Under the pitch-black night, a figure with an icy-blue glow leaped down from the rooftop of the Fatui's Goth Grand Hotel, reaching out to push open a window.
Unexpectedly, upon opening the window, he was greeted by a barrage of ice crystals.
"Got you, criminal."
Kaeya stood by the window, looking at the nearly frozen icy-blue figure, and exclaimed with exaggerated flair.
At the same moment, the Fatui guards and Knights of Favonius members, who had been lying in ambush nearby, also revealed themselves, intending to surround the so-called "Darknight Hero."
"Hmph!"
Secretly scoffing at Kaeya's acting skills, Diluc waved his hand.
Dark chains instantly wrapped around several Fatui members, tearing a gap in their encirclement.
Under Kaeya's attack, Diluc successfully broke through the gap and escaped.
"After him!"
Before Kaeya could speak, the Fatui diplomat Anastasia had already issued the order, commanding her subordinates to give chase.
Seeing this, Kaeya smiled to himself. This was exactly the effect they wanted.
Since only Kaeya knew the true identity of the Darknight Hero, the other Knights of Favonius members were unaware, so they were giving it their all.
Thus, even Anastasia couldn't spot any flaws.
But no matter how hard they tried, with Kaeya as the mole, how could the ambush possibly succeed?
"Whoosh—"
A dagger with a wire attached struck a windmill, and the thin wire instantly tightened, blocking Diluc's escape route.
If Diluc continued forward, he would likely be sliced in half by the wire.
"Clatter—"
Chains of black flame appeared again, but this time they weren't for attacking. Instead, they wrapped around a chimney behind him.
With the help of the chains, Diluc narrowly avoided the wire's deadly strike, though he ended up tumbling to the ground.
Even though he had been warned beforehand, the sudden appearance of the wire had still given him a fright.
Before he could get up, a vial of potion was poured over him.
Diluc, drenched in the potion, contorted his face in pain.
Amidst low growls of agony, he began to shrink, and fur sprouted all over his body.
In the end, he transformed into a fiery red cat.
The nearby Fatui members quickly pounced, pinning the cat to the ground.
However, they underestimated the cat's strength, as its claws left several bloody scratches on their faces.
"In... Instructor."
Anastasia, who had caught up, bowed her head slightly in shame.
Before the operation began, Bailuo had offered to help, but she had thought that with so many people, the criminal wouldn't escape.
But she hadn't expected that in the end, it was still Bailuo who solved the problem.
"The potion's effect will last for three days. Send him back as soon as possible."
After retrieving his dagger, Bailuo picked up the cat, gave it a few rough strokes, and then handed it to the nearby Fatui members. Without even glancing at Anastasia, he walked away.
He acted as though he was deeply disappointed in his subordinates.
"Yes!"
Anastasia perked up and immediately saluted.
Bringing back the criminal who had killed both the diplomat and the missionary should make up for the losses in Mondstadt, right?
Anastasia understood why Bailuo was angry.
The Windblume festival had already ended, but the monsters lurking outside hadn't made any moves.
Although the Knights of Favonius had sent people to clear them out, their so-called "clearing" shouldn't have been able to stop monsters of this level.
Later, after their investigation, they discovered that the now-deceased Klober had accepted bribes from the people of Mondstadt and leaked this grand plan to them.
This had left the Instructor deeply disappointed in his subordinates.
Klober was fine—he had already been killed by the Darknight Hero.
But the loyal subordinates were in big trouble. These days, many had been cursing the damned Klober.
Jean returned earlier than originally planned, mainly because she had learned that after the diplomat, another missionary had been killed, and she couldn't hold it together anymore.
The Grand Master had recently handed all responsibilities to her, and she, in turn, had delegated them to Kaeya.
Although she trusted Kaeya deeply, she feared he might not be able to handle everything, so she left a portion of her forces behind and rushed back with some elite members.
But to her surprise, upon returning, she found that everything had already been resolved.
The Fatui's prisoner transport carriage had passed her by, though she didn't understand why they were transporting a kitten.
Were they insane?
Perhaps to spare Jean from worry, Lisa didn't mention that the cat was actually Diluc transformed.
However, Lisa, who knew the properties of the potion, was well aware that its effects wouldn't last as long as Bailuo had claimed—three days. In reality, it would wear off by noon.
By then, Diluc would have successfully escaped and returned.
By noon... the Knights of Favonius would have already completed the handover with the Snezhnayans. If the criminal escaped afterward, it would no longer be their problem—it would be the Snezhnayans' own fault.
At the same time, in another direction, a carriage also left Mondstadt.
When Collei woke from her sleep, the familiar figure of Bailuo wasn't there, nor was the ceiling of the Goth Grand Hotel. Instead, she saw a young man lost in thought—Cyno.
Even though she had let go of her past, her long-ingrained sense of vigilance hadn't faded.
She instinctively reached for her fruit knife, only to find it was gone.
"Awake?"
Seeing Collei sit up, Cyno sighed.
It was true that Bailuo had threatened him, but through Lisa, he had also learned just how much suffering this child had endured.
He couldn't bring himself to take out his frustration with Bailuo on Collei.
"Where is he?"
Looking outside the carriage, though they were still within Mondstadt's borders, they were clearly far from Mondstadt City.
"He asked me to take you to Sumeru and gave me this to pass on to you."
Cyno handed Collei a box he had retrieved from beside him.
Collei froze for a few seconds before silently accepting the box.
Opening it, she found two brand-new daggers and some replacement wires inside.
Bailuo had even thoughtfully tied a slightly crooked bow on one of the daggers.
These daggers were identical to the ones Bailuo used, just smaller in size, perfectly suited for Collei to use for a long time.
The hilt bore the emblem of Wagner's Blacksmith Shop.
So, the stones she had carried back from the wilderness were ore used to forge her weapons. No wonder he had said she would thank him.
Taking out one of the daggers, that perfect, familiar feeling returned, as if...
Her body jolted as she remembered something.
Back in Sumeru, in order to learn the assassination techniques left behind by the mysterious person, she had asked an old man to teach her how to read.
But no matter how long she studied, there was one character in the mysterious person's assassination manual that she could never understand.
It wasn't until the old man was on his deathbed that she cautiously revealed her secret, hoping he could clarify it for her.
After reading the assassination manual, the old man had said one thing.
"This person's handwriting is terrible, and the drawings are awkward too. Kid, don't blindly follow this. And... this symbol at the end doesn't look like a character. It's more like an illustration."
"Illustration?"
"Judging by its shape, it should be... a weapon? It's clear that the characters are too slanted, and the person must have been in a hurry, leaving no space for the illustration, so they drew it in a place that's easily misunderstood."
That somewhat abstract symbol gradually overlapped with the dagger in her hand.
Yes, this was it!
The person who had saved her and left her with the means to protect herself was him!
Bailuo!
Some people, upon first meeting, feel as though they've known each other for a long time.
She had thought her fondness for Bailuo was simply because she had been lonely for so long and finally found someone willing to accept her.
But now it seemed...
Their so-called first meeting was actually a reunion after a long time.
Thank you, Teacher.