Chapter 210: Hello, Miss Keqing, nice to see you again

Luo De did not leave Sumeru alone this time either.

The Mondstadt delegation set out with him.

Besides Albedo and Klee, who stayed behind due to the agreement Luo De had signed with him at the time, everyone else departed with Luo De after reaching a cooperation agreement with Nadixa.

As for Albedo's unauthorized and improper agreement.

No one complained about it.

Everyone knew Albedo doted on Klee.

Although that agreement was signed in Albedo's name, he actually agreed to it only for Klee's sake.

Moreover, Mondstadt has always upheld liberalism.

So even if Chief Alchemist Albedo were absent, potentially causing some trouble for the Knights of Favonius' alchemy workshop, Kaeya and Diluc, the chief and deputy envoys of this mission, said nothing; before departure they even prepaid the Academy a large sum of Mora as compensation for any possible damage Klee might cause.

The Academy official in charge of liaison was still somewhat puzzled by this gesture of giving money for free.

Only when Klee accidentally blew up two laboratories at the Academy while making explosives did they understand why Kaeya and the others had given so much Mora.

Originally, upon seeing the Mondstadt delegation about to leave,

As the Snezhnaya envoy, the Lady was also preparing to leave together.

The Snezhnaya Empress's mission assigned to her had been completed; it was time to undertake the next task.

However, before she left,

But an invitation from the Purification Palace forced her to stop.

If it were an invitation from Nadixa, she would surely ignore it.

However, upon seeing that the invitation bore the title of the Great Merciful Tree King, no matter how eager she was to go to Liyue, she had to set aside her affairs and go to the Purification Palace to keep the appointment.

After going there, she stayed for several days; Luo De boarded the ship with the Mondstadt delegation and departed, while she also couldn't get out of the Purification Palace.

Before she could obtain the Gnosis, he stopped the Lady, preventing her from making a contract with the Geo Archon.

This was something Luo De asked the Great Merciful Tree King to help with.

Hitching a ride on the Mondstadt delegation's ship has one advantage.

That is quietness.

Aside from the Knights of Favonius on guard duty, the only people on board were these few members of the delegation.

Not only is it much faster than ordinary passenger ships, but its comfort is also greater.

If it weren't for Lisa constantly teasing him, Luo De would be even more comfortable.

"The matter of the Lawrence Family has already been approved by the Anemo Archon."

On the deck, Kaeya brought Luo De a piece of news.

"Huh?"

Luo De, who was holding a wine cup and admiring the scenery, heard this, looked around left and right, didn't see Venti anywhere, and then said: "You went to ask him? Weren't we supposed not to disturb him, but go back and ask the Grand Master instead?"

"He came to us himself."

Diluc also walked over holding a bottle of dandelion wine still frosted, saying as he went: "He drank too much; he's resting now."

"Oh, I see."

A bit sooner than expected, Luo De nodded.

The Lawrence Family people are actually a big trouble.

They cause trouble wherever they go.

A bunch of arrogant, stubborn fools.

Luo De does not have a good impression of the Lawrence Family people.

That's pretty much a stereotype.

Their family environment and educational philosophy for the next generation are problematic.

What era is this, still obsessing over those tattered aristocratic rules and dreaming of retaking Mondstadt by force?

To put it bluntly,

they can barely afford to feed themselves!

Why keep wasting time on useless things?

If it weren't for Eula running fast enough, who knows what state they'd be dragged into.

Bring them to Sumeru.

One reason is that I indeed went back on my word, made a promise I couldn't keep, and thus ought to compensate Mondstadt; although Kaeya and Diluc said they understood and wouldn't hold it against me, this is a matter of principle, and after thinking it over I feel uncomfortable deciding on something too official, but taking in a Lawrence Family member to help Mondsettle its internal conflicts would still be acceptable.

Another reason is that the Lawrence Family still has some talent.

How to put it, a large family

is not entirely made up of stubborn old fools.

Luo De's idea is simple: the incorrigible ones can all go face the wall together; those who can be improved can be sent to the Academy to study, and later join Sumeru's construction—overall they'd still be of some use.

"A person's cognition is determined by their surrounding environment."

"From childhood they are immersed in the malice of those around them and the family's bad teachings."

"If they want to become better, they can only escape their original family."

This is Luo De's view of the Lawrence Family.

Anyway, he always believes that such a large family cannot be completely hopeless; since it produced Eula Lawrence, it could produce a second one.

"By the way, Eula will also come along."

At this point, Kaeya added another detail.

"Will the Knights of Favonius be willing to let people go?"

This surprised Luo De quite a bit.

You La is a top-tier talent of Mondstadt's younger generation.

Even though the Lawrence surname gave her a somewhat notorious reputation, her superb swordsmanship was still acknowledged by everyone.

Luo De knew.

The West Wind Knights this expedition actually took away eighty percent of Mondstadt's forces, and now it's a time of manpower shortage.

Moreover, You La was able to obtain the Lawrence family's symbol of martial prowess, the Mark of Solid Ice, at a young age, making her absolutely one of the top talents among Mondstadt's younger generation.

Place it in any country, any organization.

For such young talents, the attitude is to do everything possible to retain them; how could they so easily send someone away?

A recent example right before our eyes.

It's Di Lu Ke.

This person, who quit the West Wind Knights due to problems caused by his father and an insider stirring trouble, even though he still protects Mondstadt in his own way, the West Wind Knights' Grand Captain Fa Er Jie and Acting Captain Qin are still trying every means to invite him back.

"He definitely doesn't want to let people go."

"Kai Ya laughed: "But there's nothing we can do; even if You La is dissatisfied with her family, she's still a member of the Lawrence Family.""

"Otherwise."

"Why would she insist on keeping this surname and this infamy to this day?"

An obvious principle.

"Luo De nodded: "That's true.""

"He then laughed as well: "In that case, we've gotten a great bargain.""

"Hearing that,"

"Kai Ya raised an eyebrow, smiling, and asked: "Do you want to compensate us for more losses?""

"He was just joking."

"But he didn't expect Luo De to actually respond seriously: "How about opening more study slots at the Academy for you, and adding a scholarship?""

"The Academy has always strictly controlled the number of slots for international students."

"All resources are given priority to Xu Mi locals."

"It must be said."

"This is a rare point where Luo De is willing to praise the Academy."

"Although the Academy often doesn't handle personnel matters, at least in this regard it's fine."

"With abundant educational resources, not giving priority to its own people but instead to international students—isn't that a problem?"

"This is also the fundamental reason why Xu Mi's academic level has always stood out on the Tiwatedalu continent."

"Kai Ya and his party had once discussed this matter with Nadixa when they went on this mission."

"Compared to Mondstadt."

"Xu Mi's educational capability is a real dimensional strike."

"They also hope their outstanding students can get a better academic environment."

At that time Nadixa agreed to open up some slots, but she refused the academic subsidies; everything was done according to the Academy's rules, and those who failed the academic assessment could not graduate and might even be expelled.

Regarding this point.

Kaeya and the others had no objection.

Now Luo De suddenly said he could increase the study-abroad slots and also set up a special scholarship.

That is indeed somewhat unexpected.

"What you say, is it really possible?"

It's not that this promise is bad, but rather Kaeya and the others doubt whether Luo De's promise will work with the Dendro Archon.

"Hey, we've known each other for so long; when have you ever seen me talk nonsense?"

Luo De spread his hands: "Don't worry, this isn't difficult; the scholarship plan was already in the planning schedule; this is beneficial for Sumeru, and Nadixa won't object."

Luo De openly admitted that his promise was actually something already in the plan.

This also gave Kaeya and Diluc an unexpected delight; they all laughed and said in unison: "Okay, let's do as you say."

The following topic was no longer as formal as before.

The focus of Kaeya, Diluc, and Luo De's chat shifted to observations and experiences within Hope City.

"To be honest, your architecture is indeed quite novel."

"Especially that rune mechanism stone tablet."

While speaking, Kaeya inadvertently brought up the point he cared most about: "You were just saying you wanted to learn Mondstadt's technology, but your technology is clearly better than ours."

The tone was joking.

The words spoken, however, were an unspoken envy and longing.

The technology of using mechanism runes to convey elemental energy, looking across all of Teyvat, can be called novel and convenient.

Something that can rival it.

Probably it's like Fontaine's energy transmission line architecture.

However, Fontaine's energy transmission technology does not use elemental energy at all, so there's no way to introduce it.

Sumeru's special energy transmission method that combines mechanism techniques and rune techniques, if introduced to Mondstadt, would definitely be able to change Mondstadt's energy environment.

It's a pity.

When they proposed this deal to Nadixa, she refused without hesitation.

And Luo De at this time directly doused Kaeya's idea.

"That technology is not yet mature; the reason it's used in Hope City is because Hope City is in its initial construction stage, and the demand for energy is not especially high yet; this immature technology is still within its load capacity."

"But if placed in a big city, relying solely on these rune mechanisms, one issue is transmission efficiency problems, not necessarily as good as your already-built transmission lines; another is that it's very dangerous, and once overloaded, there is always a risk of causing a major explosion."

Also.

Hope City has always had a guardian; if an accident occurs, she can protect Hope City's safety.

You Mondstadters' deity, huh.

Luo De gave a meaningful glance at the cabin, then curled his lip and said: "If you have an accident using this, where he is remains a problem, and selling this unstable thing to you could ruin our reputation—this deal would be a huge loss; once more stable technology is developed later, you can buy it then and it won't be too late."

Finally.

Luo De said in a very show-off manner: "Anyway, Red King Technology's collection is now fully open; new technology is developing quickly, and we should have better energy technology within a year or two."

Nadixa never used to say that much back then.

She only said that this technology isn't mature and isn't suitable for public release.

In comparison,

Luo De's showiness actually came across as more sincere.

Then let's wait and see.

Kaeya stopped dwelling on that topic and brought up something else: "Your architect, his name is Ka Wei; once Hope City's construction is done, lend him to us for a bit."

Hey, you've taken a liking to him?

Luo De blinked.

This is great.

This shows that Ka Wei's design talent has been recognized; he's no longer just a renowned architect in Sumeru, he might become a renowned architect across Teyvat.

This is something even those top architects of the past couldn't achieve.

He's a very talented architect.

When it comes to architecture, Diluc has more say than Kaeya.

Then he continued his critique: "An architect who can perfectly blend artistic beauty and practicality is really rare these days."

I've toured all the buildings in that new city.

Great, the design is excellent.

It just so happens we recently went through a dragon disaster and are in a state of reconstruction, especially the West Wind Cathedral, which is the top priority in the restoration efforts; Jean has looked at many architects but still hasn't found a suitable one.

I think this one is pretty good.

But at that time our agreement with the Dendro Archon had already been signed, and this architect was still under contract, so we didn't bring it up.

Diluc spoke highly of Ka Wei.

Artistry, that thing.

Back then, in Sumeru's architectural circles, that was looked down upon.

Luo De had noticed this as well early on.

The houses in the Rainforest District are overly simple, just meeting basic living needs.

Looking at one or two is fine, but looking at many is indeed tiring.

However, Sumeru's architectural circles not valuing artistry doesn't mean other countries don't.

Especially Mondstadt.

Mondstadt's architecture has high standards for artistic beauty.

Alright, I'll talk to Nadixa about this later; you guys aren't in a rush, right?

Luo De stroked his chin, thinking: "Hmm, no, repairing the West Wind Cathedral—this should be pretty urgent, right?"

No, we're not in a hurry.

Kaeya laughed: "The West Wind Cathedral is too important, so the people also know we can't just rush the repair by hiring someone inadequate to design the reconstruction; after all that, nobody's in a rush anymore, as long as the finished quality is good enough."

Oh, I see.

Alright, I got it.

Hmm.

Luo De estimated the timeline: "About three months, roughly another three months, see if that works for you?"

Diluc and Kaeya replied in unison again: "No problem."

Amidst the conversation.

Amidst the talk, after reaching a cooperation agreement, Luo De and the three of them all smiled.

Such a cheerful atmosphere.

This lasted until the Mondstadt envoy's ship docked at Liyue Harbor to resupply.

Having arrived at the destination, Luo De and Kaeya bade farewell, then disembarked with ease into the long-unseen port.

This time.

Having previously received a notice from Sumeru's officials, the Liyue authorities specially dispatched a high-ranking official of the Liyue the Liyue the Liyue Qixing to meet the ship.

The moment they saw Luo De,

this Liyue the Liyue the Liyue Qixing official stood there stunned.

Before she could speak, Luo De greeted her cheerfully: "Hello, Miss Keqing, long time no see."

(End of chapter)