In Douluo Continent, my summoning of Naxi Da was exposed by the heavens.

Diluc remained as serious as ever, just as the Traveler, Paimon, walked in.

"Kaeya, Rosalia, Diluc! I knew I'd meet you here."

"Sigh, looks like it's going to get even noisier later."

On the moon, Wendy looked at the sky and smiled: "Hey, Diluc is still the same as ever. Although the wine in the Angel's Gift is delicious, he should still smile at him more."

"I completely agree with that. Always having a long face isn't a good thing. I've told him that many times, but it hasn't had much effect."

He probably finds you guys annoying.

Sandoni made a blunt remark.

"Hehe, although he didn't say it out loud, I can tell it's just like what you said."

"Heh, Sandorne, don't you think that Mr. Diluc sometimes resembles you?"

Not at all! I'm not a poker face.

Gui Zhong found it quite amusing to watch Sandoni and Columbia bicker.

Back on the celestial screen, Kaeya smiled and said, "A little liveliness is never a bad thing, is it? What brings you here, Paimon the Traveler?"

"I have three letters here!"

The scene changes, and Falga recounts the contents of the three letters.

"Please allow me to express my regret once again over what happened to your father and Iroq. We will never tolerate any evil."

I also hope you will seriously consider the questions I asked you before you set off, even though you may be tired of hearing them, but the Knights of Favonius will always welcome you.

The letter was written by Grand Master Falgar to Diluc. After reading it, Diluc simply snorted coldly.

"Judging from your expression, the Grand Commander asked about that matter again in his letter, didn't he?"

"That guy talks like an old man, no surprise."

"Huh? That thing? What is it?"

Paimon asked, puzzled.

"It's nothing serious. Before the expeditionary force set off this time, Falga came here to have a drink with me, and I couldn't avoid him."

He asked me if I would like to rejoin the Knights, and I refused. He expressed his regret and asked me to reconsider. It was that simple.

"It's been glossed over in just two sentences; it's not simple at all."

"The entanglements beyond these two sentences are all in the past, and discussing them is of no benefit to the present."

"That's true, but you were quite hung up on it back then, weren't you? You were practically irreconcilable with the Knights."

"I didn't think things through enough back then, but I have now. My answer hasn't changed; I don't plan to return to the Knights."

Both the former leader and the current acting leader are people who are too upright and honest.

Those at the top, because the organization is so vast, cannot see the shadows below; therefore, someone must remain vigilant outside the Knights.

"It's the same old story. I don't deny your point in the first part, but don't you think these things could be done within the Knights of Favonius?"

"Joining an organization means becoming bound by that organization, no matter how free it may appear in form."

Rosalia answered the question for Diluc, but Kaeya followed up, "Oh? Putting aside the Knights' code of conduct... were you really bound by the Church of Favonius?"

"Good question. Could this be the reason I chose to join the Church of Favonius instead of the Knights of Favonius?"

Paimon was completely bewildered.

Are they arguing? It doesn't seem like it to me.

"They weren't arguing, they just had different ways of protecting each other."

On the moon, Wendy nodded in approval.

"As expected of an honorary knight, he understands things thoroughly. Protection has never been limited to one form, and whether or not you join the knight order is not that important."

"Sigh, I just think Diluc... never mind, let's not talk about it. If he doesn't want to join, he doesn't want to join. Mondstadt is a free country."

"That's more like it. Do you have any wine?"

"My Lord Wind God, I just arrived. Where would I get some wine?"

"Old man, do you have any wine?"

"No! You can ask the owner here."

"Master? Is this the moon? Miss Moon Goddess, do you have any wine?"

"Would you like some wine? I actually prepared some; please have a taste."

The goddess of March has come.

"Are you perhaps the goddesses of March?"

"Yes, Mr. Falgar, thank you for your efforts in rescuing my little sister."

"Haha, that's what we should do, after all, we have to deal with that Doctor guy."

"The wine from the Goddess of March tastes quite different. Falga, you should try some too."

"OK!"

Falgar and Wendy started drinking again.

Back on the celestial screen, Paimon said, seemingly understanding, "Is it like what Captain Jean said in the contingency plan—the more ways to protect our home, the better? Hmm? Traveler?"

The traveler looked at Diluc, while Kaeya and Rosalia seemed slightly distracted.

"Could this scene... be what Falgar wanted to see?"

The three of them then considered how to reply to Falga.

"Let me think, what is there that I need to report to the Grand Commander?"

The security situation, the movements of monsters outside the city, and the latest wine reviews... Heh, the more I think about it, the more I realize.

It must be Kaeya who's thinking about these things.

"My reply will not be long, as always, and I believe Falgar will not be surprised."

This is Diluc.

"I sent a letter to that old man, and you all had to listen to a lot of pointless arguments, didn't you? I'll tell him in my reply to stop causing trouble for others."

"It's not much trouble. We were just delivering the message for Lorne and came to see you while we were at it."

"Besides, what you did wasn't really an argument, it was just protecting Mondstadt from different perspectives."

"You see things clearly. Neither I nor they were willing to fall into the old man's trap."

"Oh no, we've fallen for their trap! What does that mean? Could it be that what Falga said in the letter wasn't true?"

"No, although Falgar knows Diluc won't join the Knights. But his concern in the letter, and his statement that he's always welcome back to the Knights, are genuine."

Unlike people like me and Kaeya, the purest righteous are also the most prone to going to extremes when faced with great changes, as has happened in Mondstadt in the past.

And it just so happens to happen within the North Wind system, which is why he's probably ten times more talkative than usual.

"A righteous person going to extremes? And this is happening within the Northern faction?"

"Hmm? Has no one told you that the legacy of the Knights of the North Wind nearly died out twice? Once was at the very beginning, and the other time was this incident."

"Ah! Didn't Qin just mention that, but then the topic went off-topic? I didn't ask what happened the second time?"

"I only heard about it when the old man was drinking and bragging. The second crisis happened 500 years ago."