The sight before him made cold sweat trickle down Su Bai's back. The tube, forged from some unknown metal, was as tall as a person, with a caliber a full half-meter wide. Not even the cannons in Inazuma activated by Electroculi had a bore this large, right? Taking a direct hit from a shell fired by this thing would turn him into roasted fox meat.
The mental image of himself as crispy-skinned fox jerky made Su Bai shiver involuntarily. He couldn't help but blame Jean in his heart. 'What is Jean thinking, leaving something so dangerous here and even giving Klee the key? If some accident happened and Klee got hurt, what then?'
"Brother Su Bai, what's wrong? Why are you blocking Klee?"
Klee peeked her head out from behind Su Bai to look at her home. Nothing seemed strange about it? It was just a little messy. Why would Brother Su Bai stop her? It was really confusing.
"Klee, are you sure this is your home and not Mondstadt's armory?"
Bombs scattered across the floor awaiting paint, a faintly glowing alchemy bench, and this cannon tube in front of him... None of these things belonged in a little girl's home, right?
"This is Klee's home! Klee was in too much of a hurry when she left earlier and forgot to turn off the alchemy bench Mommy left for me."
Klee hopped out from behind Su Bai and, with great nonchalance, navigated around the bombs on the floor to switch off the alchemy bench. Su Bai watched with his heart in his throat as Klee weaved through the piles of explosives. If these bombs went off, the chain reaction's power would be no small matter. If a real accident happened, Su Bai would teleport Klee away in an instant.
"Brother Su Bai, why are you standing at the door? Come in and sit! Klee will make you some tea."
Mimicking her mother, Klee grabbed a small teapot, stood on her tiptoes, and reached into a small pouch for tea leaves, only to find they had gone damp and moldy from poor storage. Klee stuck out her tongue. Looks like she'd have to buy some tea next time; there was nothing at home to serve guests.
"Um... Brother Su Bai, how about I get you some water instead?"
"No, no, don't trouble yourself. You go ahead and do your thing, Klee. I'll just sit here."
"Okay! Then Klee will keep working on the fireworks. Call me if you need anything, Brother Su Bai!"
Su Bai found a spot free of bombs and sat on the floor. Klee didn't stand on ceremony either. Picking up a small ruler, she measured the 'cannon tube,' then lay on her stomach and began sketching and calculating.
Seeing Klee so focused, Su Bai had to swallow the questions bubbling up inside him. 'If this thing really is a cannon Klee designed, then I feel like I could represent Liyue and buy a few from Jean. Mount these on the harbor, and I dare anyone to evade taxes and try to sail away!'
Finally managing to hold his tongue until Klee finished her blueprint, Su Bai immediately voiced his doubts.
"Klee, aren't we making fireworks? What are you measuring this cannon tube for?"
"Cannon tube? What's that? This is the firework tube Klee made! Brother Su Bai, didn't you forget? Klee wants to make the biggest firework in the whole world!"
Klee tilted her head. How could Brother Su Bai mistake such an obvious firework tube for a cannon? How strange. Wait, what is a cannon tube? Is it some new type of bomb?
Klee's little head was filled with big questions. Su Bai, however, was completely dumbfounded by her statement, 'This is a firework tube.' He'd attended the Lantern Rite in Liyue—the tubes used to launch fireworks were, at most, the length of a forearm. Even the bigger ones were only about three-quarters the length of an arm.
And now Klee was telling him this iron cylinder, big enough to fit his entire fox form inside, was a firework tube? If this was a firework tube, then what were the ones in Liyue? Noisy little toys for kids?
"Ahem, Klee... we actually don't need to make the firework tube this big. We can make a smaller one and still set off fireworks."
"No, no, that won't do. Klee wants to make the biggest firework in the world. When Mommy comes back, she'll definitely praise Klee!"
Sucking on her finger, Klee rejected Su Bai's suggestion. She had to make the biggest firework. When Mommy returned, she could give her a surprise, and then Mommy would surely say Klee was the best.
Hearing this, Su Bai knew he couldn't dissuade the little girl. Fine. For Klee's safety, he could only keep his eyes glued to the busy Klee, ready to intervene at the first sign of danger.
As Klee busied herself around the alchemy bench, the firework sphere in her hands was already half-complete. Watching her work over this period, Su Bai could only conclude he had underestimated this little girl, both in terms of her alchemical prowess and her sheer audacity.
All those materials Blanche had described as highly flammable and explosive were like lumps of clay in Klee's hands, showing no signs of risk whatsoever. If Su Bai hadn't seen some of the particularly volatile materials at Yoimiya's place, he'd have been tempted to play with them himself.
As for audacity... Klee dared to use the alchemy bench to cram all the alchemical materials he bought into a single firework sphere! Was that not the height of daring? Su Bai's instincts screamed that if this thing blew up, the entire street might be reduced to rubble.
Just as Su Bai was watching Klee with bated breath, ready to rescue her at any moment, back at the Dawn Winery, Jean, Diluc, Venti, and Lumine were happily discussing where to summon Dvalin.
With the recent assassination of all the senior Knights of Favonius leadership, Jean had consolidated all authority within the Order into her own hands these past few days. It was undoubtedly exhausting, but for Mondstadt's sake, Jean bore the burden, working overtime for days on end, looking noticeably more haggard. Paimon and Lumine had urged her to rest.
"Let's go to Starsnatch Cliff. It's usually deserted there. A good spot."
After discussion, the four settled on Starsnatch Cliff, a place typically devoid of people. As for Paimon the emergency food's suggestion to summon Dvalin right at the Dawn Winery... everyone chose to ignore it. If Dvalin went berserk and destroyed the winery, Mondstadt's tax revenue would take a massive hit. After all, the Dawn Winery was a major taxpayer.
Perhaps being stared at so intently by Su Bai activated a performance streak in little Klee. She assembled the other half of the firework sphere in a mere hour.
"Yay! It's finally almost done!"
"Next, we can set off the fireworks~"
Not caring about the smudges of black and white on her face, Klee cradled a round, pitch-black 'sphere' and excitedly showed Su Bai her results. Su Bai had no mind to listen to Klee's explanations right now. His entire focus was laser-locked on the 'sphere' in her hands.
Watching Klee casually handle the 'sphere,' the fur on Su Bai's two tails stood completely on end. His heart pounding with fear, he quietly began circulating his adeptal energy. If this thing really exploded, whether the paltry amount of energy he had left could get Klee out of the blast radius was a serious question.
"Ahem, Klee... how about I teach you a new technique for launching fireworks?"
"A new technique?"
"Yes, a new technique. They say if you launch fireworks at an angle, they look even prettier."
Klee was a bit confused. Why would launching fireworks at an angle make them prettier? She'd seen other kids launch them straight up. Though puzzled, her trust in Su Bai made her nod in agreement.
Su Bai wiped the cold sweat from his temple. Good, he'd managed to convince her. If they launched this thing vertically into the sky and it failed to explode mid-air, plummeting back to earth to detonate... he might just become Mondstadt's Most Wanted. Klee might even be labeled an accomplice. As tasty as the meals in solitary confinement were, he valued his freedom more.