Jean still didn't know that their Mondstadt god's Gnosis had even been taken right in front of the Cathedral.
Otherwise, she would probably have to do even more things herself.
The Knights of Favonius were short-staffed, so they had no choice but to lower their recruitment requirements.
The newly recruited Knights of Favonius were not trained enough and were easily tricked away from their posts by the Fatui.
Compared to Jean looking for problems within herself, Eula had a different perspective.
The security in the restricted area was indeed insufficient, but if the Fatui hadn't caused trouble, nothing would have happened, right?
"I think, in this matter, we need to exert diplomatic pressure on the Fatui," Eula said.
Everyone nodded in agreement; the Fatui were truly too arrogant.
Even if the Grand Master had taken away many elites, their Knights of Favonius were not a soft target to be bullied.
Jean considered the pros and cons and finally nodded.
For something that hadn't even happened yet, the Fatui would definitely try to gloss it over.
The Knights of Favonius themselves weren't asking the Fatui to make concessions; it was a matter of attitude!
If you didn't show a strong attitude, the Fatui would think you were easy to bully, and they would really dare to do such things.
But if your attitude was firm, they would have to think twice about doing it.
It was because their attitude was too weak before that the Fatui were so arrogant.
Now that Venti had returned, what harm was there in being firm?
Regarding the theft of the skyward harp, Barbara and her group were the most indignant.
"The Fatui are truly too much! They actually desecrated a divine artifact."
"Exactly, the Knights of Favonius must punish them severely."
Barbara and Gothlynde discussed.
Rosaria remained silent; unlike these two nuns, he knew that political games were not that simple.
On the other hand, Diluc had new ideas for dealing with the Fatui.
The Knights of Favonius, due to their official status, couldn't directly fall out with the Fatui.
But Master Diluc was just an ordinary Mondstadter.
The Darknight Hero was an unidentified masked man.
No matter what these two identities did, the Fatui couldn't escalate it to an inter-state issue.
Venti, meanwhile, showed no emotional fluctuations about it.
How could the skyward harp be stolen right under his nose? He had tacitly allowed it.
Since it was stolen anyway, it could also allow the Traveler to teach the Fatui a lesson, so why not?
Although the Traveler was an Honorary Knight of the Knights of Favonius, the emphasis of "Honorary Knight" was on the word "Honorary."
She only had the same honor as a Knight of Favonius, but she was not a member of the Knights of Favonius.
The story in the book had not yet ended, the Traveler and Venti escaped to the Angel's Share.
The storyline in the book was different from reality.
Venti in the book was constantly on the move, unlike in reality where he had so much time to drink and slack off.
Occasionally, he would slack off and drink when Diluc was not around.
So, Diluc in the book didn't know Venti yet and just found Venti a bit strange.
The Knights of Favonius pursued them and asked Master Lu if he had seen the blonde thief.
Only after Diluc understood did he realize that someone had stolen the skyward harp.
"That's strange," Diluc wondered.
"Right? The skyward harp is a treasure personally played by the Anemo God, such a precious cultural artifact..." A Knight of Favonius spoke eloquently.
Unfortunately, Diluc had no interest in listening further and interrupted the Knight of Favonius, saying,
"Someone is foolish enough to steal something that can't be sold. It's not as worthwhile as stealing from my wine cellar."
Diluc was right.
Precisely because the skyward harp was a treasure of Mondstadt, no one would dare to buy it if it were stolen.
If the Mondstadters knew who bought the skyward harp, even if you weren't in Mondstadt, they would find a way to get it back.
This was also why there were only a few guards protecting the treasure; although it was a treasure, no one would ever steal it.
Mondstadters who believed in the Anemo God would not desecrate a holy relic, and foreigners who didn't believe in the Anemo God didn't care about it.
Only the eccentric Fatui stole things not for money, but for the remnants of the Anemo God's power on it.
However, no matter what, the loss of the skyward harp was undoubtedly a matter of face for the Knights of Favonius and had to be taken seriously.
"You're getting off-topic. Those two, one yellow and one green, seemed to have gone that way."
Diluc casually pointed in a direction to send the two Knights of Favonius away.
"Alright, alright, thank you, Master Diluc."
The Knight of Favonius didn't dare to argue with Diluc, bowed, and left.
As soon as the Knight of Favonius left, Venti was already at the bar counter, secretly drinking wine.
Unfortunately, Venti's little trick was discovered by Diluc, so he couldn't drink any wine.
Diluc directly asked if the two had stolen the skyward harp; Paimon quickly denied it, while Venti took the opportunity to introduce the Traveler's identity.
"I see. As a Traveler, yet willing to lend a hand to Mondstadt in its time of crisis."
"It's a pity for someone like you to join the Knights of Favonius."
"The Knights of Favonius have always been hesitant and inefficient regarding the Stormterror issue."
"Diplomatically, they are also weak and conservative towards the Fatui."
Diluc was fiercely criticizing the Knights of Favonius, appearing quite dissatisfied with them.
In reality, the Knights of Favonius in the office also felt a bit awkward reading this passage.
They wanted to refute, but they couldn't; the Stormterror issue had plagued Mondstadt for so long, and they hadn't resolved it.
The Fatui were arrogant and domineering in Mondstadt's diplomacy, and Mondstadt was indeed maintaining stability.
Although there were difficulties, what Diluc said was indeed the truth.
Kaeya, as Diluc's adopted brother, could understand why Diluc was dissatisfied.
Diluc could tolerate the Stormterror issue, even if it affected trade routes and caused him losses, it didn't matter.
But it was the weak diplomacy when facing the Fatui that was the main reason for Diluc's dissatisfaction with the Knights of Favonius.
This made Jean even more determined to pressure the Fatui diplomatically this time.
Diluc also saw this passage, but he didn't react much.
What was written in the book was what he wanted to say, and he wasn't afraid to say it directly to the Knights of Favonius.
No, it was even better; if the Knights of Favonius could change after hearing his sharp criticism...
Diluc continued to read.
Venti played 'The Song of the Wind and Dragon' for Diluc, explaining why the two of them had to steal the skyward harp.
At this point, Diluc had already somewhat guessed Venti's true identity, and naturally, he was willing to help Venti.
He said to give him some time, and he could help make connections.
Something unexpected happened, something neither the people in the book nor the people in reality had anticipated.
The person Diluc connected them with was actually Jean!
He had been sharply criticizing the Knights of Favonius, clearly looking down on them.
Yet, the helper he found was none other than the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius—Jean.
"This is just Jean, not Acting Grand Master Jean," Diluc introduced.
In reality, the Knights of Favonius in the office looked towards Jean.
Jean's pretty face flushed slightly; how did this make it seem like she had betrayed them?
However, the reason for Jean's help was quickly given in the text.
"Among the Four Winds, the East Wind Dvalin, I could never imagine the reason for his betrayal."
"But if he was afflicted by poisoned blood during the war to protect Mondstadt many years ago, and then corrupted by an Abyss Mage after waking up, then he truly would become uncontrollable."
"The Acting Grand Master cannot speak these words aloud."
"That would be interpreted as indulgence and inaction, which is why I acted privately."
Jean in the text explained her thoughts, and Jean in reality nodded repeatedly.
If it weren't for this book, she would have had to act in a private capacity, just like in the text.
Fortunately, with the existence of this book, she could directly publicize Dvalin's situation as the Knights of Favonius, without worrying about facing public pressure.
It was truly regrettable to think that the author of this book had more say than her, the Acting Grand Master.
After becoming the Acting Grand Master, many things could no longer be said.