Genshin Impact, I'm Slime

Nadia remained silent while leading the travelers.

What she was thinking about now was how to pull Vlad out of the meat grinder of the Stone Abyss, instead of challenging the travelers around her without knowing her own limitations.

Verbal provocation was all she could do.

After all, this traveler is a great hero who saved Liyue and an honorary knight of the Knights of Favonius. Even the "lady" has suffered at her hands. Who knows what amazing titles she will receive and what remarkable feats she will perform in the future.

And Nadia was just a clerk at the Northland Bank.

Nadia's indifference actually made the traveler feel relieved. Although the fire in the Northland Bank was not started by her, it was still closely related to her. As a result, she caused the other party to lose his job, which inevitably made the traveler feel embarrassed.

Fortunately, the winding stairs did not take too long.

After passing the last spiral staircase, Nadia stopped in front of a carved wooden door. Her eyelashes trembled imperceptibly under the gilded mask, and her eyes were cast on the brass door handle.

"Thank you, Miss Nadia."

The traveler stared at the pupils of Nadia's mask, trying to capture the emotions in them, but in the end he got nothing and could only nod solemnly.

Nadia lowered her eyes and took a half step back. The silver thread on the cuffs of her uniform rippled under the corridor light. Amid the slight sound of the door hinge turning, the traveler turned sideways and disappeared into the warm light of the room.

Xingqiu had told them yesterday that those who could obtain tickets to the auction were mostly rich or noble.

Pantalone, the ninth Fatui executive officer, obviously belongs to this category.

He booked the best box at the auction, which gave him the best position to appreciate the items. Sitting in the box, he could have a panoramic view of the entire display stand, and all the collections participating in the auction would show their characteristics without any blind spots.

Now Pantalone was sitting by the window, the celadon teacup turning slowly between his slender knuckles, and the amber tea soup was spreading fine ripples on the wall of the cup.

The old butler Russell followed Pantalone like a shadow.

Xingqiu, the second young master of Feiyun Chamber of Commerce, was also standing by the window, holding a half-volume of "Chen Qiu Shi Jian Lu" between his fingers stained with pine soot and ink. The gold-sprinkled paper sandwiched between the pages rustled in the breeze created by the traveler opening the door.

In the eyes of others, Xingqiu is gentle and polite, diligent and studious, and is a leader among the younger generation.

As the second son of the family, Xingqiu was not required to preside over the affairs of the Chamber of Commerce. However, among the children of wealthy businessmen, Xingqiu possessed a rare talent for studying and was always praised by teachers.

The eldest brother in the family, who is learning business and household management from his father, also believes that Xingqiu will become a great man in the future.

However, Xingqiu was obviously not very good at handling such business entertainment. His father often mentioned the "century-old foundation of Feiyun Chamber of Commerce", but compared to the dense cinnabar annotations on the account books, Xingqiu would rather find some peace and quiet in the pile of old papers in Wanwen Collection.

He and Pantalone were on each side, and there was no verbal exchange. Xingqiu was even reading a book in his hand, and didn't seem to care about Pantalone's reaction.

However, with the arrival of the traveler, Xingqiu suddenly raised his eyes, and his eyes were filled with shimmering light like the sea surface of Liyue Harbor when the weather cleared up.

He closed the book with a briskness as if he had waited for a long time for the rain, and was obviously very touched that the traveler had arrived as promised. Then he said goodbye to Pantalone:

"It seems that the guards arranged by Lady Ningguang have arrived. I will not disturb you any further, Mr. Pantalone."

"Why bother you? Master Xingqiu, you can go on your own. I and the Northland Bank will remember the help that Feiyun Chamber of Commerce has given you."

Pantarone's fingertips nonchalantly played with the Mora spinning between his fingers, his eyes slightly narrowed, his tone was gentle and almost intimate, but the ending tone slowly tightened like a silk thread soaked in ice water.

This ambiguous response was obviously intended to deliberately alienate the relationship between Feiyun Chamber of Commerce and the travelers.

Xingqiu's knuckles suddenly clenched the book, and before leaving the room, he winked gently at the traveler.

Feiyun Chamber of Commerce did reach some commercial agreements with the Northland Bank, but the matter was handled by Xingqiu's father and elder brother, and the specific content was unknown to him, the second young master. "Humph, damn Fatui villains! This level of alienation scheme can't even fool Zhongli! How can it fool the smart Lord Paimon?"

Xingqiu pushed the door and left. The atmosphere in the private room suddenly became a little stagnant. Little Paimeng, who had been following the traveler, suddenly started shouting, successfully breaking the wild thoughts of several people.

Even Xingqiu, who had already walked out of the door, heard the movement inside. He turned around in surprise, but happened to meet the gray eyes of Nadia who was guarding outside the door. He could only pout and go to the backstage of the venue to preside over and supervise the operation of the auction process.

The traveler in the private room was a little nervous at this time. He frowned and protected Paimeng behind him.

This was not the first time Yingmei had seen a rich man, but it was the first time she was alone with Pantalone.

Of course, the premise is to ignore the inconspicuous old butler.

Pantalone was wearing a black satin robe today. The silver cloud pattern embroidered on the lapels was faintly visible as he moved. The frame of his glasses pressed down on his high nose bridge, and the chain of his glasses hung down, complementing the ebony and silver-engraved cane.

Her raven-feather-like long hair was spread out behind her neck, and the slightly curled ends of her hair swept across her gentle eyebrows and eyes nurtured by the mountains and waters of Liyue. When the ends of her eyes were raised, they revealed a few strands of coldness tempered by the winter wind and snow.

"Oh? It seems that you two are also quite familiar with Mr. Zhongli?"

"I have always admired the guest scholar from the Hall of Rebirth, but plans can never keep up with changes. I have not had the chance to meet and talk with him for many days since I came to Liyue."

Facing Paimon's retort, Pantalone did not show any surprise, and even took the initiative to stand up and walk to the traveler, extending his right hand full of rings to shake hands with the girl:

"I never thought that the guards assigned to me by the Thousand Rocks Army would be the famous traveler in Teyvat and the smart Lord Paimon."

Pantalone deliberately dragged out the ending note for half a beat, and turned to the floating little guide with a smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Pantalone."

Yingmei pursed her lips, trying not to reveal any flaws in front of Pantalone.

The Fatui's executive officers are known to be shrewd, meticulous, and insightful. It is not easy to obtain intelligence from them.

Of course, except for that idiot Tartaglia.

Both of them tacitly did not mention the previous incident of Famas burning down the Northland Bank. Pantalone did not mention a word about the Mora that the traveler stole from the Northland Bank, as if these things had never happened.

"Wow, you actually still remember the famous Paimon! Not bad, not bad!"

However, Paimon was obviously unaware of the two people's different thoughts. When he heard Pantalone's praise, he proudly put his hands on his waist and raised his head, and the star pattern on the hem of his clothes shone with joy.

"Although none of the Fatui are good people...but considering your sincerity, I will begrudgingly allow you to get acquainted."

Paimon's stupid behavior made the traveler grit his teeth helplessly. He raised his hand and pinched the little mascot's face, signaling her not to interrupt.

Pantalone, on the other hand, was very tolerant of Paimon. Even the smile on his face did not change at all. He just stroked the Fatui emblem on his cane, and the dial on his wrist was revealed when his silk cuffs slipped down:

"It seems that Lord Paimon has a deep prejudice against the Fatui... But even though I am far away in Winter, I have heard of many of your deeds."

"The ravens of the Northern Bank often bring interesting stories... For example, the meteor pointing at the blue dragon on the Star Cliff in Mondstadt, or the rock light that risked everything on the Jade Pavilion in Liyue Harbor."

Pantalone's smile was gentle, and there was nothing wrong with the way he praised people. Paimon was very happy to hear that.

As an old rival of the Fatui, if he didn't have the information about the Traveler, he would have to doubt the operational capabilities of the Fatui intelligence network. (End of this chapter)