Yes, Lady Funina!

"This tactic is very common. Because the employee's work ability and skill level are uncertain at the beginning, the workload of the employee can only be gradually increased without affecting the work progress. This situation will continue until the employee's ability limit is reached."

"Some people have even devised a more elegant way to describe this phenomenon—'Everyone should make the most of their abilities!'"

"It's more like forcing someone to commit suicide!" Clarind retorted.

Even so, Clarinde still hoped that Richard could come back soon, because without him, it always felt like something was missing from the office.

"Speaking of which, so many big things have happened in Liyue these days, even the Geo Archon died... Is Richard alright?" Fryna was a little worried, and also regretted that she had approved his leave without asking his purpose.

Just as Clorinde was about to say a few words to comfort Frynn, there was a knock on the office door, and Lynette walked in calmly.

Seeing that Clorind was still in Frynn's office, she frowned and asked, "Clorind, what are you doing here? Did you read the documents I sent you?"

"Documents? There are more documents?!" Clarinde's vision went black, and she felt as if her life had turned completely gray, with no light in sight.

"What's with that expression? The workload is much less than when the bombing happened, okay?" Lynette frowned, feeling that Clorind was getting lazier and lazier.

The work she assigned to Clarinde wasn't exactly light, but it certainly wasn't heavy either. It was at the level of a normal civil servant—the kind of work that could be completed in about an hour, leaving the rest of the time for contemplating the value and meaning of life.

With this kind of workload, how could Claurind show such an expression?

"Are you... sure?" Clorind stared at the mountain of documents in front of her. You're telling me this is much less?

It's clearly much more than before!

Seeing that Clorind was still questioning her, Lynette became a little angry, but at the same time she was also a little confused. She quickly walked over to Clorind, picked up the document that Clorind was reviewing, and after looking at it, the anger on her face turned into confusion.

"What are you doing?"

Fu Ningna shrank her neck.

"The work involves approving documents, then categorizing and summarizing them. Important documents are put back in the red box, and unimportant ones are put in the blue basket. At the same time, annotations are made, and corresponding opinions and suggestions are given."

Funina lowered her head.

Clarin paused, a pained expression on her face, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Why are there so many demands this time? You want annotations... and suggestions... I'm just a private secretary."

Funina hunched over, preparing to slip away quietly.

"It feels like he's doing the work of a minister!"

Startled by the shout, Funina tripped over her own foot and fell with a thud onto the soft carpet.

“But this is what a minister should do. What are you doing? Isn’t this Lady Funina’s job?” As soon as Linette said this, the other two people in the office froze on the spot.

Clorind looked as if she had been struck by lightning, mechanically turning her head towards Frynn, who had just gotten up and was preparing to sneak away, her tone gentle and resentful:

"Lady Funina?"

No wonder you've been complaining about being bored all morning. It turns out I did all the work, so you didn't have to do anything. Of course you'd be bored!

Meanwhile, Funina, who had failed to sneak away, gave a polite but somewhat embarrassed smile. "Ah, I suddenly remembered that I ordered a cake from the Debord Hotel. It should have arrived by now. I'll go pick it up, and we can all eat it together later."

Before the two could react, Funina sprinted out of the office and disappeared from Clarin and Lynette's sight.

Lynette turned her gaze to Klorind: "So how did you get tricked by Lady Furina?"

Clarinde felt uneasy under Lynette's gaze. It was like being tricked by a primary school student, and to make matters worse, her friend found out about it.

"She handed me the box and told me to do this and that. Wouldn't a normal person do as she was told?" Clorinde thought that no matter what, Fryna was her nominal boss, so it was normal for her to fall for it.

Lynette looked at Cloninder as if she were an idiot, patted the red leather case, and said, "Don't you know that this red case contains documents that ministers need to review?"

To ensure that Funina wouldn't cause trouble while Richard was away, Lynette even added some extra work for her to reduce the time she had for coming up with creative ideas.

“I know, wait… that’s why Furina told me to put the important documents back in the red box…” Clarinde’s voice trailed off as she gradually understood why Furina had instructed her in this way.

"Never mind, secretaries are also responsible for screening documents." Lynette glanced at Klorinde's work from the morning. "Just consider it... further processing?"

"Well, sharing the minister's burdens is part of a private secretary's job. I'll put in a good word for you in this month's performance review report," Lynette said, offering a rare word of comfort to Clarinde.

“Linette…” Claurind was moved.

"In short, remember to finish your assigned work later."

“Ugh…” Clorind’s mentality collapsed, and she wanted to 'spread out' on the table, just like Funina.

However, her figure did not allow her to do so. As soon as she leaned forward, her two large breasts got stuck between her and the table, and her cheeks were still quite a distance from the table. She could not press her face against the table as easily as Funina.

Lynette's gaze fell on Clorind's 'sin', then she looked down at her own, her eyes twitching involuntarily.

Speaking of which, can Clorind even see the road beneath her feet when she looks down?

'May she trip and fall while walking on flat ground,' Lynette cursed.

"Um, I'm back." Funina knocked on the door and walked into the office, taking the cake bag off Miss Shebereda as she did so.

There were three beautifully packaged mini cream cakes inside, which were a limited edition from the Bode Hotel. Perhaps knowing that hers was not quite authentic, Fu Ningna bought three more cream puffs at the last minute.

I'm going to use cake, cream puffs, and a heartfelt afternoon tea to try and win Claude's forgiveness.

"I'm sorry, Clarinde, I won't lie to you again next time. If you need any compensation, just tell me and I will try my best to satisfy you." Furina clasped her hands together and apologized on the spot.

"Lady Furina..." Clorinde's expression was complicated after hearing this.

"Just tell me! Whether it's limited-edition desserts or tickets to a popular musical performance at the Opizley Opera, I can get them for you," Furina assured, patting her chest.

"No, I don't want these."

“What about Mora? Consider it overtime pay.” Funina tried to compensate him financially.

"My salary is enough."

"Then what do you want?"

"I just hope you won't say anymore that I was tricked into doing things by you. Sharing your burdens is also part of my job as your personal secretary..." Clarinde chose to suffer in silence rather than lose face.

After all, if Richard knew that he had been tricked by a naive and innocent girl like Funina into doing her job, he would probably laugh at him for two and a half years.

"So, does that mean my future job is..." Funina's eyes widened, her eyes practically sparkling, as if she had discovered a new continent.

"Please, have some decency!" Clorinde felt that Frynn was becoming more and more like Richard. She couldn't just keep targeting her like that, could she?

“Okay, okay, I’ll do it myself. By the way, Lynette, do you know when Richard will be back?” Furnessa asked.

After all, as Richard's secretary, the other party should know something about Richard's schedule, right?

"It should be today or tomorrow. Things are getting pretty bad in Liyue, so it's normal for it to be delayed a bit," Lynette replied after thinking for a moment.

Lynette has learned more detailed information about Liyue through the Fatui's channels. Because the Whirlpool Demon God Oser caused a great disturbance in the Yunlai Sea, Liyue's sea routes have been severely affected.

Therefore, Richard may not be able to buy a ticket back to Fontainebleau for the time being, thus postponing his return to Fontainebleau.

“You’re right. The Emperor of Liyue suffered a calamity and his soul returned to the heavens. And an ancient demon god is rampaging in the Cloud Sea. Liyue has really been quite turbulent lately… I wonder if Richard was injured because of this. So, in the end, he shouldn’t have gone to Liyue at this time!” Fryna felt a little resentful when she thought about this and couldn’t help but mutter to herself.

"Lady Furnessa, Richard went to Liyue for you," Lynette reminded her.

Frynn was taken aback, and then heard Lynette say, "Although I don't know what agreement he made with you, there is no doubt that his trip to Liyue this time was for that agreement."

Funina fell silent, her head bowed as she poked at the cream cakes on her plate with her fork, her lips pressed tightly together, lost in thought.

Lynette took in Frynn's behavior but said nothing more, thinking to herself: Richard, this is all I can do to help you. I hope that when you come back this time, Frynn will be willing to tell you that secret... Wait!

Lynette suddenly realized that Funina already had an unusual fondness for Richard, so if she told her these things, wouldn't that be asking for trouble?

Want to create a love rival for yourself to play with?

For a moment, the two girls fell into deep thought, leaving Clarinde, who was eating a small cake nearby, completely bewildered.

Why is there an awkward silence? She hasn't said anything yet.

Volume 1: Chapter 93 The Battlefield of Writing 'Cultural Exchange'

Just as the atmosphere in the office was becoming rather delicate, there was another knock on the office door.

Without hesitation, Funina replied, "Sorry, it's afternoon tea time now. Let's talk about it later."

"Oh, okay, then I'll come back tomorrow."

A familiar male voice came from the doorway, and the three women looked up.

"Richard!" Funina exclaimed, putting down her beloved little cake first. Then, realizing she had overreacted, her cheeks flushed slightly, she picked up the cake again and continued poking at the already riddled-with-hole cake with her fork.

Cake: You don't have to eat it, but don't hurt it.

"I'll get you a cup of black tea," Lynette said calmly as she stood up.

She didn't seem happy about Richard's return, but you could actually see that her cat ears had been standing upright ever since Richard came back, unlike before when they looked lazy and slouching. And although her cat tail wasn't swaying left and right, it was curved into a nice curve.

Clarin didn't feel much, but she felt that Richard's return was very timely, and the subtle atmosphere from before was swept away by his arrival.

“I…I’ll get you the cake too. We ordered an extra one today. We were planning to take it home for dinner, but since you’re back, I…I’ll give it to you!” Funina stood up with Lynette and went to her private locker to take out the cake.

Actually, this cake was ordered because Funina habitually included Richard, ordering four cakes in total. Only after ordering did she realize that Richard hadn't returned yet. However, she didn't cancel any of the orders. Perhaps she was hoping that Richard would come back today, or perhaps she thought that having one more cake wouldn't hurt.

In short, unless Funina says it herself, no one can be sure what she is really thinking.

"Then thank you very much, Lady Lynette and Lady Funina." Richard walked into the house and closed the door behind him.

Four people finally gathered in Furna's office again, and the familiar feeling returned. Clarinde felt her mouth starting to itch again.

"Please enjoy." Lynette pushed the black tea onto the table in front of Richard, then sat back down in her original seat.

Lynette's afternoon tea seating wasn't actually very close to Richard's; Claudia was actually the closest to Richard, while Lynette and Furness sat in a delicate balance with Richard.

Neither of them sat too close to Richard nor too far away. In fact, it seemed as if they had planned it together, because if you were to calculate the straight-line distance between them and Richard, they were basically the same.

Funina also placed the cake in front of Richard, saying, "Eat up."

Richard thanked the two girls again, and Clarin, seeing this, found it amusing and remarked:

"In that light, Richard seems more like a true chief executive."

All three turned their gazes to Clarinde, who, realizing her slip of the tongue, quickly lowered her head and began eating her cake.

"How was your trip to Liyue? Was it fun there?"

After sitting down again, Funina couldn't wait to ask.

“I did see a pretty good show, but as for entertainment… there’s not much to do. Compared to twenty years ago, Liyue Harbor hasn’t changed much except for being more prosperous,” Richard replied after thinking for a moment.

"What a drama... So, did the Rock God really return to heaven?" Fulina had a strange intuition that Richard must know something.

“That is naturally…” Richard paused, leaving his sentence unfinished, and looked at the three women’s curious gazes.

"Oh, why are you keeping me in suspense? Tell me already!" Funina said impatiently.

“Of course he’s dead, but not completely. If we’re talking about it, he probably retired like the Wind God, right?” Richard said. Giving up the Heart of God and completely relinquishing control over Liyue, in a sense, symbolizes the death of the Rock King, right?

However, correspondingly, the mortal Zhongli also ushered in a new life.

"Oh, oh, oh, retiring..." A hint of envy flashed in Funina's eyes. When could she also end this life of playing a god?

Thinking of this, Frynn couldn't help but recall what Lynette had said earlier—Richard went to Liyue for her sake.

Funina opened her mouth, wanting to ask the question, but remembering that there were other people present, she suppressed the urge and decided to wait until she was alone with Richard before speaking.

"Where is that Vortex Demon God?"

"After being severely damaged, it was sealed away by the combined efforts of the Liyue immortals."

Demon gods are not easy to kill, and Liyue dares not let K die casually, after all, the byproduct of a demon god's violent death, 'demon god remnants', is a rather troublesome problem for Liyue.

The filth born from the 'residue of the demon god' has caused too many tragedies on the land of Liyue like a maggot clinging to a bone. Even though there are many exorcist families and many immortals represented by the Great Sage of Demon Extermination who have been fighting demons for thousands of years, the remnants of the demon god have not been eradicated to this day.

After all, even the Rock King Emperor at his peak couldn't completely remove the 'remnants of the demon god'.

"So the Jade Pavilion really collapsed? Did you go to the Jade Pavilion this time? How big was it? How many people could it hold? You said... when the prophecy comes, if we had a building similar to the Jade Pavilion, could we safely weather the crisis?" Fu Ningna asked a series of questions.

When she learned that Liyue had such a wonder building, her first thought was whether it could be used to deal with the prophecy of the flood in Fontaine.

My second reaction was that Liyue's Celestial Magic was incredibly powerful, actually realizing a concept that even two-thirds of the Academy of Sciences couldn't research.

I wonder if Liyue will sell this technology, and how much it would cost. If they could get their hands on it, Fulyna would really consider using the entire nation's resources to build a larger version of the Jade Pavilion.

"The Qunyu Pavilion is very large. If we make full use of the space, it should be no problem to accommodate tens of thousands of people."

"Only tens of thousands of people..." Funina was somewhat disappointed.

"If we force it in, we could manage to accommodate hundreds of thousands of people, but then we wouldn't be able to guarantee that they could live a normal life up there."

"That's just a drop in the ocean." Funina wanted to save all the people of Fengdan, but tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands were far too insignificant compared to tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of people. Even if the entire nation were to expand the Qunyu Pavilion, it would still be impossible to save everyone.

Frynn could only consider it as an alternative and send people to negotiate with Liyue to see if she could obtain the technology to build the Jade Pavilion.

I heard that the owner of the Jade Pavilion is Tianquan, one of the Seven Stars of Liyue. He is a merchant. Funina thinks that if she can offer a good price, he should agree to sell the technology. Maybe she can even buy the Jade Pavilion.

I wonder if Fontaine has enough financial resources...