Outside Mondstadt City.
In the spring, the outskirts of Mondstadt are filled with the sound of birds, the fragrance of flowers, and petals drifting down. The sky is a brilliant blue and the clear lake sparkles with gentle ripples as fat fish swim by.
Compared to the bustling city within, the area outside Mondstadt is largely covered by mountains and forests.
To the northeast lies the Whispering Woods.
In spring, the Whispering Woods are a lush green carpet, with plump raspberries hanging like lanterns from the branches, and fat wild mushrooms poking their heads out of the grass.
Apple trees cover the hills, their scent carried on the breeze.
Because there are many slimes and hilichurls here, ordinary people rarely venture in.
At this moment, however, a tall, lovely young woman is strolling through the woods.
She wears a one-piece with black stockings, perfectly showing off her long legs and shapely figure.
Her sexy, fiery purple witch's outfit hugs her modest curves, but the bright star emblem on her chest gives her a unique appeal.
Her long purple hair is styled into twin ponytails that sway gently as she walks, and the oversized, dramatic witch hat atop her head marks her identity clearly.
Right now, this young witch is carrying a bamboo basket, bending down to collect the mushrooms just poking out of the ground.
"It rained late last night. As expected, lots of mushrooms grew..."
She smiles happily at the mushrooms hidden under the leaves.
But despite that lovely face, she's deathly pale.
Growl~
The sound from her stomach is especially clear in the quiet forest.
"Why am I seeing little stars in front of my eyes..."
Feeling her hunger, she bends to pick more mushrooms.
But when she straightens up again, a wave of dizziness hits.
"Whoosh..."
The world spins. Clutching her head, the girl collapses to the ground—but her arms instinctively hold tight to the basket of mushrooms.
After all, those wild mushrooms are her main food supply for the month.
"Mmm..."
In the instant before she loses consciousness, she seems to see a strange swirling vortex of light appear above the dense forest, bathing her in a warm glow.
The next moment—
Her consciousness fades completely, and her body, surrounded by that swirling light, slowly rises toward a gateway in the sky.
"Eh? Mona! Where did you go?"
The glowing vortex in the sky vanishes as if it never existed.
Just then, a black shadow darts over at high speed. As it lands, it's revealed to be a night raven.
But as soon as the raven steadies itself, another lively, striking figure emerges from its back, leaping nimbly to the ground and gazing up into the sky.
"What was that door just now? Where did Mona go?"
The girl who appears from the raven has an angelic face and wears a soft, strapless purple dress with black stockings, giving her proud aura a touch of allure.
As a member of Mondstadt's Adventurers' Guild, she had been investigating the Whispering Woods when the sudden vortex caught her attention.
She rushed over, only to see her friend Mona sucked away by that door.
The strange phenomenon instantly piqued her curiosity.
"Miss, your wording, your wording."
The night raven beside her speaks human language, reminding her.
Suddenly realizing, the girl solemnly says,
"For such an anomaly to appear in Mondstadt, blessed by the Anemo Archon—just as you wish, prepare to witness the great wisdom of the Prinzessin."
"Ah?" After a brief pause, the raven immediately understands: "Miss is going to investigate? I believe in you, Miss."
With a tsundere flair, the girl pulls her longbow and shoots an arrow at where the vortex vanished.
…
Blue Star.
"Mona?"
"Did I just pick up Mona's body?"
Looking at the unconscious girl who fell out of the vortex, Ken's expression grows stranger and stranger.
Thinking of Lisa last time, half-dressed, and now seeing Mona unconscious, Ken suddenly feels like the system's side job assignments are a bit fishy—not quite proper.
As a former Genshin Impact player who reached level 60, Ken is no stranger to Mona.
Monna currently resides in Mondstadt, and she's an astrologer.
Unlike those charlatans wandering the land, Mona's astrology is extremely accurate. But as an astrologer, Mona has her pride and standards.
She refuses to make money with her Hydromancy.
But she spends so much on research that she's always broke.
Even though she currently writes for the Steambird newspaper's astrology section, the pay isn't enough to support her research, and her daily life is still quite impoverished.
She once survived an entire month eating only wild mushrooms.
"Eating mushrooms again this time?"
Seeing how Mona is still clutching her bamboo basket, with a few mushrooms left inside, even while unconscious, Ken has a good guess.
He bends down and carries Mona to the sofa, then pulls out a home medical kit.
After gaining extensive medical knowledge, he specifically bought this kit.
It's well stocked with all kinds of medical tools for daily use.
After a thorough checkup, Ken twitches the corner of his mouth.
"As expected, she's just hungry... System, you actually did something decent this time."
Looking at Mona's long legs wrapped in black stockings, Ken finds it a little hard to resist.
With Mona in this state, it's lucky she was picked up by a gentleman like him.
Had it been anyone less moral... who knows what could have happened.
<><><>>><><><><><><><>
Advanced chapter here: p-atreon.com/Sajaboyzzz
<><><><><>><>>><><><><>
Keep the Chapters coming - Support with Power Stones!
Every 200 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter!