Yes, Lady Funina!

However, time eventually heals all wounds. The naive fox girl gradually grew into Inazuma's true pillar of strength. Even with Narukami's death, Inazuma continued to develop in a positive direction.

Gradually, the Narukami Familia grew tired of their life in power and began to delegate authority, retreating into the background. Even a foolish policy like the national isolation edict was ignored by them.

She thought that if Inazuma collapsed, Narukami might emerge from the Pure Land, and the man would return to take charge, allowing them to reunite as they had in the past.

Unfortunately, Inazuma's situation deteriorated further. The aging and incompetent noble families controlled everything in Inazuma and, under the interference of external forces, led the great ship of Inazuma toward the abyss. Narukami remained indifferent to this, and the half-elf disappeared without a trace.

Narukami's heart sank, until she heard news of that man again from distant Fontaine, and her long-dormant heart began to beat again.

She was going to see him.

Book 1: Chapter 9 Calculation

The roar of the waterfall drowned out the sounds of the crowds coming and going in the harbor. Looking up, a giant elevator, hundreds of meters high, connected the continent of Fontaine. Merchants and travelers from all over the world needed to take this elevator to enter Fontaine.

Due to the large volume of people coming and going, there are several such elevators in Hailu Harbor, but even so, it still takes a lot of time to queue to reach the top of the waterfall.

Of course, as an envoy from Inazuma visiting Fontaine, there was no need for them to queue, as Fontaine had prepared an elevator for them well in advance.

After reaching the top of the waterfall, Inazuma's delegation will board a cruise ship on the Clementine Line and travel deep into the water kingdom until they arrive at Fontaine, where they will hold a formal visit in the diplomatic reception room of the Moman Palace.

When the delegation led by Yae no Miko arrived at the reception room, Funina and Richard were already waiting in the reception room, along with some accompanying diplomatic officials.

"Distinguished envoys from afar, I, the Water God Fucarus and Minister of Fontaine, welcome you." Funina rose gracefully, welcoming the Inazuma delegation with impeccable etiquette.

Even Richard had to admit that Funina was quite skilled in interpersonal relationships.

With her outstanding appearance and proper demeanor, she is perfectly capable of serving as Fontaine's ambassador for the world, and indeed she is.

It truly lives up to its reputation as Fontainebleau's mascot.

"Respected Miss Funina, it's a pleasure to meet you and the gentleman beside you...?" Yae no Miko's mature and charming face showed just the right amount of doubt, as if she really didn't recognize Richard.

Richard's lips twitched. This fox was still as petty as ever. Even after so many years, he still had to give him a hard time when they met again.

“This is my secretary, Richard,” Funina said dutifully to Yae no Miko, though she herself found it somewhat strange.

Didn't Richard say before that they actually knew each other? What's the situation now?

Funina signaled to Richard with her eyes, but Richard did not answer.

"So it's Secretary-General Richard. My apologies for not recognizing you. The moment I saw you, I was reminded of an old friend," Yae no Miko said with a smile.

“I believe your old friend would be pleased that you still think of him, Lord Yae-no-miya,” Richard replied with a smile.

"No, I think that old friend is celebrating a little too soon."

Richard: ...

After everyone was seated, Funina nudged Richard next to her with her elbow and asked in a low voice, "What's going on here?"

It seems like Richard's relationship with Yae no Miko isn't all that friendly.

Weren't we supposed to be old acquaintances?

Richard replied quietly, "Old acquaintances don't necessarily mean good relationships; after all, enemies are also a type of old acquaintance."

Furina was shocked, and then Richard said, "But I can't say I'm her enemy, but I can't say I'm friendly either. Our relationship is complicated and it's hard to explain in just a few words."

Funina abandoned the idea of ​​relying on Richard to start a conversation. Since Richard's relationship with Yae no Miko wasn't as good as she had imagined, she decided to proceed with the normal procedure.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the two sides got straight to the point, but only touched on the topic briefly. It was obviously impossible to discuss such important matters between countries in one go.

So after a brief meeting, both sides chose to end the meeting and talk again in a few days.

After the meeting, news of Yae no Miko's arrival in Fontaine and his meeting with the water god Fukaros at the Moman Palace spread like wildfire.

Although it did not cause a great stir among ordinary people, it attracted considerable attention from the business and scientific communities in Fontainebleau.

According to reliable sources from Steambird News, Inazuma Yaezōji's mission to Fontaine was aimed at attracting investment, which has greatly excited many Fontaineese merchants.

Meanwhile, the scientific community in Fontaine became quite interested because Yae no Miko needed to recruit an advisory team to assist in the research and development of a machine for mass-producing 'Tamagang'.

It's important to know that Inazuma's 'Tamagawa steel' is a famous special steel. Because of its strength and sharpness, Fontaine imports some Tamagawa steel from Inazuma every year for use in special machine tools.

The scientific community in Fontainebleau is very interested in this type of steel, but unfortunately, the method of making it has always been controlled by Inazuma, and the people of Fontainebleau have no way of accessing it.

Inazuma now needs Fontaine's advisory team to be deeply involved in the new tamahagane mass production plan. This is a great opportunity to gain a thorough understanding of the various properties and preparation methods of tamahagane, and many Fontaine scientists are interested in it.

After all, if they really made some breakthroughs, it would not only be a huge boost to their reputation, but also represent countless amounts of money and status.

Furina had already dealt with no fewer than five business representatives, as well as representatives from various schools of thought at the Fontaine Academy of Sciences.

The representatives from the Fontaine Materials Science Institute were the most proactive, having already visited several times. Eventually, Funina had Richard handle everything for her.

Richard told Lynette to deal with the other party casually, and Lynette was quite straightforward, immediately adding the academy representative to her blacklist.

They were warned that if the other party continued to cause trouble at the city hall, they would be sued for interfering with the normal operation of the city hall.

The effect was good; at least the persistent college representative could no longer be seen inside the city hall. However, the representative did not give up and continued to wait in the hall of the Mo Mang Palace.

After all, the city hall's offices are located on the second floor of the Mo Mang Palace, and the person was waiting in the lobby on the first floor. In any case, this did not interfere with the normal operation of the city hall, so the city hall could not sue him for this.

Fu Ningna didn't care about this, since her home was on the top floor of the Mo Mang Palace, and she could just go upstairs after get off work.

To outsiders, Richard and Lynette were not considered to have any say in the matter, so no one bothered them after they left the city hall.

However, this can't go on forever. At least the front desk staff at Mo Mang Palace are already complaining that the workload has been too heavy lately.

The number of guests they receive every day is several times more than usual, and most of them are well-known people such as big businessmen and great scholars. These people with their own traffic attract a group of people who want to make friends and curry favor. The number of people is increasing, and they are almost turning Mo Mang Palace into a place for gatherings and exchanges.

Faced with complaints from grassroots staff, Funina turned to Richard for help.

After all, you can use Funina as a mascot, but if you ask her to deal with those cunning people, she probably doesn't have the ability.

Richard decided to have a private talk with Yae no Miko, as he didn't believe that there were no powerful figures behind the gathering of celebrities at Mo Mang Palace.

As for how Yae no Shinji can command these people when he has no power or influence in Fontainebleau, that is the question.

Haha, profit is always the best driving force.

Book 1: Chapter 10 The Secret Meeting, Richard with Sinister Intentions

"Secretary Richard, I hope Minister Funina won't have any ulterior motives about us meeting like this in private?" Yae no Miko sat on the soft sofa, her full, rounded thighs crossed together without leaving any gap.

She looked at the man in front of her with amusement in her bright and captivating fox-like eyes, not at all surprised by his sudden invitation to meet.

“Frinina is an insider at this meeting, so Lord Yaeji need not worry,” Richard replied in a businesslike tone, his expression unchanged.

"Does she know that the powerful Secretary-General of the City Hall in Fontaine was also a civil servant of Inazuma hundreds of years ago?" Yae Miko put her legs down, which inevitably caused her thighs to separate slightly.

And coincidentally, Yae no Miko was wearing a skirt-like shrine maiden outfit today, which could very likely lead to her revealing too much skin.

Richard knew the other party was doing this on purpose, but he still fell for it and couldn't help but glance at them.

Don't look at that huge challenge failure!

Yae no Miko sneered, "You really haven't changed at all."

Richard looked away; there was nothing to see anyway. The person was wearing leggings. The world was going to the dogs; there was no trust left between people.

Faced with Yae no Miko's sarcasm, Richard showed no embarrassment whatsoever. He calmly said, "Lord Yae no Miko, the weather is getting colder. I suggest you wear more clothes to avoid uterine cold."

Yae no Miko's smile gradually faded, and the temperature on her face dropped. She snorted coldly and said, "No need for Secretary Richard to worry. Just seeing your annoying face makes me angry, how could I possibly catch a cold!"

"Really? I didn't expect my face to have this effect. Just seeing me can warm your whole day." Richard smiled slightly, his elven good looks on full display.

It's no exaggeration to say that Richard, with his face alone, could never starve to death in Teyvat, even if he knew nothing else.

If all else fails, you can practice for another two and a half years and become a national idol in Mondstadt.

But even with such outstanding looks, they were of no use to Yae no Miko. Oh, that's not quite accurate; they had a very negative effect.

Save your smile for fooling those naive young girls! Let's get down to business.

Before coming, Yae no Miko had imagined the scene of the two meeting again after many years, and thought that she would treat him as a stranger in a nonchalant way.

But when they actually met, she found that she couldn't be so nonchalant at all. She wanted nothing more than to knock this man down, stomp on him a few times, and then hang him on the stern of the boat and drag him all the way back to Inazuma.

“I have never lied to a naive little girl, Lord Yae no Kamiji. I understand your prejudice against me, but that does not mean you can slander me without any basis.” Richard relaxed when he saw that Yae no Kamiji was in a bad mood.

He changed his posture, leaning back against the soft chair back, his hands no longer so formal, casually placed on his thighs, and even imitated Yae no Miko by crossing his legs.

“No one develops prejudices without a reason, Mr. Richard. Does Ms. Funina know about the things you did in the past?” Yae no Miko said.

"In Inazuma, you wield absolute power, deceive your superiors and subordinates, and while you pay lip service to loyalty, you never truly believe it. Everyone is being manipulated by you like a fool."

“Lord Yae no Kami, you don’t need to be so self-deprecating. You were just a little naive back then. Besides, it was just a transaction, so why are you taking it so seriously?” Richard corrected him.

Yae no Miko was naturally intelligent from a young age and could not be considered a fool. However, both humans and fox spirits need to grow. No one can be born strong. Richard was simply fulfilling his responsibility as a teacher and helping her grow during her innocent and carefree period.

After all, practice is the best teacher. Richard got what he wanted, and Yae no Miko also grew.

Win-win.

The original agreement was that Richard would use his wisdom to help them stabilize the situation in Inazuma, and in return, Ray would teach Richard martial arts to help him turn his potential into strength.

Later, the situation in Inazuma stabilized, Richard completed his mission, but they wanted to keep him tied to Inazuma forever.

Richard, of course, was unwilling and fled with the boat overnight.

"Heh, a deal..." Yae no Shinji sneered noncommittally. If it were just a deal, why would Shadow teach martial arts so seriously, tailor a plan for this guy, and practically teach him everything he knows?

She had only mentioned it briefly, wanting him to stay, and she was willing to overlook his previous deception, even subtly indicating that she could fulfill all his requests. As a result, he became like a frightened bird and left without saying goodbye.

In truth, Yae no Miko had some regrets. She shouldn't have tested him in the first place. She should have directly and decisively told Kage his true colors and let Kage deal with him severely.

In this way, Ying wouldn't have to hide in the Pure Land of the Heart all day long to escape reality.

"Lord Yaeguchi, I actually know what you want. Judging from the timing, the seal on the Demon God should have begun to loosen. Making Tamahagane requires the remnants of the Demon God..."

"You want to consume the remnants of the evil spirit by producing 'tamasteel' on a large scale, slowly eroding the evil spirit like ants devouring an elephant, until it is completely worn away, and incidentally boosting the economy of Inazuma."

“But with the shadow present, even if the seal on the evil spirit is loosened, it won’t cause too much trouble. But why are you acting so urgently? This isn’t like you. Plus, there’s the recent isolationist order from Inazuma. Let me think…”

Yae no Miko's expression grew increasingly cold, her alluring eyes devoid of any warmth.

"If I'm not mistaken, there must be some problems with Shadow, right?" Richard said with certainty, looking very confident, but unfortunately he was only half right.

The Shadow did indeed have a problem, but Yae no Miko went to Fontaine not for this matter. The Demon God... since the Fox Palace was able to seal it back then, she, who has surpassed her master, can naturally do the same.

The evil spirits were never the key to the problem, but Yae no Miko had no intention of correcting them.

"You guessed right, but unfortunately there's no reward," the fox spirit replied in a cold tone.

She suddenly had a flash of inspiration and realized that the other person seemed to be deliberately changing the subject. This discovery led her to a bold conjecture.

She narrowed her beautiful fox-like eyes and said to the well-dressed man in front of her in a playful tone, "Are you trying to change the subject? It seems that the Water God is more important to you than I think."

"Although I don't know what your purpose is, you probably don't want your true identity to be discovered by the Water God, right now?" (The last part, "厌," is a sarcastic expression and doesn't translate directly.)

"Secretary-General Richard, you have ulterior motives."

Volume 1: Chapter 11 The Two-Faced Life of Furina

"Insidious intentions... Heh, Yae no Miko, you still love to overthink things." Richard chuckled, seemingly unconcerned by the subtle threat emanating from Yae no Miko.

Seeing Richard so relaxed, Yae no Miko felt a little uneasy. Had she guessed wrong again?

Past experiences made Yae no Kami somewhat hesitant to act rashly. After all, this guy was incredibly decisive; he had left without a second thought, and if Yae no Kami didn't find the right way to control him, the guy could run away just as easily.

After so many years, they had finally obtained definite information about the other party, and Yae no Miko didn't want to let it slip through their fingers again.

We need to plan this carefully; after all, time is the cheapest thing for these immortal beings.

Patience, Eightfold Divine Child, you've waited all these years, what's a little more time?

After a brief moment of mental preparation, Yae no Miko's expression returned to its usual warmth, and her previously icy face once again donned a mask of allure. (End)

"Just kidding, Secretary Richard, you won't mind, will you?"

"Of course not, Lord Yae-no-miya. After all, you are a guest, and it's understandable that a guest might make some incorrect judgments due to a lack of local knowledge," Richard replied with a smile.

While seemingly answering Yae no Kamiko's question about whether he minded, he was actually telling him that it was absolutely impossible to coerce him into compromising through public opinion and inciting interest groups.

Neither Richard nor Violet would allow this to happen.

As long as they don't allow it, no one in Fontainebleau can bypass them and unilaterally cooperate with Inazuma.

Unless they want to go on a family team-building trip to Mero Petersburg.

As for the Water God... well, that depends on whether those guys can influence Funina.

If those guys blinded by greed can bypass Richard and get close to Funina alone, then Richard might as well quit his job as the executive secretary and go live with Yae no Miko to become a gigolo in Inazuma.

"A misjudgment? No, I think this tactic is quite effective. Look, aren't you sitting right in front of me now?" Yae no longer seemed anxious at the beginning, but now she appeared quite at ease.

She casually fiddled with the earring on her ear, as if to show Richard that "it's not me who's in a hurry right now," and also implying that she was sitting back and waiting for him to make a move.