Surrounded by Cats

On the way back to the Knights of Favonius.

Ying asked about the other force that had been present at the scene—

The Fatui of Snezhnaya.

Jean began explaining it to them.

Snezhnaya was a nation that served the Cryo Archon among the Seven.

Mondstadt and Snezhnaya were equals, both being among the Seven Nations of this world.

Mondstadt was an independent city-state and did not belong to any other country.

Snezhnaya merely had a different political system when it was founded, hence the different name.

And the "Fatui" were Snezhnaya's envoys.

In terms of diplomacy, Snezhnaya's "Fatui" could probably be considered the most overbearing faction on the continent.

Paimon chimed in.

"That's right! That woman was obviously super annoying when she talked just now."

Jean sighed.

"This is also why I said I didn't want to discuss these matters out on the street."

"For the Cryo Archon, one of the Seven, to covet the power of the Anemo Archon's followers is highly suspicious."

Ying voiced her confusion.

"Why does a diplomatic delegation dare to be so arrogant?"

"Because the Fatui have eleven Executives."

Paimon said, "Fatui Executives?"

Jean said, "That's right. These eleven Executives each have their own codename and rank."

"The higher their rank, the stronger they are."

"That 'La Signora' mentioned by the Fatui is the Eighth Fatui Executive."

"That is also why the diplomats beneath them are so arrogant."

Blue Planet livestream.

This was another short new dialogue.

It revealed information about the Fatui Executives in advance.

The Eighth Rank alone was already this arrogant—how ridiculous would the higher ranks be?

She was only Eighth Rank. Did you think our Brother Mu even put her in his eyes?

Guinaifen sipped her milk tea as she spoke.

"Seems like the Fatui aren't all that strong."

Certified Mu Yang fan. Didn't you see that even Acting Grand Master Jean couldn't do anything about those people?

A little spoiler: La Signora will appear later. I love wicked women.

You love this one today and that one tomorrow. You're just horny.

"There'll be scenes with La Signora later?"

Guinaifen looked surprised.

"Then will she fight Mu Yang? With the attitude he had just now, he clearly didn't take La Signora seriously at all."

Streamer, don't rush it. I also hope Mu Yang gives La Signora a beating. I'm a Venti fan myself.

Damn it, stop spoiling things already.

After Ying entered the Knights of Favonius office.

She took out the contaminated crystal.

Afterward, she was granted the title of Honorary Knight by Jean.

Jean hoped she could uncover the mystery behind the dragon's madness and the strange crystal.

It concerned Mondstadt's peace.

"May the wind wipe your eyes clean and let you see the truth."

"If you discover anything new, let us meet here again."

After that, Ying bid farewell to everyone in the Knights of Favonius.

And walked out of the Knights of Favonius headquarters.

After they had gone a little farther away.

Paimon finally whispered.

"There was... something you didn't mention just now, right?"

"On our way here, besides Mu Yang, the dragon, and the crystal, there was clearly one more thing..."

Paimon meant the green fellow who had spoken to the dragon.

Ying replied, "I don't think he looked like a bad person. I want to investigate him myself first."

Paimon said, "You really do remember him, that green guy."

"—He's wearing the exact same green as that passerby downstairs."

Ying put her hands on her hips and looked at Paimon.

"What a coincidence. Even the shade is exactly the same."

Paimon nodded. "Mm-hmm."

Ying chopped Paimon on the head.

"Mm-hmm my ass! It's the same person! Get after him!"

Only then did Paimon realize. "Ohhh!"

Ying and Paimon went after Venti.

What was Mu Yang doing?

He was at Cat's Tail, watching the livestream and keeping track of Ying's movements.

The surrounding customers all looked at Mu Yang strangely.

But it was not because he was staring blankly at his wineglass.

(Of course, no one else could see the system panel.)

It was because Mu Yang was covered in kittens.

Cat's Tail.

As its name suggested, it specialized in adorable cats.

It was something like a cat café, except the people of Mondstadt were not Fontaine civil servants.

Other than Jean, practically no one in Mondstadt needed coffee.

They only drank alcohol.

And so Cat's Tail came to be.

The best thing about Cat's Tail was that its bartender was also a cat.

"Honestly, you drunkards drink so much in broad daylight! I'm not mixing any more drinks for you!"

As always, the bartender Diona hated drunkards.

She wanted to destroy Mondstadt's alcohol industry.

She wanted to mix the most disgusting drink possible so those drunkards would never want to touch alcohol again.

Unfortunately, things never went as she wished.

No matter how she mixed the drinks, her customers' reviews were astonishingly consistent—

Delicious, love it, another glass.

This caused Diona a great deal of distress.

Seeing Diona like this.

The customers knew she responded better to softness than force.

"Don't be like that, Diona. I've only had one glass. Just one more, and then I'll leave. I definitely won't get drunk."

Diona puffed out her cheeks.

"One glass after another... Can't you be more like that gentleman and drink some refreshing fruit juice instead?!"

Diona was pointing at Mu Yang.

When Mu Yang had first entered Cat's Tail.

He had immediately felt Diona's distinctly unfriendly gaze.

He knew little Diona disliked drunkards who got wasted and caused trouble.

So he ordered a glass of juice.

In any case, Mu Yang was not someone who loved alcohol more than life.

Upon hearing that Mu Yang had ordered juice, Diona's expression instantly improved.

She mixed him a drink and personally brought it to his seat by the tavern window.

Then she was stunned by the sight before her.

Nearly every cat in the tavern.

Had gathered around Mu Yang.

Even the cats that disliked approaching strangers.

Were rubbing themselves against Mu Yang.

Diona set down the glass.

Mu Yang thanked her.

Then asked, "Are all the cats in your tavern this clingy?"

"No, they're usually pretty mischievous. Maybe it's because you don't drink, sir, so the kittens like you."

As Diona said this, she looked at Mu Yang's face.

Her cheeks suddenly felt hot.

A strange feeling rose within her heart.

Then she realized her words had carried another meaning.

She herself seemed to be a kitten who liked customers who did not drink.

How embarrassing.

"I'll go back to mixing drinks. Please enjoy."

With that, she ran back to the counter.

Mu Yang was actually rather speechless too.

He knew why these cats had come over.

He had activated the "Animal Affinity" setting he had added earlier.

He had added that setting for two reasons.

One was to make his meetings and companionship with friends such as Fujin, Lingyuan, and Medicine Master more reasonable.

They probably counted as animals, right...?

The other was to add some contrast to his character.

There were so many adorably contrasting characters in Genshin Impact.

It was perfectly reasonable for him to have some of that too.

But he truly had not expected.

This "Animal Affinity" to be so absurdly powerful.

It had directly attracted every cat in the tavern.

Some customers had been drinking while petting cats.

Then, all of a sudden, the cats in their hands flipped over.

And started running over to rub against Mu Yang's legs.

Damn, they had gotten cuckolded in broad daylight.

Even more outrageous, this "Animal Affinity" seemed to affect a race like Diona's as well.

The way Diona had blushed just now.

Looked very ominous.

"If Diona can't hold herself back and runs over to rub against me when Ying walks in later."

"With her small, childlike appearance, this game is definitely done for."

Mu Yang could only pray silently in his heart.