The rest of the afternoon was a blur of high-end shopping.
With 50 million Mora at their disposal, Leo wasn't about to sleep in the dirt anymore.
He bought a top-of-the-line canvas tent, high-quality sleeping bags, enough non-perishable rations to survive a nuclear winter, and a custom-made, magically expanded leather satchel for Paimon to carry it all in—mostly because she refused to do any heavy lifting, and the bag floated alongside her.
As the sun began to cast long, golden shadows across the City of Freedom, the trio made their way up the sweeping stone staircases toward the Knights of Favonius Headquarters.
The atmosphere inside the grand building was entirely different from the day before.
The frantic, panicked running of guards had been replaced by a weary, relieved calm.
The storm had passed.
The city was safe.
They found Acting Grand Master Jean in her office, buried behind a mountain of paperwork that somehow looked even taller than before. She looked exhausted, her blonde hair slightly disheveled, but as they entered, a warm, genuine smile broke across her face.
"Leo. Lumine. Paimon," Jean stood up, offering a respectful salute.
"Please, come in. I was hoping you would stop by. The city owes you a debt that cannot be easily repaid. Dvalin has been seen circling the northern mountains, the corruption entirely purged from his scales. The winds of Mondstadt are free once more."
"Just doing our part," Lumine said humbly. "Though, Leo did most of the heavy lifting. Literally."
"I merely provided the percussive maintenance and the high-speed kicks," Leo deflected with a smirk, leaning against the doorframe.
"But we aren't here for a medal, Jean. We came to say goodbye. At least for a while."
Jean's smile faltered slightly, replaced by a look of understanding.
"I see. A traveler's journey never truly ends, does it? Where will the wind take you next?"
"Liyue," Leo answered.
"We need to catch the Rite of Descension. Lumine has a family reunion to track down, and I... well, I'm just passing through."
"Liyue Harbor," a sultry voice echoed from the corner of the room.
Lisa, the Librarian, stepped out from behind a bookshelf, holding a thick, leather-bound tome.
She looked Leo up and down, her violet eyes gleaming with an intense, academic hunger.
"A beautiful city, but a long journey. Though, with your... unique capabilities, I imagine the distance won't be an issue. Speaking of which, Cutie..."
Lisa walked closer, her gaze dropping to the new, sleek Ride Booker attached to Leo's belt. It looked distinctly different from the high-tech belts and mechanical beetles she had seen before.
"Your equipment seems to have changed," Lisa observed, reaching a gloved hand out.
"I don't sense the same mechanical density. It feels... flat. Two-dimensional. What exactly are you hiding in that little black box?"
Leo instinctively stepped back, his hand hovering over the Booker.
"It's just cards now, Lisa. I upgraded my filing system. Much better for the lower back. No bulky armor plates to carry around."
Lisa raised an eyebrow, a knowing smirk playing on her lips.
"Cards? How fascinating. Spatial compression through geometric flattening. If you ever decide to settle down in Mondstadt, I insist you let me dismantle it. Just a little peek under the hood."
"I'll pass," Leo said, sweating slightly.
"I'm pretty sure dismantling this would cause a localized black hole."
Jean cleared her throat, redirecting the conversation.
"If you are heading to Liyue, you must travel through the Stone Gate. The roads have been cleared of Hilichurl camps, but the journey is still perilous. Please, take this."
She handed Lumine a sealed parchment bearing the crest of the Knights of Favonius.
"This is a letter of introduction. It proves you are Honorary Knights of Mondstadt. It may help smooth over any difficulties with the Millelith guards at the border."
"Thank you, Jean," Lumine said, taking the letter carefully. "For everything."
"No," Jean replied softly. "Thank you. May the Anemo Archon protect you on your journey."
As they left the headquarters and stepped out into the cool evening air, they bumped into Kaeya leaning against the outer wall, tossing a Mora coin in his hand.
"Leaving so soon?" the Cavalry Captain drawled, his visible eye sparkling with amusement.
"And here I was hoping to see the Yellow Demon steal a lyre or fight a dragon. I heard a rumor that a certain Fatui Harbinger left the city in a furious hurry today, leaving behind a very large sum of money. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
Leo didn't miss a beat.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Captain. I'm just a guy who likes to collect rocks and mind his own business."
Kaeya chuckled, a low, smooth sound.
"Of course. Well, mind your business carefully in Liyue, Leo. The City of Contracts doesn't tolerate rule-breakers quite as well as the City of Freedom. Have a safe trip."
The night fell over Mondstadt, painting the sky in deep hues of violet and navy, speckled with a million brilliant stars.
They rented the finest suite in the Goethe Hotel—which was remarkably empty now that the Fatui delegation had abruptly checked out—paying upfront with a stack of Mora that made the receptionist dizzy.
In the quiet of his private room, Leo sat on the edge of the plush, feather-stuffed bed. The city outside was celebrating, the distant sounds of lutes and laughter drifting through the open window.
But Leo's mind was a thousand miles away.
He unclipped the Ride Booker from his belt and opened it.
Inside, the cards lay in perfect, pristine order.
He pulled out the Kamen Ride: Decade card. The barcode-faced helmet stared back at him. This was the power that had saved the day, but it was also the power that had drawn the eyes of beings far above his weight class.
Tsukasa Kadoya—the original Decade, the photographer of ruined worlds—was out there.
He had seen him.
It wasn't a hallucination.
Tsukasa was watching him.
And worse, Ohma Zi-O, the demon king of time, had managed to slip a Blank Ridewatch into his pocket, a silent threat that transcended the boundaries of the digital system.
"I'm playing a rigged game," Leo whispered to the empty room, tracing the edge of the card. "I'm stuck in a fantasy world, carrying the weapons of multiversal gods, and treating it like a vacation."
He needed to be stronger. He had 350 RP left. Not enough for a spin, and even if he did spin, the system had warned him: he could draw a legendary weapon, or he could draw a half-eaten sandwich.
The risk was astronomical now.
He had to rely on what he had.
Zero-One for speed and mobility.
Kabuto for time manipulation and lethal strikes.
Decade for raw, overwhelming versatility and dimensional power.
He slid the card back into the deck and pulled out the Blank Ridewatch.
The silver faceplate reflected his own tired eyes.
It was cold, and silent, but he knew what it wanted.
It wanted power.
Whose power would it eventually steal?
A god of Teyvat? Or his own?
He shoved the watch back into his inventory, refusing to look at it any longer.
As he laid back against the pillows, the neon green interface of his HUD flared to life in the darkness of the room.
A new notification pinged, accompanied by the familiar, digital chime of a system update.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[NEW MAIN QUEST ACQUIRED]
[QUEST: THE FALLEN DRAGON'S REQUIEM]
[OBJECTIVE: Travel to Liyue Harbor and witness the Rite of Descension. Uncover the truth behind the Geo Archon's fate.]
[WARNING: High-level hostile entities detected in the Liyue region. Adepti and Fatui Harbingers are active.]
[REWARD: 1500 RP / RIDER COMBINATION PROTOCOL]
Leo stared at the translucent text hovering in the air. 1500 RP.
That was nearly four spins of the newly chaotic Roulette.
But the second reward—Rider Combination Protocols—made his heart skip a beat.
If that meant what he thought it meant, the ability to mix and match Rider powers without fully transforming, his survivability was about to skyrocket.
"Tomorrow," Leo muttered, closing his eyes and letting the exhaustion drag him down into a dreamless sleep.
"Tomorrow we deal with the Geo Archon. Tonight, I just want to sleep."
The wind blew gently through the open window, rustling the curtains, as the City of Freedom slept, unaware of the storms gathering in the south.
[SYSTEM STATUS]
[HOST: LEO]
[CURRENT RP: 350]
[EQUIPPED DRIVER: DECADRIVER]
[PASSIVE: DIMENSIONAL HARMONIZATION - Converts all physical Rider tech into Card format for seamless use.]
[INVENTORY / RIDE BOOKER DECK]
KAMEN RIDE: DECADE (Base Form)
KAMEN RIDE: ZERO-ONE (Speed/Agility)
KAMEN RIDE: KABUTO (Time Manipulation/Heavy Strike)
FORM RIDE: ZERO-ONE FLYING FALCON (Flight/Aerial Combat)
ATTACK RIDE: MEDAJALIBUR (Heavy Blade - Cost: 1000 Mora per empowered strike)
ATTACK RIDE: ONGEKIBOU REKKA (Dual Drumsticks - Purification/Sonic Damage)
[MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS]
EXPIRED DENLINER TICKET (Currently Useless Trash)
BLANK RIDEWATCH (Dormant. Unaffected by System Formatting. Highly Dangerous.)
49,998,000 MORA (Extorted from La Signora)