Cael looked at Seele and smiled.
"So—when are you coming back to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor? Of course, you don't have to. This place is your home, after all."
He respected Seele's choice completely.
Wangsheng Funeral Parlor would always welcome her—but the decision was hers.
Hearing this, Theresa froze.
"Wangsheng Funeral Parlor? Isn't that a funeral service place? Seele's been living there?!"
The same thought simultaneously appeared in the minds of the other four.
Seele nodded seriously.
"Going back and letting Sister Bronya and the others know that I'm doing well—that alone fulfills my wish. More than that, I want to stay in Liyue Harbor."
She then looked at Bronya and the others.
"Of course, you can all come visit me in Liyue Harbor too. It's really fun there."
Liyue Harbor welcomed everyone.
Meanwhile, Benghuai Village hadn't seen many people leave in a long time—so much so that it had almost no presence in the outside world.
Bronya nodded.
"Bronya respects Seele's choice. I will definitely visit you in Liyue Harbor."
Mei smiled warmly.
"Benghuai Village will always be your home, Seele."
"AAAAH!! I lost!!"
Suddenly, Kiana, who had just been defeated by Black Seele, grabbed her head in disbelief.
"Why?! This was such a good opening! My luck was the best it's ever been! How did I still lose?!"
Black Seele curled her lips in mockery.
"With that IQ of yours, putting Hydro artifacts on Diluc—you'd only win if hell froze over."
"What's wrong with that?!" Kiana protested angrily.
"Diluc is Pyro! With Hydro artifacts, I can trigger Vaporize!"
"..."
Kiana started packing up her cards—then suddenly noticed Cael.
"AAAAH!! Lord Agarest!!"
She jumped in shock.
Everyone else: "...As expected of you."
...
...
A Few Days Later
"Haa… we finally made it to Liyue! These past few days were so rough!"
Just moments ago, Paimon had finished eating her very last bag of sunflower seeds.
"So this is Liyue Harbor…" Lumine stood halfway up the mountain, overlooking the vast city below. "It's beautiful…"
"Heh-heh, of course it is! Liyue Harbor is the most prosperous trading port in all of Teyvat!"
Paimon crossed her arms confidently. "Alright—first, we find Cael. I'm out of sunflower seeds."
The plan was simple:
Find Cael → then go watch the Rite of Descension.
"But…" Lumine hesitated,
"we don't actually know where Cael is. Liyue Harbor is huge—how are we supposed to find him?"
"That's easy!" Paimon said smugly.
"We just find places related to his job and ask around!"
She started counting on her fingers.
"Let's see… Cael said he's a chef, an opera playwright, a businessman, and also—eh?!"
Lumine clutched her head.
"At least we narrowed it down… a little…"
They asked around, but while many people knew of Cael, no one knew exactly where he lived.
He was connected to far too many places.
With no other choice, they gave up on searching for now and decided to go watch the Rite of Descension first.
Maybe Cael would be there too.
The most uncomfortable one was Paimon—
she'd gone half a day without finding anywhere that sold sunflower seeds.
...
Cael, meanwhile, already knew that Lumine and Paimon had arrived.
But he wasn't in a hurry.
Because he didn't need to go find them—
they would be brought to him by Tartaglia.
At the moment, Seele was playing Genius Invokation TCG with Black Seele.
"Seele, when are we going to fight for real?" Black Seele complained while playing cards.
"All these commissions are just finding cats and dogs!"
Seele smiled faintly.
"No choice. Our Adventure Rank is only 11."
"Lord Agarest is level 60, so only he can take dangerous commissions."
Hearing that, Black Seele instantly became depressed.
...
At the same time, Cael stood beside Zhongli, overlooking Liyue Harbor from above.
"You're certain about this?" Cael asked, turning to him.
Zhongli nodded.
"Yes. Moreover, my contract with the Tsaritsa has already been fulfilled. As the God of Contracts, I must honor it."
Hearing this, Cael didn't press further.
Instead, he looked toward Lumine and Paimon below.
"So that is the Traveler?" Zhongli said calmly.
"Like you—someone from beyond this world?"
Cael simply nodded.
...
...
Paimon dragged Lumine all the way to Yujing Terrace, only to be greeted by a sea of people.
"That's way too many people!" Paimon stared in disbelief.
At the center of the terrace, Ningguang raised her gaze to the sky.
"The auspicious hour has arrived."
She sensed something—and the ceremony began.
In an instant, dark clouds gathered.
Thunder roared.
A massive dragon's silhouette streaked through the clouds, instantly drawing all attention!
The entire Yujing Terrace was shrouded beneath a colossal dragon!
"Lord Morax!!!"
Everyone froze.
This was the Geo Archon—the Rex Lapis himself!
The next second—
something went terribly wrong.
Morax was struck by an unknown attack!
BOOM—!!
The dragon plummeted downward, motionless.
Ningguang rushed forward to inspect—
Her expression darkened instantly.
She turned sharply and issued her command.
"The Geo Archon has been assassinated.
Seal off the entire area immediately!"
Boom—!
The news exploded like a bomb in the hearts of the people of Liyue.
"What?! The Archon… assassinated?!"
"Impossible! This must be the Qixing's doing!"
...
...
Amid the chaos and accusations, Lumine felt a chill run down her spine.
"This is bad!" Paimon reacted instantly.
"We look super suspicious—run! Hide!"
She grabbed Lumine and bolted.
...
...
"Please register your identity."
A Millelith soldier stopped a passerby.
When that person raised his head—
The soldier froze.
"Mr. Cael?! It's you?!"
The Millelith's face lit up with surprise.
"Hello," Cael said politely, shaking his hand.
"Thank you for your hard work."
He continued calmly,
"Your suspicion is impossible in my case, so you may proceed."
"Thank you, sir."
"But!" the soldier suddenly added, stopping someone sneaking behind Cael.
"The Director accompanying you must stay."
He pointed directly at Hu Tao.
"Big brother… I don't look suspicious, right?" Hu Tao blinked her plum-blossom eyes pitifully.
"I'm just a back-alley dark poetry enthusiast."
The Millelith was unmoved.
"Please cooperate with the investigation, Director."
"Ugh… fine…"
Hu Tao reluctantly stepped forward.
Cael waited patiently.
A short while later—
"You may go."
Seeing that Hu Tao was cleared, the Millelith let her pass.
"Tsk~"
Hu Tao stuck out her tongue and quickly hid behind Cael.
"Hehe."
The soldier was just about to scold her—
When a shout rang out nearby.
"We've got a suspect!!!"