Genshin Impact, the spear remains.

The quiet forest and the outside world shrouded in scorching sun seem like different worlds.

Walking along the path covered by branches and leaves, Ying kept scanning her surroundings, trying to find the person named Dulaf.

Paimon was still checking Mora in his arms; she had fallen to the ground earlier, and the two of them had to rush back to pick her up.

After all, that's the deer hunters' meal money; losing it would mean paying for it.

If it's their Mora... then Paimon will probably still sneak back in the blazing sun.

Who can blame her for being such a little money-grubber?

"Duraf, Draffa, Paimon, do you know what Mr. Draffa looks like?"

Thanks to the lush trees, Ying walked along the forest path covered by dappled shadows. Despite the sweltering summer heat outside, she felt no heat at all.

Birds flitted about in the woods, their melodious calls echoing throughout the forest.

Several pigeons were pecking at the wheat on the ground in front of Ying, and it was unclear whether people had deliberately scattered it there.

"Where is the high platform?"

The blonde girl recalled Allen's instructions and followed the path forward.

She accidentally bumped into the pigeons that had gathered together. As soon as she stepped onto the ground near the pigeons, the pigeons, who had been eating their lunch, sensed the danger and scattered in an instant.

Some flew up to the tree branches, while others ran into the grass, quietly waiting for this uninvited guest to leave.

"These guys would rather stand here like idiots than abandon their food."

Paimon, flying in mid-air, clearly saw the movements of these little guys.

"Yeah, it does look a lot like yours, Paimon."

Since she couldn't find anyone for the time being, Ying didn't mind teasing her good director a bit.

"Hmph, Paimon isn't like those gluttonous guys. If there's danger, Paimon will run far away."

The little elf stomped its foot in the air to show its determination.

However, it seems that she used all her determination on some meaningless things.

Because of the trees blocking his view, Paimon can only fly at a low altitude now, and the distance he can see is not much farther than that of Ying.

"Huh? Isn't that Miss Beatrice standing over there?"

A girl dressed in Mondstadt-style clothing stood under a large tree, seemingly doing something, and was slurping two apples between her hands.

"Hey! Miss Beatrice!"

Paimon led Ying to the girl's side.

Because he had bought fruit from Quinn at the city gate a few times before, he also got to know Beatrice and the others who were with Quinn.

Speaking of which, why does Beatrice always stay by Quinn's side?

"Huh? Oh, it's Paimon and the Knight of Honor."

Beatrice was startled when her name was called. She looked in the direction the two had come from and only relaxed after recognizing Ying and Paimon.

"Miss Beatrice, what are you doing standing here?"

There was nothing around; Ying could only see the girl staring blankly at two apples.

"It's nothing, just some strange things have been happening in town lately."

After calming down, Beatrice thought about it and felt that there was nothing wrong with talking about it, especially since the other party was that honorary knight, who might have a solution.

"Look, can you tell the difference between these two apples?"

Two bright red apples were placed in her hands, and Ying and Paimon gathered around.

I looked left and right, but after a long time I still couldn't see anything different.

They even look almost identical, and their color and smell are highly consistent.

"These two apples must have been picked from the same tree; there's no way to tell the difference."

Paimon stared wide-eyed, shifting his gaze from the apple to the girl's face across from him.

Beatrice also looked helpless. She sighed and told the two of them the whole story.

It turns out that recently, the most famous spring in Qingquan Town has been making strange noises at night, but these noises disappear during the day.

Later, the town mayor, Dulaf, could no longer tolerate it. He gathered several young and strong men from the town and planned to investigate at night. They each brought what they needed: weapons, lighting equipment, and even medical supplies.

But to their surprise, the strange noise disappeared on the very night they went there, leaving them completely baffled. Just when Dulaf thought the matter was over and done with, the same strange noise reappeared near the spring the following night.

This completely terrified everyone, keeping them awake at night.

Oh, except for that big oaf named Allen. He hunts during the day and falls asleep as soon as he gets home at night. While everyone else in town is trying to solve their problems, he's the only one who knows nothing.

After that, Dulaf led his men to the vicinity of the spring several more times at night, but each time the situation was exactly the same as before. As soon as they arrived, the sound would disappear. Over time, Dulaf could only seal off the area with a fence to prevent any accidents from happening.

"Yes, we understand what Miss Beatrice is saying, but what does this have to do with apples?"

Beatrice was a little embarrassed by Paimon's question. She lowered her head and showed the two curious people her bangs.

After a while, the somewhat shy voice finally rang out in front of the two of them.

"It's Quinn. He asked me to check if there's anything wrong with these two apples..."

"Oh~"

"Oh~"

Upon hearing a certain name, Paimon and Ying exchanged a glance and revealed a knowing smile.

"Ahhhh! It's not what you think."

The unspoken understanding in their gazes made Beatrice wish she could dig a hole and disappear right then and there.

She shook her head, then patted her face with her palms, trying to calm herself down.

"Look, these two apples, one was picked from the apple tree in front of the town, and the other was picked from the tree near the spring. Quinn, let me see what the difference is between these two."

Two bright red apples were placed in front of them once again, but Beatrice, holding the apples, didn't seem very enthusiastic.

"But I didn't see anything, and I couldn't help anyone in the town."

Looking at the girl, Ying and Paimon didn't know what to say, since they hadn't been able to help much.

Ying even scanned the area with her elemental vision, but found nothing amiss.

"Um... could we have these two apples? Of course, we'll pay for them!"

Paimon planned to buy the two apples, hoping it would at least cheer Beatrice up.

This definitely wasn't because she wanted to eat an apple.