"The new Fatui Harbinger—Ausbilder."
"..."
As Collei stared at the man before her, her eyes filled with despair.
In recent years, in her quest to find the missionary who had injected her with the god's remnants, she had frequently co into contact with the Fatui.
Real contact—the kind where blows were exchanged.
So she knew all too well the significance of a Harbinger within the Fatui.
They were the twelve strongest individuals in the organization, more terrifying even than the missionary she sought vengeance against.
"I’ll give you ten minutes. Get dressed and et
upstairs. If you're late, I won’t wait for you," Bai Luo said, satisfied with Collei’s expression as he confiscated her fruit knife.
"Clothes?"
Only when Bai Luo ntioned clothes did Collei instinctively look down at herself.
A second later, her face flushed with embarrassnt.
The tight bandages wrapped around her had given her the illusion of wearing clothes, but she only now realized that she had been prancing around like a monkey in front of him in such a state.
"Don’t even think about running. This is a Fatui stronghold, and our people are everywhere. Whether you try to escape through the chimney or the sewer, soone’s guarding it."
"!!!"
It wasn’t until Bai Luo’s footsteps faded down the hallway that Collei finally let out a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the large bed.
She glanced at the bandages wrapped around her body, noticing the faint sll of dicine on them.
The dication was effectively suppressing her illness, allowing her to feel more relaxed than she had in a long ti.
After confirming the bandages were secure, Collei’s gaze shifted to the clothes lying beside her.
Judging by the style, they seed like Mondstadt’s casual attire, but of much higher quality.
Just touching the fabric with her fingers, she could feel the smooth, silk-like texture.
If I wear this...
Just imagining the sensation of wearing the clothes made Collei feel a strange softness spreading from within her bones.
Looking at her old, weathered clothes that had been eroded by years of sand and wind, Collei eventually accepted the new outfit.
"This is Mondstadt clothing, not Fatui's," she muttered to herself, trying to rationalize accepting Bai Luo's "gift."
Once dressed, Collei followed Bai Luo’s instructions and headed to the rooftop of the Goth Grand Hotel.
As soon as she opened the door to the rooftop, a refreshing breeze greeted her, blowing gently against her face.
It wasn’t a strong wind, but a soft one, sweeping away her travel fatigue and calming her previously turbulent thoughts.
Compared to the harsh, sandy winds of the desert, Mondstadt’s breeze was surprisingly gentle.
I wish I could stay in this wind forever, never waking from it...
"You'll be mistaken for a fool by the citizens of Mondstadt if you stay like that."
"..."
Collei shot a resentful look at Bai Luo, who had shattered the peaceful mont.
If she didn’t know she couldn’t beat him, she would’ve definitely pounced on him by now.
Bai Luo, indifferent to her mood, began collecting the condensed mist grass extract he had left to dry on the rooftop, carefully placing it into a gadget sent by the Doctor.
This was an upgraded version of the chanical bird, capable not only of amplifying the effects of mist grass extract but also containing compounds that could bewilder monsters.
The best part was that this version had a delayed activation feature, perfect for catching those knights off guard.
"Here, take this."
After gathering the chanical birds, Bai Luo casually tossed the heavy package to a bewildered Collei.
"What are you trying to do?" Collei struggled with the weight of the bundle, increasingly unable to comprehend the strange Harbinger before her.
She knew that, given all the things she'd done against the Fatui in the past, Bai Luo could kill her, and she wouldn't be able to say a word in protest.
But this act of not killing her yet not letting her go made her feel deeply uneasy.
"Don’t talk, just follow ," Bai Luo said.
"... Damn it."
The Mondstadt plains stretched endlessly, covered in lush green grass as far as the eye could see.
Here, there was no fear of getting lost; simply follow the wind, and it would lead you back to Mondstadt.
Most importantly, there was little danger in Mondstadt besides hilichurls and a few scattered monsters.
Compared to Inazuma, where Yokai road and bosses were everywhere, this place was practically heaven.
"Ugh... why am I doing this?" Collei muttered in frustration as she hid in the bushes, staring at a hilichurl camp not far away.
It had been two days since Bai Luo led her out of Mondstadt.
During these two days, that so-called "Ausbilder" had tasked her with placing so strange device in hilichurl or sli camps, all without alerting the creatures.
He even nad it: The Gentleman's Daylight Infiltration.
This was nothing short of torture.
Hilichurls were humanoid creatures that operated in tribes.
Though not particularly intelligent, they weren’t fools either.
They could use weapons, elental powers, and tools, and they even built houses with a distinctive style.
Trying to plant sothing foreign in their nests without alerting them was an impossible challenge.
Luckily, the assassination techniques taught to her by a mysterious figure in the past included a solution for situations like this.
Climbing a large tree, Collei peered at the hilichurl camp.
Though it was midday, the hilichurls were lazily napping on the ground, occasionally scratching their behinds, completely at ease.
Even the lookout, who was supposed to be on guard, was snoozing with a large bone in his arms.
She set aside the dagger she used for self-defense and began looking around. Eventually, she picked up a few fist-sized rocks.
While not lethal, they were heavy enough to hurt if thrown.
She weighed one in her hand and then hurled it toward the sleeping lookout hilichurl.
Despite appearing sound asleep, the hilichurl was actually very alert.
Collei had learned this the hard way before—if not for Bai Luo’s tily intervention, she would have ended up in a situation straight out of a dark tale.
"Dalasi! (Who's there!)" The rock missed the hilichurl, but it jolted awake.
Grabbing a large bone club, it began banging it on the ground, shouting in warning.
"Yaya! (Be on guard!)"
Hilichurls were cautious creatures.
Though the Traveler had yet to arrive, the Knights of Favonius occasionally used them as training targets for new recruits, so their lives were far from peaceful.
The gathered hilichurls glanced around but saw no enemies.
"Dala? (Anyone there?)"
After surveying the area and finding nothing, all the hilichurls turned toward the one who had raised the alarm.
"Nyemito... (Didn't see anyone...)" The lookout scratched its head awkwardly.
It couldn’t very well admit it had been napping on duty.
"Yo~ (You're such a fool~)"
Realizing it was a false alarm, the hilichurls returned to their spots and resud their naps.
The lookout, however, grumbled to itself, "Mosigusha... (Not happy...)" and reluctantly resud its post.
But only a few minutes later, the lookout shouted again, "Yaya! Dala! (Enemy invasion, stay alert!)"
This ti, however, the other hilichurls ignored it.
So even covered their ears, refusing to get up.
A few hurled sticks in its direction, grumbling curses, but none bothered to investigate.
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