If she remembered correctly, Si Luo should be a stranger who had just arrived in this world like herself, and she had been staying with him almost all the time during this period, and she had no idea when he got to know the God of Wind.
"Just yesterday morning, didn't I say I met a bard?"
Si Luo responded with a chuckle, and Wendy also greeted Ying with a smile on her face.
"Nice to meet you, traveler from a foreign land. My name is Wendy. As you can see, I am a bard that can be found everywhere~"
"..."
"Barbatos...your personality is still as carefree as ever..."
Although Wendy's expression was a little frivolous, it didn't make people feel disgusted. Tevarin beside him couldn't help but sigh and continued.
"As you can see, Mondstadt no longer needs my protection... It can even be said that it no longer needs your presence..."
"It seems that your original choice was not wrong. The current Mond is the best proof of this."
"Yeah... you've worked really hard over the years, Tevarin."
Wendy very rarely put away the casual smile on her face, and reached out her hand to stroke Twarin's head seriously.
"Everything is in accordance with the original agreement with you... But, Barbatos, I hope you can answer a question for me."
Tevarin responded calmly, while looking at it with his dragon eyes full of seriousness.
"I chose to follow you because I yearn for freedom... but now, I suddenly have a question."
"Oh? What's the question?"
Wendy seemed to sense what Tevarin wanted to say, and a rather pleasant smile once again appeared on her face.
"That is, can the freedom commanded by the God of Freedom still be called true freedom?"
Tevarin recalled the days when he once flew freely in the sky, but everything disappeared with the outbreak of the Demon War, until the Seven Rulings of the Midgard became the final victors and ended the Demon War. In return and out of his yearning for the God of Freedom, he chose to become a follower of the God of Wind and, under his command, protected Mondstadt for thousands of years.
But now it has finally realized that this agreement is also a kind of constraint.
It was not that he had any resentment or dissatisfaction towards Barbatos. Tevarin simply had a new idea and tried to get a satisfactory response from his good friend.
"Of course not…Tevalin."
Wendy responded with a smile, removing her hand from its head.
"I'm glad you asked that question...and please allow me to apologize."
"A free wind dragon should not obey anyone's orders. It's just that when Mondstadt was first established, without the rule of the gods, I couldn't guarantee that the people of Mondstadt could continue to develop smoothly, so I made this agreement with you."
"From now on, in the name of Barbatos, the god of wind, I will free you from the bondage of the guardian of the four winds."
"From now on, you can fly freely under this sky as you please, and nothing will constrain you anymore."
Wendy never treated Tevarin as a subordinate, but as a true friend. It was Tevarin himself who made the agreement with Wendy to let him serve as the Guardian of the Four Winds. However, Wendy did not expect that it was only today that he finally understood the true meaning of freedom.
"Of course, whether you want to continue to be my servant or not depends on your mood~"
At the end, Wendy returned to his previous frivolous attitude, making Ying unable to tell which one was his true face for a moment.
...
A few minutes later, as Tevarin carried Wendy into the sky again, Si Luo also brought Ying back to the lower level.
"Captain Qin, aren't you going to meet the God of Wind?"
After leaving Si Luo's arms, Ying looked at Qin who was still a little reserved, and couldn't help but ask curiously.
"Um…"
Qin responded with some hesitation.
"Since Lord Barbatos did not choose to show up on this floor, perhaps he does not want me to know his current identity."
Obviously, Qin's honest character destined her to be the type who would think too much. Although Wendy really did not want to expose her current identity, it did not mean that she no longer trusted Qin.
"Really... Just now, Wen... Well, the Wind God told us that you did a good job. Now it can finally rest assured."
"Let's not talk about this for now. Now that the matter has been dealt with, it's almost time for us to go back."
"After all, every day the dragon disaster is delayed will cause more panic to the residents of Mondstadt... And, Jyn, you don't want Tevarin to bear this bad reputation forever, do you?"
"Yes! The East Wind Dragon is Mondstadt's guardian dragon. I will never let it bear such a bad reputation...Although Mondstadt was severely damaged by the dragon disaster this time, fortunately there were no casualties. This way, there is room for maneuver."
Qin responded without hesitation, and even his overly straightforward character showed a little flexibility at this moment.
"Si Luo, what do you think we should say then?"
"It's very simple. You just need to pass on the news that the guardian dragon, who had been sleeping for five hundred years, has reappeared, and then give a proper explanation for its previous behavior."
"When Tevarin wreaked havoc in Mondstadt before, it was mainly the airflow generated by his flight that caused financial losses to the city. You just need to note this and let the people of Mondstadt know that this was an unintentional mistake by the Dragon of the East Wind."
"After all, for the residents of a country, there is nothing more joyful than having a powerful patron saint."
Especially at this stage, Mondstadt has also received an envoy from the Kingdom of Winterfell. As the most active country and force in the continent of Teyvat, the reputation of the Fatui of the Kingdom of Winterfell is extremely bad among ordinary people. In addition, most of Mondstadt's combat forces are now on expeditions. Therefore, if Tevarin's identity can be confirmed at this critical moment, it will definitely be a shot in the arm for Mondstadt now.
"Well, that's what I thought too."
Qin showed a very happy smile on her face, because Si Luo's idea was roughly the same as hers. The feeling of being in sync with her made this older sister who had never had any emotional experience instinctively feel happy.
...
The way back was obviously much easier than the way there. As the suppressed emotions that had been pent up in Qin's heart for a long time were finally released, the long-lost feeling of relaxation even made her want to play outside for a while longer.
But she was not the type to neglect her duties. In order to return to Mondstadt as soon as possible, she spared no effort to add wind elemental power to the carriage, allowing them to return to Mondstadt in the early morning.
"Thank you for all your hard work this time! Si Luo, and Ying... well, Paimon as well. You should take a good rest from now on. I will go back to the Knights to deal with the announcement to be released today. I will come to see you again after you have rested well."
Because it was late at night, Qin asked Si Luo to drive the carriage directly into Mondstadt, and when he arrived at the house arranged for him, he spoke softly.
"Well, let's go back and rest first."
Ying nodded, and without waiting for Si Luo to speak, she hugged Paimeng, who was sleeping soundly on his head, into her arms and gave him a knowing look.
No matter how you look at it, Jyn is also a girl, and letting her leave alone late at night doesn't seem right. Besides, she doesn't care much about the relationship between Si Luo and Jyn. After all, as the acting leader of the Knights Templar, she certainly cannot leave Mond, and Si Luo doesn't seem to be the kind of person who would be bound by a certain area, so no matter how you look at it, she has a greater chance of winning.
This may be the so-called margin of the queen.
"You don't have to wait for me. I'll be back as soon as I'm done."
Si Luo chuckled and touched Ying's head. Then, seeing the girl's somewhat surprised expression, he took the initiative to touch her tender cheek in front of other people for the first time, just like a man reporting to his wife before going out.
"Um…"
Ying kissed him in return with a blushing face, then turned around and quickly walked into the house. Si Luo touched his cheek, which still had the warmth of the girl's lips, chuckled, and sat back again.
"Okay, let's finish the work soon, and you should have some rest."
Qin's sleep quality was obviously very poor these two days, and she hadn't had a good rest for a long time. So after relaxing her tense nerves, Qin's face showed an unconcealable fatigue.
"Eh?"
Before Qin could react, Si Luo had already driven the carriage along the main road towards the Knights' headquarters.
"How can I continue to trouble you?"
Qin subconsciously wanted to stop him, but because of the sudden shaking of the carriage, she lost her balance and fell directly onto Si Luo's back. Her soft breasts pressed tightly against Si Luo through the clothes, making him unable to help but reveal a look of enjoyment.
"..."
Qin was obviously a little dazed. It was not until a few seconds later that she suddenly left him and returned to the carriage with red cheeks.
"Okay, no need to be so polite. We are close comrades now."
Si Luo, who had taken advantage, did not bully the other party too much. He chuckled and spoke.
"And you've seen it too. If I don't do anything, Ying will definitely blame me when I get back."
"Um…"
Qin was not too naive to say that these things had nothing to do with Si Luo. What's more, the captain, who subconsciously had already regarded him as a trustworthy person, was still at a loss about the close contact just now. Therefore, she did not bother to discuss these things with Si Luo, but just nodded instinctively.
More than ten minutes later, as the carriage stopped in front of the gate of the Knights' headquarters, the two knights in charge of guarding came forward and after confirming Qin's identity, they watched them enter the headquarters with respectful expressions.
"Um... Si Luo, I'm going to trouble you again later."
Qin lowered her head and walked towards the office with Si Luo, speaking softly.
After all, he had already said that, so Qin naturally did not continue to refuse his kindness. Moreover, although she did not want to admit it, she was actually secretly happy at the thought of being alone in a room with Si Luo later.
However, when she pushed open the door of the office, the joy in her heart instantly disappeared.
"Oh? Welcome back, Qin, and Mr. Si Luo~"
Lisa, who was sitting at her desk, flipping through a book, heard the door open. She raised her head slightly, noticed their figures, and a gentle smile immediately appeared on her face.
"From the looks of you, things should be going smoothly."
"Well... everything went well... but..."
"Lisa…why are you still here so late?"
Qin looked at her friend with a hint of helplessness, but still brought Si Luo to the desk and asked with a little confusion.
"Of course I helped you with the work... After all, I'm not good at this kind of thing, so I didn't finish it until just now."
Lisa looked at her with a hint of resentment, then stood up and gave her her seat. She left her desk and sat down next to Si Luo.
"By the way, why are you two going back to the office together so late? What are you planning to do?"
Lisa showed a teasing smile on her face, and Qin blushed instantly when she heard her words, and stood up in a panic.
"No! It's just that Si Luo wants to help me prepare the announcement for tomorrow, so..."
"Si Luo, that's really an intimate name~"
However, for Lisa, who knew Qin's character well, these reactions were basically equivalent to explicit statements, so the smile on her face became even more intense.
Chapter 18: Honorable Knight, Knocking on the Door at Midnight
"Lisa!"
Qin, who was somewhat angry and embarrassed, looked at her friend with an extremely dangerous look, and Lisa stopped teasing Qin and smiled and turned the topic to Si Luo.
"Yes, yes~ Then, Mr. Si Luo, can you tell me what happened exactly?"
Although she had felt that Si Luo had a good impression of her before, it was only after sitting with him that Lisa truly experienced what comfort was.
Just by sitting together, she could feel an indescribable sense of security from Si Luo, and even made her want to get closer to him.
It’s a pity that there is Qin in the room, so even if she has bold ideas, she can only suppress them in her heart.
"It's nothing."
Si Luo leaned back slightly, leaning comfortably on the sofa, and then told her roughly about Tevarin's affairs and the decision he made with Qin.
"So that's how it is... It seems that this dragon disaster might be a good thing after all."
Although she already knew that Tevarin was once the Guardian of the Four Winds, and had speculated that it might have been affected by something, Lisa did not expect that everything would go so smoothly.
"Regarding this, it depends on personal opinion."
Si Luo responded rather casually.
"After all, the East Wind Dragon has already received the consent of the Wind God and resigned from the role of Guardian of the Four Winds. So even if we really want to ask it to take action, I'm afraid it won't be able to do so."
Perhaps when Mond is really facing the crisis of destruction, Tevarin will choose to help Mond survive the disaster, but that is only in accordance with its own ideas, and no longer based on the expectations of the people of Mond.
"That's enough... After all, as long as we can make it clear that it is not our enemy and that it was once the Guardian of the Four Winds... then as long as it flies in Mondstadt for one day, it will become one of our confidences in dealing with the outside world."
Lisa responded nonchalantly.
Compared to Jyn, who wanted more to clear Tevarin's name, Lisa's considerations were more realistic and long-term. As for the fact that the Dragon of the East Wind would no longer respond to the call of the people of Mondstadt - if high-end combat power could be easily dispatched, then if there were any conflicts between the seven countries, wouldn't it be better to just let their respective gods fight each other and that would be the end of it.
Finding that Si Luo and Lisa seemed to be chatting very happily, the somewhat jealous captain lowered her head with dissatisfaction. At this moment, she suddenly realized that there were two thick stacks of documents beside her legs. She subconsciously reached out and picked up one and flipped through it. She suddenly frowned and looked at Lisa again.
"Wait, Lisa...are you sure you have all these documents taken care of?"
"Hmm? You mean the ones down there? Aren't those the files you've already processed?"
Lisa was also stunned for a moment, and responded in a daze.
"..."
"That's because there's no room on the table, so I put it down there! Although it's a lower priority, it will still have a significant impact if it's not handled on time!"
Qin responded with a headache, then picked him up from the ground.
"Compared to these, the top priority now is the East Wind Dragon..."
