"The newly appointed Fatui Harbinger—the Instructor."
"..."
Looking at the man before her, Collei's eyes were filled with despair.
In recent years, in her search for the missionary who had injected her with the remnants of a demon god, she had frequently interacted with the Fatui.
And by "interacted," she meant literally fought them.
So she knew all too well the status of a Harbinger within the Fatui. They were the strongest twelve individuals, even more terrifying than her nemesis, the missionary.
"Ten minutes. I'll give you ten minutes to get dressed and meet me upstairs. Don't be late."
Bai Luo was quite satisfied with Collei's expression. After confiscating her fruit knife, he spoke.
"Clothes?"
When Bai Luo mentioned clothes, Collei instinctively looked down at herself. The next second, a blush spread across her face.
The tightly wrapped bandages had given her the illusion of being clothed. Only now did she realize that she had been jumping around in front of him like a monkey in such a state.
"Don't try to run. This is a Fatui stronghold. Our people are everywhere. Whether it's the chimney or the sewer, there are guards."
"!!!"
Only after Bai Luo's footsteps faded down the hallway did Collei finally relax, collapsing onto the bed.
She looked at the bandages on her body, which still carried the faint scent of medicine. The medicine was effectively suppressing her illness, leaving her feeling more relaxed than she had in years.
After confirming that the bandages were secure, Collei turned her attention to the set of clothes placed beside her.
Judging by the style... it seemed to be typical Mondstadt attire, though the fabric was of higher quality. Just running her fingers over it, she could feel the smooth, silky texture.
If she were to wear it...
Just imagining the sensation made her feel a deep, bone-deep softness.
Glancing at her old clothes, worn and eroded by years of sand and wind, Collei finally accepted the new outfit.
"This is Mondstadt clothing, not Fatui clothing."
After a bit of self-hypnosis, she accepted Bai Luo's "charity." Once dressed, Collei followed Bai Luo's instructions and made her way to the rooftop of the Goth Grand Hotel.
As she opened the door to the rooftop, a refreshing breeze greeted her. The wind wasn't too strong—it gently brushed against her cheeks, dispelling the weariness of her journey and calming her restless heart.
Compared to the sandstorms of the desert, Mondstadt's wind was so gentle...
She wanted to lose herself in this breeze and never wake up...
"If you keep standing like that, the citizens of Mondstadt will think you're an idiot."
"..."
Collei shot Bai Luo a resentful look. If she didn't know she was no match for him, she would have already pounced.
Bai Luo, however, didn't care about her feelings. He collected the Mist Grass extract that had been drying on the rooftop and packed it into a small device sent by Il Dottore.
This was an upgraded version of the mechanical bird. Not only did it amplify the effects of the Mist Grass extract, but it also contained components that could confuse monsters.
The most thoughtful feature was the delayed activation function, which could catch the Knights off guard.
"Take this."
After gathering the mechanical birds, Bai Luo casually tossed the bundle to a bewildered Collei.
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
Struggling to carry the heavy bundle, Collei was growing more and more confused by this strange Harbinger.
She knew that, given her past offenses against the Fatui, Bai Luo could have killed her without a second thought. But this neither killing her nor letting her go act was making her feel incredibly awkward.
"Don't talk. Just follow me."
"...Damn it."
...
The plains of Mondstadt stretched endlessly, covered in lush green grass that seemed to go on forever.
Here, you didn't even have to worry about getting lost—just follow the direction of the wind, and you'd find your way back to Mondstadt.
Most importantly, aside from Hilichurls and a few monsters, there were no real dangers within Mondstadt's borders.
Compared to Inazuma, where evil spirits roamed freely and powerful bosses were everywhere, this place was practically paradise.
"Ugh... why do I have to do this?"
Hiding in the bushes, Collei grumbled as she watched a Hilichurl camp in the distance.
She had been following Bai Luo out of Mondstadt for two days now. During that time, the so-called Instructor had been making her plant strange devices in Hilichurl or Slime gathering spots without alerting them.
He even called it: "Gentleman's Daylight Infiltration."
This was just plain torture.
Hilichurls were humanoid creatures that operated in tribes. While their intelligence was low, that didn't mean they were stupid.
They could use weapons and elemental powers, wield tools, and even build uniquely styled structures.
Trying to sneak something into their camp that didn't match their style without alerting them was just asking for trouble.
Fortunately, the assassination techniques left to her by that mysterious person included methods for situations like this.
Collei climbed up a tree and surveyed the Hilichurl camp from above.
It was midday, but the Hilichurls were lazily napping on the ground, occasionally scratching their butts, looking quite content.
Even the one supposed to be on watch was hugging a meat bone, fast asleep.
Setting aside the dagger she used for self-defense, Collei looked around and picked up a few fist-sized rocks.
They weren't particularly lethal, but they were heavy enough to hurt if thrown.
After weighing one in her hand, Collei hurled it at the Hilichurl on watch.
Despite its deep sleep, the Hilichurl was quite alert. If she got too close... Collei had already learned her lesson the hard way. If Bai Luo hadn't stepped in, things might have taken a turn straight out of a certain type of comic.
"Dalasi! (Who's there?)"
The rock didn't hit the Hilichurl, but it did catch its attention. The supposedly deep-sleeping creature immediately jumped up, grabbing a large bone club from beside it. It began banging the ground and shouting warnings.
"Yaya! (Alert!)"
Hilichurls were quite vigilant. Although the Traveler hadn't arrived yet, the Knights of Favonius occasionally used them as training dummies for new recruits.
So their lives weren't as carefree as they seemed.
The gathered Hilichurls looked around but didn't see any enemies.
"Dala? (Anyone there?)"
After a quick search, all the Hilichurls turned to the one who had raised the alarm.
"Nye mito... (Didn't see anything...)"
Scratching its head, the watchman Hilichurl looked embarrassed. It couldn't exactly tell its companions that it had been slacking off and napping.
"Yo~ (You idiot~)"
Seeing it was a false alarm, the Hilichurls returned to their spots and went back to napping.
The watchman, however, grumbled unhappily: "Mosi gusha... (Not happy...)" and went back to its post.
But just a few minutes later, the watchman Hilichurl started shouting again.
"Yaya! Dala! (Enemy attack, stay alert!)"
This time, however, its companions chose to ignore it, covering their ears and continuing to sleep. A few even threw sticks at it in annoyance.
But none of them got up to check.