Su Bai raised an eyebrow. He had thought Kaeya would directly ask if he was the one behind it. He hadn't expected Kaeya's depth to be even greater than he imagined. 'He'd have to be more careful when talking to Kaeya in the future.'
"Haunting Maze? I think I saw it mentioned in an ancient text. Kaeya, why are you asking about this? You haven't... encountered it, have you?"
"No, no, not me. A friend of mine encountered it. He was poring over books all night at my place last night. I barely got any sleep. Look at these dark circles."
To make his words more convincing, Kaeya specifically pointed to the dark circles around his eyes. Knowing the truth, Su Bai suppressed his laughter and played along with Kaeya's performance.
"Oh, so it's Kaeya's friend. In that case, I'll tell you directly. But I can't guarantee it'll work."
"No problem, no problem. Mr. Su Bai, please tell me quickly. I'm... I'm almost starving to death."
Realizing he almost slipped up, Kaeya hurriedly changed the subject. Su Bai saw through it but didn't point it out. 'Seems a whole night of fright had thrown this Cavalry Captain off his game a bit.'
"Actually, it doesn't require anything too strange. Just boil eggs in the urine of a virgin boy and eat them along with the broth."
"Mr. Su Bai... you... you must be joking, right? You have to be!"
"Believe it or not. That's the only method I can think of right now. Of course, your 'friend' could also go pray and see if Barbatos will help."
Su Bai shrugged nonchalantly. His goal wasn't to make Kaeya drink that stuff. He just wanted to mess with Kaeya a little in return.
Kaeya's face turned pale and then flushed. He had heard of the folk remedy of using a virgin boy's urine to ward off evil before. He used to laugh at those who used such methods. Now that it concerned him, he couldn't laugh at all.
"Well, Mr. Su Bai, thank you. You must be busy. I'll go to the church to ask a sister about something. See you later."
"See you, Kaeya. Remember moderation. Even if you're young, don't stay up late. It harms both your body and your... kidneys."
"I suggest you pull an all-nighter next time."
Faced with Su Bai's teasing, Kaeya forced a dry laugh. After bidding farewell to Su Bai, he hurried off towards the Favonius Cathedral.
---
Inside Favonius Cathedral
Barbara, who had risen early, was cleaning inside the cathedral. Recently, for some unknown reason, many sisters had mysteriously 'disappeared.' No one knew where these sisters had gone.
She had gone to ask Rosaria, but Rosaria merely held a bunch of weapons and told her not to be so curious. When the time came, she would naturally know.
"Really, now even Sister Victoria is gone. If this continues, won't I be the only sister left in the Favonius Cathedral?"
Barbara pouted in complaint. Having worked busily all morning, Barbara picked up the spicy drink she had left on a chair. This was one of the perks of being the only sister around—she could drink her favorite spicy beverage whenever she wanted without anyone noticing.
'I wonder when I'll be as tall as my sister. The books say you need to eat more vegetables to grow taller. Maybe I'll make a cold salad with Jueyun Chilies for lunch.'
Barbara sat on the chair, swinging her legs wrapped in white stockings that looked like flawless jade. The spicy drink in her mouth put Barbara in a pleasant mood, her large, watery eyes narrowing into happy slits.
After enjoying her special spicy drink, and taking advantage of the empty church, Barbara hopped off the chair and began to hum a song softly. The beautiful melody drifted into every corner of the Favonius Cathedral.
The beautiful singing eased Kaeya's tense mood outside the cathedral doors somewhat. Captivated by the song, Kaeya slowly halted his hand reaching for the door, standing dazedly to enjoy Barbara's singing.
Only after Barbara finished humming did Kaeya, as if waking from a dream, push open the cathedral doors. Barbara was startled by Kaeya's sudden entry. Seeing it was Kaeya, she relaxed and gently patted her chest.
"Oh, it's you, Mr. Kaeya. Good thing it wasn't Mr. Albert. I'm the only one in the church right now. It would be hard to deal with if Mr. Albert came."
"May the Anemo Archon bless you, Mr. Kaeya. What brings you to the cathedral? Does the Knights of Favonius have an event that requires the cathedral's cooperation?"
Barbara asked curiously. Mr. Kaeya didn't usually come to places like the cathedral without a reason. Kaeya shook his head and gave a vague laugh.
"It's nothing. I just felt like coming to pray today, seeking Lord Barbatos's protection."
Barbara was so astonished she stood there like a piece of wood. She could hardly believe her ears. This knight, who loved drinking as much as Sister Rosaria, was actually here to pray?
"What's wrong, Barbara? Is there a problem?"
"N-no, not at all. You may begin your prayers whenever you wish, Mr. Kaeya. I just never imagined you'd come to the cathedral one day to seek Lord Barbatos's protection. It's truly incredible."
Seeing Kaeya before her praying with sincere devotion, Barbara still couldn't quite believe it. She rubbed her eyes. Realizing it wasn't an illusion, Barbara immediately decided to go see her sister that evening. She had to tell her sister about Kaeya's strange behavior so her sister could be aware.
Kaeya swore that from the day he was born until now, he had never been so devout towards Barbatos. But no matter how hard he prayed, Barbatos simply did not respond.
'Is Barbatos still in slumber? Or is it because of my lineage... that I'm destined not to receive His favor?'
Kaeya opened his eyes, looking utterly dejected. It seemed seeking Barbatos's help was a dead end. 'Did he really have to eat eggs boiled in virgin boy urine? No, no way! He had to go ask Su Bai if there were other methods. Surely an adeptus like Su Bai would have some other adeptal arts.'
Having made up his mind, Kaeya rushed out of the Favonius Cathedral without even saying goodbye to Barbara. Barbara tilted her head in confusion. 'Had Mr. Kaeya received a divine revelation from Lord Barbatos? To rush out in such a hurry...'
"Mr. Kaeya is acting way too strange lately. And everyone at the Favonius Cathedral has been acting strange too. What's going on? Is there some connection between them?"
Barbara leaned against the cathedral wall, wanting to share her sister's burdens. She bit her soft lower lip lightly, thinking hard. Sunlight streamed through the windows, falling on the young sister's habit. The warm early morning sun cast a halo of holiness upon the young sister... until a shout from outside the cathedral—"Barbara, charge!"—jerked the young girl's thoughts back to reality.
"Oh no, oh no! Mr. Albert is here again! Sister Victoria, where are you?"