In Teyvat, it all begins with rescuing the grass god.

Afterwards, Ying returned to Mondstadt with mixed feelings and continued to participate in the city's post-disaster reconstruction.

After Venti successfully calmed Dvalin down, Jean declared the long-standing dragon plague in Mondstadt to be finally over.

She also publicly announced Dvalin's identity and told the Mondstadt people who needed the truth why the East Wind Dragon had gone mad.

After obtaining Wendy's approval.

Qin also informed the others that the Wind God had returned.

The raging dragon of the East Wind was calmed down by the Wind God himself.

This news sent the entire city of Mondstadt into a frenzy of cheers.

This is the end.

It can be said that everyone was happy.

Rhodes obtained the Heart of God, the dragon plague that had plagued Mondstadt for so long was resolved, and the truth about Diluc's father's murder was no longer concealed.

The only thing that's hard to accept.

These are the Fools who remain in Mondstadt.

Women are especially affected.

Although the Knights of Favonius and Dawn Winery were exerting pressure together, the presence of three executives allowed the Fools to maintain their dominance.

But then came the devastating news that the stragglers were seriously injured and that the Wind God had returned.

The advantage of having all three executives in Mondstadt vanished instantly.

Especially when Diluc and the Knights of Favonius actually presented evidence that the Doctor had allegedly orchestrated the murder of Cripps.

As a Winter's Diplomat, the lady had no time to think about how to obtain Venti's Heart of God, and had to consider how to deal with the surging public opinion in Mondstadt and the double accusations from the Knights of Favonius and the Dawn Winery.

Of course.

She blamed it all on an executive officer who watched his colleague being besieged but did nothing to help.

to this end.

After the stragglers were brought back after suffering heavy losses, the Lady immediately banished the Prince, forbidding him from interfering in any affairs of Mondstadt again. She even openly stated that she would report the Prince's failure to save Mondstadt, which ultimately led to the failure of the Mondstadt plan, to Her Majesty the Queen.

Regarding the lady's attitude.

The young master showed no remorse for the failure of the plan; instead, he was so eager to run away as soon as the lady spoke that he abandoned the stragglers who were still recovering.

What angered the woman even more was that she almost vomited blood.

The young master, who had been chased away, went straight to Rhodes, who could be considered the culprit, and stood there confidently waiting for a duel with him.

This kind of shameless behavior is enough to make any woman jump up and curse.

Rhodes was starting to lose his composure.

Even someone as serious as Qin was at a loss for words, unsure how to handle the situation.

Just two days ago, everyone was fighting to the death.

Moreover, his own colleagues were causing trouble in Mondstadt.

If you were a normal person, you would at least consider whether the other person would mind what happened before.

As a result, this young master just walked over so brazenly, acting all familiar with everyone, squatting in front of Rhodes all day long, grinning and chatting.

But he still looks the same.

Even if it's just to talk to Qin for a few minutes.

Most of the time, however, he would still chatter on and on with Rhodes, even if Rhodes ignored him.

"This guy is an arrogant person; he only considers those he can gain his approval as friends."

"As for who can gain his approval."

"That naturally comes down to strength."

This was Rhodes's response when Jean issued yet another warning to him.

While the young master was away...

Rhodes said to Jean, "You don't need to worry about him. His mission is not to seize the Anemo Familiar or the power of the Anemo in Mondstadt. He is simply here to help the lady complete her mission."

"Now that the skirmisher has been severely wounded, and you've started to be on high alert against the lady, her mission is basically a complete failure with no chance of recovery."

"So the reason why the young master is here now is no longer because he sees us as his mission targets. He simply wants to have a good fight with me."

It's the truth.

It's just a little hurtful.

The reason why the young master ignored Qin was explained very clearly by Rod.

That is, the young master believed that the zither was not enough to fight him.

Including fire.

He thought so too.

Actually, among the people present...

Besides Rhodes, Wendy and Dvalin are also people he finds appealing.

However, Wendy explicitly rejected his challenge.

"Let's not fight. Let's end this conflict with singing, playing music, and poetry, shall we?"

After Wendy finished speaking, the young master left, quite disappointed.

It would certainly be very tempting to compete with a god, but singing and playing musical instruments are not his forte.

The same thing happened in Tvalin.

Even if he wanted to compete with the young master.

However, the poison in his body had only just been removed, and even though Wendy had once again bestowed upon him the power of the Wind God's familiar, his body had not yet fully recovered and was not suitable for fighting.

So after looking at it from all angles...

Young Master can only focus his attention on Rhodes.

Then he patiently waited until Rhodes had finished all his work.

The two then had a fair duel at Star-Picking Cliff.

There were no witnesses.

Neither Jean nor Wendy had anyone watching.

It was just the two of them fighting one-on-one.

The result is obvious.

Rhodes, who was already considered by Narcida to be no less powerful than the Lady, saw his strength jump even more dramatically after consuming the Abyss Poison Blood.

The young master, whose strength was not even as great as the lady's, was completely unable to withstand Rhodes's relentless bombardment. Under Rhodes's arrogant firepower, he couldn't even touch the hem of Rhodes's clothes.

Such an unequal battle.

The young master didn't even bother using the Demon King's weaponry and simply admitted defeat.

The two then engaged in a pure martial arts duel.

This time.

Rhodes lost.

Facing the young master who claimed to be proficient in all martial arts, Rhodes used all his skills and could only barely manage a draw in archery, while he was completely defeated in other weapons.

The bow is the weapon that the young master is least proficient with.

This is to be expected.

Rhodes began to systematically learn martial arts, which took only a few months at most.

He was no match for the young master, who had studied under the top swordsman Skork and had plenty of combat experience.

Rhodes' previous battles with Dvalin and the skirmishers relied entirely on his abundant elemental power, along with the help of Venti and Jean; in reality, he had no opportunity to showcase his martial arts skills.

The duel ended in a draw with one win and one loss.

The young master was very satisfied.

Even the tone of her voice when speaking to Rod became much more intimate.

"Friend, if you have the chance to visit Zhidong in the future, you can come and find me anytime."

Before parting, the young master added, "If any more executives come looking for trouble with you, you can mention my name. It might not be of much use, but out of respect for our past as colleagues, they might give me some face."

"Thank you very much."

Rod smiled and said goodbye to him.

Son.

Oh no, now we should call him Tadalia.

This guy is a very pure person.

He doesn't distinguish between good and evil.

His mind was filled with nothing but the Empress's orders and the desire to fight the strong.

As long as Rhodes is not an enemy personally ordered to be targeted by the Ice Queen, then even if he is someone the Lady specifically named to be eliminated, Tartaglia has no interest in being Rhodes' enemy.

Quite the opposite.

Through these two duels, Tartaglia and Rhodes were brought very close together.

He not only became sworn brothers with Rhodes, but also promised to speak up for him if other executives targeted Rhodes.

that's it.

After a not-so-unexpected incident, Rhodes made another friend in Mondstadt.

(End of this chapter)