The Fatui soldiers present fell into brief chaos when they saw their superior officer instantly subdued by Richard.
"L-Lady Signora… how did she get turned into an ice statue?"
"Our enemy is far stronger than we expected. My suggestion is to retreat."
"But what about Lady Signora?"
"It's fine. Even if Lady Signora is gone, stronger Harbingers will take her place!"
"..."
Once the first one started backing down, the rest of the Fatui didn't leave outright but also made no move to attack further.
They all waited for orders from the highest-ranking officer present aside from Signora herself, who happened to be the same Debt Collector who'd earlier reported Richard's whereabouts.
"Lord Richard, this is a misunderstanding. Lady Signora didn't mean to oppose you!" The Debt Collector was the first to raise both hands in surrender, showing he had no hostile intent.
"Didn't mean to oppose me?" Richard looked at the statue, still flickering with flames under its icy shell. Who would believe that?
"Uh…" The Debt Collector glanced at his boss, still struggling to break free of Richard's seal. Beneath his mask, he forced a bitter smile.
'My lady… even if you break through that thin layer of ice, do you really think that's all Richard can do?'
Inside the ice, Signora seemed to realize her predicament and gradually gave up her futile resistance. But one could still see from her eyes that she hadn't completely abandoned the fight.
Yet in this situation, whether she gave up or not didn't really matter anymore.
Richard didn't plan to leave this Harbinger frozen here forever. After all, they were former colleagues, even if she was a bit foolish, arrogant, and overbearing…
In a sense, he and the Tsaritsa could still be considered on the same side; there was no need to weaken an ally's strength.
Of course, if they caused him trouble, that was another matter. But as for Signora, honestly, for Richard, she wasn't even enough to count as trouble.
She made a move, and he ended it with one blow. What more was there to say?
In fact, Richard had basically stolen Signora's "credit" for this operation. Without his interference, Dvalin would probably have been saved anyway, and Venti's Gnosis would have fallen into Signora's hands through half a performance, half a transaction.
With him stepping in, all he did was speed things up; Venti's Gnosis would still end up with the Fatui, just in a different way. He'd simply repay the favor by letting The Knave Arlecchino claim the credit for recovering the Gnosis.
"Relax. I won't take her life. Once we leave, the seal will gradually weaken over time."
"Judging by how hard she's struggling, she'll probably be free by dinner, give or take," Richard estimated.
Dinner was still two or three hours away, so she'd just have to spend that time doing her best as an ice sculpture.
A small punishment to teach her a bigger lesson; otherwise, with Signora's usual ways, she'd get herself into serious trouble sooner or later.
Not everyone was as forgiving as Richard.
"As for the Anemo Archon's Gnosis, I'll hand it to another Harbinger to deliver to the Tsaritsa. You don't have to worry about that."
"I see, thank you for your generosity, Lord Richard." Hearing this, the Debt Collector let out a huge sigh of relief. As long as Lady Signora was unharmed, all was well.
To be honest, despite her fierce looks and tendency for sudden outbursts, among the Fatui Harbingers, Lady Signora was actually one of the easier ones to deal with.
If something happened to her, he had no idea which other Harbinger he'd be reassigned to.
If his luck was bad and he ended up under that Balladeer… just the thought sent a chill down his spine. Any Fatui grunt would despair at that prospect.
"So, could you step aside?" Richard looked around at the Fatui blocking every path and asked with a pleasant smile.
Every Fatui soldier caught in his gaze couldn't help but take a step back.
After seeing what had just happened to Signora, who'd be stupid enough to stand in this man's way? Besides, judging from his tone, he clearly had ties with another Harbinger, too.
All things considered, he was practically one of them.
Ha! So this was just a case of the King's temple being flooded by its own river!
With that in mind, the Fatui retreated like a receding tide. In no time, aside from a handful staying behind to wait for Signora to thaw out, there wasn't a trace of the Fatui left on Starsnatch Cliff.
Seeing this, Furina stepped out proudly from behind Richard, striding forward with her usual flair. Right behind her was the other god on the scene, Barbatos.
"Thank you for your heroic protection. This Gnosis is your reward for your bravery." Venti gave Richard a mischievous bow, mimicking an old Mondstadt noble's etiquette, then presented him with the Gnosis.
Richard took the Gnosis and casually slipped it into his pocket. "Thank you for the reward."
Then he turned his gaze to Furina.
"Y-You're not thinking of taking my Gnosis too, are you?" Furina stiffened under his stare. Where was she going to get a Gnosis from?
"No need for that. Having two Gnoses wouldn't do me any good anyway. But I trust you'll give me something even better, right?"
Furina relaxed a little when she realized he wasn't after her nonexistent Gnosis, but now she had a headache: what could she possibly give him that was better than a Gnosis?
She couldn't exactly give herself away, could she?
Maybe she could bake him a little cake herself? There was an old saying in Liyue: "A goose feather sent from a thousand miles away may be light, but it carries deep meaning."
Surely, a cake baked by the Hydro Archon herself could match, or even outshine, a Gnosis… right?
Furina had never actually dealt with a Gnosis before, so she had no idea how powerful it truly was. But judging by the name alone, she could sense how extraordinary it must be, finding something more valuable than that was no small task.
So, while she'd just been feeling happy about escaping danger, Richard's request instantly gave her a new worry.
Still, life went on. There was some time left before they returned to Fontaine; she'd just have to come up with a suitable reward before then!
"Paimon, tell me… what could be more precious than a Gnosis?" Furina figured that if she couldn't think of anything, maybe someone else could.
Since they'd fought side by side, and Paimon always looked full of sneaky ideas, she naturally became the Hydro Archon's consultant.
"Something more precious than a Gnosis… probably doesn't exist, right? A Gnosis is a god's very symbol! But to me personally, Lumine is far more precious than any Gnosis, and I bet, in Lumine's heart, I'm more precious than a Gnosis too!" Paimon thought it over seriously before answering.
"But according to Fontaine's laws, I can't exactly give you two to Richard!" Furina seriously considered human trafficking for a second.
Paimon: ?