"I'm back," Yu Jin called out weakly to the house.
Life as an Adventurer was a bit different from what he had imagined; he had initially thought there would be powerful monsters and endless conspiracies for him to eradicate one by one, but he hadn't expected that the commissions he had taken on these past few days were all odd jobs.
The dignified Elden Lord, the consort of Carian royalty (?), had to find cats for others!
While these things were also interesting, there was still a gap between them and the Adventure Yu Jin envisioned.
But then he thought, this was normal. Powerful, or even just regular, monsters would be dealt with by the Knights of Favonius in advance, and peaceful Mondstadt rarely had any conspiracies.
What was left for the Adventurers' Guild was just trivial matters. In fact, in most people's minds, aside from those Great Adventurers with famous reputations, Adventurers were seen as people who did odd jobs.
However, this couldn't stop the enthusiasm of young people who wanted to go on an Adventure, though usually, they would give up after only a few days in the wilderness.
All these things made Yu Jin feel a bit lost, but since this was his first job, his enthusiasm was still very high.
"Oh? The little dummy is back. How's Adventure life, Great Adventurer?" Lisa saw Yu Jin's expression and knew his troubles, so she covered her mouth and chuckled softly.
Yu Jin scratched his head, a little embarrassed. He felt Lisa was being too polite; he was still just a novice Adventurer, so how did he become a Great Adventurer in her mouth?
"You're too kind. I'm still just a small Adventurer. I didn't expect you, Lisa, to have so much confidence in me." Yu Jin was a little touched. Was this what it felt like to be recognized?
"Bang!" Lisa covered her forehead, feeling speechless. She really couldn't tell if Yu Jin was genuinely silly or if he was deliberately acting that way.
She said somewhat awkwardly, "Never mind, let's not talk about that. Cyno is coming. Since those two little ones in your house are going to Sumeru, we definitely need to ask him. Pick him up then."
"No problem!" Yu Jin patted his chest. It was only natural to go and greet someone when you needed to ask them for a favor.
"That's good. Cyno should arrive in the afternoon. You can wait at the city gate. I've told him what you look like, so he should recognize you quickly." Lisa casually gave Yu Jin some instructions.
Yu Jin nodded like a chick pecking rice, then he said to Garura and Collei, who were eavesdropping behind him:
"You two, come with me to pick up Cyno this afternoon. Let's see how it goes."
"Oh!"
"Understood."
The two Damselettes walked out from behind the bedroom door, but their voices held a hint of discontent. They hadn't expected the time for separation to come so quickly, and they were both a little unaccustomed to it.
Clearly, they hadn't yet adapted to the convenient life brought by the Sun Bracelet's ability to teleport anywhere.
"Alright, I won't disturb you. I still have a lot of research to do. Bye-bye!" Seeing the somewhat sad atmosphere, Lisa felt she should give them some personal space, so she left.
But she was mistaken, because Garura and Collei were simply sad because they couldn't be with Yu Jin all the time.
After another afternoon of odd jobs, Yu Jin stood as promised at the entrance of Mondstadt, accompanied by Garura and Collei, attracting the gazes of people from all over.
The reason was none other than Yu Jin's overly conspicuous attire.
However, being conspicuous had its advantages. Soon, Yu Jin saw a man approaching him, whose clothing style was completely different from that of Mondstadt.
The man had white hair and wolf-like eyes, wearing a jackal-shaped headdress. Hollow gold shoulder straps connected to a blue-patterned skirt at his waist, making him appear agile and wild.
Large areas of tanned skin exposed between his clothes bore numerous scars, which, combined with his distinctive attire, made him resemble a fierce Desert jackal.
It seemed this was Cyno. His attire was certainly 'cool.' Yu Jin mused inwardly, though he had no right to comment on others' clothing.
"You must be Mr. Yu Jin." Cyno immediately noticed Yu Jin's figure. For no other reason than his even more unique attire, which was enough to make him take a second look.
"Mr. Cyno? It's an honor to finally meet you. These are my two younger sisters. I'll be entrusting them to you to take back to Sumeru."
Yu Jin grabbed Cyno's hand and shook it. He didn't know what he was supposed to do, as he had almost no experience in this area, and these actions were things he had read in books.
Cyno watched his arm being continuously shaken, and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily. He had heard from Lisa's letter that Yu Jin was a bit peculiar, but seeing him today, he truly was quite peculiar.
Seeing that Yu Jin showed no signs of stopping, Cyno subtly pulled his arm back and then said to Yu Jin:
"Of course. It was our oversight to begin with. Bringing back lost Sumeru citizens is also part of my duty."
Cyno patted his chest and apologized to Garura and Collei. It was Sumeru's negligence that allowed the Fatui to take advantage, and as an upright General Mahamatra, Cyno naturally wanted to make amends.
However, he didn't forget his purpose for coming this time. He looked at the surrounding crowd and said:
"Mr. Yu Jin, I've already arranged a place in Mondstadt. Why don't we go there to talk and discuss that person?"
"Hmm? Oh, oh, oh!" Yu Jin was a bit slow to react at first, but he quickly remembered that Cyno was here to investigate the Doctor's whereabouts, so he readily agreed:
"Good, good, good. I have a very strong impression of that guy."
How could he not have a strong impression? The Doctor was a man without kidneys!
"Mm, that's good." Cyno nodded and led the group towards a building in Mondstadt City.
"You're here, my junior? Your senior has missed you very much." As soon as they entered the building, Yu Jin heard a familiar voice, but this time it wasn't calling him.
"Senior, long time no see." Cyno clearly knew Lisa's character and wasn't too surprised.
Yu Jin looked around and found that there were quite a few people in the room besides Lisa; Jean and Kaeya were also there.
"The General Mahamatra has traveled a great distance to Mondstadt, yet the Knights of Favonius cannot offer a grand reception. I hope you don't mind."
Jean bowed slightly to Cyno, expressing her apologies, while Kaeya stood behind Jean, lost in thought.
"It's alright. I requested it myself. I should be thanking you all." Cyno waved his hand, indicating that he didn't mind.
"And Collei, I must apologize to you. It was my inadequate supervision that led to you being treated unfairly. The Knight involved has already been dismissed." Jean looked at Collei behind Yu Jin and apologized to her again.
"Alright, none of us mind. You brought it up again. Let's get to the main topic quickly." Yu Jin scratched his head, saying somewhat impatiently, because he felt the previous conversation was pointless.
"Pfft—, Well, didn't I tell you he was interesting?" Lisa let out a chuckle, breaking the somewhat formal atmosphere.
"It truly is as you said. Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Yu Jin, and Collei." Jean thanked Yu Jin and Collei behind him.
"Alright, enough with the pleasantries. My dear friend is eager to tell us about his triumph over the Doctor." Kaeya said with a smile, looking at Yu Jin, who seemed about to speak but held back.
"Triumph over the Doctor?" That was news he hadn't heard. Cyno's gaze towards Yu Jin grew serious. The Doctor was a thorn in the Akademiya's side.
For many years, the Akademiya had spared no effort in searching for his whereabouts, but unfortunately, they always found very little.
To think someone could defeat the Doctor this time truly surprised Cyno. The Akademiya hadn't directly confronted the Doctor for many years, and their information about him was long outdated.
"Then, Mr. Yu Jin, could you tell me what your deepest impression of the Doctor is?" Cyno looked intently at Yu Jin, full of anticipation.
"Impression?" Yu Jin stroked his chin, thought about his battle with the Doctor, and then said without hesitation: "He has no kidneys!"
"????"