A biting sea wind blew in from afar, slamming against the window with a muffled howl.
Time flew. It had been seven days since Wu Yi left Inazuma.
It was also his seventh day adrift at sea.
Rosalyne acted even more swiftly and decisively than he had imagined. From the moment she resolved to leave Inazuma, she summoned every Fatui member in Inazuma City, took care of all the loose ends, left contacts behind and assigned them covert duties, sent further instructions to the Fatui on all of Inazuma's other islands, submitted a mission report to Snezhnaya in advance, and finally withdrew from the docks. The whole process took less than an hour.
When Rosalyne pulled Wu Yi aboard the ship bound for Snezhnaya, the Traveler had not even emerged from the Electro Archon's Plane of Euthymia. Before that, Rosalyne had even given Wu Yi plenty of time to write a letter to Watatsumi Island and found an intermediary in Inazuma City to deliver it for him.
Wu Yi was quite impressed. As foul-tempered as this woman was, her ability to get things done was the real deal. No wonder she was so highly regarded in Snezhnaya.
At the time, Wu Yi could not help asking:
"Do we really need to run off so quickly? Aren't you going to wait and see how things develop in Inazuma?"
"Hmph. Are you looking down on me?"
Rosalyne glanced at Wu Yi and quickly said:
"I've already confirmed it. Just as you said, the Raiden Shogun did go to suppress the resistance, and she seems to have gone with the Traveler to fight in some separate little space. As much as I hate to admit it, looking back, since the Traveler dared to barge into Tenshukaku, she must have been prepared to get out in one piece. There's most likely someone else in Inazuma helping her from behind the scenes. Perhaps it's Guuji Yae, the shrine maiden from the Grand Narukami Shrine who fought Scaramouche alongside her at the Delusion factory before."
"I've looked into it. Guuji Yae and the Raiden Shogun are very close on a personal level. So, although the Raiden Shogun still couldn't possibly lose, Guuji Yae might actually find some way to persuade her to repeal the Vision Hunt Decree. If that happens, things may become even more difficult for the Fatui in Inazuma. But even if she isn't persuaded, things won't get any better."
Rosalyne's reasoning was extremely clear:
"After all, the Raiden Shogun has already attacked me. Although I can't remember exactly what happened in Tenshukaku, the dealings between the Fatui and those two commissions have most likely been exposed, and that annoying Traveler was probably the one who did it. The Raiden Shogun's attitude toward the Fatui is very hostile now. As an important member of the Fatui, if I stay in Inazuma, there's a very good chance I'll become her hostage."
"Besides, I've left contacts behind and had them go into hiding. With the various agents I planted in Inazuma before, we'll still be able to obtain firsthand intelligence on Inazuma... So give me one reason not to get out of Inazuma immediately."
There really was no faulting her reasoning. After taking that slash, the woman seemed to be thinking even more clearly.
After listening to her analysis, Wu Yi could not help thinking.
The one thing she had miscalculated was that if the Raiden Shogun saw that La Signora was still alive and still in Inazuma, she probably would not try to take her hostage. Instead, she would likely wonder why La Signora was still alive, then finish her off with another clean slash.
And then... came seven straight days adrift at sea.
Clearly, the Teyvat Wu Yi was in was not as small as it was in the game, but had been scaled up several thousand or even ten thousand times. The fact that Wu Yi had to spend so many days at sea traveling from Inazuma to Snezhnaya on a Fatui steamship was strong proof of that.
According to Rosalyne, however, they would probably reach Snezhnaya today.
His thoughts stopped there, and Wu Yi turned his attention back to the Fatui officer named Kolya in front of him.
"All right, I've checked. The side effects of your Delusion have been completely cured, and all your other hidden ailments really have been healed too. As for why you often feel heart palpitations for no reason, that has nothing to do with the Delusion. You've simply been staying up far too late."
Wu Yi waved a hand.
"All right, I'll write you a prescription to help you recuperate. Take it and head back. Once we reach Snezhnaya, brew the herbs and give yourself a proper boost. You'll have a lot more energy afterward."
"Oh, oh, oh!" The officer named Kolya immediately got to his feet, then bowed deeply to Wu Yi and said loudly:
"Thank you, Doctor Wu! You truly have a healer's compassion and a sage's skill with medicine-"
"Stop, stop, stop." Wu Yi hurriedly cut him off. "Taking care of yourself and staying up late a little less would be the greatest help you could give me. All right, all right, off you go."
After repeatedly thanking him, Kolya finally left the room, and Wu Yi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Barring any surprises, that rather straightforward officer had been his last patient during his time at sea. In truth, he could hardly be called a patient. Wu Yi had cured the hidden problems left by his Delusion and the ailments acquired during his long missions on the very first day. The straightforward fellow simply could not believe it and had come back to ask a couple of questions for reassurance.
Then again, it was no wonder he found it hard to believe. Before setting out on this mission, Kolya had been told by a doctor in Snezhnaya that his prolonged use of a Delusion had left him with three years to live at most. Wu Yi had taken hold of him, examined him for a while, and told him that all those hidden ailments and problems had been cured and that, barring any surprises, he would live to a ripe old age. It was only natural that he found it hard to believe.
And that was what Wu Yi had been doing aboard the ship these past few days:
On the one hand, his urge to practice medicine had flared up again, so he had given everyone aboard a full-body treatment, healing every hidden ailment, injury, and underlying problem.
On the other hand, when the fleet stopped in Liyue to resupply, he had asked Rosalyne to send people to gather up all the medical books and medicinal herbs available there. During his free time aboard the ship, he had studied the local medicine... After all, mastery of one field made it easier to grasp others, and medicine was bound to have things in common wherever one went. So he learned at a tremendous pace. By now, he could basically say that he was the best doctor in Liyue, and writing patients prescriptions using Teyvat's local remedies was no trouble at all.
By the time he finished seeing the last person, it was already dark.
Wu Yi put his tools away and suddenly felt hungry.
He had heard that the dining room served a rather good late-night snack, so he decided to get something to eat.
No sooner had he decided than he set off, soon arriving at the ship's dining room.
But he did not seem to be the only one in the dining room at night who had been busy with other things during the day and had come for a late-night snack.
Rosalyne sat by the window, an untouched bowl of borscht and a serving of honey cake before her. She held a letter in her hand, gazing at it in something of a daze.
After ordering a bowl of borscht and some sweet madame, Wu Yi carried his tray over.
He had only taken a couple of steps closer when he saw her shoulders suddenly stiffen slightly.
"What are you doing here?"
He heard Rosalyne ask.