Lumine pulled out the commission slip, looked at the distant camp, and then compared it to the map on the slip: "This is it. The commission's objective is to dismantle those two large towers, then just photograph them with the Camera."
Then, Lumine pulled out the Kamera and handed it to Paimon: "Paimon, same as always, the photos are up to you."
"No problem, guaranteed!" Paimon thumped her chest as she took the Camera.
There were many ways to complete this task, such as sniping the two towers from a distance with a bow and arrow, or sneaking over, dismantling them, and then quickly running away.
But Orion had a different solution.
"Why go over to dismantle them? You guys wait, it's just one Plunging Attack for me!" Orion looked at Amber, who was already preparing to throw baron bunny from afar, and Lumine, who was restless, declaring that he could finish it in one hit!
Lumine's eyelids twitched: "No, if you want to destroy them, why use a Plunging Attack? You could just use an Anemo blast from here, and I'd still have to tell you not to overdo it and plow the ground."
Amber also quickly waved her hands: "Oh no, that won't do! Try not to cause too much damage to the environment! Drawing maps and surveying terrain is very troublesome. If you destroy the terrain, I won't be able to accompany you later; I'll have to stay here alone to record."
Although Amber had no concept of Orion's power limit, from the one time she'd seen him act, she knew it was definitely on the level of changing terrain in a small area.
She believed that Mondstadt City would never again face difficulties that required Orion's intervention, never.
Never!
"That won't do, how can Amber be here alone? That's why I said to use a Plunging Attack, because I'm not using my own power, but relying on gravity, so the damage won't be too great." After Orion finished speaking, he had already rushed out.
At the Hilichurl camp, two Mitachurls sat on the ground, while a group of Hilichurls sharpened their weapons nearby.
On the high platform, a Hilichurl archer was patrolling the distance. Suddenly, it seemed to hear a whooshing sound.
"Dala?" (Who?)
The Hilichurl archer curiously looked around, then gazed up at the sky. Against the dazzling sun, a man was descending, swinging his fist.
"Yo ya mosi? (Have you eaten?)
If not, then listen to the roar of the sun!"
"Ya!" (Holy crap!)
Before the Hilichurls could curse, Orion had already punched the very center of the Hilichurl camp.
This was the first time Amber had witnessed such a scene.
As Orion's fist embedded into the ground, the entire surface—the soil and vegetation upon it—spread outwards like ripples.
Even from dozens of meters away, the ground felt a slight tremor.
This was definitely beyond human capability.
At the center of the ripples, the ground had completely caved in, earth and stone fractured. The Hilichurls in the center were flung into the air by the immense shockwave before they could even retaliate. A momentary sensation of weightlessness came, followed by falling to the ground and watching giant rocks fly towards their faces, and then the world plunged into darkness.
Orion stood up and looked around.
Not bad, no survivors.
He turned around and gave Paimon a peace sign. Paimon then snapped back to reality and pressed the shutter towards Orion, muttering at the same time: "He's only 1.8 meters tall and already so strong. How strong would he be if he turned back into 150 meters?"
Lumine looked at Amber: "Does this level of damage require you to stay here and redraw the map?"
Amber came back to her senses and shook her head: "I'll probably have to write a report, but there's no need to stay here to draw a map."
"Then let's go find Orion too."
With that, Lumine unfurled her wind glider and glided over. Amber and Paimon followed closely behind.
Orion was bending down on the ground, picking up Hilichurl drops.
"Mask fragments, mask fragments... Sigh, I wonder if collecting so many will be useful. The real Teyvat doesn't seem to have a concept of ascending, so besides exchanging these for money at the Adventurers Guild, they don't seem to have any other use, do they?"
Just then, the Primogems for completing the first daily commission arrived, and the reward amount was actually double what Lumine would have received alone.
"What? So if I help with daily commissions, I get more than if Lumine does them herself? Did the system count two people simultaneously?"
After all, his system was originally supposed to be Lumine's, or rather, some fellow countryman was supposed to transmigrate and possess Lumine, but now, due to his strong intervention, Lumine kept her soul, and the system came to him instead.
However, Orion didn't plan to accompany Lumine on every mission from now on. In his previous life, he didn't even clear the Abyss; normal daily income would suffice.
"This is great!" Orion cupped a handful of masks, thinking of storing them inside his body. So, a blue slit opened in his chest, and several tentacles slithered out from deep within, sucking the masks inside.
Lumine, who was in the air, saw this clearly, which startled her so much that she temporarily lost her balance and fell down.
On the ground, Orion only felt his arms sink. He looked down and found Lumine in his arms, staring straight at him: "Non-human, tentacles, Shota, good, so exciting..."
Amber, in the air, saw Lumine in Orion's arms. Suddenly, for some unknown reason, her heart fluttered, and she also found it difficult to maintain her balance. If this continued, she might fall directly and collide with the two of them!
But Amber was indeed Mondstadt City's Flight Champion. Even in her flustered state, she managed to adjust her angle, causing her to fall a body length behind Orion.
On the ground, Orion quickly put Lumine down, took a big step back, and waved his hand, saying, "Hey, hey, hey! Don't you dare pull any stunts with me! I'm Klee's brother now, and I don't want rumors spreading in Mondstadt City that little Klee is a tentacle monster!"
With a "thump," Amber suddenly landed on his shaking hand, and she and Orion looked at each other.
The three fell into silence for a moment. Before anyone could break the tension, Paimon slowly descended with a blank expression. She looked at Orion, and Orion looked at her.
"Should I have fallen down and been caught by you too?"
"That's really not necessary."
This time, because Lumine took on far more tasks than before, and Amber's patrol missions were additionally increased, even though most tasks were cleared in one hit, just the travel time meant Orion and the others couldn't finish everything in one morning. The group had to catch some wild game in the wilderness, and Lumine showed off her skills by making them a grand Mondstadt meal.
However, please rest assured, the organization, Orion specifically teleported back at noon to deliver a meal to Skirk, making sure the child wasn't hungry.
Sitting on the grass, watching the dandelions flutter everywhere, Amber stretched lazily: "Mmm~ So comfortable, picnicking with friends, even during work, it's so pleasant."
Lumine also nodded: "Yes, it would be even better if there was some music."
Orion rubbed his chin; this might actually be possible.
He opened the system interface, searched in the settings, and indeed saw a BGM button. The volume was currently 0.
He adjusted the volume to about 5, and soon, a melodious tune filled the grassy area.
Amber and Lumine both looked around in shock. What was that? How could words become reality?
Paimon immediately flew away, then flew back, and pointed at Orion: "He's the one making the sound."
Orion looked at the expressions of the three, gave a thumbs up: "Witch's magic, isn't it amazing?"
Sorry, Ms. Alice, borrowing your reputation for a bit!
But Lumine and Paimon knew, this must be alien technology!
Aliens, also very amazing, right?
Around two or three in the afternoon, Orion and the other two walked back from Dadaupa Gorge, chatting and laughing.
"Orion, what do you mumble about every time before you raid a Hilichurl camp?" Amber had held it in all day, but finally asked.
Orion didn't hide it, scratching his head and saying: "I'm trash-talking the Hilichurls."
Amber looked shocked: "Are you speaking Hilichurlian?"
Paimon also looked shocked: "So Hilichurls have their own language?"
Lumine was even more shocked: "How did you learn Hilichurlian by daily interacting with Amber and Barbara? Are Amber and Barbara Hilichurls?!"
Amber blushed and playfully punched Lumine, who dodged with a laugh.
However, Orion happily demonstrated his little talent in front of the Damselettes.
"Hilichurls also need to communicate, so naturally they have their own language, but their language stage is still relatively primitive.
For example, in Hilichurlian, 'mosi' means the verb 'to eat,' 'mita' is 'meat,' and 'gusha' is 'grass.' So 'mosi mita' means 'eat meat,' and 'mosi gusha' means 'eat grass.
And for Hilichurls, eating meat makes them happy, while eating grass makes them unhappy, so these two phrases also represent happiness and unhappiness."
Amber and the others found the 'eat meat' and 'eat grass' parts amusing, but it was the fact that the latter two terms could also represent happiness and unhappiness that made them realize, "This really is a language."
Paimon also became interested: "Anything else? Anything else?"
"Uh..." Orion stroked his chin and thought: "Also... for example, the Dadaupa Gorge just now, 'dada' means 'good, high', and 'upa' means 'above something, even more so', referring to a mountain. Mondstadters heard the Hilichurls shout 'Dadaupa' and so called that place Dadaupa Gorge, but translated, it actually means 'very, very high mountain' gorge.
Similarly, 'lata' is ice, 'movo' is wind or fluid, so combined, 'lata movo' is flowing ice element, which is water.
Orion told the three many more Hilichurlian words he remembered, making Paimon and Amber's eyes light up, and even Lumine nodded secretly, thinking it sounded quite interesting.
However, Amber's eyes weren't just lighting up because she thought he was 'knowledgeable'; as an Outrider, she frequently investigated Hilichurl movements near Mondstadt City. If she could roughly understand Hilichurlian, it would greatly benefit her work.
Orion was also happy to show off his knowledge slightly in front of the young ladies. While it might not be considered serious knowledge in reality, in Teyvat, where Hilichurls truly exist as monsters, an as-yet-unmastered monster language has immeasurable value.
In the evening, the group finally returned to Mondstadt City. Paimon and Lumine went to turn in their quest, Amber returned to the Knights of Favonius to report, and Orion was off to the bookstore, then to buy some dinner to take back.
"Speaking of which, I haven't gone to see Barbara today."
So, Orion, having left Yae Publishing House, ambled towards the Church of Favonius.
Sure enough, as soon as he arrived at the Church of Favonius, Orion saw Barbara praying.
Given that it's best not to interrupt a believer's prayer casually, Orion didn't call her name beforehand but found a long bench and sat down.
After a while longer, when the prayer ended, Barbara finally opened her eyes and, turning around, saw Orion sitting on the bench, watching her.
She instinctively showed a happy expression and was about to walk over when she suddenly seemed to remember something and stopped.
Orion stepped forward to greet her, but Barbara suddenly stretched out her hands, her fingertips resting on Orion's chest, stopping him: "Wait! Wait..."
"Barbara?" Orion also noticed that Barbara's expression was a little off, but before he could ask, Barbara spoke again: "I have a question I want to ask you, are you... are you really... really just craving..."
Mid-sentence, Barbara became hesitant, eventually closing her eyes and running off with a flushed face, leaving Orion standing dumbfounded.
"What's real or fake? Did something happen to Barbara?"
Orion turned around and saw Sister Rosaria leaning against a pillar, fiddling with a small knife.
She didn't even lift her head, just said, "When you go back to your place, ask your companions."
Then she left directly.
Orion thought for a while but couldn't figure out what Barbara had to do with his companions, so he simply went to the Good Hunter to buy dinner and returned.
After dinner, Orion proactively asked about Barbara and learned that Skirk and Clara had met Barbara while she was with Jean and Lisa during their walk. Orion then asked for the detailed conversation content after they met, and soon, the answer surfaced.
"Hahahahahahahaha! Exposed! Trashy Master!"
Lumine was rolling on the bed with laughter, while Paimon flew over somewhat speechlessly and patted Orion's shoulder: "Keep it up."
Orion also understood.
Jean and Lisa went to talk to Barbara together; besides official business, it was probably to tell Barbara that being alone with him was inappropriate, right? Then Barbara, probably after hearing Jean say that, and then seeing Clara, and hearing Clara say she indeed liked it that way, a pure-as-paper priestess would probably find it hard to maintain her composure.
Clara said somewhat tremblingly, "Brother Orion, did Clara say something wrong?"
"No, no, it's not your fault. I actually wanted to explain this to Barbara before, but I never got the chance because of various things." Orion walked over and patted Clara's little head, telling her not to be sad about it.
Suddenly, Orion felt a kick to his calf. He turned around to see Skirk looking at him: "Find an opportunity to be honest with that priest directly."
Skirk originally had many close relationships: parents, classmates, friends. The rupture of her social ties wasn't normal estrangement, but because extraterrestrial invaders considered her race's characteristic of being able to 'adapt to any power' too dangerous, which led to the slaughter of her people.
Because of this, in Skirk's eyes, human bonds are far more important than they seem. If possible, she didn't want to personally watch established bonds break.
Orion also nodded: "I know, I will explain this to Barbara."
But he failed.
For the next few days, Barbara didn't see Orion, or if they met, Barbara would turn and run away.
And Orion was constantly supervised by Jean or Eula, and sometimes Lisa would even take over, so Orion hardly had any private opportunities to find Barbara.
Orion himself had nothing to do, so rather than Jean and the others following Orion, it was more like Orion, having nothing to do, would go find them and accompany them to complete the Knights of Favonius's work.
And guess what, because any work for the Knights of Favonius was completed quickly whenever Orion was present, Jean, Eula, and Lisa inexplicably gained a lot of free time. Since they were idle anyway, Orion would chat with them, play mini-games, or accompany them to the tavern for a couple of drinks.
"I've recently found... *hic*... you're actually quite good." Eula, slightly flushed with wine, pointed at Orion rather impolitely.
At first, she used to be shy about burping in front of Orion, but now she was completely used to it.
Diluc brought over two new glasses of wine, looked at Eula, then at Orion, and finally left with just one sentence: "Jean said the same thing here yesterday."
Eula looked at Diluc dazedly, then suddenly turned back and pointed at Orion, shouting: "Oh, you! You were here with the Gunnhildr family's daughter yesterday too!"
Orion could only nod: "She always has endless work, so I thought I'd help her relax."
"Then what about her work?"
"I finished it for her." Alien technology, Miss.
"Then that's the same as me." Eula sat back down: "What about Sister Lisa? Did you accompany her here for a drink yesterday too?"
"No."
"At least you have some conscience."
"Lisa came the day before yesterday."
"Wow, you're such a scoundrel!" The drunken Eula couldn't hold back anymore: "Let me tell you, ever since you came to Mondstadt, you've been running around the city with Amber every day, and you tricked Barbara into believing that stepping on you would lift your curse.
Then, just when Barbara finally stopped paying attention to you, and Lumine and I were keeping an eye on Amber, you instead freed up time to spend on us! I've realized, you're not a loli-con; you just simply flock to any girl you see! Why can a guy like you have such~~~ strong power and such~~~ amazing work ability?!"
Orion quickly waved his hands: "I wouldn't dare say such things. Since I came to Mondstadt, the number of women I've truly interacted with is less than a handful: just you, Jean, Lisa, Barbara, and Rosaria. Others were just normal greetings. You can't possibly count Klee, can you?"
Eula slapped the table upon hearing this: "Don't think I don't know, whatever you missed with Barbara, you made up for with Clara when you got back! Lumine told me everything!"
Orion was sweating profusely; why did this cheap apprentice tell everything?
"Anyway, that ridiculous curse of yours, I won't believe a word of it. If I believed it, you'd definitely make me step on you too."
"No, one's physique cannot be generalized. In your case, I would have you sit on my lap."
"Hmph, I'm really going to control you now!"
Both of them, emboldened by a few drinks, dared to say anything.
However, in the end, Eula was the first to pass out.
Seeing Eula drunk, Orion dazedly shook his head and looked at the back of his hand, where it was written "Use power to sober yourself up." Soon, a surge of power coursed through his body, and Orion immediately sobered up. He then remembered that he had promised Eula to have a good drink with her, so he had deliberately limited his power to that of an ordinary person earlier.
The key was that they seemed to have gotten carried away and said many outrageous things. Was'sitting on my lap' something that could be said directly? He could only hope Eula had forgotten everything while drunk.
He paid at the front desk, carried the completely drunk Eula on his back, and still had to take her home.
But it wasn't the first time; he knew where Eula's spare key was.
As he was about to leave Angels Share, Diluc's voice came from behind: "Seven AM tomorrow, gather at Dawn Winery."
Orion turned to look at Diluc: "Are you ready?"
Diluc nodded: "At that time, we will unleash the sky harp and go together to purify Stormterror."
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