"Ugh, ugh, ugh! Speak, what's going on?!"
At the bottom of the Tatarasuna mine, Childe walked back and forth in front of the crowd, cleaning the dirt off himself.
He felt incredibly nauseous right now. Yesterday, to celebrate his freedom from Ember, Childe had taken a good bath, but who would have thought that today Xavier would shove him into a mud pit.
Could it be that Sky was telling him this was not a place to stay?
"Reporting, Harbinger! We were carrying out a mission, but he discovered us!" Electrohammer pointed at the wary Xavier, saying with ill intent.
"Harbinger?!" Xavier was startled by Electrohammer's words. He had thought this young man was some high-ranking Lieutenant, but he never dreamed he was a Harbinger.
In an instant, Xavier's heart sank. He was probably going to fall here today.
"Alright, I understand. From now on, no matter what your previous mission was, from now on…"
Childe pondered for a moment, trying to come up with a good excuse, but after thinking for a long time, he couldn't come up with anything, so he simply gave up.
So he spread his hands and said:
"It's gone~"
"Gone?" Electrohammer was stunned, seemingly not expecting his mission to be terminated just like that.
"Yes, gone! Now follow me, I have a new mission for you!"
"What mission? Childe, you say!" After a brief moment of dazed, Electrohammer quickly adjusted his mindset.
Among the Fatui, the concept of subordinates obeying superiors was almost ingrained in their bones.
So, even though Childe had no written orders, and there were no commands from Snezhnaya, Electrohammer still accepted the fact that the mission he had painstakingly carried out for several months had been abolished.
"Uh… a new mission?" Childe scratched his head. He had originally come here to gather the Fatui in this area. As for what mission to assign, he hadn't really thought it through.
As he pondered, Childe glimpsed Xavier, who was preparing to escape. Then he looked up at the dazzling Mikage Furnace in the Sky.
He slapped his forehead. Didn't someone just take on the burden of repairing the Furnace?
"Take this Fontainian and gather with me!"
Childe waved his hand, and the Fatui below swarmed forward, lifting Xavier.
"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?! I'm telling you, kidnapping an adult is against the law, even if I'm a man!!!"
Xavier struggled, but without his Clockwork Mekanism, he was just an ordinary person.
And so, with Xavier shouting in front and Childe singing behind, the commotion of Tatarasuna spread throughout all of Kannazuka… On the beach between Tatarasuna and the Kujou Encampment, a place that was once deserted, was now filled with Fatui.
"Is everyone here?!" Standing in front of the crowd, Childe shouted at the assembled Fatui below.
"Reporting, Harbinger, all personnel from Kannazuka have arrived!" Someone below, spurred by Childe's reprimand, immediately stepped forward and responded loudly.
"Very good!" Childe nodded, then paced back and forth, saying, "Many of you may be wondering why I called you here. But what I want to tell you is that what I want you to do concerns the survival of our Inazuman Fatui in Inazuma!"
The crowd below, hearing Childe's serious tone, immediately lost their last trace of confusion.
Initially, the Fatui below had considerable resentment towards Childe for forcefully interrupting their mission, but once they heard him speak like this, what resentment could they still harbor?
A mission concerning the survival of the Inazuman Fatui—that alone was enough to make one's blood boil!
"Childe, just tell us what the mission is! We will do our utmost!" The Fatui below shouted excitedly.
"What mission…" Childe looked at the crowd opposite him, took a deep breath, and then shouted loudly: "This mission is that from now on, all of you will transport provisions for me!"
"…"
Childe's words were like an invisible hand, gripping the throats of the Fatui present, leaving them speechless for a long time.
However, Childe himself seemed completely oblivious. He pointed at Xavier, who was equally stunned, and said nonchalantly:
"That… Xavier, right? I heard you're a great inventor? The task of repairing the Mikage Furnace is entrusted to you!"
"Me?"
Hearing Childe mention him, Xavier was somewhat disbelieving. He looked left and right, and seeing everyone looking at him, he then took a step forward.
"No? What kind of game are you Fatui playing? First you destroy the Mikage Furnace, and now you want to fix it. Is there some conspiracy?"
Xavier shook his head, convinced there was something fishy going on.
"Just tell me if you'll do it or not! Everyone here is at your disposal!" Childe waved his hand, speaking with great magnanimity.
As long as Xavier could take on the burden of repairing the Furnace, no matter how many people he needed, he would get them all!
"Really?"
"Absolutely, do I look like someone who jokes around casually?"
After confirming again, Xavier nodded, half-believing. The Mikage Furnace was about to give out, and if no action was taken, Kannazuka would probably turn into a giant firework visible from all nations.
Circumstances were stronger than personal will. Although Xavier didn't believe the Fatui would really be that kind, he couldn't worry about so much right now; fixing the Furnace came first!
If he relied on the Shogunate, they would probably still be shirking responsibility even after being blown to Sky.
"You, you, you! And you! Come with me!" Having made up his mind, Xavier didn't hesitate. He pointed at a few Fatui who looked very smart (balding) and, leading them, turned and ran into Tatarasuna.
"Oh ho. Quick work! We need to get moving too! Can't let this Fontainian outdo us!"
Seeing Xavier immediately spring into action, Childe rallied the Fatui below.
However, the effect… varied from person to person.
Some Fatui looked excited, eager to show off their skills immediately, while others had grim expressions, lost in thought about something.
"Childe, I apologize, but our squad has an important mission and cannot complete the task you mentioned!"
A Fatui member in a dark robe raised his hand and spoke loudly.
Unlike the others, this Fatui had white hair, indicating he was elderly.
Childe was greatly surprised. Weren't all Fatui young and strong? How did an old man get in here?
"Old man, why are you still in the Fatui? At your age, you should be retired." Childe helped the Fatui forward, afraid he might suddenly collapse and not get up.
"Childe, you jest. Members of our House of the Hearth have no concept of 'retirement'." Yefim Snezhevich broke free from Childe's support, speaking with full vigor.
"House of the Hearth?" Childe, hearing this, looked up and carefully scrutinized the old man before him.
Though his hair was white, his eyes were filled with gloom, like a vulture poised to strike.
"When was the last time you contacted your liaison?" Childe suddenly leaned in and asked.
Yefim Snezhevich's eyes froze. Childe was asking about classified information, but considering he was a Harbinger, Yefim Snezhevich still answered truthfully:
"To answer Childe, the last time my liaison contacted me was three years ago."
"Three years ago, huh…" Childe looked up at Sky, as if contemplating something. Then, with a look of pity, he patted Yefim Snezhevich's shoulder and sighed, saying:
"Your boss, The Knave, changed over a year ago. The current Knave is Arlecchino."
"No one has contacted you for three years; you've probably been forgotten by Arlecchino. Old man, you should just retire!"
After saying that, Childe immediately turned and faced the others, giving out orders.
"You few, tally up the remaining funds!"
"You group, go buy provisions for me!"
"You run fast? Good, follow this map and find the nearby villages for me!"
… For a time, the beach was bustling.
Unfortunately, this had nothing to do with Yefim Snezhevich, who had turned into a gray stone statue.
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