Yes, Lady Funina!

"In fact, if it's just for borrowing, I can still borrow the Jade Pavilion, but how to get the Jade Pavilion to Fontaine is also a problem. The most important thing is, as you said, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of people are just a drop in the bucket for the flood crisis facing Fontaine."

Richard looked at Furninna and continued: "So..."

"I understand. You don't need to say more." When Furninna saw Richard's expression, she realized that he was trying to persuade her to tell the secret again.

Again, unless Richard can make Furniture absolutely trust him, and make her feel absolutely at ease, and can absolutely guarantee that the secret will not be leaked, Furniture will never tell Richard about that.

Even though... the other party has actually guessed it almost right.

Speaking of which, if Furninna guessed correctly, Richard went to Liyue this time just for this matter.

So is there any result?

Richard smiled slightly but didn't say anything else. Instead, he opened his magic pocket and took out the gift he brought back from Liyue.

Furninna, Linnet, Clorinde and all the staff in the city hall received a gift, which was carefully selected by Richard.

Of course, the gifts will vary depending on the closeness of the invitation. The gifts given to Funina, Linnet and Clorinde will definitely not be the same as those given to ordinary staff members.

"This is for you, Clorinde." Richard took out the lipstick he bought from Chunxiang Kiln, meaning that she should pay more attention to her words.

"Thank you." Clorinde took the lipstick and put it in her pocket instead of using it on the spot.

"This is yours, Linnet." Richard took out another set of precious blue and white porcelain tea set, which he had taken from Ningguang. Needless to say, its appearance was excellent.

This tea set is expensive, but everyone can use it for afternoon tea, so it’s not really partiality.

Of course, Richard himself didn't seem to have this awareness. To him, Mora was never the key to measuring the value of things. What mattered was whether it was suitable and whether the other party needed it.

Then it was Furniture's turn. Furniture clasped her hands together in front of her chest and looked at Richard with anticipation in her eyes.

The only thing missing is "Where's me? Where's my gift?" written on his face.

Richard thought about it and decided that he couldn't just take out the blank contract, and a contract obviously couldn't be considered a gift.

Fortunately, he was prepared and took out a bag of tea from his magic pocket.

This tea is not simple. It is specially supplied to the Seven Stars in Liyue. It is a good thing that even Mora cannot get. The quality is similar to what Funina usually drinks... Well, when Richard thought about it this way, he suddenly felt that this tea was not so precious.

But Funina didn't think too much about it. She happily took the tea leaves, held them up and looked at them from left to right, adoring them.

For Funina, the preciousness of the gift is not important; what is important is the person who gives the gift and the thought behind it.

"Let's hold a tea party this weekend and use this bag of tea!" Funina announced. She was not a stingy person. Once she had good tea, she would naturally share it in order to maximize the value of the bag of tea.

She looked at Clorinde and said, "You can ask Navia to come as well. A tea party is more interesting when there are more people."

"No problem." Clorinde agreed. She thought Navia would also be interested in the tea party.

The gifts had almost been distributed, and everyone was very satisfied with their gifts. Richard also brought up business.

"In a few days, one of the seven stars of Liyue, [Tianquan Star], will come to Fontaine for a diplomatic visit, aiming at 'cultural exchange'."

"【Tianquanxing】? Is it the builder and owner of Qun Yu Pavilion?" When Fu Ningna heard it, she immediately became interested. If this was the visitor, could she take this opportunity to discuss the floating technology with him?

Linnett had a bad feeling. If she remembered correctly, the [Tianquan Star] should be a young single woman.

Moreover, Liyue has just survived the crisis, and it is the time to rebuild the country and make great progress. As one of the Seven Stars, it is too abnormal for him to come to Fontaine instead of staying in Liyue.

The most important thing is that this news came from Richard, not the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Obviously, this is related to the other party. Could it be another "Eightfold Son of God"? Linnet thought solemnly.

So how many 'enemies' does she have?

The acting leader of Mondstadt, the chief priest of Inazuma's shrine, the supreme lady of Liyue...

Isn't this too much pressure for a small secretary like her? Linnet thought of this and glanced at Funina, who had no sense of crisis.

Forget it, I can't count on you.

Life is not easy, cat sighs.jpg

"About what time?" Linnet asked. She needed to know the time when the other party would arrive so that she could prepare for the situation.

"It hasn't been decided yet, but he will probably come over after Liyue has initially stabilized. It will probably take some time," Richard said.

When he left, Ningguang was still busy arranging Liyue's post-disaster reconstruction work, and it seemed that she would not be able to come in a short time.

After all, Ningguang told him about this matter just before he left, and both the timing and the occasion were not very formal. It should have been a spur-of-the-moment decision.

And since it is a cultural exchange, Fontaine also needs to make some preparations. Therefore, if Ningguang really wants to visit, she will definitely inform the Fontaine officials in advance, and this cultural exchange activity will only be carried out after both parties are ready.

This will take even longer, and those who understand will understand the efficiency of Fontaine officials.

What gave Richard a bigger headache than Ningguang's visit was the immortal who came to see him before leaving - Master Liuyunjiefeng.

After the disaster, Zhenjun found Richard and told him that the child she had entrusted to her had grown up and had been looking for him all these years.

However, seeing that Richard was in a hurry to return to Fontainebleau, Master Liuyunjiefeng did not force Richard to see the child. He just told Richard that he could go and see the child if he had time.

After hearing the proposal of Ningguang Culture's visit, the True Lord also said: "If you really don't have time, you can also let Shen He come to find you. It's really annoying. I've been taking care of the child for so many years, but why do I feel that the child cares more about you."

Zhenjun naturally did not avoid Ningguang when saying this, and the meaning was very clear. If Ningguang wanted to go to Fontainebleau, Shenhe could naturally go with her.

Ningguang's eyes flickered for a moment as she readily agreed to Zhenjun's arrangement. Before leaving, she would send someone to Jueyunjian to inform him and take Shenhe with her to Fengdan.

Richard seemed to have foreseen what Zhongli said, "The trouble Richard will face is more difficult than that of Liyue Harbor."

Volume 94: Chapter 4 Contract & Fukaros (K+)

After afternoon tea, Richard did not stay in Mo Mang Palace for long. After all, he was still on vacation in theory and he had used up his leave note. There was no reason for him to rest for only half a day, and he obviously could not waste the afternoon.

But before leaving, Richard made an appointment with Fernina to go to the Oprykle Opera House tonight to watch the latest musical, and he had already prepared the tickets.

Funina said she never needed a ticket to go to the Oprylica Opera House and could go whenever she wanted, and sometimes people even paid for her to go.

But this time it was obviously different. The Water God's seats at the Oprykle Opera House were too conspicuous, so Richard prepared a private business box where he could watch the performance and discuss important matters.

Finina agreed, and Richard didn't ask why she would rather spend so much money to book the business box at Mora's expense instead of enjoying the free exclusive Water God viewing seat with an excellent view with her.

Because Furniture had already guessed Richard's purpose for asking her out alone. After this trip to Liyue, the other party should have found a way to "completely" gain her trust.

After coming out of the Momang Palace, Richard came to the Opikley Opera House. A middle-aged man hurried to greet him after seeing Richard.

"Mr. Richard, you are here."

"Well, how are the preparations for the musical going?"

"Please rest assured that all the actors are ready and will definitely satisfy you with tonight's performance."

The middle-aged man was the chief director of tonight's musical, and the reason why he was so respectful to Richard was naturally because Richard was the biggest investor in this musical and the one who didn't care about anything.

Apart from coming up with a story and arranging the necessary financial supervisors, he left everything else to these professionals. He did not interfere in casting or behind-the-scenes preparations. He gave money and connections, and even did not insert advertisements.

For a musical director who has suffered a lot from being pressured by the client, having such a financial sponsor is a rare opportunity in a century, so naturally he has to serve him well.

Among today’s investors, there are fewer and fewer people who understand art. That would be fine, but they always like to meddle in professional matters and add some meaningless plot points to promote products.

Always turn the noble, pure and elegant art theater into a large-scale commercial product launch conference.

Guests paid to watch the commercials, and they also gave me a free musical, which really made me cry.

He is a business genius.

As for the story outline given by Richard, although the plot is a bit old-fashioned and unoriginal, the idea is good. In addition, there is sufficient funding, and the top talents in the industry can be hired to participate, so the final performance is worth looking forward to.

Anyway, the musical director is full of confidence and feels that this will be a highlight in his directorial career.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Mr. Michel." Richard nodded.

What Richard wants is the best performance effect. After all, sometimes when the atmosphere is right, many words that cannot be said normally will come out naturally.

Whether it was a musical or the location chosen as the Oprykle Opera House, everything was carefully considered. Richard had already started preparing for these things after returning from Mond.

The plot of the musical prepared by Richard is roughly about the princess of the Water Kingdom who accidentally learned of the divine revelation of world destruction, and then a series of stories unfolded around the three themes of divine revelation, world destruction, and salvation.

In the story, the princess makes a lot of efforts to avoid the end of world destruction and encounters many difficulties and hardships. Unlike ordinary stories where efforts can bring rewards, the efforts of the princess in this story are in vain. Countless setbacks and hardships make her begin to place her hopes on the illusory "God".

As for the divine revelation, she buried it deep in her heart, because God told her that if she told the divine revelation to others, then God would not bring down salvation, and the Water Kingdom would be swallowed up by the flood and destroyed as predicted.

At this point the princess put on a mask and faced the world with a smile, telling everyone that the crisis would be resolved, and before that they just had to enjoy the banquet. She would bear everything, take responsibility for everything, and save everything.

And this is exactly what the princess herself considers her 'duty'.

One day, a capable minister came to this joyful kingdom. He noticed something was wrong with the princess and offered to share the burden.

The princess trusted this minister very much, but some things could not be solved by trust alone. The princess told the minister not to ask any further questions and to just enjoy the present moment like the people of the Water Kingdom.

However, the ministers did not give up, and tried various means to make the princess speak, such as persuading her with scriptures, persuading her with sincere words, and even using seduction. Unfortunately, the princess was like the spies in movies and TV dramas, and she would not listen to them, and many jokes were made because of this.

Eventually, the world was destroyed as predicted. The disaster destroyed the capital and submerged the villages. Everything in the Water Kingdom disappeared as if it had been erased by an eraser, but the "God" that the princess longed for did not come.

As the only survivor of the disaster, what kept her alive was the "Ark" prepared in advance by her minister. Because she failed to get information from the princess in advance, when the disaster came, the minister could only do his best to prepare such a small boat that could only carry one person. He left the hope of life to the princess, and he himself was destroyed together with the Water Kingdom.

This is the end of the story.

The first half is the unfolding of the orthodox plot, interspersed with romantic comedy, and ends in tragedy.

All the elements are present, and this plot, which seems to be a flop at first glance, turns out to be unexpectedly good with sufficient funding and a top production team!

"It's a very good musical. It would be even better if the screenwriter didn't have any ulterior motives." Funina gave this evaluation while hugging her chest.

For Funina, who has been immersed in musicals for many years and has participated in many well-known plays, it is really a simple thing to understand the various metaphors in the story.

And…can this even be considered a metaphor?

The princess of the Water Kingdom, a loyal minister, the divine revelation of world destruction... this is already an undisguised revelation!

The prototype of the courtier in the play should be Richard, right? Is it really okay for this guy to brag about himself like this?

"I think the screenwriter wrote it very well." Richard looked at Furninna, "It's very realistic, isn't it?"

"Do you think Fontaine will be flooded in the end?" Funina looked at Richard without avoiding.

"The prophecy will definitely happen, and Fontaine will definitely be flooded. I have known this for a long time." Richard said.

After hearing Richard's words, Furninna's pupils shrank, and her hands, which were folded over her arms, tightly grasped her clothes, causing wrinkles on the smooth clothes.

"The information you received is wrong." Funina said, "Fontaine will not be flooded, and the prophecy may not happen. Even if it does happen, I will save everyone, and the content of the musical will not be performed in reality."

"I believe you, Furninna."

"G?" Finina was stunned. She didn't expect Richard to say that. Under normal circumstances, shouldn't the other party question her and then ask what he wanted to know?

Why did you say this suddenly? Are you admitting defeat?

"Of course I believe you, Fernina. I know you are not the princess in the story, and I will not be the minister in the story."

“It’s hard to predict where the future is headed, but it certainly won’t end in tragedy like the story.”

"But..." Richard changed the subject.

When Fu Nina heard Richard say "but", an "as expected" expression appeared on her face. She knew that Richard would never admit defeat like this. The seemingly "submissive" words before were all paving the way for the words after the "but".

"The premise of all this is that Lady Funina will not hide the secret until the end like the princess in the story."

'I knew it! 'Furninna thought.

All the previous words were for the purpose of "discovering her secret". Whether it was asking her out alone or watching a musical, Richard's purpose had never been hidden from the beginning.

"I told you the secret conditions. Before you gain my 'absolute' trust, I won't say anything." Finina hugged her chest, closed her eyes, and turned her head to the side, showing an attitude that no room for negotiation.

Then he opened one eye and squinted and said, "And you don't think you can gain my trust with a decent musical, do you?"

"That's too much of a fantasy!" Furniture thought angrily. Her trust was not so cheap.

"Of course not." Richard shook his head and took out his ultimate trump card from his arms - the Book of Contract.

"What is this?" Furniture asked in confusion when she saw Richard suddenly take out a piece of ancient paper that looked a little yellowed.

"The Book of Contracts, which was condensed by the God of Contracts himself and contains the 'rules'."

"I told you so confidently before that the prophecy would come true and Fontaine would be submerged, precisely because of the 'rules'."

"Funina, do you know the World Tree?"

"I know. The legendary World Tree records the past and present of Teyvat. Everything on Teyvat can be found in the World Tree." Although Finina does not have the authority of a god, she has been constantly seeking ways to deal with the flood crisis over the past four hundred years.

During this period, I naturally learned more or less some secrets about the continent of Teyvat.

"Then you probably don't know that in addition to recording the past and present, the World Tree also contains records about the 'future'. The [Prophecy] is the 'future' that has long been engraved in the World Tree."

“And this is exactly why I am so sure that [the prophecy] will happen.”

Apparently, this was the first time that Finina had heard of such a thing. As Richard finished speaking, the last bit of hope that the prophecy had passed through her heart was shattered.

[The prophecy] will definitely happen, so what is the meaning of everything she insists on now? And can the god in the mirror really keep his promise and save everyone?