In the office at the Knights of Favonius Headquarters, Lisa sipped a cup of hot tea, awaiting Grand Master Jean's return.
It wasn't until around lunchtime that Jean finally hurried back from outside.
"Lisa, how did it go?" Jean asked immediately upon seeing her.
"The harvest was quite substantial. First, regarding the intelligence from the mobile game..."
Lisa gave Jean a rough summary of the plot she had experienced in the game that day.
In truth, the story she had gone through was simple: they had identified the source of Stormterror's power—the Temples of the Four Winds—and then proceeded to conquer them one by one.
Most of her time had been spent studying the game's mechanics and statistics.
"If that's truly the case, we must dispatch personnel immediately to clear out the Temples of the Four Winds!" Jean declared righteously.
If they could act before Stormterror finished gathering its power, they might be able to prevent the attack on Mondstadt from ever happening.
"The temples must be cleared, of course, but I suggest we first send a small team to the Temple of the Falcon, as it's the closest to the city."
Lisa spoke without hesitation. Clearly, she had already thought through how to handle the situation while she was waiting.
"Firstly, because the Knights are severely understaffed right now. And secondly, what if this scenario was simply fabricated by the owner of that game hall? If we needlessly deplete the forces within the main city, wouldn't that leave us with a major vulnerability?"
"Don't forget, those people from the Fatui are also watching us like a tiger eyes its prey."
Jean nodded.
That was Lisa for you—always able to remain calm in such situations.
Having her by her side was truly reassuring.
"Then let's have Kaeya scout the Temple of the Falcon first."
After making the decision, Jean turned back to Lisa.
"You mentioned there was other intelligence. What was it?"
"It's about the owner of that mobile game hall..."
---o---
At that moment, just outside the headquarters office.
A Knight of Favonius had just finished his routine patrol of the other areas and was returning to his post as a guard at the entrance.
His name was Duke, the son of a wealthy merchant in the city, who had used some financial influence to secure his position within the Knights of Favonius.
But Duke was not content with the meager post of a guard. He yearned to achieve great things and bring glory to his family.
Because Jean had been in such a hurry when she returned, she had only left the door ajar. As a result, Duke overheard parts of her conversation with Lisa.
"How could that be? Even you couldn't sound out his true depth?" Jean asked, surprised.
"Ultimately, I had too many reservations. If I had truly made a move, I might have been able to grasp some of his abilities, but that's obviously impossible. There's no need for us, the Knights, to offend such a mysterious shopkeeper."
"Let's wait for word from Kaeya first. If things are really as they are in the game, then the nature of this matter will change completely."
The shopkeeper of the mobile game hall?
Duke was momentarily stunned.
He felt like he had seen those words somewhere before.
He remembered!
It was that shop at the end of the street.
He had passed by it and thought the name was strange.
From what the Grand Master and Lisa were saying, it seemed this shopkeeper was hiding some sort of secret.
If I could uncover all of this, wouldn't that be a great merit?
Grand Master Jean and Lisa had their reservations, but he didn't.
After his shift, he would call upon his gang of brothers. There was no way that shopkeeper wouldn't spill something.
Duke smiled confidently, already looking forward to his performance that evening.
---o---
Inside the Angel's Share tavern.
A woman with short, ice-blue hair sat at a table in the corner, downing one drink after another.
Soon, a blush rose on her cheeks.
But her expression held no joy or excitement.
On the contrary, the sorrow etched between her brows only deepened.
Placing the Mora for her tab on the table, the woman swayed unsteadily toward the door.
"Isn't that... Eula... from the Lawrence clan..."
"To be drinking like this, and she's still a Knight of Favonius..."
"Why haven't the Knights kicked her out yet..."
In the short walk to the door, Eula heard no fewer than three groups of people gossiping about her.
Fortunately, Eula had long since grown accustomed to such pointing and whispering.
After leaving the tavern, she ambled slowly in the direction of her home.
The reason she was in such a foul mood today—foul enough to drown her sorrows in alcohol—was not because of their jeers and scorn.
It was because during a recent patrol outside the city, she had discovered signs of heavy monster activity near the Temple of the Lion, including the extremely dangerous Abyss Mages.
She had immediately decided to report this intelligence to the Knights' Headquarters in hopes of getting reinforcements.
But before she could even enter the headquarters, she was stopped by that guard named Duke.
He had refused her entry, citing that "Grand Master Jean is busy with official duties."
He had even mocked her, accusing her of "harboring ill intentions" and being a "mole within the Knights."
In the end, she was unable to enter the headquarters.
That was why, in her frustration, Eula had gone to the tavern.
And had accidentally drunk a little too much.
But Eula still had her limits; she wouldn't let herself get completely wasted.
"Huh, why is there a new... tavern here?"
Eula noticed the rows of elegant seating inside the shop.
Only a tavern would have such a setup.
And there was no one inside.
That was perfect. It would save her the annoyance of being gawked at by others.
She slowly walked in.
"Bartender, a glass of... uh... fruit juice..."
She didn't dare drink any more alcohol. Eula needed a non-alcoholic drink to sober up.