Seeing Sandrone in such a state, the Tsaritsa let out a soft chuckle and waved her hand.
“Well, since you’ve agreed, then there’s nothing more to discuss.
Tell him to go to Liyue in three days, and have him get ready.” “Yes…” Sandrone realized too late, but the words were already out of her mouth, so she could only agree, however reluctantly.
Walking out of the Cryo Tsaritsa’s room, Sandrone didn’t return to her own quarters, but went straight to Piers’s room.
Knock, knock, knock.
Sandrone stood before Piers’s door and raised her hand to rap on it.
“Who is it?” Piers walked over and opened the door.
“Oh?
It’s Lady Marionette.
Is there something you need?” “Before questioning your superior, shouldn’t you first invite your superior in for a cup of tea?
You don’t even have basic manners—wherever did Her Majesty the Tsaritsa get the idea that you were suited for diplomacy?” Sandrone’s voice grew softer and softer toward the end, until Piers couldn’t even make out what she was saying.
“Ahem…
my apologies, my apologies.
Please, come in, Lady Marionette.” Piers stepped aside, clearing a path for Sandrone, then invited her to sit at the table before going off to brew a pot of tea.
He actually didn’t much care for these teas himself; he preferred the little sweet drinks sold on the streets, and would even bring some back for Columbina now and then.
The tea leaves he kept in his room were only for entertaining these Harbingers, every one of whom was casually several centuries old.
“Lady Marionette, was there something you came to see me about?” “Her Majesty the Tsaritsa wants you to make a trip to Liyue as an acting Harbinger, to ease the relations between the two nations.” Sandrone summed it up in a single sentence; she knew Piers had surely heard the general gist of the Fatui’s situation in Liyue.
“Oh, all right, understood.
How long exactly?” Piers’s reaction was very flat.
Although the quests in Genshin Impact indeed never mentioned Snezhnaya sending an envoy to Liyue to smooth over relations, it was practically inevitable, so he wasn’t the least bit surprised.
“Hey, hey!
I’m your Harbinger—what’s with this couldn’t-care-less attitude of yours?
Don’t you have even the slightest urge to ask me to stay?!” Sandrone’s reaction, by contrast, was considerably more intense.
“Lady Marionette, I’m the one who’s going, aren’t I?
The way you say it, it sounds like you’re the one heading off to Liyue.” “I’d actually love to go…” She muttered under her breath, somewhat put out.
This Kitty—how’d he turn into a chirping cricket?
He’s right here in front of me, yet he talks so softly I can’t hear a thing.
“Then…
then you’re just going to leave me like that?
Aren’t you the least bit sad…?” The instant she finished, Sandrone realized what she’d said and abruptly turned her face away.
Damn it, what am I saying?!
It’s only going to Liyue for a while—how did I let such sappy words slip out?!
“Ahem…
never mind, just pretend you didn’t hear what I just said.
Three mornings from now, remember to take a carriage to the harbor; once you arrive, you should be able to spot the ship coming to pick you up.” Sandrone suddenly stood up, and after tossing out those words, ran straight out of Piers’s room—without so much as touching the freshly brewed tea on the table.
“How strange—she left without even drinking the tea.
Was she in that much of a hurry?
Such a waste.
Now that Snezhnaya and Liyue are at odds, this Chenyu Adeptal Tea grows scarcer with each passing day.” Piers muttered to himself as he cleared away the teacup, downing the tea inside in a single gulp while he was at it.
“Little Piers, you’ve gone and chased her off in a huff—aren’t you going to go coax her back?” Guizhong sat off to the side, gloating.
“Tsss—did I say something wrong just now?” He looked toward Guizhong with a hint of confusion.
“Who knows~” Forget it, forget it.
She is my superior, after all—if I rile her up, it’ll be a pain if she makes life difficult for me later on.
After thinking it over, Piers decided to go find Sandrone after all.
Inside her room, Sandrone paced back and forth, still muttering to herself.
“Could my language system be malfunctioning?
How could I have said something like that?
What if Piers got the wrong idea?” Just then, Piers gave a token knock at the doorway—since the door wasn’t even shut.
“Lady Marionette, may I come in?” Hearing Piers’s voice, Sandrone’s pacing froze for a moment; then she drew two deep breaths and forced herself to put on a calm front.
“Piers, come in.” Upon hearing her reply, Piers stepped inside, and the moment he entered he saw Sandrone—perfectly composed—seated at her exquisite little round tea table, brewing tea.
Hm?
Did Kitty rush back here in such a flustered hurry just to brew her own tea, because she looked down on the tea leaves I had?
Damn, surely it’s not that bad.
True, mine aren’t as fine as the leaves the Harbingers get, but they couldn’t be poor enough to make her flee, could they?
“Is there something you need?” Sandrone’s face was utterly composed; she even, for once, gave Piers a smile.
Tsss—somehow that smile feels downright sinister, like a ghost’s.
“Ahem…
it’s really nothing major.
Since I’ll be leaving Snezhnaya for a while, I thought that, as your subordinate, I ought to give you a gift.” “But the more I thought about it, anything I have, you already have, Lady Marionette—and yours are basically all better than mine.
I couldn’t think of a single gift on the spot, so let me just leave this with you for the time being.” As he spoke, Piers drew a badge from inside his robes.
It was the highest-ranking badge within the Fatui—its design, in fact, exactly like the sort of badge that dropped from defeating the Fatui in the game.
“I’m going to Liyue in the capacity of an acting Harbinger, so this badge won’t be of any use to me for now.
Let me leave it here with you, Lady Marionette; when I get back from Liyue, I’ll buy some novel little trinkets as a gift to make it up to you and trade them for the badge back.” Before Sandrone could even agree, Piers took hold of her hand and placed the badge right in her palm.
Why is Kitty’s hand so soft?
Shouldn’t a mechanical puppet be hard?
Does this world have silicone puppets too?
Somewhat puzzled, Piers gave it an unconscious squeeze.
But the instant he squeezed, Sandrone snatched her hand back.
“Ahem…
seeing as you’re so thoughtful about it, I’ll accept it.
Oh, right—tomorrow I’m holding a tea party.
Come along too; you know where the tea room is.” Having said this, Sandrone immediately turned her back, hands planted on her hips in proper leaderly fashion.
“I still have a great deal to do, so off you go.
Waste any more of my time and I’ll be pulling another all-nighter tonight.” “Yes, ma’am.” From the look of Kitty, it seemed she wasn’t angry; she even invited me to the tea party, so she probably won’t go doing anything to make my life difficult.
After returning to his room, Piers sat on the bed and began circulating the adeptal arts Guizhong had taught him.
Although, as a beginner, Piers was already a genius among geniuses, at this point he still couldn’t manage the adepti’s knack for automatically restoring adept power; what he’d spent could only be slowly reabsorbed through technique.
After absorbing for a while to replenish his adept power, Piers came to a stop.
“Sister Guizhong, is there any adeptal art that would suit me—one with some offensive power?”