Sucrose began working the alchemy table again, and this time she noticed something different—the resistance that had always plagued their process was completely gone. The fusion of materials progressed smoothly, so much so that she even considered attempting to craft the original cross prototype again.
But before she could act on that impulse, Yae Miko's reminder rang out.
"Little one, remember what I said. This time, we're only trying to make a claymore prototype."
Sucrose nodded awkwardly and refocused. As the process neared completion, her eyes suddenly widened.
"We don't have enough materials! Trying to make a claymore prototype will lower the quality!"
That caught Yae Miko off guard. She frowned—she wasn't new to forging weapon prototypes. By all logic, the materials provided should've been more than enough. Why was it still coming up short?
As Miko pondered a fix, Lisa spoke up.
"Sucrose, change the formula. Switch the target to a one-handed sword prototype and see if that works."
Sucrose quickly adjusted the recipe. The unstable process immediately stabilized. Moments later, a glowing golden prototype emerged from the alchemy table.
"It worked?!" Kunfeng was stunned. Lisa, however, smiled faintly—she'd expected this outcome.
Sucrose stared at the glowing prototype she had just made. For a moment, it felt unreal. Once the initial excitement wore off, she turned to Lisa and Miko with a question: why had this worked?
Miko glanced at Lisa, and for the first time, there was admiration in her eyes. Lisa returned the look as if to say, "Not too shabby, right?"
Miko gave a small huff, choosing not to banter for once.
"I've been watching your process closely. Step-by-step, your methods and ratios are solid. But the results kept failing. So I started wondering—maybe it's not technique or ingredients, but Teyvat's own laws."
"We all know that, to this day, there are only five standard weapon prototypes in Teyvat: one-handed swords, claymores, polearms, catalysts, and bows. Given how long the world has developed forging and alchemy, why are there still only five? The answer's simple—it's a rule of this world. Not that people don't want to make others, but they literally can't. Even divine weapons follow this constraint."
Saphir spoke up.
"Then what about my Wuae: Voidbane, my daggers? Those shouldn't exist either, right?"
Miko nodded.
"Exactly. That leads to my second theory. Whoever made those daggers was clever enough to bypass the system with a loophole. That trick is what we'll try next."
She turned toward Lisa—it was now her turn to elaborate.
Lisa smiled, not holding back.
"My idea's simple. Making a claymore prototype needs about 1.5 times the materials used for a sword prototype. Since we tried making a claymore, we used 1.5 units of materials accordingly. But I noticed something off—the failed prototypes were unusually light, only about two-thirds the weight of a normal weapon prototype. So I suspected divine weapon prototypes might also need 1.5 times the materials of a regular one. That's why I had Sucrose abandon the claymore and switch to a sword. And, well, here we are."
Everyone had an "aha" moment. The mystery behind divine weapon forging was slowly unraveling—and success no longer seemed so far off.
Riding the momentum, Sucrose and Kunfeng quickly moved on to the next step. Before long, a second prototype—a claymore—was successfully created. Now came the final challenge: the cross weapon prototype.
Everyone turned to Yae Miko. This was the trickiest part. What would she do?
Surprisingly, Miko didn't ask for a cross prototype.
"Make a polearm prototype instead," she instructed.
The room was puzzled. Miko explained,
"When I was in Inazuma working with Saphir, we realized something. Even ordinary weapons can't break the rules to create new prototype types."
Saphir picked up the thread.
"So the 'cross' I used before wasn't really a cross weapon. It was actually a polearm called Kitain Jūmonji. We just used Dreambloom Wood to give the spearhead a cross-shaped guard. Cosmetic only."
Miko smiled.
"But I've been pondering a workaround ever since. And now, I have an idea."
Saphir grinned.
"Aw, you do care about me! Secretly soft-hearted after all, huh?"
Miko shot her a look.
"Where's that manuscript you owe me?"
"Relax, I already sent someone to get it! Now spill—what's the plan?"
Miko rolled her eyes.
"Fine. It's actually simple, but we need one key ingredient—a rare material called Dreamsolvent."
Lisa's face darkened.
"I've heard of it. Allegedly exuded from ley lines. A perfect alchemical agent that lets you alter physical properties based on will. But… isn't that stuff just a legend? Where would we even get one?"
"Saphir has one," Miko said confidently.
Lisa looked at Saphir in shock.
"You have that?!"
"I found it by accident," Saphir said, just as surprised. "But how did you know I had it? I never told anyone."
Still puzzled, she pulled out the Dreamsolvent.
It sparkled like a diamond, casting iridescent light under the sun. A strange warmth and happiness radiated from it, like a dream made real. Sucrose was completely entranced, slowly reaching out to touch it. Lisa also stared at it blankly before regaining her senses—her gaze now wary.
"A legendary material indeed," Miko murmured, snapping her fingers. The sound broke the spell on Sucrose and Kunfeng, who both hurriedly stepped back, afraid of falling under its trance again.
Probably a little embarrassed, Sucrose buried her head in her work, resuming her forging of the polearm prototype. Among the group, only Kunfeng was at her level—everyone else was high-ranking or influential. She knew her place, and didn't mind being quiet. In fact, what she'd learned these past few days far outstripped anything from textbooks. She couldn't wait to show Albedo what she'd accomplished.
"With the Dreamsolvent, the rest is easy," Miko said.
"We make a polearm prototype, then use the solvent to reshape it into a cross. The materials differ slightly, though, so we'll have to compensate during the transmutation. That's where precise data comes in—we only get one shot at this."
Lisa stepped in. This was her specialty. With just a glance at their previous logs, she calculated the exact material ratio differences. Now it was just a matter of finishing the polearm and running the conversion.
Sucrose worked quickly. Before long, the polearm prototype was complete. Only Miko and Saphir were immune to the solvent's effects, and since Saphir had no clue about alchemy, the task fell to the fox.
She took over the table, placed the polearm and the Dreamsolvent inside, then added the compensating materials based on Lisa's data.
A golden light flared.
When it faded, she held in her hands a brand-new, cross-shaped divine weapon prototype.
"It's done," Miko said, handing it to Saphir.
Saphir ran her fingers over the polished cross, visibly moved. For a moment, she didn't know what to say. She looked at everyone, eyes full of gratitude—and of course, simple thanks weren't enough.
So she waved everyone toward the Goth Grand Hotel.
Time to celebrate—with a feast.
She knew what everyone liked. Miko loved fried tofu. Lisa preferred veggie salad. Kunfeng liked grilled pufferfish. Sucrose had a sweet tooth. After a quick mental note, Saphir decided: she'd cook for them herself.
On the way to the hotel, they ran into a Fatui clerk returning from Dawn Winery. He'd brought back not only the signed trade agreement, but also a crate of premium wine from Diluc—a gift celebrating the deal.
Saphir accepted the gift without hesitation. She didn't care what intentions Diluc might have. A quick glance revealed twenty-four bottles, all rare vintages—each one worth enough to buy a mansion.
She praised the clerk's work and sent him to Anastasia to collect his reward. As the highest-ranking Fatui officer stationed in Mondstadt besides Saphir, Anastasia was more familiar with the team and could judge appropriate compensation.
After the excited clerk left, Saphir turned around—only to find everyone staring blankly.
Lisa looked away. Sucrose and Kunfeng gawked.
And Yae Miko was squinting at someone nearby.
Someone who had wandered over, drawn by the scent of good wine. A certain lazy bard had grabbed a bottle without asking, popped the cork, and was already chugging straight from it.
"Well, well," Miko said with a smirk, "I thought only Ei treated Saphir this casually. So who is this guy…"
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