The scene of Barbatos forcefully shoving the Gnosis into his hands plunged Rosalyne straight into the abyss.
At first, she had been hoping Su Xuan would reject Barbatos's fawning overture. But after chatting with him a few times, Su Xuan simply accepted it.
Rosalyne slumped onto the sofa, utterly lost.
At this critical moment, the light screen vanished along with Barbatos and Dvalin's departure.
For Rosalyne, who was desperate to gather intelligence, this was nothing short of adding insult to injury.
"Calm down. I must stay calm."
Rosalyne kept soothing her panicked heart. As a Fatui Harbinger for nearly five hundred years, she had never felt this level of despair before.
The main reason was Su Xuan destroying the Delusion Factory on Yashiori Island.
In her mind, Su Xuan harbored resentment toward the Fatui.
Without knowing what was truly on Su Xuan's mind, Rosalyne had zero motivation to take the initiative.
What if she ended up delivering herself to her death?
Just as Rosalyne was wallowing in despair, the diary replica lit up.
[Today's unexpected gain: one Wind God's Barbatos Gnosis.]
[Actually, I know the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya is collecting these things.]
[And Barbatos intended to hand it over to the Tsaritsa.]
[But to thank me for helping Dvalin, he insisted on shoving it at me.]
[Truth be told, I'm not one of the Seven Archons. I can't resonate with Celestia using the Gnosis to wield that pathetic sliver of authority.]
[This thing is completely useless to me—it's even a bit ominous.]
[At first, I planned to refuse, but then I thought, the Fatui are busting their asses collecting these, so I graciously accepted.]
Rosalyne: "?"
So he's deliberately screwing over the Fatui?
[Useless as it is in my hands, I can always flip it and sell it to the Fatui.]
[Plus, it can take me to the tallest peak on the Teyvat Continent.]
[With these perks in mind, I ultimately accepted Barbatos's kind gesture. Of course, I'm no petty miser.]
[Since he shoved the Gnosis at me without me even asking...]
[I used the Qiankun Mirror to clean up the wear and tear on his body.]
[The bard got so excited he claimed he'd buy me a drink when I return to Mondstadt.]
[Uh... I feel kinda awkward now...]
[Should I drink this wine or not? A poet with not a single Mora in his pocket—whatever he offers is probably stolen from someone.]
Mondstadt's Favonius Cathedral.
The twin-tailed trainee nun stared wide-eyed.
Venti's bard persona had already created a massive psychological gap for the devout Barbara.
Now learning that Wind God Barbatos even stole wine shattered the image of divinity in the innocent girl's heart.
"If Lord Barbatos is like this, I should've accepted Miss Alice's invitation back then and formed an idol group instead," Barbara muttered softly.
But compared to the trainee nun whose mindset was slightly crumbling...
In a room at Mondstadt's Goethe Hotel, bursts of hearty laughter echoed out.
The Fatui guards on duty outside exchanged bewildered glances, unable to fathom why the usually aloof and arrogant Lady was suddenly erupting in such unladylike guffaws.
"A turnaround! A turnaround, and it came so fast!" Rosalyne shed her near-death demeanor from before.
Now, she crossed her fair, long legs, swirling the red wine in her glass. Her previously pallid face glowed with vitality.
"If he's planning to sell it to me, then things just got a whole lot simpler."
"However..." Rosalyne still didn't quite get Su Xuan's final point.
"Barbatos's Gnosis can help him climb Teyvat Continent's tallest mountain."
"Dragonspine? Mt. Aozang? Amakumo Peak? Or Natlan's volcano?"
Rosalyne puzzled over it endlessly. She'd never heard of a Gnosis being used for mountaineering, but eventually dismissed the pointless question.
"Once he climbs whatever mountain it is, I'll invite him to talk money."
"Hmph! If money can solve it, it's no problem for the Fatui."
Rosalyne savored her fine wine with renewed vigor, glancing at the diary updates from time to time.
[Glanced at the sun—it's starting to set.]
[Found a damaged Ruin Guard in the Wind Dragon Ruins. Doesn't stop me from understanding its structure and recreating it.]
[Ruin Guard recreation achieved. Next up: Dragonspine. I remember there's a more advanced Ruin Hunter there.]
[Won't head back to Mondstadt tonight.]
At that moment, the Surf's Up Knight on Dragonspine froze.
"This guy's heading here?!"