74 74. The Eleventh Seat of The Fatui Harbingers

Before Beidou came to Ryūhei's shop, there were guests looking for him.

One of them was a dashing young man with short ginger hair and dull blue eyes. He wore a gray jacket and pants, as well as a red Fatui mask on the left side of his head. There was also a red scarf that went across his chest and over his left shoulder. Ryūhei didn't know who he was, but another guest, Zhongli, told him that the young man was Tartaglia, the Eleventh seat of the Fatui Harbingers.

This caused Ryūhei to widen his eyes after knowing that.

"In that case, we'll go to the building next door." Ryūhei suggested.

Since Zhongli wanted to meet him along with the Eleventh seat of the Fatui Harbingers, he should have talked about the plan.

Coincidentally, when he bought the building for his game company, he also bought the house next to it as his personal residence. So, he could discuss anything with them in that place.

Ryūhei put the dark curtain to prevent anyone from outside from disturbing their conversation.

Tartaglia looked at the surroundings that were covered with a black layer of curtain but still retaining the light, so he asked Ryūhei.

"Interesting. What technique is this?"

La Signora already knew this technique, so there was no reason to hide from Tartaglia. After all, he couldn't hide his power completely. So, it was better if everyone knew that he could do some sort of Mystic Arts. At least until the time is right to show his powerful techniques one after another.

"A sort of field concealing technique. With this, no one will overhear our conversation."

"Oh. Is this the so-called Adeptus Art from Liyue?"

"Nah. It's similar but different." Ryūhei shook his head.

"Is that so? Err, you–"

"My name is Niwa Ryūhei. Just call me Ryūhei."

"Then Ryūhei, how about you join the Fatui!" Naturally, Ryūhei's technique piqued Tartaglia's interest, so it would be wonderful if Ryūhei could join the Fatui. However, Ryūhei shook his head.

"I don't mind if it's just cooperation. As for joining, you should forget it!"

Tartaglia expressed his disappointment as he clicked his tongue.

"Tsk. Has that woman, La Signora, left a bad impression on you? Well, never mind. So, you're also included in the plan?"

Ryūhei didn't give an immediate reply. He took a glance at Zhongli, who nodded, then turned to Tartaglia.

"You can say that. I will be the one to loosen the god seal. And you will be the one researching a talisman that was once made by Rex Lapis imbued with his Adeptal power."

Then, Ryūhei gave him the talisman that Zhongli gave him after he met La Signora.

"Eh, how come you have such a talisman? Isn't that kind of talisman only possessed by Adepti?"

"Don't get me wrong. The talisman in my hand has already worn off. I found this thing in the ruin of Pervases' run-down temple near the foot of Mt. Tianheng. But, you can use this thing to unseal the god beneath the Sea of Clouds. And since you don't have any Adeptal power, one talisman isn't enough. So, I have to ask you to duplicate this thing."

Luckily Ryūhei had prepared the answer. So long as he could concoct a decent false story, Tartaglia wouldn't be able to learn the truth for some time. Naturally, this was also thanks to Zhongli who told him about it.

"Pervases? Is that an Adeptus name? That name has never come up in the intel the Fatui gets hold of. And from intel, you should only have been in Liyue for 1 month. But you've learned about Adeptus I've never heard of."

"Pervases is the Yaksha who perished over a thousand years ago. So, it wasn't strange if your intel didn't mention him. You can study this first. However, I need to remind you that our time is tight as the Rite of Descension is less than 2 months away." Ryūhei handed the talisman to Tartaglia. And Tartaglia accepted it while glancing at Ryūhei before contemplating.

Since Tartaglia had been silent for a while, Ryūhei couldn't help but ask.

"Is there something wrong, Sir Childe?"

"*Cough* Can you not call me "Sir"? I feel old if you call me that."

"Then, Uncle Childe?" Ryūhei tilted his head when he said that. And Tartaglia was slightly irritated by Ryūhei's words along with his expression.

"Hey! At least call me by name, Tartaglia, or Big Bro Tartaglia. That's more pleasant to hear."

"Ehhh, no! That's kinda too forced."

Seeing their interaction, Zhongli could only laugh quietly. After a moment of conversation, they got back to the main business.

"From what I see, Ryūhei, you're a person from Inazuma. Why did you involve yourself with the mess of this nation? Though I don't know what kind of agreement between Mr. Zhongli and Signora, I understood why Mr. Zhongli over here didn't like the current state of Liyue. But how about you? Don't you know that this plan can harm innocent people?"

Hearing that, Ryūhei couldn't help but be surprised by his statement. After all, what he knows about Fatui is on their bad side. Never did he think that Tartaglia, as the Fatui Harbingers, would care about innocent people. Moreover, there was no sign of deceit from him.

"You're such a nice guy, Tartaglia. Well, some people in Liyue can't let go of their old thinking, which will implicate the future of my company. That's why I decided to help Mr. Zhongli with his plan. After all, it will be good for Liyue as well. As for those innocent people, you don't have to worry that much. The power of Adepti aren't just for show. Coupled with Ningguang's wit, those innocent people will not be in any danger." Ryūhei told him the reason.

Then, Tartaglia shook his head.

"Well, I'm not looking down on their strength. It's just that what we're about to release is a sealed god. Even if that god has weakened, still a god's power can't be ignored."

"You have a point. But, if that god can be sealed once, why don't you think it can be sealed again? For sealing it again, just leave it to us."

"I see. You two already thought that far, huh? But if you two have a way to seal it, then why don't you make talismans to unseal?"

"If we do everything, it's not called cooperation."

"Hahaha. You're right."

Then, all of them discussed their plan. Although Tartaglia felt reluctant regarding the plan, he couldn't refuse the Cryo Archon who ordered him. Also, this plan was needed because his mission to steal Gnosis was necessary to wear Morax down. And all Tartaglia needed was to wait patiently.

After discussing their plan, Zhongli asked him.

"Ryūhei, how come my director is suddenly unwilling to come here and ask someone else to buy the manga? Do you know the reason?"

Ryūhei suddenly scratched his head while putting on an awkward smile.

"Well, there was an accident before. And this might infuriate her for some reason. Perhaps, she hates me to the bone already. Hahaha."

Zhongli held her chin while thinking about what Hu Tao did recently.

"But somehow, I feel like she's been acting strange lately. She always talked or muttered about you when no one was around. Don't you think it's weird?"

"Eh?" Ryūhei was dumbfounded. But then, he shook his head to deny what he was thinking. 'There's no way, right?'

"Well, I'll try to talk to her next time I meet her."

In the end, Ryūhei put aside that thought. And by chance, Tartaglia asked him.

"Anyway, I heard that you're quite strong. How about we have a fight after this."

"Sorry, I have to refuse. Fighting against you will make the Liyue Qixing pay attention to us. And it will be troublesome, especially if Ningguang sets her attention to us."

"I see. By the way, the manga you're talking about, are those things you sell in your shop?"

"Uh? Ah, yeah. Have you never read it?" Ryūhei replied with a nod.

"Haha. Unfortunately no. I just arrived in Liyue a few hours ago. I visited Mr. Zhongli before coming here."

"I don't know if you like to read. But, you should probably try at least once. If you like fighting or adventuring, then One Piece and Dragon Ball might suit your taste. If you like cooking, then you can try Food Wars: Shokugeki no Sōma." Ryūhei suggested to him.

"Hmmm, I'll try it then. Let's go!"

Since there was nothing else to talk about, Ryūhei put down the curtain that covered the place they were talking in. After that, Ryūhei led him to a shop to show Tartaglia the manga.