Chapter 137: Paying More Won't Work Either (Patreon)

The moment Jahoda, standing beside Nephele, heard the order, she dashed to the door and shut it.

"Please, sit, Mr. Piers. Come to think of it, your name has always sounded familiar to me."

She raised a hand, gesturing for Piers to sit. But the instant he did, something seemed to click in his mind, and a flicker of guilt crossed his face.

"You're joking, Lady Nephele. We've never met before, have we?"

Piers played dumb, trying to bluff his way past her.

"Oh? Is that so? As I recall... the actual highest authority of the Adventurers' Guild goes by that very same name, doesn't he?"

"Is... is that so... Could just be a coincidence of names. Does Lady Nephele have some grudge against the Adventurers' Guild?"

He kept playing innocent.

"Of course I do, and no small one either. In the second half of last year, Liyue's General Affairs Department suddenly infiltrated Nod-Krai. From what I know of them, their work in Liyue is genuinely beyond what upstarts like us could match — but stepping into unfamiliar territory is another matter entirely."

Just then, Nephele rose from her seat without hurry, walked around behind Piers, and planted both hands on the back of his chair.

"But later, I found their performance in Nod-Krai wasn't much worse than in Liyue — they cut into a good chunk of the Curatorium of Secrets's business. When I looked into it, it turned out intelligence agents under the Adventurers' Guild were helping them."

"That's ordinary cooperation, isn't it? Surely that's not enough to surprise you, Lady Nephele."

Nephele slowly bent down, her eyes shadowed as she leaned close to Piers's ear — a look so unnerving it startled Jahoda into an almost comical grimace, and she began quietly mourning Piers in her head.

"True, this kind of cooperation is common enough under normal circumstances. But back then, the Fatui's relationship with Liyue wasn't just bad — it was terrible. My Northern Continent Intelligence Network may not be able to infiltrate Liyue, but gathering that particular piece of information wasn't hard at all."

Nephele straightened up, walked back to her seat, and sat down again.

"My spies in Snezhnaya later found out that the one who arranged that cooperation was none other than the Adventurers' Guild's actual highest authority — a man also named Piers. So? Are you still planning to argue your way out of this, Mr. Piers?"

"It seems Lady Nephele started investigating me a long time ago. All right, all right — it really was me who arranged that cooperation. I had no choice at the time. You're not planning to make a move on me right here, are you, Lady Nephele?"

Piers finally admitted it. She'd already all but confirmed his identity — there was no point pretending any longer.

"Of course not. Besides, an adept of Liyue — I'm not even sure I could beat you. The real reason I kept you here, Mr. Piers, is something else entirely."

Nephele's tone had grown noticeably lighter, the sly edge from before gone.

"What is it?"

"I want to negotiate a deal with the Fatui. It's about Liyue. Liyue's General Affairs Department is simply too formidable within Liyue itself. I've tried more times than I can count, and every agent I plant gets found out by them. So I want the Adventurers' Guild to help my Northern Continent Intelligence Network get into Liyue."

"That's out of the question. Liyue is my partner, and besides—"

"I'll pay more."

Nephele leaned back and crossed her legs, looking utterly certain she'd get her way.

In her view, Snezhnaya's relationship with Liyue had never been particularly good to begin with, and even its recent thaw owed itself to Piers's negotiations rather than any real closeness. Add to that the fact that most intelligence chiefs cared more about profit than principle, and she saw no reason for Piers to refuse.

"I refuse."

"Why? Won't you think it over a little more? If you agree, the Northern Continent Intelligence Network will offer you a price you'll be satisfied with."

Nephele frowned slightly, though she still looked composed.

"It's true, given Snezhnaya and Liyue's relationship, a generous enough payment might have gotten me to agree. But... Lady Nephele, it seems you've cast me entirely in the role of the Adventurers' Guild's true power-holder. You're forgetting — I'm also an adept of Liyue."

"Of course I know you're an adept of Liyue. But since the Adventurers' Guild's real power isn't the Harbinger but you, I'd assumed you'd be some ruthless, cutthroat merchant."

"I'm no merchant like Regrator, nor a politician like Lord Rooster. Liyue is home to my martial uncle and my senior sister. Speaking for myself, no matter how high a price you name, I won't agree."

"Well then, that really is a pity. I thought we might come to an agreement. I hadn't expected this..."

Nephele shook her head, a little disappointed.

"My friends are still waiting to hear from me. I should get going."

Piers pushed himself up from the armrests, walked slowly toward the door, and the instant he opened it, his figure vanished.

When he reappeared, he was already standing beside Arlecchino and Columbina.

"Where's the Moon Hunter?"

"Dottore saved him. Looks like things will get a bit more troublesome, though not too much so. He'll need time to help the Moon Hunter recover his strength — once his Lunar Force drops enough, I'll be able to deal with him directly. For now, let's head back."

The instant Piers turned, Columbina grabbed his hand.

"Can... can I come back with you?"

"Come back with us. I'll speak to Her Majesty about it. I'm sure Rosalyn and Sandrone will put in a good word for you too."

Before Piers could get a word in, Arlecchino spoke first.

But Columbina showed no reaction, still clutching Piers's hand and staring up at him.

"Come back with us."

"Okay."

Only then did Columbina nod, while Arlecchino, beside her, crossed her arms with a look of exasperation.

"Wait, just a moment."

Columbina raised her other hand, and a thread of Lunar Force drifted from her palm. A small bird, drawn by it, flew over and landed in her hand.

"Go tell Lauma I've gone home ahead. Tell her not to worry about me."

The bird chirped twice, as if answering, then spread its wings and flew off.

Some time later, the three of them returned to the Fatui's Design Bureau. By the time all the commotion had settled and they arrived, it was already night.

The guard at the entrance moved to stop Columbina, but the moment Arlecchino shot him a glance, he immediately dropped his gaze, not daring to meet her eyes.

Piers then went to find the [Electro Cicin Mage] on duty to arrange a room for Columbina, while Arlecchino left the rest to him and went straight back to her own room to sleep.

But the [Electro Cicin Mage] on duty told him most of the Bureau's staff were already asleep — the only option was to wake someone up to clear out the room where Sandrone stored her spare parts.

In the end, Piers decided against it. Waking someone in the middle of the night would probably earn him some silent cursing, and with Arlecchino already asleep, he had no choice but to stash Columbina in his own room for the time being and sort it out come morning.

"Ghost!!!"

In the middle of the night, a terrified shriek rang out from Sandrone's room as she slept.

She flicked on the light and found Columbina sitting at the foot of her bed, holding the leftover dessert from their last tea party.

"Columbina?! Why is it you?!"

Just then, the two [Electro Cicin Mages] guarding Sandrone's rest quarters, startled awake, rushed in at once — one of them trailed by a full six cicins.

"What's wrong, Lord Marionette?!"

The two of them called out in a panic, but both froze the instant they saw Columbina.

"Lady Damselette... Columbina, why are you here?! Go ask whoever's on duty!"

One of the [Electro Cicin Mages] released a cicin, sending it flying off.

The two [Electro Cicin Mages] immediately dropped into combat stances, though they were still clearly rattled — after all, this was the former Third Seat.

"Piers brought me here."

Columbina looked utterly innocent.

"Piers!!!"

The commotion pulled Piers out of his cultivation session. Since their rooms weren't far apart, he'd only taken a few steps outside before he arrived — just as the cicin sent out earlier flew back.

"Marionette... the sister on duty says... Piers... came back... she thought Lord Piers would've told you."

By then Sandrone had recovered from the shock and pieced together roughly what had happened. She climbed out of bed in her nightgown.

"You two, go on outside. Don't make a bigger scene. I'll handle this."

"Yes, ma'am."

The two [Electro Cicin Mages] bowed and turned to leave, shutting the door behind them.

"All right, explain. What happened, and why did you bring her back here? Lucky for you I fixed Pulonia this afternoon and handed her off to my staff for maintenance — otherwise I might've just attacked on the spot."

Sandrone sat down on the sofa, pinched a bit of tea leaves left over from the tea party, and brewed herself a cup with water she'd kept warm.

"There was a small incident today. Dottore made off with the Moon Hunter, so I brought Columbina back with me for now."

"What?! Dottore? Isn't he supposed to be dead?"

"It's complicated. All you need to know is that he's alive."

"What a pain. Is Dottore part cockroach or something? Even this doesn't kill him."

Sandrone grumbled, picking up her tea and taking a sip.

"And even setting that aside — Columbina is the Fatui's most wanted fugitive. You just brazenly walk her in here? Do you think being a Harbinger makes me a decoration?"

Normally, Sandrone's usual attire carried a certain intimidating presence. But right now, dressed in a nightgown, even her fiercest words delivered in her fiercest tone came off as more cute than threatening.

"Lord Marionette, there's no one else around. Others might not know the full story, but surely you do. Besides, you two used to get along so well — I'm sure you wouldn't actually throw her out."

"Hmph! Who says we get along? I've hated her from the very start."

"Lord Marionette, didn't you say I was the one you hated most?"

"I hate both of you!!"

Sandrone snapped back, turning her head away and crossing her arms — but a moment later, her tone softened again.

"Fine, forget it. I'll pretend I didn't see any of this. Just get Columbina back to her room, and don't let her come barging into mine in the middle of the night again."

Piers raised a hand, wrapping a ring of adept power around Columbina and lifting her clean off the floor.

"Understood. Rest well then, Lord Marionette. We won't bother you any further."

He carried Columbina out and pulled the door shut behind him.

Back in his own room, Piers set Columbina down on the bed and took a seat at the small table by the window.

"All right, get some sleep. No more sneaking off, or you won't get anything to eat tomorrow."

Columbina instantly settled down, lying quietly and pulling up the blanket. With her return, the Corpse God that had been tailing her finally came back to Piers's side as well.

That made Piers even less worried about Il Dottore.

A few quiet days passed like that — until one night...

BOOM—!

The front gate of the Fatui's Design Bureau was blown wide open, and the Moon Hunter's silhouette strode in from outside — seemingly recovered from his half-spectral state into a proper physical form.

The [Electro Cicin Mage] on duty immediately released every cicin she had to alert everyone.

The Moon Hunter paid her no mind — or rather, something seemed off about him. His eyes were filled with rage, his whole body trembling as if in pain, and his mouth kept muttering a string of names.

"Vedrfolnir! Rhinedottir! Sorendis, Sorendis..."

He kept repeating those names over and over. Purple tentacles sprouted from the ground around him, and in almost an instant tore through most of that section of the base.

"What's going on?! Is he tearing the place apart?"

Sandrone came running over, Piers close behind her, while Arlecchino and Rosalyn approached from the other side.

"So it's you. Heh — perfect timing to try out the System upgrade I gave Pulonia. Pulonia—"

"Lord Marionette, wait. You won't need to deal with him yourself."

Piers stopped Sandrone just in time before she could give Pulonia the order. Anyone could see the Moon Hunter had lost all reason, and his body was far more solid than before — proof his strength had recovered considerably.

Piers had no idea how the man had managed it, but if he let Pulonia get sent into battle and end up damaged, Sandrone would be sniffling and fuming about it in private for days.

"Lady Servant, this is the Moon Hunter — he's practically delivered himself to our doorstep. I'll go catch him in a moment. Do me a favor and give the Iridescent Moon's Marrow to Columbina."

Piers stepped forward, drew the Eternal Moon's Marrow from within himself, and handed it to Columbina.

"Don't you need my help holding him back?"

"Your curse is already severe enough. Better not to exert yourself."

The next instant, Piers's figure flickered forward. Confused as the Moon Hunter's mind seemed to be, the tentacles surged at Piers as if locking onto him automatically.

Even with his restored strength, the tentacles attacked with no coherent pattern at all. Piers barely had to lean aside, and every strike missed.

Without the Moon Hunter actively directing them, each tentacle moved like an independent entity with no coordination at all, while he kept muttering those same names under his breath.