Second floor of the Northland Bank.
Childe was currently examining a new weapon in his hands.
It was one of those elemental resonance weapons fresh off the forge in Liyue Harbor today.
Although his personal weapon wouldn't be ready for another month or so, that didn't stop him from taking a sneak peek~
This particular weapon was a longsword, temporarily borrowed from a Snezhnayan merchant.
Of course, borrowed was the key word here.
If he actually kept it, that Snezhnayan merchant would be in serious trouble.
If Childe decided to withhold the sword for his own use and Liyue found out, that merchant might very well be marked as a collaborator with the Fatui.
Childe already possessed a divine weapon — Polar Star, a gift from the Tsaritsa.
But that didn't stop him from being curious about these new weapons.
Though four-starred and not on par with Polar Star, elemental resonance weapons were still rare in Teyvat.
At the very least, the resonance effect had real value for someone like Childe.
He was a master of all weapons — it didn't matter what he used.
Lately, he just happened to prefer using the bow to test his own weak points.
Childe was a battle maniac; anything related to combat, he took seriously.
But clearly, wielding a weapon and forging one were two different domains entirely.
After flipping it around a few times and finding nothing special, Childe quickly lost interest and casually tossed the sword to a nearby Fatui soldier.
"Return it."
It wasn't that the sword wasn't strong.
His full set of custom weapons would be ready in a month. That would be the real test.
If this sword wasn't returned quickly, and Liyue caught wind of it, trouble would follow.
In the dim firelight, Childe's face remained calm as water.
"Confirmed?"
The kneeling Fatui soldier before him nodded solemnly.
"Yes, Lord Childe. Our internal intelligence includes visual records of high-ranking figures from all seven nations."
"The targets were definitely Acting Grand Master Jean of the Knights, Diluc of Dawn Winery, and Lisa, the librarian."
Childe gave a faint nod.
"The librarian... I remember — wasn't she flagged as dangerous in our records?"
"Yes, my lord. That Lisa is considered one of Mondstadt's top combatants. Our internal assessment ranks her at Demigod-tier."
Childe raised an eyebrow, a flicker of fighting spirit in his eyes.
But it quickly faded.
Lisa was a wielder of elemental magic — a specialist in long-range, large-scale magical attacks.
Not the type of opponent he was looking for.
He craved close combat, blade against blade.
Not being kited around by a mage.
Besides, if Lisa was considered dangerous, it meant she had the power to threaten even the Fatui Harbingers.
Rumor had it she was affiliated with the Hexenzirkel...
Childe had no desire to get entangled with that crazy bunch of witches.
"That woman — Signora — she's headed to Liyue, isn't she?"
Childe suddenly asked an out-of-the-blue question. The Fatui soldier blinked in surprise, then quickly answered.
"Yes, Lord Childe. Lady Signora has already secured the Anemo Archon's Gnosis, however..."
"She suffered a setback at the hands of that Lisa woman, didn't she?"
Childe let out a chuckle, tinged with amusement.
"That crazy woman... I told her not to be so arrogant. Did she really think that having the Tsaritsa's blessing made her superior?"
The soldier remained silent.
This was a matter between Harbingers — far above his station.
But being Childe's trusted subordinate, he had heard bits and pieces.
More accurately, he remembered the day Childe burst out laughing after reading an internal report.
Apparently, Signora had gone to Mondstadt intending to deal with the Stormterror dragon, only to run into Lisa, who was coincidentally handling business at the Four Winds Temple.
The two had clashed.
And Signora had come out slightly worse for wear.
That was why Lisa had been able to hold her off alone while Jean and the others were elsewhere.
Still, as his loyal subordinate, the soldier felt obliged to offer a word of caution.
"My lord, regardless... Lady Signora now has a Gnosis, and she's heading to Liyue..."
He looked worried, but Childe waved him off nonchalantly.
"Let her come. She thinks having one Archon's Gnosis makes her invincible?"
"Liyue's waters run deep. This isn't the little pond that is Mondstadt."
"If she dares stir up trouble here like she did there..."
Childe's face turned amused.
He was actually looking forward to Signora going on a rampage in Liyue Harbor.
That way, he could get a clearer picture of just what kind of monsters were lurking beneath the surface.
As for whether Signora could accomplish anything...
Forget it.
Even if Childe admitted she was slightly stronger than him, she was still far from Archon-level.
Even the Geo Archon didn't bother looking at her directly — just sent an adeptus to deal with her.
This was Liyue, after all. A place that could consume gods.
Unless the Tsaritsa herself came, along with the top three Harbingers, maybe then — maybe — something might happen.
The gap between the top three Harbingers and the rest was astronomical.
Even if Childe disliked both the Jester and Dottore, he couldn't deny it.
Those two were among the absolute apex of Teyvat's powerhouses.
Even the Seven Archons had to take them seriously.
"My lord, should we try making contact with the Mondstadt group?"
The Fatui soldier hesitated as he saw Childe stay silent for a long moment.
But Childe only scoffed.
"Contact? How?"
"Among the seven nations, no one hates the Fatui more than Mondstadt."
"Signora's stunt there only made things worse. If we show up, they'll probably kill us on sight."
"This is Liyue, not Mondstadt. If anything happens here, the adepti will suppress it immediately..."
That did remind the soldier of something.
He sighed, clearly reluctant.
"But Lord Childe, this is our best shot... The people who used to come and go from that place were either the Qixing or adepti. We had no way to approach them..."
"If we miss this chance..."
Childe raised his hand slightly, cutting off the long-winded explanation. His voice was soft.
"I never said we wouldn't make contact. Just not with the Mondstadt group."
The soldier paused, furrowing his brow in thought, then his eyes lit up.
"You mean... the Traveler?"
Childe was silent for a moment, eyes falling onto the classified documents sent personally by the Tsaritsa.
Information on Lumine, marked with the highest threat level.
Childe murmured:
"I'll handle the contact with the Traveler myself."
Hearing that Childe would take on this task personally, the subordinate was relieved.
He paused, then added:
"My lord, there's one more matter..."
He hesitated for a moment before speaking:
"Headquarters received a message from Lord Dottore... He says he's running low on experimental materials..."
Before he even finished, Childe's expression turned cold. He slapped the table in annoyance.
"Tell him to get lost!"
"Does he think this is his lab? This is Liyue! If he wants to die, fine, but I'd like to live, thank you very much!"
"That damn lunatic!"
"And if any more letters come from Dottore — burn them. All of them!"
The Fatui members immediately broke out in cold sweat and quickly lowered their heads in acknowledgment before hurrying away.
Tartaglia let out a cold snort—his previously decent mood had now turned incredibly foul.
It was only after becoming a Harbinger and pledging allegiance to the Tsaritsa that he learned about the Doctor's research.
He had initially believed that most of those modified soldiers had volunteered, wanting to serve the Tsaritsa.
But later, he realized—the Doctor was conducting human experiments by force, and even involved children.
Tartaglia never claimed to be a good person, but he deeply loved his younger siblings, and he would never harm the weak or children.
The Doctor's experiments disgusted him, but since the Tsaritsa needed the Doctor's strength, Tartaglia could only turn a blind eye.
"You bastard!"
With a furious slap, Tartaglia shattered the table before him. His Delusion glowed with a sinister light.
"When Her Majesty no longer needs you, I'll make you pay!"
Taking a deep breath to calm the fury burning in his chest, Tartaglia turned and looked toward the sky, where the Jade Chamber floated.
After a long moment, he let out a faint sigh:
"Fate is truly cruel... Teucer, if we had been born in Liyue, your big brother might've been a good brother..."
Jade Chamber.
Everyone had already started eating and chatting.
Suddenly, Baishi walked in quickly and leaned over to whisper a few words into Ningguang's ear.
"Is that so..."
Ningguang waved her hand dismissively, clearly uninterested, and said lightly:
"Don't bother with them. Let them watch if they want to. As long as they don't enter Mt. Tianheng, they can stare all they like."
In the past, if she had learned the Fatui were monitoring their every move, Ningguang might have ordered a full audit.
But now...
Watch all you like. What can you even do after watching?
Bring in troops?
Never mind getting past the adepti—
The seven or eight hundred heavily armed cavalry and foot soldiers displayed alone would be enough to crush them.
In fact, Ningguang rather welcomed someone trying to poke Liyue's tiger whiskers right now—let Teyvat witness Liyue's true heritage.
Baishi had clearly expected such a response. After all, she and the other two secretaries were Ningguang's most trusted aides.
They could usually guess her thoughts with remarkable accuracy.
She bowed slightly and quietly took her leave.
Baishi's movements didn't draw much attention from the others.
By now, the banquet had smoothly entered the phase of casual conversation.
Paimon and Lumine were both full and now lay back in their chairs rubbing their bellies.
Seeing this, Ningguang waved her hand to have the table cleared and replaced with tea and desserts to help with digestion.
Of course, special cases get special treatment!
Venti still needed his alcohol, obviously.
Jean sipped her tea to moisten her throat, then looked at Ningguang and softly said:
"Ningguang, I... I have some questions. Could you help me understand something?"
"About that world?"
Jean nodded, then shook her head.
"Today we went to Ryen's world, and we saw so many things."
"Abundant resources, magical equipment, powerful alchemical potions and enchantments…"
"There was just so much—so dazzling—I…"
Seeing Jean looking a bit lost, Ningguang smiled gently:
"Overwhelmed by too much all at once, and not sure where to begin, is that it?"
Jean nodded.
"I understand. Reaching too far too fast could make us stumble hard. But I've thought carefully… all of those things—they seem to be treasures we truly need."
"Resources could strengthen Mondstadt's finances, equipment could arm our warriors, and potions could boost the Knights' combat effectiveness…"
"And all of this—seems to be exactly what we're lacking…"
As she spoke, Jean gave a slightly self-deprecating smile.
"In the end, it's because we're so far behind. Mondstadt's overall strength is too weak… to the point where we need everything…"
"But if we try to start everything at once, we don't even have enough people right now…"
"I… really don't know what to do."
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