Unexpected Intelligence

Li Qiuzhi gladly accepted Ellin's invitation to spar. They would compete purely in swordsmanship, without any clash of physical strength.

Under those conditions, he really was no match for Ellin, having only just begun learning swordsmanship.

After all, she had practiced with a sword far longer than he had.

After Ellin decisively defeated him with her refined swordsmanship, Li Qiuzhi felt that his own skills had improved a little, his movements becoming much smoother.

He opened the Character Panel for a look. Sure enough, both [Favonius Swordsmanship: Fundamentals] and [Favonius Swordsmanship: Royal] had gained a few points of progress.

Better than nothing.

"Hehe, you still need plenty of sword practice!" Ellin looked delighted to have beaten an opponent other than a wooden training dummy with her swordsmanship for the first time.

"Don't celebrate too soon. This is only going to happen once." Li Qiuzhi smiled, unbothered.

"Hmph, we'll see about that."

With nothing else to do, Ellin had to head home before it got too late so her parents would not worry. Seeing the excitement written all over her face, Li Qiuzhi wondered whether she was going home to brag about defeating someone with her swordsmanship.

Li Qiuzhi silently shook his head, not bothering to dwell on it.

He strolled along the way home and descended the steps leading back into the city proper. The sky seemed to have darkened, not with the approach of night, but as though rain were coming.

At the bottom of the steps lay a road with few pedestrians. A little to his right stood one of Mondstadt City's enormous windmills.

The windmill truly was magnificent. The tremendous force generated by its wind-driven sails could accomplish all sorts of tasks, such as grinding grain and pressing oil.

"I finally found you!"

A voice came from the side. Looking along the neatly trimmed roadside bushes, he saw Ver, still wearing her plain bell-sleeved top and dark shorts that left her legs bare.

The white bandage on her knee had been removed, and the scrape beneath it had vanished without a trace.

"Ver, what are you doing here?"

Li Qiuzhi asked in puzzlement. From what she had said, she seemed to be looking for him. Had she already sold all the monster materials he had given her two days ago?

Ver, her hair tied in a ponytail, walked over and handed Li Qiuzhi a small cloth pouch, looking rather pleased with herself as she said:

"Here's your share-sixty thousand Mora!

"I sold the slime pulp and condensed slime to people from the Fishing Association. They urgently needed them to make Worm-Replica Bait, and their offer was pretty good, so I took it.

"It was quite a bit higher than what the Adventurers' Guild or the other shops specializing in monster materials would pay.

"I also sold the Chaos Devices to a scholar from Fontaine researching mechanical structures, for about fifteen percent above market price. Well? Pretty impressive, right?"

Holding the little cloth pouch, he hefted it to feel the weight of the Mora. This sum was just enough to help his battered wallet recover.

"As expected of Mondstadt's information broker. That really is impressive!" Li Qiuzhi nodded in praise.

After all, being able to quickly discover what the Fishing Association and a scholar from Fontaine urgently needed was just about enough to justify her self-proclaimed title of "Mondstadt Know-It-All."

[Ver has developed favorable feelings toward you. Gained 45 Friendship points. Current Friendship level: Lv.3 (47/300)]

"...Ahem, I still need to find Noelle, so I can't stay and chat."

Ver reined in her smug expression. She still had to give Noelle her share and did not want to linger chatting with Li Qiuzhi.

Her Friendship had increased. Sure enough, it was human nature to crave recognition and praise from others.

"All right."

Watching Ver wave and walk away, Li Qiuzhi suddenly realized that he could ask her about Lucaer, the old friend of Sanborn, the Fishing Tackle Shop's owner. This was her line of work, after all.

"Hey, Ver, I've got some business for you!" Li Qiuzhi called after her.

"Business?"

Ver stopped and turned back in confusion. A second later, she realized that Li Qiuzhi wanted to buy information.

"Go on, what do you want to know?" Ver rested both hands on her hips and continued with a grin, "Since you're a friend and you saved me, I'll give you a two-percent discount and prioritize investigating whatever information you need. How does that sound?"

"...You might as well not give me a discount."

Li Qiuzhi was speechless. Of course, he did not really mind such things, and he explained briefly:

"I want to know the recent whereabouts of Lucaer, the sales manager at the Tarn Fishing Tackle Factory."

"The Tarn Fishing Tackle Factory? Hmm, sure. I can bring you all the information on his recent activities tomorrow." Ver nodded, indicating that it would be no problem. He was only an ordinary person, so it would not be difficult. One evening would be enough.

"Tomorrow?"

Honestly, that was fairly efficient, but Li Qiuzhi wanted to finish this commission tonight rather than drag it out.

Besides, having Ver conduct a special investigation would surely cost a fair amount of Mora. He was a little worried that even Sanborn's payment would not cover her fee.

He might as well just let Ver handle the commission herself. After giving it some thought, Li Qiuzhi said:

"You don't need to investigate. I only need whatever information you already know."

Hearing his words, Ver raised an index finger to her cheek and rubbed it thoughtfully. After a short while, she said:

"To be honest, Mondstadt City is so big, and Lucaer isn't anyone famous. Without investigating, there isn't much I can tell you. But I do know that the Tarn Fishing Tackle Factory recently borrowed a large sum from the Northland Bank. My guess is that they're developing new fishing tackle.

"I only found that out because one of their competitors hired me to investigate them."

The Northland Bank... Could this have something to do with the Fatui too? After all, the Northland Bank was a banking institution established by Snezhnaya in foreign countries, and the Fatui controlled it.

It seemed that the situation behind all this was rather complicated. Li Qiuzhi did not want to get involved with dangerous people like the Fatui.

"Well? Is that information useful?"

Seeing Li Qiuzhi lost in thought, Ver felt that it had probably helped him somewhat.

Li Qiuzhi nodded. Information involving the Fatui was certainly valuable.

"It's quite useful, actually. How much do I owe you?"

"...Hmm, never mind. I've already sold this information once. I'm not trying to take advantage of you, so consider it a gift. But don't tell anyone else, or my reputation as the 'Mondstadt Know-It-All' will suffer!"

After some consideration, Ver decided to give Li Qiuzhi the information for free and warned him to be careful not to let it slip.

"Haha, don't worry. No problem. Thanks for the information."

A smile appeared on Li Qiuzhi's face, and he gave his chest a light pat as he assured her.

With Li Qiuzhi's promise, Ver left without worry. He glanced at the sky. Fortunately, it had not rained yet. First, he returned to his rented room at Lawrence's house on Valberry Street.

With no time to heat water, he took a cold bath, then went out to find something to fill his stomach. Upon returning, he strapped on the Adventurer's Hunting Bow and the Dull Blade before heading toward Lucaer's home under cover of night.

Without the information about the Fatui, he would not have been so cautious. Even if the two matters turned out to be unrelated and he was worrying needlessly, it was still better to play it safe.

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