Chapter 173: Incompetent Senior Varesa (Patreon)

Sandrone breathed a sigh of relief and agreed at once.

As for why Piers hadn't just asked outright, it wasn't entirely to tease Kitty. If he'd asked directly, Sandrone would most likely have refused.

But in a moment like that, Kitty would say yes in a heartbeat just to ease the awkwardness. It was hard-won wisdom from years of studying Kitty, and it never failed.

"Then thank you very much, Lady [Marionette]."

With that brief word of thanks, Piers left the room. Sandrone let out a breath too. She was a little torn, really: with him gone, things felt less awkward, but now that he was gone, part of her wanted him back.

…

The Armory Palace. Piers got there almost instantly.

The Fatui soldiers guarding the gate jumped when Piers appeared out of nowhere at the entrance, but they recovered quickly and stopped him.

"The Armory Palace is a restricted area. No unauthorized personnel allowed inside."

Without a word, Piers pulled out the document Rooster had signed off for him. He unfolded it and held the sealed side toward the guards.

It had been approved for the Adventurers' Guild, but as one of the Guild's senior figures, Piers could use it just the same.

"Look closely. Approved by the Mayor himself. It grants passage anywhere except Her Majesty's chambers."

The guards glanced at the seal on the document, exchanged looks, then looked back up at Piers. In the end they all backed down.

"After you, my lord."

The guards stepped aside and cleared a path. Piers didn't rush in, though. He turned to one of them instead.

"Actually, I'm here to see Mr. Mitya. Let me ask first: is he in the Armory Palace right now? I'd hate to make the trip for nothing."

"Lord Mitya is in the Armory Palace today. If you like, I can lead the way."

"That would be perfect. Thank you."

Piers didn't know his way around the Armory Palace and had been planning to ask someone for directions anyway, so this saved him the trouble.

With a guide, he found Mitya's laboratory quickly. The door at the end of the corridor stood half open, and the faint scratch of a pen on paper drifted out.

Mitya was scribbling something in his little notebook, his back to the door, completely unaware that Piers had arrived.

"Lord Mitya, this gentleman says he's here to see you."

The guard kept his voice as low as he could, afraid of interrupting Mitya's train of thought, but not so low that Mitya wouldn't hear.

"Hm? Someone's here for me?"

Mitya turned around at the sound, and surprise crossed his face when he saw Piers.

"Mr. Mitya, we meet again."

Piers waved in greeting.

"Lord Piers! I never expected you to actually come."

Mitya turned to the guard beside Piers.

"You can go back now. I'll look after Lord Piers myself."

The guard nodded, bowed, and withdrew, pulling the door shut behind him.

"Someone else handles our dealings with the Armory Palace, so what brings you all this way, Lord Piers? Is something the matter?"

"I came in person because I need Mr. Mitya's help with a small favor."

"Oh? A small favor? What kind of small favor needs Lord Piers to make the trip himself? I accepted your adept power last time, so just say it. If I can help, I'll gladly do what I can."

"No rush. Before the favor, there's something important I have to tell you."

Piers was in no hurry at all. He picked up a stool, sat down, and went on. Mitya frowned slightly at his words, one hand still resting on the notebook.

"You're joking, Lord Piers. I used to work in the Energy Department, and now I'm in the Armory Palace. Whatever department or post I've held, none of them involved handling intelligence. Perhaps you've come to the wrong person?"

"It's not an intelligence handover. It's intelligence about you, Mr. Mitya."

"Oh? Now I'm curious."

Mitya's interest was piqued. He tucked the notebook and pen into his coat, pulled up a stool, and sat down as well.

"Mr. Mitya, if I told you that you're already dead, would you believe me?"

Most people would find that absurd, or deny it outright, or at the very least pinch themselves before denying it. Mitya did none of those things.

Hearing the news, he looked a little surprised, but then said nothing and began to think it over in earnest.

After a long while he looked up at Piers, his voice quite calm.

"Lord Piers, do you have any proof? Or at least some basis for it? Isn't your intelligence division the one that insists on evidence, that nothing should come from thin air?"

"Proof? Of course I have some. Mr. Mitya, do you remember what you just wrote in that little notebook? It's classified, I know, so don't tell me. Just try to recall it in your head and see if you can."

Mitya really did as Piers said. He closed his eyes, but the harder he thought, the less came to mind. The confusion on his face deepened, and when he opened his eyes again, there was a moment of hollow blankness in them.

"I really can't remember. But what does that have to do with whether I'm dead? My memory has been poor lately. Others in the Armory Palace are the same way. It seems more like a side effect of the newly developed energy source."

"Not so fast, Mr. Mitya. If you can't remember what you just wrote, then take the notebook out and have a look."

Mitya was puzzled, but he did as Piers said. He pulled the notebook out of his coat again and opened the cover with his fingers.

The moment he looked at the page, his pupils dilated and he began to tremble. In an instant, his whole body went rigid.

"This… how is this possible?!"

It was the first time Mitya had ever looked so shocked.

Perhaps from the shock, his fingers loosened, and the notebook slipped from his hand and dropped to the floor.

The page it had fallen open to was blank, pale paper lying on the ground with a faint springiness to it.

"So, Mr. Mitya? With your intelligence, you must understand what I mean by now."

"You mean… the place we're in now isn't the real world. It's the world after death… And if I'm dead, then you, Lord Piers…"

Something occurred to Mitya, and he looked at Piers. His gaze stopped on him.

"I'm dead too. Probably from the moment the guard led me into the laboratory."

"I thought Lord Piers had found some way to enter the world of the dead to see me. I never expected you to be dead as well…"

Mitya was a little disappointed, truth be told. He'd assumed Piers was still alive and had used some special method to come into this world and save him. Finding out Piers had died too, there didn't seem to be much hope left.

His shoulders sagged, and his fingers fell open on his knees.

"But how did you know you were dead? I had no idea at all that I'd died."

"I have my ways. It's a long story to explain. If you're interested, Mr. Mitya, once we're revived I'll find some free time and tell you properly."

The truth was simple: the instant Piers entered the laboratory, he'd sensed that sliver of his own soul and knew he was dead.

As for what had caused the deaths, that was naturally Mitya's little notebook. Piers had guessed there wouldn't be a single word left in it, and all through his speech just now, his eyes had never left Mitya's expression.

In theory, whenever he entered the world of the dead, Piers could sense that sliver of his soul. Why he hadn't noticed it the several times before was probably because memories are lost upon reviving from the world of the dead.

Piers hadn't known this at first, but once he'd finished the main story, he did.

As for that time in Liyue, a sliver of his soul had been swallowed by the Peach Capital, so even if he'd sensed it, he would only have thought the boundary between yin and yang had grown lax for a while.

Why he hadn't lost his memory that time was most likely because of Zhongli's intervention. As expected of the most reassuring man in Teyvat.

"What? You can be revived?!"

"Obviously. If we couldn't be, would I be sitting here chatting with you this long? Did you think I was leaving last words?"

"Ha ha ha, I never knew Lord Piers could bring people back from the dead. I've just never seen it, so it surprised me. Anyone would be surprised to hear they could come back from death, right? I think that counts as a normal reaction."

Mitya was perfectly relaxed, his tone as casual as if they were chatting over tea. The surprise had been an obvious joke, and he even raised a hand to brush nonexistent dust off his hem.

"The favor I wanted from you was exactly this. I was going to ask you to help me get into the world of the dead. I'd even worked out how to trick you into it. Too bad, all that effort wasted. I'd barely walked in and you'd already dragged me here."

"Me? The more I listen, Lord Piers, the more confused I get. I don't have any ability to pull people into the world of the dead."

"Not on purpose, no. But in effect, you do…"

Piers was about to explain when a familiar presence rushed closer and cut off his thoughts. It bore down from the end of the corridor.

"Long time no see. Since you've come all this way, wouldn't it be rude not to show yourself?"

He turned toward the laboratory door. Mitya followed his gaze, but there was nothing there. The corridor lights seemed to dim for an instant.

Then, just as Mitya was about to look away, a human outline slowly sharpened in the air: first a foot wrapped in black silk, then a hanging hand, and finally a face with no expression at all.

"You again? Why is it always you? Once or twice could be coincidence. You've already noticed, so why interfere?"

"Honestly, I'm innocent! Your ability has no wind-up at all. There's not even a hint of anything abnormal to detect. If I hadn't used a few unorthodox means, I wouldn't have known I was dead either."

"Lord Piers, who is she?"

Mitya looked at the Ruler of Death, who had appeared so suddenly at the door, and turned to ask Piers. He'd already guessed part of the answer, but he wanted confirmation.

"She's the Death God of folk legend, or we should call her the Ruler of Death. To limit Snezhnaya's technology, every time you come up with an idea that could make Snezhnaya's technology leap forward, she temporarily kills every living thing in an area centered on you."

Piers rose slowly from his seat and walked toward the Ruler of Death step by step. Mitya stayed where he was, his eyes moving back and forth between the two of them.

"Your poor memory wasn't caused by the new energy source. You died for a while and then came back, that's all. You're a living being, and the rules won't let her kill you outright. All she can do is make you die temporarily, wipe your memory, and then revive you."

"This time you clearly didn't wander in by mistake. You came looking for me on purpose. Why?"

The Ruler of Death stared coldly at Piers.

"I want to ask you for something. Once I have it, I'll go."

"Laughable. Do you know whose domain this is? You're asking me for something in the world of the dead?"

The look she gave Piers was still utterly devoid of feeling. There wasn't even anger in it. Those eyes were so cold that for the first time Piers felt what people meant by divinity.

"Or… you could kill me. I can't beat you anyway."

Piers had come within a meter of the Ruler of Death. He could feel the chill radiating from her, a cold unlike the blizzards of Snezhnaya. This was the cold of death itself.

The instant the words left his mouth, the Ruler of Death raised her hand, and black-red energy gathered in her palm.

Even so, Piers stayed where he was. He didn't even call on his adept power to defend himself. His hands hung at his sides, his breathing steady, his eyes meeting that mass of energy head-on.

But when the black-red energy in her hand had fully gathered, she lowered her hand instead. The energy dispersed in her palm as if it had never been there.

"Why did you put your hand down?"

Piers took another step forward, eyes locked on the Ruler of Death. They were almost uncomfortably close now, close enough that he could nearly make out the shadow beneath her lashes.

"A sliver of my soul returned to the ley lines and ended up with you. In theory, that makes me dead. But almost all of my soul is still with me, which proves I'm alive. So tell me, Ruler of Death, should a creature like me, both dead and alive, even exist? Why not just kill me and take me with you?"

Piers's boldness was really a gamble. He was betting that the Ruler of Death had let him die and be revived three times because the rules counted him as a living person.

If he were truly dead, she would have noticed long ago that a sliver of his soul had gone to her side. And if the rules had really judged him dead, she'd have taken him away during one of those deaths, rather than letting him revive.

So Piers believed he was alive.

The proof was that he'd bet right. Even at this distance, even with such provocative words, the Ruler of Death still didn't move against him. She simply stood there.