In Teyvat, it all begins with rescuing the grass god.

This time.

He did not encounter the Wind Demon Dragon again.

The journey was smooth, and it took less than a day to reach Mondstadt.

It's very far away.

Rhodes saw Mondstadt's most iconic windmills, not just one, but more than a dozen giant windmills that were visible to the naked eye.

"The Great Wind Machine."

"Bah, bah, bah -"

The words that involuntarily popped into his mind made Rod quickly spit out a curse, shaking these strange thoughts out of his head.

We mustn't follow in the footsteps of Sino!

Rhodes carried his luggage and walked along, crossing a stone bridge. With the gatekeeper's voice saying, "May the wind god protect you," he strolled leisurely into Mondstadt.

Just entered the city.

Rhodes witnessed firsthand the destruction that Stormterror had inflicted on Mondstadt.

This guy seems to have an exceptionally deep hatred for Mondstadt.

The city, which should have been bustling and lively, was now shrouded in gloom, with occasional cries heard.

The buildings in Mondstadt are very sturdy, all of them high-strength houses made of cement bricks and stones.

The hurricane unleashed by the Storm Dragon was powerful, but it did not cause any damage to the buildings.

A city should have many small stalls, but here you can't see a single one.

Along the way, you can see some wounded people with bandages wrapped around their bodies, including adults and children. Some priests dressed as nuns are praying for them and treating them.

This is a prayer pastor from the Church of the West Wind, who is skilled in healing.

Rhodes remained silent.

They traversed the streets, heading straight for the headquarters of the Knights of Favonius.

He made a point of looking around, trying to find the wind god who was wandering the mortal world as a bard.

I didn't see it either in the tavern or under the statue of the wind god.

This made Rod frown.

Am I too late?

The Wind God had actually gone with the blond traveler to plan how to resolve the Stormterror's disaster.

This thought prompted Rhodes to quicken his pace, and he arrived at the headquarters of the Knights of Favonius a few minutes later.

I briefly explained my requirements.

Rhodes successfully arrived at the Knights of Favonius' library, led by a Knight of Favonius, and met his senior sister.

Regarding Rhodes' arrival.

Lisa, who was having afternoon tea, showed great interest.

She put down her teacup, carefully read through the letter written by Gülech, and then smiled at Rhodes, saying, "You're the junior brother in Professor Gülech's letter! I was wondering when you would arrive, and I didn't expect to see you so soon. What a pleasant surprise!"

Lisa was dressed as a typical witch, wearing a wide-brimmed purple magic hat with a purple rose pinned to it, befitting her title of Rose Witch. Although it was during working hours, she seemed incredibly relaxed, and her tone when speaking to Rhodes was languid.

"Senior Sister Lisa."

Rhodes performed the scholar's greeting according to the etiquette of the Church, and then said, "Professor's letter should have explained why I am here."

"Oh~"

"We have come on the orders of the Grass God to help the Knights of the Stormterror defeat Mondstadt and restore peace to the land."

"Haha~~"

"Professor Gülesh is still so blunt. Hmm, he's already made up his mind. You absolutely have to help your junior brother, don't make me beg you!"

Lisa spoke without any mercy, quoting what Gülech had written in his letter, showing no consideration whatsoever for her teacher.

"Uh"

Since it concerned the teacher's image, Rod couldn't say anything. He could only scratch his head and ask, "Shouldn't you be able to meet that acting leader, senior sister? It's not appropriate for me, an outsider, to meet her. I'll need you to help me with the introduction."

You mean the zither?

"Then you might have to wait a long time. Mondstadt has been hit by a storm, and she's been very busy lately."

Lisa shrugged and then asked, "Junior Brother, are you going to wait for her here?"

Let's not wait any longer.

Qin is very busy and it will take a long time, which is not good news.

After a moment's thought, Rhodes asked, "Senior sister, have any outsiders come to Mondstadt recently? For example, a traveler with blond hair who is accompanied by a humanoid, talking floating object?"

"A blonde traveler?"

"I haven't seen it, nor have I heard of it."

"What's wrong? Junior Brother, is there something special about this person?"

Lisa's answer reassured Rod a lot.

He set off immediately upon hearing the news of the storm in Mondstadt.

really.

They were progressing faster than the traveler who only entered the city when the typhoon was at its worst.

So he made up a reason and said, "It's nothing. I just ran into her once on my way to Mondstadt. Judging from the direction she was going, she seemed to be coming to Mondstadt as well, so I just asked her."

then.

Rod then asked the question he was most concerned about: "Senior sister, has a bard recently come to the city?"

"travelling poet?"

Lisa was a little puzzled by Rhodes' question, but she still answered seriously: "There is indeed one, and he didn't just arrive recently, but has been here for a while. He is very popular and has been Mondstadt's most popular bard for three consecutive years."

Great, Wendy is already in the city.

This news delighted Rod, who then asked, "Do you know where he usually performs, Senior Sister?"

Such a deliberate question.

This piqued Lisa's curiosity.

But she didn't ask anything, only replying: "The gift of the angels, the statue of the wind god in the square in front of the Church of Favonius, the Deer Hunter's restaurant, except for the Cattail Tavern, you can probably see him in every corner of Mondstadt."

This message is practically meaningless.

Rod gave a helpless laugh and said, "Okay, I understand. Then I won't disturb you having afternoon tea any longer. I'll come to visit you again when I have time."

"Okay."

"Oh, by the way, if Junior Brother wants to see Qin, you can come here tonight."

As Lisa said goodbye to Rod, she made another appointment with him.

Rhodes readily agreed and left the Knights of Favonius after waving goodbye to Lisa.

(End of this chapter)

163. Chapter 157: Solutions to the Current Situation, and Wendy (9000-word long chapter)

Chapter 157: Solutions to the Current Situation, and Wendy (9000-word long chapter)

Rhodes did not rush to find Wendy's whereabouts.

They left the Knights of Favonius.

He first found a place to stay, which became his base during his time in Mondstadt.

This is a two-story house with its own entrance.

It's not far from the Knights of Favonius; you can get there in a few minutes if you walk at a normal pace.

With the Knights of Favonius badge that Lisa gave him before she left, Rhodes managed to negotiate a discount with the landlord. The original requirement of paying one month's rent in advance and three months' rent upfront was waived, and he only needed to pay one month's rent upfront.

Standing on the second-floor balcony, you can see the gates of the Knights of Favonius to the north, and the famous Goethe Hotel to the east.

After obtaining the Snow Owl Ritual, Rhodes's eyesight became much stronger than before.

Even from two streets away, the Fools guarding the entrance to the Goethe Hotel were easily visible.

That place is now the stronghold of the Fools in Mondstadt.

As for why they didn't go to the embassy that Mondstadt had specially prepared, but instead insisted on coming to such a conspicuous hotel, that remains unknown.

All Rhodes knew was that this group, led by the Eighth Executor, was putting political pressure on Mondstadt, trying to forcibly intervene in the Dragon Plague incident and obtain information about Mondstadt's defenses.

Lisa had previously said that Qin was busy with official duties and that they could only meet when Qin had a break.

This is not just a perfunctory response to Rhodes.

She was so busy that she was almost overwhelmed.

Falgar, the Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius who should be the backbone of Mondstadt, led 80% of the Knights of Favonius' elite forces on an expedition to the northern border of Teyvat half a year ago, leaving Mondstadt's defenses at their weakest.

As Falgar's appointed acting leader, Jyn's work in Mondstadt initially went smoothly, and she was able to maintain the steady progress of various affairs.

But the arrival of Stormterror shattered this tranquility.

In Lisa's words.

The external disaster brought by the dragon plague was already a big problem. Then, under the attack of Stormterror, the monsters in the Mondstadt wilderness became more and more violent, forcing the Knights of Favonius to send out more people to maintain the security outside the city. This made the already stretched Knights of Favonius even more short-handed.

Even worse.

The Fatui, who were already extremely assertive in diplomacy against Mondstadt, took this opportunity to put constant pressure on Jean, with even a lowly diplomat daring to speak rudely to her, the acting leader.

These things piled up together.

She's busy with all sorts of things all day long, and even mealtimes are squeezed out of her schedule.

"That's quite troublesome."