"..."
It wasn't just Sangonomiya Kokomi; the expressions of the people around her also turned strange.
A Fatui spy?
Well, the members of this special operations team were basically all aware of this.
After all, when Igor had been causing trouble on Watatsumi Island before, they were the ones who had secretly tailed and monitored him.
But they had never imagined that the Fatui would play so unconventionally, laying their cards on the table right from the start.
And this move had caught Sangonomiya Kokomi completely off guard.
Sensing the slightly stunned expression on Sangonomiya Kokomi's face, a subtle arc formed at the corners of Tatyana's lips.
It was just as Lord Instructor had predicted. Once these conventional types encountered such an abnormal maneuver, they would become flustered.
"To openly admit to planting a spy on our Watatsumi Island, is your excellency declaring war?"
With things having come to this, even if Sangonomiya Kokomi wanted to retreat and devise a suitable countermeasure, the other party certainly wouldn't give her the chance.
Therefore, she could only stand firm under the pressure and declare her side's stance.
"Your Excellency, the Divine Priestess, you misunderstand. I do not have the authority to make such a decision."
Though her words were placating, Tatyana's expression and posture remained exceedingly arrogant.
According to the instructions given by Lord Instructor, if this woman named Sangonomiya Kokomi had already sent out intelligence, then by now it should have reached the hands of that general.
Therefore, she should follow Lord Instructor's command and say this line.
"In that case, please find someone who can make the decisions to come here in person. I won't see you out."
Sangonomiya Kokomi desperately needed time right now. Even if the other party truly did summon a high-ranking Fatui member later, a prepared her would certainly be better equipped to handle the situation than a her who was currently thrown off balance.
And so, she did not hesitate to issue an order for them to leave.
Such was the intimidating power of the Fatui.
Even though the other side had only a few dozen people, while Watatsumi Island possessed a force a hundred times greater, they still did not dare to engage them lightly.
Tatyana did not speak, but instead slightly lowered her proud head.
Seeing this, the Fatui behind her also hurriedly knelt on one knee, bowing their heads.
Hmm? What did this mean?
Seeing the actions of these Fatui members, Sangonomiya Kokomi couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Were they surrendering to Watatsumi Island? Or could it be...
"Swish—"
A tear opened in the space above Tatyana's head. Crimson eyes rolled around inside, finally locking onto her position directly below.
The crimson eyes transformed into a vertical pupil, a chilling intertwining of black and crimson.
A flash of pale blue light, and the Instructor, dressed in black, appeared behind Tatyana.
He had intended to pat his teleportation target on the shoulder as usual, to signal his arrival.
But he found that he could only reach her smooth back.
"Never mind, I feel like I'd get reported for groping."
Elegantly, he flicked away the non-existent dust from the waist of his windbreaker. Bai Luo stepped onto the soft sand and came to stand before Tatyana.
If his judgment was correct... he should say this.
"Miss Sangonomiya, you were looking for someone in charge, correct?"
On the ghastly white mask, a sneer formed from blood-red lines seemed particularly vivid under the moonlight.
Although he was much shorter than Tatyana, the level of danger he exuded was countless times greater than hers.
It was a suffocating feeling that could make the very air freeze.
What had Bai Luo been doing on Watatsumi Island all this time? Was he just slacking off?
Of course not.
While seemingly just teasing the fish, he had, in fact, already figured out the temper and personality of this "ornamental fish."
He could even guess with a high degree of accuracy what she would do and say in most situations.
For instance, this time.
The moment she knew the Fatui were coming to Watatsumi Island because of the anonymous donation, she immediately contacted Gorou on Yashiori Island.
Was it to call Gorou back? Or to have Bai Luo return?
Neither.
There was only one sentence—"Don't let Mr. Battousai return."
When Sangonomiya Kokomi sent intelligence to Gorou, the punctuation at the end signified the severity of the situation.
A period meant it was just a normal greeting. An exclamation mark meant the matter was dangerous. Three exclamation marks meant the matter was extremely urgent.
And the absence of any punctuation meant the situation was so dire that there wasn't even time to add it.
So, while Bai Luo was discussing matters concerning Miss Hina with Gorou, he noticed Gorou receive Sangonomiya Kokomi's small note and immediately understood the progress on Watatsumi Island's side.
And what he needed to do was calculate how long it would take Sangonomiya Kokomi to get from the Sangonomiya Shrine to Tatyana's location.
You say that's hard to calculate?
No, why do you think when he was at Sangonomiya Shrine, he had arranged to practice swordsmanship with Teppei in the open space to the south? And had even gone there early.
Because at that time, he was already laying the groundwork for the present.
Or rather... ever since he realized Igor had been exposed, this trap had already been set.
Even Scaramouche's arrival was part of his calculations.
Otherwise, how would he have borrowed the men to build up the momentum for today?
However, encountering Tatyana and Sayu by chance was indeed outside of his calculations.
This task was originally supposed to be given to "Ah Qi," because as a debt collector, he was more suited for this job than anyone.
It was his primary duty, after all.
But after meeting Tatyana, he changed his mind.
Who could refuse a female subordinate who was tall, had a great figure, and was so obedient?
"Your Excellency, the Divine Priestess, allow me to introduce to you, this is one of the twelve strongest under Her Majesty the Tsaritsa, protector of the entire continent—the Twelfth of the Fatui Harbingers, Lord 'Instructor'!"
This string of titles made the atmosphere on the scene freeze once again. Some of the Watatsumi Island elites even gulped.
They were no strangers to the "Instructor," because just a few days ago, that name had appeared with considerable frequency.
But here, the Instructor was not seen as a positive figure.
Thanks to Bai Luo's intentional and unintentional leaks, the story of the conflict between the Instructor and the Battousai had already spread throughout Watatsumi Island.
And the visitors from Liyue, led by Beidou, became the best way to confirm this matter.
While ordinary merchants might have been clueless, Beidou and Kaedehara Kazuha truly knew the inside story.
Therefore, the pressure this figure, the Instructor, brought upon everyone on Watatsumi Island was much higher than that of other Harbingers.
One must not forget, the reason the Battousai returned to Inazuma from Liyue was not some glorious homecoming.
It was because he had injured a Fatui Harbinger in Liyue and could no longer stay there, so he fled back.
Based on the information she had, Sangonomiya Kokomi had already deduced that the Battousai must have feigned allegiance to the Instructor back then, hiding by his side as a mole.
Later, upon finding an opportunity, he injured the Instructor through a sneak attack.
However, she hadn't expected that the Instructor wasn't killed, which was why he had fled back to Inazuma in such a sorry state.
This was one of the reasons she had contacted Gorou and told him not to let the Battousai return.
Besides fearing that he would be targeted by the Instructor, she also feared that the Instructor would be provoked by him and vent his anger upon Watatsumi Island.
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