"Coos, coos, coos..."
Collei woke up to the sound of a certain YouTuber's voice.
For ordinary people, such sounds were commonplace, but for her, they were a luxury.
Animals' instincts are often the sharpest.
Due to the remnants of the demon god within her, almost no animals were willing to get close to her.
But today, an animal dared to approach her so closely.
"Right... the sealing!"
Collei sat up and immediately checked her body.
Light, unprecedentedly light.
She felt as if a heavy stone had been lifted from her back, as though she could transform into a bird at any moment and soar through Mondstadt's skies.
She even felt the urge to jump off Starsnatch Cliff.
What surprised her the most was her illness.
The bandages that had been wrapped around her were now gone, and what was exposed wasn't the horrifying, festering flesh that had haunted her nightmares, but perfectly normal skin.
Although this newly healed skin looked a bit pale and tender, creating a stark contrast with the rest of her body, like a sunburn mark, it was still far more acceptable than the bloody wounds.
If she could stand under the sun like a normal person, who would want to be a monster?
"Right... Bailuo!"
Overwhelmed with joy, Collei immediately thought of Bailuo.
This feeling of wanting to share happiness with someone else was something she hadn't experienced in a long time, and it felt almost unfamiliar.
After startling the pigeons, she looked around and spotted him at the very top of Starsnatch Cliff.
He was sitting on the edge of the cliff, the mask that usually hung at his waist now placed on the grass beside him.
The wind blew, causing the mask, made of some unknown material, to sway gently, making his figure appear even more lonely and desolate.
It gave off the illusion that... he didn't belong in this world.
"Awake?"
Picking up the mask and placing it over his face, this was the first time he had worn it while alone with Collei. Bailuo seemed unwilling to let her see his expression.
Collei didn't speak but instead grasped Bailuo's large hand.
She held on tightly, so tightly that even Bailuo felt a bit uncomfortable. She just wanted to convey one thing to him.
I'm still here.
"Let's go home."
"Mm."
Ruffling Collei's slightly messy hair, Bailuo didn't say much more. The two of them walked against the not-so-pleasant wind of Starsnatch Cliff, embarking on the so-called journey home.
Goth Grand Hotel.
Luke had gradually grown accustomed to his job as a doorman. In fact, he had come to love this unique position.
Every time a tourist tried to check into the hotel, he would always deliver that powerful line:
"This place is reserved for the Fatui!"
The result was predictable—those tourists would give him "admiring" looks.
He enjoyed those looks.
Thinking about it, being demoted to this job might not have been such a bad thing.
He just wondered if there was any way he could stay on as a doorman permanently.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
"Huh?"
Just as Luke was lost in thought, a small stone flew out from the nearby bushes and landed in front of him.
"Whose brat is this? Get lost!"
Luke didn't pay it much mind. Since becoming a doorman, he had grown used to this kind of thing...
"Tap!"
"..."
Another stone flew out, but this time the angle seemed adjusted, hitting him square in the chest.
"I'm warning you! If I catch you, it won't just be a spanking! I'll report you to the Knights of Favonius!"
Patting the spot where he had been hit, Luke shouted sternly.
Fortunately, the Fatui uniforms were thick, and a stone of this size couldn't possibly...
"Thud—"
A stone larger than the previous two hit Luke squarely on the forehead.
Although the Fatui had helmets, someone like him, a mere doorman, obviously wasn't issued one.
The hard stone made direct contact with his forehead, and a visible bump began to swell.
"Alright! It's on!"
With a shing, Luke drew his sword and angrily charged into the bushes.
But he didn't notice a small figure slipping into the hotel unnoticed.
And before entering, that figure had left a cat sticker on the hem of his uniform.
"Huh?"
The receptionist, Ulyana, instinctively looked up toward the entrance.
She had heard the sound of the door opening but hadn't seen anyone come in.
"Luke? Is that you?"
Placing the documents in her hand into the front desk drawer and locking it, Ulyana cautiously picked up a dagger and walked toward the entrance.
The Fatui's reputation for being a militarized organization wasn't just for show.
Sometimes a seemingly ordinary merchant could don a mask and become a Pyro Agent.
Despite Ulyana's delicate appearance, she was a fierce fighter who could take on a Hilichurl Berserker bare-handed.
But she didn't notice that a small, pale hand had already, within her blind spot, swiped her keys while leaving a cat sticker on her backside.
By the time she realized something was wrong, the intruder had already left.
Ulyana never discovered the intruder.
She thought she had simply misplaced her keys on the counter, as the documents in her drawer remained untouched.
Anastasia walked briskly down the hallway on the second floor of the hotel, glancing at her pocket watch.
She had arranged to meet with the Knights of Favonius to discuss the case of the murdered diplomat.
The Knights seemed to have found a lead on the suspect, but with the limited forces left in Mondstadt, they couldn't handle the suspect alone and had turned to the Fatui for help.
She enjoyed the feeling of being in control during negotiations.
But after only a few steps, she suddenly stopped.
As a Fatui diplomat, Anastasia wasn't just good at talking.
Even though she hadn't been on the battlefield in years, she could still sense something was off.
Someone was following her.
And this person was skilled—every step they took was perfectly timed to match hers.
But the stalker had overlooked one thing: she was wearing high heels, and the sound of her footsteps was slightly different, crisper than theirs.
This subtle difference in the footsteps caught her attention.
However...
When she tried to find the stalker, there was no sign of anyone following her.
Even when she tried to bait them, the faint sound of footsteps had disappeared.
"Strange... was it just my imagination?"
Frowning, she glanced down the long hallway. There was nowhere to hide, so it wasn't as if the stalker had concealed themselves.
It must have been her imagination.
Shaking her head lightly, Anastasia left with her documents.
But she didn't notice that a cat sticker had been placed on her well-shaped backside.
And it wasn't just her.
Every member of the Fatui in the Goth Grand Hotel had been tagged with a similar, inconspicuous cat sticker.
The Goth Grand Hotel, which the Fatui used as their embassy, had been infiltrated without anyone noticing.