APHROS DELOS, ACT I, PART I
The moment you set foot back into Mondstadt City, you let out a relieved sigh. "Hah... The breeze here felt so nice, much better than the cold snowy mountain." You said to yourself, enjoying the breeze that brushes against your skin.
"Dragonspine is too cold for Paimon," Paimon stated, she turned to you and Aether with a smile. "So is there anything we should do?" Paimon asked as Aether thought for a moment while you wondered if there's any quest that you three could do. That was until you heard footsteps from the side and to see Huffman rushing to you.
"Y/N. Traveler." He called your name and Aether which made you turn to him, looking a bit confused.
"Huffman? Is something the matter?" You asked him, wondering if there's something wrong that they needed help from you and Aether. Though you don't recall any quest started Huffman so maybe this is something that never happened in the game but it will happen here. Like that dance ceremony when you return from Liyue.
"In truth, the Acting Grand Master is looking for you. She said to find the Honorary Knights as soon as possible. She required your help with a certain mission." He stated as you wondered what could she probably need from you three to help her again.
You stopped thinking and immediately gave him a smile. "Alright, I see. We shall go and meet Jean immediately. Thank you for informing me." You turned to Aether and made your way to the Knights of Favonius' Headquarter.
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You knocked on the door before entering and there stood Jean who seems to be looking quite guilty for calling on you guys. "...Thank you for coming on such short notice, Honorary Knight. I know you must be busy. Well, to make a long story short, there is a particular matter at hand that the Knights requires your assistance with." She said as you raised your eyebrows.
"Oh no, it's fine but I see the Knights are as busy as ever," You commented as she let out a sigh.
"Yes, it has been one thing after another recently. Neither myself nor any of the Mondstadt garrison is able to catch a moment of peace. I have received multiple reports from the Knights of someone within the Lawrence Clan having close dealings with the Fatui." She clarified as you looked at her in surprise, wasn't expecting Eula's story quest this early.
"The Fatui! Again!? But who are the Lawrence Clan?" Paimon questioned even though you, yourself knew the answer. Jean explained to you guys about the history of the Lawrence Clan in a simple manner that Paimon herself got the idea of who are the Lawrence Clan. "Oh, Paimon gets it. So the clan's descendants are now scheming with the bad guys to carry out more dubious deeds?" asked Paimon as Jean nodded.
"...We suspect as much, though we have yet to obtain any solid evidence. The reason I summoned you here today is to ask you to help us further investigate this matter," said Jean, looking at you guys with hope which made you unable to turn her down. After all, this can be helpful for future events.
"I see... I was going to wonder why you didn't ask the other Knights to do the investigation instead but after hearing the history, I'm guessing the Knights had been at odds with one another?" You asked as she turned to you.
"It is exactly what you said... No matter what stance we take when dealing with them, the outcome is always the same... Our efforts only result in adding more fuel to the flames. We could come knocking on their door on the grounds of a search warrant, but if the investigation were to come up empty, I'm afraid tensions and distrust would only increase. All of our past efforts would have been wasted..." She explained as Aether gave her a confused look.
Probably confused why does it have to be specifically you three do this job. "But as the Honorary Knights, we technically also belong to the Knights..." Aether pointed out as Jean gave you three a confident look.
"You are in fact the best candidate to represent the Knights of Favonius. But you need not emphasize your role as the Honorary Knight. You are a traveler from a distant land, and you can approach the aristocrats in this way. Once you come to friendly terms with the Lawrence Clan, you should be in a good position to learn more of their possible connections with the Fatui." She explained while Paimon was astonished by how meticulous her plan was.
She told you guys about who you guys should meet and where could you find him before thanking you three for doing the work as you head off to find Schubert Lawrence. You definitely have to use all your patience for this...
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It took some time to find the guy and before you could greet him, he had already taken notice of your presence as he turned to you while hiding his sketchbook. "Who are you?" He inquired and before you could open your mouth, Paimon cut you in.
"Hello, we're here to-" Schubert looked at you three in disgust and offended by the way you greet him as he crossed his arms.
"Hello?" Schubert raised his eyebrows as Aether looked a bit confused by his mannerism.
"Yeah, what's wrong?" Aether questioned him as Schubert gave you three a flabbergasted look and seems quite annoyed by his mannerism while you took a deep breath, trying your best to not punch his ugly face with a friendly smile that maintained on your face.
"What's wrong? Did you just say "what's wrong"?" He huffed as he crossed his arms while Paimon and Aether looked at each other in confusion. "And I suppose you think that you can simply strut up here and greet me in such an ignoble and vulgar manner?" And he began to talk in a very long manner within between of the lines was introducing himself and how you three lack manners.
You do know how to address a noble because well, you had your fair share reading books that involved royalty but you don't really like bowing your head down to scum like him. "Now, if you're somehow capable of understanding anything I've said, then you will get down on your knees, apologize for your negligent actions, and give me a proper introduction. That is the appropriate etiquette!" He demanded as you rolled your eyes at his demand.
He's lucky enough not to be punched by you. Paimon was extremely baffled by his demand as she shrugged. "That's etiquette? Paimon's never heard of something so complicated before!" She exclaimed as Schubert ranted how the world had changed for the "worst" and he couldn't bear the degradation from the common folk manners.
"It's no wonder the aristocracy fell," Aether muttered but it definitely angered Schubert overheard his words as he ranted about how the common folks lack elegance as Aether just furrowed his eyebrows while you tried to refrain yourself from punching this man to death. "I haven't even said anything yet..." Aether stated as Schubert looked at him in anger.
"Save your words," he snapped at Aether. "I find your manners and bearing repulsive. I have nothing to discuss with the likes of you. Besides, I am in no way obligated to instruct commoners on basic courtesies. Now, I have more pressing matters to attend to. I'll take my leave." He turned his back as you began to roll up your sleeves.
"You son of a fucking bitch, I'll make sure I kill you, and let's see if you could still be as noble as you make yourself to be." You mumbled before Aether stopped you from trying to stab him from the back.
The aura that you have begun to be a little bit suffocating for them to even breathe as Paimon immediately panicked to see how pissed you were. "Y-Y/N, calm down. We know you are frustrated but calm down. We need to root out the Fatui first." Paimon said as you clicked your tongue and kept your sword.
The thought of handling that guy infuriates you and thinking about him makes you even more upset than you were before. "That fucker is lucky that Jean asked us to approach him calmly or not I would have killed him." You said as Paimon nervously laughed.
"How about we head back and talk things over with Jean on how to approach him so he would be much nicer to us," Paimon said as you just sighed and crossed your arms.
"Fine. I don't feel like being a pushover to him anyway. There's no way in hell I'm bowing down to him." You stated while crossing your arms in annoyance.
"Well, if we're talking status, you are literally the Prince of Khaenri'ah so he should've bowed to you," Orochi commented which put a smile on your face for a bit before saying to him in your head that you agreed with him. As you three made your way to the headquarters, Orochi was actually glad that you didn't actually go on killing him, or else it would be a problem for him and yourself.
TO BE CONTINUED