Zane stood in front of the Goth Apartment building in Mondstadt City, stroking his chin as he surveyed the luxurious apartment enveloped in a light blue Barrier.
Magic runes slowly flowed across the door frame, occasionally bubbling up.
"Is this the house?"
Zane's Tactical Goggles scanned the flow of the Barrier's energy.
"Yes!"
Boss Goethe slapped his thigh with a worried expression, "It's a Seal set by the tenant when they left, saying it was 'to prevent unauthorized persons from entering,' but it's been three months already!"
Elliot squatted down and poked the Barrier. The Hydro element pattern made a "sizzling" sound upon contact with the Seal. "Shouldn't we look for Mona? That poor... I mean, where is that great Astrologer?"
"Fainted from hunger in the wilderness."
Zane brought up the Knights of Favonius Report Projection.
"When Noelle found her, she was hugging a Mushroom and saying she wanted to 'dine with the starry sky.'"
Goethe rubbed his hands anxiously, "Do either of you have a solution? If this isn't unsealed soon, I'll have to abandon the house."
Zane's mask suddenly turned toward Elliot, his eyes flashing with dangerous light.
"Wait!"
Elliot's Hydro Element Perception went into frantic alarm.
"You wouldn't be thinking of—"
"Mr. Goethe."
Zane asked courteously.
"Do you mind if the door frame sustains minor damage?"
"As long as the Seal can be broken! You can tear down the wall for all I care!"
"Alright!"
Zane darted forward and accurately grabbed the skin on the back of Elliot's neck before he could run.
"Zane! I f***ing hate you!"
Elliot's cursing cut short—he was being swung around like a human battering ram.
The moment the Hydro element touched the Barrier, a dazzling blue light erupted. Zane thoughtfully adjusted Elliot to the "face-first contact" angle.
"BANG—!!!"
The entire building shook three times.
The Barrier burst like a bubble, the door frame cracked radially, and Elliot was embedded in the entrance wall in a large 'X' shape, a circle of little stars slowly appearing around his head.
"Perfect."
Zane stepped over the threshold and casually pried Elliot out of the wall. "See? The Seal is broken."
Goethe stared dumbfounded at the smoking doorway and Elliot, who was foaming at the mouth on the floor. "Th-that works too?"
"Hydro Element Counter-Principle."
Zane spouted nonsense with a straight face.
"Striking it with a Hydro element lifeform of equal concentration can trigger a Magical Resonance..."
"I... will... kill you..."
Elliot weakly raised his hand.
—
Inside Albedo's temporary Alchemy Workshop, various precision instruments hummed softly.
The notebook spread out on the desk was filled with complex formulas, but a bright red "×" marked the end of every line.
"Hmm..."
Albedo frowned deeply. After his quill drew the final fruitless calculation on the paper, he finally sighed and closed the notebook.
"Teacher, are you still unable to figure it out?"
Sucrose carefully handed him a cup of specially brewed Mist Flower Iced Tea. Her glasses reflected the chaotic scene outside the window—
Jesse was being scolded by Lumine, who was tugging on the fur of his mask, because he had just "accidentally" used Anemo element to blow Paimon onto the top of the statue of the seven;
Elliot was testing his newly invented "Hydro Element Cola" by the fountain, resulting in Rosaria, who was walking by, being covered in brownish-yellow foam;
Matt, sitting on the city wall, used his seven-meter-tall body as an easel and was painting a masterpiece covering the entire wall: *Paimon Battles the Abyss Mage*... Albedo took the teacup and unconsciously tapped the rim with his fingertip: "They seem to possess some kind of... Conceptual Ability."
He pointed at Zane, who was using a thunder hammer as a barbecue grill.
"As long as they 'believe' something is feasible, they can achieve it regardless of physical laws."
"For example, Electro element should turn food to ash, yet they can use Electro element for grilling."
Sucrose's ears twitched. "Like 'wishes coming true' in a fairy tale?"
"More terrifying."
Albedo shook his head solemnly.
"Yesterday, I personally saw Matt using a Hydro Abyss Mage like bubble solution to blow bubbles."
He flipped open the experimental log and pointed to a page with burn marks.
"When attempting to analyze it using Alchemy, the instrument immediately overloaded."
A loud noise suddenly came from outside the window.
They both turned to look and saw the Wolf King transforming into a giant barbecue grill. Twenty skewers of Mushroom Chicken Skewers were automatically flipping and grilling under the augmentation of the Electro element, the aroma wafting across half of Mondstadt City.
"The only thing worth celebrating is..."
Albedo looked at Jesse, who was scurrying away, covering his head after being beaten by Lumine.
"They seem to have their own set of moral principles."
Sucrose thoughtfully looked toward the city wall—in Matt's painting, Paimon was using a cabbage to smash an Abyss Mage until stars appeared around its head.
In the corner, a Q-version of Acting Grand Master Jean was drawn giving a thumbs-up, with the label "Knights of Favonius Certified Excellent Work" next to it.
"Perhaps..."
Sucrose's eyes suddenly lit up.
"We could record the phenomena rather than investigate the essence? Like studying a Wind Crystalfly without needing to understand the will of the Anemo God?"
Albedo showed an appreciative smile. "A very good approach, but..."
He pointed at Matt, who had suddenly started using the city wall as a screen to put on a Shadow Puppet Show called *Hilichurl's Brave Journey to Celestia*.
"We first need to solve the problem of data collection speed not keeping up with the frequency of their mischief..."
Alchemy Log for the night: [Experiment Terminated] Research Subjects' achievements Today:
1. Converting the great tree at Windrise into a slide
2. Inventing a quill that writes homework by itself
3. Proving that Sweet Madame can heal injuries
PTSD
[Conclusion] Perhaps Barbara was right, some miracles don't need explanation