[Lyudochka turned her back, not letting the Traveler see her expression: "Kolya, please don't bring shame to Her Majesty the Tsaritsa, don't bring shame to me..."]
This commission was considered complete; as a reward, Lyudochka said anything could be taken, whether Mora or supplies—she no longer needed them.
To her, only that letter from Nikola was precious; everything else could be taken away.
[Lyudochka revealed a smile, her tone finally tinged with fatigue: "Now I need to rest... Do you want to sleep a bit too?"]
There was only one straw mat here; if the Traveler wanted to sleep a bit too, she would have to sleep together with Lyudochka.
The Traveler didn't do that; she just chatted a couple more sentences with Lyudochka and then left.
In the process of chatting, they mentioned a name—Lyudmila, who was her sister from the House of the Hearth.
[Lyudochka lowered her head: "...I hope she doesn't remember me."]
If she was still alive, whether carrying out missions or having found a new life, she hoped she wouldn't remember me anymore, wouldn't remember her own past.
The Traveler left, but the story hadn't ended yet. On a later day, the Traveler went to find Lyudochka again—this time purely because she missed her.
However, the Traveler didn't find Lyudochka; there was only a monster clad in pitch-black armor, and beside it, a letter had fallen.
The letter was written by Nikola to Lyudochka; Lyudochka would carry it with her at all times, and for it to appear here meant... Lyudochka had likely already died!
She, like her brother, had died at the hands of that pitch-black armor.
The readers itched with frustration, truly hating that they couldn't rush into the book and give that Black Serpent Knight a beating!
That cute girl could no longer be seen; Lumine left dejectedly, only to encounter the Ninth Company on the road—they were Lyudochka's comrades.
[Anton: "One, two, slogan! Who else but us!"]
The captain of this squad was already dead; this Anton was merely the 'acting company commander,' but he fulfilled his duties responsibly. Even exhausted, fatigued, and hungry, it hadn't broken him.
In the process of conversing, everyone also learned about the squad's current predicament.
Their purpose in coming here was very pure: just to help Liyue resist foreign enemies. But because of Childe's actions, Liyue had lost trust in Snezhnaya and naturally wouldn't provide supplies anymore.
Without logistics, the Fatui here in The Chasm had to fight while enduring hunger.
They had been abandoned.
Before setting off, they were heroes, sent off joyfully by the people of Snezhnaya, but now, they couldn't even eat their fill.
From this perspective, the fire-water Lyudochka offered to entertain the Traveler had already been everything she had.
[Anton: "Supplies, weapons, intel, or Mora? We don't lack any. As long as you're willing to help, these can all be rewards."]
To let his team members eat their fill, he no longer cared about 'face.'
When they entered, there had been sixty-four of them; now only four remained. If they kept caring about face, those last four would die here too.
Perhaps because she had gone through the matter with Lyudochka, this time the Traveler didn't fight them and agreed to provide them with food.
But just then, another group of Fatui arrived—they were there to rob food, and without distinguishing friend from foe, they attacked the Ninth Company's Fatui as well.
The Fatui trapped here had already 'broken down,' because they had lost all contact with logistics and the surface; they were just like cats abandoned in a 'box.'
Starving, freezing, with no way out—if they left the 'box,' the outside was full of malicious enemies.
But in fact, not everyone in the Millelith wanted to be enemies with the Fatui; Yanbo got along quite well with them.
Unfortunately, each served their own master; Yanbo could only leave them some food and couldn't provide more help.
The Liyue people naturally wouldn't see any issue with Yanbo's actions.
Giving food was righteousness; fighting as enemies next time was loyalty—thus fulfilling both loyalty and righteousness.
The Traveler handed over the intel obtained and Yanbo's letter to Anton.
[Anton: "Alright, I understand. Whew... I've decided—we need to withdraw from here, as soon as possible."]
["I'll bear all the responsibility. If there's a deserter among us... If there's a deserter who brings shame to the Ninth Company, that deserter is me—only me."]
["As long as we're still alive, it means the Ninth Company's designation still exists—got it!"]
Anton decided to shoulder all responsibility, only hoping his comrades could survive.
Before this, they had been a heroic company sacrificing themselves to protect others; now, they had to slink away like this 'in disgrace.'
Their actions had no schemes, but unfortunately, schemes had fallen upon them.
There was no helping it—they were "Rooster's" soldiers; it wasn't strange for "Rooster" to abandon them for greater interests.
Sigh, what a pity—they weren't "Captain's" soldiers.
The Traveler also mentioned Lyudochka to Anton, only then learning that Lyudochka had stayed behind voluntarily to find her brother, not that she had been abandoned.
Though Anton and the others were in very poor condition, they truly had never thought of abandoning comrades.
Fortunately, in reality, their supplies hadn't been cut off, so these things wouldn't happen.
After finishing with the Fatui in The Chasm, the Traveler arrived in Inazuma; this part was the story about 'Lyudmila.'
Lyudochka's friend, Lyudmila, was impersonating 'Hyakume' and working at the Grand Narukami Shrine; she didn't want to return to the Fatui anymore—she wanted to live like this from now on.
The Fatui superior gave her a mission: to sow discord between Narukami Island and Watatsumi Island. Lyudmila just dragged it out, taking no action.
On the other side, the real Hyakume (Momo), had already sought out the Traveler.
Momo was a member of the Yashiro Commission, cautious in her actions, and her words... cough, a bit sharp. In contrast, Lyudmila disguised as her was much more approachable.
With Lyudmila's gentle personality, she might actually be more suited to being a shrine maiden.
For example, just their reactions upon meeting were completely different, as depicted in Lucian's drawing.
[Momo impatiently, her eyes carrying 'disdain': "You finally came. What are you doing, staring at me since earlier?"]
[Lyudmila clasped her hands together, her smile full of warmth: "Ah, we meet again. Come to check your fortunes today too? Or perhaps..."]
["If there's anything you want to confide or discuss with someone, I can listen too."]
The Inazumans fell silent: She's really gentler than Miss Hyakume... Even though they look so alike...
Lyudmila wasn't just gentle; she was also very cute. After Paimon complimented her approachability, her little face quickly flushed pink.
This demeanor truly seemed like Lyudochka's sister.
One had to say, things were different after paying; the Fatui's image was getting cuter and cuter.