Chapter 37 If He Dies, Toss Him in the Sea

"Name?"

"Fugin."

"Age?"

"I reckon I'm 'bout sixteen."

"You reckon?"

"Aye, sixteen it is."

The Fatui officer across the table stopped writing and looked up, fixing Seino with an inquiring gaze.

"I'm a darn good citizen, I am."

Seino raised his hands, showing a harmless smile. "Boss, ya seen the papers yerself."

When out and about, one must naturally forge all sorts of documents.

Without God Cutter by his side, he felt very insecure. However, others couldn't use that sword either. Its appearance was quite ordinary, not even as good as a fire poker.

He was currently in a prison-like room, a narrow space with only a dim lamp lit in the far corner.

"You're from Inazuma?" He flipped through the series of identity documents Seino had forged. "Encountered a sea beast that devoured the entire ship's crew, and only you escaped?"

"That's right." Seino nodded.

The officer across from him showed a suspicious gaze again.

A bit dangerous. Seino mused inwardly.

The Fatui acted in strange and fickle ways. These people were outright lunatics, unscrupulous in achieving their goals. This interrogation had been repeated several times, and the officer across from him still seemed dissatisfied.

He frowned, seemingly contemplating how to deal with this.

Soon, he wouldn't need to be conflicted anymore, because La Signora arrived.

La Signora.

Accompanied by the click-clack of high heels.

The first thing he saw was a black and white long dress. A red velvet cape with black trim dragged on the ground. The dress had cut-out designs on both sides, clinging to her slender body. Long, fair legs were exposed as she descended the stairs step by step.

She wore a black crown-like mask, covering half her face. Her eyes were purple, with scarlet eye shadow, bewitching yet aloof. But the deepest impression she gave was still coldness.

This woman seems fierce.

That was Seino's first impression of La Signora.

The Fatui officers beside him all bowed deeply, heads lowered, not daring to even glance at La Signora.

She cast a fleeting look at Seino, then withdrew her gaze without a second glance. She only instructed the soldier beside her: "Lock him up, wash his brain clean."

When La Signora spoke, her tone was as light as the wind, as if human lives were not worth mentioning.

Her mood had not been tranquil lately, past memories constantly perplexing her.

With her mind agitated, her actions also seemed irritable. This time, her diplomatic visit to Mondstadt harbored other secret intentions. The boy's appearance was ill-timed. If it were an ordinary period, she might have turned a blind eye and let him go. But not today. 

So regardless of his innocence, getting rid of him was the simplest choice.

Because it was simplest, it was most efficient.

...Is this woman so fierce because she's on her period?

Seino mused silently.

But he had no intention of sitting and waiting for death.

Brainwashing?

His mind was already chaotic enough. If the Fatui intervened, who knew what errors might occur. By then, he'd turn into an idiot. Better to just kill him with one slash.

The officer across the table stood up upon hearing La Signora's words.

He took out a shackle-like torture device and was about to bind it to Seino's head. Seino composed himself, his Fudoshin state clear and empty. The other party's movements were crystal clear.

The stirring breeze, the clanking of the chains...

He had practiced to exhaustion in his memories, nearly losing his life. But the gains were also substantial.

Seino thought of the boy in the dandelion field. How did he wield his sword? How did he manipulate the wind element?

Nimble, swift, unlike the violence and ferocity of thunder. The sword tip passed through the flower clusters in the wind, barely grazing them—He slightly tilted his head, twisting his body to dodge the chains about to bind him.

Invisible sword edges formed from wind gathered in his palms. With an upward slash, they coiled around the man's arm and pointed at his chest.

The Fatui officer was greatly alarmed. He had already inspected earlier. This boy clearly had no Vision. How could he manipulate elemental power?

He wanted to activate his Delusion to defend, but it was too late. Amidst the howling wind, invisible currents rolled across his skin. Layers of blood sprayed out with his chest as the center.

Seino's strike hit. He no longer showed weakness or yielded. The wind broke the chains on his hands as he leapt up.

The other soldiers had long reacted. With the flaring of Delusions, the air rapidly condensed.

Seino used his fingers as a sword. The Favonius Bladework was fully reflected in his mind. In the Fudoshin state, the circulation nodes of various elements were clearly visible. Like passing through flower clusters, he lightly touched those elemental nodes with his sword.

This body's talent was even better than he imagined. 

One technique after another exploded before him. He didn't retreat but advanced, pressing forward. His figure floated like a startled swan. Wind rolled in his palms. With a sideways sweep, three soldiers fell.

This change occurred in mere moments.

Seino wanted to advance further, but he was stunned to find himself unable to move. His feet seemed rooted to the ground. Bone-chilling cold climbed from his marrow into his mind.

His feet were frozen in an instant.

It was La Signora.

She did nothing, only casting a brief glance at Seino, and he could no longer move.

This was the strength of a Fatui Harbinger.

"Favonius Bladework..."

That swordsmanship was familiar because she had seen it many times before. In the attic of Mondstadt square, that boy waited for a promise that would never be kept, tirelessly practicing his sword. The trajectory of that swordsmanship was very similar to what Seino used today.

Later, La Signora learned that the boy was indeed a genius. His swordsmanship was his own creation—that unnamed set of techniques was later named 'Favonius Bladework', becoming the pinnacle of Mondstadt Knights' swordsmanship.

Disgust.

If La Signora's previous attitude towards Seino was indifference, now it was pure disgust.

Or rather, misplaced anger.

Seeing this swordsmanship made her recall the past, recall her powerless self.

La Signora, or Rosalyne, hated seeing this swordsmanship again, just as she hated Mondstadt, hated Mondstadt's god, hated that square, hated everything belonging to Mondstadt... She was an undead, the heart long turned to ashes.

What Knights of Favonius, what Mondstadt, what knightly spirit...

Did the things you defended with your life ultimately defend you?

Truly laughable.

She took off her pure white glove. Her slender left hand gently pressed on Seino's chest.

Terrifying magic rapidly gathered.

Seino felt all the blood in his body freeze. His joints stiffened inch by inch. His lungs spasmed violently as he knelt on the ground, powerless.

"Drag him away."

La Signora instructed those beside her. "If he dies, toss him in the sea."