In Liyue, inside the alley leading to Solace Book House...
Not long after Hu Tao and Yun Jin entered the shop, another figure appeared.
It was none other than Childe, the Fatui Harbinger—and one of the manga shop's regular customers.
However, his face was filled with confusion.
"So... this is the manga shop I supposedly come to all the time?"
He examined the exterior of Solace Book House, resting his chin on one hand in thought.
After finishing that entire pot of tea at Liuli Pavilion yesterday...
he had temporarily lost his memory.
Everything from the past three or four days had been wiped clean.
At the time, Childe hadn't even known why he was there.
Although the owner of Liuli Pavilion had no idea what had happened, Childe had already paid his bill, so he simply had him escorted back to the Northland Bank.
Realising something was wrong, Childe immediately had his subordinates report everything that had happened over the past few days.
That was when he noticed one rather peculiar detail.
He had been visiting the same manga shop almost every day.
So he secretly concluded that his memory loss probably had something to do with this place.
After asking around for the address...
he hurried over without delay.
In truth, the Forget-Worry Gu did affect someone as strong as Childe...
but normally not to the extent of erasing three or four days of memories.
The main reason was that, when trying to "deal with" Zhongli...
Childe had added an excessive amount.
Then...he ended up drinking the entire pot himself.
The result spoke for itself.
Still, with his strength, he would probably recover naturally within a day or two.
Until then...
he could only remain in this temporary state of amnesia.
"I'll go inside and have a look first."
Taking a deep breath, Childe stepped through the entrance.
A flash of light filled his vision.
The next moment...he found himself inside an incredibly spacious shop.
"Isn't this supposed to be a manga shop?"
"Why are there so many toys?"
Looking around the interior, Childe froze.
Did I come to the wrong place?
No... this is definitely Solace Book House.
"But these toys are pretty interesting."
"I wonder if the owner sells them."
He stroked his chin thoughtfully.
As a professional toy salesman...he had an excellent eye for such things.
If he could bring one back for his little brother Teucer...
the boy would definitely love it.
Before losing his memory, the first thing Childe had wanted to do here was buy the figurines.
After losing his memory...
his first thought was exactly the same.
It could only be said...
that Childe truly was an utterly devoted big brother.
Just as he was considering how to bring it up with the shop owner...
a voice called out from behind him.
"Oh? Childe's here?"
Turning around, Childe saw a woman entering from outside.
She wore a black crown-like mask and a black-and-white dress.
It was his fellow Harbinger—
La Signora.
"It's you?"
"You come to this shop too?"
Childe blinked in surprise.
He hadn't expected another Fatui Harbinger to frequent this place.
"Hm?"
"What do you mean, 'me too'?"
"I've been a regular customer here for quite a while."
Signora replied casually.
"A regular?"
"Then... have you seen me here before?"
Childe immediately asked.
Finally meeting someone who knew him, he had to figure out what had happened.
"Of course."
"I saw you here the day before yesterday."
"It's only been one day. Don't tell me you've already forgotten?"
Watching Childe's strange expression, Signora frowned.
Something about him felt...
off.
Could this be a fake Childe?
"I think I really did lose my memory."
Childe gave a bitter smile and briefly explained his situation.
"You actually ended up in such a ridiculous predicament?"
After hearing the story, even Signora was taken aback.
Well...
Turns out she'd guessed correctly.
"I suspect it has something to do with this manga shop."
"So I came to investigate."
Childe sighed helplessly.
He was just as baffled.
One moment he found himself sitting in Liuli Pavilion...
and everything else from the past few days had simply vanished.
"Probably."
"Let's ask Boss Han."
Signora nodded.
If even a Fatui Harbinger could suddenly suffer memory loss...
then it almost certainly had something to do with the manga shop.
Either...
it was the effect of some mysterious reward.
Or...
Childe had offended Boss Han and been punished.
If it was the former, that was one thing.
But if it was the latter...
Signora intended to stay as far away as possible.
After all...
Dottore's grave was already three metres tall.
She had absolutely no intention of courting death.
Still...
judging from what she knew of Childe...
he wasn't quite that reckless.
So she felt the mysterious reward was the more likely explanation.
"All right."
Childe was thinking the same thing.
The two of them walked over to the counter together.
"Welcome."
Han Feng greeted them with a smile.
"Boss..."
"Do you know what's causing my memory loss?"
Childe asked directly.
At this point...
the only person who might know what had happened was probably the black-haired young man before him.
"You consumed too much Forget-Worry Gu."
"There's nothing seriously wrong."
"You'll recover in a couple of days."
Han Feng smiled lightly.
Judging by Childe's condition...
he must have taken quite a large dose.
It seemed he'd really finished the entire pot of tea.
Otherwise...
he wouldn't even have forgotten the manga shop.
It was rather impressive that he'd managed to find his way back here.
"Forget-Worry Gu?"
"What's that?"
Signora asked curiously.
"It's an insect that causes people to forget their recent memories."
"Yesterday, Childe bought some from someone."
"As for why he ended up becoming the victim himself..."
Han Feng took a sip of tea, smiling meaningfully.
"Isn't that obvious?"
"He must have been trying to trick someone..."
"Only to get tricked himself."
Signora answered immediately.
As fellow Fatui Harbingers...she knew these sorts of schemes all too well.
Still...
an insect capable of erasing memories...
was undeniably useful.
With that thought in mind, she asked softly,
"Boss Han..."
"Which manga gives the Forget-Worry Gu as a reward?"
"Chinese Paladin (The Legend of Sword and Fairy)."
"Thank you, Boss."
Signora nodded.
She placed a bag of Mora on the counter...
and headed straight for the bookshelves.
—------------------------------
Pat reon Advance Chapters: patreon.com/YonkoSlayer