"Have you heard? The Twelfth Harbinger, the Instructor, attended Master Diluc's banquet."
"Diluc's banquet? Is the news reliable?"
In the bustling streets of Mondstadt, a male Fatui envoy named Mikhail whispered to a female Fatui envoy named Lyudmila. (deja vu)
The topic of their heated discussion was none other than the Fatui Harbingers.
And the Instructor they were talking about was currently at the banquet, enjoying fine wine and delicacies.
But unlike his initial solitude, he was now surrounded by business elites and socialites.
Admittedly, the Fatui don't have the best reputation in Teyvat, but it's undeniable that the Fatui have their hands in various industries.
As the Geo Archon of Liyue once famously said:
"Capital flees chaos and conflict because its nature is cowardly."
This is true, but not the whole truth.
Capital fears no profit or too little profit, just as nature abhors a vacuum.
Once there is sufficient profit, capital becomes bold. With ten percent profit, it is widely used; with twenty percent, it becomes active.
If breaking a contract brings profit, it will not hesitate to cross that line, even if it means facing the penalty of breaking one's word.
While the Fatui Harbingers are indeed fearsome, what these merchants fear most is the absence of profit.
Unfortunately, they've miscalculated.
Bai Luo's role within the Fatui isn't commerce but rather assassination and intelligence.
Realizing that Bai Luo had no interest in engaging with them, these people gradually dispersed.
But on the Knights of Favonius' side, something was stirring.
"Honorable Instructor, would you be willing to accept a toast from a Knight of Favonius?"
A dark-skinned man with an eyepatch approached Bai Luo, raising his glass.
"If it's just wine and not a blade, I'd be happy to accept."
Raising his glass and clinking it with the other man's, Bai Luo responded.
Earlier, when Klober was negotiating with Diluc and the others, Bai Luo had noticed this man following them.
He hadn't expected him to come out so quickly.
Did he think Klober wasn't worth his time?
Or... did he feel that letting a Harbinger roam freely at the banquet was too dangerous?
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Kaeya Alberich, the Quartermaster of the Knights of Favonius."
The so-called Quartermaster is essentially the office manager, head of logistics, or administrative assistant of the Knights of Favonius.
This position not only handles the internal affairs of the Knights but also manages external relations with other organizations.
So it was only natural for him to approach Bai Luo for a conversation.
"Kaeya? I heard the Quartermaster is about to take over as Cavalry Captain?"
Since arriving in Mondstadt, Kaeya's name had frequently come up around Bai Luo.
Whether it was Luke, the Fatui guard at the Goth Grand Hotel's entrance, the fool Klober, or even the cleaning staff, they all often mentioned his name.
And yet, none of them had realized that Kaeya had already extracted a lot of information from them.
"Your information is quite up-to-date. Actually, three years ago, after my father passed away, I took over the duties of Cavalry Captain from my brother. It's just that I'll be officially assuming the role soon."
Kaeya wasn't surprised that Bai Luo knew about his situation.
If his intelligence was correct, this Instructor was a master of information.
It was said that most of the intelligence about Liyue, Mondstadt, and Inazuma in Snezhnaya came from him.
He even knew secrets that not even locals were aware of.
To this end, Kaeya had sent trusted subordinates to investigate, but apart from the Lawrence family, not many people had contact with the Fatui.
But those arrogant members of the Lawrence family wouldn't care about so-called secrets.
This made Kaeya particularly wary of the Instructor.
Even when coming over to greet him, he didn't dare to casually fish for information.
He felt that the Fatui had already, unknowingly, infiltrated the core of Mondstadt.
"By the way, your brother is Master Diluc, right?"
Bai Luo walked over to a statue of an owl, playing with it as he asked.
"Yes, we're not blood-related, but my adoptive father was very good to me. I've long considered this place my home."
Seeing Bai Luo approach the owl statue, Kaeya's eyelid twitched slightly.
That guy Diluc, how could he leave something like this out in the open? Was he not afraid of exposing his other identity?
"Those who watch over the night must not forget the light of dawn. Those who fight against evil must not lose their righteous hearts."
This was the inscription on the owl statue, likely someone's motto.
"Please excuse him, he likes to collect strange things. His taste is quite unique. But that painting over there might be more to your liking, Instructor. If you'd like to take it, I can arrange for it to be gifted to you."
The eye not covered by the eyepatch darted around as he tried to divert Bai Luo's attention elsewhere.
"No, no, I find this quite interesting."
Looking at the inscription, Bai Luo said with interest.
"Interesting?"
This word made Kaeya even more unsure of Bai Luo's intentions.
"Exactly, it reminds me of a friend of mine.
He was born in a city called Gotham. As a member of the Wayne family, one of the four great families of Gotham, he once witnessed his parents die before his eyes. Later, he inherited his family's vast fortune and became a top-tier billionaire.
But instead of living the life of a playboy, he chose to don a bat mask and become the Dark Knight, punishing so-called evildoers. Don't you think that's ridiculous?"
With every word Bai Luo spoke, Kaeya's grip on his glass tightened.
It matched. Every point matched.
Born into a great family, witnessed his father's death, inherited the family fortune, and became a dark hero to punish criminals.
Wasn't this his dear brother Diluc?
Even among the higher-ups of the Knights of Favonius, only a few knew about these things, mainly the core members led by Grand Master Varka.
And now... this Fatui Harbinger known as the Instructor had laid out Diluc's recent circumstances in full.
What did this mean?
Was he warning Mondstadt? Proving that he had infiltrated the city's core?
Or was there another agenda?
Kaeya, who was accustomed to dealing with people and skilled at extracting information from conversations, felt a sense of panic for the first time.
No...
If he had to pinpoint the first time he felt this panic, it would have been that night three years ago.
It was also the night he and Diluc lost their shared "father."