"A...noble?" Cale tilted his head to the side, his eyebrow raised. Was he a noble? No, Cale was just old. This world wasn't his, but he knew he'd been here for a long time. There was information in his head that he wasn't sure how he knew or where it came from. "Possibly. I'm not sure."

"You're not... sure?"

"Is that upsetting?"

"No, I was just...curious."

They sat in silence for a moment. Kong was looking for the words to say while Paimon sensed the unease in the room and remained quiet. Cale didn't know if he was a noble. When they'd first met, he spoke of himself confidently, as if he knew almost everything. Cale had knowledge of this world and walked with supreme grace and elegance. They assumed he was a noble in his homeworld.

Of course, sometimes, when Cale spoke, it was somewhat cryptic. He'd say 'probably' or 'perhaps.' It felt like he was purposefully hiding something, but he didn't know much about himself from the sound of it.

"We'll help you get your memories back," Kong spoke firmly, with a kind yet serious aura that seemed to radiate from him.

"...Thanks." However, I'm not sure I'll be able to handle having them back. Cale wouldn't admit that out loud. He was used to this, keeping things to himself, not caring or being cared about. So why did the idea of them helping him make his heart flutter?

"We should get moving. Time is of the essence. It's better to be three hours too soon than even a minute late."

Cale stood up, heels clicking across the floor and out of the room. Kong and Paimon looked at each other before running after the departing figure. It didn't matter if Cale didn't have his memory. He was now a valuable member of their traveling squad; therefore, they'd do everything possible to help him.

He'd been helping Kong out for nearly 500 years now.

— —

Cale hurriedly stepped down the hall, his braid swinging behind him as he moved. Just as he was about to walk out the door, a knight stopped him, causing him to spin around, his heels clicking one last time with a silent huff.

"Mr. Cale, this is from The Acting Grandmaster to you and your companions."

He handed Cale a rolled-up sheet of paper, which the redhead took with gratitude. It was a map if it wasn't obvious. They'd need that to find all the temples within Mondstadt, but after all, they weren't locals.

"I see. Tell Ms. Jean I said thank you."

"Duly noted, Mr. Cale. And if you would—or well, if you'd like, could we—"

"Cale, wait a minute! What's got you in such a hurry? Paimon can barely keep up with you."

Paimon came flying down the hall, nearly bumping into Cale had he not backed up a bit. She held an upset pout on her face, masking the fact that she heard what the knight was saying and purposefully cut their conversation off.

"I apologize, Paimon." He smiled at her, not noticing how the knight clenched his chest. "We should get going, though. Thank you, Sir. Knight."

Kong smirked at Paimon and thanked the knight when they headed out. They weren't shocked that the winds had yet to die down around the city. Cale and Kong's braids had been blown in nearly every direction while Paimon held onto her floating crown as they made their way to the city gates.

Outside the city, the air was calm, but there was always the possibility of being attacked by a dragon out of the blue, which is most likely why most citizens were quick to stay inside the city wall. At least before 'Stormterror' began to attack Mondstadt itself.

"Wahhh! The air outside is way better than in the city." Paimon spoke merrily, floating in between Kong and Cale.

"That's because of the lack of storm, Paimon," Kong spoke lightly, being sure to keep the mood up despite the current circumstances. She was right. The air outside the city was way better than inside. With the storm and gloomy atmosphere, it was nearly unbearable to stay there.

They began to run down the path from the city gate, glancing back at the storm that covered the once-lively city.

It's even worse to see from the outside. Such power should be expected from one of the four winds...

Cale stopped in his tracks for a moment. One of...the Four Winds...? He had to question his knowledge for a moment. No one mentioned this earlier, did they? How did he know this?

Ah, that's right. Cale had knowledge of this world. He thought it was limited to the regions and their gods, not their history. He wanted to dig through his brain and determine how much he knew.

Cale quickly caught up to Kong and Paimon.

Seeing a familiar red and white bunny ear-shaped hair accessory slowed him down.

He had no plan to do unwanted cardio before fighting in a temple of one of the protectors of Mondstadt.

Cale would personally call himself the biggest dumbass in the entirety of Teyvat if he did.

"Ah! Traveler's!" Amber turned to the arriving trio, waving at them as they ran over. She was looking surprisingly chipper despite the nation's current circumstances. She turned to the large double doors before them, saying, "This is it. One of the deserted temples of The Four Winds."

The group looked at the large doors before them, glancing at one another.

This could go one of two ways.

"These temples have been left to waste for years now. The people of Mondstadt almost never come here. There's a chance there's a monster nest or a hilichurl camp inside." Her voice suddenly became solemn. "Even Stormterror has given up on its own temple."

Cale stiffened, his heart racing unbearably fast.

"Wait, did you just say 'its own temple...'?" Kong spoke up, speaking for the first time in a while. He was pretty quiet and was rather happy to have Cale's understanding of his personality and thoughts during their travels.

"...Yes," Amber admitted, her head shaking slightly. "I also find it hard to accept, but... Stormterror was once one of The Four Winds."

Fuck...I was right.

"Ehhhh!?" Paimon shouted, surprised at the new revelation. Stormterror? The current menace, Stormterror? It was one of the Four Winds of Mondstadt?

"Wait... Did you just feel that?" Amber's arms dropped from her waist, and she began to look intently at the odd energy seeping out of the temple doors. "The wind here... Something's off...Let's go in and take a look. Be careful, the dragon's power is disturbing this area."

They slowly approach the temple door. Kong touched the triangular symbol that seemed to act as a lock in the center, and they all watched as the once-red color shifted into a bright and pleasant blue.

Cale shivered at the sight of the door opening. Something terrible was going to happen. It just had that kind of air about it. Walking into this temple would only make way for disaster for him.

It's not like he'll die.

It's not that kind of disaster.

No, this disaster is a responsibility—the dread of becoming responsible for something he doesn't want.

Just the thought made his head hurt. His instincts were generally good–too good at times, but this would lead him on a downward spiral.

Okay, let's avoid this trip.

— —

He couldn't avoid it.

His sense of responsibility was too high, and he followed the three into the temple, cringing as the doors closed behind them. He's officially become the biggest dumbass in all of Teyvat.

He was walking into a field full of traps but with the knowledge of where every trap was located and running into them all. Whatever laid at the end of this temple would be his fault.

He took a look around. Surprisingly, the temple was bare, with only a few crates and barrels in the corners and along the wall. They reached a large room with a single door on the opposite side.

Paimon had followed him as he rummaged through the crates, picking out a hefty bag of mora. His eyes lit up upon opening the bag and finding enough mora to pay for the catalyst he borrowed during the fight against Stormterror.

"Ooh! More mora for the stash!" Paimon leaned over his shoulder, exclaiming excitedly.

"Nearly 900 mora. Weren't the weapons at the blacksmith 600 mora?"

"Paimon thinks so, why?"

Cale lifted his hand, and the catalyst he'd used during the fight appeared in the air. He could argue that he needed the weapon to defend Mondstadt against Stormterror properly, but he didn't feel like using his status like that.

"I should pay for what I've kept, don't you think?" He put his hand down, but the floating book hadn't gone away. He waved it away so it would finally disappear, and he could summon it when needed.

"Paimon thinks Cale is right. You should pay people back for what you borrow. Cale is a good guy."

That's not true. He wasn't a good person; he didn't want to owe people anything. Cale nearly sighed, turning away from his tiny companion and returning to his rummaging.

He didn't exactly feel bad for looting since the temple was abandoned.

Amber approached Kong while Cale and Paimon looked around. She tapped him on the shoulder, glancing at Cale ever so slightly before finally whispering, "Barbara told me what happened...is he okay to fight?"

Her face said it all. She was worried about the redhead's health and wellbeing. After what they saw at the cathedral, speaking to Cale without thinking about those injuries was hard. He looked like he'd battled for years, fighting for his life against all evil, and he couldn't even remember it.

His missing memory may be a good thing. Not knowing what terrible things he'd gone through might have been for the best.

For all of them.

Kong didn't respond. He remained silent, shaking his head as he spoke. "His injuries are gone, and he doesn't remember what happened to him. I'm worried, but he held off Stormterror's attack alone. If Cale says he's okay, I might not believe him, but I know he'll still do whatever he wants."

"So, let's make it our job to ensure he stays safe." Amber's eyes light up with determination. She glanced at the redhead, who was having a light-hearted conversation with Paimon.

"We'll beat Stormterror and protect Cale."

They shook each other's hands right as Cale and Paimon began to walk over to share their finds.

"Paimon thought a Temple dedicated to a protector of Mondstadt would be more... exciting."

"Ahaha, I told you, people don't really visit the temples anymore. Some of them are overrun by monsters like hilichurls or slimes." Amber smiled at Paimon, glancing at Cale, who was playing with the bag of mora he'd found. "You can use that console to open the door."

Why are you telling me that?

Cale frowned slightly, looking between Amber and the console not too far from them. He didn't want to come in here, and now he'd have to open the door to his doom? How could she do this to him?

He doesn't necessarily want to open the door, but his body moves independently. He follows Amber's instructions and walks over to the console.

He looks at the wall before them and then at the console. Inwardly sighing, he turns the motif on in the center. It causes the wall in front of them to glow and rumble, shaking the room.

The wall splits, becoming a door for them to continue through the temple. Kong, Cale, and Paimon's eyes all widen. And Cale seems far more amazed than the rest. His sense of curiosity grows tremendously. To him, knowledge was something he always craved. He was a person who enjoyed learning new things.

With the door finally opened, they could walk through, and Cale's worries seemed to disappear momentarily. There was a 'sky.' This must have been a dimension that belonged to the temple's owner. It was incredibly spacious and looked as if it went on forever.

I'd love to learn more about this...is it possible for me to make my own? Then, I could study it to my heart's content.

"From the looks of it..." Kong also looked around, his gaze settling on a tower-like structure in the distance. "Our destination is up there."

"Ugh, it's so far..." Paimon whined, slumping in the air with a pout.

"Then we should get moving before it's too late. Time is not in our favor." Cale threw up his bag of mora, and it disappeared in the same manner as the catalyst he used. Well, at least he wouldn't have to carry the bag the whole time. He still wonders how he can perform this mysterious disappearing act with the items he has.

Amber takes the lead, taking them through the temple. She burned a bunch of large, unruly brambles that were in their way, continuing their journey in the temple.

They reached the cliff's edge not too far from where they'd started. It wasn't a cliff; it was more like they had been on an elevated part of the temple floor. They all hopped down— Cale being Cale and using anemo to float down rather than just jumping.

He was taking notes from Paimon at this rate.

There were hilichurls in the center of the lower platform of the temple. Amber, the spunky outrider, was already prepared for a fight. As Cale was looking for a way around them, rather than fighting, she had already launched a flaming arrow at a hilichurl closest to them.

Cale doesn't speak up on the matter. Despite how outwards impish and stupid they may appear, the hilichurls are perceptive creatures. They most likely wouldn't have been able to get out of there without a fight.

Kong is already in the center of the battle, tossing hilichurls up into the air with his new anemo powers. He flings them around like ragdolls, much to Cale's dismay.

Though he offers his support in battle, he feels a disturbing hesitance about it. Still, he summons his weapon and sends out a rose-petal-shaped anemo energy. They distract the hilichurls, who seem intrigued by the sight.

Only for the petals to explode in their faces. The attacks kill several creatures, but Cale doesn't care much about it. He felt bad. He didn't like that.

Amber shoots the last of the hilichurls, but the sound of a horn makes them all flinch and turn towards the sound of loud footsteps from the exit on the other side.

"That's not a fun sound..." Cale turns to Amber for an explanation.

"Oh no! A horn!" Standing before the other three, she draws her weapon, preparing for another fight. "The fighting must have got them riled up."

"That's great." Cale's tone doesn't sound sarcastic, and his expression is stoic. Anyone should know, given the situation, that he was using sarcasm.

I think my guardian angel drinks. How is my luck so bad?

Cale can't even feel upset at having to fight again when Amber speaks up. "Well, good thing I've prepared my secret weapon: Explosive Puppet "Baron Bunny"!

That doll again?

The cute doll that captures your attention and blows up to kill you. Yeah, he probably wouldn't accept cute stuffed toys from Amber at any given time. It might blow up in his face.

That doesn't mean he won't 'gift' something similar to his enemies.

The doll gets thrown in the center of the oncoming group of hilichurls, and they, like the first time, get distracted and stare at the dancing doll. Kong surrounds his body in anemo energy, spinning in as it begins to pull him off the ground. He guides the path of the energy, creating wind currents that become a rather large tornado. The tornado's power pulls in the doll and several smaller hilichurls.

As the doll explodes, the tornado gets infused with pyro energy, becoming a flaming fire tornado of death.

Cale quietly reminds himself to carry matches with them during their travels.

Just as they thought it was over, a Mitachurl attacks, nearly striking Amber. Cale, however, performs a little trick. He summons a shield, which is transferred to each of his teammates. The shield knocks the Mitachurl back, giving Amber and Kong a chance to strike. Kong goes for the legs while Amber aims her bow for the head.

"Woah, that was a close one. Thanks, Cale!" Amber's smile is rather bright. It makes Cale squint his eyes and frown.

Where did the sun come from...?

Cale awkwardly lifted his hand, giving her a thumbs up with a stoic expression. He wasn't sure how to react.

They continue their travels, looting exploring the abandoned temple. They enter the next room and are greeted by seven hilichurls and some much smaller, surprisingly cute monsters. They were called slimes.

He tapped the outrider on the shoulder, pointing at the barrels behind the monsters. "Are those explosive barrels over there?" She whispered, already drawing her bow, which made Cale immediately back up. They were explosives. He had just been curious as to why there were slimes in them. "Well... One shot should be able to blow them up!"

Cale's mind goes blank as she shoots her bow, watching as the exploding barrels rained hellfire onto the hilichurls.

The action saved them plenty of time. To be honest, dealing with the monster didn't take much time or energy, but no one wanted to take the time to deal with them. It was a surprise the explosion killed them all.

Cale didn't care at this point. He only wanted to loot that chest in the middle. Not having money was getting to him.

By the time the flames of the explosion died down, Cale was already kneeling in front of the chest, rummaging through its contents, picking and choosing what he wanted. He threw out a greatsword, a spear, and a sword. All of which clattered behind him.

The others watched with slight concern, noticing the frown on his face. Amber held her tongue as another weapon came crashing to the ground.

"482 mora..., two greatswords, one spear, three swords, a bow, and not a single catalyst. That's annoying." Cale summoned his precious bag of more and dumped the bag he'd just found into it.

He then went and began to pick up the weapons he'd thrown about and let them disappear into his 'inventory' like his money and catalyst.

"Cale...?" Amber finally spoke up. Her perception of him was different than before. He was definitely a skilled fighter despite acting and looking weak. Well, from what they know, he could be an experienced war veteran who's just tired of fighting.

"The blacksmith shop...there was a wooden sign asking for old worn-out weapons to be refurbished and used for practice for an apprentice."

"That's right! I wanted to bring Wagner some old bows, but Stormterror's attacks took priority. Thanks for the reminder, Cale."

Why are you thanking me? I just don't want to keep thinking about how I took that catalyst.

Cale frowns but doesn't respond. At least the blacksmith, Mr. Wagner, would have more than enough weapons for his apprentice.

The group continued, and Cale could feel his anxiety go up. Amber had activated a Pyro monument so they could fly up to a higher platform. It was their final destination.

The moment Cale's feet hit the platform, his stomach dropped, and he didn't want to pick it up. There was a glowing teal egg. The amount of anemo energy flowing from it nearly made him dizzy.

"Dragon's breath! Is that where the power is coming from?" Oh thank fuck. It's not a dragon egg. "Great, let's smash it!"

Paimon, Cale, and Kong flinched, their necks snapping in the brunnetes direction. Cale could just feel the migraine. It wasn't even a real egg; why was he so worried?

Kong walked up and destroyed the condensed energy 'egg.' It was finally over, and yet Cale still felt like something was going to happen.

"Phew, I'm tired." Amber sighed, her hands back on her hips. "But, at least this way, we've helped Jean out."

"In the past, we were at least able to defend the city and keep it safe. This, of course, is mostly thanks to Jean. But now, with Stormterror directly attacking the city itself..."

The mood went solemn. The group nodded, considering her words. They needed to protect Mondstadt and the people. That couldn't be done by relying solely on Ms. Jean's abilities. They were here to guard, defend, and crush their enemies.

"The winds change, so too should our tactics," Amber spoke with a renewed sense of self.

"Sounds deep. Did you come up with it?" Kong speaks up, head tilting with curiosity.

"It's what Lisa likes to say. Speaking of which, The Four Winds we were discussing earlier... If you want to learn more about our history, you can ask Lisa...I'm not saying I don't know our history! It's just...I mean... A librarian is supposed to be more knowledgeable than an Outrider, right?"

"That's right, Amber. It's always best to send people to a knowledgeable professional when you don't have the answer." Cale responded to her rambling with a tone that made him unreadable.

Cale's defense mechanism seemed to be sarcasm. His level of sarcasm had reached a point where he wasn't sure if he was kidding.

"R-right!" She didn't know if that was an insult or a compliment. And with a blank expression on his face, she really couldn't tell. Amber could only agree since he was generally kind, so she doubted he meant it to be rude. She hopes.

"You know..."

Amber had begun to speak again, but Cale couldn't pay attention to what she was saying. His mind had drifted elsewhere. A group of barrels were collecting dust in the corner of the room.

His feeling of anxiety hadn't gone away just yet.

This was it, the moment he ruined his life.

Ignoring the questions and glances, Cale moved to the corner of the room, pushing aside the barrels rather than looting them.

To both his shock and near horror, he found a dragon egg. A large, pristine, black egg that sparkled like the night sky. It was so...cute. Cale's anxiety immediately disappears. He suddenly felt like a mother gazing at her new baby. Eggs were fragile. They could break and wouldn't hatch unless the conditions were perfect.

"Egg..." Cale's eyes sparkled. He couldn't control his expression seeing the black egg.

"Is that..." Amber's shock seemed to move around the room. Soon, all three of them were surrounding the dragon egg. Cale was already kneeling on the floor, inspecting the egg with a surprising light in his eyes. "A dragon egg? Could it be Stormterror's egg? But the color is nothing like Stormterror at all."

'So it is a dragon egg...it's so tiny. Well, it's bigger than most eggs, but considering how big dragons get...' Cale was thrilled to see the egg. Maybe it was his nurturing nature coming out, but he wished the little egg a happy life.

"But...with Stromterror attacking Mondstadt, I'm afraid this little egg would be in danger." Amber sighed, stepping back and watching as Cale stared at the egg with infatuation.

"Well, how about this. Cale, could you take care of the egg until we finish dealing with Stormterror? We can figure out what to do after, but I think bringing the egg to safety would be best."

Cale froze, looking up at Amber with widened eyes. He had no intention to raise a dragon. Cale was just—he just thought it was cute. He loved caring for kids; they were honest and tiny, and watching them grow as people always made him smile.

Okay, maybe he is like an old lady who loves giving kids candy and reading stories, but he wouldn't make a good caretaker. Despite his thoughts, he quickly agreed to it. Cale scooped the egg up into his arms, hugging it close. It wasn't all that heavy.

Having finished their mission, the group headed to a special magic circle that teleported them back to the temple entrance. Even though they'd finished with this one, another two temples had dragon's breath and needed to be destroyed.

— —

They finally reached the gates of the city. Cale learned that even living things could go into his 'inventory.' Though he had no intention of keeping the Dragon egg there, it would do him good to keep it there until they arrived at their room within the knight headquarters.

"Phew, it's finally done." Paimon sighed as Amber waved them bye. She had to hurry back and report her findings to Jean. "Well, all that "ley flow" and "elemental lines" stuff Lisa was going on about should hopefully be back to normal."

"I hope so; Cale seems a bit better now, too. So maybe things are going back to normal already." Kong glanced at the redhead that was walking beside them. Cale looked a bit better now that the air was slightly lighter.

"Was it so obvious that the air was affecting me?" Cale frowned as they continued through the marketplace.

"Not really. I saw how uncomfortable you were when we entered the city after the attack. After Lisa mentioned that the elemental energy affected the Ley Lines, I pieced two and two together. You are a catalyst user; you're more in tune with the elements than I am, so it makes sense."

Cale blinked momentarily, surprised that someone was paying that much attention to him. "That's right. The air is better than before, much easier to breathe, and my head feels lighter."

"By the way, we obtained another Anemoculus in the temple, right? We might come across more of them in the future, so don't forget to offer them to the Statues!" Paimon reminded the two as they walked up the stairs to the knight's headquarters. The anemoculi could be used to fix the worn-down statues around Mondstadt.

When they entered the headquarters, they could hear the quiet conversation between Amber and Jean. Though they were muffled, Cale and Kong were sure they were discussing the found dragon egg.

They met with Kaeya on the way in. Like earlier, he spoke with a knight on a subject Cale didn't care about. He wanted to go and prepare a nice space for the egg.

"Cale, might I borrow you for a moment?"

Kaeya, that bastard, stopped the group, calling out to Cale, who wanted nothing to do with him.

"Ah, Calvary Captain, Kaeya. For what am I being graced by your wondrous presence?" Cale forced a benign smile. He inwardly cursed at the knight captain as he turned to the tall, blue-haired man.

"Cale..." He nearly groaned at the sound of the redhead's false honeyed voice. "Do you like to drink? There's a bar with great wine here in Mondstadt. When you're free, I'll take you for a drink."

The knight, Kong, and even Paimon all froze after hearing that. Did the Calvary Captain just ask Cale out on a date?

This peacock wants something.

"You're asking me? If you want to discuss something, Captain, you know you can just say it. After all, we're here to help the people of this beautiful nation." The fuck do you want blueberry? Cale had dealt with one headache, and soon another arose.

"Then you have no problem joining me? That's great to hear."

Cale let out a displeased sigh but continued to smile. "Very well then. I do hope you're a good host, Captain."

"I can assure you, I am."


________________________________________________________________________________

Cale is pregnant with a dragon. Immediately gets baby fever and is now an annoyed mother getting hit on by a peacock.

Yeah, I think that sums up this chapter in a nutshell.

I feel like Kaeya would be Cale's 'crown prince,' and then, somehow, he ended up asking Cale out. I don't think that was my original intention. Or maybe it was in my head cause there was definitely meant to be tension, but now Cale's been asked out in the middle of a crisis.

Pretty accurate for him.