After Kaedehara Kazuha and Thunderclap successively left, the atmosphere in the reception room immediately became heavy.
After a good while, Diluc broke the silence. He said calmly, "Kaeya, quit the Knights of Favonius. Return to Dawn Winery."
His voice held a hint of imperceptible expectation.
Kaeya struggled internally, but in the end, he still shook his head and refused. "I can help you more within the Knights, so..."
Before he finished speaking, Diluc interrupted him somewhat angrily. "At this point, can't you see the situation clearly? We just refused to cooperate with West Factory. This will undoubtedly push them to become our adversaries.
They will definitely make a big deal out of Schubert's matter.
Are you sure you can still remain within the Knights?"
Kaeya took a deep breath and said with a firm tone, "Trust me, I can smooth everything over."
Diluc asked vehemently, "Smooth over? How will you smooth it over?
Forcibly taking an innocent civilian to a basement warehouse in the middle of the night and subjecting him to illegal punishment and forced confession – these actions have severely violated the Knights' regulations!"
Kaeya did not appear flustered. He calmly elaborated on his plan: "Schubert, driven by family honor, attempted to overthrow the Knights of Favonius.
I saw through his conspiracy. For the sake of secrecy, I had no choice but to take him to a secluded warehouse for interrogation.
Furthermore, I have prepared some forged evidence, sufficient to clear myself of the charges."
After hearing his plan, Diluc sighed. "I hope your plan succeeds."
........
In Stormterror's Lair.
"Dvalin, can you show me around your Dragon Palace?" Lin Yide asked Dvalin, who was burying his head in a roasted pig.
Dvalin's mouth was greasy. He gently licked around his mouth with his tongue, then raised his head, his eyes flickering with confusion. "Dragon Palace? What's that?"
Lin Yide's face showed a look of disdain. "You, as the Protector of the East Wind, don't even have your own Dragon Palace?
Fine, let's put it another way. You must have a dragon nest or a dragon lair, right?
Even the Demon Dragon Ursa possesses a magnificent dragon lair."
Hearing this, Dvalin suddenly felt the roasted pig in his mouth become tasteless.
He defended himself somewhat lacking in confidence, "Even Barbatos doesn't have his own palace. As his familiar, naturally, I don't have a fixed residence either."
Lin Yide let out a cold laugh, pointing his finger towards the majestic Favonius Cathedral in Mondstadt City in the distance. "Do you see it? That's the great cathedral his followers built for him, filled with countless beautiful nuns.
While you are completely unaware, he is lying on a soft large bed in that luxurious cathedral, savoring fine wine and enjoying the careful service of the nuns.
And you, you foolish beast of the East Wind, can only endure the assault of the cold wind alone in this dilapidated high tower."
"Enough!" Dvalin roared, interrupting Lin Yide. "I have completely seen Barbatos's true colors.
He's a cruel and ruthless capitalist! Ruthlessly exploiting my blood and sweat!"
"Right! Right! Right! Absolutely right!" Lin Yide agreed enthusiastically. "If you continue to follow him, you will only fall into an even more difficult situation, living a life worse than ordinary creatures."
Dvalin devoured the remaining roasted pig, not even spitting out the bones, swallowing them directly down his belly.
Then, filled with hatred, it said, "From today onwards, I am no longer the so-called Protector of the East Wind."
Changing the subject, it turned its gaze towards Lin Yide, its tone revealing a hint of reserve. "What kind of treatment do you offer? If it's possible, I am willing to sign a long-term contract with you."
Seeing that Dvalin had finally taken the bait, a smug smile couldn't help but appear on Lin Yide's face.
He watched Dvalin, cleared his throat, and slowly began, "Currently, the Hydro Dragon Sovereign 's monthly salary in Fontaine is as high as one hundred thousand Mora. Although your strength is considerable, there is still a certain gap compared to him."
Dvalin nodded in agreement. It knew its capabilities were far from the Hydro Dragon Sovereign 's.
But then, Lin Yide said very generously, "Considering your current impoverished situation, I am willing to give you a salary of one hundred thousand Mora per month, and it includes food and accommodation. The only requirement is to sign a one-hundred-year contract."
To be able to enjoy the same salary treatment as the Hydro Dragon Sovereign, plus the generous conditions of including food and accommodation, was no different from a pie falling from the sky for Dvalin.
It hardly hesitated before happily agreeing to this tempting contract.
Following this, Lin Yide drafted a detailed contract on the spot and had Dvalin leave his indelible mark on it with his dragon claw.
Looking at the smiling Lin Yide, Dvalin suddenly felt a sense of being tricked. It unexpectedly asked, "Yide, how much Mora is your monthly salary?"
Lin Yide was startled, and answered truthfully, "I don't have a salary."
"Why don't you have a salary? Why are you also working for a black-hearted capitalist?" Dvalin asked in confusion.
Lin Yide shook his head and answered with a confident smile, "No, I voluntarily don't take a salary, because I don't lack Mora at all.
There are few people in this world who are richer than me."
What he said was indeed the truth.
He owns one-third of the Furina Foundation's shares. The income he receives from dividends alone each year is an astronomical figure.
In addition, he also owns numerous industries in Fudé Port.
There are indeed few truly wealthy people in this world who can compare with him.
Hearing this, Dvalin couldn't help but feel the urge to cling tightly to him.
Just then, the system's voice suddenly echoed in Lin Yide's mind: "Congratulations, Host, you have successfully completed the training event – calming the Mondstadt dragon disaster and successfully subduing Dvalin, earning 3200 training points."
Including the previously accumulated training points, he now has a certain amount of total training points, but there is still a large gap from his goal of 240,000 training points.
However, Lin Yide did not feel anxious because of this.
The difficulty in the Mondstadt region is relatively low, so the training points obtainable here are also limited.
The real big gains are in Liyue and Sumeru.
..........
When Kaeya returned to Mondstadt City, he quickly sensed the strange atmosphere around him.
The members of the Knights of Favonius were all watching him with complex gazes, which made him feel very bad.
He walked to the entrance of the Knights' headquarters and asked the knight Porto, with whom he was usually quite close, "What exactly happened?"
Porto unconsciously stepped back, maintaining a certain distance from Kaeya, before cautiously answering, "Captain Kaeya, the rumors going around the Knights right now say that you kidnapped Schubert of the Lawrence family last night.
And then in the basement warehouse at Dawn Winery... vented your bestial desires on him."