any nonsense, she directly demanded an equal share.
"No problem!"
"Fifty-fifty it is."
"Mmm... we can do a few other things later, too."
"Since we're going to live in this world, we naturally need to make a bit more money, don't we?"
"It's just a pity I don't have the Golden Rule. If I did, I wouldn't have to resort to this."
In this world, moving an inch without Mora was impossible.
They couldn't just live out a wilderness survival reality show every day.
To this, Lumine expressed her full agreement.
Indeed!!
If she could cash in on a fortune, she was definitely going to take it.
"What else are you planning to do?"
Lumine watched as Amber ran further and further ahead, then asked the question.
Did Jiang Chen still have some other scheme for making money up his sleeve?
"I'll keep it a secret for now."
"I'll tell you when the time comes."
"You'll definitely get your share."
Jiang Chen knew very well where else they could unearth some cash.
There were quite a few good things buried right beneath Windrise.
When they eventually left Mondstadt, they'd go dig that stash up!!
Take those bottles of wine over to Liyue to sell.
Then, find an opportunity to rob Northland Bank for a round.
By then, everyone would be rolling in cash!!
Initial capital was always bloody.
For the sake of his own wonderful life, he hoped Barbatos wouldn't hold it against him!!
Once he achieved financial freedom later on, he could just buy some more and bury it back.
Jiang Chen thought to himself secretly.
Inside Stormterror's Lair, Barbatos suddenly sneezed.
He had this strange feeling that something bad was about to happen?
He tried sensing the information drifting through the wind, but there was no feedback at all.
"The Fatui?"
Barbatos frowned slightly.
Those fellows were currently stirring up trouble all over Mondstadt.
Could it be that they were plotting some nefarious scheme?
No, he still needed to keep an eye on them from the shadows!!
With that thought, he cut short his reminiscing with Dvalin.
After soothing the dragon for a bit and making sure everything was fine, Venti vanished.
Those three fellows were about to reach Mondstadt soon anyway.
Besides, he had heard the entire conversation between Jiang Chen and Amber.
Oh boy, they were actually planning to use his name to scam money out of the city!!
Simply outrageous!!
No, he had to make Jiang Chen cut him in for a share.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have any money for wine!!
Having made up his mind, Venti also transformed into a wisp of breeze and returned to the city of Mondstadt.
As for Jiang Chen, Lumine, and the others, they arrived inside Mondstadt just before sundown.
They had kept up an accelerated pace the entire way, otherwise, they could never have made it in such a short time.