It was evening...

I wonder if Zhongli has finished things by now...

Washing dishes, Wendy glanced out the window and realized it was already evening.

Since the second attempt was scheduled for tomorrow, Wendy wanted to know if Zhongli had managed to mislead Childe as she'd asked. She had forgotten to tell Zhongli to notify her once it was done during the day.

Never mind... I'll just go find Zhongli in Liyue after I finish the dishes...

After a moment's thought, Wendy decided to head to Liyue to check on the situation with Zhongli once the dishes were done.

No matter what, she had to ensure the second attempt was foolproof.

After all, if it failed again, Childe would likely be bedridden for a long time, or even sent back to Snezhnaya. That would make further attempts even more troublesome.

A little while later.

Finally done... Time to go...

After a little while, Wendy finally finished the dishes. Untying her apron, she swiftly vanished from the room, leaving only Kaito absorbed in his book.

-------------------------------------

Liyue.

Mt. Tianheng.

Hmm... Should I just go down and find Zhongli like this? What if Childe sees me and makes a run for it?

Standing on Mt. Tianheng, gazing down at Liyue, now a sea of twinkling lights, Wendy fell into deep thought.

Since the system didn't provide Childe's real-time location, Wendy was worried he might see her if she went down to Liyue and then hide.

While Childe's strength was nothing to fear for her, finding him was harder than defeating him. Last time she'd sought Childe, she only learned his approximate location by asking a debt collector.

Got it...

Suddenly, Wendy thought of a good idea.

Whoosh—

Almost instantly, fierce winds rose again within Liyue, and the howling sounds of the gale began to echo.

However, it wasn't long before a figure appeared before Wendy, and the suddenly generated fierce winds then faded away.

"Miss Wendy, next time you wish to find me, you can simply go to a place called Wangsh—"

"This is quite convenient, actually."

Without waiting for Zhongli to finish speaking, Wendy stated matter-of-factly.

Zhongli: "..."

Seeing Wendy's reply, Zhongli said nothing further.

"Are the things I asked you to do all taken care of?"

Since Zhongli had arrived, Wendy didn't waste words and directly asked the question she wanted an answer to.

"If Miss Wendy desires a definitive answer, then I cannot provide one. I can only say that Childe should now believe it was the Anemo Archon who sought to strike him, not the Geo Archon."

Although he had said as much, he couldn't be certain if Childe truly believed him, so he could only reply to Wendy in this manner.

"That'll do." Wendy felt this answer from Zhongli was sufficient. She then continued, "Do you know where Childe is now?"

Since Zhongli had done as she requested, she could now proceed with the attempt.

"He's over in Guili Plains, seemingly collecting debts from the Treasure Hoarders."

As he spoke, Zhongli pointed in a direction for Wendy.

He had actually been tracking Childe just moments ago, but hadn't gathered any useful information.

"Quite dedicated, isn't he? Collecting debts every day."

Looking in the direction Zhongli indicated, Wendy chuckled and muttered to herself, then swiftly vanished from Zhongli's sight.

It seems Miss Wendy isn't worried about what I might see...

Gazing thoughtfully in the direction of Guili Plains, Zhongli couldn't help but think this.

He knew that since Wendy had gone to find Childe like that, it meant she was going to beat him up again, and she didn't care if he knew or not.

Very well... I shall go and observe...

Since he truly couldn't find a reason why Wendy would do such a thing, Zhongli decided to observe the situation from the sidelines.

Guili Plains.

Every time, I have to go door-to-door collecting debts... What a bunch of audacious fools...

Walking along the mountain path, Childe was still thinking about the debt collection he'd just performed.

Just then, however, he suddenly felt that the surrounding wind was a little off.

Hm?

What's going on?

Stopping in his tracks, Childe looked around with a puzzled expression.

"We meet again, Childe."

Just as Childe was looking around, a voice from behind suddenly made his pupils contract.

Again???

The moment he heard that voice, Childe immediately couldn't hold back.

If there were no surprises, he'd probably get beaten up again.

But... but why???

Why is it always me you have to beat up???

Shouldn't you be beating up La Signora instead?

She's the one who wanted to steal your Gnosis!

Turning around with a somewhat stiff body, Childe, utterly bewildered, saw the familiar figure hovering in mid-air, looking down at him.

"I know I'm about to get beaten by you again, but can I ask a question? Why do you always beat me up? We don't have a grudge, do we?"

Even though he knew he definitely couldn't defeat the opponent, Childe still prepared for battle.

Before that, however, he wanted to know why.

So Childe didn't even know why he was being beaten...

It was only then that Zhongli, hiding nearby, realized Childe himself had no idea why Wendy kept beating him.

He had originally thought Childe knew, which was why he had been following him to understand the full picture of the situation. It turned out the target himself was clueless.

In that case... only Miss Wendy herself knows...

Is it just on a whim?

But... if it were merely a whim... there would be absolutely no need to involve him to mislead Childe...

Hm... incomprehensible...

After some thought, Zhongli came to an incomprehensible conclusion.

"Because I like it." With a smile on her face, Wendy replied to Childe's question in this manner.

"Alright, then can you wait for me to transform?" Childe, resigned, could only hope Wendy would grant him time to transform.

Although he knew he couldn't defeat Wendy, he still wanted to transform, as this was a rare opportunity for combat experience.

"Then make it quick."

After a moment's thought, Wendy agreed.

However, after a burst of purple light, Childe, accompanied by a loud bang, lay in a crater once more.

Unlike last time, however, this time Wendy had successfully completed the task.

[Syst▢ Initia▢ting Ne▢]

[Syst▢ Initiat▢ Success]

Why are there still squares...

Looking at those squares, Wendy couldn't help but complain.

[Congratulations, Host, you have successfully completed this mission. Progress bar percentage increased by 20%.]

Twenty percent? Well, I'll be...

It must be said, Wendy was surprised by the progress gained from this mission.

What's more, she could feel that Kaito seemed a bit different on his end.

Can he already control some air currents?

[A new mission has been generated, Host]

[Make Lumine beli▢ve you are the Ane▢ Archon]

Make Lumine believe I'm the Anemo Archon?

__

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