A Nascent Kaleidoscope.

Chapter 730: Chapter 644.

"And that’s when this one discovered that if you combine the elemental powers of two opposing derelict power sources, it will create an equilibrium that can be used to power the mechanism for three centuries!" The bird spread its wings as it recounted a story.

This had been going on for the better part of two hours.

She can apparently talk a lot.

I had a sneaking suspicion that she hasn’t had someone to talk to in a while. She had a sort of...I wouldn’t call it disdainful, but sort of that inherent arrogance when it came to mortals.

I think she was just excited because we were like-minded in her eyes? Or rather, something resembling peers she could converse with?

There was no guessing everything thought in her head, but I think I could more or less make some educated guesses.

At least, that was the vibe I was getting from her. Someone who had been alone for a long time was suddenly excited that she could share some of her interests with others.

And there was no reason to rudely dismiss her. We were just trying to peacefully explore this place, go see the sights, try the food, and have a good vacation. Angering or getting on the bad side of the local Immortals would be counterproductive.

"Yes, and then my Ganyu ate it, and her belly swelled up even larger than before! A feat I thought impossible." She leaned in. "This one will tell you a story. A beast once tried to eat my poor Ganyu. Do you know what happened? It choked because she was far too large!"

And she kept going off on tangents.

Apparently she was a mom, and she liked to talk about her children.

It was sort of sweet.

"This One believed it was enough! I was forced to ban sweats until she lost weight! She was far too round for her age! She cried and begged, but this one was unmoved! She tried to run away, but she tripped when running down the mountain and rolled the rest of the way! Rolled, because she was a little ball! This One chased and found her at the base of the mountain, crying! Crying because she had crushed a group of Hilichurls due to her size!"

The funny thing is, a few of the caravan people were about to try and chase away the strange and animated Crane. They couldn’t hear her, but they could certainly see her flailing around while not-talking.

But they were stopped because apparently cranes were auspicious beasts in Liyue, and they didn’t want to bring bad luck or make the locals upset.

So they just ignored her.

I wish we could say the same.

"Come, reveal your arts. Mortal, let us compare." She seemed to remember the original topic. "This one expresses curiosity. This one has not interacted with mortals in a great many years. What contraptions have been created? What arts have you mastered? This one wishes to witness. As the confidants of the Anemo Archon, surely you must be well versed."

One thing I understood at this point: apparently she, and the others like her, answered to the Geo Archon.

So, by extension, she perceived us as ’similar’ in that regard, despite referring to us as mortals without sounding diminishing.

"Have you seen one of these before?" I took out the Fatui gun I acquired the other day.

"Hmm." She lowered her head to inspect. "I have seen this before. I am unimpressed by its design. It is inelegant, a facsimile of elemental control. Barbaric." She sniffed hastily. "I see forty-seven mechanisms that can be upgraded."

I cast a quick illusion over the cart so we wouldn’t draw attention. I know she noticed but didn’t say anything, as it was probably not that impressive in her eyes.

I nodded. "Well, how about this?" I took out a proper gun. It wasn’t dissimilar to the one I gave to Koneko.

"Hmm? A similar design." She inspected it closely. "No Elemental Core? The previous one used a Pyro core to release a condensed Pyro discharge at the pull of the trigger. How does this one operate?"

I pulled out a bullet to show her. "There’s a combustible powder inside of here. And the weapon strikes the back, igniting it, causing a contained explosion that released the top part outwards." I loaded the cartridge into the gun and chambered a round as she watched.

"What delicate mechanisms." She whispered. "I can see how it operates; the degree of craftsmanship requires precision beyond most mortal hands. Yes, I see, yes." She seemed to rub her chin with her wing. "The tube confines the expanding gases, directing the force behind the projectile instead of allowing it to disperse."

She basically analyzed how a gun works. Though, it wasn’t all that different than the Fatui gun, but there were differences as well because the Fatui gun was...well, magical, basically.

It used elemental power to side-step a lot of the requirements a regular gun had.

"This one is intrigued. This one wishes to offer to trade for such a device to study. I have a great many ideas that have appeared after witnessing such. State your terms. What do you wish to trade for? I have many great devices of greater value; you will be most happy with receiving one." She spoke hastily.

"You can have it as a gift," I offered.

"A gift?" The bird stopped in its tracks. "You offer a gift to this one?"

"...is something wrong?"

"This One has not received a gift from a mortal in a great many years." She seemed to go into quiet contemplation.

Why was I gifting a gun to an immortal bird?

I thought it was funny.

That’s about how it starts and stops here.

It’s not like they don’t have guns here already, so I wasn’t too concerned.

"No need to reject; after all, you are offering to escort us to Liyue. Consider it a thank-you gift." I smiled politely.

Ignoring everything else, she came here to ’escort’ us without any demands or requests made of her, simply because she thought we might be in danger after delivering important information to them.

It was an act of kindness even if she was rather arrogant in her speech. And I was nothing if not reciprocal to those who showed me kindness.

"Then this one will have thick skin and accept the gift." Wind wrapped around the gun and floated O.T. before it disappeared somewhere out of sight.

I know she stored it somewhere; I just don’t know where.

"Hmm, you want to see my ’arts,’ was it? What exactly did you want to see?" I was curious as well about what she called ’Adeptus Arts.’

"This one admits curiosity. The Conqueror of Demons spoke of impressive abilities." The crane bobbed its head.

I looked around and found my target. "That sign over there—" I pointed about three hundred yards away. "On the fork in the road, destroy it for me, smash it into small pieces."

She didn’t ask me why nor raise a concern.

Instead, she raised her wings and slashed them through the air.

Wind blades descended at all angles onto the wooden signage, cutting it into small pieces, well over a hundred in total.

I took out my wand, pointing it at the mess. "Reparo."

The pieces of the sign trembled before floating upwards and returning to their original shape, combining back together and repairing themselves as if nothing happened.

"Oh, curious." The crane watched with clear interest. "The art used has many uses, very useful indeed! Explain how it works!" She looked at me excitedly.

I realized that she means ’spells’ when she says ’arts,’ or that’s just how it’s interpreted here. Her Adeptus Arts, as she called them, were basically the equivalent of Immortal Magic from back home.

I actually knew an immortal spell; my Mountain Sealing Incantation would be an ’Adeptus Art’ in her vernacular.

"It’s not very complicated on the surface. It essentially makes the object in question remember its previous ’shape’ and forces those pieces back together. You could call it the memory of its existence or its conceptual state of existence."

She wasn’t put off by my explanation either.

For what is presumably an immortal bird, the terms I used, even if they were foreign, would be something she could grasp.

"I see, I have not considered such a method before. Using the object’s inherent memory of its existence. This one has learned something today." She spoke politely. "A rock is a rock; we know it is a rock. It retains its name. Names are powerful. We name it as such, and it is recognized as such; therefore, that is its memory." She muttered to herself.

I didn’t interject because she basically nailed it.

Maybe her phrasing was a bit redundant or fanciful, but that’s how she chose to articulate the knowledge to herself.

Either way, it wasn’t wrong.

Artoria came walking down the line of carts. She had been doing her patrol up ahead a bit as the cards continued down the road. Partially because she didn’t want to sit here and listen to the bird ramble on forever.

I couldn’t blame her.

She climbed back into the cart sitting next to me silently.

Cloud Retainer was still lost in her own thoughts, but she suddenly snapped back to the intention and looked off into the distance. "Hmph, those Fatui dare!?" She fluffed up her wings, turning her whole body to the north.

"Fatui?" I asked.

"A number of them! Weapons ready! They are planning an ambush! How dare they!" She flapped her wings, taking to the air. "Liyue is not far; I shall remove these pests for daring to be so audacious within the borders of Liyue!"

Well, she did say she was going to ’escort’ us. "Then we’ll leave it to you."

"Let us meet again in the future!" She flew up to the sky, nearly disappearing from view as we barely heard her parting words. "No need to thank me!"

Well, we weren’t going to.

"Alright, I’ve been holding back for awhile now."

"Holding back from what?" Artoria asked me curiously, but her expression changed into a flat look as her question was immediately answered.

That is, I was squeezing her butt without any shame.

[Line Break]

La Signora, Fatui Harbinger POV

"Report." I demanded, looking out the window at Liyue’s port.

Making me run all the way here throughout the night, someone was going to pay.

My agent rose from the shadows. "Reporting, Harbinger. We lost divisions four through seven as they attempted to approach Liyue. The survivors state that they were attacked by what appears to be the local Adepti."

I scoffed. "Those damned beasts. How dare they attack us!?" I slammed my hand on the table. "Do they want to start a fight between nations!?"

Damn those creatures.

The one at the Inn, and now the others. Have they been warned about my purpose for being here?

"Was there word on what’s going to happen with Mondstadt?" I asked.

"Reporting, the telegram states that The Doctor will be returning to Mondstadt to act as a diplomat." He replied.

Of course, that annoying man.

Fortunately, he’s just as annoying for our enemies.

"What’s the state of Mondstadt?" I was unable to get updates before arriving.

"All Fatui members within the city have been apprehended and arrested. Our spies have revealed that they have entered a battle-ready state in preparation." He rasped from behind his mask.

I scoffed again. "They really think they can fight us?"

Though, it’s not that they aren’t a threat. As much as it pains me to admit, they have their own strengths that would make a confrontation be inadvisable considering it’s not our primary goal.

Those damn brats!

It’s all their fault! I had the Gnosis in my hand, and it was stolen from me!

If our forces around Liyue have been wiped out, then it’s only a matter of time before the Qixing of Liyue receives word of what happened. No doubt Mondstadt will request aid, and it’s likely that Liyue will answer considering their long history.

Annoying.

That will make our operations within Liyue more difficult as well.

"Who else is in Liyue right now? Childe?" I asked.

"Yes, Harbinger."

I hummed as I considered my options. "Don’t tell him about my arrival; let him jump around and get everyone’s attention." There’s already an agreement with the Geo Archon, let that boy grab the attention for now.

"As you wish, Harbinger." He was about to disappear, but I held up my hand to stop him.

"Have you looked into what I asked?"

"Our spies have reported back; we have not compiled a report yet." He answered.

"Just spit it out," I grumbled.

"Names: Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg and Artoria Pendragon. They registered with the Adventurer’s Guild less than a week ago. Our spies report that they arrived in Mondstadt only a few days prior to that, but we are unable to confirm from where they arrived."

"So that man was not...what’s his name, the winery owner?" I raised an eyebrow.

"No, Harbinger. From the report we received, he simply shares a similar appearance."

Hmm. "Then call off the raid on the winery over there."

"As you will."

I could have sworn that it was the same person.

At the very least, I won’t have to burn down one of my favorite wineries now. I was going to be upset that I wouldn’t have access to that wine anymore.

"Known acquaintances?" I asked.

"Our spies reported a close association with a child under the Knights of Favonius, a vision holder named ’Klee.’"

Klee?

The name clicked immediately as my eyes widened. "Do not, absolutely do not, touch that girl, do you understand?" I grabbed his collar. "I don’t want any spies on her; I don’t want anyone getting closer. And don’t so much as accidentally bump into her on the street. Am I clear!?"

"Y-yes, Harbinger." He answered hastily.

I dropped him from my grasp.

The last thing I want is her mother coming to make trouble for me. Not even the Tsaritsa would willingly antagonize that woman without a very good reason.

I do not have a death wish.

I tapped the table in annoyance. "We have no records of who these two people are?"

"No, Harbinger. We have no records of their appearances or names in our records." He replied evenly.

Then where did they just pop up from?

"Keep looking into it. I want to know exactly where they came from so there’s only a frozen wasteland waiting for them when they return home." I scowled in annoyance.

"Yes, Harbinger."

Hmph.

How dare he insinuate something so perverted about me?

I’m going to freeze that small girl at his side and see how he runs his mouth when I step on his face afterwards.

"Have we been able to confirm that the Anemo Archon still possesses the Gnosis?" I asked.

"All our field agents have been captured or forced to flee in Mondstadt. The spies we have remaining are unable to confirm those details, Harbinger." He answered. "However, there was a note on a report. One of our operatives that managed to flee the borders of Mondstadt before being captured had stated that a masked man with a Pyro Vision was demanding to know information on the Gnosis. He mentioned that the man implied that the Anemo Archon no longer possesses it himself."

I paused.

"Did he willingly give it away? Or did that man just not give it back? Could he have given it someone else!?"

No, this makes things more complicated. The Anemo Archon wouldn’t simply give it away; that’s preposterous!

But...the possibility remains.

"Put all available manpower into trying to verify where the Gnosis ended up. If we lose spies, then we lose spies." I ordered.

"I will relay your order immediately." He sunk back into the shadows.

I bit my thumbnail because this has now grown out of my control.

That man should be arriving in Liyue soon...at the very least, I can verify that he doesn’t have it. I suppose I can put Childe to proper use and direct him at that annoying, perverted man.

It shouldn’t disrupt the plan he’s already working on of unsealing that forgotten God in the bay of Liyue.

Regardless, he is going to pay for daring to call me a prostitute!.

[Line Break]

A/N

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