Chapter 69. Collei
Meanwhile, Futsu Mitama naturally had no idea about Rosalyne's meeting with Dottore. Even if he did know, he probably would not have any particular reaction.
The moment he stepped into Sumeru, he had already prepared himself mentally to stand against the entirety of Sumeru and the Fatui if necessary.
It was just that—before any of that happened, Futsu Mitama first encountered something rather unexpected.
Someone was blocking the road and robbing them.
Yes, that was right.
They had been stopped by highway robbers.
The group consisted of both men and women. They stood in every direction around the road, surrounding Futsu Mitama and his party completely.
However, they were neither Treasure Hoarders nor Hilichurls.
Instead, they were Sumeru's unique mercenary faction—the Eremites.
"Travelers, your luck today is actually quite good."
A tall and burly man stepped forward while carrying a curved blade over his shoulder. Looking toward Futsu Mitama and the others, he revealed a broad grin.
"We are the Scarlet Sand Scorpions, a newly established Eremite group."
"And all of you—" the man spread his arms slightly, "are our very first business."
"As our first customers, we won't take your lives. Leave behind part of your valuables, and you can leave safely."
"Of course…" his smile widened slightly, "only part of them. If you resist, then don't blame our blades for showing no mercy."
The moment the man finished speaking, the surrounding Scarlet Sand Scorpions immediately began cheering loudly.
"As expected of the boss!!!"
"That's right! Hand over your valuables already!!!"
"You merchants are lucky you ran into us! If it were another Eremite group, they would've killed you for the money already!"
The group shouted noisily, completely unconcerned about Futsu Mitama and the others.
After all, there were simply too many traveling merchant groups wandering through Sumeru.
And from appearance alone, Futsu Mitama's group looked exactly like inexperienced newcomers who had yet to understand how dangerous the outside world truly was.
Thus, the Scarlet Sand Scorpions decisively chose to surround them and rob them for money rather than lives.
Mainly because this place was still relatively close to Gandharva Ville.
If they accidentally provoked some troublesome opponent and alerted the Forest Rangers there, things would become very difficult.
So their intention was to finish the matter quickly and quietly.
However, Futsu Mitama's expression became somewhat strange at this moment.
Scarlet Sand Scorpions? Sasori moniker in Naruto?
Could the other party also be a transmigrator like him?
Thinking of this, Futsu Mitama looked toward the burly man in front of him and suddenly asked, "Naruto?"
"What?"
The burly man blinked in confusion, completely unable to understand what Futsu Mitama was saying.
Seeing the bewilderment on the other party's face, Futsu Mitama continued speaking.
"Akatsuki. Six Paths of Pain. Uzumaki Naruto. Uchiha Sasuke. Uchiha Madara…"
Before Futsu Mitama could continue further, the burly man impatiently interrupted him.
"Who the hell understands what you're talking about?! Hurry up and hand over the money! Otherwise don't blame us brothers if our blades become merciless!"
Seeing the other party's reaction, Futsu Mitama immediately understood.
The name was merely a coincidence.
The other party was not a transmigrator.
"Should I make a move?"
Kuki Shinobu calmly spoke up at this moment.
In her eyes, this group of Scarlet Sand Scorpions was not worth taking seriously at all. Their strength was extremely average.
If she handled them personally, she estimated she could finish the matter very quickly.
"Mm. Knock them unconscious."
Futsu Mitama nodded lightly.
"We're already close to Gandharva Ville anyway. Let's just treat them as a welcome gift."
Kuki Shinobu nodded slightly as well. However, she did not draw the tachi hanging at her waist. Instead, she calmly pulled out—a frying pan from the pack beast's saddlebag.
"A pan?"
The burly man narrowed his eyes slightly. He could not understand what the other party was planning to do.
Were they preparing to cook?
Or were they seriously intending to use a frying pan as a weapon?
That was simply absurd.
"Swish—!!"
In the next instant, Kuki Shinobu disappeared from where she stood.
Then, she instantly appeared behind the burly man.
"Duang!"
A crisp metallic sound rang out.
The burly man's eyes rolled backward immediately before his entire body collapsed heavily onto the ground.
"!!!"
The surrounding Scarlet Sand Scorpions instantly widened their eyes in shock.
A Vision holder?!
And such terrifying speed too?!
She had crossed the distance in the blink of an eye and directly knocked out the boss?!
A tough opponent!!!!
"Brothers! Charge!!! Get the boss back first!!!"
One of the other burly men suddenly roared loudly.
Then, without the slightest hesitation—
He turned around and ran.
The others were immediately stirred into action by his shout and rushed forward one after another.
At the same time, several smarter members narrowed their eyes slightly after witnessing Kuki Shinobu's speed before quietly slipping away from the battlefield altogether.
"Duang! Duang! Duang!"
Along with the continuous crisp sounds of the frying pan, the Scarlet Sand Scorpions officially met complete disaster on the very first day of their business venture.
Meanwhile, Aila and Black Aila calmly moved forward and tied up all the unconscious Eremites one after another.
Black Aila could not help but comment coldly, "They're… incredibly weak. With strength like this, how dare they come out to rob people?"
Indeed, this group was genuinely weak.
Among everyone present, the weakest in direct combat ability was probably Kuki Shinobu herself. Yet even without drawing her sword, she could effortlessly defeat all of them.
That alone was enough to demonstrate how insignificant these Eremites truly were.
"Perhaps they simply had no other choice."
Sangonomiya Kokomi looked toward the unconscious Eremites and instinctively recalled Watatsumi Island during the Sakoku Decree period.
If not for the pressure of survival, who would willingly become bandits?
And from Kokomi's observation, although these people possessed combat training, they did not emit the feeling of hardened criminals.
At the very least, excluding the few who escaped, the ones lying here unconscious—including the first man Kuki Shinobu knocked down—
None of them carried the scent of blood.
After all, Sangonomiya Kokomi had once commanded the Resistance Army.
She still possessed the ability to judge people.
"No matter the reason, the moment they chose to rob others by force, they already needed to bear the consequences."
Shenhe's tone was cold and indifferent.
She held absolutely no favorable impression toward bandits or similar existences.
Because she understood clearly that if these people had encountered ordinary merchants today rather than Futsu Mitama's group—
Then things would not have ended so easily.
Although normal merchant caravans also hired guards, dealing with these Eremites would still be difficult for them.
Perhaps not impossible, but once actual combat began, casualties would definitely occur.
Thus, Shenhe felt no pity whatsoever.
Never mind whether they were robbing because they could not survive. These people looked energetic, healthy, and full of vigor.
They were completely different from the starving ronin Shenhe had witnessed during her time in Inazuma.
During the half year she stayed there, she had personally seen gaunt and penniless ronin gripping rusted tachi while desperately attempting robbery merely to survive.
Those people were genuinely trapped at the edge of death.
"Mm."
Aila also nodded slightly in agreement.
There were indeed too many suffering people throughout the entirety of Teyvat. However, the group before them clearly did not belong to that category.
Perhaps they possessed hidden difficulties, but they were far from being driven to absolute desperation.
Just as everyone continued speaking among themselves, Futsu Mitama suddenly sensed something.
He raised his head and looked forward.
"Someone's coming."
At the same moment, both Aila and Black Aila also turned their gazes forward.
Their perception abilities were equally extraordinary.
"It's a young girl." Aila slightly narrowed her eyes. "She seems fairly young."
However, Black Aila's pupils glowed faintly red as she calmly added, "She carries a familiar aura. An aura similar to Demon God Remnants."
"Demon God Remnants?"
Kuki Shinobu immediately frowned slightly. Anyone associated with such power was usually connected to the Fatui in some way.
Could the Fatui's intelligence network truly be that terrifying?
Since entering Sumeru, they had barely interacted with anyone.
Excluding the merchant who sold them the pack beasts earlier, plus the Scarlet Sand Scorpions here, they had only encountered two groups in total.
And yet the Fatui already found them?
How was that even possible?
"Everyone, stay alert."
Sangonomiya Kokomi immediately became vigilant as well. Her instincts told her that such a coincidence should not normally happen.
Encountering Fatui members immediately after entering Sumeru either meant the Fatui's intelligence capabilities were unimaginably powerful—
Or their luck was simply terrible.
If it was the former, then the rest of their journey would likely become extremely troublesome.
If it was the latter—
Then their luck was truly abysmal.
"Should we retreat first?"
Shenhe calmly pulled out several talismans.
"I can establish a large-scale transfer formation and move us away immediately."
She had not forgotten that they were currently infiltrating Sumeru discreetly. Before establishing contact with the person Cyno mentioned, their actions needed to remain as low-profile as possible.
According to Cyno, once they met Tighnari, many matters would become significantly easier afterward.
Therefore, they absolutely could not come into contact with the Fatui right now.
If they truly encountered Fatui operatives—
Then silence would likely become the only option.
Cruel though it sounded, once their existence was exposed, they would immediately fall into a passive position.
And at that point, the situation could deteriorate even further—
Possibly to the extent of directly opposing the entirety of Sumeru itself.
Therefore, leaving immediately was likely the safest choice.
Everyone turned their gazes toward Futsu Mitama, waiting for him to make the final decision. Whether they should retreat at once or subdue the approaching individual before anything unexpected happened depended entirely on his judgment.
"..."
Futsu Mitama fell silent for a brief moment. Although he did not possess extensive knowledge about Sumeru, several clues naturally connected together in his mind.
A young girl.
The aura of Demon God Remnants.
A location near Gandharva Ville.
An image surfaced almost instinctively within his thoughts. If his guess was correct, then the approaching person should be that girl.
"There's no need to panic."
Futsu Mitama shook his head slightly, his tone remaining calm and composed.
"Perhaps it isn't the Fatui. It might even be a friend."
Hearing his words, the others exchanged brief glances but did not question him further. Since Futsu Mitama spoke with such certainty, they trusted that he had already considered the situation thoroughly.
Thus, after binding the defeated Eremites, everyone quietly waited in place.
Not long afterward, a girl carrying a bow hurried over from the distance. The moment she saw the scene before her, she visibly froze.
The girl's name was Collei, a trainee Forest Ranger stationed within Avidya Forest.
She had received reports about a group of Eremites robbing travelers nearby and had specifically rushed over to deal with the situation. However, she had never expected that someone else would arrive first and completely subdue the entire group.
Moreover… this caravan seemed far too capable.
Every Eremite had already been defeated.
Still, her vigilance did not lessen.
The group before her wore robes and masks that concealed their appearances. Combined with her past experiences, Collei's guard immediately rose.
Her childhood had taught her never to lower her caution easily.
Even if these people had defeated the Eremites, that did not necessarily mean they were trustworthy.
And recently, her master had repeatedly warned her that Sumeru's current situation was far from peaceful.
"Excuse me… I'm a trainee Forest Ranger. May I ask who you are…?"
Collei spoke carefully, intending to question their identities and intentions first. However, before she could continue further, Futsu Mitama suddenly looked at her and spoke first.
"Miss, you resemble a friend of mine quite a bit. She's Mondstadt's Outrider, Amber."
"Ah—?!"
The moment those words entered her ears, Collei froze completely. The vigilance within her eyes instantly weakened, replaced instead by unmistakable surprise.
Amber.
That single name alone was enough to drastically lower her suspicion.
Because to Collei, Amber represented trust itself.
And if this person knew Amber—
Then perhaps he truly was not a bad person.
Also—
He said she resembled Amber?
Collei subconsciously lowered her head slightly, seemingly a little embarrassed.
Although she would never trust strangers so easily, Futsu Mitama's words had undeniably softened her caution considerably.
"My name is Futsu Mitama," he said calmly as he removed the mask covering his face, revealing his true appearance.
"Amber should have mentioned me before."
Beside him, Aila, Black Aila, Kuki Shinobu, Sangonomiya Kokomi, and Shenhe also removed their disguises one after another.
Kuki Shinobu looked at Collei with slight curiosity in her eyes.
She had spent a period of time in Mondstadt before, so she had naturally met Amber several times.
How should she put it—That girl's enthusiasm was overwhelming.
Honestly, she reminded Shinobu quite a bit of Itto.
At the thought of her boss, Kuki Shinobu suddenly wondered how he was doing back in Inazuma City.
Hopefully he wasn't causing trouble while she was away.
[At that very moment, somewhere in Inazuma, Arataki Itto—currently imprisoned for causing yet another incident—suddenly sneezed loudly.]
"Tsu—?! Futsu Mitama?!"
Collei's eyes widened abruptly.
She stared at him in disbelief for several seconds before hurriedly bowing.
"I-I apologize! I never expected the next Raiden Shogun to personally come to Sumeru! I was incredibly rude just now!"
Yes.
Even within Sumeru, Collei had heard of Futsu Mitama's name. Half a year ago, Amber had mentioned him repeatedly in the letters she sent.
According to Amber, Futsu Mitama was an exceptionally kind person. He had resolved Mondstadt's Dragon Crisis, dismantled Fatui and Abyss Order conspiracies, and had even obtained the Authority of the Anemo Archon after encountering Barbatos himself.
Originally, his identity had merely been that of the Raiden Shogun's Retainer.
However, after Inazuma abolished the Sakoku Decree and the Vision Hunt Decree, the Raiden Shogun personally declared Futsu Mitama as her successor.
Collei naturally knew about this announcement.
Which meant—
The person standing before her was effectively Inazuma's future Archon.
Thinking back to how she had nearly questioned and investigated him moments ago, Collei instantly felt immense panic.
"It's alright." Futsu Mitama smiled helplessly and shook his head. "I'm not the Raiden Shogun yet. There's no need to be so formal. Just treat me like an ordinary traveler."
Collei immediately fell silent.
Treat him like an ordinary traveler? How could she possibly do that?
Even her master… no, perhaps even the Sages of the Akademiya themselves would immediately show courtesy upon learning that Futsu Mitama had arrived in Sumeru.
Because in a sense, his existence represented the will of the Raiden Shogun herself.
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