"...So tell me again—why did things turn out like this?"
The disciplinary officers finally arrived—
just like police in certain neon-lit nations:
always appearing after everything was already over.
And all they did was demand compensation for property damage.
Which, of course, Ye Luo had to pay.
And just like that, his wallet—already starving—bled dry completely.
Great.
Now he truly had no Mora left to go back to Fontaine.
Ye Luo stared mournfully at his shrinking coin pouch, eyes brimming with tears.
If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have stuck around to watch the commotion.
Wouldn't it have been nicer if everyone had simply sat down and talked things out?
This event quest wasn't supposed to involve anyone except Layla and Yae Miko.
Why in the world did Faruzan get dragged in?!
And of all people…
Faruzan was one person he truly couldn't handle.
Back when he'd first crossed over into Teyvat and was trekking from Fontaine to Sumeru, he'd made one incredibly stupid decision:
he'd insisted—on some brainless whim—to cross the desert on foot.
Exactly the kind of "weird person" Azar would've written about.
And during that desert crossing, he stumbled upon a certain ancient ruin…
and a certain pink-haired, twin-tailed lady freshly emerging from underground.
The moment Ye Luo saw her iconic twin ponytails, he had cried out on instinct:
"Holy—Hatsune Miku?!"
Behold! Even Genshin has its own Hatsune Miku! Beat that!
Faruzan had fainted instantly.
Thus began Ye Luo's hellish Sumeru chapter:
He ended up carrying her all the way from Aaru Village back to the Akademiya.
After waking, Faruzan learned the situation and declared she needed to investigate the last hundred years she'd missed.
But before leaving, she told Ye Luo:
"Wait for me to return. You must take me as your mentor."
"And you must call me Sweetie."
And well… Faruzan was sweet.
That strange mix of "loli vibe" and "elegant auntie aura" was dangerously appealing.
Wait—Officer, I swear she's over a hundred years old. She is not an actual loli!
But at the time Ye Luo needed political footing far more than he needed a cute mentor.
He joined the Rtawahist Darshan for his star-theory papers.
So yes—upon seeing her again, he wanted nothing more than to run.
Avoidance may be shameful, but it is very effective.
Why was this ancient sweetie out here anyway?
Wasn't she supposed to be buried under a pile of research projects?
"What are you staring at?" Faruzan huffed, hands on hips.
"I don't need your little bit of Mora. Once the research funding comes down, I'll pay you back."
"Uh… Layla? Did I just overhear something… bad?" Paimon whispered.
"Is… diverting public funds really okay…?"
She looked between Ye Luo and Faruzan with increasing suspicion.
Paimon was starting to feel that maybe—just maybe—her earlier judgment of Ye Luo wasn't entirely wrong.
"Er… Faruzan-senpai's position in the Akademiya is… complicated," Layla whispered back.
"In short, don't think too hard about it."
Faruzan's budget being frozen was a long-running tragedy in academia.
"Drop the act," Ye Luo teased, waggling his eyebrows.
"You're here because you want the competition prize money, aren't you?"
"You—! Show respect to your elders! Call me senior!"
"Fine, fine—Sweetie, Sweetie."
Ye Luo folded instantly, voice soft like cotton candy.
"You were acting all confident earlier! Weren't you the one shouting 'I'll defeat all of you easily!'?"
Paimon poked him, clearly amused.
"I thought you were going to unlock some hidden immortal mode like in novels!"
"Knock out Lumine AND Faruzan in one go!"
Ye Luo sighed heavily, tone full of weary disappointment.
"Paimon… how old are you? Still imagining yourself as the protagonist?"
He spoke with the gravity of a veteran teacher.
"Even the strongest can die from a sneak attack. Reality doesn't follow logic."
"Even the Iron-Elbow Grandmaster trained for a lifetime—"
"Yet couldn't pry open a helicopter door."
His face darkened with mournful nostalgia.
"W-wait… Who's the Iron-Elbow Grandmaster? Someone… powerful? Is he… dead?"
Paimon fluttered anxiously. Her curiosity was fully hooked now.
Beside her, Lumine let out a soft laugh—"pffft"—unable to hold it in anymore.
Her earlier anger had dissipated during the fight, and now watching Ye Luo bluff Paimon with a straight face was too funny.
Her crescent-moon eyes curved adorably.
Ye Luo glanced at her with a sage-like expression, sighed, and shook his head.
"Child… that's not funny."
His tone was solemn.
For the first time, even his gaze seemed steadfast.
"No one knows… But I believe—one day, the Iron-Elbow Grandmaster will return."
With that, Ye Luo turned away and walked toward the booth distributing Intelevisas Orbs, leaving only his mysterious silhouette behind.
Of course he did NOT dare look back.
A proper pretentious act must be completed in one breath—
being exposed halfway would be social death.
He just wanted to pick up the orb, tame some mushroom-beasts, go home, sleep well,
and meet Yae Miko afterward.
The group arrived at the booth.
Even though the timing was different from the original storyline, the attendant was still—of course—Haniyeh.
Some things truly were hardwired by Hoyoverse.
But this only strengthened Ye Luo's resolve—
He would become the first character to break the "HoYoverse tragic-prophecy trope."
Yet the moment Haniyeh looked at him, her expression changed drastically.
Shock.
Recognition.
A tiny touch of awe.
She leaned forward.
"Excuse me… are you Ye Luo?"
"Huh? What, you've heard of my deeds?"
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
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