Yes, Lady Funina!

It felt like I'd seen it not long ago, especially the way they manipulated public opinion, those familiar news headlines...

"Richard, why do you seem so skilled?" Funina looked at Richard suspiciously, her heterochromatic eyes, which were usually full of wisdom, now appeared exceptionally sharp!

"Lady Funina, people grow because they learn from past experiences. I'm just picking up scraps from others' work," Richard said modestly, waving his hand. He added that others had started the whole thing by manipulating public opinion, and he was just doing the small part.

It's not that it's by nature, but rather that we're forced into it; that's just how the world is.

You started it first.jpg

“Okay.” Funina reluctantly agreed with Richard’s statement; in fact, she didn’t think Richard would harm her.

From Fulina's perspective, Richard was undoubtedly her loyal and steadfast minister, a savior who had helped her through many difficulties. She couldn't even imagine how difficult her path as a minister would have been without Richard.

What Funina didn't know was that without Richard, her career as a minister might have been much smoother. At least if any other Fontaine had been the secretary-general, they wouldn't have created problems for their superiors.

The hardships that Minister Furness faced stemmed from both her own personality and abilities, and Richard's persistent efforts.

There were no pitfalls in the world originally, but Richard came here...

Richard himself didn't expect that Funina would be so straightforward; she would actually step into any trap without hesitation.

After realizing the importance of public opinion, Funina made a decision.

Book 1: Chapter 16 is below us

The living room feels spacious and bright, with an exquisite chandelier hanging from the high ceiling. The walls are covered with photos, some of which are quite old and have turned a pale yellow. From the background of the photos, you can tell that the owner of this house has traveled to many places.

The most frequent image is of a woman in a purple kimono, exuding a refined and noble air, holding a pink fox in her arms. The harmonious and beautiful scene suggests the close relationship between the person in the photo and the homeowner.

Yae no Miko stared blankly at the photo on the wall, while Richard carried two cups of black tea to the small wooden round table by the living room window. After placing the tea on the table, he pulled out a chair and sat down.

Richard took a leisurely sip of black tea and, without disturbing Yae no Miko, looked out the window to himself.

"What are they doing?" Yae no Miko snapped out of her reverie from the photo album on the wall and moved to the small round table by the window to sit down, looking out the window along with Richard.

Outside the window was a street, and at the far end of the street was a small city park. The park was crowded with people, as if some event was being held. The most eye-catching person was a girl with blue and white hair, who was talking on a platform.

"A speech? A performance? Or a media interview?" Richard replied, putting down his teacup without paying much attention.

Although he is the permanent secretary to the Executive Minister, Furnessa, it does not mean that all of Furnessa's schedules will go through him.

Funina also has her own life. (Hidden)

"You've been going to Zhidong all these years?" Yae no Miko asked, though her question was phrased as a question, her words were full of certainty.

"Not really, I've spent time in various places," Richard said after thinking for a moment.

"I've been everywhere, but I never thought of going back to Inazuma." A cold smile appeared on Yae no Miko's bright face, and her tone involuntarily became somewhat resentful.

What are you afraid of? 8

Richard replied without changing his expression, "Work is busy and tasks are heavy, so it's hard to find time to advance. There's little time and too much to do; I don't even have time to go anywhere."

"..." Yae no Miko didn't know how to answer.

"This is a notebook I prepared for you, although I feel you won't need these things anymore." Li realized that Inazuma was on the right track and no longer needed his intervention. (Seven)

Although he still couldn't understand why Yae no Miko would allow the seclusion edict to be implemented, Yae no Miko was already capable of handling things independently before he left, and there was no reason for her to regress.

"I may not use it, but you can't refuse to give it to me," Yae no Miko said softly. Zero

Richard couldn't help but chuckle: "My current identity is that of an official of the Fontainebleau Palace, not an official of the Inazuma Shogunate. Strictly speaking, this should be considered aiding the enemy."

“Narukami Island is right there, and no one has ever stopped you from coming back.”

"The lockdown order," Richard casually mentioned.

Yae no Miko nearly crushed the handle of the teacup, suddenly regretting allowing those foolish, incompetent, and clueless officials to carry out this policy.

Although she knew this was Richard's excuse and that his refusal to return to Inazuma was not due to the lockdown order, she still couldn't help but feel angry at others.

There was no other way; she had to find someone to vent her anger on. She couldn't bear to be angry with Richard, so going after those heads of powerful families wouldn't be a problem.

In a way, this was the only contribution they could make to Inazuma.

"The seclusion order was instigated by the Fools, don't tell me you didn't know that." After calming down a bit, Yae no Miko looked into Richard's eyes and said.

"I really didn't know that. There's a lot of infighting within the Fools. Every executive has their own ideas, and it's the norm that information isn't shared between regions."

"So you're admitting that you were working for the Fools before?" Yae no Miko asked, narrowing her beautiful fox-like eyes.

“I have never denied it. Furthermore, I must clarify that I am not working for the Fools. I am merely making a deal with the Queen of Winter. No one can restrain the yearning for freedom of a half-elf,” Richard said.

Yae no Miko remained noncommittal in response to Richard's answer. She slightly tightened her flat stomach, crossed her two plump and slender legs, and after shifting to a more comfortable position, she continued to ask:

"If you yearn for freedom, then why work as a lowly clerk in the Mo Mang Palace?"

“Although I spent some time in Mondstadt and was deeply influenced by free will, I also understand that freedom is relative. Before becoming a free half-elf, I was still a Fontaine.” Richard kept his eyes straight ahead, unmoved by the beauty.

"Secondly, you may not be familiar with the official system of Fengdan, Yae no Kami. The Executive Secretary-General is already a very high-ranking official, and there are not many above me."

"But if you're willing to go back to Inazuma, you can just stay under my and Kage's feet," Yae no Miko said again, extending an olive branch.

Richard didn't think that after returning to Inazuma, his position would only be below the two of them.

"Let's talk about something else. I'm doing quite well in Fontainebleau and have no plans to switch jobs for the time being," Richard said, waving his hand.

Yae no Miko turned to look at the photo on the wall. "You still have the photo, but it looks like it was just put up. The color of the wall behind the photo frame is different from the rest of the wall. Was it prepared especially for me?"

"It wasn't specially arranged, it was just recently put up. I change the photos every now and then." Richard also looked at the photos on the wall, not denying that it had indeed been specially arranged.

"Categorizing based on who you see? You change the photo to whichever old acquaintance comes over." Yae no Miko was joking, but she was more of a test.

What are they testing? Of course, they're testing how many competitors they've had during the years the other party has been gone.

"Is that all you think of me?" Richard was heartbroken. Although Yae no Miko was right, it didn't stop him from being sad.

"Stop pretending. It seems your boss is having some trouble, rather than this?" Yae no Miko gestured with her chin towards the window.

Richard observed that his half-elf's exceptional long-range vision played a crucial role here.

Ms. Funina, wearing a dark blue top hat, was waving her hands awkwardly. She then said something to barely manage to fool the reporter in front of her who was wearing a dark red beret.

Then, under the direction of the guard officer Clarinde, this farce, which was neither a speech nor an interview, came to an end.

Even from a distance, Richard could clearly sense that Funina, who was standing on the platform, visibly breathed a sigh of relief after the crowd dispersed.

What's going on here?

Book 1: Chapter 17 Things Beneficial to the People

“Richard, why do you think I became the Minister of State?” Funina rested her elbows on the desk, looking intently at Richard across from her.

“Lady Furina, it’s working hours now. If you want to ask about life’s questions, you can save it for afternoon tea.” Richard replied without looking up from the book in his hands.

“But you’re not working right now either. I saw you reading some leisure books.” Funina pouted, dissatisfied with Richard’s perfunctory attitude.

Richard finally looked up from his book. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Reading is an important source of information. Enriching yourself helps improve work efficiency, so I am also working. It's the same as when you sometimes skip work to watch a trial."

Richard's implication was that since he skipped work to go to the Opiclie Opera to watch the trial, he shouldn't criticize him for reading random books during work hours.

The main reason is that the efficiency of administrative departments is indeed high nowadays. Perhaps many people want to show off in front of the Water God, so once administrative departments are involved, things that used to be delayed will be resolved quickly.

Richard speculated that this might be related to the fact that Funina Fontaine is a big star, and she receives so much attention that everything around her is magnified, including the mistakes of civil servants.

If it were to be revealed that the Water God's instructions could not be implemented due to the negligence of a certain civil servant, then I would have to apologize to all the people of Fontaine!

Richard never doubted the power of his fans.

“But I have a question now, and this problem has been bothering me for days…” Funina poked at the files that were piling up on her desk with her pen, her words filled with confusion.

"Tell me about it," Richard casually agreed.

“Well, you know I gave a short speech in the park square a few days ago?” Funina asked.

Richard looked up from his book and finally turned to his boss, wondering if he was finally bringing up the matter.

In fact, ever since that day when he met with Yae no Miko alone in his own living room, Richard had been waiting for Funina to bring it up herself.

However, he did not expect that Funina was even more composed than he had imagined. She did not mention the matter for several days. Since Funina did not say anything, he naturally did not ask any further questions.

But now that Funina has brought it up, Richard is prepared to listen carefully and see what kind of good work his boss can come up with this time.

"A speech? Forgive my bluntness, but isn't that Lady Funina's forte? Did things not go smoothly? Were there any troublemakers?"

Furina shook her head. The speech went smoothly, and with Clorind around, even if someone wanted to cause trouble, they would have to think twice about whether they could actually defeat this strongest duelist.

What bothered her was not the speech itself, but the interviews with reporters after it was delivered.

After listening to Funina's account, Richard couldn't help but ask his question: "Lady Funina, as far as I know, you usually don't give any interviews after your performances. Why did you decide to give an interview that day?"

“It’s a speech, not a performance!” Funina corrected. “Didn’t you say before that public opinion is very important? So I was thinking of proactively contacting some media outlets to show my approachable image and increase people’s understanding of me, so that I won’t be easily manipulated by malicious people in the future…”

Richard, a thoughtful man, asked in confusion, "Isn't this a good thing? Why is it bothering you?"

"That's where things went wrong. Because I was worried about being besieged by a group of reporters like at the previous press conference, I specifically chose a reporter who looked a bit green and was obviously a recent intern to answer her questions."

"I thought this would make things easier for the intern reporters, but who knew..."

Speaking of this Funinga, she felt a bit of a headache. The question the other party asked wasn't the kind that was malicious, deliberately difficult, or meant to disgust her.

Even Funina wished it were that way, so that at least she wouldn't be in so much pain now.

The question asked by Charlotte, the intern reporter at Steambird Newspaper, was actually not complicated, and could even be described as simple...

The scene was like this—

"Minister Furnessa, since you took office, have you achieved anything personally?" Charlotte asked with a focused and devout expression, holding a notebook in one hand and a pen in the other.

“Achievements? There are many…” Funina’s mind raced, while she kept rattling off titles and ranks.

"Minister of Administration, Ambassador of Moman Palace, Most Popular Person of the Year in Fontaine, First Person to Clock In at Work, Well-known Political Commentator in Fontaine..."

In short, a whole bunch of incomprehensible information came out of Funina's mouth as if she knew it by heart, but Charlotte was not satisfied with it.

She corrected her, saying, "It's not those things, it's the practical things you've done that benefit the people."

"Something that benefits the people?" Funina repeated.

“It’s something that benefits the people!” Charlotte affirmed.

--Non-still images--

Funina felt like her brain was about to explode, but she still couldn't think of a way to answer the reporter's question.

My mind is completely blank. What should I do, Mr. Richard?

Funina called out to her external brain in her mind, but unfortunately, it was clear that the external brain was now beyond the connection range.

At this critical juncture, without any formal instruction, Funina spontaneously revealed: "Yes, of course, this is inevitable, it conforms to the laws of historical development. Every official should do practical work, otherwise they will be swept into the dustbin of history..."

"Lady Furna, since you took office, what is something that you can proudly say, 'I did this,' just like an author looking back on their work?" Charlotte pressed again.

Funina's eyes lit up with intelligence; her lips moved but no sound came out, though one could vaguely make out that she was saying, "Stop talking, stop talking..."

Fortunately, this situation did not last long, as her agent, Mrs. Hevima, came out to remind Furina that it was time to go on her next trip.

Furina looked relieved, then rallied and said to the intern reporter Charlotte, "I've done so many good things that I don't know which one to tell you right now, but I'm about to do something that will truly benefit the people, and you'll see when the time comes!"

……

"So, Lady Funina, have you already decided what you want to do that is 'beneficial to the people'?" After listening to Funina's explanation, Richard roughly understood her current situation.

“No… I have absolutely no clue.” Furina slumped over the table, letting out a wail that only comes when an author is experiencing writer’s block.

Ever since she cried in front of Richard last time, Funina has become increasingly indifferent to her divine image...

Just then, Clarinde walked in from outside, holding a stack of documents. She said to Furna, "Lady Furna, Lady Vilette wants to launch a special campaign themed 'Combating Crime and Clearing Up Cold Cases and Backlogged Cases,' and needs your approval."

Funina rubbed her forehead, waved her hand perfunctorily as usual, and said, "I approve..."

"and many more!"

Then, as if she had just thought of something, she suddenly called out to Clarinde.

"Clorind, what activity did you just mention?"

Volume 1: Chapter 18 Sweeping Away Organized Crime!

"It's the special campaign to 'combat crime and clear up old and unsolved cases,' Lady Frinna." Clarinde stopped and turned to repeat to Frinna.

At the same time, the dark blue-haired lady turned her gaze to Richard with some confusion, as if asking with her eyes why Lady Funina, who usually doesn't pay attention to these things, had specifically called her over today.

Richard wasn't sure what Funina was thinking either. He returned the same "I don't know" look, conveying another message: "Why don't we listen to what she's going to say?"

"Clearing up old cases and unsolved cases... Clarinde, does Fontaine have many unsolved cases?" Funina asked.

"Yes, Lady Funina. As far as I know, every year Fontaine accumulates a batch of cases that cannot be solved due to various factors. Some are big and some are small. I think the Supreme Judge Navelette must have noticed this, which is why he is preparing to launch this special campaign."