“Wow! Collei, you’re amazing! You found another one!”

Amber’s eyes were full of admiration as she watched Collei pull a mechanical bird out of a tight crevice. 

She initially thought her new friend, whom she had just met the day before, was only tagging along to cheer her on and boost morale. But Collei was even more efficient than Amber, almost effortlessly finding mechanical birds hidden around Mondstadt.

“Uh… just lucky,” Collei replied, a little unnerved as she avoided Amber’s gaze, feeling guilty. 

After all, these mechanical birds had been placed there under Bai Luo’s orders, so of course, she knew exactly where to find them.

It was Windblume Festival day, and although Bai Luo hadn’t restricted Collei’s movements, he was confident enough to let her wander freely around the city. 

Even though Jean had rushed to deploy additional forces to deal with the mechanical birds, time was running out. 

Even Amber, an Outrider, had been dispatched.

Compared to Amber’s lively personality, Collei seemed more somber.

However…

Watching Amber hop around like a little rabbit, enthusiastically searching for mechanical birds, Collei couldn’t help but feel envious. 

She wondered if she would ever have a day as bright and carefree as Amber’s.

After yesterday’s efforts, Collei no longer felt uncomfortable when people looked at her with curious eyes. 

She reflected on how, in the past, entering a city would often lead to being hated or driven away. Now, that curious gaze didn’t seem so hard to handle.

Just like Bai Luo had told her, this was Mondstadt, the city of freedom. There was no war, no conflict, and no need to constantly be on guard against others.

Here, you could smile when you wanted to smile. Cry when you wanted to cry.

But…

“Cry?”

With a mocking glance at her own body, still wrapped in bandages, Collei recalled how, after her mother’s death and the beginning of her wandering, she had cried herself dry. She had vowed never to shed another tear.

“Ah—”

Both girls, who had been searching the city walls for more mechanical birds, were suddenly drawn to a commotion.

“Fatui… the Fatui?”

Seeing the disturbance coming from the Fatui’s direction, Collei tensed up. Perhaps even she hadn’t realized that she could feel nervous for the Fatui’s sake.

Black flames shot skyward, chains of fire piercing several Fatui soldiers and burning them to ashes. This strange black fire seemed to hunger for life itself. Once touched, survival was unlikely.

As the Fatui guards shouted orders, a figure with ice-blue hair leaped from the crowd, scaled the city walls, and dove into Cider Lake, disappearing without a trace.

“Let’s chase after them!”

Though the mysterious figure had attacked the Fatui, Amber, being a responsible knight, immediately decided to give chase. Besides, the ice-blue hair seemed oddly familiar to her… could it be?

Without hesitation, Collei followed Amber, leaping down after her.

However, she hadn’t noticed that, after she jumped down, the missionary she had been searching for all these years appeared among the Fatui.

The missionary swiftly extinguished the black fire, but the Fatui soldiers caught in it had already turned to ash, and even those who tried to help had suffered injuries.

Observing the burns, the missionary frowned slightly. 

He had come to Mondstadt specifically because of the black fire, but this particular black fire seemed different from the black serpent of flame described in the reports. Could it be…?

After ordering his subordinates to clean up the scene, the missionary didn’t engage in any discussions with the Knights of Favonius. That was more Bai Luo’s role. His job was solely to handle the black fire.

Looking in the direction where the blue-haired figure had fled, the missionary’s face showed a thoughtful expression.

<+>

Outside Mondstadt, a young boy carrying a satchel and holding a book marked with the Sumeru Akademiya’s emblem was muttering to himself. He wore a strange long robe, and on top of his head was a hat with two jackal-like ears. His long white hair peeked out from under the hood, giving him a slightly mischievous look, as if even his hair was curious about this free city.

His appearance was striking, reminiscent of the mythical Anubis. However, unlike that god of death, this boy exuded a scholarly aura rather than one of mortality.

Normally, someone dressed like him would attract a lot of attention in Mondstadt. But since it was the Windblume Festival, visitors from all over the world were arriving, many with exotic appearances. As a result, he didn’t stand out too much.

“Stop right there!”

A sharp voice suddenly rang out, causing the boy to look up reflexively. 

He saw a figure with night-owl-like features and blue hair dash past him, moving quickly along the road. Beneath that blue hair, a hint of fiery red was just barely visible.

After the blue-haired person ran by, two girls about the boy’s age came rushing up. One carried a bow and arrow, and the other was armed with a small knife, clearly in pursuit of the blue-haired figure.

“Hmm?”

As the bandaged girl with the knife ran past him, the boy seemed to sense something. 

His research focus at the Akademiya was on gods and medicine, and despite some kind of power suppressing it, he could still sense the divine presence within her.

Also… that particular scent of disease. Was she the girl he was sent to help?

“How is she?”

A sudden voice startled the boy, and he quickly assumed a defensive posture. 

When did this person get so close?

Even though he had a habit of getting absorbed in his studies, under normal circumstances he shouldn’t have missed someone approaching him.

“Don’t be alarmed. I’m the one who invited you here,” Bai Luo said, removing his mask and smiling warmly. In a modern context, he would look just like any ordinary college student. But the boy remained cautious.

As a member of the Fatui, Bai Luo had the organization’s symbol discreetly displayed on his sleeve: subtle golden patterns on his black coat, though the emblem itself was hard to miss.

“Where is she?” the jackal-eared boy asked warily.

Bai Luo’s knowledge of his identity and mission was strange. Could it be that the girl was already…?

“If you mean Lisa, she’s probably in the library. After you enter the city, just find any Knight of Favonius, and they’ll guide you to her.”

With the boy having arrived, Bai Luo wasn’t in a rush. He figured he’d let Collei enjoy the Windblume Festival a little longer before everything came to an end.

Reapplying his mask, Bai Luo prepared to track Collei again, following the marker he had placed on her. 

If he stayed too far from her, the archon residue within her might become active again. He didn’t want to take any chances.

“She’s in a bad way,” the boy said, breaking the silence as he watched Bai Luo don his mask once more.

If the girl suffering from the affliction was indeed the one he had come to help, then there was no harm in telling this Fatui member.

“The archon residue has spread throughout her body. Her condition is worse than I anticipated. It might not be possible to fully remove them…”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep