Is Battousai an Instructor?
That... doesn't seem too off.
Wait... Battousai is the Instructor?
Battousai is really the Instructor?
He wasn't acting before? Instead, he was openly meeting with Fatui subordinates right under her nose, carrying out Fatui dispatch work, without even bothering to hide it from her.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could you be Battousai?"
Yes, that's right. This damned Fatui Harbinger must be trying to break my will, to use this method to crush me.
Battousai is Fatui?
Why don't you just say I'm the Raiden Shogun?
"Klang—"
A cold gleam left its sheath. The oil-paper umbrella in Bai Luo's hand had already transformed into a reverse-bladed sword, its edge along the back of the blade.
On the blade itself, there seemed to be a faint, elusive scent of plum blossoms.
But with the blade pressed against her neck, Sangonomiya Kokomi's reaction was somewhat abnormal.
Her pupils were somewhat unfocused, her breathing was disordered, and she kept muttering incessantly under her breath.
She seemed to be reviewing the entire situation, and yet also seemed to be questioning the truth of Bai Luo's words.
She truly couldn't understand which part had gone wrong.
The people from Liyue?
No, their reverence for Battousai didn't seem feigned at all, and she had seen the horn of Beisht herself.
Furthermore, they had no reason to team up with a Fatui Harbinger to deceive her, right?
Unless... they too had been fooled by this Instructor.
But the fact that the Instructor was nearly killed by Battousai was also true. He couldn't have just stabbed himself for no reason, right?
Impossible...
Completely impossible...
I am the Divine Priestess, I am the leader of Sangonomiya, I...
The muttering under her breath gradually began to turn into delirious ramblings.
Simply put... she still wasn't quite willing to accept this outcome.
The outcome of her complete and utter defeat.
She even forgot about the sharp blade at her neck, standing up to confront Bai Luo and demand an explanation.
Seeing this scene, Bai Luo sighed helplessly and employed his long-unused Bai-style Physical Deep Hypnosis Method.
Sangonomiya Kokomi grunted softly and went limp, collapsing into Bai Luo's arms, completely losing consciousness.
This was a move of helplessness.
If this continued, this ornamental fish would fall into an endless loop, eventually causing her brain to crash and turn her into a useless person incapable of any thought.
To sum it up in one sentence:
She had been broken.
It made sense, though. Bai Luo had poured all his efforts into crafting the persona of the Resistance's savior.
Sangonomiya Kokomi, from her initial worries, to her subsequent trust, all the way to her admiration after the three hundred million Mora were delivered... it had all come from the heart.
And then Bai Luo suddenly confessed to her: I'm actually a Fatui Harbinger.
This made her previous trust and admiration seem like a joke.
One could say that her resilience was astonishing, given she didn't immediately suffer cardiac arrest and die on the spot.
Otherwise, Bai Luo would have had to use the reverse blade in his hand to help her exploit a bug and extend her life.
Actually, in Bai Luo's plan, he hadn't intended to take over Watatsumi Island this early. After all, what he enjoyed most was the process of the plan, not the result.
He had just keenly become aware of one thing.
Godless Watatsumi.
As a force created by Orobashi, although Watatsumi Island had superficially submitted to the Raiden Shogun, the formation of the Resistance Army by the Sangonomiya meant they had already lost the protection of the Electro Archon and become a wild, unaffiliated force.
This meant... anyone with an agenda could meddle in Watatsumi Island's affairs.
And the Tianquan of Liyue had realized this even earlier than Bai Luo, dispatching Beidou to make contact with Watatsumi Island as a third party.
Therefore, to truly stabilize this island, he only had one thing to do.
It wasn't just about letting everyone within the Fatui know that Watatsumi Island was under the protection of the Fatui's Instructor.
It was about letting all the forces across Teyvat know that Watatsumi Island now belonged to the Fatui, and that the Fatui's Instructor protected this place.
That way... even if someone wanted to pull something here, they would have to consider whether they wanted to offend the Instructor, and the Fatui behind him.
He did enjoy the process of his plans, but that didn't mean he liked someone sticking their foot into his scheme.
That would be like having a stranger suddenly sit down opposite you during a meal and start eating from your plate with their own chopsticks.
Really annoying, okay?
Rather than being disgusted like that, he might as well terminate the plan early and let no one play at all!
As for why he revealed his identity to Sangonomiya Kokomi...
Let's just call it a small quirk of his.
My plan got ruined; can't I even tease the fish I raised?
"Sir, what should we do next?"
Watching Bai Luo place the unconscious Sangonomiya Kokomi on the bed, Tatyana hesitated before speaking up to ask.
Should she leave at a time like this?
"Notify Snezhnaya first. Have them send some people to station here. As for Inazuma... I'll handle that personally," Bai Luo said, tucking the blanket around Sangonomiya Kokomi. After a moment's thought, he took out the original manuscript of his My Raiden Shogun Can't Be This Cute and placed it by her pillow.
Pets are like raising children. You need to give both the stick and the candy.
Otherwise, they'll turn out wrong.
"Then I..."
"Before the advance troops arrive, you will be in charge of matters here. If there's anything you don't understand, you can seek out Miss Koko in the village. She's very familiar with this place."
"As you command, Sir."
"Take care of her tonight. I need to get back to Sayu soon, otherwise the little one will get up to mischief again."
"Yes!"
After arranging the relevant matters, Bai Luo didn't linger long on Watatsumi Island.
Though it was puzzling, before he left, he also took a grilled fish and two boiled eggs.
These two things were nothing special, clearly intended for Sayu.
But the empty milk bottle left Tatyana perplexed.
What was that for?
Most importantly, her Instructor truly didn't know how to take care of people. Letting her sleep like this, with clothes on and just a blanket, would be very uncomfortable.
Shouldn't he at least take her clothes off first?
Sigh, so unreliable.
The news of the Divine Priestess's cooperation with the Fatui wasn't deliberately concealed.
Before dawn, almost all the higher-ups on Watatsumi Island knew about it.
Of course, everyone was opposed at first.
Cooperate with the Fatui? Wasn't that just throwing themselves into the fire?
If the Divine Priestess weren't currently bedridden, many would probably have gone to her door to voice their objections.
But after the Fatui's terms were made public, aside from the older generation, many people quietly withdrew from the opposition.
Because no matter how you looked at it, this cooperation seemed more beneficial than harmful for Watatsumi Island.
As for that so-called conscription... as long as I don't go, what can you do about it?
Only the older generation understood that cooperating with the Fatui was no different from making a pact with a tiger. It would inevitably harm Watatsumi Island in the long run.