"Ahahaha~ You don't know how interesting their expressions were when I went to inquire about the situation."
At Angel's Share, Kaeya, a Captain of the Knights of Favonius, shared the day's events at the Goethe Grand Hotel with Diluc, the owner.
Just thinking about how those usually arrogant Fatui had become, Kaeya was overjoyed, as if he had found money.
"I heard that this incident was caused by someone poisoning them. Have you investigated who did it?"
Diluc asked while wiping a wine glass, "You've been investigating for a day. You can't possibly have no clues, can you?"
"Unfortunately, there really isn't a single clue. We investigated the water source, and even a Knight personally drank some, but nothing happened. Not only that, the ingredients were the same. We investigated the Goethe Grand Hotel's ingredient supplier; they are a merchant with an excellent reputation and have never had any problems. Moreover, the Fatui always check the ingredients for deliberate poisoning, so the possibility of poisoning through ingredients has also been ruled out."
Kaeya also really wanted to find the person who had secretly poisoned them, not to bring them to justice, but to protect them, to prevent the Fatui from finding this person before the Knights of Favonius.
Despite the Fatui's current condition, where even walking a few steps was difficult, they still had advance troops operating outside Mondstadt City, so they couldn't let their guard down.
After investigating for an entire day, he found no clues, which made him start to suspect whether the Fatui had staged this incident themselves, with the aim of finding other ways to put pressure on Mondstadt.
"No suspicious personnel at all? Not even one?"
"No, ever since the Fatui moved into the Goethe Grand Hotel, their employees were all kicked out. It's basically all their people inside, and no suspicious individuals entered last night either."
"Could they have staged it themselves?"
"It's possible, but if they really did that, the cost would be too great. You weren't there, so you don't know the situation. I can only say, the smell was truly overwhelming."
Recalling the scene of his investigation at the Goethe Grand Hotel during the day, Kaeya involuntarily covered his nose.
He wondered if Diluc would kick him out if he hadn't showered before coming over, because of the smell on him.
If the Fatui could truly go to such lengths, Kaeya would almost admire them, but it was highly unlikely, because of something that made him certain of this idea.
"Why are you so sure it wasn't their doing? Given the Fatui's modus operandi, they can resort to any means to achieve their goals."
"Of course, I know that, but when I went to the Goethe Grand Hotel today, I didn't see their The Lady at all. When I asked them what The Lady was doing, they nervously said that The Lady was temporarily out of Mondstadt City, having gone out on business."
"That's impossible." Diluc immediately denied this statement: "If she left Mondstadt City, I would definitely know. But from the time she arrived until now, there has been no news of her leaving Mondstadt City."
"Exactly, it's the same on my end. So I conclude that she is still in the Goethe Grand Hotel. As for why she isn't coming out to bother me, what do you think?"
"...You don't need to say anything more."
With such a strong hint, Diluc could understand what Kaeya was trying to convey.
Diluc had been present when The Lady negotiated with the Knights of Favonius. Although he had left the Knights of Favonius, as Mondstadt's biggest boss, he had the right to participate in such discussions.
He detested that person, swaggering around with her status as a foreign envoy, truly believing herself to be so impressive? If it weren't for Snezhnaya and their Queen backing her, she wouldn't be able to be so arrogant.
But this time, she couldn't be arrogant. Diluc could imagine her lying weakly in bed, her face filled with anger, vowing to make the instigator of this incident pay the price.
Thinking of this, Diluc nodded, and Kaeya, who happened to see this, laughed, "What? Suddenly you feel this incident isn't so bad, right?"
"Yes, this is a good thing."
——————
"No clues at all, huh? What are you planning to do next, Jean?"
In the Knights of Favonius office, Lisa asked after reading the report and taking a sip of black tea.
"What else can I do? Just respond in the usual way."
"You mean..."
"Condolences, and express strong condemnation, angry condemnation, towards the instigator of this incident. Finally, express sympathy for the victims of this incident. Kaeya will handle this."
"Uh (⊙o⊙)... I didn't expect you to handle it this way. Aren't you worried that those Fatui will become enraged out of shame?"
"Enraged out of shame? So what? Can they prove that this incident is related to Mondstadt?"
Jean smiled: "The entire Goethe Grand Hotel is currently occupied by Fatui members; no one else can get in. There are even people guarding outside, so there's no possibility of infiltration."
No matter how the Fatui accuse them, the Knights of Favonius will not make any moves if they demand the culprit of this incident be handed over.
Even if they use Snezhnaya as a threat, Jean will not back down. After all, Snezhnaya has a bad relationship with every country, so what if it gets a little worse?
If they accuse the Knights of Favonius of incompetence this time, they can investigate the matter themselves.
But if they dare to arrest people without evidence, the Knights of Favonius will not do nothing like before. Even if the Knights of Favonius can't do much, someone will "invite" them to a secret place for a good talk.
"Actually, it's not that there are no clues about the culprit. Although it's just my speculation, if it were that person, it wouldn't be difficult to achieve this."
"That person? You mean..."
Lisa nodded. To silently poison the entire Goethe Grand Hotel, only Durandal could do it.
As a God, silently entering a place is the simplest thing. As The Expert in this field, the poison released by Durandal is naturally indefensible, and even that Harbinger cannot defend against such a poison.
But... why would Durandal do this? Why would she target the Fatui? Did the Fatui provoke her in some way?
"This is just my speculation, and I can't be certain that it's the truth. However, this is also good news, isn't it? Now that most of the Fatui members have fallen, I believe no one will bother us for a short time."
Those Fatui diplomats would come over to annoy them every few days. Now they can't even lie in bed, only lie on their stomachs, and have to constantly clutch their stomachs and run to the restroom.
In such a state, it's impossible for them to swagger around as before. They even have to think about how to avoid embarrassment.
"Hmm, that's good too. But on the surface, we still need to show 'concern' for the Fatui, so they don't catch us in a misstep."
"Heh heh heh~ I know what to do."
Lisa smiled elegantly, stood up, and left the office, returning to her library.
Jean told Kaeya about this, asking him to inform the other Knights of Favonius members to express "sympathy" for the Fatui's plight and not to say anything inappropriate.
"Those are the Acting Grand Master's exact words, but I believe everyone certainly wouldn't want to miss this good opportunity."
Seeing the Knights of Favonius members looking unwilling, Kaeya patted their shoulders understandingly and laughed.
"The Acting Grand Master meant not to mock, but she didn't say not to be sarcastic."
What does sarcasm mean? It means showing surface-level concern, but actually saying things that can raise blood pressure and make people so angry they want to vomit blood.
Everyone was already an adult. Kaeya's slight reminder was enough for everyone to basically know what to do.
The gloom on their faces instantly disappeared, replaced by brilliant smiles. Everyone patted their chests, indicating that they would take good care of those Fatui, making them deeply feel their heartfelt concern.
Kaeya sent off the Knights of Favonius members with a smile. After doing all this, he walked towards Angel's Share.
Heh heh~ There was nothing he needed to do for now. The investigation into the culprit would certainly yield no results.
Since that was the case, why bother doing useless things? He would take advantage of this time to have a few drinks at the bar and relax.
So, while the Knights of Favonius and the Fatui were investigating the instigator, what was the poisoner doing?
Durandal, led by Klee, arrived at Wolvendom near Mondstadt City. She brought Durandal today because she wanted to introduce a friend to her.
"Razor is Klee's good friend, Sister Durandal. You'll definitely like him."
Durandal indicated that she didn't care about just any human, but seeing Klee babbling and looking expectant, she couldn't bring herself to say anything.
Forget it, she would just see what kind of person Klee's friend was first. If there was a problem, she could correct him.
Wolvendom, as the name suggests, is a place where wolves live. Usually, very few people come here, because besides the wolves, there is also a powerful life form residing here.
Klee skillfully led Durandal through Wolvendom, calling Razor's name as she walked.
"Eh? That's strange. Usually, Razor responds to Klee very quickly. Why is there no reaction this time after calling for so long?"
Tilting her head, adorably biting her finger, Klee said, puzzled.
Durandal didn't speak. She followed Klee from behind, and without realizing it, the two arrived at the depths of Wolvendom. This was a very special place, with an indented area, like a training ground, where wolf shapes could be seen on the walls.
"Ah! It's Razor!"
Razor, whom Klee was looking for, was inside. He was a boy wearing a hooded outfit, and beside him were several wolves, one of which was lying on the ground, dying.
Klee opened her Wind Glider and jumped down, with Durandal following behind.
As soon as they landed, the atmosphere became very unsettling. A giant wolf made of spirit appeared before Durandal.
"What... are you doing in Wolvendom, Durandal?"
"Andrius..."