That Works Too?

"Hmm... tell me more about it."

Liu Bai understood what Furina meant.

But... I still really want to tease Furina a little longer.

"Please allow me to explain in detail."

Furina straightened her collar, her face serious and earnest. "First of all, Otto has ruled Schicksal five hundred years. His prestige among the grassroots Valkyries is unshakable. He is even regarded as an idol and a faith by many Valkyries and the people."

Ah... wait a minute, aren't you someone else's "idol and faith" too?

We're doomed!

(Liu Bai's gaze towards me is strange now...)

"And... moreover, his own abilities are beyond question."

(I'm just a little idiot... please have mercy...)

Furina tried her best to get into the mood for her speech.

(No... Don't think about yourself... Just tell the truth about Otto.)

"If we form an alliance, how will you deal with a deeply entrenched Bishop of Schicksal afterward?"

Furina's tone began to become more infectious.

"Assassination? Framing? Death from illness? No, none of those are possible. Doing these things is like saying 'there is no video recording of the interrogation' in the dock right now. It will only make the jury and the public's eyes gleam with a strange light, and thus lose the support of the people."

"Read out the incriminating evidence and hold a public trial? To make him lose the support of the people? No, that won't work either. If the evidence were sufficient, Otto would not have been able to stand on the throne of bishop long ago. Besides, Otto is also very eloquent. Although I am willing to be a witness to the public trial, I do not think that Otto can be tried smoothly."

"Therefore, allying with Otto, while seemingly convenient, will put you in a dilemma in the political arena later on. Not only will you be unable to do anything to Otto, but you will also have to guard against Otto using means such as faking his death to undermine your prestige and eventually take your place."

"But if you really want to take drastic measures to eliminate this Otto faction, whether through tedious or direct methods, why ally with them in the first place?"

Furina bowed to Liu Bai.

"This is just my humble opinion; please think it over."

(It's... alright, isn't it? Hey! It's alright, isn't it! Don't look at me with that half-smiling expression! Did I look guilty during my speech!?)

402

Chapter 402 Is this even possible?

What Furina said... was actually quite convincing.

At least Liu Bai felt that she might have performed better than she thought.

It was even better than Liu Bai had imagined.

—If we ignore the timid expression on Furina's face after she finished speaking.

"I will give your suggestion, Miss Furina, a good consideration."

Liu Bai hesitated for a moment when deciding how to address Furina.

Based on her age, she should be called La Signora, but based on her appearance and demeanor, she should be called a young lady.

As for a more formal name... no, I have absolutely no intention of calling Songfu that.

"... I see."

Furina breathed a sigh of relief.

It's not the best outcome, but it's not the worst either.

But Rita glanced at Liu Bai —she sensed that Liu Bai seemed to have been persuaded.

Somewhat unexpected, is it because this matter was originally a 60/40 split option for Liu Bai, or is it because of Furina herself?

Well, Rita also admitted that Furina's "speech" just now made her look at Furina in a new light.

"Rita, let's continue with our previous topic."

Liu Bai looked at Rita.

Otto's matter is probably only a small part of what Rita has to say.

This one thing alone could take more than a day to explain.

"Miss Furina, please have a seat."

"Oh well."

Furina sat down somewhat awkwardly.

However, she was also quite curious about what Rita was going to say next.

"In addition to ordering us to communicate and negotiate on this matter, His Holiness the Bishop also ordered me to secretly investigate the general movements of Liyue."

"See! It's really unbelievable!"

Furina seemed to want to emphasize the accuracy of her statement.

But neither Liu Bai nor Rita paid any attention to her.

"... It also looks like an investigation targeting me."

Liu Bai nodded slightly.

An investigation alone won't reveal much.

But...

"Rita, are you really sure you haven't been exposed?"

"... Probably."

Rita hesitated for a moment before speaking.

Exposure is a risky business, and no one would underestimate Otto's keen insight.

But then I realized they weren't planning to trick her into going back... which doesn't make sense.

"At least I didn't give anything away in terms of official business... As for the spies... that's hard to say."

"There's no need to worry too much."

Liu Bai pondered for a moment, "Bianka is your get-out-of-jail-free card."

It goes without saying Bianka would choose between Otto and Rita.

Not to mention there's also Ragna.

If I were in Otto's position, I'd probably choose to let it go even if I discovered it.

At least "betrayed" sounds better than "persecuted".

... Ah, thinking about it that way, Otto seems pretty pitiful.

Two of his three most capable subordinates have deserted, and the third could be incited at any moment.

Actually, Furina made a mistake—if they formed an alliance, Liu Bai could use the popularity of Bianka and the other two to sideline Otto in Valkyries.

However, Furina is right about not killing Otto; Otto is seen as a good person by most Valkyries and commoners.

After killing him, there will definitely be no shortage of "strange light" in Schicksal.

Furthermore... Otto's abilities are indeed strong.

"Speaking of which, has Bianka contacted you these days? I haven't met her yet."

"We've been in touch, but you'd better not meet with her. Lady Bianka doesn't have as many phone lines as I do."

Rita smiled.

Rita felt that Liu Bai had the potential to become Bianka's external brain.

Yeah, it's really messed up. Rita seems to be Bianka's external brain, but she's not. She's more like a scheming brain and a life assistant.

When Bianka gets serious, her mind works better than Rita's...

Kaslana's calm and decisive mind...

"Alright then... Have you spoken with Ragna as well?"

"We've talked. Lord Ragna also received a communication from His Holiness the Bishop, and the content was similar to what I'm talking about."

Rita nodded slightly.

"However, it seems that Lord Ragna will be transferred back, after all, this field mission will last for almost half a year."

It's a good opportunity. Ragna has been transferred back, which is a perfect chance to secretly incite Bianka.

As for the difficulty of inciting...

Her father, her mother, her sister, her teacher, and her best friend are all here.

Difficulty?

There's no difficulty at all!

"I see, well, there's nothing I can do about that... By the way, Miss Furina, do you know anything about the Sea of Quanta?"

"Is this Ruan Mei's room?"

Sparkle easily found her way to Ruan Mei's room and knocked on the door.

There was no response.

Clearly, this relaxed woman was still asleep.

The door wasn't locked, so we could go straight in.

Sparkle adjusted her posture and pushed open the door to enter.

"They've come in!"

"...What's up?"

Ruan Mei was actually awake.

He lay completely on the bed, as if he were paralyzed.

She woke up but didn't make a sound... It really startled her.

"Onii-chan, let me come see you, sister-in-law~"

Sparkle walked in with a lively smile.

Top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up.

Sparkle smiled and gestured an exaggerated size.

Ruan Mei frowned slightly, finding it hard to tell whether the remark was more of a joke or sarcasm.

"You don't need to worry about it."

Ruan Mei's expression was aloof.

File replacement file...

—The reason why Sparkle dares to come to Ruan Mei now is because most of the awe she felt for Ruan Mei has disappeared.

Top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up, top up.

"Are you going to reject your sister-in-law's concern, Onii-chan?"

Sparkle looked at Ruan Mei pitifully.

"He wouldn't let you worry about it."

Ruan Mei glanced coldly at Sparkle, "If he cared, he would definitely come over and give me another beating."

She was just fucked until her eyes rolled back, she wasn't seriously injured.

What's there to send someone to care about? Or is it Sparkle?

Hanabi's smile, which had been playing on her Sparkle sister's face, was starting to falter.

Don't use such a cold and aloof expression to utter such raunchy words!

"Speak, what are your schemes and plots?"