Thinking about getting enough people together for a game of mahjong, Luo Li actually felt a little tempted.
But before that, he needed to settle the unresolved matters of his own past.
Inazuma was the place he had stayed the longest—and also where he had accumulated the most romantic debts.
Unlike Mondstadt and Liyue, where counting them up only amounted to a few people, most of whom were cute little disciples.
The only one who could truly be called an ex-wife, Guizhong, was still lying within a secret realm.
"So what do you plan to do next?" Rosalyne asked.
Luo Li pondered for a moment. "Some things have to be faced sooner or later. I might as well take this opportunity to clear up the misunderstandings of the past."
He genuinely thought so. After all these years, Raiden Makoto probably wouldn't still be burdened by old concerns.
"I'll go with you," Rosalyne said immediately.
"No. This time, I plan to go to Inazuma alone and see how that land of past memories has changed," Luo Li replied.
He didn't even plan to bring Raiden Makoto along—her appearance was simply too conspicuous.
She looked exactly the same as Ei. Aside from the tear mole at the corner of her eye and a slightly different temperament, there were hardly any differences.
No matter what, having some buffer time would be better.
Rosalyne looked a little disappointed, but she quickly recovered.
"Then I'll wait for you in Liyue."
After all, Mondstadt attracted too much hostility. If she returned there, she'd be greeted by surveillance and endless schemes.
Even if Venti, the so-called victim, didn't mind—and might even want her to pay again for another bottle of Heavenly Wine—the Knights of Favonius clearly didn't welcome the Fatui.
"Liyue is peaceful now. It's good for you to stay here. Just remember to properly handle matters on the Cryo Archon's side," Luo Li reminded her.
"Mm."
Rosalyne had already made up her mind. Since Luo Li didn't want anyone accompanying him, she would return to Snezhnaya to meet the Tsaritsa, withdraw from the Fatui ranks, and return the divine authority the Tsaritsa had bestowed upon her.
Exchanging two Gnoses for their past bond—this deal was solid.
Perhaps sensing her thoughts, Luo Li said softly, "As for the flames flowing within your body, I'll help you get them under control."
After Rosalyne had shed her last tears of blood and transformed into the Witch of Flame to slaughter Abyssal monsters, unceasing fire had flowed within her body. If left unchecked, it would eventually burn her to ashes.
Fortunately, the Cryo Archon had granted her extreme ice, sealing the flames within—allowing her to remain safe for five hundred years.
The cold, elegant woman looked at him with affection. "If it's too troublesome, you don't have to waste your strength on me."
She knew well that even gods suffered erosion. Over thousands of years, Luo Li surely wouldn't be an exception.
Rather than having him expend his power for her sake, she would rather see her beloved remain whole and unharmed.
"It's simple. You just need to eat this."
Luo Li reached out and presented a fiery-red fruit, as if forged from flame itself.
Rosalyne examined it curiously. Its strange and unusual appearance was quite distinctive.
It was an orange-red, spherical fruit covered in spiral patterns, with a green stem. One end resembled a vortex, the other a flame.
"What is this?" she asked.
"A Devil Fruit. Specifically, the Flame-Flame Fruit."
Without a doubt, this was something Luo Li had obtained through his long years of sign-ins.
Since he already possessed the authority of the Herrscher of Flame, the Flame-Flame Fruit was little more than a chicken rib to him—nice to have, but not necessary.
But it could allow Rosalyne to completely control her flames, preventing the fire within her from burning her alive.
"A Devil Fruit?"
Rosalyne studied it carefully. Even with the Fatui's intelligence network, she had never heard of such a thing.
"That's right. It's the embodiment of a sea devil. Whoever eats it gains supernatural powers. Though it comes with a weakness to water, that's all."
Besides, in Teyvat there was no Sea-Prism Stone. The inability to swim was greatly mitigated—not enough to turn someone into a complete landlubber.
"This must be very rare, right?"
She didn't really need to ask. Its effects alone made that obvious.
Countless people dreamed of gaining supernatural abilities but never could—yet all it took was eating this single fruit to obtain what ninety percent of people longed for.
Luo Li replied casually, "It's nothing to me."
There was no need to explain just how precious or powerful it was.
Rosalyne was his. They were already as close as could be—what was a mere Devil Fruit?
It was just a pity he hadn't obtained the Magma Fruit; that would've been even stronger.
Looking at the so-called Devil Fruit in her hand, Rosalyne gently pressed her lips together.
"Oh, right. It tastes a bit strange—try to endure it when you eat it," Luo Li added, his expression turning a little odd.
The main reason he had never tried eating a Devil Fruit himself was simply that he didn't want to suffer through the taste.
Rosalyne tilted her head slightly. "Mm… I just eat it?"
"Just take one bite."
If it were someone else, Luo Li might've mischievously made them finish the whole thing. But for his own people, there was no need.
"Alright."
Under his gaze, Rosalyne raised the Flame-Flame Fruit to her lips without hesitation and took a small, tentative bite.
The fruit slid down her throat.
"Ugh…"
The next moment, her originally cool and elegant face twisted into an extremely strange expression. Her delicate brows knitted together, and her eyes instinctively narrowed.
She stuck out her nimble tongue, making an unexpectedly cute gesture that completely shattered her queenly aura.
"So disgusting!"
She grimaced, struggling with the bizarre taste of the Devil Fruit.
Luo Li couldn't help laughing and comforted her. "Alright, alright. It'll pass soon."
To outsiders, she was the proud and aloof Fatui Harbinger—but in front of Luo Li, she was always that once-innocent girl, with a hint of grievance in her movements.
And just as Luo Li said, the taste came quickly and faded just as fast.
Before long, Rosalyne felt better, and at the same time, a terrifying surge of fiery power broke through the icy seal and radiated from her body.
Her skin grew scorching hot, her snow-white complexion tinged with a layer of orange-red.
Once the Witch of Flame, Rosalyne closed her eyes. In just a few breaths, she brought this sudden power under control.
The heat on her surface receded, restoring her frost-like, jade-smooth skin.
"What a fascinating power!"
After sensing it for a while, Rosalyne opened her eyes, filled with surprise.
The once-rampaging flames within her had become remarkably obedient, responding to her will.
Even the fire elements drifting in the air listened to her commands, allowing Rosalyne—for the first time—to experience the gentle side of fire.