Mobius is formidable, no doubt about that...
But she still isn't quite at Wendy's level...
Though she'd have more than enough to put you in your place, Childe.
Such were Kaito's quiet, private thoughts in response to Childe's exclamation.
What he still couldn't predict was whether Childe would actually choose to test himself against Mobius.
If Childe had no interest in that, Mobius certainly wouldn't take the initiative to challenge him. But if he did — then Mobius would make sure Childe got another very personal education in what Honkai was capable of.
"But..." Just as Kaito was turning that question over in his mind, Childe spoke up again. There was a faint note of hesitation in his voice. "Is there truly such a thing as an immortal being in this world?"
As a Fatui Harbinger, Childe naturally had access to a great many secrets — things that ordinary people, and even plenty of extraordinary ones, never got to hear. Even so, he had never once come across any account of a truly immortal being existing anywhere in the world.
After all, even the gods themselves were not above death.
And yet...
Everyone in Kaito's circle seemed to be entirely extraordinary...
Watching Kaito and turning over everything he'd witnessed up to this point, Childe couldn't help but think exactly that.
If anyone else had made a claim like this, he'd have dismissed it without a second thought. But Kaito was different. Whether it was Kaito himself or the women around him, every single one of them was a being that stood shoulder to shoulder with the gods.
And so, Childe had long since decided: whatever someone like Kaito said was worth taking seriously.
"Whether you believe it or not is entirely up to you — that's not really the point anyway," Kaito replied. He wasn't particularly invested in convincing Childe of anything, because that genuinely wasn't the crux of the matter. On the surface or in substance, it made no difference — the immortality was simply one piece of background context on Mobius, nothing more.
"Oh? Then what is the point?" The moment Kaito implied there was a crux, Childe sat up straighter, his interest sharpening visibly.
Every single thing Kaito had shared with him today had been significant, weighted — and yet, with all of that on the table, he was saying there was still something more important he hadn't touched on. Childe was already burning with impatience to find out what it was.
This guy...
Was he even listening to a word I said?
One look at Childe's expression — bright with expectation — and Kaito knew immediately that he'd been misunderstood.
It was obvious: Childe had concluded there was something even more explosive about Mobius still waiting to come out. In reality, all Kaito had meant was that their priority — their actual objective — was to find Mobius and stop her from doing whatever she was planning.
"The point is to find Mobius." Under Childe's expectant gaze, Kaito stated it plainly.
Then, as if something had just occurred to him, he added: "Mobius, by the way — that's the name of the friend I've been talking about."
Kaito was perfectly aware that Childe already knew Mobius's name. But from Childe's perspective, Childe had no idea that Kaito knew this — so Kaito made a deliberate point of mentioning it, as though he were simply introducing the name for the first time.
"Ah — right, I see. Got it." Childe laughed a little awkwardly, realizing he'd read the situation wrong, then pressed on: "Though I have to say, Mobius is a rather pleasant name. I wonder what it means."
Of course, he'd heard the name not long before. But Childe kept up the act of hearing it for the very first time — going so far as to perform genuine curiosity about its meaning.
Though truthfully, he was a little curious about it.
"It means infinity." Seeing that Childe was curious, Kaito answered him.
"Infinity?" The meaning clearly caught Childe off guard. He blinked, briefly surprised, then continued: "That suits her perfectly, doesn't it — given that she cannot die."
"Exactly." Kaito gave a nod.
"Understood. I'll have my people keep an eye out." Even having already met Mobius, Childe kept up his performance without missing a beat. Then he appeared to think of something, and added: "Oh, right — what does your friend Mobius actually look like? Right now all I know is that she appears as a little girl, which is still an awfully wide net to cast. I'll need something a bit more specific to narrow things down."
Having said that, Childe looked over at Kaito with an air of patient expectation, as though simply waiting for an answer.
This guy, Childe...
He's quite the actor...
Watching Childe pour so much effort into the performance, Kaito couldn't help but think exactly that.
Not that it mattered. He was no slouch at playing his own part either — and he did it with considerably more authenticity.
"Actually, Mobius is fairly easy to pick out. She's usually sitting on something that looks like a box — and she has green hair."
"Mm, mm — got it, got it. I'll have my people keep a closer watch." Listening to Kaito's description, Childe nodded repeatedly to signal he'd absorbed every detail. "You know how it is with us Fatui — our intelligence network is second to none. We may track her down sooner than you'd think."
"Then I'm counting on you." Kaito gave a nod in return.
Since Childe had offered that much, it was only proper to ask — even if Kaito knew perfectly well that Childe's motives were entirely his own.
"Oh, right — Mr. Zhongli, why have you been so quiet this whole time?" Having drawn a satisfactory amount of information from Kaito, Childe suddenly noticed that Zhongli, seated beside them, hadn't uttered so much as a syllable. It struck him as distinctly odd.
Whatever way you looked at it, this matter concerned Liyue. Shouldn't the Geo Archon have something to say?
Oh, right.
I arrived late...
They've probably already finished their discussion.
It dawned on him a moment later, and he quickly amended: "Almost forgot — you two were already deep in conversation before I got here. That's probably why. It had completely slipped my mind."
With that, Childe burst into easy laughter.
"Indeed, that is so." Zhongli responded to the remark with a single, direct nod.
Zhongli, you're really just leaving me to handle everything on my own, aren't you?
...Then again, that's fine.
Childe makes for a perfectly unwitting audience for Mobius's grand debut.
Turning that thought over with quiet amusement, Kaito spoke up: "Come to think of it — why did you actually leave for a while there, Childe? Were you reporting back to someone? Or does the Fatui have some kind of evaluation you needed to attend to?"
"Ha, an evaluation? We Harbingers don't sit through anything like that." Finding the question rather entertaining, Childe couldn't hold back a laugh, then continued: "It was nothing, really — just a quick trip back. I hadn't been home in a while, and my family missed me, so I took the opportunity to have a proper holiday."
As for his actual reason for leaving Liyue, Childe said nothing.
He had a feeling Kaito might already know about Scaramouche's death — and might even have had some connection to it — but he chose not to bring it up.
____
👻🔥Heey! Walnut-chan for more chapters!🔥👻
🔥 New history: Re:Zero: Wrath Route Yandere Emilia Watches the Projection
✅ Unlock a 40-chapter backlog for ALL my series.
✅ Receive exclusive content and regular updates!
Help us reach these goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 universal bonus chapter
👻 P - Walnut-chan