Albedo didn't sit down right away.
He glanced over the table, at Kairo, at the three girls behind him, at the half-finished snacks Good Hunter hadn't had time to collect, then said in that calm, amber-warm tone of his:
"Those sacks of materials you brought — I've already catalogued them. For most people they're just monster drops and foraging spoils. For me, they're very useful."
He paused, then added, as if it were the most natural transition in the world:
"And I also heard from Acting Grand Master Jean… about you. Your power is… astonishing."
Kairo raised a brow. "Oh? What exactly did Jean tell you?"
Albedo smiled. "Nothing secret. Things like — 'a person without a Vision who can still wield power on par with a Vision user,' 'the one who helped end the Dvalin incident in the middle of the night,' that sort of thing. On behalf of Mondstadt, I should also thank you. You're already an honorary knight of the Knights of Favonius."
Kairo went quiet for a heartbeat.
So Jean had talked.
He looked at Albedo's face for a moment, then chuckled. "I see… so what you're actually curious about is my power?"
Albedo didn't deny it — but he didn't nod either. He simply said, in that polite, researcher way:
"To be precise, I'm curious about everything outside known rules."
"The power on you," Albedo said slowly, "doesn't match Teyvat's common sense. As an alchemist, it's my duty to investigate the unknown… so I hope we can talk. If it lets me improve my research, all the better."
He lifted his gaze. "And of course, I should give you proper compensation. The Adventurers' Guild said you requested a custom weapon."
"Mm."
Kairo tapped the table with two fingers, eyes half-lidded, studying him. "So you do want to study me."
"'Study' sounds a little harsh." Albedo smiled. "I prefer to call it an exchange."
"Because I've confirmed something: if you amplify it for me, a few of my prototypes will perform far above their original level."
"I'll need your help."
Kairo thought about it, then nodded. "That's fine."
"Good." Albedo's smile deepened. "Then let's talk in my workshop instead."
So, under Albedo's lead, Kairo, Fischl, Lumine, Paimon, and Barbara all left Good Hunter together. A whole table of curious adventurers watched them go, regret written across their faces — they had wanted to see what exactly the chief alchemist would bring out as payment.
Too bad. Private talk.
They crossed the lantern-lit streets, passed the quiet canal, and turned into a corner of Mondstadt not far from the Knights' headquarters.
Albedo's newly set-up alchemical workshop stood there — not as grand as the Knights' headquarters, but full of academic order. Shelves lined with reagent bottles. Glass cylinders with glowing solutions. Simple windmills to ventilate fumes. Scroll racks covered in diagrams.
It didn't look like it had only been built a few days — Albedo had already filled it.
He brought Kairo straight to a long table.
On it were weapons.
Swords, spears, bows, staves, even an unfinished catalyst — each one had a faint elemental ripple on it, as if it had been tuned, then tuned again.
"These are some of the weapons I've made before." Albedo stroked a slender longsword, voice light. "You can pick one, if you like. If none fit, I can make a dedicated piece for you."
Kairo swept his gaze over the table.
Good stuff. Albedo-grade stuff, in fact.
And then he shook his head. "Weapons… I don't really need one right now."
Because — the Trailblazer's bat was already in the bag.
No, literally in the bag.
"…Don't need it?" Albedo was, for once, surprised.
The Guild had said this man wanted a weapon specially made. He had even brought out a few of his collection blades; now the man didn't want them?
But looking at Kairo's expression — casual, genuinely unconcerned — Albedo quickly understood.
This man really didn't rely on conventional weapons.
"In that case," Albedo said, "let's talk about the other part of your payment."
He reached to the workbench and took out a black alchemical stone, about palm-sized, with square, fine runes on it. He held it out.
"This is a prototype of a storage device. I can make a proper alchemical storage tool for you — to carry materials more conveniently."
He lifted his eyes. "What form do you want it to take?"
"…Huh?"
Kairo blinked. "A Whopperflower corpse is worth that much? You're throwing in a storage tool?"
A real alchemy storage? Stuff like that wasn't something you got for "a few million Mora." Not even with Mondstadt's connections.
A Whopperflower corpse, even if you counted every root and petal, was maybe a million, two million. Adding the sacks of ore and flora he'd delivered — it was still around two million.
Storage gear, especially Albedo-made storage gear, was in another price bracket entirely.
Albedo chuckled, eyes warm. "It isn't just for the Whopperflower."
"It's also to thank you for helping Mondstadt."
"If not for you, the Dvalin incident wouldn't have been settled this fast. This is nothing compared to that."
Kairo raised a brow, thought for a second, then nodded, smiling. "Since that's how it is, I won't refuse."
"For the form… can you make it a ring?"
"A ring…" Albedo mulled it over. "That's a little difficult. The smaller the storage unit, the higher the compression requirement. The alchemy isn't the issue — the space stability is. I'll need some time."
"It doesn't have to be a ring." Kairo said, easy. "A wristband, pendant, clasp — all fine."
"I understand."
Albedo nodded.
Kairo turned and glanced at the blonde girl standing close by, arms folded, chin up, pretending she wasn't listening.
"Since I don't need a weapon," Kairo said, "then let Fischl pick one. Fischl, see if there's anything you like."
Fischl had been quietly pretending to be an aloof royal observer this whole time.
She hadn't expected Kairo to just… hand her the chance.
"Eh?"
Her violet eyes widened, stunned for a moment — and then, like lightning, delight flooded in.
"A-ahem!"
She folded her arms tighter and tipped her chin arrogantly. "Hmph! Since My Prince has ceded this opportunity, then naturally I, the Prinzessin der Verurteilung, shall claim a divine bow befitting the one who rains down thunderous verdicts from the Twilight Realm!"
Mouth proud, eyes glowing.
She scanned the table, quickly locked onto a bow — then hesitated.
Instead of grabbing it, she looked to Albedo. "Can you craft for this Prinzessin a bow and arrows that can carry and amplify Electro? It must be prioritized!"
Albedo actually froze for a heartbeat.
He hadn't expected Kairo to give away the slot.
Nor had he expected Fischl's request to be that… specific.
But he recovered fast. "Of course."
He picked up an unfinished bow, examined the limb angles, then said, half thinking aloud:
"Electro-conductive bows are more complicated. I'd need to stabilize the elemental channels with alchemy, or the current will backlash. But with your Electro output, I can embed a crystal matrix in the bow so it resonates instead of resists."
"I can also add an accelerating structure to increase firing speed and initial impact."
He glanced at her. "Any special requirements?"
Fischl thought very seriously — then, with full chuuni gravitas:
"The arrows of this Prinzessin must carry the lightning of judgment, and they must strike true at the darkness! And…"
She coughed lightly, cheeks pinking.
"…and the outer form must be resplendent enough to match Mine station."
Kairo nearly laughed out loud.
Albedo didn't laugh. He just nodded like: Okay, fancy bow it is.
"No problem. I'll try to meet all of them."
"Excellent!" Fischl's eyes practically turned into stars. She looked even happier than when she'd gotten to drink tea alone with Kairo.
Albedo then looked at the others. "Traveler, Paimon — as Mondstadt's honorary knight, and as someone who helped end the crisis, you can also pick one. Barbara, too."
"Ah? I don't need it." Barbara waved her hands quickly, face a little red. "I don't fight that much. It would be a waste."
"Yeah, we don't really need one either," Lumine said, rubbing her neck. "I've got my sword. I'm good."
"I see." Albedo didn't push.
After that, he and Kairo talked shop for a bit — Albedo even pulled out a few parts and asked Kairo to "power them up." Kairo casually poured a little path power into them; Albedo's eyes lit up like he'd just seen a new law of alchemy.
Then Albedo escorted them out of the workshop himself.
The moment they were gone, he shut the door again and went straight back to his desk — clearly itching to write down everything he'd just observed.
Outside, Mondstadt was soaked in moonlight. The windmill blades turned slowly. The city was peaceful in a way it hadn't been for days.
"Alright," Kairo said, gathering everyone with a clap. "Then eat, rest, and tomorrow morning — Adventurers' Guild. Bring more sacks."
He looked at them all. "We're going to be hauling a lot."
"Mm-hm!" Lumine, Paimon, and even Fischl all nodded.
Then Lumine tilted her head, eyes narrowing at Kairo. "Hey… where's your cool gun?"
Last night, he'd whipped out that thing.
Now it was gone.
Paimon gasped. "Right! I thought something was missing — it was that big gun!"
Fischl and Barbara both looked over, curious.
Kairo smiled. "Put it away."
"Huh?" Paimon blinked. "You have storage gear?"
Fischl stared harder. She definitely hadn't seen him carry something like that.
"My storage is small," Kairo said very smoothly. "Only for weapons. No extra space."
Truth was, it was probably that half-unreliable system throwing in a "weapon slot." Weapons could be freely stored and summoned. Anything else? No way.
"Ahh, so that's it."
Lumine and Paimon both nodded.
"Alright, go rest." Kairo waved them off. "You're full anyway."
"Hehe… yeah." Paimon patted her belly. She had eaten a lot of roast meat.
"Then I shall retire. Tomorrow's great crusade — this Prinzessin shall lend thee her blade of verdict!" Fischl said theatrically, then turned to leave.
Kairo, meanwhile, turned to Barbara. "Let's walk you back to the Church."
"Eh? Ah… good!" Barbara startled, then shyly tucked a strand of hair. "Then… I'll trouble you."
So they dropped Barbara off at the steps of the Favonius Cathedral.
Fischl waved, eyes smiling. "See you on the morrow."
Kairo nodded — and finally walked home alone.
Moonlight poured over the cobblestone, the evening wind carried Mondstadt's bread smell, and the windows glowed warm in the night.
The moment he got home, Kairo didn't even sit down.
He just willed it.
A faintly dark light flashed in the air.
A second later, a black baseball bat slowly materialized in his palm.
The bat's surface held understated, interlocking geometric lines — not gaudy, but with a deep, mysterious structure to them. The grip was wrapped in metal filigree that looked decorative… but the feeling it gave off was solid.
Kairo gripped it, flicked his wrist, tested the weight.
"…Looks pretty ordinary."
He muttered, but his eyes were bright.
As a "Trailblazer weapon," this thing was one of the most ridiculous weapons he'd ever seen.
It wasn't sharp like a sword.
It couldn't shoot like a gun.
But its trait was broken:
Cannot be damaged.
No matter how you hit, no matter what you hit, no scratches.
Even if you clashed with other Path-grade weapons —
Even if you swung it at an Annihilation-class boss —
It still wouldn't chip.
It was pure nonsense.
Whether it was Belobog's caverns or those fights on the Xianzhou Luofu — this thing would stay perfect.
The description in the panel was simple: "Can bear anything."
Kairo honestly wondered if it had a ceiling.
He lifted his other hand.
A faint, red ripple of light shone in his palm.
— Clara's path skill.
He was going to try something stupid: What if I buff the indestructible thing?
"Buzz—"
Black-red brilliance wound around the bat, like fire licking up a pillar.
"Crack—"
The air itself made a crisp sound, like a weapon being force-pushed past its limit.
But the bat…
Didn't change.
Its lines didn't twist. Its color didn't deepen. It didn't even glow.
Even the bursting energy from the buff got swallowed by the bat with no ripple.
Kairo narrowed his eyes. "Not bad."
Any normal weapon — even Albedo's best alchemy blades — would've been forcibly levelled up under that kind of buff, and some would have simply broken from overloading.
This bat?
Nothing.
No reaction. No strain. No cracks.
Its material was far beyond anything Teyvat had.
Kairo held it, feeling the weight, feeling that unshakeable solidity, and very nearly wanted to just… go outside and smack something.
If it were any normal weapon, under Clara's blessing the weapon would've straight up exploded into scrap.
But this bat…
This bat didn't even acknowledge the buff.
As if it were saying:
"I was already at max."
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