I Became A Hilichurl

"Hah~~~"

"Feels like we've been seriously lacking sleep these past two days."

"No choice. Dvalin is still in pain..."

The voices gradually faded away. Just waking up, Victor Wang rubbed his ears. 'Why did I just hear Lumine and Paimon?'

He opened the door. The hallway of the inn was empty.

'Must've been an illusion.'

These few days were crucial to the main storyline. Victor Wang headed out first to check the city gate. Mondstadt Bridge was no longer sealed off.

'Has the Hilichurl attack ended?'

Recognizing the weirdo who climbed the city wall yesterday, Swan answered, "Yeah, their offensive started weakening last night. But the wilds are still dangerous, so best not to head out."

"Don't worry, I'm not going out. Did anything else happen last night?"

Swan studied Victor Wang for a moment, as if something felt off, but blinked and forgot it again. "Come to think of it, the Holy Lyre was stolen last night."

"That really makes me angry," Lawrence grumbled from the side. "Two thieves stole the Holy Lyre—that's a treasure the Anemo Archon himself once played!"

"Did they catch the culprits?"

"No, which is why we're still keeping an eye on people coming in and out today," Swan scratched his head, a hint of guilt flashing on his face. "They said the two thieves—one had yellow hair, the other green. Seriously, who even has such brightly colored hair?"

When Victor Wang had asked about last night, Swan instinctively looked at his hair. But since it wasn't yellow or green, he let it go.

"Uh... are you sure they were talking about hair?" Victor Wang tried recalling Venti's hair color—it was kind of green.

"That's what the church guard said: 'One had yellow on their head, the other green.' Must mean hair, right?"

"Well, that is rare. From what I know, people with those hair colors aren't ordinary."

While Victor Wang was casually chatting with the gate guards, a caravan entered Mondstadt.

There were three carriages: the first and last pulled by two horses each, but the middle one had four.

Flame-red canopy, gold frame, a black base and wheels—it was imposing. The driver was a Debt Collector, clearly indicating the person inside the central carriage held greater status than the others.

The carriages were flanked on all sides by escorts, with attendants trailing behind.

Everyone in the caravan wore Snezhnayan-style attire.

Victor Wang didn't need to think twice. At this timing, the visitor could only be that woman.

Right after the Stormterror crisis, the streets were already quiet, and now with this caravan, the few passersby left all gathered to gawk.

Naturally, Victor Wang joined the crowd, wanting to confirm the identity of the visitor.

The caravan stopped in front of the Goth Grand Hotel. A middle-aged man stepped down from the first carriage, dressed in a black suit, hair of pale gold neatly combed, and a single lens monocle.

He entered the hotel in haste, clearly with urgent business.

From the last carriage stepped down a woman wearing a half-mask, donned in a black-purple bodysuit with decorative patterns and an overcoat. With a hat on, she'd look exactly like an Electro Cicin Mage—and her hair was unmistakably green.

One yellow, one green. Just like the descriptions. Hey, hey, the people who stole the Holy Lyre are right here—somebody arrest them already!

Victor Wang mentally dialed Mondstadt's emergency number—but no one picked up.

The Electro Cicin Mage didn't go into the hotel. She approached the central carriage and opened the door for the person inside. The first thing to emerge was a long, pale, voluptuous leg—no surprise, it was The Fair Lady.

She could definitely see through his cloak. To avoid complications, Victor Wang decided to leave immediately.

He mused to himself, Missed Venti's poems, everyone's busy with the main story, and I'm just out here enjoying an 18-year-old's retirement life.

"So boring."

"Boring, huh!"

As he passed a narrow alley, a sack was suddenly thrown over Victor Wang from behind, followed by a hard whack to the back of his head.

...

Victor Wang woke up inside a cave, tied to a chair by the arms and body. Besides him, three Treasure Hoarders were sitting around a fire.

Seeing no one paying attention to him, Victor Wang examined the surroundings.

The cave wasn't large—oval-shaped. He was positioned at the deepest part. To his left was a bed pushed up against the rock wall, mold growing on the mattress. To his right, some crates and straw were messily piled up.

The only exit lay directly across from him, curving to the right, not directly visible from the cave's interior.

The three Treasure Hoarders were between him and the exit.

"Where is this? Who are you? Why did you capture me?" Victor Wang fired off three questions in a row.

One of the Treasure Hoarders walked up to him, grinning with bared teeth. "Yo, awake? Don't remember me?"

"Who are you? What do you want?" The voice was familiar—he was the guy who bumped into him before.

"You seriously forgot? You ran into me last night, and you haven't paid the medical bill yet!"

"You… you're that guy in black! I'm sorry, it was my fault—I shouldn't have walked without watching where I was going. I'll pay for the medical bills, just please let me go!"

"Hmph. Now that you're in my hands, think I need your money?" The Treasure Hoarder pulled out Victor Wang's coin pouch. It had 6,000 Mora.

"My money!"

"What a broke bastard. This isn't even enough for drinks for the boys."

The other two Treasure Hoarders laughed out loud.

"We didn't nab you for your cash. You clearly messed up my job. What do you know? Spit it out!"

He whipped Victor Wang with his belt.

"Tss~ Can't we just talk this out? Why resort to violence?"

"Come clean and I won't make this harder for you."

"Could you at least tell me what this is about? I really don't know anything."

The Treasure Hoarder eyed him suspiciously, scanning Victor Wang from head to toe.

"Stop playing dumb. The stuff I was carrying yesterday—you told the Knights, didn't you?"

"What stuff? I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"I'm done talking. When our boss gets here, we'll make you talk one way or another."

The man put away his belt and went back to the fire to chat with his two companions.

He's talking about the Skyward Lyre. But seriously—it's got nothing to do with me! Victor Wang began formulating a plan.

His dagger had been taken along with his pouch. He tried straining against the ropes but couldn't break them. He was only a bit stronger than the average person—not enough to tear through bindings.

The Skyward Lyre was stolen by the Fatui. Their goal is to prevent the Knights from awakening Stormterror and use that as justification to take over Mondstadt's defenses.

I bumped into them while they were transferring the lyre. Then last night, the main story's four-person squad snatched it back. So now they think I snitched to the Knights?

In reality, Diluc got the info by interrogating captured Fatui. These guys were punished by higher-ups and are using me to shift the blame. Which means I definitely can't confess—even falsely. If they believe I know nothing, they might let me go?

No, the Fatui aren't that kind. Even if I'm innocent, they might force a confession. They just want someone to take the fall.

I'm not afraid of dying, but the cloak…

Then, an idea sparked.

No way to know how the cloak makes me look to them. Only one way to find out. Come on, Alice, give me strength!

Victor Wang began his performance.

"Heh heh, you're all doomed. I'm Teyvat's number one magician. You think you caught me? In reality, I've caught you. The trap I laid outside is about to trigger. In seconds, a Hilichurl will switch places with me—and I'll return with the Knights to arrest you. Everything has gone exactly as I planned."

"Son of a—! It was this brat who reported to the Knights!" One of the Treasure Hoarders shot to his feet, eyes full of malice.

Looks like Fatui punishment really is harsh.

"What the hell's a magician?"

"Magic's all fake. No one can actually escape with tricks."

"Wait… does he know real magic?"

The same Treasure Hoarder checked Victor Wang's bindings—tight and secure—and his hands were empty.

"If you can get out, I'll take your surname."

"Pfft. No thanks. Open your eyes wide! With just one move—"

Victor Wang jerked his head back and flung his hood off.

He had noticed it upon waking—although he'd been tied up, and his wallet and dagger taken, no one had touched the cloak. These guys hadn't reacted at all to the face-concealing hood or the Hilichurl mask underneath.

It's the cloak. It must've hidden my appearance from them.

"Olah." (Hello.)

In the Treasure Hoarders' eyes, the person they'd tied up just now—whoever it was, they couldn't remember—had suddenly become a Hilichurl.

"Wh-What the...?" The one nearest him stumbled back two steps. The other two approached, finding a real Hilichurl tied to the chair.

"What's going on?"

"He really turned into a Hilichurl?"

"You don't think he already called the Knights, do you?"

The three of them stood in shock.

"YaYika!" (Bad people!) Victor Wang changed his tone and shouted again. Never mind if the pronunciation was right—they wouldn't understand anyway.

"What do we do?"

"Run?"

"I told the boss we captured someone important. How do we explain this?"

"You tell him the important person we caught turned out to be a Hilichurl."

"...Forget it. Let's just figure out what we tell him. We can't stay here. We're moving!"

"What about the Hilichurl?"

"YaYika!" (Bad people!) Victor Wang lunged his head forward and kicked his legs as if trying to attack.

"Leave it. Let it rot here. Let's go!"

The three Treasure Hoarders quickly gathered their things and fled.

If the cloak hadn't worked, or if they'd stabbed me before leaving—I'd be dead. But I won the gamble.

"They even took my dagger, tsk."

Once the three were gone, Victor Wang braced himself and tipped the chair over. He began crawling with his head, shoulders, and knees toward the fire to burn through the rope binding him to the chair.

But then—he heard footsteps at the cave's entrance.