Nadia, shouting that something terrible had happened, pushed open the manager's office door. Because it was so sudden, Andrei didn't have time to put away the light novel in his hands.
Thus, an awkward atmosphere filled the manager's office. Nadia rubbed her eyes, unable to believe that the usually stern Manager Andrei was reading light novels—and that it was the very one he had confiscated from her.
"Ahem, Nadia, why aren't you at your night shift? What are you doing here?"
Andrei coughed awkwardly and discreetly slipped the novel back into his drawer. Nadia felt a bitter taste in her mouth. So Manager Andrei wasn't planning to return her novel after all.
Her friend had brought this novel back from Inazuma for her. Ever since Inazuma closed its borders, even buying light novels had become much more troublesome. What was the Electro Archon thinking? She just wanted to read light novels!
"Um, Manager, someone has come to withdraw Mora."
Though she wanted nothing more than to punch Andrei, Nadia maintained a respectful tone as she reported the situation at the front counter. Andrei was confused. So someone wanted to withdraw Mora. Why did she need to come and tell him?
"Manager, they want one hundred million Mora. Don't you think you should receive them personally?"
"Oh, one hundred million Mora. That's nothing major. You may go."
Andrei nodded in understanding but still didn't take it seriously. One hundred million Mora might seem like a lot to an ordinary Fatui agent like Nadia, but to him, someone who had dealt with many wealthy clients, it wasn't that large a sum. Certainly not worth receiving personally.
"But, Manager, that person..."
"Enough. You may go. If they want to withdraw Mora, give it to them. Don't bother me with trivial matters. I have many important things to handle."
Andrei glared at Nadia, who timidly shrank back. Fine. Since her manager had spoken, she couldn't argue further. He said it wasn't a big deal, so she'd just have the front desk give the Mora to those two Fatui comrades. Though she had no idea how they would carry away that much Mora.
At the Northland Bank front counter, Lumine discreetly wiped the sweat from her forehead while the receptionist wasn't looking. Having traveled through many worlds, this was the most thrilling thing she had ever done.
Unlike the nervous Lumine, Su Bai calmly ate the pastries the receptionist had brought, occasionally gesturing for her to top up his tea. He knew that Signora's rank among the Fatui was much higher than Tartaglia's, so pretending to be her subordinate meant he had to appear completely at ease.
Pressured by the weight of Lady Signora's authority, the poor receptionist could only put aside her other work and attend to Su Bai. If his clothes weren't so tight, Su Bai would have crossed his legs and hummed a tune.
Speaking of humming tunes, he realized it had been a long time since he last heard Yun Jin perform opera. When he had time, he should go listen to her. And he'd put the bill on Zhongli's tab. According to Hu Tao, Zhongli had recently found some new, very deep pockets. Might as well benefit from that.
"My apologies for the wait, you two."
Seeing Nadia return after consulting the Northland Bank manager, Lumine's muscles tensed slightly. If anything went wrong, she would instantly strike down this Fatui agent.
"Our manager has approved the request. Where would you like the one hundred million Mora delivered?"
"If it involves mission confidentiality, we can..."
Nadia spoke very respectfully. After all, judging by his bearing, this person seemed to hold a high position. And he was working under Lady Signora. If she offended him and he badmouthed her to Signora, even Lord Tartaglia wouldn't be able to save her.
"No need for such complications. Your manager isn't qualified to know about our mission. Just bring out the Mora."
After calculating how much space one hundred million Mora would take in his Vision's subspace, Su Bai simply told Nadia to bring the Mora out so he could store it away.
Following his instructions, Nadia took several Fatui agents to the bank's vault. Lumine finally relaxed. It seemed their disguise hadn't been seen through. But why had she and Diluc been immediately recognized by the Fatui?
Was it because Su Bai had Lady Signora's token? Lumine, unaware of how terrifying Signora was in the eyes of the Fatui, felt confused. She couldn't imagine that Mondstadt's Fatui agents would rather freeze on Dragonspine than stay by Signora's side. Freezing on Dragonspine at least wouldn't kill them, but staying with Signora was like dancing on the edge of a cliff.
As crate after crate of Mora was brought out, Lumine's heart nearly leaped out of her chest. She had never seen so much Mora since coming to Teyvat.
Looking at the neat rows of one hundred Mora crates, Su Bai nodded with satisfaction. The Fatui were truly professionals—trained to be efficient. In just ten minutes, they had brought out all the Mora.
Su Bai slowly stood up, walked around the crates in a showy manner, and tapped them. In an instant, all one hundred crates vanished before everyone's eyes.
The Fatui agents were stunned. Truly worthy of being sent by Lady Signora. With skills like that, he could definitely survive by her side. Who wouldn't want a mobile storage device?
"Oh, this is a letter from Lady Signora to Lord Tartaglia. Give it to him when he returns."
"Well, my mission is complete. Let's go."
With that, Su Bai led Lumine through the Northland Bank doors. Lumine's hands trembled with excitement. To avoid being noticed, she bit her tongue hard. The pain temporarily outweighed the nervousness, allowing her to walk calmly behind Su Bai.
Unaware that his base had been raided, Tartaglia was furious. After Zhongli told him that starconches were a famous specialty of Liyue, he thought his brother Teucer might like them. So he had gone to the beach at dusk to collect some.
Without anything to carry the star conches, he piled them on a rock. In the span of a single turn, a figure infused with Anemo energy had stolen all the starconches he had painstakingly gathered.
As a skilled archer, Tartaglia had sharp eyes. Regaining his senses, he clearly saw a short figure with teal hair flying toward Liyue Harbor, clutching a pile of star conches to their chest.