For Columbina, it was without a doubt the most filling meal she had ever eaten.
"So, what trouble did you run into that made you call me over?" Columbina asked about his real purpose once they had left Angel's Share.
Clearly, neither of them noticed that two pairs of eyes had appeared behind them:
"...They definitely have a child already, don't they?" Danika looked as though she were questioning her life. "I've never seen that terrifying Damselette act so close to anyone."
"Well, well, it's him! That kid's definitely the bastard!" The other was a Fatui.
"About that..." Tang Wang pondered for a moment. "I think we'd better talk about it later-"
"Well, well!" Just then, a Fatui soldier's voice came from behind Tang Wang. "So it was you, kid!"
He turned around in confusion and saw one of the soldiers who had carried La Signora away from the Lawrence Clan pointing at him furiously.
"You dare show such disrespect to Lady La Signora? Kid, do you think you can withstand the wrath of the Fatui?"
"Who is he?" Columbina, dressed in a loose blue-and-white dress, turned toward the voice as well.
The Fatui soldier froze on the spot.
"L-L-L... Lady Damselette?" His voice began to tremble, especially when he saw their arms linked together.
"No idea." Tang Wang shook his head. "He's nobody important. Don't mind him."
"But you look very unhappy?" As she spoke, Columbina raised a hand slightly, releasing a terrifying gravitational force from her fingertips. A tide unleashed by Kuuvahki seized the soldier by the throat.
As she did all this, the white ornament at the back of her head stood straight up, like the feathers of an angry bird.
"It's nothing. I just remembered... some unpleasant experiences." Seeing that the soldier's face had gone deathly pale, Tang Wang hurriedly turned and gently pressed her arm down.
"My apologies, Lady Damselette." At that moment, Danika, who had been watching from the shadows, strode out. "He was indeed rather discourteous. I hope you'll forgive him."
"You are...?" Columbina tilted her head in confusion.
"My name is Danika. I'm from Snezhnaya." Danika bowed to her.
"Mm, she's a friend of mine too," Tang Wang hurriedly added.
"Oh, a friend." The ornament at the back of Columbina's head drooped gently. "Then she's new family?"
Taking Tang Wang by the arm, she walked lightly, step by step, until she stood before Danika. Danika's gaze grew increasingly odd, because throughout it all, Columbina hadn't loosened her grip on Tang Wang's hand one bit.
"Mm, Lili said this is how you treat new friends." She then held out her free hand to Danika.
After a moment's surprise, Danika took it. As their arms moved up and down, a friendship was formed.
"...Get back here." Just as the Fatui soldier tried to take the opportunity to slip away, Danika's voice suddenly rang out.
The soldier could only turn around trembling and greet the important people he absolutely could not afford to offend with a smile:
"Um, my lords, I failed to recognize your greatness..."
"Who exactly are you? And why did you do that?" Columbina was still the one asking the questions.
"I, I..." He stammered. "I'm a subordinate of La Signora. I meant no offense; I only wanted to demand an explanation on her behalf."
"What do you mean?" Columbina pressed.
"Lady Damselette, the person beside you fought Lady La Signora! He knocked her unconscious, and..."
"Oh." Her response was indifferent. "Then La Signora must be a bad person. Tang Wang wouldn't pick a fight with a good person."
"?" The Fatui soldier and Danika both stood there dumbfounded.
"Don't mind her, everyone. Yaya's way of speaking may indeed be a little... confusing." Tang Wang chose to smooth things over. "As for what you mentioned, we'll be going to resolve it before long."
"Are you going to deal with bad Rosalyne?" Columbina asked curiously. "Are you going to give her a thorough beating?"
"Hmm... But Rosalyne is a colleague of mine too. If you really do fight..." She seemed to ponder the dilemma for a moment. "I suppose I can only watch from the sidelines."
"...Let's leave that until last." He shook his head. "There really are some diplomatic issues that need to be resolved."
"Mondstadt is facing a great many threats right now, and quite a few of them come from the Fatui."
"I see..." Columbina suddenly looked a little dejected. "No wonder the little birds in Mondstadt don't want to play with me. It turns out I'm a bad person in their eyes too."
"No, you're not a bad person." Tang Wang shook his head. "Joining an organization doesn't turn anyone into a particular kind of person."
"As we say in my hometown: no one will respect you as a person because of your beliefs, but people will respect your beliefs because of your actions."
"Hmm... That's true, but complicated." Columbina nodded gently. "I'll remember it well."
"Speaking of which, where is Rosalyne now?"
"She should be... over at the Knights of Favonius, looking for trouble?"
A little later, inside the headquarters of the Knights of Favonius...
La Signora, dressed in luxurious clothing, stared disdainfully at the exhausted Jean sitting across from her:
"Mondstadt certainly lives up to its reputation as a place thrown into complete chaos by a mere Stormterror," she said bluntly. "Can't you even send a decent representative?"
"La Signora, you didn't come here just to argue, did you?"
As Acting Grand Master Jean wearily rubbed her temples, the other members of the Knights of Favonius seated nearby didn't look pleased either.
In particular, Spindrift Knight Eula and Cavalry Captain Kaeya's brows had knitted into deep frowns.
"Of course! I want an explanation from you!" She slapped the table. "As an envoy from Snezhnaya, I was attacked within Mondstadt's borders!"
"Don't you intend to give me an explanation?!"
"Ah, how interesting." At that moment, the figure who had knocked La Signora unconscious suddenly appeared in the meeting hall's doorway. "Wasn't that because you're just too weak?"
"...I never expected you'd dare show yourself before me again!" The moment she saw him, La Signora's voice turned vicious.
"Rosalyne," an unexpected voice sounded from behind Tang Wang, "are you really a bad person?"
"That voice..." She stood up instinctively. "Is that... Columbina?"
Then she saw the petite girl leaning behind Tang Wang poke her head out.