The moment Aerin admitted on the light screen that he had studied the mutated Hilichurls—
Many people instantly saw through his identity.
If they hadn't personally witnessed how terrifying those creatures were, perhaps they might have believed his nonsense.
But even Vision holders were helpless before them.
How could an ordinary scholar—with no Vision at all—approach such monsters safely?
There were only two possibilities:
Either Aerin was the creator of those Hilichurls…
Or he was an accomplice.
His appearance immediately caused an uproar across Teyvat.
At the same time, countless people silently broke into a cold sweat for Amber, the first person to come into contact with him.
The Mondstadt Outrider who had discovered the hiding place of the mutated Hilichurls—
Her chances of survival looked grim.
The only question was how cruelly Aerin would kill her.
[Collei]:"Amber…"
[Amber]:"Collei… I might die. And I won't even be able to pass the information back. I really feel bad for my future self."
[Eula]:"Amber, don't lose hope yet. This is still just speculation. That Aerin guy might just be bluffing."
[Paimon]:"Huh?! Is Aerin actually a bad guy?"
[Lumine]:"Paimon… you're only realizing this now? He's very likely the mysterious Descender who attacked Mondstadt."
[Sangonomiya Kokomi]:"Amber is such a pure-hearted girl… and he's deliberately teasing her. Is he planning to give her despair right before killing her?"
[Ningguang]:"A sunny and handsome exterior, hiding a twisted and dark heart."
[Yae Miko]:"That kind of person is the most dangerous, isn't he?"
Knights of Favonius Headquarters
Paimon grew more and more frightened as she listened.
Rubbing her little belly nervously, she whispered to Lumine:
"Lumine… do you think Aerin poisoned the roasted boar?"
"We ate his food… could we turn into mutated Hilichurls one day?"
Lumine's vision went dark for a second.
Paimon's words made her body shiver.
"Probably not… right? He ate it with us too…"
"Paimon, don't scare me."
[Venti]:"Traveler, Paimon—since you've met him before, do you know where he went?"
[Lumine]:"Before leaving, he said he was heading toward Port Jifang."
[Venti]:"Then shouldn't the nations send people to Port Jifang to monitor him?"
[Mavuika]:"…You sound confident for someone who clearly hasn't thought it through."
[Venti]:"Eh?"
[Mavuika]:"Do you even know how far Port Jifang is from Mondstadt? By the time anyone arrives, he'll be long gone. Are you stupid?"
Windrise
Dvalin felt a bit awkward.
"Venti… you just got roasted."
"Hah, not the first time," Venti muttered, twitching his lips. "I'm used to fiery ladies."
At least Mavuika hadn't exposed his identity.
And she wasn't wrong—if the nations really sent people to Port Jifang, Aerin would already be gone.
"What worries me more," Venti said seriously,
"is whether Aerin is also hiding inside the chat group, watching everything we say."
Once he discovered Lumine in the chat, Venti began studying the system deeply.
Unfortunately, only people who had spoken could be searched.
Silent observers were impossible to detect.
"If Lumine is here," Venti murmured,
"then Aerin definitely is too."
"The authority of the future projection is greater than that of a Descender."
Venti straightened, suddenly looking very wise.
"Dvalin—let's go to Port Jifang."
Dvalin hesitated. "Didn't you just say—"
"Of course," Venti laughed proudly.
"That was said for the Fifth Descender to hear."
"We make him think no one will investigate Port Jifang."
"Oh?" Dvalin's wings twitched excitedly.
"These long-lived schemers really are crafty…"
"We'll strike first," Venti said. "Others will follow."
The Light Screen — Back to Amber
[Aerin and Amber kept their voices low, careful not to alert the mutated Hilichurls below.]
["Don't you want to know how I studied them?"]
Aerin looked at Amber with a strange gaze.
That look made her heart skip a beat.
[Forcing a smile, she replied, "I'm really bad with academic stuff. Even if you explained it, I probably wouldn't understand."]
["Oh." Aerin nodded perfunctorily.]
Silence followed.
After calming herself, Amber glanced down again at the Hilichurls and asked:
["Aren't you leaving?"]
["I need to head back."]
The moment Amber said she was leaving, Aerin's eyes sharpened—
Yet when he turned back to her, he was smiling again.
["I'll stay a bit longer. You go ahead."]
["Okay." Amber smiled. "Please be careful."]
She stood up carefully, backing away step by step.
After taking two steps, she suddenly stopped.
["Oh—one more thing."]
["It's dangerous to be alone."]
["Take this. It might help in an emergency."]
She pulled out a rabbit-shaped doll with long ears and placed it beside Aerin.
Mondstadt — Collective Reaction
Everyone watching was on edge.
Was Amber really this careless?
Still worrying about Aerin?
But when they saw the rabbit doll—
The crowd erupted.
"Well done, Amber!"
"So she noticed something was wrong!"
Jean was so excited she nearly hugged Amber on the spot.
"That doll…" Paimon blinked. "Why is everyone happy?"
"It's a bomb," Lisa said calmly, setting down her teacup.
"She planned to kill him."
"That cute doll is a bomb?!" Paimon and Lumine gasped together.
Future Amber was clever.
Pretending ignorance, then secretly planting a bomb.
But since this future was already exposed…
Would Aerin still fall for it?
Still—seeing Jean smile like that, no one wanted to ruin the moment.
["No, no…"]
["I took the wrong one."]
Cheers froze.
Amber suddenly turned back, reaching to retrieve the rabbit doll.
"What is she doing?!"
"She already placed it!"
"Why take it back?!"
"I knew it—she never suspected him!"
[Just as Amber reached for the doll—laughter echoed above her.]
["Hahaha… how interesting, Amber of Mondstadt."]
["You suspected my identity and planted a bomb."]
["But you feared your judgment might be wrong—afraid of killing an innocent scholar."]
["So after hesitating, you chose to believe I was from Sumeru…"]
["And came back to retrieve it?"]
["Such a pure, adorable little knight."]
Amber froze.
Her face drained of color.
He knew from the beginning…?
Who… what… is he?
Aerin bent down slowly, whispering into her ear:
["An outrider who doesn't trust her own judgment can never become excellent."]
["In times of crisis, even kindness can become a weapon that kills civilians."]
["You shouldn't have turned back, little knight."]
["Just as you suspected—those mutated Hilichurls…"]
["They were all created by me."]
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