After wrapping up the official business, Kamisato Ayato was about to send someone to bring Scaramouche over when something occurred to him.
He stepped up to Lu Chen and said, "After your fight with him yesterday at the Tenshukaku, he's never regained consciousness. We haven't been able to interrogate him."
"He's been out this whole time?"
Ayato nodded. "The Kamisato family's physicians examined him, but they couldn't do a thing—no way to wake him."
"Oh my…" Miko covered her mouth in mock surprise, glancing at Lu Chen. "You didn't hit him too hard, did you? Don't tell me you broke him?"
Ei thought for a moment. "His body isn't like an ordinary human's. Your Kamisato doctors wouldn't be able to tell what's wrong."
Lu Chen frowned. "Was I really that rough?"
Miko, recalling the scene vividly from her spot on the opposite rooftop, immediately nodded. "It wasn't just about force… I've never seen you that worked up before."
Ei turned to him, curious. She had been in the consciousness space at the time and didn't know what the battle outside looked like. Hearing Miko say this piqued her interest.
"Were you really that angry?"
"You're not going to blame me, are you?" Lu Chen asked with a helpless smile.
"No." Ei shook her head. "You did well."
Miko chuckled. "If you had been there, you might not have been able to act at all. Good thing we had Lu Chen."
Lu Chen's thoughts turned suspicious. Was the guy just pretending to be out cold?
He looked to Ayato. "Where are you keeping him? Take us there."
"In a side room in the courtyard next door," Ayato replied with a nod. "The Traveler's guarding him. I'll bring you right over."
...
At the next courtyard, Paimon spotted Lu Chen from afar and waved enthusiastically.
"You've been here the whole time?" he asked Lumine.
Lumine nodded. "I didn't trust this slippery guy not to try something, so I've been posted here all day."
"You've worked hard," Ei said, her voice carrying a rare note of gratitude.
"Ah… it's nothing…"
Lumine was taken aback. She had never expected the Raiden Shogun—so cold and reserved in her eyes—to be so polite.
Paimon's eyes went wide in surprise.
Ei's voice remained even and gentle. "Thank you both for your help these past days. If you run into trouble in Inazuma, don't hesitate to ask—the Bakufu will do its utmost to assist you."
"Uh… thank you, General!" Lumine nodded quickly.
Both of them realized the Archon's attitude toward them had shifted—something unthinkable before.
Lu Chen took it in with a small smile. Ei had never been the person they imagined; their earlier friction was mostly due to her misunderstanding his relationship with Lumine. Now that the air was clear, her real nature could show.
"What's wrong…?" Ei asked, noticing their odd expressions.
"You… you are the Electro Archon, right? You haven't been swapped out?" Paimon asked suspiciously.
Then her imagination took off. "Wait—what if in the consciousness space, the real Raiden Shogun didn't beat the puppet, but got trapped inside instead, and the puppet escaped? What if she's fooled everyone?"
Ei: "…"
Lu Chen, Miko, and Nahida burst into laughter.
"Where do you come up with this stuff, Paimon?" Lu Chen shook his head with a grin and headed for the room. "Come on, let's see what's going on with him."
"Uh… okay."
Paimon and Lumine followed without another word.
...
Inside, Scaramouche lay on the bed with his eyes shut tight.
"Alright! Let Auntie here give you a little check-up!" Miko teased, stepping forward with a sly smile, clearly intent on spooking him.
He didn't move a muscle.
"Did I really knock him into shutdown mode?" Lu Chen leaned in for a closer look.
Yesterday's fight had left Scaramouche's clothes in tatters, though his body bore no obvious wounds—Lu Chen hadn't used blades or spears, just his fists.
Still, no matter what he tried, the other man stayed perfectly still, like a lifeless doll.
"In that case…"
"Broken dolls need to be sent back to the factory for repairs," Lu Chen said solemnly to Ei. "Let's take him apart first, check if anything inside's damaged. If any parts are beyond fixing, toss them in the furnace."
"Why bother?" Miko countered without hesitation. "I say we just melt him down. I hear making puppets takes all sorts of rare materials—might be some worth salvaging after the burn."
At that, Lu Chen caught the sharp twitch of Scaramouche's eyelashes.
Knew it—playing dead.
Afraid to face Ei, was he?
Lu Chen glanced at her, waiting for her read.
Ei simply watched the unmoving figure in silence, her expression unreadable.
Checking the system clock, Lu Chen addressed the group. "Time's short—less than an hour before I'm pulled back. Stay here. I need to make a quick trip somewhere, and if I don't make it back, we'll meet at the seaside villa."
Since he'd used the Gate of Teyvat, the recall would trigger exactly on schedule—just as it had with Xiao last time.
Ei and Miko knew he meant to go to The Chasm. Paimon and Lumine didn't.
"You're leaving already?" Lumine asked, amber eyes flickering. "Back only a few days and off again? You're going to that world?"
"Yeah." He nodded, then smiled at their reluctance. "It's not goodbye forever. You might run into me again on your travels."
"Aww…" Paimon groaned. "So I'll never get to eat the group chef's cooking again? That's tragic…"
Lumine gave her a light bop on the head, then fixed Lu Chen with a look. "Then it's a promise. You'd better not break it."
"Count on it." He grinned—and vanished.
...
After he left, conversation drifted. Nahida pulled the Traveler aside to share amusing stories from her journey.
Scaramouche kept his eyes shut.
But when no one was watching, a faint smirk tugged at his lips.
Another world? Leaving soon? And gone for a long while?
He'd heard every word clearly. And more than the "other world," it was the news that Lu Chen and Ei were leaving that thrilled him.
If they weren't staying…
Perfect.
Once those two were gone, who here could possibly hold him? The Kamisato family's useless bunch? Don't make him laugh.
Just an hour more. He could wait an hour…
Time slipped away.
[Mission Time Remaining: 0h 0m 0s]
[Return Initiated…]
The chime reached Ei, Miko, and Nahida at once, and they all rose.
Finally going!? Scaramouche felt his heart leap.
But then—unexpectedly—hands clamped tight around his wrists, locking him in place.
"Is it enough if I just hold on to him?" Ei asked Miko.
"Yep. That's exactly what Lu Chen said to do," Miko confirmed.
What!?
Scaramouche's eyes flew open to find Yae Miko staring down at him with a sly smile.
"Heh heh heh… Think you're getting away? Not that easy."
He flinched, struggling to rise—only to find Ei's grip like iron on his wrists.
The next moment, the world around him shifted.
"Where… is this?"
"This is where Lu Chen and I live," Ei said calmly. "Another world—and our new home."
In that instant…
Scaramouche felt as if lightning had struck him.