Chapter 498: Tartaglia

"Hmm!" Tartaglia nodded thoughtfully. Although his brain wasn't particularly sharp, he wasn't a complete idiot.

It seemed he really did need to pay Mr. Regarding Regarding Zhongli a visit. It had been 39 hours and 27 minutes since he last saw him—he missed him!

What should he bring to eat when visiting Mr. Regarding Regarding Zhongli this time?

Oh, right, Tonya had previously arranged for some specialty delicacies from Snezhnaya to be sent to him. He hadn't been able to bring himself to eat them yet; they would be perfect to give to Mr. Regarding Regarding Zhongli.

"I'm going to find Mr. Regarding Regarding Zhongli first; we'll discuss this matter later." Tartaglia thought for a moment and then reminded Rosalyne, "You should be careful yourself. If Pierro starts plotting against me, you’ll likely be next."

"After all, to him, we are both unstable factors."

Having said that, Tartaglia strode away.

Upon hearing this, Rosalyne frowned. This was indeed what she was worried about. That old dog Pierro would never rest; no one knew how he was currently planning to persecute her.

This had left Rosalyne afraid to go anywhere during this time.

It was fine here in Does Does Liyue; with the Geo Archon present, she wasn't afraid. Given the friendship between the Geo Archon and the Tsaritsa, the former would protect her.

But once she left Does Does Liyue, she wouldn't necessarily have any guarantees.

Oh, right, there was also Mu Yang!

If their Fatui had Mu Yang's help, resolving these rebels like Pierro should be a very easy matter.

It was just a pity that although Mu Yang had already killed three Fatui Harbingers, he hadn't taken the initiative to deal with Pierro himself. If Mu Yang wanted to, killing Pierro shouldn't be difficult. Once that happened, it shouldn't be a problem for the Tsaritsa to emerge and set things right.

Of course, Rosalyne understood the logic; the Tsaritsa herself was likely unwilling to do so.

After all, no one knew how many people within the current Fatui were related to the people of Khaenri'ah.

If she really did that, the entire Fatui would need to be thoroughly investigated, perhaps even purged. After all, Pierro was the Director of the Fatui; if you really counted it up, almost all of the Fatui were related to Pierro.

Rosalyne rubbed her head. There was no help for it; who told their Director to go rogue?

Now she couldn't even return to Snezhnaya, and everything was difficult to handle. Should she go ask Mu Yang for help?

At worst, she could just play matchmaker between Mu Yang and her own Tsaritsa.

Judging by the Tsaritsa's attitude, she seemed to trust Mu Yang very much.

……………………………………………………………………

Finding Regarding Regarding Zhongli was not a difficult task for Tartaglia. Before long, Tartaglia found Regarding Regarding Zhongli drinking tea at the Three Cups in the Port.

"Mr. Regarding Regarding Zhongli, so you're here!" Tartaglia greeted the people around him heartily, then sat down beside Regarding Regarding Zhongli and smiled.

"Nothing to do today, and the weather is fine. However, you seem to have something on your mind?" Seeing that Tartaglia wanted to say something but found it inconvenient to speak here, Regarding Regarding Zhongli asked directly.

At the same time, he altered the surrounding space so that no one around them could notice him or Tartaglia.

Well, he was a gentleman of Does Does Liyue, after all; it wasn't strange for him to possess such methods.

Sure enough, upon seeing this, Tartaglia revealed an 'as expected' expression. This Mr. Regarding Regarding Zhongli was truly miraculous.

However, Tartaglia didn't find it strange that Regarding Regarding Zhongli could do this; this was an adeptus respected even by the Tsaritsa.

"Yes, regarding the situation in our Fatui, I assume Mr. Regarding Regarding Zhongli knows a thing or two?" Tartaglia asked helplessly.

Regarding Regarding Zhongli nodded slightly: "I know a little."

Could it be that something had gone wrong within the Fatui?

But he hadn't heard the Tsaritsa mention it in the chat group.

The Tsaritsa had already begun preparations; she now seemed able to quietly leave her ice coffin.

But it didn't seem like anything had happened?

"Hmm, headquarters sent a transfer order earlier, telling me to go to Fontaine. As for what specifically I'm to do, they didn't tell me; it seems they just want me to go to Fontaine. Do you think I should go?" Tartaglia asked, full of anticipation.

Tartaglia truly admired Regarding Regarding Zhongli.

Under Regarding Regarding Zhongli's guidance, Tartaglia's martial arts had also made significant progress.

Although Skirk was his master, in Tartaglia's heart, Mr. Regarding Regarding Zhongli was also someone who was both a teacher and a friend.

He was someone he needed to look up to.

Tartaglia had always held the strong in high regard.

"Go to Fontaine?" Regarding Regarding Zhongli revealed a thoughtful expression upon hearing this.

Even he didn't know at this moment why Pierro wanted Tartaglia to go to Fontaine.

But he could analyze it through clues.

"The Fatui's manager in Fontaine seems to be Arlecchino, the Knave, right?" Regarding Regarding Zhongli asked Tartaglia after a moment of thought.

"Yes, the Knave is the Fourth of the Fatui Harbingers and also the manager of the House of the Hearth.

However, to be honest, I don't dislike people who have their own plans.

After all, I joined the Fatui to gain more opportunities for battle. But this person, I don't like her. If betrayal could bring profit, she would swing her blade at Her Majesty without hesitation. There is only madness in her eyes." Tartaglia said, weighing his tone.

"Madness, you say?" Regarding Regarding Zhongli nodded slightly. Although this child Tartaglia wasn't particularly sharp, his intuition was quite accurate.

On this point, it was actually very similar to Mu Yang's feeling.

Mu Yang had also previously said that Arlecchino wasn't actually very reliable; this woman was a complete lunatic.

Arlecchino had previously wanted to defect to Mu Yang.

However, even Mu Yang felt that Arlecchino wasn't very reliable.

Perhaps this was related to Arlecchino's childhood experiences; if it were anyone else with Arlecchino's history, it would be impossible to trust their own god.

After all, in Arlecchino's view, their Hydro Archon Focalors really couldn't be considered an excellent god; she was more like a celebrity.

Back when she was being persecuted by those damn nobles, she never saw the Hydro Archon Focalors come out to do anything.

Sometimes, when it comes to faith, the more you believe, the more you spiral toward darkness once you discover your faith has collapsed...

It was already quite something that Arlecchino hadn't become a lifelong hater of Focalors.

Regarding this, Focalors expressed that she was also wronged; she was so dedicated to Fontaine that she even wanted to off herself—where would she find the time to manage these trivial matters?

After all, for Fontaine, Arlecchino's affairs were truly not worth mentioning.

"Hmm, I feel that Arlecchino is a very crazy person. I even suspect that Arlecchino and Pierro are collaborating; they might be about to make a move on Fontaine." After pondering for a moment, Tartaglia said to Regarding Regarding Zhongli: "But I don't know why they want to call me over.

Although my strength is not bad, if I really have to make a move against a god, I don't think I'm capable enough."

Tartaglia's strength had also improved greatly during this time, but having fought Osial once, Tartaglia understood that there was still a gap between him and an Archon.

And the Hydro Archon Focalors, although not the first Hydro Archon, was surely not lacking in strength.

He probably couldn't beat Focalors yet. Of course, if he could challenge her, Tartaglia wouldn't refuse.

He was just worried about being used by Arlecchino and Pierro.

He was belligerent, that was true, but he wasn't a fool.

"The Hydro Archon Focalors?" Regarding Regarding Zhongli's mouth couldn't help but twitch. As one of the few who knew the truth, he also knew about Furina.

He even held her in high regard; the other party was just Focalors' personality, which meant she was someone without any strength.

She still needed to pretend to be a god. Although Furina could indeed be considered half a god, she had no power!

And for Furina to persist for five hundred years was already extremely commendable. Even an Archon would feel pain when facing erosion, let alone Furina. That five hundred years of pain—she had no one to tell.

Even for a human, this willpower could already rival that of a god.

"That is indeed a very great existence." Thinking of this, Regarding Regarding Zhongli couldn't help but sigh.

"Mr. Regarding Regarding Zhongli, have you met that Furina?

I've heard that her reputation among the people of Fontaine isn't particularly good, at least not like the Geo Archon or the Raiden Shogun.

I didn't expect Mr. Regarding Regarding Zhongli to have such a high opinion of her!" Hearing Regarding Regarding Zhongli's evaluation of Furina, Tartaglia showed an eager expression on his face.

There was no help for it; he was just a belligerent character.

Moreover, Mr. Regarding Regarding Zhongli didn't even think much of the Geo Archon, often criticizing him, yet now he was praising the Hydro Archon Furina.

It seemed this Hydro Archon must be a very powerful and great god.

If he had the chance, he must challenge her.

"However, I also know that I am currently no match for Furina. If I have the chance, I want to challenge Mr. Neuvillette, the Iudex of Fontaine." Tartaglia then said with burning eyes: "I heard he is the strongest in Fontaine besides the Hydro Archon Focalors.

Such an existence surely wouldn't be too weak."

Looking at Tartaglia like this, Regarding Regarding Zhongli opened his mouth but couldn't say a word.

— Author's Notes —

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