Chapter 41: The Mysterious Harbinger

If it were just about knowing the Sole of the deep, Kokomi wouldn't be this nervous. In fact, she might even feel excited about being written into such a masterpiece.

After all, her pen name was quite well-known in certain circles.

The problem, however, was that the author seemed to have modeled the character with the pen name Sole of the deep directly after her. It was as if the author had used Kokomi herself as a template, going so far as to nearly write her real name into the story. This made it impossible for her to dismiss the situation lightly.

Was it just a coincidence? Could the author have simply based the novel's characters on some of Inazuma's prominent women, using her as the inspiration for the character of Sole of the deep? It wasn't entirely out of the question.

But then there were those bits of information hidden within the novel, which had later been confirmed as true. It made the idea of coincidence seem unlikely.

Should she try to meet this author in person?

Kokomi was startled by her own thought.

At this moment, it wasn't just her; even ordinary citizens from Watatsumi Island appearing in Inazuma City could be captured by the Tenryou Commission.

Besides, very few people had seen this mysterious author, and nobody knew their true identity.

It might be better to have her subordinates keep an eye out for any suspicious individuals on Watatsumi Island.

Location: Hellesis, Fatui Underground Arena

The underground arena was run by the Fatui, but the spectators were all high-ranking members of Snezhnaya's elite. The octagonal ring in the center currently held a young man lying prone on the ground. However, his head full of white hair made it difficult to associate him with the word "young."

"Contestant No. 139, life signs terminated, initiating reconstruction," the referee coldly announced the youth's fate, amid the dissatisfied grumbles of the audience.

"How... how could he be defeated so easily...?" A middle-aged man named Klober, seated in the highest tier of the spectator stands, wiped sweat from his brow. He spent a lot of effort to get this body from Mondstadt. If the boy's performance was unsatisfactory...

"This batch of material is still not up to par, Klober," a sneering voice came from behind him, making his knees go weak, nearly causing him to kneel.

The speaker was a mysterious figure dressed in luxurious attire, his face obscured by a bizarre black-and-white mask that couldn't fully hide his twisted amusement and madness. The tube emitting a strange glow attached to his right ear made Klober's scalp tingle with fear, as it evoked thoughts of some radioactive substance.

"M-Master!" Klober stammered.

"It seems you're out of ideas, Klober. Perhaps next time we should use you as the subject?" the mysterious figure raised his hand, pointing a finger at Klober. Though the tone was playful, Klober knew his master was deadly serious.

If he didn't come up with a solution quickly, he knew he would be the next one to enter the arena.

Driven by a desperate will to survive, Klober remembered something. He hurriedly approached the mysterious figure, groveling as he spoke, "N-no need for that, Master! I recently received an invitation to the Mondstadt Windblume Festival banquet. How about I use that opportunity to gather some more suitable subjects?"

He had indeed received an invitation from the head of the Mondstadt Merchant Guild, Lord Diluc of Dawn Winery. He hadn't intended to attend, but now he could only hope his master would take an interest.

"Mondstadt, you say?" The mysterious figure stood up and walked to the railing, gazing down at the experimental subject being dragged away from the arena. A slightly crazed smile formed at the corner of his mouth, the only visible part of his face beneath the mask.

"I'll give you one more chance, then. But... I doubt I'll be able to go myself." He would have liked to oversee the situation personally, but the Tsaritsa had assigned him a more pressing mission, making it impossible for him to leave.

"You can trust me, Master! I'll go alone and ensure I don't disappoint you again."

Klober understood his master's temperament all too well. Accompanying him would bring no benefits, and failing to meet his expectations would likely result in death.

Just like this time—though it was the master's experimental design that failed, he blamed Klober for finding poor-quality subjects.

They say serving a king is like serving a tiger. Klober wasn't even serving a king, but something far more dangerous.

If he had known how risky it would be to serve this master, he would never have agreed in the first place.

"Don't get any funny ideas, Klober. I know how efficient you are. If you don't bring back the results, you might not make it out of Mondstadt alive," the mysterious figure warned, cutting off Klober's flattery.

He returned to his seat with a rare thoughtful expression on his face.

"Where's Bai Luo? I haven't seen him around lately," the mysterious figure suddenly asked, as if remembering something.

"Bai Luo?" Klober was taken aback for a moment before realizing who his master was referring to.

"You mean the Instructor, right? Master, have you forgotten? He was recently promoted."

"Instructor? Promoted?" The mysterious figure thought for a moment, then nodded in realization. "Ah, I'd forgotten—our little boy is now a Harbinger. Quite a shame, really. Compared to useless idiots like you, he was much more resourceful. But now it's complicated... I can't just order someone of equal rank around."

Despite being annoyed that Bai Luo had once used his name to gather intelligence, the mysterious figure had eventually come to appreciate Bai Luo's contributions. Unlike his other worthless subordinates, Bai Luo was perceptive and always seemed to offer useful information when it was most needed. He was also one of the few who agreed with his philosophy.

In fact, Bai Luo was one of the few people in the Fatui whom the mysterious figure respected, to the point where he had considered dissecting him to see what made him different from others.

"He's in Inazuma, right?" The mysterious figure recalled recent developments and looked at Klober.

"Yes, because the Instructor is a newly appointed Harbinger, the Tsaritsa assigned him to Inazuma, the easiest to conquer, to practice."

Bai Luo's deployment to Inazuma was no secret in Snezhnaya. In fact, the assignments of all Harbingers were public knowledge. Some Harbingers were even given grand send-offs before their departure, such as Tartaglia's mission to Liyue, which was celebrated as a heroic endeavor to save Liyue and Teyvat. They were sent off as heroes.

"I recall that Scaramouche was sent to Inazuma as well, overseeing the Delusion factory there," the mysterious figure mused.

"Master, are you suggesting..." Klober hesitated, nervously swallowing as he tried to guess his master's intentions.

"Prepare to meet with Bai... no, I should say the Instructor. Prepare to meet with the Instructor. I'll request permission from the Tsaritsa to have him assist you in Mondstadt."