Although Acting Grand Master Jean had a lovely idea, her god simply would not cooperate. He had made up his mind to see his slacking and bluffing through to the end.
What came next in the video blew Jean's naïve idea to pieces.
In the video, La Signora struck a pose and strutted forward like a lavishly dressed model on a runway, or a queen strolling through her capital. Two Electro Cicin Mages followed sinuously behind her, playing their roles as lackeys to perfection.
"Gnawing on wooden stakes, chewing through sacks of rice, causing Mondstadt so much trouble..."
La Signora walked up to the "desperately" struggling Venti, disrespectfully pinched his chin, and passed judgment on the Anemo Archon.
Her manner left Jean and the others in the real world with question marks over their heads. Bewildered, they looked at the real Venti, who had stopped drinking at some point and now wore the same "serious" expression.
Wait, Lord Barbatos, please don't just watch! Where was your divine power?
Where was the divine power you had used to scatter the blizzards shrouding all of Mondstadt, even blowing the tops off countless mountains?
Help!
"Uh, actually, since I haven't fulfilled my divine duties for so many years, my divine power has declined terribly. I might be the weakest god among the Seven now."
Venti scratched his cheek, looking embarrassed as he tried to activate his skill, Bluff.
Unfortunately, someone saw straight through it.
"Keep bluffing. Go on."
With a contemptuous look, Lumine bluntly exposed a certain Anemo Archon's attempt to keep bluffing. Venti's "serious" expression instantly crumbled, and he instinctively scratched the back of his head.
"Ehe, don't expose me so quickly."
Well, knowing that their god had not genuinely been rendered helpless in La Signora's grasp, and that there was probably a reason for his performance in the video, Jean and the others could breathe half a sigh of relief.
The other half remained caught in their throats by the outrageous scene in the video.
After all, watching the god they worshipped being publicly slapped by a foreign envoy outside his own cathedral... even knowing there was more to it, Acting Grand Master Jean and the others found it far too stimulating. Old folks like them struggled to accept this novel way of doing things.
Moreover, hearing La Signora speak up for Mondstadt, Jean knew that most of it was mockery directed at the Anemo Archon Barbatos, yet she still felt she really could hear a tiny trace of La Signora defending Mondstadt.
Although that seemed incidental, with most of it still being mockery and complaints directed at Venti.
But...
Seriously? A Fatui Harbinger from Snezhnaya, concerned about Mondstadt?
What kind of internationalist spirit was this?!
Still, although everyone knew Venti was putting on an act for La Signora, Jean clenched her fists when they saw La Signora deliver that humiliating slap on-screen.
If even those in the know reacted like this, it was easy to imagine how Mondstadt's people outside were reacting.
[Rosaria: Hey, Acting Grand Master Jean, you're watching too, right? Could you come to the cathedral? I'm having trouble holding back Barbara. She's gone berserk.]
[Fischl: That arrogant beast shall face divine punishment from the Immernachtreich!]
[Oz: What mein Fräulein means is, may she fire an arrow at the Fatui delegation's lodgings from a distance?]
[Bennett: But the Mondstadt Grand Hotel is innocent, isn't it?]
[Noelle: Miss Rosaria, I'm coming right now!]
[Noelle: I'm coming to help Miss Barbara right now!]
Jean closed her eyes helplessly and apologized to everyone in the Angel's Share.
"Uh, sorry, I need to visit the cathedral first. It looks like I have no choice but to tell Barbara a little now."
Otherwise, as a fanatical devotee of the Anemo Archon, Barbara would definitely take a Thompson submachine gun to reason with the Snezhnayan delegation.
There would very likely even be a chuuni, the Adventurers' Guild's best investigator, supporting her with arrows from the shadows, plus an armored maid of the Knights of Favonius tanking out front.
Acting Grand Master Jean ran out, but the video continued. The performance driving every Mondstadter wild was still playing out on-screen.
After slapping Venti and continuing her verbal humiliation, La Signora finally revealed her true objective.
"Heh. A god who abandoned his rule over Mondstadt has only this much power left?"
The people of Mondstadt seemed to find the "reason" their Anemo Archon was so pathetic in that remark, and began reflecting on whether they had visited the cathedral to pray too infrequently.
"Oh? Is the power you borrowed from your master what gives you the right to mock me?"
Likewise, Teyvat's viewers seemed to have found the reason La Signora was so formidable. Many who lacked Visions but craved power turned their attention to their own gods.
On-screen, Cryo elemental power-or rather, Cryo divine power-erupted from La Signora, blasting Venti away. Then, with lightning speed, she moved second yet arrived first, catching up with the airborne Venti and plunging a hand glinting with cold light into his chest.
"Such a glib tongue!"
La Signora's hand pulled a chess piece from Venti's chest, but this piece was wreathed in extraordinarily high-quality Anemo divine power.
This was something taken out of a god's body.
For a moment, the curiosity of viewers across Teyvat was piqued. Even Mondstadt's residents, furious as they were, were deeply curious about the object La Signora had made such a spectacle of seizing, openly attacking the Anemo Archon outside Mondstadt's cathedral and risking a complete breakdown in relations with Mondstadt.
What was it?
It looked somewhat like the Cryo-marked chess piece that had descended from the sky before Cyno at the end of yesterday's second video, the one about that so-called Cryo Archon Cyno.
La Signora on-screen obligingly answered them. She did not conceal the object's name, but openly explained it.
"So this is-a Gnosis!"
"Hmph. It's far less exquisite than the chess pieces in my collection."
[Tighnari: Still, would a villain normally explain information both sides already know at a time like this? It's almost as though she's specifically educating her subordinates and the Traveler.]
[Lumine: She isn't educating me. This is actually introducing information to the players in front of the screen, using this classic villain behavior as narration.]
[Tighnari: All right, that scene was so outrageous I'd almost forgotten this was actually a game.]
[Yae Miko: Mm-hmm, with a few adjustments next time, this presentation technique could be a good lesson for the writers under me.]
[Furina: You could also use this method to naturally introduce background details when filming movies!]
[Navia: Wait, Furina, aren't you focusing on the wrong thing? Shouldn't you be keeping an eye on your Gnosis? That's clearly what the Fatui are after!]
[Lyney: Uh...]
[Kujou Sara: In that case, is the fundamental objective of the Fatui working with us also the Shogun's Gnosis?]
[Keqing: Hmph, Ningguang!]
[Ningguang: No need to remind me. I've already sent Yelan to make arrangements.]
[Xiao: No respect for the adepti!]
Clearly, once La Signora's ultimate objective was revealed, the other nations of Teyvat could compare it with the Fatui's recent actions within their borders and find certain seemingly corresponding activities, leaving them extremely wary of the Fatui.
[Shikanoin Heizou: I have a question. Since this La Signora looks down on the Gnosis so much, has she forgotten that her master, the Cryo Archon, also has a Gnosis...?]
[La Signora: Shut up! The Gnosis possessed by Her Majesty the noble Tsaritsa is naturally not some coward's counterfeit-]
[The Jester: Rosalyne.]
[La Signora: !!!]
[La Signora: My apologies. My personal grudge against the Anemo Archon caused me to overstep just now.]
Although La Signora explained herself this way, viewers from every nation except Snezhnaya undoubtedly had no goodwill left for someone who mocked their gods. By extension, they had none to spare for the Fatui as an organization, either.
Fortunately, the Fatui fundamentally did not care about the goodwill of other nations' citizens. They placed greater trust in their military might.
Pantalone and the Knave, however, would be cursing.
Their poor intelligence networks and financial organizations, painstakingly established across the various nations, were going to suffer devastating losses.
Of course, everyone could now see that La Signora did indeed seem to have a grudge against the Anemo Archon. Although she appeared to be carrying out the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya's orders thus far, her actions were filled with outpourings of personal emotion. Just what grudge existed between La Signora and the Anemo Archon, and what had happened between them in the past? The viewers' curiosity was instantly aroused.
On-screen, the Anemo Archon had fallen to his knees, yet his mouth remained defiant.
"Perhaps that's because your taste really is terrible?"
Hearing this, La Signora strode over to Venti. The scene remained in Venti's fallen perspective throughout, prompting many of Teyvat's seasoned perverts to exclaim, "I'm done."
Then everyone watched La Signora mercilessly kick Venti three to five meters away.
[Jean: La Signora, this can no longer be explained away as a misunderstanding.]
[Jean: On behalf of the Knights, in my capacity as Acting Grand Master, I now formally demand that your Fatui delegation leave Mondstadt's borders by the end of today.]
[La Signora: ...Is this Mondstadt's official expulsion notice?]
[Jean: You may take it that way.]
[La Signora: Understood.]
La Signora gritted her teeth.
Although she had learned the Anemo Archon's true identity ahead of schedule, the screen she both loved and hated had also exposed the Fatui's real objective.
In fact, never mind Mondstadt-even the Fatui's future operations in the other five nations would face hostility and obstruction from local powers. It would be difficult for them to find organizations willing to cooperate anymore.
She watched her own departing figure on-screen after she kicked Venti unconscious.
La Signora felt both satisfied and dissatisfied.
What satisfied her was that the scene truly vented her anger. It was enough to accompany her meals for the rest of her life.
What dissatisfied her was that her mission was now doomed to fail.
After all, although she had learned the Anemo Archon's true identity, the Knights of Favonius had likewise learned of his current "weakened" condition. They would certainly keep their out-of-sorts Anemo Archon closely protected.
Although she looked down on the Knights of Favonius remaining in Mondstadt, La Signora had to admit that some of those titled knights were troublesome opponents. She was currently the only Harbinger able to move freely in Mondstadt. Facing the Knights of Favonius alone when they held every advantage of timing, terrain, and local support offered little chance of victory.
Then should she go into hiding, secretly remaining within Mondstadt to look for an opportunity?
Yet forcibly remaining in Mondstadt now was absolutely not a good choice. The main force of the Knights of Favonius on their expedition had also seen this scene on-screen. If their terrifying Grand Master sent reinforcements back and she found herself trapped in Mondstadt, things would turn ugly.
For the sake of Her Majesty the Tsaritsa's grand plan, she could only withdraw under the Knights of Favonius' surveillance for now, then find an opportunity to slip past their main force and infiltrate the nation again.
After that, she would settle matters with that bard who neglected his proper duties!
As the Traveler finally fainted too, the screen went dark. Everyone knew that this video, outrageous from every angle and even more outrageous than yesterday's scene of a mortal blocking the Electro Archon's slash, had finally ended.
Although they still did not know the history of love and hatred between La Signora and the Anemo Archon, the video had already dropped enough juicy revelations. For the moment, most viewers declared themselves stuffed.
Inside the Angel's Share, the Knights of Favonius and certain influential local figures in Mondstadt-such as Master Diluc, Diluc Guoba, the Darknight Hero, and so on-were faced with La Signora's humiliation of their god.
Well, even though their god currently looked rather unreliable, and the information he had just revealed indicated that the matter ran deep, at the very least, Venti absolutely had not been serious. He had certainly taken his performance seriously, though. Anyone unaware of the truth really might have believed that the Anemo Archon was currently very weak.
Still, everyone indignantly discussed the scene they had just witnessed. Only Kaeya, a counterfeit Mondstadter who respected Venti but did not worship him the way the others did, noticed a detail.
"Say, in that scene where La Signora kicked Lord Venti away, why did I get the feeling her foot hadn't even fully touched him before he flew off on his own?"
The moment he said this, the whole room fell silent. Everyone looked at Kaeya first, then turned in unison toward Venti, who was trying to sneak out.
While Kaeya was still speculating, the other gods-well, excluding Furina-had more or less understood what was happening as soon as they saw La Signora pinch the chin of the "utterly helpless" Venti.
Although they still knew little about the tangled grievances between those two, it was clear that the Anemo Archon Barbatos had not been serious. They could tell simply by looking at his braids, which had never once lit up.
In particular, the move Kaeya mentioned, where he flew away before her foot even touched him, truly opened the eyes of the innocent Nahida and Raiden Ei.
So that was something you could do?