——Reality
Stelle's livestream room.
"Good plot, bros—this bottle of champagne is on me first! Tonight we blitz the champagne factory!" Stelle raised her champagne flute.
Firefly picked up the bottle opener and popped the cork. March 7th poured champagne to fill Stelle's glass.
Two beautiful girls serving attentively—this was the pinnacle of enjoyment, and Stelle had paid a heavy price for it.
For the next month, all the cleaning would be on her, and for the following week she would be…
…doing voluntary labor at her landlord's place downstairs. (Anyone who thought dirty, go face the wall on your own.)
[Trash Stelle and her harem.]
[I should be grateful Kafka isn't here, or I'd only be even more envious of Stelle.]
"The time for reckoning has come."
After Jun Bai uttered those words in the scene, the game entered free-roam mode.
Although it was already getting late and Stelle had been planning to take a nap, she judged that there was only one last bit of plot left, so she decided to finish it first.
She hoped Kafka wouldn't start lecturing her because of this.
"Reckoning… probably means going after the Fatui."
——Teyvat
Jun Bai led Lumine and Paimon straight to the Northland Bank. The two diplomats guarding the entrance saw the situation and pretended not to notice, allowing the two high-risk individuals to enter the Northland Bank just like that.
Diplomats: Just a bit of Mora each month—no need to risk our lives, really.
"…The contract I made with the Tsaritsa—I will naturally hand over what is due according to the terms…"
[Peng Dao's extremely recognizable voice.]
[This dialogue… Your friend Zhongli has gone offline. Your friend Morax has come online.]
[So Rex Lapis and the Cryo Archon—the highest leaders of Liyue and Snezhnaya—actually had a deal?]
A somewhat familiar voice to Lumine and Paimon echoed from inside the Northland Bank's hall.
The three walked into the hall and saw Zhongli conversing with a tall, slender woman.
A gray suit paired with black trousers—her modest attire could not hide her elegant, well-proportioned figure. Her long white hair was tied back, with dark ink-like highlights at the tips.
Her features were refined, her eyes long and narrow. Every gesture exuded graceful poise.
In her pitch-black pupils, a crossed cruciform insignia made anyone who met her gaze feel an unusual sense of danger.
——Fatui Harbinger, the Fourth, [The Knave]
[Such a cool big sister—husband, kill me!]
[The Fourth Seat has shown up.]
[Discussing how one Geo Gnosis requires mobilizing more than half the Harbingers, and they might still fail to obtain it.]
[You can tell the Tsaritsa really wants to collect all the Gnoses—she'll keep sending Harbingers until she gets them.]
"Should I commend the Fatui for your persistence and efficiency?"
Jun Bai walked up beside Zhongli, drew Phoenix Perches on Demon Subjugation, and said coldly: "Just a little more, and Osial really would have pushed Liyue into irredeemable ruin."
"Knave, I need a proper explanation."
"Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to take Xuanjian and his artificial god for a little stroll through Snezhnaya."
Facing the two gods whose anger was blazing before her, Arlecchino—the Knave—gained a deeper understanding of how little restraint three of her colleagues showed when carrying out missions.
Those three had no concept of restraint whatsoever.
This already constituted a very serious diplomatic incident. If not handled properly, once Liyue recovered, there was a 90%+ chance they would march troops into Snezhnaya.
Given the combat power Liyue had displayed in that recent divine battle, turning the seven nations into six would not be difficult.
She had to hold steady—otherwise Snezhnaya was finished.
"Your Excellency Phenex, Your Excellency Morax, I am deeply sorry for the disaster my colleagues' actions have brought upon Liyue."
"All losses suffered by Liyue will be appropriately compensated by Snezhnaya."
Jun Bai raised Phoenix Perches: "Isn't compensation something you were supposed to do anyway?"
"That is only natural." The Knave took a deep breath. "As atonement for unleashing Osial…"
Jun Bai interrupted: "Regarding compensation, atonement gifts, and other matters—I will let Tianquan and Ziwei discuss them with you."
"What I need right now is an explanation. Don't try to change the subject."
[Bai-ge is mighty!]
[Nirvana God taking the God of Destruction for a walk in Snezhnaya—if he accidentally causes a little commotion along the way~ (side-eye smile.jpg)]
[Cryo Tsaritsa, you wouldn't want the God of Destruction wrecking Snezhnaya the way it wrecked Osial, right? (heart.jpg)]
The Regrator, secretly watching from the shadows, nearly crushed the wall in his grip.
One was already hard enough to deal with—two together couldn't be solved with just a major bloodletting. This was the rhythm of having their bones scraped and marrow sucked dry.
"Phenex, calm down." The composed Zhongli pressed down on Jun Bai's hand, intending to resolve it peacefully.
After all, there was a contract with the Tsaritsa.
"Three Bowls No Further was washed away by the flood."
Zhongli lowered his hand.
"The stage of Yunhan Society was soaked in water and can no longer be used."
Zhongli clenched his fist.
"Bosacius's karmic burden has already gone out of control once because of Osial's revival."
A flash of golden light passed.
Zhongli held the Vortex Vanquisher, expressionlessly looking at the Knave: "I need a proper explanation."
[Bai-ge really knows how to handle Morax.]
[After all, they're war buddies (father-son), they know each other's little preferences too well.]
[Knows father like a son, basically.]
Lumine and Paimon hurriedly soothed the two gods.
Next, Lumine acted as mediator and notary between both sides, getting the Liyue side to take a step back.
Since there had been no casualties among Liyue's personnel in this incident, Liyue did not intend to make things difficult for the Fatui's lower ranks.
However, as the main instigators of this disaster—the Snezhnayan Childe, Signora, Regrator, and the Doctor who broke Osial's seal—they would be held responsible for the event.
The final negotiation results were:
After recovering from their injuries, Childe and Signora were to report to the Guili Assembly for six months of labor reform.
The two were considered accomplices, so their punishment was relatively light.
The Regrator was required to compensate for all related losses from the Osial incident and serve two years in prison in Liyue Harbor.
On the way to the Northland Bank, a helpful resident had provided Jun Bai with all the intelligence she had continuously gathered on the Regrator during the war.
This one had been the mastermind behind Osial's unsealing in the later stages of the war—Childe had merely been the executor of his orders.
Thus, the Regrator's punishment was heavier.
As for the Doctor…
Snezhnaya was required to escort twenty of the Doctor's Segments to the Guili Assembly to face execution.
[Boring—I want to see rivers of blood!]
[I feel like this punishment is too light.]
[Probably calling it good while ahead—after all, Liyue didn't suffer any substantial losses.]
[Doctor: Did I commit a heavenly sin? Getting executed twenty times in a row.]
The Knave accepted this outcome willingly.
It was already satisfactory that not all the Harbingers had been accounted for in Liyue. Before coming to Liyue, her orders had been to preserve the Harbingers as much as possible.
As much as possible—directly stating Snezhnaya's helplessness.
In negotiations, neither reason nor strength had the upper hand—that was the helplessness of it.
The Knave left the Northland Bank with this result—only the Doctor injured—and the Gnosis, returning to Snezhnaya to report.
In the hall, Lumine and Paimon looked straight at the two people before them.
"Lumine, Paimon—let me introduce you. This is Zhongli, the walking incarnation of Rex Lapis in the mortal world." Jun Bai said.
Zhongli nodded slightly to the two.
Paimon crossed her arms and looked at Jun Bai with a subtle expression: "So you've known all along that Rex Lapis was right beside us and never said anything?"
"I was bound by contract—I had no choice but to keep silent." Jun Bai said righteously.
"So Rex Lapis was preparing his own funeral?" Lumine looked at Zhongli and said.
"I already mentioned that before."
"Whether Rex Lapis has truly passed away, or whether the Rite of Descension would be superfluous—these are not within my considerations. I was merely fulfilling the commission of the Seven Stars." Zhongli explained reasonably and logically.
Lumine thought back to what Jun Bai had said: "From the beginning, you've always been able to find strange angles to convince me."
She looked at Jun Bai: "So that's what you meant."
"Good that you understand." Jun Bai nodded.