10 Never in my life did I think I’ll ever get to meet a real life tsundere

Even in this fantastical world of Teyvat, a world collectively ruled by the Seven, governed by the Heavenly Principles, and filled to the brim with magical nonsense, I found that there's one thing that remains the same with my old world.

And that is the fact that beds have the uncanny ability to increase the gravity of the person laying on it, making it harder for them to wake up, yet their comfort remains.

'Genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, space exploration; mankind has achieved a lot of great things in the field of science. Despite all that, none have ever managed to unravel the mystery behind this particular item, dating back all the way to Ancient Egypt. Thousands of years of research, and not a single result have been produced.

'Someday, the Chosen One shall appear. The One that shall grace us mankind with the answer we've been seeking all this time. The One that will solve one of the fundamental principles of the universe. And when They do, They would undoubtedly be crowned as the greatest scientist of our time.

'No longer will people be late to school or work because of oversleeping, parents all over the world shall rejoice, for waking up their children has never been easier. Productivity all over the globe has massively increased. No longer will humans fight each other. World hunger will no longer exist. Peace has finally arrived upon God's green earth. Truly, They will be hailed as none other than the Saviour of Mankind–'

Roar!

"Shut your fucking trap, Dvalin!"

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

'My god, when will this dragon get back to its nest?!'

It has been ten minutes since I have been so rudely awoken, and Dvalin is still going at it. In that time, most of the citizens outside have already been led away by the knights towards the closest shelter. The knights themselves, though, are practically scrambling, trying their best to protect Mondstadt however they can.

'It's oddly focused on Barbatos' statue for some reason.'

Despite seeming to attack randomly, I've noticed that it would occasionally turn towards the statue and unleashed multiple attacks at it.

'Mondstadt's very own lightning rod. I guess even without acting personally, somehow "you" still manage to protect your people, Barbatos.'

I couldn't help but laugh at this ridiculous situation.

'O Dragon of the East, return whence you came! Seriously you six-winged bastard, go back so I can take a walk or something. Continuing my short 6 hour nap seems impossible at this point.'

As if the dragon heard my prayer, Dvalin flew away from Mondstadt, the cloudy evening sky becoming clear once more.

'Now's my chance.'

Putting on my hat and sandals, I locked my room and walked outside the inn, making my way around Mondstadt.

'What a mess that dragon caused.'

Chairs and tables are thrown all over the place, probably from Good Hunter and Cat's Tail. The vendor stalls near the city gate are pretty much thrashed. Even poor Flora's flowers are destroyed.

'It's baffling to me that Barbatos is not doing anything about this.'

Continuing my walk, carefully evading all the crates and wagons strewn about in the middle of the street, I eventually reached the most popular tavern in the city.

'The outside drinking area is pretty much destroyed, huh. Diluc is pretty rich though, so that wouldn't be much of a problem for him.'

Although there is a lot of debris from the items outside, surprisingly, the buildings are pretty much intact everywhere. Even the windmills don't seem damaged. Either they have some crazy good architects, or Barbatos is actually doing something.

As I was walking towards the higher area of the city, the citizens, seeing that the storm had passed, started getting out of their homes and shelter while some of the knights carried any injured people towards the cathedral. With the amount of people they seem to be carrying, the sisters of the church are probably going to be working overtime, Barbara in particular, given how kind that girl is.

After climbing an ungodly amount of stairs, I reached the plaza where the statue of the Anemo Archon is located.

'It's huge.'

This statue is basically the same as the one I've seen in the Statue of the Seven, minus the orb, and the obviously larger size.

Turning my sight away from the statue, I walked towards the edge of the plaza, looking down towards the city.

'Mondstadt really is beautiful. I always felt the most at home in this city compared to the other region. It's a shame that Dvalin is pretty much bombarding this city every chance he gets. Nothing I can do about it though. I'll just have to wait for the Traveler to arrive and get closer to them. After all, although free roaming has been pretty okay so far, I'd rather have a proper track I could navigate through, even if my existence inevitably changes things.'

After enjoying the scenery a bit more, I make my way back down.

'I should visit the Cat's Tail if they're open. I've been wanting to pet some cats for a while. Ugh, just imagining it makes my heart soar–'

Detecting potential hostile intent.

'An attack? No. No one would be stupid enough to do that inside the city. Unless you're the Fatui, I guess. Which means someone is watching me.'

I continued my walk downstairs, pretending not to notice.

'Now who would do this, I wonder? If it's the Knights of Favonius, then they're probably made aware of me through the commissions I've finished. An unknown traveler with a relatively great combat capability sounds like something they'd be wary about, especially with the threat of Dvalin and potential sabotage from the Fatui and their rather forceful diplomacy. If it's the Fatui, then I'll have to be even more careful about my identity. Either way, there's no immediate action I can take, which means I'll just have to continue as I have and try not to do anything too stupid.'

Hostile intent is no longer present.

'A cursory glance, which means I'm not that big of a threat just yet. That's reassuring. But still, quite the ability I've been given, huh.

'Maybe "battle sense" isn't quite limited to battle after all.'

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Opening the doors of Cat's Tail, I was greeted with the purring of several cats. Most of them are loafing around in a designated cat area while some are openly exploring the tavern. Making my way towards the bar, I was greeted by the owner Margaret, and next to her is a sullen-looking Diona.

"Welcome to Cat's Tail, what would you like to order?"

"Any non-alcoholic drink you'd recommend?"

The moment I sat down, a black cat with yellow eyes immediately jumped into my lap and made itself at home. Cheeky bastard.

"Oooh, Princey must really like you for him to do that."

"Princey, is that his name?"

I ran my hand through his head all the way towards his back. Ah, I missed doing this. And he started purring too! I wonder if catnapping is a crime in Mondstadt?

"Prince, actually. I just call him Princey."

"I see. Your cat?"

"Yup. This mischievous little rascal is my little darling. Cute, right? Well, cute when he's not causing me headaches with his antics. Anyway, for non-alcoholic drinks, I'd recommend Diona's Signature Mix, it's our tavern's specialty."

"Then I'd like to order one. Do you have any food to go with it?"

"I'd recommend a Mint Jelly to go along with it, but if you're looking for something heavier, the Moon Pie is a great choice."

"I'll go with Moon Pie this time."

"Please wait a moment. Diona, a Signature Mix please, and it's non-alcoholic this time!"

The short feline's ear perked up, turning towards me.

"A non-alcoholic drink? Hmph, it seems that someone understands the danger of alcohol. Mark my words, I, Diona, the Destroyer of the Wine Industry, shall make the best non-alcoholic mix that will make people hate alcohol. Hmph!"

She said, as she stood proudly, both ears twitching.

"Sooo… that's a yes right?"

"Yep. Cute, isn't she?"

"I'm not cute! Hmph!"

Looking very much miffed, she turned around and began working on my drink, both of her ears still twitching. Cute. Would be a lot cuter if she cuts the tsundere act though.

"I'll be getting your Moon Pie ready soon. In the meantime, please feel free to play around with Princey or the other cats."

With that I was left alone with Prince, who's now busy playing with both ends of my shimenawa belt.

'Let's see how well received my Signature Petting™ is on Teyvat's cats.'

I spent the time waiting for my food by petting and playing with Prince. While I was stroking his belly, other cats started coming over, trying to catch the feather accessory dangling from my hat. When they managed to catch it and started dragging it down, I had no choice but to dematerialize my hat or I might fall over. Sorry cats, but this hat is two of a kind.

"It seems the cats really like you. Do you perhaps own one?"

Margaret came back from the kitchen, bringing with her a steaming Moon Pie alongside a set of cutlery.

"No, not really."

Not this life anyway.

"Here's your order. Enjoy!"

"Thanks, miss…?"

"Ah, Margaret. My name is Margaret."

"Thank you Ms. Margaret."

Taking the fork and knife, I carefully slice the Moon Pie into several pieces. The smell of meat and butter immediately hit me. Now that I look at it closely, it's similar to a Beef Wellington, just smaller and not as long.

I stabbed a slice with my fork and carefully tilt my mask to the front before taking a bite.

'Finally, some good fucking food.'

"So where are you from, mister traveler?"

"I came from Inazuma. And my name is Kamiyama Yuu."

"Inazuma? That's quite far away. What brings you to Mondstadt, Mr. Yuu?"

"I wanted to make some preparations for my next journey. Besides, I've always wanted to see Mondstadt for myself. Though I certainly did not expect a dragon to be attacking the city."

Nah. No way. Totally did not see that one coming.

"Yeah, I suppose not. The first time Stormterror came, he left shortly after. We thought the knights managed to repel it, but it kept coming back and attacked the city ever since."

The Dragon of the East, Dvalin, protector of Mondstadt for hundreds of years that, upon his return, is met by scorn and fear? It'd be a miracle if he's not angry. The poison certainly didn't help.

"How does that affect your business?"

"Surprisingly, not much. In fact, we got a lot more customers than usual, especially from the Knights of Favonius. I can understand though. The stress of a dragon attack must be hard for everyone."

"Indeed."

Lawrence is practically salivating at the mention of drinks. The other knights must be the same way. Even the knights that usually refrains from drinking have probably changed their mind at this point.

"I have a question, Mr. Yuu."

"Ask away."

"Why do you wear a mask?"

"To cover my face."

Oh, she rolled her eyes.

"That's not what I meant."

"I know."

Ah, I love doing a bit of trolling. She looks so done with me it's amazing.

"Fine then, keep your secrets."