"Mr. Zhongli is not in the parlor at the moment."
"It seems he has gone to visit the Northland Bank."
The funeral attendant replied politely to Lumine and Paimon.
"Northland Bank…"
"Isn't that the Fatui's property?"
Paimon muttered, resting a hand under her chin.
"Then… do you know where Qiu Nian went?"
Lumine asked.
"Mr. Qiu Nian…"
"According to Mr. Zhongli, he went to deal with some matters."
"As for what exactly they are, I'm afraid I don't know."
The attendant shook her head.
"Hmph… if it's something Qiu Nian said was 'a small matter,' it definitely isn't simple."
"Well, let's go find Zhongli first."
"That place belongs to the Fatui. He might be in danger."
With that, Paimon and Lumine headed toward Northland Bank.
Inside the bank—
A woman wearing a black crown-shaped mask stood before Zhongli and Tartaglia.
She wore a black-and-white dress with a red cloak trimmed in dark fur.
Her figure was striking, her presence imposing.
This woman was none other than the Eighth Harbinger of the Fatui—
La Signora, Rosalyne-Kruzchka Lohefalter.
"You call this cooperation between Harbingers?"
"Cooperation requires at least sharing information."
Tartaglia glared at her, clearly irritated.
"Heh… don't be so fussy, Childe."
"In the end, you ignored all the schemes and simply caused chaos."
"And didn't you enjoy it?"
"It suits your style perfectly."
Signora chuckled softly.
Then she turned her head toward the entrance.
"…Wait."
"It seems some acquaintances of yours have arrived."
At that moment—
Lumine and Paimon walked through the door.
"It's Zhongli and Childe!"
"And… you! You're that Fatui Harbinger…!"
Paimon exclaimed in shock.
The moment Lumine saw Signora—
She immediately took a fighting stance.
"Oh? It's you."
"We met once in the city of the bard, didn't we?"
"Impressive. You still remember my name."
Signora looked at them with faint amusement.
"Well… watching a friend have something precious taken away…"
"…while being powerless to stop it."
"That's a hard memory to forget, isn't it?"
Her tone was mocking.
Hidden beneath it was a trace of self-mockery no one noticed.
"You can still try taking it back."
Lumine replied coldly.
"Hmph."
"How arrogant."
"Tell me… how exactly do you intend to face the authority of two Harbingers?"
Signora scoffed.
"Hey, hey."
"This is the first time we've met since everything ended."
"How should I put it… the atmosphere feels a little…"
"…awkward?"
Childe suddenly spoke up, breaking the tension.
"You deceived us!"
"When we found out you were a Fatui Harbinger, we should've never trusted you!"
Paimon huffed.
"Don't say it like that."
"Yes, I deceived you a little."
"But I never held any real hostility toward the Traveler."
"Besides…"
"Except for the unfortunate fallout at the end, our cooperation before that was quite pleasant, wasn't it?"
Childe spread his hands and smiled.
"Our positions were simply different."
"I won't treat it as a personal grudge."
"Of course, if you want to hold a personal grudge against me, that's fine too."
Then his expression darkened slightly.
"But compared to me…"
"Signora, Mr. Zhongli… and Mr. Qiu Nian…"
"…those three truly played me for a fool."
"You were just like me."
"We were all being manipulated by them the entire time."
Childe covered his forehead with one hand, unable to hide his frustration.
At this point—
He really did feel like a clown.
"Signora and Zhongli… wait—Qiu Nian?!"
"What exactly did they deceive you about?"
"And Qiu Nian… what is his real identity?!"
Paimon asked in shock.
"This matter…"
"Even I did not expect it."
Signora raised her head slowly.
Her voice carried genuine disbelief.
"To think that on the land of Liyue today…"
"There still exists an ancient god, besides Osial."
"And one whose power is nearly equal to Morax."
She let out a faint laugh.
"In an era where only the Seven remain…"
"To encounter two ancient gods beyond them…"
"How fascinating."
"One is a god who has existed since ancient times yet never had followers."
"The other…"
"…a god who possesses overwhelming power without relying on a Gnosis."
Her gaze flickered with complicated emotion.
"He must understand…"
"…Her Majesty the Tsaritsa's lofty and pure ideal."
Lumine's heart sank.
"So Qiu Nian… really is the foreign god…?"
She still didn't want to believe it.
But after hearing Signora's words—
She finally did.
"Ugh…"
"I…"
Childe sighed and rubbed his forehead.
He was about to say something—
But Signora interrupted him.
"Enough wasting time, Childe."
"If you want to chat, you can do it later."
"I still have business to finish."
She turned toward Zhongli.
Then spoke calmly.
"According to our agreement…"
"I've come to collect your Gnosis, Morax."
There was not the slightest respect in her eyes.
Her tone was openly arrogant.
Because of certain past events—
Rosalyne held an especially vicious resentment toward Barbatos.
Perhaps that resentment had spilled over.
It had eroded her respect for the other gods as well.
Of course—
The Tsaritsa was the sole exception.
In truth, Signora was usually cautious and pragmatic.
But her pride in her own power had grown.
After all—
She had once stolen a Gnosis from the Anemo Archon with only two Electro Cicin Mages accompanying her.
That success made her increasingly dismissive of the gods.
Which was why—
Even now—
With a contract already in place—
She dared to show Morax open disrespect.
Of course, she only dared to sneer.
She would never treat Morax the same way she had treated the wandering bard.
Because even before becoming the Geo Archon—
Morax's strength had already been legendary.
At that moment—
Lumine glanced between Signora and Zhongli.
"Gnosis…?"
Her brain felt completely overloaded.
Everything had become far too confusing.
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