Chapter 151: Chapter 151: The Rats on Watatsumi Island

"Once we go in, don’t touch or look around randomly. If you’re not used to kneeling, sitting cross-legged is fine, but the most important thing is not to disrespect Lady Sangonomiya, understand?"

Ksenia, now dressed in a deep blue shrine maiden outfit, kept reminding Bai Luo, who was following behind her.

The Fatui were undoubtedly some of the most dedicated people on the continent of Teyvat.

To serve as a shrine maiden on Watatsumi Island, Ksenia had originally studied at the Grand Narukami Shrine under Lyudochka for over a month. However, she later realized that the deities worshipped at the Grand Narukami Shrine and on Watatsumi Island were different...

So, she spent another month relearning everything, deliberately forgetting what she had learned before and replacing it with the knowledge required for Watatsumi Island before officially taking up her post.

"By the way, just call me Koko while we’re here. Don’t get it wrong."

"...Got it."

Under Ksenia’s repeated warnings, Bai Luo finally arrived at the Sangonomiya Shrine once again.

Unlike last time, he wasn’t led to the banquet hall but rather to Kokomi’s study—her so-called office.

"Lady Sangonomiya, my visit is unannounced; I hope you don’t mind."

Bai Luo gave Sangonomiya Kokomi a slight bow, his face once again displaying a friendly smile.

Though the upper half of his face was concealed by a mask, the kindness in his demeanor was perfectly conveyed.

"You flatter me. Your arrival has greatly boosted the morale of Watatsumi Island, and we’ve been receiving victory reports from the front lines. I wonder, how did Himura-san sleep last night? Was it peaceful?"

Sangonomiya Kokomi remained outwardly composed, her calm smile maintaining both her noble air and a sense of ease for Bai Luo, preventing him from feeling pressured.

However, the slight tremble of her hands betrayed her nervousness.

Fortunately, this ability to maintain a strong front had nearly become second nature to her—otherwise, she might have embarrassed herself.

"It was quite good. Aside from the noise of the waterfall, there were just a few rather annoying rats."

Following Kokomi’s gesture, Bai Luo took a seat nearby and spoke softly.

Rats?

Sangonomiya Kokomi was momentarily stunned.

Due to the island’s geography, there were hardly any rats near Watatsumi Island. The only real nuisance was the Floating Fungus.

So what exactly did he mean by "rats"...?

That was something worth pondering.

"Compared to the starving rats outside, the ones raised at home are actually much more restrained. At the very least, they don’t bite and chew on everything. As long as they’re given some table scraps, they’ll be satisfied—it’s not so bad."

Kokomi glanced at Ksenia beside her.

The undercover agent was quick on the uptake. She immediately understood her superior’s meaning, gave a slight bow, and took her leave.

"But when there are too many rats, they’ll eventually start causing trouble. Lady Sangonomiya, do you really not intend to deal with them? The saying ’A thousand-mile embankment collapses from an ant’s nest’—I don’t need to explain it, do I?

"In fact, I can help with that, since... dealing with rats is what I do best."

Bai Luo lightly shifted the Reverse Blade Sword in his hand as he spoke.

And the "rats" he was referring to were already self-explanatory.

From the reports and logs handed over by Igor last night, Bai Luo had already concluded that the man believed his plan was flawless—when in reality, he had been played for a fool by the young Kokomi.

That made Bai Luo’s sudden contact with Igor a bit reckless.

Fortunately, he had been careful and hadn’t let Igor reveal his identity.

This meant that, at present, besides Igor, no one on Watatsumi Island knew that he was a Fatui Harbinger.

Not even Ksenia.

She only knew that he was a new recruit in the Fatui but was unaware of his actual position.

This meant that Bai Luo still had ample opportunity to salvage the situation.

For instance, right now, he was directly laying his cards on the table with Sangonomiya Kokomi.

I know there are Fatui spies within Watatsumi Island, and I’m telling you about it.

So... what will you do next?

While this might seem like he was betraying the Fatui operatives on Watatsumi Island, if they were already exposed in Kokomi’s eyes, then it didn’t really matter.

If that fool Igor ended up getting caught because of this, then he had no one to blame but himself.

Even if he somehow survived this time, punishment would eventually catch up to him.

Oh? You’re wondering why a Harbinger can get away with sacrificing so many of their subordinates?

Besides the Tsaritsa, the Harbinger have the highest authority in Snezhnaya, even if the said subordinate dares file a complaint, the said complaint would still end up on the hand of the Harbinger, so when the complain arrive, the Harbinger can just put the file on the trash can.

"Himura-san, please rest assured. As for these rats, we at Sangonomiya have our own ways of handling them. There is no need for you to trouble yourself."

With this response, Sangonomiya Kokomi had effectively refused Bai Luo’s offer to intervene.

That made sense... She had been setting this up for so long, carefully calculating everything.

If Bai Luo—a completely unpredictable factor—were to suddenly insert himself into her plans, she wouldn’t even know how many brain cells she’d have to sacrifice to recalculate all the potential risks and benefits.

Rejecting him outright was the safer choice.

"After the Duel Before the Throne, I hid from the Vision Hunt Decree by sneaking onto a Fatui ship and traveling with them to Mondstadt. After several days at sea, I managed to pick up on some of their codes and secret signals. Using those, I saw quite a few things last night—things that you, Lady Sangonomiya, may not yet be aware of."

With Ksenia absent, Bai Luo no longer used the subtle term rats to refer to the Fatui.

After all, he was a Harbinger of Fatui himself.

Calling them that felt like he was insulting himself, which was a little awkward.

"We at Sangonomiya have been dealing with the Fatui for many years, Himura-san. Our experience in this matter is no less than yours. We know what we are doing."

Bai Luo’s mention of secret codes was certainly intriguing.

But Sangonomiya Kokomi’s confidence wasn’t blind arrogance.

Ever since the Fatui Harbinger Pantalone took office and sent his operatives to infiltrate Watatsumi Island, her mother had been locked in a long game of deception with them. Over the years, they had accumulated a wealth of experience, and she believed they could keep the Fatui under their control.

As for Himura Kenshin...

All he had done was pick up some secret codes from the Fatui. Could that really compare to her years of groundwork?

Did Himura Kenshin really think he understood the Fatui better than Watatsumi Island did?

He had only dealt with them for a few days—how could that possibly compare to the depth of their knowledge?

These three soul-searching questions alone were enough to showcase her confidence.

"In that case, I won’t intrude any further. However, I would like to give you one last warning—there are signs of corruption among the higher-ups of Sangonomiya as well. If that’s also within your control, then just pretend I never said anything."

Having said his piece, Bai Luo didn’t linger any longer. He gave a polite bow, then turned and left the Sangonomiya Shrine.

Meanwhile, Kokomi instinctively glanced toward the direction he had exited.

However, in doing so, she failed to notice the slight smirk curling at the corner of Bai Luo’s lips.

From this exchange, he could tell that Sangonomiya Kokomi held at least some level of trust in him.

Or perhaps she was simply using her words to placate him.

Either way, it didn’t matter.

Since she was so confident that the Fatui were no longer a threat...

Then let’s see whether these Fatui spies—whom she thought she had in the palm of her hand—could truly overthrow her rule over Watatsumi Island.

. . . . .

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