"So… how exactly did things end up like this?"
In the end, the Corps of Thirty still showed up—just like certain police forces from some far-off islands, always arriving only after everything was already over.
And all they did was collect compensation for the damages caused by the fight.
The worst part?
Every last mora came out of Elric's pocket.
Now it was great—he didn't even have money to get back to Fontaine anymore.
Elric stared at his rapidly shrinking wallet, tears practically welling up in his eyes.
If I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have stayed to watch the drama. Couldn't everyone just sit down and talk things out like civilized people?
His head was pounding.
Wasn't this event story supposed to only involve Layla and Yae Miko?
Why did Faruzan suddenly show up too?!
And the worst part was—Elric genuinely had no way to deal with that twin-tailed sweetie.
Back when he'd first come over from Fontaine, he'd had a momentary lapse in judgment and decided—for reasons even he couldn't explain—to cross through the desert instead of taking a normal route.
In Abeer's words, Elric was a certified weirdo.
While passing through some ruins, he'd run straight into this senior who had just crawled out of the sand.
When Elric saw those iconic twin ponytails, he'd blurted out on instinct:
"Holy crap, Hatsune Miku?!"
Our Genshin has its own Hatsune Miku—do you guys have one?!
The result…
Faruzan immediately collapsed and fainted on the spot.
And just like that, Elric's already miserable Sumeru journey gained one more burden.
He carried her—literally—from Aaru Village all the way back to the Akademiya.
After Faruzan woke up and learned the full story, her first priority was naturally to understand what had happened in the Akademiya during the hundred years she'd been gone.
Before leaving, she'd even instructed Elric to wait for her return and formally become her student.
And she specifically told him to affectionately call her "Sweetie."
To be fair, Faruzan really was sweet—there was no denying that.
That strange blend of loli-like charm and mature elegance created a unique allure that deeply captivated Elric.
…Wait, officer, she's over a hundred years old, she's not actually a loli!
Sure, having a beautiful mentor sounded great.
But back then, Elric had just arrived in Sumeru and urgently needed real influence and leverage—and the papers he'd prepared were about astronomy.
So he joined the Rtawahist Darshan instead.
Which meant every time he saw Faruzan afterward, his instinct was to run.
Running away might be shameful—but it works.
Damn it. Wasn't this old sweetie supposed to be busy with a research project lately? Why did she suddenly have time to come out now?
"What are you staring at?" Faruzan snorted lightly. "You think I'd actually be short on this little bit of mora? Once my research funding comes through, I'll pay you back."
"Uh… did I just hear something extremely dangerous?" Paimon floated over to Layla and whispered.
"Isn't it kind of bad to casually divert public funds like that…?"
Paimon eyed the two of them suspiciously.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt that maybe their earlier misunderstanding of Elric wasn't entirely a misunderstanding.
"Well… Faruzan-senpai's position in the Akademiya is… complicated," Layla replied quietly. "Just take it as something you heard and forget it."
She didn't really know how to explain it. Faruzan's status within the Akademiya was extremely awkward, which was why her research funding was always tightly restricted.
"Stop pretending. You came here because you want to snag the prize money from the competition, didn't you?"
Elric waggled his eyebrows at her mischievously. He loved poking holes in Faruzan's façade.
After all—Faruzan really was adorable.
"Y-You—no respect for your elders! Call me senpai!"
Faruzan jabbed a finger at him, bristling.
"Alright, alright, Sweetie, Sweetie, got it," Elric immediately surrendered, his words tumbling out sloppily.
"You were pretty bold earlier, weren't you? Shouting things like, 'It's simple, I'll just beat all of you!'"
Paimon flew over beside Elric and teased him.
"I thought you were going to suddenly activate some immortal mode like in those Yae Publishing House novels and knock both Lumine and Faruzan flat!"
She said it gleefully, fully enjoying the chaos.
Anyway, Elric didn't look like a bad person.
And he hadn't even asked them for mora compensation after what happened earlier.
So in Paimon's eyes, Elric was a genuinely good guy.
Just… a little strange in behavior and mindset.
"Paimon, how old are you already, still fantasizing about being the protagonist?"
Elric sighed, speaking earnestly.
"Even the strongest people can die from a sneak attack. Reality doesn't need logic. Lao Da trained his iron elbow his whole life—yet in the end, he still couldn't pry open the helicopter door."
As he spoke, his expression turned heavy, as if reminiscing about someone long gone.
"Lao Da… was he someone really strong? Is he already dead?"
Paimon clung to Elric, curiosity fully ignited. She desperately wanted to know what kind of story this was.
And Elric's expression looked so strange—half like farewell, half like reunion.
Pfft.
Lumine suddenly laughed.
Her anger had already dissipated the moment she'd thrown that punch earlier.
Now, seeing Elric solemnly fooling Paimon with a straight face, she couldn't hold it in anymore.
Lumine's smile was beautiful—her eyes curved like crescent moons.
Unfortunately, Elric was currently in a sage-like emotional state.
He glanced at Lumine calmly, shook his head, and said:
"Kid, this isn't funny."
His gaze had never felt so resolute.
"No one knows for sure. But I believe—Lao Da will definitely come back someday!"
After saying that, Elric turned his back and walked straight toward the stall distributing the Wisdom Orbs, leaving Paimon with nothing but a mysterious, unfathomable silhouette.
Of course, Elric absolutely didn't dare turn around.
If you're going to act cool, you have to commit all the way. Getting exposed halfway would be disastrous.
Honestly, today had scared him enough.
All Elric wanted now was to grab the orb, tame his "Pokémon," and go home for a good night's sleep.
After that, he could go properly meet Yae Miko.
Soon, everyone arrived at the stall where the Wisdom Orbs were being distributed.
Even though the timing wasn't exactly right, the one handing out the orbs was still Haniyyah.
That couldn't help but make Elric sigh—some things really were hard to change.
It only strengthened his resolve even more.
He would become the one who shattered the tradition of HoYoverse-style emotional knives!
However, the instant Haniyyah saw Elric, her previously calm expression turned to shock.
With clear astonishment on her face, she asked:
"Excuse me… are you Elric?"
"Hm? What—have you heard my story already?"
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
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