Chapter 68. La Signora and Dottore's Meeting
While Futsu Mitama and the others were still traveling toward Sumeru, Signora who had departed earlier had already arrived in Sumeru City.
Her journey had been exceptionally fast.
In fact, she had reached Sumeru three or four days ahead of schedule and immediately used her status as a Snezhnayan Diplomat to request an audience with the Akademiya's Great Sage.
At first, the conversation remained relatively smooth.
Signora directly stated that she wished to meet Dottore.
However, the Great Sage calmly informed her that Dottore was currently occupied with extremely important research and had no time to meet outsiders.
Signora suppressed her impatience and instead requested to see Scaramouche.
Unexpectedly, the Great Sage merely shook his head again.
"Scaramouche is even busier than Dottore. He likewise has no time to see you."
The moment she heard this, Signora's expression nearly twisted on the spot.
Dottore being busy was understandable.
But Scaramouche?
Busy with what exactly?!
Still, since she had already come all the way to Sumeru, she could only force herself to endure it.
After taking a deep breath, she asked when the two of them would become available.
The Great Sage merely answered calmly that he did not know.
Recently, both Dottore and Scaramouche had been extremely occupied. Once they became free, someone would naturally notify her.
After saying this, the Great Sage simply turned and left.
He himself had countless matters to deal with and had no interest in wasting additional time entertaining the Harbinger.
The only reason he had shown even the slightest courtesy earlier was because of her status as both a Snezhnayan Diplomat and a Fatui Harbinger.
Otherwise, he would not even have bothered speaking with her.
(When played this version before, I often confused of why the Sages behave so arrogantly? What is backing them? Power might be possible since they can meddle in Akasha, but this power is so feeble against many high strength individuals like Fatui Harbinger, like Traveler even Cyno.)
After all—
A new God was about to be born.
The Akademiya was on the verge of reclaiming the wisdom and glory of five hundred years ago.
Compared to such a grand undertaking, how could the Great Sage possibly have spare time to concern himself with the emotions of a Harbinger?
Hmph.
Women would only affect the speed of his research.
Thus, although La Signora was furious, she could not vent her anger publicly.
She could only remain temporarily in Sumeru City while secretly using Fatui channels to notify Dottore and Scaramouche that she wished to see them immediately once they became available.
As a result—
She waited.
Five entire days.
A full five days passed with Lady practically accomplishing nothing in Sumeru City.
This left her mood growing increasingly irritable.
If not for the need to deliver this intelligence to Dottore as quickly as possible, she would never have remained in this miserable place called Sumeru.
In her eyes, Sumeru was the easiest nation from which to obtain a Gnosis.
Mondstadt required caution.
Although Barbatos himself was weak, the overall strength of the Knights of Favonius could not be underestimated.
Liyue went without saying.
Rex Lapis, the Liyue Qixing, and the Millelith together formed a terrifying force. Unless Snezhnaya launched a full-scale war, obtaining the Geo Gnosis through force was practically impossible.
As for Inazuma—
The Raiden Shogun alone was enough to suppress the entire Fatui.
Even if the Tenryou Commission was incompetent, none of that mattered in front of absolute divine power.
But Sumeru?
Hah.
Lesser Lord Kusanali was weak and powerless; an imprisoned Archon.
The Akademiya only obsessed over knowledge all day long.
From top to bottom, they were all useless.
In the Harbinger's opinion, even if Lesser Lord Kusanali personally appeared before the Fatui, what could she do?
The Fatui could simply threaten Sumeru itself.
If she refused?
Too bad.
Without sufficient military strength, they had no choice but to endure humiliation.
Thus, the Lady had never truly regarded Sumeru seriously.
Her real focus had always been Mondstadt.
That was the stage where she could genuinely display her abilities.
Now, after wasting nearly five days in Sumeru, her patience was finally reaching its limit.
She had already decided—
If Dottore or Scaramouche still refused to appear today, then she would leave Sumeru immediately and stop wasting time here.
Fortunately, just as her patience was about to snap—
Dottore finally arrived.
"To personally travel from Liyue all the way to Sumeru just to find me…"
A calm voice slowly echoed through the room.
"That truly does not seem like your style."
Dottore walked inside leisurely, his expression as composed as ever.
"To be honest, I am somewhat surprised. It seems you have brought rather important information."
The one who appeared before her was naturally not Dottore's main body, but merely one of his many segments.
The moment Signora saw him, the frustration she had suppressed for days instantly erupted.
"So you finally decided to show yourself, Dottore! You made me wait here for five entire days!"
"Five days!"
"Do you even know how I've spent these last few days?!"
Clearly, her resentment had already reached its limit.
Dottore's time was valuable.
Scaramouche's time was valuable.
But was her time somehow worthless?!
"No need to be so angry, Rosalyne."
Dottore's tone remained calm and indifferent.
"I understand your dissatisfaction. However, you should also understand one thing. In front of me, even if you are angry, you should learn to restrain yourself."
"You would not want me to personally teach you proper etiquette, would you?"
His voice remained gentle. Yet that gentleness only made it colder.
Rosalyne's expression immediately darkened. She naturally understood the meaning behind Dottore's words.
This was not persuasion.
It was a warning.
With Dottore, excessive emotional outbursts could genuinely lead to death.
If not for the fact that both of them were Harbingers, he likely would have "educated" her long ago.
Rosalyne felt a surge of humiliation rise within her chest. But for the sake of the Fatui's plans, she ultimately forced herself to calm down once more.
"It seems you have regained your composure."
Dottore nodded in satisfaction.
Then he slowly asked,
"Now then, Rosalyne. What exactly happened for you to travel all the way to Sumeru to find me?"
Rosalyne no longer wasted time with meaningless pleasantries.
She immediately got to the point.
"That woman Aila isn't dead. Neither of them died."
"What exactly is going on?! This outcome was completely outside the plan!"
Yes.
Everything had already deviated from the original plan.
Previously, after receiving information from Dottore, Rosalyne had personally traveled to Liyue to meet Futsu Mitama.
Even before arriving, she already understood one thing very clearly—
Futsu Mitama's strength vastly surpassed her own.
If possible, she would never willingly confront him.
Because one careless mistake could genuinely cost her life.
However, in order to guarantee Black Aila's death, she still chose to take the risk.
She deliberately allowed Futsu Mitama and Aila to participate in the so-called fusion battle.
Yet the final result had been completely different from what she expected.
Not only was Black Aila still alive—
Even Futsu Mitama's maid Aila remained completely unharmed.
This outcome directly shattered Rosalyne's understanding of the situation.
That was precisely why she immediately rushed to Sumeru after leaving Liyue.
On one hand, she wanted an explanation.
On the other hand—She knew Dottore well enough to understand that once he heard this news, he would absolutely become interested.
"What?!"
As expected.
The moment Dottore heard those words, his pupils contracted violently.
Then—
His body trembled slightly.
Not from fear.
But from excitement.
If Black Aila and White Aila had fought until only a single "Aila" remained, Dottore would merely have smiled faintly.
Because from the very beginning, the appearance of Futsu Mitama's maid had already proven that his experiment had succeeded.
A "Demon God" had been created through his research.
To Dottore, that alone was already enough.
The only troublesome variable was Black Aila's existence.
That was why he intended to use Futsu Mitama and White Aila to eliminate her.
Yet now—
Both survived?
Both of them survived?!
How was that even possible?!
Could some higher existence have intervened?
But why would they interfere?
Dottore could guarantee with absolute certainty—
Entities like Aila should never have been capable of peaceful coexistence within Teyvat.
Yet Rosalyne had personally witnessed it.
Otherwise, she would never have rushed to Sumeru immediately.
"Impossible…"
"This should not have happened…"
"But if it truly happened…"
Dottore's breathing gradually became heavier.
"Interesting."
He began pacing back and forth through the room, unable to conceal the excitement in his voice.
Nearby, Rosalyne folded her arms and watched him with a mocking smile.
Because this was a rare sight.
Dottore usually behaved as though everything in the world remained under his control.
Seeing him lose composure like this made her feel significantly better after suffering through five miserable days in Sumeru.
Finally, Dottore stopped moving.
He slowly took a deep breath, seemingly forcing himself to calm down.
"Enough."
"Enough, enough…"
"I understand. There is no need for you all to keep reminding me inside my head."
"I know very well what I should do next."
"I will not go to Liyue."
"After all, I clearly understand the foolish things that idiot segment did there. If I enter Liyue now, Rex Lapis will likely capture me directly."
"But…"
Dottore slowly narrowed his eyes.
"Aren't you curious? What exactly happened to that 'Aila'? What state are the two of them currently in?"
"This may very well be the path toward truth."
Rosalyne quietly watched Dottore muttering to himself without interrupting him.
Because she knew exactly what he was doing.
He was communicating internally with his other segments.
Only after all of the "Dottores" finished arguing among themselves would the true Dottore finally make a decision.
To be honest, Rosalyne despised this habit of his.
Although these internal discussions usually prevented major mistakes in overall direction, if several segments disagreed with one another, the debate could continue for days before reaching a conclusion.
Moreover—
Dottore himself was an extremely arrogant existence.
Even his own segments refused to yield to each other.
And the segment that had previously caused chaos in Liyue—
Was the perfect example of that arrogance.
However, when it came to Black Aila, Dottore merely muttered to himself for a brief moment before falling silent once more. Beneath the mask, no one could discern what expression he wore now.
Soon after, Dottore slowly took a deep breath, as though forcibly suppressing something within himself.
Then he turned his gaze toward Rosalyne and calmly said, "Rosalyne, I am very satisfied with the intelligence you have brought me."
"But I am deeply displeased with your attitude just now. Therefore, I need you to remain here and assist me with something."
Rosalyne was slightly startled. Immediately afterward, she waved her hand decisively and rejected him outright.
"Impossible. I refuse. I still have my own matters to handle—"
"Boom—!!"
A terrifying pressure, akin to divine might itself, erupted from Dottore's body in an instant. The overwhelming aura crashed down upon Rosalyne, forcibly suppressing her and cutting off the rest of her words.
Dottore walked forward step by step until he stood directly before Rosalyne. Looking down at her, he spoke in a cold and indifferent tone.
"I am not discussing this matter with you, Rosalyne. As the Second of the Fatui Harbingers, I am ordering you to cooperate with me in the acquisition of the dendro gnosis."
Rosalyne's expression immediately became extremely unsightly beneath the crushing pressure.
Even though Dottore was using both status and strength to suppress her, would she simply lower her head because of that?!
She was the Crimson Witch of Flames.
How could she yield so easily over such a matter?!
"What is it?"
Rosalyne straightened her posture by force, glaring at Dottore with an impatient expression as she spoke coldly,
"I am very busy. If it is not something important, then allow me to leave Sumeru and head to Mondstadt to carry out Her Majesty the Tsaritsa's orders."
"The acquisition of the Anemo Gnosis is equally important compared to your experiments and missions."
At this moment, Rosalyne had indeed yielded slightly, but not completely.
Rather, she was issuing Dottore a warning.
Every Harbinger possessed their own mission, and she absolutely could not allow her own task to fail because of Dottore's affairs.
Hearing Rosalyne's words, Dottore seemed to let out a faint chuckle.
He knew that Rosalyne had already compromised to a certain extent.
Thus, he withdrew the terrifying aura surrounding him before calmly saying, "When the appropriate time arrives, I will assist you in obtaining the Anemo Gnosis."
Rosalyne frowned slightly.
She did not understand why Dottore would suddenly say such a thing.
Assist her in obtaining the Anemo Gnosis?
Could it be that Dottore also intended to head toward Mondstadt?
But Mondstadt had already blacklisted Dottore long ago. If he truly dared to set foot there, then he should already be prepared to face the Knights of Favonius' highest combat forces.
Although Dottore was undeniably powerful and possessed strength comparable to that of a Demon Gods, even someone with Demon God-level power could not recklessly act within another Archon's nation.
Because no one could predict how many hidden trump cards the opponent still possessed.
"You will understand when the time comes."
Dottore smiled mysteriously and did not explain further.
He merely looked toward Rosalyne and slowly continued, "What I require from you is simple. Remain in Sumeru and cooperate with Azar in my stead."
"I have a premonition that Futsu Mitama and his group will come searching for us. When that happens, I need you and Azar to work together and apprehend them the moment they are discovered."
"As for the charges…" Dottore paused briefly before indifferently waving his hand. "Forget it. You can decide that part yourself."
Rosalyne's brows furrowed even deeper.
She truly could not understand why Dottore was so certain that Futsu Mitama and the others would come searching for them.
Was it because of the Electro Gnosis?
But hadn't Her Majesty the Tsaritsa and the Electro Archon already resolved that matter privately?
If that was the case, then Futsu Mitama should have had no reason to come to Sumeru at all.
Unless… there was some internal information she still did not know.
"What exactly do you mean?"
Rosalyne disliked this feeling of being left in the dark. Therefore, she directly questioned Dottore once again.
"Exactly what I said. Allow Azar to discover them. Capture them. Beyond that, do nothing else."
Dottore spoke calmly as he turned and walked toward the outside of the room.
At the same time, his indifferent voice slowly echoed once more.
"Once Scaramouche completes his transformation, we may obtain an entirely new path regarding the gnosis. And perhaps… the path toward truth itself will finally appear before our eyes."
With those words, Dottore departed.
He was not lying. Recently, he truly had been incomparably busy. Otherwise, he would likely have stayed behind to give Rosalyne several more instructions.
Rosalyne remained standing where she was, her brows tightly furrowed.
Even now, she still could not fully understand what exactly had happened between Dottore and Futsu Mitama.
There was clearly information she did not know.
But what kind of matter could make Dottore so certain that Futsu Mitama and the others would inevitably come to Sumeru?
However, after thinking for a while, Rosalyne eventually gave up.
She turned and walked out of the room, preparing to meet the Akademiya's Great Sage, Azar.
Although she disliked the assignment Dottore had given her, once she agreed to something, she would execute it perfectly.