Chapter 137. The Fatui Harbinger is here again!
The successful replication of the condensed resin aligned almost perfectly with Albedo and Zhongli's prior theoretical models.
The critical variable had always been singular: the Power of Time.
As long as that authority was correctly infused into the condensed resin's structural matrix, replication of the Chat Group's sign-in reward should, in principle, be achievable.
But theory and reality were never identical.
Futsu Mitama turned toward Zhongli, curiosity clear in his eyes. Success in form was one thing. Success in substance was another.
Kuki Shinobu, however, focused on something else entirely.
"As expected of a Liyue Adeptus," she said, folding her arms, studying Zhongli with an expression that was both sharp and triumphant. "Mr. Zhongli, you can stop pretending. I already know. The technique you just used—that's not something an ordinary person can explain away."
Her tone carried certainty.
Throughout this entire sequence of events, Zhongli's composure, knowledge base, and intervention capacity had far exceeded what could reasonably be attributed to a mere consultant of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
A mortal would not casually stabilize surplus temporal authority. A mortal would not stand at the center of discussions between Archons and ancient beings.
If one were to attend a dessert gathering between the Raiden Shogun and the Anemo Archon, one required a title of weight—Kreideprinz, Retainer of the Shogun, Fatui Harbinger, or equivalent.
Thus, her conclusion was simple.
Zhongli was a Liyue Adeptus. And in Liyue, to be an Adeptus was to stand directly beneath Morax himself. The Adeptus were, in essence, extensions of the Geo Archon's will.
Zhongli merely inclined his head slightly, the faintest smile touching his lips.
"If you wish to interpret it that way," he replied evenly, "it is not entirely unreasonable. However, I would appreciate your discretion. There are…circumstances that are difficult to articulate."
Kuki Shinobu nodded. She understood boundaries when she saw them. She had long noticed that figures such as Raiden Makoto, Maha Rukkhadevata, Venti, and even Guizhong teased Zhongli with a familiarity that suggested deeper knowledge.
And during the experiment just now, both Albedo and Futsu Mitama had unconsciously deferred to him as the stabilizing axis.
The inference was almost complete. Perhaps a newly emerged Adeptus after Azhdaha's sealing.
Perhaps something else.
Guizhong clearly knew. Azhdaha…perhaps not.
That thought alone amused her slightly.
Albedo and Futsu Mitama exchanged faint smiles but remained silent. The two who understood the truth had no intention of clarifying it.
Then Futsu Mitama shifted the conversation back to what truly mattered.
"Mr. Zhongli," he asked, voice steady, "is the condensed resin we created here equivalent in effect to the one obtained through group sign-in?"
Albedo's gaze sharpened. This was the core metric. Zhongli looked at the surrounding space, then shook his head lightly.
"This is not an appropriate place for that discussion."
He gave them a meaningful glance.
A moment later—
"Ding!"
The familiar notification tone rang out.
Zhongli: "@Futsu Mitama @Albedo @Kuki Shinobu. Let us continue within the Chat Group. It is safer there, and it allows everyone to understand the outcome."
"Okay."
"Agreed."
"So," Albedo typed without delay, "was it successful?"
Raiden Makoto: "I am looking forward to the answer. Has it succeeded? Barbatos exchanged his life for this."
Maha Rukkhadevata: "Eh?"
Azhdaha: "Poor Anemo Archon. Sacrificing himself so everyone could obtain the [Power of Time]."
Klee: "Eh?!"
Yae Miko: "If that is the case, Futsu Mitama will have no choice but to return to Inazuma with the Gnosis and become the next Raiden Shogun."
Guizhong: "Isn't the topic drifting rather severely??"
Venti: "I am not dead, you know. Honestly…"
Then Venti added directly: "@Zhongli. Judging from your expressions, it should have worked, correct?"
Zhongli responded without delay.
"It has been successfully created. However, its efficacy is approximately eighty percent of the original. The deviation source remains unclear."
A brief silence rippled through the group.
Albedo: "Eighty percent?"
Raiden Makoto: "That is… still remarkable."
Maha Rukkhadevata: "With eighty percent efficiency, erosion resistance should remain viable."
Azhdaha: "And the yield? I saw you return surplus temporal authority via gift. There was excess."
Yae Miko: "A diluted condensed resin? More importantly—how does it taste?"
Zhongli answered methodically.
"The yield is satisfactory. Of the [Power of Time] Barbatos transmitted, slightly more than half was consumed, producing over twenty units. The taste is identical to the original."
Venti replied almost immediately.
"In that case, more than one hundred units should be producible in total. The quantity I sent was distributed evenly."
"I have already extracted nearly half of the remaining temporal authority from this island. The other half—cannot be touched. I can sense that forcibly extracting it would produce unfavorable consequences."
Futsu Mitama: "@Venti. How are you currently? I would like to speak with you privately."
Raiden Makoto: "@Venti. I as well."
Azhdaha: "@Venti. On behalf of Morax, I have words to offer."
Venti's response arrived with characteristic levity.
"Hahahahaha~ I am currently… detained. I cannot leave for the time being. I may even enter slumber. This is the price of acquiring the [Power of Time]. I am confined to this island. At best, I may regain freedom in about a year."
"A year?" Kuki Shinobu echoed.
Albedo's eyes narrowed slightly as he typed.
"That aligns precisely with the timeline of the Fatui's withdrawal from Mondstadt."
The atmosphere in the Chat Group shifted.
The success of the condensed resin was undeniable.
Eighty percent efficacy. High yield. Scalable production.
Strategically, this was transformative. Yet the cost had not been negligible.
Temporal authority was never borrowed without consequence. And now, the Anemo Archon was confined—perhaps dormant—for an entire year.
The experiment had succeeded.
But the game board had changed.
Futsu Mitama's response, however, was practical. A year was far too long. They could not afford to idle in Mondstadt while critical matters in Liyue remained unresolved.
Kamisato Ayaka's surprise was understandable. He had not been in Mondstadt even ten days. Sangonomiya Kokomi added gently that travel alone would consume several more days—was he truly leaving so soon?
Aila's message was the most straightforward: she was waiting at Mt. Aocang.
Raiden Makoto calmly reminded everyone of the underlying priority—Guizhong's resurrection. Guizhong herself responded with irrepressible excitement, only for Yae Miko to immediately interject that she wished to study the special husk doll first.
Zhongli then confirmed that the structural research on the husk doll was effectively complete. Only the primary material remained unidentified.
When Zhongli asked Futsu Mitama directly whether departure within days was confirmed, Futsu Mitama did not hesitate. That had always been the plan.
He then turned his attention back to Venti. If the Anemo Archon truly intended to remain trapped for a year, then Futsu Mitama would be leaving Mondstadt while still holding the Anemo Gnosis.
Venti's answer was characteristically carefree. The Gnosis, he claimed, was symbolic. Authority and Gnosis alike had already been handed over. Whether or not Futsu Mitama formally became the next Anemo Archon, he would at least be capable of assisting the future one.
The implication was clear: Venti was delegating.
Maha Rukkhadevata's single-word response—"Learned."—caused visible shock within the group. Azhdaha, Raiden Makoto, and even Zhongli reacted with varying degrees of alarm.
Futsu Mitama felt a headache forming. Somehow, he had become a contingency plan for multiple gods.
Enough.
He closed the group interface and addressed the two beside him directly.
"What are your plans? I intend to return to Liyue in two days."
Zhongli agreed immediately. He had been away from Liyue long enough. And Venti's continued levity within the Chat Group indicated that the worst danger had passed. There was no longer a need for him to remain.
Albedo, however, declined. The Fatui presence in Mondstadt had not fully withdrawn. As Chief Alchemist of the Knights of Favonius, he was obligated to stay and assist Acting Grand Master Jean in preventing any desperate retaliation.
Still, he made one suggestion before departure.
They should complete the mass production of condensed resin while the Power of Time was available.
That night, the workshop did not sleep.
Crystal cores—painstakingly gathered in advance—were brought out in bulk. Structural matrices were stabilized. Alchemical arrays were activated repeatedly.
Zhongli recommended retaining one portion of the Power of Time intact. Futsu Mitama's share would remain sealed. Zhongli and Albedo's allocations would be used for production.
No one objected.
By dawn, they had produced over one hundred and thirty units of condensed resin.
The yield exceeded expectations.
Sangonomiya Kokomi, who had been pushing herself to exhaustion managing the rapidly expanding Resistance, received several units directly from Futsu Mitama. Previously, she had consumed them sparingly, almost guiltily. Now, she was instructed to eat freely.
Albedo's restorative potions had long since reached diminishing returns. Kokomi's body had adapted. What she required was rest—something she consistently denied herself.
The Resistance's expansion had outpaced its administrative infrastructure. Gorou and Kazuha were capable. Officials from the Tenryou and Kanjou Commissions had defected and contributed. Yet the burden remained immense.
Encouraged by Makoto, Yae Miko, and Guizhong alike, Kokomi finally consumed the resin properly—eyes slightly misted—before returning to work with renewed vitality.
Somehow, within the Chat Group's evolving hierarchy, she had become the "fourth-in-command" of the Resistance. Officially she was its strategist and leader, a near-mythical tactician. Unofficially, she bore crushing responsibility.
Afterward, Futsu Mitama had Zhongli repackage his retained Power of Time and store it within encrypted group files. Access was restricted to leadership.
With matters settled, he and Kuki Shinobu finally rested.
The following afternoon, Futsu Mitama awoke around one. For the first time since arriving in Mondstadt, he found himself… without objective.
The Dragon Crisis had been addressed. The condensed resin completed. La Signora had confined herself to the city, preoccupied with locating Barbatos while maneuvering against the Knights. No direct confrontation had occurred.
There were no festivals. No major events. Mondstadt was tense, restrained.
He sighed and decided to walk.
Shortly after leaving the villa, he spotted a familiar silhouette—a tall woman carrying a greatsword, posture elegant and resolute.
Eula.
Beside her was a far more energetic presence—Amber, the Outrider of the Knights of Favonius.
Eula turned first. Recognition flickered in her eyes.
"Futsu Mitama?"
Amber followed her gaze and brightened instantly.
"Oh! The Raiden Shogun's Retainer!"
Her enthusiasm was unfiltered and immediate, as though greeting a long-lost companion rather than a recent arrival.
Futsu Mitama approached calmly. "Good afternoon. Have you eaten?"
Eula glanced upward at the sun before answering dryly, "You haven't, have you?"
Amber laughed. They had eaten two hours prior.
Futsu Mitama smiled without denial.
Amber then formally introduced herself, extending her hand. "Amber. Outrider of the Knights of Favonius. Please take care of me."
He shook her hand in return. "Futsu Mitama. An ordinary Inazuman."
Eula's lips twitched faintly. Ordinary was hardly an accurate descriptor for someone who had assisted in stabilizing Dvalin and stood at the center of multiple Archonic contingencies.
Then Eula's expression shifted.
"You've met the Anemo Archon, haven't you?"
The question was direct. In the current climate—Barbatos missing, the Fatui searching, Mondstadt tense—it was not a casual inquiry.
It was strategic.
Amber's gaze was bright with unconcealed curiosity. The matter of Futsu Mitama having met the Anemo Archon was no longer rumor whispered in taverns—it had become established fact.
Yesterday, Acting Grand Master Jean, in the name of the Knights of Favonius, brought back the words of the Anemo Archon to Mondstadt.
And Mondstadt changed.
Faced with a city that had long grown overly lax under the banner of freedom, the citizens reacted as if startled awake from a pleasant but dangerous dream. One after another, they declared they would no longer trouble the Knights with every trivial affair. They were free citizens of Mondstadt. If everything required others to solve it for them, then what difference was there between them and the decadent nobles of old who exploited others while contributing nothing themselves?
Their transformation was swift—too swift. Not because they suddenly matured overnight, but because they were afraid.
Afraid of being labeled.
The last ones ever labeled by the Anemo Archon were the aristocrats of old Mondstadt. Their fate was carved into history and stone alike. No one wished to stand in that position again.
No one doubted the Knights' announcement. The Dragon Crisis had ended with astonishing speed. Dvalin, the Anemo Archon's familiar, had appeared above the city itself. If Barbatos had not returned, then how could such a thing have happened?
Thus, belief took root without resistance: after so many years, Lord Barbatos had returned. And once more, he had pointed Mondstadt toward a new path.
Among the Knights, a few key figures—Amber, Eula, and others—knew the deeper truth.
They knew Futsu Mitama had met him.
"Mm." Futsu Mitama nodded calmly.
Eula's expression carried a trace of nervous anticipation. "What kind of god—is Lord Barbatos?"
"Ah, I want to know too." Amber leaned slightly forward, eyes shining.
They had grown up beneath his statue. They passed it daily. They heard songs and stories of his deeds. But they had never seen him.
Now, before them stood someone who had.
"Well…" Futsu Mitama fell silent.
He looked at their expectant faces and considered, for a fleeting second, whether he should simply tell the truth.
Should he say that Barbatos was a drunkard who couldn't go a day without wine? That upon waking and meeting Rex Lapis, he had promptly gone busking for mora? That elegance and bardic refinement had little to do with him?
That he had first shoved the Anemo Archon Authority into Futsu Mitama's hands—then the Gnosis as well—and even proposed he become the next Anemo Archon?
Who would want such a troublesome divine position?
The thought passed quickly.
Under the gaze of two young women who revered their god, Futsu Mitama found himself unwilling to shatter their image.
So he chose restraint.
"He is a god who loves freedom," Futsu Mitama said slowly. "When I met him, I felt no distance. He felt—no different from the people of Mondstadt."
"He entrusted me with resolving the Dragon Crisis and gave me something precious. He is a generous god."
He omitted the parenthetical truths.
The light in Amber and Eula's eyes brightened immediately.
Loves freedom. Close to his people. Generous. Was there a more fitting god for Mondstadt?
"As expected of Lord Barbatos," Eula murmured.
Though the Lawrence name bore infamy, her family had never abandoned their faith. If anything, they believed their fall was merely a test—that the Anemo Archon's gaze had never truly left them.
Now, hearing Futsu Mitama's words, Eula felt something settle within her. How could a god who cherished freedom favor greedy nobles? The error had always been theirs.
Amber smiled broadly. "Thank you, Futsu Mitama."
"It's nothing." He looked at their happiness and felt, briefly, a flicker of unease.
If they met the real Venti one day… would this image survive?
"By the way," he asked, "where are you two headed?"
They had clearly intended to go somewhere.
Eula did not hide it. "We're going to the Goth Grand Hotel. Yesterday, Jean went to meet the Fatui Harbinger, the Lady. She intended to discuss the Fatui's actions in the city. Some of them have crossed the line of the agreement."
"They set a time—but the Lady didn't show."
"Jean is occupied today, so Amber and I are going in her stead." Eula's tone cooled. "Though I doubt it will amount to much."
The Fatui had been active—frequenting taverns, seeking out bards. Albedo had once speculated they might be searching for the Anemo Archon.
The Knights dismissed it.
Arrogant as the Fatui were, surely they weren't foolish enough to attempt something against an Archon within Mondstadt itself. With their limited military presence? With only the Lady?
Unless they had a death wish. And the Lady was anything but reckless.
"Do you need me to go with you?" Futsu Mitama offered.
With his reputation among the Fatui, the Lady would undoubtedly appear personally if he arrived. In Liyue, this had already been proven.
"No need." Both spoke at once.
Eula crossed her arms. "You can't resolve everything for us."
"If you acted," she admitted, "it would likely end quickly. But then what of us? We are Knights of Favonius."
Amber hurried to soften it. "These are our duties. You've already done enough for Mondstadt."
If they relied on him again, what meaning did Barbatos' words hold? They had just declared they would not push every burden onto others.
Futsu Mitama studied them, then nodded. "Very well."
"I'll be in Mondstadt for two or three more days before returning to Liyue. If anything happens, come find me."
The mention of his imminent departure surprised them, but the appointed time with the Fatui was near. They promised to discuss it later and hurried off.
Futsu Mitama watched them leave before turning toward a restaurant.
Mondstadt's cuisine extended beyond Good Hunter. He found an open-air establishment, ordered generously, and began sharing the experience in the group chat—@-mentioning those outside Mondstadt to ask if they wanted portions sent.
Everyone except Raiden Makoto, Guizhong, Azhdaha, and Maha Rukkhadevata—who could not partake—requested some. Even Venti asked for a share, complaining he was tired of eating crabs and requesting a few bottles of Dandelion Wine.
Futsu Mitama grumbled at the audacity—but ordered the wine anyway.
He was midway through roasted pigeon when someone sat across from him uninvited.
He lowered the food slowly and sighed.
"Honestly, why don't we just fight?" he said flatly. "Life or death. Settle it. Seeing you every day ruins my appetite."
The Lady sat opposite him, composed as ever. Notably, the two Electro Cicin Mages who usually accompanied her were absent.
"Ruins your appetite?" she replied coolly. "Then I'm in an excellent mood."
She did not enjoy seeing him either. He had ruined multiple operations and insulted her repeatedly. If given the chance, she would gladly crush him.
But the Tsaritsa's grand design required patience. She had come with purpose.
"What do you want?" Futsu Mitama asked, biting into the pigeon. "And don't freeze my food. I won't tell you anything about Shogun Raiden unless you bring equal value. You were the one who insisted on leaving last time."
Her breathing stalled for a fraction of a second.
Leave? What was the situation then?
Three Archons gathered in one place.
Anemo. Geo. Electro.
Was he suggesting she should have casually discussed intelligence about the Electro Archon in front of the Electro Archon herself?
That wasn't negotiation.
That was suicide.
The Lady's gaze sharpened, fury barely contained, her composure straining against the memory. And Futsu Mitama, entirely unrepentant, continued eating as though nothing in the world concerned him.
The Harbinger wouldn't dare to gamble her life on the Geo Archon's mercy, especially since she was struck by the Raiden Shogun and her injuries haven't fully recovered yet.
Furthermore, upon seeing the Anemo Archon at that time, she immediately wanted to execute her plan to seize the Gnosis, which is why she decisively gave up on trying to get information from the Raiden Shogun.
"Good, good, good." The Harbinger was clearly furious, but she forced herself to calm down, looking at Futsu Mitama and saying, "My purpose in coming here is very simple."
"You've met the Anemo Archon, haven't you?"
Futsu Mitama nodded slightly, not even bothering to speak. He knew many people were aware that he had met the Anemo Archon.
In fact, the Anemo Archon himself had just asked him if he had any dandelion wine, as the apple cider wasn't enough to drink.
"I want to inquire about the Anemo Archon's whereabouts."
The Harbinger laid her cards on the table. She looked at Futsu Mitama and said very seriously, "This is a commission. You don't need to tell me exactly where the Anemo Archon is, just reveal some information, and you will receive one billion mora!"
Futsu Mitama's movements paused slightly. He looked up at the Harbinger with an expressionless face, as if to say, do you think that's enough for me to betray the Anemo Archon?
"..."
The Harbinger secretly gritted her teeth. She knew Futsu Mitama wouldn't be so easily satisfied, this insatiable fellow.
The Harbinger extended a finger and said very seriously, "Besides that, I can tell you a crucial piece of information, important information concerning Inazuma. This is important information I just obtained from Inazuma today, information that might even change the current situation in Inazuma."
This made a glimmer of light flash in Futsu Mitama's eyes. Information from Inazuma? This was truly rare.
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