"But this thing probably loses power with every use," Kairo murmured to himself.
In the next second, he realized that the energy sealed within the Light Cone wasn't a renewable resource.
Once used, it would be gone.
He put the Light Cone away, his fingers brushing lightly against it. The thin, translucent shard slipped neatly into his pocket.
A faint smile curved his lips as he walked home with an easy, unhurried stride.
The evening breeze gently swept through the streets, carrying away traces of the malt aroma drifting from the taverns.
It also brought with it that distinct warmth and tranquility of a Mondstadt night.
This harvest turned out to be even more fruitful than expected.
The Light Cone's appearance gave him greater confidence.
At least, when faced with unforeseen danger, he now had another layer of insurance.
If he used it wisely, the power of this "Abundant Path" could become a powerful aid.
Not only for healing injuries…
It might even allow him to turn the tide at a crucial moment.
Thinking of this, Kairo's mood brightened further.
As for Schwalro's surveillance? He didn't care anymore.
After all, it did him no harm.
While Kairo was thinking this—
Elsewhere, inside the Adventurers' Guild—
Within a quiet laboratory belonging to Albedo,
in front of a dissected Whopperflower corpse,
a crystalline mirror formed of Geo energy floated silently in the air.
The mirror reflected an image of one of Mondstadt's streets.
And within it—Kairo's figure appeared clearly.
Albedo narrowed his golden eyes slightly, a thoughtful gleam flickering in them.
This Geo construct of his could temporarily capture distant scenes.
When dissecting the Whopperflower, Albedo had sensed a thick, almost suffocating aura of destruction.
That had prompted him to secretly observe Kairo.
Unexpectedly, just as he found him, he saw—
the Fatui approaching Kairo of their own accord.
"How strange…"
Albedo muttered under his breath, eyes glinting.
The alchemical mirror fused from Geo energy could show images, but not transmit sound.
Even so, judging by the Fatui's typical methods, their appearance alone was enough to raise alarms.
And Kairo was merely an adventurer—why would they be after him?
More importantly, the way they interacted… it didn't look like they were strangers.
Albedo slid a finger across the air; the image in the mirror shimmered and then faded into darkness.
He frowned slightly, thoughts whirling.
The Fatui elites who'd died earlier on Mondstadt's streets had been suspected to be victims of the Abyss Order.
Yet Kairo and Klee had returned with a Whopperflower corpse that emanated that same aura of destruction.
All signs seemed to point toward one conclusion—
Kairo had some kind of connection to the Abyss Order.
But that made no sense.
The Abyss didn't recruit ordinary people—
and they certainly didn't care about mere "talent."
Could it be that Kairo harbored some secret—something extraordinary?
Either way, this wasn't something he could ignore.
After a moment's thought, Albedo made up his mind.
He would head to the Knights of Favonius Headquarters.
He needed to find Klee.
If he wanted to understand more about that aura of destruction,
perhaps he could glean some clues from her.
Klee might be innocent and carefree,
but she had a knack for stumbling into things no one else noticed.
And recently—she'd been spending a lot of time with Kairo.
Yes. He could start by talking to her.
With that decision made, Albedo turned and left the lab.
Outside, guild members were still chattering excitedly about today's "astonishing find."
When they saw Albedo step out, their eyes widened in surprise.
"Mr. Albedo, you're done already? Did you finish the analysis?"
"I wonder how much that Whopperflower corpse is worth… to an alchemist, it must be priceless!"
"Definitely! And Mr. Albedo is generous—he might even reward the adventurer with potions!"
"Man, I'm jealous…"
They couldn't help but envy Kairo, the one who'd brought in the Whopperflower specimen.
As if hauling back sack after sack of rare materials wasn't enough—now he'd even delivered a rare monster corpse.
"The assessment's done. I'll deal with it when I return," Albedo said calmly to Katheryne,
then strode off.
Night settled over Mondstadt, lanterns flickering gently in the streets.
The Knights of Favonius Headquarters stood brightly lit amid the quiet.
Albedo walked steadily down the familiar stone corridor, his footsteps echoing faintly.
He arrived at Klee's room—
and even before he knocked, faint bang-bang sounds and a girl's excited muttering reached his ears.
There was no mistaking it.
Klee was once again engrossed in making her "Klee Special Surprise"—bombs.
Albedo frowned slightly and rapped on the door.
Before he could enter, the faint smell of gunpowder and sulfur seeped through the crack.
He fell silent.
…She was really playing with explosives in her room?
"Klee," he called as he pushed open the half-closed door.
The sight that greeted him made him pause.
Klee's room was chaos incarnate.
Powdered materials, metal casings, detonators, color-coded vials—
the entire floor and desk were buried beneath them.
And there she sat in the middle of it all,
holding a small, ornate bomb, excitedly attaching a fuse.
Her face, arms, even her red cape were smudged black with soot,
as if she'd just crawled out of a blast zone.
But the grime didn't dampen her spirits in the slightest—
her grin was radiant.
"Mmhmm~! Klee's next super bomb is almost done!"
She gave the bomb a proud little squeeze—
—then froze, eyes going wide as she spotted the figure in the doorway.
"Albedo… big brother?!"
Klee blinked blankly for a second, then beamed, hopping over to him in delight.
She grabbed his sleeve, eyes sparkling.
"Albedo big brother! You're here! Aren't you supposed to be really busy?"
Albedo looked down at the soot-covered girl, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.
His eyes swept the messy room, and one thought instantly crossed his mind—
If I leave her like this, the entire Knights Headquarters might be rubble by morning.
Before he could speak, Klee had already started chattering away.
"Actually, you came at the perfect time!" she said happily.
"Klee's running out of bombs today! I wanted to make more, but something about the powder mix feels off…"
She clung to his arm, eyes wide with expectation.
"Albedo big brother, if you're not too busy, can you help Klee make more bombs?"
Albedo: "..."
"…Let me take a look at your bomb first."
He picked one up and examined it carefully.
A brief inspection told him—it was just an ordinary bomb.
No trace of that earlier aura of destruction.
He fell silent, lost in thought.
Klee had been spending time with Kairo.
And her bombs—the ones that carried that strange destructive power—had appeared since then.
He needed to know if this was coincidence or something else.
With a soft sigh, Albedo reached out to ruffle her hair and smiled faintly.
"We'll talk about the bombs later. I want to ask you a few questions first."
At the mention of "bombs later," Klee brightened immediately.
"Okay!"
"Today the Adventurers' Guild sent me a Whopperflower corpse.
Miss Katheryne said you brought it back. Was it you who defeated it?"
"Uh-huh!" Klee nodded quickly. "Klee blew it up! Klee threw lots of bombs and—boom!—it fell over!"
Albedo studied her quietly, golden eyes flickering.
He wasn't surprised—only contemplative.
"Klee," he said gently but firmly, "are you sure… they were just ordinary bombs?"
Klee blinked, tilting her head. "Eh? Yeah, just the same ones I always use!"
Albedo sighed, tracing a gesture in the air as he spoke, reconstructing the explosion in his mind.
"Ordinary bombs, even infused with Pyro Energy, can indeed hurt a Whopperflower," he said slowly.
"But the problem is—Whopperflowers are mimetic monsters, especially Cryo Whopperflowers. Their elemental resistance is extremely high."
"Simple Pyro blasts shouldn't have been able to blow it apart so completely."
"The outer petals of a special Whopperflower form a barrier tough enough to resist shockwaves for a short time.
Even with your Pyro Vision, it's impossible to cause such damage that quickly."
His gaze sharpened slightly.
"So… your bomb wasn't ordinary."
Klee's heart skipped a beat.
She clenched her tiny fists, trying to look calm, but her expression froze for a brief instant.
Albedo didn't miss it.
He continued evenly, "And it's not just this Whopperflower incident. The explosion by Starfell Lake was the same—the power far exceeded the design."
"That bomb was one I made myself," he added quietly, tone certain.
"I know exactly how strong it was supposed to be."
Klee's face immediately fell, her mouth opening slightly in guilt.
The Starfell Lake explosion… she'd already admitted to that one.
And got grounded for a whole day because of it.
Oh no… Albedo big brother found out again…
"Someone modified your bombs, didn't they?" Albedo asked gently.
Klee's expression scrunched up.
Wow, Albedo was really smart.
He figured it out that fast.
Seeing her reaction, Albedo nodded slightly, confirming his suspicions.
Klee's bombs—were connected to Kairo.
"Was it Kairo?" he asked softly.
Klee's heart skipped again, her red eyes darting away.
Her small hands hid behind her back, toes drawing nervous circles on the floor.
Like a child caught doing something naughty, she couldn't meet his eyes.
Her silence said it all.
"So it really was him," Albedo sighed quietly.
As expected—but the crease between his brows deepened.
Standing straight, his voice turned serious.
"Klee, do you know that Mondstadt has become dangerous lately?"
"Eh?" Klee blinked in confusion. "Dangerous?"
"Yes." Albedo nodded gravely. "The repeated explosions have drawn Acting Grand Master Jean's attention.
And Kaeya is already investigating the blast marks near Starfell Lake."
"Even Eula has sent word."
"Ka–Kaeya big brother?!" Klee gasped.
"Mm." Albedo's expression remained stern. "This is more serious than you think."
"If a bomb's power goes out of control, people could get hurt.
And far too many in Mondstadt have started noticing."
"Ah?" Klee scratched her head, puzzled. "Is it really… that bad?"
They were just bombs, right?
She only wanted to make them stronger to blow up fish—she never meant to hurt anyone.
"I'm not blaming you," Albedo said softly.
"But these are clear signs—signs that can't be hidden."
"Kairo doesn't seem to be trying to conceal them either. Otherwise, the explosive traces would have been cleaned up."
"I simply want to understand the situation—and perhaps… invite him to join the Knights of Favonius."
He massaged his temple lightly.
"So, can you tell me how you met him?"
"Outside Mondstadt," Klee said after a moment, tapping her chin.
"Klee was surrounded by Hilichurls and wolves, and then Kairo big brother appeared! He was super amazing—his sword skills were even better than Acting Grand Master Jean's!"
"Better than Jean's swordsmanship?" Albedo blinked, visibly surprised.
Was that even possible?
But then again—Klee never lied.
And given Kairo's growing reputation, maybe it wasn't impossible.
So, Kairo had saved her once.
"After that, Kairo big brother helped Klee, and Klee took him to Starfell Lake to go fish-blasting!"
"Klee's bombs became much, much stronger after Kairo big brother touched them."
She hesitated a little, then added softly,
"Then Klee kept asking Kairo big brother to help make them stronger."
"…Just as I suspected."
Albedo nodded slowly—unsurprised, but more certain than ever.
He had only needed confirmation.
Considering the bomb's immense destructive power, he asked carefully,
"How exactly did he do it? You don't have to say if it's inconvenient."
"I obtained the Whopperflower corpse through him too, so I'll need to speak with him anyway."
Klee tilted her head, thinking hard.
"Mm… Kairo big brother just touched it once."
Albedo: "...What???"
Touched it once?
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