Genshin Impact: I'm The Envoy of Snezhnaya
Chapter 331: An Invitation from the Knights of Favonius
It wasn't all that strange for Anastasia to think this way.
As mentioned before, the thing Bai Luo was most famous for within the Fatui was the belief that none of his actions were ever unnecessary, every move had its own calculations behind it.
That was also one of the reasons why, despite how outrageous some of his operations looked, his subordinates were still willing to go along with his antics.
Anastasia had heard of this habit of Bai Luo's as well, though she hadn't believed the rumors at first.
After all, the Ausbilder's series of actions in Mondstadt had directly set the Fatui's influence there back by several years.
Not to mention Il Dottore, even Lady La Signora herself had been quite dissatisfied with the situation in Mondstadt.
Anastasia had already been fretting over it, when she hadn't expected the Ausbilder's "surprise" to arrive quietly like this.
Even though the Ausbilder himself didn't believe that the Grand Master's expedition had anything to do with him, the truth was that this important figure had only felt at ease taking away the majority of the elites because the Ausbilder had all but wrecked the Fatui's presence in Mondstadt.
"How have things been in Mondstadt recently?" Bai Luo asked.
"Due to obstruction from the Knights of Favonius, recruitment hasn't been going very smoothly. Fortunately, after the Fair Lady arrived, the situation eased somewhat."
"La Signora?"
Anastasia's words surprised Bai Luo slightly.
La Signora had come too?
"Yes. Lady La Signora arrived in Mondstadt not long after you left. However, she also has private matters to attend to here, and like you, she hasn't involved herself in diplomatic affairs."
Anastasia greatly favored Harbingers who acted as hands-off bosses. The reason she had chosen to come all the way to distant Mondstadt was precisely because she enjoyed the sense of authority that came with the role.
With two consecutive Harbingers like this, her life had been rather comfortable.
"That's good, then. From now on, if there's anything that requires a Harbinger's presence, just hand it over to La Signora. No need to inform me. I came this time for a different mission."
Hearing that La Signora was around, Bai Luo finally felt at ease enough to slack off.
And do so openly.
Because he knew better than anyone that the event Unreconciled Stars wouldn't appear until the storyline officially began.
In other words, this wasn't shirking his duties, this was officially sanctioned slacking off.
Slacking off by order!
"…Very well. But if any urgent situations arise, we still hope that Lord Ausbilder will step in to help."
Compared to the Fair Lady, Anastasia actually preferred dealing with the Ausbilder.
It wasn't about looks, it's mostly about personality.
Perhaps because he had been a Harbinger for less than a year, but no matter how unpleasant the Ausbilder's personality might be, among the Harbingers he was considered relatively normal.
Rather than "normal," it was more that he lacked the imposing airs common to Harbingers, feeling more like an ordinary high-ranking Fatui official.
Being around him didn't come with that constant sense of dread.
"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."
After receiving the Ausbilder's assurance, Anastasia didn't stay any longer.
After briefly reporting on some additional matters in the city, she took her leave.
As the Fatui counselor, her workload was far heavier than that of the Ausbilder, this idle man.
But after seeing Anastasia off, someone else knocked on his door.
"Lord Ausbilder, this is an invitation from the Knights of Favonius."
After giving a respectful salute, the Fatui subordinate handed the invitation letter in his hands to Bai Luo.
An invitation?
He had just let "Master Cat Diluc" go, and the invitation arrived right afterward.
The efficiency of the Knights of Favonius was higher than he had expected.
Opening the faintly fragrant invitation, Bai Luo spread it out on the table.
"Mr. Ausbilder, welcome back to Mondstadt. It is our honor that you have once again come to Mondstadt.
We have prepared a welcome gathering for you tonight at eight o'clock at the usual place, and we hope you will grace us with your presence. We believe that you will certainly not be disappointed by the contents of this gathering.
We wish you a pleasant stay in Mondstadt.
—Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, Jean"
"Welcome gathering…"
Bai Luo admitted that, for a brief moment, he had read "welcome" as "farewell."
Because he firmly believed that those people in the Knights would be more than happy to change welcoming into seeing him off.
Still… whether this was truly a welcome gathering, or a classic Hongmen Banquet, was hard to say.
In any case, Anastasia had Mondstadt affairs covered, and La Signora was also stationed here.
He might as well go pay a visit to that capable big sister and see whether the doors and windows of her place were still as sturdy as before.
Casually placing the invitation into a drawer, Bai Luo stood up.
There was still plenty of time before eight in the evening, so he planned to wander around outside and see whether the city had changed at all compared to before.
After greeting the receptionist at the front desk, Bai Luo left the Goth Grand Hotel.
...
About a thousand years ago, a Natlan girl named Vanessa, with the help of a certain bard, overthrew the rule of the old aristocracy and established what would become the Knights of Favonius.
In this city-state that had been protected by the Knights for a thousand years, every stone slab had its own story, and every windmill had borne witness to generations of Mondstadt's rise and fall.
No matter what the Knights of Favonius were like now, at the very least they were striving to keep the city operating as freely and prosperously as it always had.
"Excuse me, sir. May I have a moment of your time?"
When he first heard those words, Bai Luo was reminded of Miss Hina's overly enthusiastic fans.
After all, that was exactly how they usually started when promoting Miss Hina.
But when he saw who had called out to him, he froze for a moment.
To be honest, the combination of armor and a maid outfit didn't leave a particularly good first impression.
Yet on this well-behaved young girl, it somehow felt completely natural.
The roses adorning her outfit might have been a bit eye-catching, but if one knew the symbolism they carried, they would understand the girl's careful thought.
"I heard that your cat ran away. May I help you look for it? Please don't worry, I'll do my utmost to help you resolve this."
"..."
By "cat," she meant Diluc, right?
Bai Luo truly hadn't expected that such an offhand action of his would attract this person's attention.
But considering her personality, it wasn't all that surprising.
"Ah, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself."
Seeing Bai Luo remain silent, Noelle realized that her approach might have been a bit abrupt.
She performed a perfectly standard maid's curtsy and introduced herself.
"My name is Noelle, a maid of the Knights of Favonius. Please believe me, I only wish to help you. I mean you no harm."
Though she didn't quite understand why some foreigners were suspicious of her enthusiasm, every time she introduced herself to those "first-time" visitors to Mondstadt, she would always add that last sentence.
What troubled her was that this line often made people even more reluctant to trust her.
"Mm. My name is Bai Luo. Thank you for your help."
. . . . .
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