Yes, Lady Funina!

Richard remembered that when the contract was concluded, the ball of light split into three, which fell into Richard, Funina, and the Cardinal of Decree.

“Theoretically, there should be one…” Richard replied, “but we probably won’t know exactly where she is until we meet her.”

……

Inside the Decree Judgment Cardinal, there is a vast amount of compensatory mixed energy. If all of this compensatory mixed energy were released, the energy it provides could power the entire Fontaine for a thousand years.

In the deepest part of the law-compensated mixed energy, in the place where the energy is most concentrated, a beautiful figure is curled up.

You can vaguely see that the beautiful figure is now reaching out and touching her lower abdomen, which is three fingers below her navel, with a troubled expression.

"How did I end up in this place...?"

Volume 1: Chapter 96 Save those words for the Special Patrol Team!

Life returned to its usual tranquility. Since forming the contract, Funina exuded a relaxed and cheerful aura, and her walk seemed light and breezy, as if she were carrying the wind.

“I have a feeling that Lady Funina has changed a bit. Did she tell you her secret?” Lynette was the first to notice this. She looked at Richard and felt that Richard must have done something.

Richard half-pushed off his gloves and waved them at Lynette, indicating that the contract was in effect and he wouldn't say anything.

Lynette understood Richard's meaning and then began to talk about today's work: "The reconstruction of the Fontaine Academy is proceeding in an orderly manner. Currently, the Academy is jointly managed by Raymondo, a senior researcher at Fontaine who was once on par with Edwin, and the administrator Schwarzer."

“Raymondo? I remember he was ousted from the power center of the Academy of Sciences because his research was too conservative, right? Now that Edwin, who belonged to the radical faction, has fallen, are they bringing him back?”

“Speaking of which, besides Raymondo, isn’t there another professor at the Fontaine Academy of Sciences who is on par with Edwin? The one who did the environmental assessment report for Inazuma, let me think… his name should be Bosu’e, right? Why doesn’t the Fontaine Academy of Sciences invite him back to oversee the reconstruction work?” Richard asked.

"Professor Bosuer had already left the Academy of Sciences before the bombing, apparently because of an academic scandal. In addition, his reputation at the Fontaine Academy of Sciences was not good to begin with. He often exploited his researchers, so he was abandoned by everyone and could no longer stay at the Academy. He had no choice but to retire and return to his hometown of Petrique." As she spoke, Linette took out relevant documents from the files in her hand.

The above details the reactions of Bosuer's researchers after his departure.

In short: the researchers did not grieve for Bosuai's departure for a moment; the students who rushed to the laboratory were busy dividing up Bosuai's academic assets.

Most importantly, they only kept a portrait of Boussouye himself, and even the sofa in his office was not spared...

“But this is for the best. If he hadn’t resigned, he might have died in the bombing. In a sense, it’s a blessing in disguise.” Richard handed back the investigation report.

"So Raymondo hopes that the Momang Palace can allocate funds to rebuild the Academy of Sciences. What does the Ministry of Finance say?"

"The Treasury indicated that it could provide all support except for funding." Lynette vividly portrayed the reaction of the Treasury's Permanent Secretary upon learning of this.

“Fontaine’s financial situation was already not ideal. In addition, the incident at the Fontaine Academy of Sciences has caused too much of a stir. Just comforting the victims’ families and dealing with the aftermath of the explosion has already exhausted this year’s disaster relief budget. Considering the current public opinion environment in Fontaine, it is indeed unlikely that the Ministry of Finance will allocate funds to rebuild the Fontaine Academy of Sciences.”

“Who knows if the next Fontainebleau Academy of Sciences will produce another bomb-crazy person?” Richard said.

At this critical juncture, Li realized that compared to rebuilding the Fontaine Academy of Sciences, directly asking to establish a completely new academy might be more likely to secure funding.

Of course, it's only a few. Even if we put it another way, the possibility of getting money out of those tightwads in the Ministry of Finance is extremely slim.

“So after getting thwarted by the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Schwarzer, the administrative officer of the Fontaine Academy of Sciences, thought of us,” Lynette said. It wasn’t Raymondo who suggested trying their luck at the City Hall, but the administrative officer Schwarzer.

Raymondo was, in the end, just a scholar. If he had understood the intricacies of politics, he wouldn't have been marginalized to the edge of power within the Academy of Sciences.

Unlike the administrative officer Schwarzer, who was eloquent, adept at handling various situations, he set a record after the bombing by talking to a Steambird reporter for an entire day without revealing any useful information.

In layman's terms, the other person talked nonsense all day long.

Since then, journalists have described the man as someone who talks a lot of nonsense but doesn't reveal any of the truth, making him just as difficult to deal with as a politician!

"Thought of us? It must be that you were thinking of Funina."

Although the city hall where Richard works has grown from a peripheral department into a behemoth second only to the court in size over the years, it is unlikely that it can remotely control the Ministry of Finance to allocate a portion of its already limited budget to the Fontainebleau Academy of Sciences.

This involves the core powers of the Ministry of Finance. If the city hall can interfere with even this, then the Ministry of Finance has no reason to exist and can simply be merged into the city hall.

However, there are always exceptions. The reason Richard didn't completely rule it out was largely because the City Hall had a figure who could be described as a bug, namely the Queen of the People's Water, People's Laws and Regulations—Furina de Fontaine.

She possesses the highest natural legal authority in Fontainebleau, and theoretically, even the highest judge must obey her orders. However, for some well-known reasons, this theory remains merely theoretical.

If Furness were to issue an executive order directly to the Ministry of Finance, it would indeed be possible for it to be implemented.

“However, if we can speed up the reconstruction of the Academy of Sciences, it would actually be a good thing for us,” Richard said.

"A good thing?" Lynette was puzzled. How could this be a good thing?

"Admittedly, the Edwin Experiment bombing wiped out two-thirds of the Fontaine Academy of Sciences from the map of Fontaine, but it also exposed various problems such as corruption and chaos in the internal management of the Academy and academic misconduct."

"Isn't this common knowledge?"

“No, this is common knowledge for us, but it may not be so for the people of Fontainebleau,” Richard pointed out the crux of the problem.

The Fontaine Academy of Sciences is renowned worldwide because of the once-in-a-lifetime genius, Alain. The people of Fontaine are grateful for his outstanding contributions to the city, and this respect has continued in the Academy of Sciences even after his death.

So even though the upper echelons of Fontaine knew that the academy was becoming increasingly corrupt and stinking over time, no one stood up to point it out.

However, this is not entirely accurate. It's not that no one stood up to point this out, but rather that those who did were not taken seriously. These righteous individuals and idealists were quickly suppressed and even threatened by vested interest groups as soon as they spoke out.

Even if the roots of a massive tree have begun to rot, it is still something that an ant cannot shake.

To move this giant tree, a sharp axe is needed, and Edwin's bombing that shocked Fontaine and even the entire Teyvat became the sharpest axe.

Thanks to this researcher, and the farcical situation created by his subordinates after the explosion as they tried to shift blame and fight for resources, everyone in Fontainebleau now knows that the Academy of Sciences is corrupt and chaotic to the point of being terminally ill and beyond cure.

"Even so, why would helping the Academy of Sciences rebuild quickly be in our best interest?"

“Because of the Ministry of Education.” Richard held up one finger.

Lynette quickly understood Richard's meaning. Since the bombing occurred at the Fontaine Academy of Sciences, Fontaine's highest institution of learning, it was naturally the responsibility of the Ministry of Education officials. In addition, the Shadow Chaser had uncovered many corruption issues, implicating a large number of Ministry of Education officials, and the department was now on the verge of restructuring.

In fact, this matter was already mentioned at the recent plenary meeting of the Mo Mang Palace.

Despite repeated objections from the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Education, everyone knew that the restructuring of the Ministry of Education was a foregone conclusion.

As for why the Minister of Education did not object, it's because he is currently in Mero-Petersburg and has no way to participate in this plenary session. The scope of this incident is so wide that the Ministry of Education cannot even elect an acting minister.

This marks the first time in the history of the Mo Mang Palace plenary session that a ministerial-level figure has been absent from the meeting.

"Due to historical reasons, although the city hall looks very large now, it actually lacks the core functions of its departments and is essentially bloated."

"Isn't helping citizens solve various difficult problems a core function?"

"When you encounter difficulties, is your first thought to find the nearest special patrol team, or do you take a patrol boat all the way to Mo Mang Palace to experience what it feels like to be kicked around like a football?"

Lynette: ...

"What about the city's appearance?"

"That's what the Ministry of Health does."

"What about city traffic?"

“We have a Ministry of Transport.”

"What about urban development?"

"Look into the Urban Planning and Development Committee."

Lynette was speechless. The name "City Hall" sounded impressive at first glance, and its size was among the top in the organization. But Richard's words made Lynette feel that her department was just bloated.

It looks imposing and majestic, but in reality, it's a silver spear with a wax head and is easily defeated.

"Some people originally planned to propose the establishment of a Ministry of the Interior at this meeting in order to reduce the functions and size of the city hall, and even suggested that I be the Minister of the Interior."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Do you really think cleaning up other departments' messes is a good thing?

“That’s true. It’s obviously easier to clean up Lady Funina’s mess than to clean up the messes of a whole group of people.”

Moreover, if it's just Funina alone, she can be prevented from pulling out if necessary...

Of course, this statement was too vulgar, so Linette decided to change it to a reasonable piece of advice for Funina not to act too impulsively.

"Indeed, Funina's butt is much more attractive than those middle-aged greasy men."

“?” Lynette slowly uttered a question mark. Is this a matter of the buttocks?

When Richard saw Lynette giving him a disapproving look, he quickly added, "Of course, your butt is pretty good too."

Lynette's face showed obvious disgust as she stood up to leave.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Zhu Yingting, report your superior for sexual harassment and for attempting to verbally molest the Water God."

"Didn't you bring up Frinina first?!"

"You should save those words for the special patrol team."

In other words, there was no phone, otherwise Lynette would have already started dialing.

Having finally dissuaded Lynette from calling the police, Richard wiped away non-existent sweat from his forehead and said, "So my goal is the core functions of the Ministry of Education. As one of Fontaine's top five departments, even if we don't ultimately get their core functions, just having them on our side is enough to put us in an invincible position."

"Whether it's plotting to seize or acquiring the core functions of the Ministry of Education, the Fontainebleau Academy of Sciences is an insurmountable obstacle."

Lynette nodded after listening and replied, "I understand, so what we need to do now is get Lady Funina to ask for help. This shouldn't be a problem for you, right?"

When Lynette said this, her face was expressionless, but her tone was a little strange, with a hint of sourness.

"Unfortunately, this has become the biggest problem right now." Richard shrugged, indicating that Lynette was oversimplifying things.

While it's true that Furnessa trusts Richard and listens to his advice, that doesn't mean she'll listen to everything he says.

At least in terms of the financial budget, Richard was certain that the other party had its own ideas.

"Give funds to the Fontainebleau Academy of Sciences to start a reconstruction plan? I don't think it's necessary." After listening to Richard's explanation, Funina rejected the proposal without even thinking.

For Funina, tightening her purse strings to prepare for the future acquisition of the [Jade Pavilion] has become the most important thing for her at present. Naturally, Funina cannot agree with the practice of throwing money into the bottomless pit of the Academy of Sciences.

Not to mention that she was also present at the previous bombing, and the many things that happened after the bombing, as well as the ugly state of affairs revealed within the institute, made Funina's goodwill towards the academy plummet to rock bottom.

Sometimes she even wondered if such an academy of sciences really had any need to exist.

"Lady Funina, I believe..."

"Alright, that's enough. I'm more concerned about the situation within our department than the Academy of Sciences."

"What's going on inside our department?" Richard didn't understand what Funina was referring to.

Fu Ningna pointed to the departmental expense report on the table, which detailed expenses from last year to the present, and said with a serious expression, "Don't you think the daily expenses of our department, and even the entire Mo Mang Palace, are a bit too high?"

"Wait, Lady Funina, you wouldn't..." Upon hearing this, a horrifying thought immediately flashed through Richard's mind.

“I think it’s necessary to cut back on this part of the expenditure and put the Mora into something more useful.” Funina interlaced her fingers, her pretty face full of seriousness.

"Excuse my bluntness, Lady Funina, this...this is simply unheard of." Richard couldn't even find the words to describe this decision.

This isn't just having 'courage,' it's practically suicide, no, it's self-destruction, dragging everyone down with it.

In comparison, the Ministry of Education and the Academy of Sciences are minor matters.

The most urgent task is to figure out how to dissuade Funina from this unrealistic idea.

P.S.: There will be another chapter later tonight. Also, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and may you grow 1cm every day.

Volume 1: Chapter 97 Funina: My Little Cake…o(ini)o (4K+)

"Lady Furina, you should know that if our department's expenses can indeed be reduced, then the budget allocated to our department next year will be cut."

“I know, you told me about it before.” Funina nodded slightly, indicating that she knew about it.

"Then why are you cutting expenses... Is it because the afternoon tea lately isn't to your liking?" Richard's subtext was: Are you just wasting your time doing something so thankless?

"Afternoon tea is indeed a bit pricey. Let's replace the macarons with cheaper mousse cakes from now on. Also, black tea is a bit expensive. We can drink regular black tea instead." Funina knew that this kind of thing couldn't be done overnight, so she decided to start with the details and work her way up from there.

It was this sentence that made Richard realize that Funina was serious, because she had made a move on the afternoon tea!

You know, Fu Ningna's love for afternoon tea isn't exactly extravagant; it's more like she goes to work just for that tea and snack.

Now the other party actually wants to cut spending on afternoon tea and lower the quality and grade of tea and desserts, which is simply unbelievable to Fu Ningna, who has a discerning eye and strict taste.

Its incredible nature is comparable to that of Frynn sitting high in the judge's seat, delivering a judgment that is equally unbelievable.

“But even if we cut this expense, we won’t save much Mora a month.” Richard tried to dissuade Funina from the idea by suggesting that since it was a small amount of money, it wouldn’t be worth it.

There is an old saying that goes, "Do not refrain from doing good because it is small, nor do evil because it is small."

“Indeed, then we shouldn’t cut departmental budgets at all.” Richard wholeheartedly agreed. Don’t underestimate budget cuts; the consequences can be described as disastrous.

Don't underestimate the seemingly superficial perk of reducing afternoon tea; these are often the most tangible benefits that can significantly improve the happiness index of civil servants.

It's safe to say that among the many benefits for civil servants, afternoon tea is definitely one of the most important in Fontaine, comparable to the benefit of receiving firewood, rice, oil, and salt as civil servants in neighboring Liyue during holidays!

This demonstrates its importance.

On a smaller scale, this lowers the happiness index of civil servants; on a larger scale, it dampens their work enthusiasm, undermines their position in the dating market, and damages the foundation of the Fontainebleau administrative system.

The impact is far-reaching; we must be vigilant!