The queen

After some planning, they roughly settled on what they would do next.

Lumine, Paimon, Gabrielina, and the members of the Knights of Favonius split into three groups, each heading to a different temple.

"Lumine, once Kaeya and I finish up, I'll come find you~," Gabrielina said gently, patting Lumine's shoulder.

...At the end of the day, she really wanted to team up with Lumine! No... if Lisa could join them too...

Ahem.

Business came first. Kaeya's route apparently involved an Abyss Mage, as well as... unlocking a new character, a certain red, very hot boy.

"Thank you all again," Acting Grand Master Jean said with a smile. "Does anyone have any concerns about the plan?"

"No concerns."

"Then we'll set out on time tomorrow. For tonight, get some proper rest... Lumine, you've only just arrived in Mondstadt. Do you have much mora on you?"

Lumine nodded awkwardly.

The girl had spent days sleeping outdoors and eating on the road, only picking up a few mora from treasure chests.

All of it together would barely buy a slice or two of toast. She had even less than Gabrielina.

"Then please accept this mora as payment for helping Mondstadt. Consider it a small token of gratitude from the Knights of Favonius!"

Jean bent down, took a large bag of mora from a cabinet in her office, and handed it to Lumine.

The reassuring weight settled heavily into the girl's hands.

System, can you transfer the mora from my account over here? We'll split it thirty-seventy!

Let me check how much you have first... After a series of choppy electronic noises, the system clicked her tongue twice. Thirty-seventy... sure. I'll transfer thirty million to you.

I-I meant you get thirty percent.

Could the system agree to a request like that?

Absolutely not! This was Tang Xue's account. What did it have to do with Gabrielina?

[[Fireworks][Fireworks][Fireworks]Congratulations! Your system has provided you with 100 million mora in funding! Of this, 29 million will be used for quest rewards.

Tip: additional service fee: 70 million mora.]

So hurry up and use that one million mora to treat yourself to a good meal, book a room, and enjoy this wonderful night~

Softly the system departed, just as softly as she had arrived; she waved her sleeve, with nothing but mora hidden inside.

Gabrielina: Isn't this just bullying an honest soul!?

"Gabrielina, what's wrong?"

The angel turned to look at Lumine, her face devoid of any will to live.

"...Girl, I think I've got 1.4."

"?"

Lumine had no idea why the other girl had suddenly wilted, but that was fine. Paimon thought she knew.

"Gabrielina? Are you hungry... should we get something to eat?" Paimon looked expectantly at the angel, occasionally sneaking glances at the gleaming bag of mora in Lumine's hands.

"Acting Grand Master Jean, I promised to treat the Traveler and her friends..." Amber suddenly remembered what she had said earlier and gave Jean an apologetic look.

"It's all right, Amber. The Knights of Favonius don't have anything particularly urgent to attend to right now."

"Then we'll be going, Acting Grand Master Jean!"

Lumine waved to Jean, took the still-dazed angel by the hand, and headed outside.

"Ah, please wait a moment!" Jean called them back.

"Miss Gabrielina, please... be mindful of the effect you have within the city. Thank you."

"It wouldn't be good to cause a disturbance, after all," Jean said, looking at the angel.

"Oh, I'll keep that in mind..." Gabrielina agreed without much thought.

I'll eat however I want and fly however I want. Whatever. I'll just close my eyes and let things happen.

As for a disturbance?

What disturbance!? All I saw was a crowd of devout citizens joyfully welcoming their savior!

The system: Sure, saving the world. Saving the world.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Gabrielina agreed.

They walked out through the gates of the Knights of Favonius headquarters. By then, the sky had darkened, and Amber led them toward the lower parts of Mondstadt.

An hour later, at the Goth Grand Hotel.

It was one of the finest luxury hotels in Mondstadt. Even with only one million mora on hand, Gabrielina could afford to stay there for a few nights.

Unfortunately, a certain Harbinger, seemingly a twisted Rex Lapis fanatic, had booked the entire place as a base of operations for the Fatui.

Knock, knock, knock-

"Come in."

The guard at the door opened it for the debt collector. He walked inside nervously and immediately spotted La Signora reclining on a luxurious sofa.

She toyed with the chess pieces on the coffee table, sipping her black tea without sparing the man a glance.

"Lady La Signora, what did you wish to see me about?" The debt collector kept his head lowered, seemingly afraid to look her in the eye.

La Signora said nothing. Her index finger tapped against the chessboard, her brows faintly furrowed as though she were considering something.

Silence hung in the air. La Signora ignored his words.

The debt collector's gaze fell on the ornate chessboard on her coffee table, then on the piece held between her fingers-a queen.

After several full minutes of silence, La Signora elegantly took a small sip of black tea and finally turned her gaze toward him. "Have you finished investigating? Why did this attack end so quickly?"

"...Y-yes, we have. Someone helped the Knights of Favonius. Otherwise-"

"Who?"

La Signora's voice suddenly rose, and her icy, winter-sharp gaze startled the debt collector.

...Damn it, this was exactly why I hated this woman. Always acting so unhinged! I really wanted to work under Lord Childe...

"It was the same person who caused the disturbance in Mondstadt earlier. We haven't established her identity yet."

La Signora gave a displeased snort and shifted slightly, crossing her right leg over her left knee. Her eyes brimmed with arrogance and contempt.

"You only had to investigate one person's identity... You are warriors chosen by the Tsaritsa. How can you be so inefficient?"

"Please calm down, Lady La Signora. You... may not be aware, but this person is rather unusual."

"...Oh? In what way? Did you see how she attacks?"

"N-no. We haven't yet determined her threat level or methods of attack." The debt collector raised his head slightly, as though weighing his words. "By unusual, I mean her appearance is rather unusual..."

Bang-!

La Signora slammed her hand onto the chessboard. Apart from the queen in her hand, all the pieces scattered across the floor.

"Do you think my time is worthless? That I have time to indulge your nonsense!?"

Although La Signora did not fly into a rage like a monster, the debt collector was certain she was angry. He hurriedly bowed even lower.

"Lady La Signora, please calm down! She-she really does look very unusual, very beau... no, that's not it, she-"

"She looks a little like that statue of the Anemo Archon!"

The room fell silent, leaving only the crackling of the fire.

"Her traveling companions don't look particularly unusual, but she has a glowing ring above her head and a pair of feathered wings on her back. She... she can even fly through the air. I'm certain those aren't Wind Glider!"

Just as he desperately tried to think of anything else he could report, the man suddenly noticed that a pair of bare, pale feet had silently crossed the carpet and stopped in front of him.

He dared neither look up nor keep staring at her feet. His entire body went rigid.

"Focus on investigating her identity. Report any information to me immediately," came the icy voice from directly in front of him. "You are among the Fatui's elite. Do not let public opinion mislead you... The Anemo Archon would not reveal himself so readily."

"Leave."

As though granted a pardon, the debt collector quickly straightened, bowed to La Signora once more, and hurried out of the room.

The door closed with a bang. The man had barely rounded the corner on weak legs when his subordinate came up to him.

"Boss, boss, what did Lady La Signora say? Do we have to work overtime?"

The man slowly looked back at the tightly shut door, tugged at his trousers, then delivered a heavy slap to his subordinate's back.

"Come on. Let's get to work."

"Boss, where are we going?"

"Angel's Share!"