The heavy, iron-bound chest of Fatui gold sat in the center of the Mondstadt plaza, radiating an aura of sheer, undeniable wealth.
The frost left behind by La Signora's dramatic exit was already melting under the morning sun, but the sheer absurdity of the situation lingered in the air like a thick fog.
Lumine stood with her dull blade still half-drawn, her golden eyes wide as she stared at the chest, then at Leo, and then back at the chest.
"You..." Lumine started, her voice barely a whisper, trying to find the words.
"You just sold the Anemo Archon's Gnosis... the literal heart of a god... to the Fatui. For money."
"Correction," Leo said, stretching his arms over his head and wincing as his joints popped.
"I sold a tracking device to a lady who was going to take it anyway. Venti didn't want it. Signora wanted it enough to kill for it. I just facilitated a transaction that saved us a boss fight and funded our early retirement."
"Fifty million Mora!" Paimon shrieked from the top of the chest. She wasn't floating anymore. She had physically face-planted into the mound of gold coins, swimming in them like a miniature, starry-caped Scrooge McDuck.
"Do you know how many Sweet Madames this can buy?! We can buy Good Hunter! We can buy the whole street! Paimon is going to commission a solid gold high-chair!"
Venti, who had been uncharacteristically quiet since handing over the Gnosis, let out a soft, melodious chuckle.
He adjusted his green beret and walked over to the chest, plucking a single, gleaming Mora coin from the pile.
He flipped it into the air, catching it with a wink.
"A god's heart for a king's ransom," Venti mused, his teal eyes sparkling with a mix of amusement and something far older and sadder.
"You drive a hard bargain, Leo. "
"Most would tremble before the Eighth of the Fatui Harbingers. You treated her like a stubborn merchant at a fruit stall."
"I've seen worse villains who had better fashion sense," Leo shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"Besides, she had an ego. Egos are predictable. She couldn't stand the idea that I didn't care about her divine little chess piece. Now, help me close this thing. We have a breakfast to catch, and I'm pretty sure dragging a national treasury through the streets is going to attract every Treasure Hoarder in a fifty-mile radius."
It took the combined effort of Leo, Lumine, and a very reluctant Venti to drag the massive chest up the cobblestone streets toward Good Hunter.
Paimon refused to help, insisting that her job was
"treasury management and security oversight," which mostly consisted of her sitting on the lid and glaring at any citizen who looked at them too closely.
By the time they reached the outdoor seating area of Good Hunter, Sara, the waitress, nearly dropped her serving tray.
"Table for four," Leo panted, dropping his end of the chest with a heavy, metallic thud that cracked a cobblestone.
"And we'll take one of everything on the menu. Twice. Actually, make it three times for the flying one."
"R-Right away!" Sara stammered, her eyes darting between the exhausted heroes and the chest leaking golden light from its seams.
They collapsed into the wooden chairs around a large circular table.
The smell of roasting meat and sweet flowers drifted from the outdoor ovens.
As Lumine began to recount the sheer insanity of the morning to a very distracted Paimon, Leo leaned back in his chair, letting his eyes slide shut.
But the moment he relaxed, a sharp, blinding magenta light flared behind his eyelids.
A searing headache spiked through his skull, entirely different from the physical fatigue of his Rider forms.
This wasn't muscle ache; this was a fundamental rewriting of his digital DNA.
He gripped the edges of the wooden table, his knuckles turning white.
[SYSTEM OVERRIDE INITIATED]
[CATALYST DETECTED: DECADRIVER]
[WARNING: DIMENSIONAL HARMONIZATION IN PROGRESS]