The group headed back toward Springvale.
Klee trotted behind them, happily clutching the long hair of the person in front of her.
Razor's white hair was striking—thick and long enough to fall all the way to his hips.
"Razor's hair is fluffy too!" Klee declared, delighted, as if she'd found the world's best toy.
Kaito glanced sideways at Razor, who looked quietly distressed by the tugging.
In the forest, boars were surprisingly mobile—no worse than wolves.
In Wolvendom, the reason Razor's pack could fill their bellies every day, reliably catching boars—without turning into starving beasts that broke their "rules" and attacked caravans and humans—
was largely because of Razor.
If not for him, what animal instinct cared about principles once hunger hit a certain point?
Razor was human, not a wolf.
He could set traps.
He could use tools.
His efficiency in catching boars was far higher than the pack's.
And once you'd already accepted human methods and human tools…
raising boars wasn't something Razor couldn't accept.
As long as his Lupica could eat, he would be satisfied.
"But… can boars really be raised?" Razor asked, looking at Kaito. "That Meat Tribe…"
"I only know because I read it," Kaito said.
"Mhm."
To Razor, this was someone his master trusted.
Someone he could trust too.
And Kaito smelled… good.
"The meat we caught is enough for your Lupica to eat today," Kaito said. "With their pride, they won't take more than they need."
"They'll hunt on their own claws and fangs. Don't worry."
Before Razor left with them, Kaito and Kaeya had helped him catch several boars.
"You… very strong," Razor said sincerely.
In his eyes, Kaito was even better at catching boars than he was.
Walls that could shape the terrain.
Wind that could boost speed.
Quick movements, sharper than most hunters.
Kaeya watched the whole thing with an indescribable feeling.
It was like someone had overtaken him in the art of smoothly… leading people by the nose.
"You really just talked him into coming with us?" Kaeya asked, dragging Kaito aside.
"What do you mean 'talked him into it'?" Kaito shot him a look. "I'm telling the truth."
"Since when do I know about it?" Kaeya protested.
"Read more," Kaito said in a lecturing tone. "If you don't know, ask Lisa. Don't spend all day hanging around taverns."
Kaeya rubbed his forehead, feeling attacked.
He went to taverns for intel—he wasn't being lazy.
Kaito continued, merciless. "It's from Hilichurl Customs Survey: Volume Four. Author: Jacob Musk."
"A famous Mondstadt ecological scholar."
"I found the book in the Knights' archives. Don't tell me you've never read it?"
Then, with a look of disbelief, Kaito added, "Please don't tell me the only thing you've read is Alice's travel guide."
Kaeya ground his teeth and silently swore he'd start bringing books to the tavern.
No more getting looked down on like this.
And then Kaito landed one final blow, casual and cruel:
"Even Diluc knows more than you."
"…"
"Kaeya! Kaeya, what's wrong?" Klee looked over and saw Kaeya's soul leave his body.
She tried to "comfort" him.
"Wanna go fish-blasting with Klee? Fish-blasting makes you feel better, really!"
It wasn't comfort.
It was just Klee wanting to blast fish again—and also find someone else to take the blame when Jean came knocking.
Kaeya, no matter how shaken, wasn't about to fall for that.
But somehow, his heart felt even more stuffed.
Kaito glanced at the sky.
"Klee, want to race?"
"Race? Yes!" Klee nodded hard.
"We run until sunset," Kaito said. "All the way to the outside of the Windwail Highland gorge."
"What does first place win?"
"Dinner in the biggest bowl."
"Then Klee is going to win!" Klee spread her arms and accelerated instantly. "Da-da-da~!"
"So it's just… marching, basically," Kaeya sighed—then hurried after her anyway.
There were two forks on the way to the gorge entrance. If Klee took the wrong one, it would be a mess.
The remaining three were all claymore users.
Kaito even felt like his stamina might not match theirs.
Noelle was naturally strong, trained daily, and ran errands everywhere.
Razor didn't need explaining—he spent his days running through mountains and forests.
But those two didn't seem interested in racing.
They stayed near Kaito instead.
Kaito deliberately didn't chase Klee too closely, letting her keep the lead—so the three of them fell behind.
Before sunset, the team reached the entrance to the Windwail Highland gorge.
On both sides of the winding pass, towering cliff walls stretched inward. Above them lay Windwail Highland—a vast plateau that bordered Dragonspine.
Diluc's team was up there, searching for Dvalin's Tear Crystal.
The gorge ahead ran straight toward the abandoned Temple of the South Wind Lion… and deeper still into Dadaupa Gorge, before climbing up toward Cape Oath.
Lisa had come here once, more than half a month ago—to deal with the dragon-breath crystals in the temple.
But now—
a strange camp had been set up at the gorge entrance.
"What is this?" Kaito asked Kaeya, who had arrived first.
The other camp already had torches lit and tents secured.
"A Snezhnayan merchant," Kaeya said. "A Snezhnayan merchant. Name's Tsarevich."
"He's arrogant and looks down on Mondstadt. Ever heard of him?"
Kaeya had just gone over, pretending to be a normal adventurer, to gather intel.
"Snezhnayans looking down on Mondstadt is hardly unusual," Kaito said.
"But I don't recognize the name."
He frowned. "This road leads to Cape Oath, and beyond that is the sea. There isn't even a human settlement out there."
"A Snezhnayan merchant showing up in a place like this…?"
It didn't make sense.
He'd also spotted several Fatui guards.
Kaeya noticed his gaze. "He claims they're hired security."
"Cover story?" Kaito guessed.
"I think so too," Kaeya agreed.
Because Mondstadt had its own governing force—the Knights of Favonius—the Fatui, as Snezhnaya's political arm, couldn't just do whatever they wanted on Mondstadt soil.
That would be meddling in an ally's internal affairs—a diplomatic mess.
Just like how, right now, the Fatui couldn't openly go kill Dvalin.
The dragon crisis was Mondstadt's problem. Unless the Knights formally handed responsibility over, the Fatui couldn't act in the open.
But if there was a "merchant caravan" as a public cover…
that changed things.
"Security" didn't need to be a large force. Even a small group was enough to do plenty of things that weren't meant to be seen.
"We should set up camp too," Kaito said. "Keep an eye on them."
He pulled out their adventuring kit, and Noelle immediately started setting things up.
The supplies she'd bought last time were… absurdly durable.
Kaito built a fire and took out carrots, potatoes, and onions to make dinner.
"Is that… Anemo Archon Stew?" Kaeya asked, recognizing it instantly.
It was an old Mondstadt dish. He'd eaten it plenty of times.
"I've never had the version Boss Kaito makes," Kaeya said.
"In the wild, there's only so much you can do," Kaito replied.
Back in his original world, he'd eaten a dish like this in a Western restaurant—Dutch in origin.
But Mondstadt's Anemo Archon Stew was the more primitive version: everything in one pot.
In a restaurant, it was often separated, plated, and finished with a special sauce.
Out here, Kaito could only do the one-pot method.
Even so—
Kaeya could tell from the smell alone that it was different.
A rich fragrance drifted across the gorge entrance… and reached the Snezhnayan camp opposite them.
The two camps faced each other across the wide mouth of the gorge.
The Snezhnayan camp had clearly been there for some time. They'd taken a better spot—higher ground.
Kaito's position was slightly lower, but not bad. It was still a solid campsite.
The Fatui guards gnawing on dry rations couldn't take it anymore.
They came over with torches, bringing the merchant Tsarevich with them.
"Who would've thought a backwater like Mondstadt could produce food that smells this good," Tsarevich said.
He stared at the rolling pot, throat bobbing as he swallowed.
"Young adventurer—name a price. Sell it to me, or cook an extra portion."
"No Mora," Kaito said evenly. "Information."
"Information?" Tsarevich's eyes sharpened with suspicion. "What kind of information?"
"We're adventurers," Kaito said smoothly. "We came here to explore. Naturally, we want information about this area."
He nodded toward the gorge.
"Why haven't you gone in? If I'm not mistaken, you've been camped here for more than a day or two."
Tsarevich looked impressed. "Not bad. Sharp eyes for someone your age."
Then he started to say, "Because there are mon—"
He cut himself off halfway, sensing something off.
The monsters inside the gorge should've been cleared yesterday—by the Fatui group that came from Mondstadt City.
If that group had already gone in, the road ahead couldn't still be full of monsters.
But Tsarevich's mind turned quickly.
"Because there are monsters inside," he finished anyway.
He could lie first, eat first.
It was already dark. These adventurers weren't going to verify it tonight.
And even if they did and realized he'd lied—so what?
It's not like they could make him spit the food back out.
"You have guards," Kaito pointed out. "Why not send them?"
Tsarevich snorted. "Hmph. They're guards I paid for. Why should I make my people do extra work?"
"This is Mondstadt's land. I've already sent word to your Knights of Favonius. Those blockheads didn't make things easy for me in the city—now they want to take advantage of me?"
"Not a chance."
Kaito nearly laughed.
A foreign merchant insulting the Knights of Favonius… right in front of the Cavalry Captain.
He glanced at Kaeya.
Even with his smooth temperament, Kaeya looked like he was physically restraining the urge to punch Tsarevich.
But Tsarevich and Kaeya didn't recognize each other.
That meant when this caravan passed through the city, the paperwork had likely been handled by Jean.
As for the Knights—no matter what requests Tsarevich had filed, they couldn't spare manpower recently. So the issue had probably been left hanging.
"Well?" Tsarevich leaned forward impatiently. "I've given you information. So—do I get the pot, or do you cook me another one?"
Kaito exchanged a glance with Kaeya.
With his hands behind his back, he made a simple gesture to Noelle and Razor.
Move.
The four of them acted at once.
"You—" Tsarevich barely got the word out before the blunt of a sword struck his neck.
He collapsed unconscious.
The three Fatui guards who'd come with him dropped as well.
"Two more across the way," Kaito said. "Knock them out too."
Razor and Kaeya sprinted over.
A short scuffle broke out in the other camp.
Then it went quiet.
They returned, dragging two more unconscious Fatui guards, and tossed them onto the ground.
"Tch." Kaito clicked his tongue. "A 'merchant' who wastes time camping here and waiting for the Knights to clear the road—either his brain is broken, or he thinks ours are."
"So… his brain is broken?" Klee tilted her head.
She'd just crawled out of the tent.
She still didn't understand why the fight started—though it was very obviously a one-sided beatdown.
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