At that moment, Mona and Lin Mo were strolling side by side through the streets of Mondstadt.
"Rude requests?" Mona paused, caught off guard.
After thinking it over carefully, she nodded slowly. "Yeah... some clients can be a real handful. They do come up with some pretty unreasonable demands..."
"Uh... so did you... actually go along with them?"
Lin Mo asked hesitantly.
"Well, in a few rare cases, I had no choice," Mona said casually. "Some clients are just so pushy. If you don't give in to their ridiculous asks, they'll drag their feet on paying what they owe."
Lin Mo sucked in a sharp breath.
"Don't look so worked up about it," Mona teased, smiling at his over-the-top reaction. "This time, we're handling the job together. If the client pulls something rude, I'll be right there with you to deal with it."
"Together... deal with it..."
The more Lin Mo heard, the more off it sounded. Was this going to be that intense?
"Of course," Mona replied, as if it were the most natural thing. "We're heading to the Snezhnayan envoy's mansion for a cleaning job. The worst they'll do is ask you to wash some laundry on the side. Relax—I'm a pro at that."
Hearing her explanation, Lin Mo finally got it.
His mind had been in the gutter.
"Whew. Good thing. I was imagining something way worse."
Lin Mo let out a relieved sigh.
"Yeah, that kind of minor hassle is still tolerable," Mona agreed with a smile and a nod. "What really gets me are the ones who tack on yard work, or even fixing up old furniture. Those are the nightmare clients—double the effort with zero extra pay."
"That does sound frustrating," Lin Mo said, nodding along. Then he asked, "What about Miss Hertha, the one who handles these resident commissions? Does she just let clients get away with that kind of nonsense?"
Mona sighed and shook her head. "She's pretty powerless in all this. Her job's just to log the details and wait for takers. Complaining to her afterward doesn't help—the Knights can't force anyone to cough up more Mora. At best, they blacklist the offender and give them a heads-up next time they try posting a job."
Lin Mo was about to ask why she stuck to these resident gigs instead of bounties or adventure quests when Mona stopped in front of a grand building. "Here we are," she said with a grin.
Lin Mo eyed the three-story mansion. "So, this is the place we're cleaning?"
"Yep. Finish this, and we each pocket twenty thousand Mora. Let's get to it—come on!"
After half a day of hard work, Mona was drenched in sweat, her tight-fitting clothes clinging in a way that was hard to ignore.
"Ah, finally done," she said, stretching lazily and showing off her elegant curves. Lin Mo couldn't help but blush.
"Hey, why are you staring? Do I have dirt on me or something?" Mona asked, tilting her head.
"Uh, no—it's just, you've got a lot of sweat going on," Lin Mo said, shaking his head with a smile. He handed her a tissue. "Wipe up first, then we'll go claim our pay."
"Hehe, you're so considerate, Lin Mo," Mona said happily, taking the tissue. "You're way better than the partners I've teamed up with before. Those guys were all about slacking off. But you? You handled most of the work on your own and stayed so kind about it. I love working with you. Let's team up again sometime."
Lin Mo smiled back. "Sounds good. But first, let's grab that reward and treat ourselves to a nice dinner."
"Hehe!"
After their long day, they headed to the owner's office as planned.
The Fools' envoys in Mondstadt were Mikhail and Lyudmila.
As they stepped inside, they ran right into the pair heading out.
"Oh? You wrapped up that fast?" Mikhail said, surprised.
"Yeah, we're here for the payout," Lin Mo replied with a smile. "Twenty thousand each—forty thousand total."
Lyudmila gave a wry smile. "About that... could you two do us one more small favor?"
Lin Mo's brow furrowed slightly.
So, extra tasks were basically an unspoken rule for these commissions?
Noticing his cool stare, Lyudmila hurried to clarify. "No misunderstanding—we'll pay you extra for it, of course."
That eased Lin Mo's mind a bit. He glanced at Mona, silently checking with her.
"Um... what kind of favor?" Mona asked curiously.
"Well..." Lyudmila explained with a pained look.
A high-ranking Snezhnayan official was in Mondstadt on business and had invited them to a Knights' banquet. But his two daughters were total troublemakers. Worried they'd stir up chaos at the event, he wanted to leave them at the envoy's mansion instead. The girls were so wild, though, that he needed someone reliable to watch them.
Lyudmila and Mikhail had been stressing over it, about to post an emergency commission at the Knights' logistics office, when they bumped into Lin Mo and Mona fresh from cleaning.
"Ah, I see..." Mona frowned, looking uneasy. "Maybe you should find someone else. I'm really not great with kids—dealing with them is my weak spot."
"But..." The envoys exchanged glances.
Mikhail smiled bitterly. "Miss Mona, the banquet starts in under twenty minutes. We're out of time—please, we could use the help. Nothing fancy; just keep them from sneaking out."
"Oh, and the pay's the same—twenty thousand each."
"Babysitting... for twenty thousand Mora..." Mona's eyes went wide.
Honestly, it was tempting. They'd slaved away all day for the same amount, and this was just a couple hours while the envoys dined. Who could turn that down?
Spotting her interest, Lin Mo smiled. "We'll take it."
"Fantastic!" Lyudmila handed over forty thousand Mora. "That's for the cleaning. We'll settle the rest when we get back. The kids should be here any minute—thanks so much." With that, the two envoys rushed off.
"Lin Mo..." Mona sounded nervous. She'd never babysat before, especially not little terrors like these.
"It's fine. I've got your back," Lin Mo said, patting her shoulder with a warm, reassuring smile.
That sunny grin boosted her spirits. "Okay," she said, nodding with determination.
Too bad the kids' mischief was off the charts—Lin Mo couldn't help but marvel at how spoiled a high official's daughters could be.
"No way! We're going out to play!" one yelled.
"Yeah! Stop us if you dare—you know who our dad is?"
The girls planted themselves at the door, glaring daggers at Lin Mo and Mona.
Intimidated by Lin Mo's solid build and stern look, they avoided his eyes and zeroed in on Mona with pure spite.
"Don't give me that stare," Mona pleaded. "I promised your guardians I wouldn't let you leave."
"We don't care!"
"We're going out!"
Shouting, the pair lunged at Mona.
"Hey! What are you—?"
"No, not my hat! Don't mess up my hair!"
Mona cried out in alarm.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Lin Mo bellowed.
Rip!
The sound of fabric tearing echoed through the mansion.
He'd been a split second too late to stop them.
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T/N:
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