Lumine and Paimon exchanged glances, then emerged from the alley, blending into the crowd at the harbor.
Paimon whispered, "I just feel like they're acting strange this time... so cautious?"
Lumine nodded slightly, "Inazuma's situation is more complicated than we imagined."
In the distance, a Shogunate samurai roughly shoved a merchant, while several other samurai stood by, sneering.
The air in the harbor was heavy with a suppressive atmosphere, even the sea breeze carried a rusty, metallic smell.
Paimon shivered, "What do we do now?"
Lumine's gaze swept across the street, finally landing on a wooden box on the dock—a young man sat there, casually chewing on a blade of grass.
"First, find a fixer."
She said softly, "Like... Mr. Thoma."
——————
The Wolf King's electronic eyes gleamed with crimson light, and its holographic scanning system projected a 3D image of the entire island inside the cockpit.
Suddenly, a red dot flickered continuously in a high-energy reaction zone.
"Suspicious individual detected, possibly a Fatui Harbinger, a segment of the Second Harbinger, Dottore."
The Wolf King's mechanical voice carried a cold killing intent.
The holographic screen in the cockpit immediately locked onto a figure clad in a Fatui uniform—the face wearing a bird-beak mask was indeed one of Dottore's many segments.
"Exterminate."
The four spoke in unison, their voices unified and resolute as never before.
No matter what, that beast Dottore must die!
"Received."
The Wolf King's left shoulder armor plate slid open, and the ancient Guizhong Ballista system unfolded with the sound of mechanical gears.
The golden arrow hummed as it charged, the Liyue runes carved on its shaft lighting up one by one.
"Target locked, Anemo element empowered, piercing mode activated."
"Whoosh—!"
A golden light streaked across the sky.
The Dottore segment in the distance had just raised its Head when the arrow pierced through its glabella.
Golden energy instantly erupted, blowing the entire segment into countless specks of light, leaving no ashes behind.
"Good, let's go find the Delusion factory and destroy it."
Jesse declared, making the decision.
The Wolf King's thrusters spewed a ghostly blue exhaust, and its body zipped through the clouds at high speed.
The scanning system quickly locked onto the Fatui's Delusion factory hidden at the foot of the mountain.
"Electromagnetic Cannon activating."
With the cold mechanical voice, the cannon on the Wolf King's back moved to its shoulder, revealing a giant, blue-glowing barrel.
High-concentration Electro element gathered at the muzzle, emitting a grating "zzzt" sound.
"Warning: Stealth mode will be deactivated due to energy overload."
On a distant cliff, Balladeer, who was on patrol, suddenly felt a pang in his heart.
He abruptly looked up, his pupils contracting—
The twenty-meter-tall silver-white mecha appeared the moment stealth was deactivated, its right arm's electromagnetic cannon already fully charged.
The muzzle was aimed at the factory's core area, and the dazzling Electro light illuminated the entire canyon as if it were daytime.
"Boom—!!!"
Amidst the deafening explosion, a thick pillar of Electro light pierced through the entire factory.
The buildings vaporized directly under the ultra-high temperature, and the ground was ploughed into a scorched gully.
The shockwave blew away all the trees for several miles around, and even the distant seawater was shaken into massive waves.
Balladeer clung tightly to the rock face to avoid being blown away.
He widened his eyes, his face beneath the mask contorted in shock: "What was that?!"
What made him even more terrified was that, in the afterglow of the explosion, that steel giant seemed to... turn its Head and glance at him.
Although it had no facial expression, Balladeer distinctly felt that he had been targeted.
"Target cleared, energy reaction detected, possibly Fatui Harbinger Sixth Seat."
The Wolf King's electronic eyes flickered with dangerous red light.
"Recommendation: Annihilate."
"Leave him be."
Zane sneered, shouldering his thunder hammer.
"This guy can be taught a lesson by Raiden Ei."
With a series of mechanical whirs, the Wolf King's figure once again vanished into the air, leaving behind only the ruined factory, and Balladeer standing frozen in place.
"Truly... terrifying power..."
Balladeer's voice trembled involuntarily.
He glanced at the still Burning ruins and turned to leave without hesitation: "Anyway, this is Signora's stuff... what does it have to do with me?"
——————
Inside the Komore Teahouse, the faint aroma of tea permeated the air, and the sound of flowing water from the garden outside the paper doors was crisp and pleasant.
Lumine pushed open the teahouse door, her gaze immediately locking onto the blue and white-haired girl sitting in the main seat—Kamisato Ayaka.
"Are you the Princess of the Heron's Court, Kamisato Ayaka?"
Lumine asked directly, getting straight to the point.
"Eh?!"
The teacup in Kamisato Ayaka's hand trembled slightly, tea nearly spilling.
She clearly hadn't expected her identity to be revealed so directly, nor had she expected Lumine to appear before her in such an unreserved manner.
She instinctively looked at Thoma, who was standing nearby, her eyes carrying a hint of panic and question—how could you just bring someone over like this?!
Thoma smiled wryly and shrugged, giving a "there's nothing I can do" expression.
How could he have known that Lumine would directly ask to see the Princess of the Heron's Court the moment they met, even bypassing the teahouse's secret entrance and coming straight through the main door!
Demoiselle, this Traveler... doesn't seem to play by the rules.
Thoma conveyed this message with his eyes.
Kamisato Ayaka took a deep breath, quickly composed herself, stood up, and bowed slightly: "Yes, I am Kamisato Ayaka, the younger sister of the current Head of the Kamisato Clan of the Yashiro Commission, and also the 'Princess of the Heron's Court' people speak of."
Her voice was soft and elegant, but Lumine could detect a hint of nervousness in her eyes—clearly, this Princess of the Heron's Court was not accustomed to being "ambushed" so directly.
Lumine nodded, getting straight to the point: "I need your help."
Kamisato Ayaka blinked, seemingly surprised that the conversation was so brief.
She hesitated, then tentatively asked, "Um... may I ask about the other four Honorary Knights? Are they... not with you?"
Lumine shook her Head: "They don't want to get involved in major affairs, because Inazuma's problems themselves are too complicated, so they didn't come."
"Is that so..."
Kamisato Ayaka's tone carried a hint of undisguised disappointment.
She had indeed heard of Mondstadt's four "Honorary Knights"—those four otherworldly visitors possessing Hilichurls, and their terrifying twenty-meter-class mecha, the "Wolf King."
Rumor had it that they had repelled threats comparable to Gods with overwhelming power, and even caused great losses to the Fatui Harbingers.
But the problem was... she had no idea about Lumine's strength!
In her intelligence, Lumine's name was always tied to those four "troublemakers," so much so that she wasn't even sure—was this Traveler relying on her own strength, or on those four outrageous teammates?
Lumine seemed to see through her doubts, and the corners of her mouth curved upward slightly: "Don't worry, when I'm alone, I'm actually better at solving problems."
After all, those four are better at creating problems.
Paimon, with hands on her hips, added, "Exactly! Lumine has solved major problems in both Mondstadt and Liyue!"
Kamisato Ayaka was silent for a moment, then gently smiled: "It seems I was rude."
She sat back down, poured a cup of tea for Lumine, and her gaze became serious and determined.
"Then, Traveler... what would you like to know?"
Lumine picked up the teacup and said, "—About the Vision Hunt Decree, and... Raiden Shogun's eternity."
"And about Signora's things... what does it have to do with me?"