Yes, Lady Funina!

But her patience had indeed run out, and she couldn't drag it out any longer. If she did, the Knights might find out something was going on, and the Water God might be stalling for time to recover his strength.

"Richard, when you betrayed the Queen, did you ever think that this day would come? Does the person you are begging for mercy now still have the energy to protect you?"

From the lady's perspective, Funina was like a harmless little white rabbit, without any power at all.

The lady didn't think much about it and just thought that Finina had exhausted her divine power when dealing with the Abyss Cult and helping Tevarin get rid of the poisonous blood.

On the contrary, after hearing what the lady said, Funina looked at the lady with her almond-shaped eyes in a somewhat strange way. It turns out that the saying "big breasts mean no brains" is true!

She protected Richard? It was more like the other way around!

After this trip to Mond, she had seen just the tip of the iceberg of Richard's abilities, and she also realized that the experience of her executive secretary-general was far beyond her imagination.

Betraying the Winter Queen... plus his behavior during the last visit of the Eightfold Divine Child, and now he has to deal with Mondstadt, where he grew up.

It is possible that he has been to Nata, Xumi, and Liyue, but he just doesn't know it.

Funina increasingly felt that her executive secretary general had too many secrets, but fortunately she had quite a few secrets herself, so it was a draw.

"I want to correct one thing. I have never betrayed the Queen of Winter. She and I are just partners. I am free to go wherever I want. What's more, the Queen of Winter doesn't care about my resignation, so why are you in such a hurry?" Richard said in an orderly manner.

"Oh, don't take the Queen's kindness for granted!" After saying this, the lady waved her hands, and the ice elements in the air condensed into several ice cones, which shot towards Richard fiercely.

However, just as it was about to hit Richard, as well as Wendy and Funina who were hiding behind him, the ice cone suddenly turned into specks of light.

It was this strange situation again. The lady frowned. Could it be that the weakness shown by the Water God was all fake, and she actually still had some strength left?

"Thinking carefully, it seems that among the many executive officers of the Fatui, only a few have witnessed my strength, and you do not seem to be one of them."

"That would explain why you have such a big misunderstanding about me."

Richard shook his head, and before the lady could react, her feet were covered with solid ice.

"The Queen's authority?!" The lady was horrified.

"No, it's my authority." Richard seemed to be able to sense what the lady was thinking and made a correction.

Before the lady could reply, the ice completely covered her, leaving behind an ice sculpture of a beauty.

The ice covering the lady's body was so pure and transparent that one could see her delicate face through the ice.

To prevent the lady's eyes from getting dry, he even considerately left a little space for her to blink.

But she doesn't seem to appreciate it?

The frozen lady is trying to break the ice seal with fire, but in vain.

The raging fire that was determined to consume everything seemed powerless against the thin layer of ice before it.

The two are simply not on the same level!

PS: Stop scolding me, stop scolding me. There is one more chapter. I am busy with internship recently. I will update more after I go back in the next few days. o(ini)o

Volume 57: Chapter : Funina's Troubles

The Fatui soldiers present fell into a brief panic when they saw their immediate superior being subdued by Richard in an instant.

"Ma'am, why is she frozen into an ice sculpture?"

"The enemy is much stronger than we expected. My advice is to retreat."

"What about you, ma'am?"

"It doesn't matter. Even if the lady is gone, there will be more powerful executives to take her place!"

"..."

With the first person backing down, the remaining Fatui didn't leave, but they didn't take any further action either.

Waiting for orders from the current highest-ranking officer of the Fatui other than the executive officer [Madam], who happens to be the debt handler who previously reported Richard and the others' whereabouts to the Madam.

"Lord Richard, this is a misunderstanding. The lady has no intention of making an enemy of you!"

The debt handler was the first to raise his hands to show that he had no hostility.

"You don't mean to be my enemy?" Richard looked at the ice sculpture that was constantly emitting flames. Who would believe you if you said that?

"Uh..." The debt handler saw that his boss was still trying to break through Richard's seal, and he couldn't help but reveal a bitter smile on his face under the mask.

Madam, even if you break through this thin layer of ice, is this the only method Richard can use?

The lady under the ice seemed to realize her current predicament and gradually stopped her useless efforts.

But it can be seen from the other party's eyes that the executive officer has not given up resistance, at least not completely.

However, in the current situation, whether she gives up or not seems to have lost its meaning.

Richard did not intend to keep this executive officer in Mond forever. After all, he was his former colleague, even though he was a little stupid, arrogant, and overbearing...

In short, to some extent, he and the Ice Queen should be considered to be in the same camp, so there is no reason to weaken the strength of his allies.

Of course, it would be another matter if the other party caused him trouble, but judging from the current strength of the lady, to be honest, it was not even a trouble for Richard.

She got up and defeated him in one move. What else is there to say?

To some extent, Richard also stole the lady's achievement. Even if Richard had not intervened, Tevarin's rescue would have been a high probability, and Wendy's Heart of God would have fallen into the lady's hands in a half-acted and half-given form.

Now with his intervention, it only speeds up the progress, and the Heart of God in Wendy's hand will eventually fall into the hands of the Fatui.

It was just a way of returning a favor, allowing [Servant] Arlecino to get the credit for collecting the Heart of God.

"Don't worry, I won't take her life. After we leave, this seal will become weaker and weaker over time."

"Judging from the intensity of her struggle, if nothing unexpected happens she should be able to make it in time for dinner?" Richard made a rough estimate.

There are still two or three hours before dinner time, so I'll have to ask Madam to attack in the form of an ice sculpture during this time.

It's just a small punishment for a big warning. Otherwise, according to the way [Madam] does things, she will suffer a big loss sooner or later.

After all, not everyone is as kind as Richard.

"As for the Heart of the God of Wind, I will give it to another executive officer and ask her to hand it over to the Queen of Winter. You don't have to worry about it."

"I see. Thank you for your generosity, Sir Richard."

After hearing Richard's words, the debt handler breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the lady was fine, it would be fine.

Although the lady looks rather fierce and becomes extremely irritable from time to time, she is one of the easier to talk to among the many executive officers of the Fatui.

If something happened to the lady, he didn't know which executive officer he would be reassigned to.

If I were unlucky and fell into the hands of that soldier, my life would be...

The debt handler shuddered, and just thinking about it made the worker feel despair.

"So, can you please make way?" Richard looked at the Fatui who were blocking the area and asked with a smile.

All the fools who were caught in his gaze couldn't help but take a step back.

There is no way. Madam, the lesson of the past is still fresh in my mind. Only a fool would think of confronting this strong man. Moreover, from the tone of the other party just now, it seems that he has a close relationship with their other executive.

If you round it off, we can be considered our own.

Haha, it turns out that a flood had flushed the Dragon King Temple!

With this thought in mind, the Fatui retreated like the tide, and soon, except for those Fatui who stayed behind to wait for the Lady to thaw, the Fatui could no longer be seen on the Star-Picking Cliff.

Seeing this scene, Finina also walked out from behind Richard in a heroic and confident manner, and with her came Mr. Barbatos, who was also a god.

"Thank you for your heroic protection. This Heart of God is a reward for the brave." Wendy performed the etiquette of the ancient Mondstadt nobles to Richard in a funny way and presented the Heart of God in her hand.

Richard took the Heart of God and casually put it in his pocket, "Thank you for your award."

Then he turned his gaze to Funina.

"You...you don't want my Heart of God too, do you?" Furninna's face froze when she was looked at by Richard. Where did she get the Heart of God?

"That's not necessary. It's useless for me to have two God's Hearts, but I believe you will give me something better, right?"

When Furninna heard that Richard had no intention of taking her Heart of God, she felt a little relieved. But what worried her was where could she find a better gift than the Heart of God as a reward for Richard?

You wouldn't send yourself away, would you?

How about making a small cake yourself? There is an old saying in Liyue: A gift of goose feathers from a thousand miles away is insignificant but the sentiment behind it is profound.

The little cake made by her, the Water God, should be comparable to the seemingly useless Heart of God... maybe?

Finina had never come into contact with the Heart of God, so naturally she didn't know its function, but she could sense its extraordinary nature just from the name. And it was not easy to find something more precious than the Heart of God.

Furninna, who was originally happy because she had escaped from the predicament, became worried again after hearing Richard's words.

But life must go on, and there is still some time before returning to Fontaine. I just need to come up with a suitable reward during this time!

"Paimon, tell me...what could be more precious than the Heart of God?" Finina thought that since she couldn't think of it herself, she might as well listen to other people's ideas.

Because of their friendship in the past, and because Paimon looked like a man with a lot of clever ideas, he naturally became the person whom Lord Water God consulted.

"There shouldn't be anything more precious than the Heart of God...right? That is the proof of being a God! But for me personally, Ying is much more precious than the Heart of God. I think in Ying's heart, I will also be more precious than the Heart of God!" Paimon answered after thinking for a while.

"But according to the laws of Fontaine, I can't send you two to Richard!" Funina even wanted to be a human trafficker.

Paimon:?

PS: I'm home, I'll update three times tomorrow! If I can't do it, the author will be 1cm shorter!

Volume 58: Chapter : Starting with the People Around Him

"There are many things more important than the Heart of God... right?" Ying answered after hearing Funina's question.

"For example?" Funina expected Ying to give some different answers.

"Relatives, friends and the like..." Ying gave an answer similar to Paimon's.

"Take me for example. If I could use the Heart of God to find my brother, I would definitely be willing to do it."

"Okay, okay. I will keep an eye on your brother. Although I don't have much impression of him, that should be a good thing. At least it shows that he is a good man who abides by the law, if your brother really has been to Fontaine."

"Really...are there no things that are not human?" Funina muttered to herself as she left. She planned to ask someone else.

"Ying, if I get caught by bad guys one day and they ask you to exchange the Heart of God for it, will you give it to me?" Paimon asked the traveler.

"Maybe... maybe?"

"Why use a question mark?" The sound of Paimon stomping his feet in anger came from behind Funina.

The scene turns to Wendy, and Funina finds Wendy on a public bench in the square in front of West Wind Cathedral.

At this moment, Wendy seemed to be holding some great treasure in her hands. She held a bottle of cider that looked very valuable in her arms, and there were two high-heeled glasses next to it.

When Wendy saw Funina coming, she greeted her happily, "Good morning, Ms. Funina, would you like some cider?"

"No, thank you." Looking at Wendy, who was holding a bottle of wine in one hand and two wine glasses in the other, Funina suddenly didn't want to ask him questions about the Heart of God.

It’s unreliable, no matter how you look at it, right?

"Why are you drinking on a park bench?" Funina asked curiously.

"Because West Wind Cathedral doesn't allow me to drink inside!" Wendy answered as a matter of course.

Thanks to Richard, Wendy was able to get such good cider. She changed her usual heroic attitude towards the bottle and wanted to have a sense of ceremony. She even brought a wine glass to the church to experience the atmosphere of a high-end cocktail party.

But unfortunately, the nuns of West Wind Cathedral didn't seem to think so and ruthlessly drove him out of the church.

Wendy still remembered what the nun said to him: "This is Lord Barbatos' church. You are being disrespectful to Lord Barbatos! If you want to drink, go to a tavern or drink at home!"

Wendy also felt aggrieved. Isn't this his home?

Faced with Wendy's accusation, Funina was speechless. It was the first time she saw a god being driven out of the church by his own people, but surprisingly she could understand the nun's behavior and did not sympathize with this unreliable wind god at all.

"So, Ms. Funina, what do you want to ask me?" Wendy carefully put her beloved cider aside, rarely showing her serious side, with a godly and kind smile on her pretty face.

In fact, when Wendy is serious, she looks quite like a god.

"I want to ask... Is there anything in your mind that is more important than the Heart of God?"

Wendy didn't answer, but just smiled like a pervert and picked up the cider she had just put down.

He said nothing, yet it seemed as if he had said everything.

"Okay, you don't have to say anything!" Furninna, with a frown on her face, stretched out her hand to stop Wendy who was about to speak. She shouldn't have had any expectations of this guy.

"Haha, anyway, everyone has different opinions about the Eye of God. Some people see it as hope, while others discard it. Just like the story told by the bard, there are always people who like it and there are always people who don't like it. The most important thing is what Richard thinks."

"If I knew what he was thinking, would I still be so conflicted as I am now?" Funina said dejectedly, then she suddenly reacted and looked at Wendy.

"When did I mention Richard?"

"Did I mention Richard just now?" Wendy also blinked at Funina and pretended to be stupid.