Chapter 350
"..."
"Don't stay silent. How about you consider joining the Knights of Favonius Church? You're quite the right age. I remember Farro once told a kid who looked like you that if you go to the church and cleanse yourself in God's light, you can start over and live like an ordinary person—of course, provided that I verify what you said is true and that you haven't had a chance to do anything bad in this city."
The "little devil" she was referring to was, of course, herself.
But then Rosaliya couldn't help but slap her forehead. Had she caught the habit of talking so much from the long-winded old man Farro? Why was he so talkative tonight?
"Ahem! Let's get back to the point. What were you doing at that illegal intelligence dealer's place?"
"Buying intelligence."
"What intelligence?"
"Rental information. I just arrived and need to find the cheapest place, preferably close to the bar for work convenience."
Anqi replied in a serious tone, handing over her notebook for recording rental information.
Rosaliya glanced at the messy, illegible handwriting, which clearly showed a lack of proper education, and immediately became even more convinced of Anqi's origins.
If they weren't hounds raised by a band of thieves, how could they be so clueless about the rules of city life? They're even so clumsy that they have to buy information from an intelligence dealer just to rent a place—a classic example of survival in the dark world.
"Just buying this intelligence? How much did it cost?"
"20,000 Mora."
"Hmm, the price is reasonable. You seem quite skilled at bargaining. But do you know the background of that information broker?"
"... I only buy intelligence, nothing else."
Rosaliya shook her head, as expected.
It truly embodies the survival rules of the dark world: cash on delivery, no extra curiosity whatsoever.
"That's the hideout of an illegal intelligence agency. I've been watching it for days, trying to see how many restless rats will emerge after the Grand Master goes on his expedition. Unfortunately, you've now become one of the little rats I've marked."
"... Should I go to jail? Or be executed on the spot?"
Anqi suddenly became alert and quietly reached behind her.
Rosaliya raised her hand and gently tossed a small leather bag. "Looking for this? It doesn't contain your main concealed weapons, but rather fine sand for blindfolding. Looks like your stockpile was also lost in the ruins. What a misfortune."
"..."
Anqi lowered her head, her eyes losing their color, as if she had suddenly become an empty, soulless wooden figure.
Rosaliya's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly placed the pouch in Anqi's hand. After thinking for a moment, she rummaged through her pockets and pulled out a lollipop, which she also placed in Anqi's hand.
Anqi looked up, puzzled.
"What's the meaning?"
"It means it's not that serious! It's just a mark, not that you're guilty. Once I verify that you're not lying, everything will be fine."
"Are you trying to trick me into relaxing, and then suddenly stab me in the heart when I'm off guard?"
"... From now until I close this case, you are not allowed to step out of Mondstadt City. In addition, you must pray for at least ten minutes every morning at ten o'clock and every night at the Favonius Cathedral. I will have someone watching you, and if you miss even one, I will assume that you are fleeing to escape punishment, and you can think of the consequences yourself. Also, if I need your assistance after this matter, you must serve me free of charge."
Rosaliya, in accordance with the ways of the underworld, put forward detailed demands.
Anqi indeed relaxed, the deathly light in her eyes fading, and she gradually came to life. She nodded vigorously and said:
"I understand, I will do as instructed."
"Okay. Let's go back to sleep then. We can have the lollipop tomorrow. Kids get cavities if they eat too much candy at night."
Rosaliya raised her hand, patted Anqi's head, and then disappeared.
Anqi looked around but couldn't find Rosaliya. She scratched her head, stuffed the notebook, punching bag, and lollipop into her clothes, and got up to leave.
Anqi arrived safely at the Cat's Tail Tavern and went to bed as she had the day before.
At the same time, on the rooftop opposite the Cat's Tail Tavern.
The nun sat lazily on the edge of the eaves, looking at the tavern's door, her long legs in fishnet stockings swaying, a slight smile playing on her lips.
"So Sister of the Sin Hunt has such a tender side? You really believe her like that?"
"Why don't we have our mysterious and reliable 'Dark Knight' personally take action, storm in now, drag her out of bed, and give her a thorough torture?"
"...snort!"
From within the shadows came a low, cold snort.
Dark Hero AKA Justice Man AKA Torch Hilichurl AKA Diluc Grandpa, left in displeasure.
Even the Dark Hero wouldn't do what Rosaliya described.
If the opponent were a Fatui or Abyss Mage, Diluc would certainly not be polite. But a young girl, well, he'd better not; he could just observe her for a while longer.
Rosaliya narrowed her eyes as she looked at the corner where the Dark Hero had disappeared.
"Who exactly is this character? A member of the Knights? Fatui with ulterior motives? Or simply a bored, fanatical righteous enthusiast?"
Rosaliya speculated about the true identity of the Dark Hero.
To be honest, a hero who protects justice in the darkness clashes with Rosaliya's character. Besides, she really can't trust his mystical ways; if he didn't have ulterior motives, why would he need to hide things like this?
But then again, the Dark Hero didn't actually do anything bad; on the contrary, he upheld justice in the dead of night, making him more like the Knights of Favonius than any real Knights of Favonius of Favonius.
Furthermore, with the Grand Master's departure, Mondstadt was indeed in turmoil, and the appearance of the Dark Hero at this time was beneficial to Mondstadt's peace and stability.
Therefore, Rosaliya was in a dilemma: she didn't want to clash with this mystical messenger of justice, but she couldn't completely trust him either.
"Sigh, whatever, let's take it one step at a time. I don't want to work overtime anymore~~"
Rosaliya looked up at the moon with a look of utter despair, then vanished.
Inside the room, after confirming that all the spying people had disappeared, Anqi threw off the covers and sat up.
Raise your hand, furrow your brow, and a crystal-clear ice crystal appears in your palm.
"This is the Elemental Power of the Teyvat world?"
Anqi stroked her chin thoughtfully.
She carries fragments of the Authority of Reason. She can copy what she sees, and understand what she copies. However, because they are fragments, they are limited to those whose energy level is far lower than that of Anqi.
For example, Heavenly Principles's energy level is not low, so Anqi cannot replicate his abilities.
Rosaliya's energy level was just right, so weak that it was like a drop of water in front of a vast ocean, and she easily copied the method of using Cryo Elemental Power.
Anqi clenched her fist, and the ice crystals used in the experiment vanished without a trace.
She then lay down and covered herself with the blanket again.
"What a pity. I remember that the Vision is closely connected with Celestia. It might be being remotely monitored by them. Otherwise, we could have copied the Vision on Diona, Amber, and Eula long ago. I wonder how the Heavenly Principles faction plans to deal with me now? Or should we not expose ourselves and instead create a few clones to do things so that we can unleash our full power?"
Then she pulled the blanket over her head and began to sob uncomfortably.
"Ugh... But my Honkai Energy dwindling, creating clones is such a waste!"
If it weren't for the limited Honkai Energy, she would have made ten or eight clones long ago and buried them all over the country as the ultimate insurance.
However, this won't work in the Teyvat world, which is isolated from support. Energy is limited, and clones can only be those that have practical value.
To create a clone capable of accomplishing great things, one must allocate sufficient power to it, which requires consuming a considerable Honkai Energy.
If her power isn't allocated, the clone is just a weakling with only Anqi's consciousness. Not only is it useless, but if it dies somewhere and drops a Herrscher Core, wouldn't that be blatantly provoking the Heavenly Principles faction? What if they have a change of heart and resort to some high-cost but incredibly powerful method? Wouldn't Anqi be asking for trouble?
"We still need to do some more research... We must create clones, but consuming Honkai Energy is not advisable. Using only Honkai Energy to condense the Herrscher Core, and then using the energy of this world to fill the physical body, should be feasible, right? This way, the consumption is low, the localization rate is high, and it's less likely to arouse suspicion. Let's do it this way!"
Anqi made up her mind under the covers.
In any case, tonight's gains were still decent. The official background information has finally been confirmed. Now, all I need to do is obediently go to the Favonius Cathedral for a few more days, and wait for Rosaliya to follow the trail and find that all the clues indeed end with that band of thieves. Then everything will be settled.
"Speaking of which, she actually invited me to join the church? Should I just accept and get a Mondstadt membership certified by Bartobas?"
Although there are no plans in this regard at the moment.
But the nuns in the order have official positions!
Anqi's eyelids grew heavy, and as she pondered, she drifted off to sleep.