Hearing Kai say that, Traveler couldn't help but look up, and only then did she realize.
It was indeed just as he had said.
At this moment, in the direction of the Temple of the Thousand Winds, several large mountains stood before them.
While they couldn't be called towering peaks reaching into the clouds, their sheer number meant a good climb was inevitable.
"Seriously... I actually forgot the terrain here."
"And there's this challenge of climbing mountains ahead," Kai said, scratching his head, feeling a bit troubled.
He didn't come to Starfell Lake much.
Although he had come twice in a row not long ago, it was mainly to deal with enemies.
He hadn't really paid much attention to the surrounding scenery.
Therefore, it wasn't until he looked closely that he realized that, geographically speaking, the straight-line distance from Starfell Lake to the Temple of the Thousand Winds was indeed the shortest.
But walking it would be infinitely more difficult than setting off directly from Mondstadt.
"Oh, so Kai also has his unreliable moments," Paimon nodded thoughtfully, but then, remembering Kai's formidable nature, she quickly added to prevent being hit, "But it's normal."
"After all, Kai is usually quite busy and probably doesn't like going out of the city much."
"Even Traveler often makes mistakes when she's out in the wild."
No... why are you dragging me into it when you're talking about Kai?
Traveler glared at her little mascot, feeling a bit displeased.
She felt that if this continued, all her secrets would be inadvertently exposed by Paimon!
"Anyway, what should we do next?"
Fortunately, Kai's timely words pulled Paimon back from the brink of becoming emergency food.
Scanning the continuous mountain ranges not far away, Kai turned to Traveler, seeking her opinion.
"Should we teleport back again?"
"Let's just climb it," Traveler shook her head, answering with a wry smile, feeling her stamina decreasing.
Using a Waypoint was not without cost.
Although one could easily jump from one location to another instantly, the stamina consumption was by no means small.
It could be said that while teleporting from outside Mondstadt to Starfell Lake greatly saved time, the stamina consumed afterward was equivalent to walking the entire round trip from Mondstadt to Starfell Lake, a double consumption.
In this situation... with Traveler's current stamina, if she were to teleport back again, whether she could successfully reach the Temple of the Thousand Winds would be a big question.
"Climbing?" Kai murmured to himself, staring at the mountains before him.
He hated climbing the most.
Whether in games or in reality, climbing was undoubtedly a very time-consuming activity.
If it were climbing with Jean, it would be fine, just accompanying his wife for a walk.
Kai would be very happy to oblige, but if it were with others...
Emmm... Kai turned his head to look at Traveler, who was stretching her body, seemingly preparing to climb.
After a moment of hesitation, he finally gave up.
"Forget it, let's just climb."
The time wasted going back and forth was simply too much.
Although climbing was troublesome, compared to slowly traveling from Mondstadt to the Temple of the Thousand Winds, it seemed more convenient to just cross the mountains.
"At least it's Traveler I'm climbing with."
"If it were with Diluc or Kaeya, that would be truly uncomfortable..." Kai muttered softly.
"Hehe~ Kai, you don't have to worry about us."
"Having traveled with Traveler for so long, we're very good at climbing," Paimon, noticing Kai's gaze, thought he was worried about whether they could climb.
She immediately put her hands on her hips and explained, looking incredibly proud.
"Not 'we,' just 'me'," Traveler glanced at Paimon with some dissatisfaction, feeling very tired.
"After all, you just fly straight up."
"Sometimes you're even too lazy to fly and just grab my clothes to go up the mountain."
"That's because I need to conserve my stamina to fulfill my responsibility as a guide, you know," Paimon quickly made excuses for herself, her gaze a little shifty.
"Anyway, don't mind these details, let's go!"
Paimon's ability to change the subject was indeed impressive.
Hearing her encouragement, Traveler immediately forgot her complaints and walked directly towards the mountains ahead.
At the foot of the mountain... looking at the not-too-steep mountain wall, Traveler took a deep breath, and with a strong Anemo element attached to her hands for protection, she directly grabbed the uneven parts of the mountain wall and began to climb.
Speaking of the Traveler's skill at climbing, it was no exaggeration.
In just a moment... using both hands and feet, Traveler had already climbed at least seven or eight meters.
This speed was quite remarkable.
"Go~ go~"
"Traveler, climb faster!" Paimon cheered from the side.
For a flying creature, this height was clearly nothing.
"Seriously, Paimon, don't keep pulling on my clothes."
"Can't you just fly up yourself?" Traveler grumbled, noticing something dragging her whenever she exerted force.
Listening to Paimon's incredibly leisurely tone behind her, she felt very envious.
"Eh... I'm protecting you!"
"And you're actually complaining about me!" Paimon put her hands on her hips, and upon hearing Traveler's words, she immediately looked up and huffed in displeasure.
"What kind of protection is this?" Traveler was used to Paimon making excuses.
But this time, the situation was truly not like that.
"If I don't hold onto your clothes, you'll be exposed, alright!"
"Kai is still down there, you know," Paimon said, flying a little distance to the side, giving Traveler some space.
"See, like this."
"Ah!" Hearing Paimon's words, Traveler's hand trembled, and she almost fell directly from the mountain.
When she reacted, she almost instinctively clamped her legs together, her face flushed red, and her eyes began to panic.
"Quick, quick, quick... quickly help me block it!"
"Paimon!!!"
Lumine stammered, completely flustered.
Her mind was a blank.
"Hmph, just a moment ago you were still looking down on me."
Paimon proudly raised her head, seeing Lumine's panicked reaction.
She felt incredibly satisfied.
"But it's fine, I saw it when I grabbed your skirt just now."
"You were wearing an extra layer underneath, weren't you?"
"Stop talking about that! Just help me block it first!"
"When we go back to Mondstadt, I'll buy you Good Hunter's Fisherman's Toast, won't that do?!"
Lumine was too embarrassed to move.
Was this about whether she was wearing an extra layer or not?
From that angle, whether she was wearing something or not, if Kai saw it, she would still feel embarrassed!
"I wonder if he was staring…"
Lumine thought, her face flushed.
Although, strictly speaking, Kai shouldn't be that kind of person.
But after all, his position was right below.
If he accidentally saw it, then… "I say… can you still climb up?"
Suddenly… a familiar voice rang out from above her head.
Lumine subconsciously looked up.
Then she saw Kai on the mountain, scratching his head.
He was quite puzzled by Lumine, who had suddenly stopped not far from the finish line.
"You haven't run out of stamina and can't climb anymore, have you?"
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