Venti considered himself pretty good at talking his way through things.
He hadn't expected there to be an even deeper, more terrifying master right beside him.
The Holy Lyre was literally on him, and he still acted like nothing happened—calmly, seriously, and with a straight face—talking the guard captain into backing off.
"…This…"
Even Lumine felt a little dazed.
This was the Holy Lyre?
How did it end up in Kaito's hands?
Wasn't he supposed to be stuck at Good Hunter, unable to leave because that Fatui higher-up woman was clinging to him?
"Kaito… so the thief is you?!"
Paimon's eyes went round.
Kaito shook his head. After letting them see it, he put the Lyre away again.
"Not me. I just squatted at a handoff spot for a moment, and someone delivered the Holy Lyre straight into my hands."
He spread his hands.
"I'm not that easy to fool!" Paimon snapped. "Who's stupid enough to hand over a treasure they just stole?"
"Plenty of people," Kaito said with a smile.
…
Outside Mondstadt, in a small woodland—
Fatui Attaché Anastasia sat on a fallen tree trunk, irritably kicking her heels against the bark.
The Debt Collectors around her didn't dare breathe too loudly.
According to the plan—
By now, the Holy Lyre should've been delivered here by the final courier in the chain.
But nobody showed.
And inside the city, the Knights of Favonius and the Church had already fully mobilized.
At this point, even if someone was holding the Lyre, there was no way they could slip out under that level of searching.
Which meant—
The plan had failed again.
Why "again"?!
Anastasia's mind raced.
Then she remembered how Lady would react once she found out, and her limbs went ice-cold. Her body trembled, barely noticeable.
"Bad—bad news!"
A Debt Collector stumbled in from the edge of the woods, clutching his neck, his head tilted at a strange angle.
"I got knocked out. I never received the Holy Lyre."
"When I crawled out of the flowerbeds, the whole city was already swarming with Knights and Church people!"
He didn't have anything shaped like the Holy Lyre on him—otherwise he wouldn't have made it out.
BAM!
Anastasia kicked him into the tree trunk.
Blood mist sprayed. Leaves shuddered down in a fluttering cascade.
The Debt Collector slumped and passed out again.
"Useless trash."
So something did go wrong.
Anastasia's stomach sank. "Even if this link failed, the Cicin Mage would've passed it to the next person. Where did it break?"
No matter how hard she thought—
she could never imagine the Cicin Mage had handed the Lyre to a "fellow Fatui."
She forced herself to think logically.
"The Knights and the Church are still searching… meaning they haven't recovered it either."
"So the Holy Lyre is either stuck in one of our people's hands and can't be delivered, or there's a third party I don't know about!"
She stood up sharply.
"Leave one person here. Everyone else goes back into the city—find the cause immediately!"
…
Back at Good Hunter—
Downstairs, Fatui guards appeared to be arguing with a Knights of Favonius search unit.
Kaito's group used the chance to slip back in through the supply door.
"We're back!"
Lumine stretched with both hands over her head.
She stretched lazily under the lamplight, looking like she'd finally caught her breath.
Kaito glanced over once. "You two sit for a bit."
"You two sit for a bit."
He crossed the hall toward the front entrance to deal with the argument outside.
"We're Knights of Favonius on duty—why are you Fatui obstructing us? Got a guilty conscience?"
"Our important guest is dining upstairs. Are you qualified to barge in and disturb them?"
"Move!"
"Then try cutting me down!"
The Knights and the Fatui pushed and shoved.
Both sides had hot tempers.
Two Fatui envoys watched coldly from the side without stopping anything.
Kaito opened the door.
Light from the restaurant spilled over them, and the scene fell quiet at once.
"Your superior already left. Disperse."
Kaito spoke to the Fatui first.
"Left?" Lyudmila froze, then rushed inside to check.
Lady was indeed gone.
She didn't believe this young owner could threaten Lady—
but with Lady missing, she could only grit her teeth.
She nodded and waved the others.
"We're withdrawing."
"Kaito, what is this?" the Knights' captain stepped forward, questioning him.
"A superior came to reserve the place. I hosted her, then sent her back," Kaito answered calmly.
"…Did you see anyone suspicious?" the captain asked. "A relic once used by the Anemo Archon himself—the Holy Lyre—has been stolen."
"I almost got mistaken for it myself earlier."
"Hah! Who was blind enough to mistake you?"
"The Church. It's been cleared up."
"Understood. If you discover anything, Boss Kaito, inform us immediately."
The captain led his team away.
Kaito watched them go.
"Sara. City's too chaotic tonight. Close up."
"Got it, boss."
Sara collected the outdoor kitchen tools and ingredients back inside, then clocked out.
Kaito returned upstairs.
Venti sat in a chair, gently sniffing at a glass of red wine Kaito had poured earlier—untouched until now.
"What a pity," Venti sighed. "Left in the air too long."
"Put the half bottle you swiped away back right now."
Kaito's gaze flicked to the neck of the red wine bottle peeking out from Venti's coat.
"Ehe~!"
Venti immediately played dumb.
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