With ample intelligence and home-field advantage, Furina managed to hold her own against Yae Miko in their negotiations.
The results of the negotiations weren't necessarily good, but they weren't bad either. Neither side gained much of an upper hand. But that's what cooperation is: a product of mutual compromise. If you're benefiting in every aspect, then it's not cooperation, it's bullying.
After the deal was struck, the previously tense atmosphere in the meeting room suddenly dissipated, replaced by peace and calm. It was hard to imagine that the two elegant women currently sipping tea and praising each other's refined taste had just moments ago been going toe-to-toe over personnel distribution. Metaphors, exaggerations, sarcasm, every rhetorical weapon imaginable had been hurled back and forth, as if their fierce debate could even wear down the laws of the world itself.
To put it simply: it was an argument disguised as a negotiation.
Still, both Furina and Yae Miko held themselves to high standards; neither uttered a single vulgar word throughout.
They were the kind of people who could utterly humiliate you and crush your pride with elegant language alone.
Yae Miko's sharp tongue was something Richard was familiar with. What surprised him was Furina's performance; he hadn't expected this side of her, and it definitely made him see her in a new light.
'Next time I argue with her, I need to claim the moral high ground first and not give her a chance to bite back…'
"Lady Furina, the theory you just mentioned about the 'Seven-Nation Economic Model of Teyvat' was quite novel. Would you mind telling me who proposed it?" Yae Miko asked, fingers interlaced at her waist, leaning in slightly as she listened with genuine curiosity.
Furina glanced at Richard. The theory was something she had heard from him. As for who actually proposed it, she had no idea.
In fact, she barely understood the theory herself. All she knew was that if things followed this theory's trajectory, they'd make a lot of Mora in the future.
As for the details? As long as it didn't go against the Heavenly Principles, she wasn't worried.
"Richard told me about the theory," Furina said, redirecting the question to him. "He probably knows who the author is."
"Oh? Then perhaps Secretary General Richard could share the name with me?" Yae Miko narrowed her foxlike eyes in amusement. "Before I leave Fontaine, I'd very much like to pay this brilliant economist a visit."
"I'm afraid you'll be disappointed," Richard replied with a regretful shake of the head. "I read about it in a book. Unfortunately, the author wasn't credited."
Yae Miko nodded, indicating she understood. But her next words caught Richard slightly off guard.
"Still, the theory feels strangely familiar… It reminds me of a certain organization active across Teyvat's seven nations."
"You mean the Fatui?" Furina immediately thought of them.
Now that Yae Miko had brought it up, she began to connect the theory to the Fatui's rise, and the more she thought about it, the more it aligned.
After all, the Fatui had prospered by linking together goods, technology, information, services, personnel, capital, and management from all seven nations to generate enormous profits and expand their influence.
The most successful example of this was the Northland Bank, which had branches across all seven nations. Though local banks still held more ground in their home regions, the Northland Bank had unparalleled reach across the continent.
Today, it not only serves the Fatui with cross-border financial backing but also caters to countless multinational merchant guilds as loyal clients.
"Lady Furina, you think so too?" Yae Miko smiled slyly. "I feel that this economist must have some deep ties with the Fatui. What do you think, Mr. Richard?"
She looked at him calmly, a playful smirk at the corner of her lips.
Lynette stole a glance at Richard. 'He's probably drenched in cold sweat right now', she thought.
But Richard merely smiled and replied smoothly, "It's not out of the question. After all, that book I read did come from Snezhnaya."
"My, Mr. Richard, you're quite the knowledgeable man, with such wide connections that even reach Snezhnaya. Impressive," Yae Miko praised.
Furina nodded. "It's true. Richard knows so much. Thanks to him, I've avoided a lot of mistakes at work."
'A lot? More like everything', she thought to herself. Without Richard, she might already be rotting in Meropide Fortress by now.
Yae Miko gave Furina another look. 'Did she really not pick up on my hidden meaning? Or is she just pretending because there are others around?'
Her pale fingers clenched subtly. 'To think I've become the outsider, watching him serve someone new…'
Yae Miko suddenly felt like a discarded Nendoroid figure—cast aside for a shinier version.
"If Lady Guuji is interested in the article, perhaps you'd like to visit my place?" Richard said, meeting her gaze directly. "The book may be gone, but I've preserved some visual records. They might serve as a reference."
Yae Miko's expression instantly shifted. 'Visual records?' The memory hit her like a truck.
Back when they had just established the outlying island, the Kanjo Commission had gifted the Grand Narukami Shrine a number of Fontaine gadgets, including a camera.
She had been fascinated by it and asked Richard to take several pictures. In fact, he'd coaxed her into changing outfits multiple times for different shots.
If it were something tame, like Kujou Sara's portrait, she wouldn't mind. And she trusted Richard wouldn't share them anyway; he was the type to hoard such things for himself.
But the problem was… some of those photos had captured her true form.
'Can you imagine a cute little pink-haired fox, dressed in a custom shrine maiden outfit, with a gohei stick in her mouth?'
And that was the most decent photo.
Just recalling it made Yae Miko curl her toes with anxiety. Her tightly arched feet, the faint blue veins on her pale insteps—it all betrayed her inner turmoil.
Forcing a smile, she replied, "No, thank you. I'm only interested in people. Words on paper are things of the past. Face-to-face exchange is the only way to understand new ideas."
Richard got her message loud and clear: 'Let the past stay buried'. What mattered now was how he saw things; if he agreed to return to Inazuma with her, she would let everything else slide.
'Heh… still so naive, little fox.'
"No worries," Richard said with a warm smile that could melt ice. "Aside from the visuals, I also kept a notebook with some notes I found interesting. If you'd like, I can gift it to you."
To outsiders, his offer sounded totally normal.
But to Yae Miko, those words were a ticking bomb.
'The notebook?!' Another memory surged forward, how she used to jot down her thoughts like a diary, even dabbling in writing romantic short stories. She had even asked Richard to submit one on her behalf.
Nothing came of it, and she eventually forgot all about it due to her busy schedule. But now that he mentioned it, all those forgotten, cringeworthy moments came rushing back.
Her pale neck turned red, her chest heaved, and her voluptuous curves squirmed in her seat.
If there was ever an idiom that captured this moment for Yae Miko, it would be: Like lying on a bed of needles.
After a long silence, Yae Miko suddenly smiled and said, "Then I'll thank you in advance for your generosity, Secretary Richard."
'Whatever happens, I have to get those blackmail materials back first,' she thought through gritted teeth.
Richard waved his hand casually, a meaningful look in his eyes as he gazed at Yae Miko's charming and alluring face. "It's nothing. I have many notebooks like that, and each one has backups. Giving one to Lady Guuji Yae doesn't affect me in the slightest. Why wouldn't I?"
"Is that so? Heh…" Yae Miko forced a laugh, but couldn't quite make it sound natural. Still, given the situation and the fact that Richard held leverage over her, she couldn't afford to snap at him outright.
The shrine maiden who normally attended to Yae Miko's daily life noticed something was off and couldn't help but mutter inwardly.
'Why does the Guuji-sama seem kind of mad? Lord Richard even offered her such a valuable notebook…'
'Also, this Richard guy from Fontaine is really good-looking. I thought that the first time I saw him, but the more I look, the more attractive he seems. He's got a totally different aura compared to the other officials around here. I wonder if he has a girlfriend…'
'Now that I think about it, ever since Guuji-sama met Lord Richard, she's been acting kind of… different. It's hard to describe, but it's like she lost the upper hand, yet somehow she isn't even upset about it. She almost seems… pleased? Is this what people mean when they say two equally matched minds have met?'
'Honestly… Guuji-sama and Lord Richard kinda look good together… Wait, what am I even thinking!?'
Yae Miko, completely unaware, had no idea that her personal shrine maiden had begun shipping her and Richard together.
Shipping everything will be the end of you!
"Eh? Can I have a copy too?" Furina chimed in suddenly, clearly not wanting to be left out. "I want to see what's in it, too."
I might not actually read it, but I still need to have it.jpg
"It's just a notebook… what's valuable is the thinking inside," Yae Miko said with a strained smile, almost blurting out a sharp No! But barely managed to restrain herself. "If you're curious, Lady Furina, why not just ask Mr. Richard directly? Wouldn't that be more efficient?"
"Makes sense," Furina nodded. The explanation sounded logical enough, and in any case, she probably wouldn't read it even if she had it.
Richard ignored the dagger-like look from Yae Miko and addressed Furina, "If you really want to read it, I can bring you a few volumes later. With a bit of commentary, they're far more useful than reading them alone."
Furina couldn't help but recall the "tutoring sessions" from before. If those were what he meant by commentary…
She suddenly shook her head hard, face flushed, hands waving nervously in front of her chest. "N-No thanks! You're busy enough as it is, don't trouble yourself on my account!"
Richard didn't think it would be a bother. In fact, teaching Furina was part of his work. If a leader could fully grasp their subordinates' intentions, it would save a lot of friction and drastically improve administrative efficiency.
"It really wouldn't disrupt anything…" Richard began, but seeing how genuinely Furina wanted to decline, he just sighed. 'Alright then. If the kid doesn't want tutoring, she doesn't want tutoring.'
But to Yae Miko, this looked entirely different. Her head was starting to feel heavy, like she was wearing something tight. Her chest felt constricted, her cheeks burned, and sweat started forming; she kind of wanted to go take a shower.
Red temperature rising...
Miko's attendant, the shrine maiden Inahi Hotomi, glanced at Furina, then Richard, and finally her own boss. Outwardly, she still carried herself with proper decorum, but inwardly, she had already drafted a love-hate soap opera of over 100,000 words.
If Yae Miko weren't the editor-in-chief of the Yae Publishing House, she might've even submitted the story for publication.
Then again… better not. Work comes first.
After all that, Yae Miko lost interest in chatting over tea with Furina. She just wanted to return to the Inazuma Embassy, sit quietly, and sort out her thoughts.
As for acting like a jealous schoolgirl and openly fighting Furina for attention, she would never do something so immature. And she wasn't really planning to expose Richard's true identity either.
As much as Richard was infuriating, he was undeniably competent.
Now, Yae Miko was conflicted. She wanted to expose him, but she was also scared. What if doing so only made others see not just his dark side, but also his brilliance? What if someone else started to covet him, too? Then she'd have a rival on her hands.
Worse still, he was holding onto so much dirt on her. Who knows how many shameful things she'd done in the past that could be traced back to Richard's schemes?
Just thinking about how her younger self had been toyed with in the palm of his hand made Yae Miko want to scream. If only she could be like a light novel protagonist and travel back in time, armed with foreknowledge, she could give him a taste of his own medicine.
Even imagining it feels so satisfying. Once she got back to Inazuma, maybe she'd get Yae Publishing to launch a themed writing contest.
Topic: Going Back in Time!
......
Meanwhile, Furina had returned to her office, expecting to be showered with praise—but Richard didn't seem to share that idea...