Chapter 255: The Fallen Star Who Never Returned
After settling things with Sayu, Bai Luo returned to Inazuma City.
He intended to make a few preparations before visiting the Kamisato estate—partly for personal reasons, but also because of business.
As for Sayu's salary, Bai Luo wasn't about to be stingy.
After doing some digging into the Shuumatsuban's pay scale, he finally decided on a generous offer—five hundred thousand.
Given her age, though, Bai Luo resolved to hold on to half of it for safekeeping, only handing her fifty thousand per month.
Hm? You're saying five hundred thousand divided by two isn't fifty thousand?
True enough—Bai Luo had miscalculated from the start.
There's no way half of five hundred thousand is fifty thousand.
It should've been zero.
Still, out of the kindness of his heart, he decided to let her keep fifty thousand.
As for who should be responsible for actually paying her salary, Bai Luo figured he'd discuss that properly with Kamisato Ayato, head of the Shuumatsuban, when he dropped by the Kamisato estate in a few days.
And then… on the streets, he happened to cross paths with a figure all too familiar to him.
"You've got the guts to show yourself here. Aren't you afraid she'll come after you?"
Glancing toward Tenshukaku, Bai Luo asked with a half-smile, half-sneer.
Scaramouche didn't rise to the bait. Bai Luo's teasing tone didn't seem to bother him much.
"Come with me. I've got business with you."
Pressing down the brim of his kasa hat, Scaramouche turned and led the way—to a nearby tavern.
The Fatui had already begun sinking their claws into Inazuma, especially in the outskirts.
As the only gateway in and out of the city, the outskirts were too important to be left alone.
On the surface, the district was growing lively, but in reality most of the shops were either propped up by the Fatui… or outright owned by them.
Every traveler passing through, every scrap of information, every letter that left the city—all of it fell under their watch.
This little tavern, unremarkable at first glance, was no exception.
Bai Luo originally thought Scaramouche had come to confront him for freeloading around Inazuma under his name.
But surprisingly, the man didn't bring that up at all. Instead, he pulled a letter from his pocket and slapped it down in front of Bai Luo.
"…This is—? A letter from the Jester?"
The moment he caught sight of the emblem and name on the envelope, Bai Luo's eyes widened slightly.
Back when he was the Fatui's most dreaded assassin, he'd once served under the Jester's orders. But usually, missions were handed down indirectly—face-to-face contact was rare.
His deepest impression of the man was before arriving in Inazuma, when the Jester himself personally fitted him with a Dendro Delusion.
Still… wasn't this letter clearly addressed to Scaramouche? Why was he being shown it?
Could it have something to do with him?
Not that Bai Luo really believed the Jester wanted Scaramouche to eliminate him. Sure, he'd pulled plenty of stunts at the Fatui's expense—but all of it had been under the Tsaritsa's tacit approval.
Like the business with Krobber and the missionary.
Krobber had only been sent out by the Dottore as disposable cannon fodder. The missionary's death, meanwhile, had been carried out under the Tsaritsa's quiet sanction.
If she hadn't helped suppress the archon residue, little Collei would never have had such a peaceful time back then.
And there's no way Bai Luo could've so easily put down the missionary who'd been consumed by that residue.
"Read it. You'll see."
Scaramouche casually lifted a teacup, his tone utterly unconcerned.
For others, this would be classified intelligence. But for Harbingers, such things were well within reach.
Bai Luo hesitated for a moment, then unfolded the letter.
The further he read, the more complex his expression became.
Just as he'd guessed, there was no order for his execution.
Instead, it was simply a reassignment—Jester's official directive to Scaramouche.
In short, something unusual was stirring in Mondstadt and Liyue. The letter didn't explain the details, only that it wasn't a matter ordinary Fatui could handle. Scaramouche was to head over and deal with it.
"…Interesting."
Even if the Fair Lady hadn't yet made her move toward Mondstadt, Liyue still had Childe holding the line, didn't it?
Since he had meddled in things, Childe had ended up heading to Liyue far earlier than in the "original story."
So now, sending Scaramouche to look into it as well… honestly felt a bit redundant.
"Inazuma still needs me here for the time being. What I mean is—I want you to go in my place. What do you say?"
As a Harbinger, Scaramouche knew plenty of things that most people didn't.
Like how, in the beginning, Bai Luo had kicked and screamed in protest about being sent to Inazuma.
Or how later on, he'd gone so far as to take over the Dottore's post in Mondstadt, covering for him for quite some time.
If the opportunity arose now to go to Mondstadt or Liyue… Bai Luo would, without a doubt, outrun everyone else to get there.
Exploiting his system skill when facing the Shogun sword strike—sure, that was one way of keeping himself alive.
But if the timing slipped, he'd be nothing but a pile of ashes.
Between being sunk into the sea by Morax and becoming cinders beneath Raiden Shogun's lightning, he'd choose the former any day.
And so—
"I refuse!"
"How about writing to Childe instead? I've no plans to leave Inazuma just yet."
Bai Luo wasn't stupid.
From the Jester's vague words, combined with his own grasp on the timeline, he knew perfectly well what kind of "incident" was about to happen.
The Genshin Impact limited event—Unreconciled Stars. Volcanic literature, if you will.
A Constellation falling from the sky… there was no way the Jester and the Tsaritsa didn't already know something about it. If they were sending Scaramouche, there had to be a deeper agenda.
Last time, he could afford to be reckless because the Tsaritsa herself had his back.
But this time? She hadn't so much as breathed a word to him. How could he dare play the spearhead?
Unless Raiden Shogun herself had a sword pressed to his throat, Bai Luo wasn't about to dip a toe in that particular story arc.
Sure, he enjoyed courting death—but only when he was sure he wouldn't actually die.
When the odds were uncertain… best to stay put.
After all, he hadn't even had the chance to tug that pink fox's tail yet. At the very least, he wanted to check off all the people and things on his list before he thought about throwing himself into a mess like this.
But Bai Luo's blunt, no-room-for-discussion rejection made Scaramouche frown ever so slightly.
Technically, Bai Luo had become a Harbinger later than he did. Yet many colleagues held him in high esteem. Even the Tsaritsa herself favored him.
The authority she'd granted him was a little different from the rest, too.
—Could this mean Bai Luo knew what lay behind the words in this letter?
Originally, Scaramouche had only been worried about disruptions to his plans in Inazuma. But now, Bai Luo's reaction forced him to think deeper.
"That battle maniac, Childe… If this is left to him alone, I doubt the Jester or Her Majesty would rest easy. Besides, I hear Mondstadters are very hospitable. Even if they dislike the Fatui, they aren't openly hostile. You've been there before—you must have experienced it for yourself?"
Scaramouche tried to stir up fond memories of Mondstadt in order to sway him.
"…"
Fond memories? More like unforgettable ones.
Bai Luo clearly remembered the day he'd left Mondstadt. The Knights of Favonius had turned out in force—save for Lisa and Klee, practically everyone, even the trainees, had joined the send-off.
They didn't disperse until they'd seen him pass through Stone Gate and step onto Liyue soil.
Some had even clung to each other, bawling at the thought of parting ways.
The scene had been… magnificent.
. . . . .
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