Chapter 23: The Fox's Gift

"What is this?"

Liam looked at the white object at his feet, puzzled. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was the right leg of the Scaramouche.

Wow, truly fitting of a general—keeping her word. When she said she'd cut off a leg, she cut off a leg, just like when she told the Traveler to walk out of Tenshukaku.

But that was just the beginning. As soon as the Traveler stepped out, they were attacked.

"Why did you have to cut off Scaramouche's leg, Shogun?" Liam kicked the leg at his feet and asked.

"It kicked you," Raiden Shogun said calmly, looking at Liam. Although her tone was flat, it was clear that the General was quite protective.

Liam thought, "This damn sense of security!"

"Let's go then!"

Liam reached out and rubbed the General's head. Although Liam wasn't short, the Shogun was tall, making it not as easy to give a head pat compared to a loli.

"Aren't we going to deal with this?" Raiden Shogun tilted her head, looking at the severed leg below. She knew Liam had special plans for Scaramouche, so she often asked before dealing with matters related to him.

"Leave it here! Let's see if he comes back to pick it up. We don't need to bother with it!"

Liam smiled at Raiden Shogun, predicting that Scaramouche would likely come back for it. Even though he was a prototype of Raiden Shogun, the materials used by Ei were not easily obtainable. Even if Scaramouche sought help from the Doctor, he might not recover as well as before.

So, if possible, Scaramouche would definitely want to retrieve his severed leg.

"Shogun, set a trap under this leg later. Make it strong enough to cover him in dirt and dust but not too powerful."

Liam grinned wickedly. For the arrogant Scaramouche, a humiliating attack might be more effective than one that causes direct harm.

"Understood!"

Raiden Shogun didn't understand the significance of this but decided to follow Liam's orders.

Nowadays, Liam seemed more and more like the Shogun's external brain, giving him a strange sense of déjà vu.

Raiden Shogun extended her hand, and a flash of purple light appeared. A simple trap was set up. Anyone who tried to take the leg would trigger a lightning explosion, not very powerful but enough to cause a dust cloud.

This would stir up a lot of dirt and dust, causing little harm but enough to paralyze Scaramouche for a few seconds if he came personally. However, if an ordinary Fatui soldier tried to take it, they'd end up paralyzed or worse.

Upon hearing the trap's effects, Liam gave Raiden Shogun a thumbs up. As expected of the Shogun, she followed orders to the letter.

"Ha ha! Excellent! Let's go, Shogun!"

After setting everything up, Liam took Raiden Shogun and disappeared in a flash, leaving the area silent. Only the scars of terrifying electro energy on the ground indicated a battle had taken place here.

Well... it couldn't really be called a battle since Scaramouche only had the chance to flee when facing the Shogun. If Raiden Shogun hadn't shown mercy, Scaramouche wouldn't even have had the chance to flee and would have ended up dead.

About half an hour after Liam and Raiden Shogun left, a severely battered figure appeared, missing a leg—Scaramouche.

Seeing the discarded leg on the ground, Scaramouche was stunned. He hadn't expected the leg to still be there, though he didn't hold out much hope when returning to look.

However, Scaramouche was cautious. He shot a bolt of lightning at the ground, and when nothing happened, he cautiously floated over, proving once again that divine creations could float even with a missing leg.

In no time, Scaramouche floated to the leg, and with a flash of purple light from his hand, the leg flew to him. Before he could celebrate, purple electric arcs ran across the leg, paralyzing him instantly.

"A trap!"

Scaramouche's pupils contracted as he realized this, but it was too late.

"Boom!"

With a loud explosion, dirt flew up, enveloping Scaramouche in a cloud of dust, unable to dodge due to paralysis.

The dust quickly settled, revealing Scaramouche covered in dirt, looking like a little yellow person, utterly disheveled.

Scaramouche stood still, clutching the severed leg tightly. The trap hadn't hurt him, which made him even angrier.

They knew he'd return, left the leg on purpose, and set up a trap just to cover him in dirt—a blatant humiliation!

It was like they were mocking him, showing that even if he reattached the leg, it wouldn't matter. Scaramouche now recalled the look in Liam's eyes and realized that Liam had never taken him seriously.

"Heh... well done, insect!"

Even now, Scaramouche still regarded Liam as an insect, believing his defeat was solely due to Raiden Shogun. Liam, in his view, was just a cocky insect hiding behind her.

Losing to Raiden Shogun, Scaramouche was prepared for that, but why could Liam, who only hid behind her, act so arrogantly?

What Scaramouche didn't know was that although Liam's current strength was lacking, he possessed several Divine Keys.

Without mentioning the overpowered [Beyond Destiny], Liam hadn't even used the Celestial Judgment or the Judgement of Shamash. Even the Fuhua's weapon was just being used as a regular sword.

If he truly wanted to eliminate Scaramouche, it wouldn't be difficult. With [Beyond Destiny], firing all ten bullets in one go would leave nothing of Scaramouche.

Or using special bullets to erase Scaramouche, leaving no trace in the World Tree's records.

Scaramouche cast a fierce glance towards Tenshukaku before turning away.

After exhausting almost all his power against Raiden Shogun and severely damaging his body, he needed to contact the Doctor immediately.

After dealing with Scaramouche, Liam took Raiden Shogun back to Tenshukaku and went straight to Raiden Makoto.

"Liam, what do you plan to do now?" Raiden Makoto asked with a gentle smile. After Liam and Raiden Shogun discussed the plan, Raiden Shogun informed Raiden Makoto about it.

Understanding the situation, Raiden Makoto posed the question, and Raiden Shogun, who had come along, tilted her head, curious if Liam needed her to take action.

"Ha! Since Kujou Takayuki couldn't wait to make a move, shouldn't we return the favor? Let's go arrest him for colluding with the Fatui to harm the General's personal apprentice!"

Liam smiled at Raiden Makoto.

"Oh my! What's this all about? Seems I came at just the right time!"

A teasing, seductive voice rang out behind Liam.

"Yae? What brings you here?"

Liam immediately recognized the voice and turned to see Yae Miko smiling with her eyes half-closed.

"He he~! With the Shogun causing such a commotion, the residents of Inazuma thought we were under attack again! How could I not come to find out? But I didn't expect to overhear such an interesting conversation!"

Yae Miko said lazily, placing a stack of documents on the table before Raiden Makoto.

"I knew you'd eventually take action against Kujou Takayuki and his ilk. These are materials I had a little tanuki sneak out from the Tenryou Commission and some evidence I've gathered. With this, you can arrest them without a hitch! How about it, Liam? Did big sis do well?"

Yae Miko looked at Liam with a playful smile.

Liam: "..."

Liam flipped through the documents, finding evidence of collusion between the Tenryou Commission and the Fatui. He sighed, impressed by the sly fox's thoroughness despite her unscrupulous methods.

"Truly impressive!"

After a moment of reflection, Liam couldn't help but praise Yae Miko.

Her smile widened, then she turned to Liam.

"Now, tell me what happened earlier?"

Seeing Yae Miko's curiosity, Liam didn't hide anything and recounted the series of events. After listening, Yae Miko grabbed his ear in exasperation.

"Liam, do you know what you're doing? I worked so hard to gather evidence to keep you from danger, yet you used yourself as bait for Scaramouche and faced him alone!

What if something happened to you? What would become of Teyvat? You're risking the entire world's fate!"

Yae Miko was genuinely upset. She had forgone her usual leisure to help gather evidence for his safety, only to find he had faced Scaramouche alone. Her usual composure faltered.

"Ouch! It hurts! Yae! Yae! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Feeling the pain in his ear, Liam quickly begged for mercy.

"Yae, let go of Liam."

Raiden Shogun stepped in to intervene.

"Hmph~! And you, Shogun, why didn't you stop him? Don't you know if anything happens to him, Teyvat will be in big trouble!"

Yae Miko's frustration extended to Raiden Shogun.

"Liam said there wouldn't be any problems. I trust him."

Raiden Shogun responded calmly to Yae Miko's reprimand, showing unwavering trust in Liam.

Raiden Shogun's straightforwardness touched Liam deeply. He had never been trusted like this before.

"Sigh~! Fine! Fine!"

Yae Miko released Liam, feeling like the villain. She then flung herself into Raiden Makoto's embrace, seeking comfort.

Raiden Makoto watched the scene with a growing gentle smile. This warmth and reality were something she never dared dream of, all brought about by Liam. She felt immense gratitude.

Raiden Makoto then picked up the documents and handed them to Raiden Shogun.

"Shogun, can I leave the arrests to you?"

"Sure!"

Raiden Shogun agreed without hesitation. With no pressing matters, she welcomed the task. Otherwise, she spent her days listening to Liam's stories and being pampered by him. As a divine being, she could handle it, but a mortal would have ended up being overly pampered.

Raiden Shogun took the documents, skimmed through them, and quickly understood who needed to be arrested. With a graceful turn, she left. Liam, intending to follow, was called back by Raiden Makoto.

"Liam, wait a moment..."

Raiden Makoto's gentle voice made Liam stop and look back in confusion.

"Makoto, do you need something?"

"Nothing much, I just want to talk."

Raiden Makoto shook her head gently.

"What do you want to talk about?"

Liam asked, puzzled.

"What Yae mentioned earlier. I know you're special, with many powerful tools and great strength within you.

But I don't want you to take risks anymore. The Shogun trusts you, and so do I. We can handle these matters; it's just a matter of time.

We hope you'll rely on us more, at least until you grow stronger.

You saved me and healed Ei. You're our benefactor and someone important to us. We don't want anything to happen to you, not for any other reason."

"I..."

Seeing Raiden Makoto's sincere gaze, Liam swallowed his words and, after a moment of silence, smiled.

"I understand! I won't do it again!"