Master Diluc poured two drinks from the tavern, placing one in front of himself and pushing the other towards Venti with a 'please' gesture.
Venti unceremoniously took the glass: "Hehe! Thanks!"
At this moment, they were sitting at a table outside the Angel's Share tavern, drinking and watching the spectacle of four women 'executing' one man.
Little Paimon, beside them, also sipped the Sunsettia juice Diluc had poured for her, then asked with some concern, "Do we really not need to stop them?"
Diluc shook his head and said, "Although it might not be a good thing for that brother, for Jean, this situation might not necessarily be a bad thing.
To be honest, I haven't seen Jean so emotionally volatile in a long time, especially not because of Knights of Favonius duties, but because of someone of the opposite sex."
After speaking, Diluc took a sip of his wine, then carefully examined Orion's face and asked, "But is this man really Ms. Alice's biological son? His hair color is much lighter than both Ms. Alice and Klee's, almost white.
And while Ms. Alice and Klee are mischievous, they wouldn't be mischievous in this regard."
Clearly, Diluc was referring to matters of the heart.
Paimon and Venti exchanged glances, neither speaking.
After all, they couldn't just go around telling everyone that Orion was an alien, could they? Although Orion himself didn't care and even seemed inclined to tell everyone, it was still better if the news didn't spread from them.
Meanwhile, Lumine had Orion's arms locked behind his back, while Jean, Eula, and Rosaria stood with arms crossed, looking down at him.
Orion felt a momentary daze.
The last time he saw a similar perspective was in those extracurricular readings with 'older woman', 'female dominant', and 'large vehicle' tags.
After Jean's interrogation, everyone finally understood what had happened.
She rubbed her forehead, sighing deeply with a headache: "I'll send someone to deal with the Fatui at the Goth Grand Hotel. But… where exactly did the Lady go?"
Orion, still held by Lumine, raised his hand: "I ate her."
Eula and Jean simultaneously looked at Orion, then turned back to continue discussing: "Will the Fatui take this opportunity to pressure us?"
"Probably not. The Harbingers are elusive; they shouldn't have absolute certainty about the Lady's movements. Moreover, if the Lady was truly scared away by Orion, she wouldn't have had time to set up anything in advance. In that case, the Fatui, having lost their backbone, would become more well-behaved than before. They wouldn't come to provoke us now that we've openly lost the sky harp."
Orion shrugged, tilting his head to Lumine behind him and saying, "Now, even if I tell the truth, no one will listen."
Lumine leaned her mouth close to his ear and asked, "So you really ate her?"
Orion nodded: "Why would I lie about this? But to be precise, I swallowed her and locked her inside."
On the side, only Rosaria did not participate in the arguments. Instead, she stared meaningfully at Orion and Lumine, who were secretly talking. After confirming through their micro-expressions that Lumine and Orion were telling the truth, she walked over to Diluc and Venti to ask for a drink.
It seems with these guys around, the external Dragon Crisis no longer poses much of a threat. So, she only needs to guard the interior of Mondstadt City, the Sister thought.
Soon after, Jean and Eula also finished their argument.
Although Eula was also a noble, her reputation in the city was diametrically opposed to Jean's family. She therefore did not get along well with Acting Grand Master Jean, who came from the Gunnhildr family. However, when faced with major issues of right and wrong, she would immediately forget all her grudges and prioritize discussing the most beneficial solution for Mondstadt with Jean before thinking of anything else.
After the two reached a conclusion, they only needed to return to the Knights of Favonius for division of labor and cooperation.
"Now, next topic."
Jean and Eula looked over simultaneously.
""Every day, you interfere with Barbara's (Amber's) priest (tea-serving) work, causing strange rumors about Barbara (Amber), and making physical contact with her under the guise of a curse!""
Eula and Jean puffed out their chests, glaring down at Orion, and said in unison:
""An unstable element like you will now be supervised by me personally!""
Then, both paused simultaneously: ""Huh??""
The two looked at each other and started a new round of arguments.
"Listen to me, Eula, this guy harasses Priest Barbara every day, yet he also received the title of Honorary Priest. I have every reason to suspect he has ulterior motives towards Priest Barbara, and as the Acting Grand Master, I naturally have an obligation to supervise his actions."
"Hmph! I disagree with your statement, daughter of Gunnhildr. The Church and the Knights of Favonius are clearly two different systems; there's no reason for an Honorary Priest to be supervised by the Acting Grand Master of the Knights.
And I, as merely a Knight of Favonius and one of the captains of the frontline combat squads, have reason to request a priest with shield and healing abilities to provide corresponding combat support for our team."
"I have the right to reject your request, Eula. A typical healing priest does not possess the combat ability to slap someone into a boomerang. I do not believe placing such a dangerous individual in a logistical position on the Knights of Favonius frontline is a sound decision."
"You! I'll remember this grudge! Daughter of Gunnhildr, you will regret this!"
"Eula, I am the Acting Grand Master!"
Orion listened on, feeling increasingly uneasy, as if Eula would have already slammed the door and left if this were the Grand Master's office.
While he was lost in thought, Lumine suddenly released him and raised her hand: "May I interrupt? This is my master, after all. Shouldn't I be the one to supervise him?"
Finally, the three of them settled on the rules.
Normally, Orion would accompany Lumine on commissions, with Lumine responsible for supervision during that time; when returning to Mondstadt City, Eula would be responsible for supervision.
Upon hearing this, Orion thought, this won't do. Just Lumine and Eula aren't enough; Acting Grand Master Jean can't be idle. So he proactively mentioned that he was submitting manuscripts to Yae Publishing House. Acting Grand Master Jean then agreed to place an additional desk in her office, and she and Sister Lisa would be responsible for supervising him while he wrote.
From then on, Orion's days were packed by the ladies. Even during meals, Skirk would come to find him for special training to aid digestion, making every day incredibly fulfilling.
After discussing Orion's issues, everyone finally remembered the matter of the sky harp, so they re-entered the Angel's Share to discuss it further.
The conclusion was that Venti stated that activating the sky harp required some of Dvalin's teardrops as "fuel," then he pulled out a crimson teardrop.
Orion immediately stated that Lumine could purify this item, so Lumine, to her own doubting expression, successfully purified the teardrop, shocking everyone.
Acting Grand Master Jean then stated that she would send people within two to three days to the areas where Stormterror frequently operates to collect as many of these teardrops as possible and hand them over to Lumine for purification.
As the meeting concluded, the message that the staged mission was complete also came through in Orion's mind, and another three hundred Primogems were credited.
Orion's eyes couldn't help but brighten. With Lumine's continuous daily accumulation over these past few days, and his own constant efforts in activating Waypoints and opening treasure chests, plus the nine hundred Primogems from three main quests, his current actual Primogem holdings must have exceeded a thousand.
Looking at the false bright moon in the sky, Orion calculated the time.
As long as he challenged the Spiral Abyss once tonight, he would have enough for his first ten-pull!
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