What the—?!
Where did that Hilichurl go? How did it just vanish like that?
Childe swept his gaze across the surrounding area, but there was still no trace of the creature he had knocked flat a moment ago. It left him thoroughly baffled. A Hilichurl that enormous — how on earth could it simply disappear right in front of his eyes?
What in the world was going on???
He looked around again. Still nothing.
Was this Mobius's doing?
The thought struck him, and Childe immediately turned to look in the direction she had left — but her figure was already long gone.
"Heh. Interesting." Once he was sure Mobius had departed, Childe broke into a quiet laugh. He couldn't help it. This was genuinely too entertaining. His return to Liyue wasn't going to be boring after all.
With that, he set off toward Liyue Harbor. Since the girl called Mobius had already gone, he'd head back first and see if there was any intelligence on her waiting for him there. Someone that interesting was bound to have left some kind of trace in Liyue by now.
-----
Tea house.
"So someone like that has actually come to Liyue." After listening to Kaito — seated across the table from him — finish his account, Zhongli remarked as much.
Honestly, ever since meeting Kaito and his rather extensive circle of companions, Zhongli had found himself far less surprised by things than he used to be. There was simply no helping it — one adapted, in time.
And now...
Well...
Glancing between Lumine and Miko, Zhongli noted that only Miko had come along this time. Wendy wasn't here, nor was Kiana — the one who bore such an unsettling resemblance to the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
"Does our young friend Kaito have a way to deal with her?"
Seeing that only Lumine and Miko had accompanied Kaito today, Zhongli asked the question directly.
"That depends on when she decides to show herself — though there's a chance she might just lurk in the shadows and cause trouble from there instead." Kaito hadn't expected Zhongli to be quite this laid-back about the whole affair, to the point of simply asking outright whether he had a plan. He had no choice but to give what answer he could.
"Then we shall be counting on you when the time comes, young friend."
Zhongli followed with that, smoothly and without any apparent concern.
Kaito had half-expected Zhongli to take the initiative in handling Mobius himself — so hearing this left him somewhat speechless. The way Zhongli said it, you'd think Kaito was the Geo Archon and Zhongli was merely a bystander.
"Of course, Mr. Zhongli — that goes without saying."
Thinking it was one thing, but Kaito would never actually say otherwise. No matter how you looked at it, from Zhongli's perspective, Mobius was someone connected to Kaito — and had come to Liyue precisely because of him. So of course he couldn't refuse. He simply hadn't anticipated Zhongli being quite this hands-off about the whole situation.
After a moment's thought, he added: "That said, Mr. Zhongli — you should probably give certain people a heads-up."
Since they were inside a tea house, Kaito kept his words deliberately vague, gesturing only that Zhongli ought to notify certain people — even though they were in a private room to themselves.
Those "certain people," of course, meant the Liyue Qixing and the adepti.
"Naturally." Zhongli gave a measured nod.
In truth, the reason he was leaving this in Kaito's hands was precisely to give the young man an opportunity to demonstrate his capabilities before the Qixing and the adepti — it wasn't as though Zhongli intended to wash his hands of the matter entirely. This turn of events had caught him somewhat off guard, but since he had already been contemplating entrusting his Gnosis to Kaito, having a few additional trials thrown into the mix wasn't a bad thing at all.
"Everyone should also be on alert for disappearances," Kaito continued. "I have a feeling Mobius might try to use people as test subjects."
Feeling that Zhongli was being a little too relaxed about all of this, he offered the suggestion anyway.
"Mm. I'll pass that along." Zhongli nodded once more, then lifted his teacup and took a quiet sip.
How is Zhongli this laid-back...
Surely he doesn't actually think he's fully retired, does he? But this sort of thing is completely beyond what the Qixing or the adepti could manage on their own...
Watching Zhongli contentedly sip his tea, Kaito couldn't help but think it. He kept the thought firmly to himself, of course.
Right...
I'm here too... And so are Miko and Lumine...
Could that be why Zhongli said to leave it to me?
The thought struck Kaito all at once, and it immediately felt very plausible. But it wasn't the sort of thing he could just come out and ask — at least not here.
"Childe is here." Just then, Zhongli set his teacup down and said so, entirely out of nowhere.
Childe? That fast?
Kaito instinctively looked toward the door. He hadn't expected Childe to track down the tea house so quickly.
But then he thought about it — Childe had always been the one footing the bill here. Of course he'd remember the place. You don't keep picking up the tab somewhere and then forget where it is. That would defeat the entire purpose.
Knock knock knock —
While Kaito was still turning that over in his head, a knock came at the door. That would be Childe, right enough.
"Come in." Zhongli called toward the door.
Creak —
"Well, quite the crowd in here. I was expecting it to just be Mr. Zhongli." Taking in the faces gathered in the room, Childe looked genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected nearly this many people.
"We're discussing some matters. Have someone bring in a chair." Zhongli's response to Childe's appearance was, as ever, perfectly measured.
"Standing isn't so bad either — but with this many people, I suppose I'd better find a proper seat." Childe laughed and stepped back out of the room.
Discussing some matters...
Back out in the hall, Childe turned those words over in his mind.
Could they be talking about that girl? If so, his timing in returning to Liyue was almost suspiciously perfect — not just good timing, but perfectly, impeccably perfect.
A short while later, Childe reappeared in the doorway, carrying a chair.
"I'll sit right next to Mr. Zhongli, if that's alright." Saying so, he set the chair down beside Zhongli and settled into it.
As he did, Miko — seated nearby — found herself quietly taken aback. She hadn't expected a Fatui Executive to be quite so... at ease beside the Geo Archon. So casually close, at that.
This wasn't the place to press that question, though. She'd save it for later and ask Kaito properly once they were back.
"By all means — sit wherever you like, Childe." Zhongli said it with his usual easy composure, no particular weight to the words at all.
"Mr. Zhongli always has a way of making a person feel completely at home." Childe laughed.
Then, deciding that directness was the better approach, he pressed on: "Speaking of which — with this many people gathered here, what exactly is it you're all discussing?"
[Author image embed: 图图.jpg]
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