Hu Tao Is Monetizing My Existence.

At dusk the next day, Diluc returned to Mondstadt City—carrying a sound asleep Klee in his arms.

His expression was as unreadable as ever, face cold and stern, keeping people at a distance.

Klee had her little arms wrapped tightly around his neck, her cheek resting against his shoulder, sleeping peacefully.

She was so relaxed, in fact, that a thin trail of drool was slowly dripping from the corner of her mouth… right onto Diluc's coat.

Feeling the damp patch on his shoulder, Diluc's face grew even colder. He simply shifted Klee to his other arm and continued into the city.

The guards at the gate took one look at his frosty expression and, despite seeing him holding a child, didn't dare ask a thing. They simply stood aside and let him pass.

After he left, the two gatekeepers exchanged whispers.

"Hey… why's Diluc carrying Klee?"

"Probably caught her causing trouble at Dawn Winery again. Judging by that look, he's headed straight to report her to Acting Grand Master Jean!"

"But… Klee doesn't look like she just got caught doing something bad, does she?"

"Ah, that's where you don't get it. Even if she did blow up his vineyard, it's not like Diluc's going to yell at a kid. He'll go straight to her guardian—Jean, of course!"

Just as the guards had guessed, Diluc was indeed headed to see Jean.

He didn't know exactly where Klee lived, and since he was the one bringing her back, he couldn't just leave her anywhere. He had to find someone both responsible and trustworthy to take her in.

At the moment, Jean was in her office at the Knights of Favonius headquarters, surrounded by towering stacks of paperwork. The ink bottle beside her was nearly empty.

As Acting Grand Master, most of the work involving the Knights—and even Mondstadt as a whole—fell to her shoulders.

Her golden hair was simply tied back with a ribbon to keep it out of her way while she worked. Though her desk was buried in documents, there wasn't a trace of fatigue in her eyes—only unwavering determination.

It was the resolve of someone wholly devoted to ensuring a better life for the people of Mondstadt.

Suddenly, a knock came at the door.

"Come in," Jean said without looking up.

Diluc entered, approaching her desk in silence.

When Jean finally looked up and saw Diluc holding Klee, she froze.

Ever since the death of Diluc's father, he hadn't set foot in this office. His appearance alone was startling enough—but that he was carrying Klee? That was even harder to process.

All the past messes she'd had to clean up because of Klee flashed through her mind in an instant.

"Did Klee… cause trouble again?"

"No. I'm just bringing her back." Diluc gently laid Klee down on the sofa.

Sensing the change in her surroundings, Klee stirred and opened her eyes, bleary and dazed.

"Huh…? Where is this? Did Klee make it home?"

She rubbed her eyes sleepily, still not fully awake—until she saw a familiar face across from her. In that instant, she was wide awake.

The memory of blowing up the Nail on Dragonspine came flooding back. She bolted upright, jumped off the couch, and took off running without a second thought.

"Um—Acting Grand Master Jean! Klee's going home now! Bye-bye!"

Jean watched her vanish like a gust of wind but didn't chase after her. Instead, she turned her attention back to Diluc.

"You're the last person I expected to show up—especially carrying Klee."

"I was on Dragonspine," Diluc said. "Kaeya asked me to bring her back while I was returning."

At that, Jean pressed her fingers to her temple in exasperation.

"Kaeya didn't mention anything about Klee in his letter…"

Klee's supervision had always been a major headache for her.

Madam Alice had entrusted Klee to the Knights of Favonius, and the responsibility for raising her had fallen squarely onto their shoulders.

But Klee was so mischievous—and dangerous—Jean had no choice but to give her the honorary title of "Spark Knight" just to create a framework for discipline.

Still, managing a child was far from easy.

"He's always been that way," Diluc said flatly, unsurprised.

"You're aware of what happened on Dragonspine, then?"

"I am." Jean nodded.

"In that case, I'll be going. Pass my regards to Grand Master Varka."

Diluc turned to leave.

"Diluc," Jean called out.

There was something complicated in her expression—a tangle of guilt, remorse, regret, and unspoken apology.

"What is it?" he asked, turning back.

"Have you really… never thought about returning to the Knights?"

"No. The Knights aren't the place for me. I have my own way of protecting Mondstadt."

---

It took four days to return to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. By the time Hu Tao and Jiang Bai arrived, they were both worn and dusty from the road.

Since they weren't in a hurry, they'd taken their time—traveling leisurely, hitching rides with merchant caravans when convenient—and finally reached the parlor by late afternoon on the fourth day.

As they strolled through the familiar gates, the two chatted idly.

"Counting the days… the Rite of Descension should be the day after tomorrow, right? Any later and we might've missed it."

"It's being held at Yujing Terrace, right? I remember going up there once with Mister Zhongli," Jiang Bai said. He hadn't forgotten.

Liyue's guardian deity, the Geo Archon, made an appearance only once a year—no way was he going to miss that.

Truth be told, Jiang Bai still didn't know what the Geo Archon actually looked like.

Hu Tao had once mentioned he took a dragon form—but "dragon" was far too broad. There were jiao dragons, kui dragons, pan chi, yinglong, and even mythic creatures like fish dragons, cloud dragons, descending dragons, coiled dragons… not to mention dinosaurs…

With so many types of dragons, a single word like "dragon" didn't help much at all.

"When did you go?" Hu Tao asked.

"Sometime back when I was out shopping with Mister Zhongli."

"Oh? Now that you mention it, I did get a receipt from him around then…" Hu Tao recalled.

And surprisingly, Zhongli had only bought a single set of teacups that time.

"But you probably shouldn't get your hopes up too high about the Rite."

"Why not?" Jiang Bai asked, confused.

Isn't this supposed to be the grandest day of the year in Liyue?

"Because it happens every year. To Liyue locals, it's not that special anymore. Plus, the ceremony is full of formalities and takes forever. Most of the crowd tends to be foreign visitors and traveling merchants…"

"Really?" Jiang Bai was genuinely surprised.

Then again, it made sense. Given how many days of preparation went into it, a simple ritual would feel like a disservice to such a revered deity.

"Let's get some rest for now. We'll need to wake up early the day after tomorrow—I'll take you to see it for yourself."

"Alright!"

Jiang Bai nodded, but after a few steps, he suddenly backtracked and said, "Let's ask Mister Zhongli to come with us!"

Since Zhongli had once expressed a subtle discontent with the Geo Archon's rule, seeing the Archon in person might just reveal something… interesting.