Just as Furina was about to call for the squad to set off, Rina's voice suddenly rang out in her mind.
'Hey, did none of you think to change into outfits that fit the local style? That would at least reduce some of the hostility from the local residents.'
Furina: That seems to make a lot of sense.
She relayed Rina's words to everyone.
Upon hearing this suggestion, everyone fell into an eerie silence for a moment...
Yeah, why hadn't any of them thought of it?
Furina's consciousness returned to her Inner Space, her eyes fixed directly on Rina, her expression seemingly saying. "Why did you know this all along but not tell us beforehand? Did you only just think of it yourself?"
'Why are you looking at me? I actually thought of it a long time ago, I just deliberately didn't say it because I wanted to see if you were smart enough. Now it seems... sigh…' Rina pretended to sigh, expressing her disappointment in Furina.
But in reality, Rina would never tell Furina that she had also just thought of it.
However, they had only brought their uniforms on this trip.
What to do now.
Furina had a sudden flash of inspiration. She pointed randomly at one of the team members: "Hey, you, come here!"
"Lady Furina, me?" A young man was pointed out by Furina and answered with a hint of pleasant surprise.
"Yes, yes, yes, you, just you, come here, come here!" Furina waved at him.
Being personally called out by the Hydro Archon, the young man was quite excited and ran up eagerly.
"What is your name?" Furina asked with concern.
"Lady Furina, my name is Louis! I graduated from..." Louis introduced himself enthusiastically and excitedly.
"Alright, alright," Furina waved his hand, interrupting his impending long-winded self-introduction, "Louis, right? Now take off your outer garment and smear some mud on your body."
Louis:???
"What are you dazed for? We didn't bring suitable clothes down here, so we have to rely on this method for now. Later, we'll be counting on you to gather intelligence." Furina gave Louis a look, signaling that he had faith in him.
"Alright..." Louis had no choice but to accept Furina's order, his face full of reluctance.
"Alright, alright." Furina seemed to realize something she had done poorly. She patted Louis on the back and said. "I'm sorry for the trouble this time; I'll give you a reward when we get back."
Hearing there would be a reward, Louis immediately changed his demeanor, quickly ran to a mud puddle, and smeared mud all over his body.
Joyful sounds came from the team from time to time.
Of course, this laughter was not mockery; it was simply because they found the situation quite interesting.
Furina was not a heartless boss who spent all day making empty promises and gaslighting employees; she was genuinely sincere in treating her people. After they returned, Louis would likely make a small fortune.
After Louis finished dressing up and returned to the team, he was completely unrecognizable. Dressed in a ragged shirt, pants covered in mud and dust, and with a dirty face, he looked even more like a Gray River resident than the residents themselves.
Being disguised so authentically, one couldn't help but be curious about Louis's past life experiences.
Looking at Louis like this, Furina almost laughed out loud, but to maintain the dignity of the Hydro Archon, she tried hard to hold back her laughter.
However...
'Pfft—hahahaha!' Rina was laughing like crazy in the Inner Space at this moment.
"Other Me, stop laughing!" Furina said to Rina, feeling a bit annoyed.
'Hahaha... alright, alright, I won't laugh…' Rina tried her best to calm down, but she couldn't help but glance at Louis again. "Pfft—hahahaha, sorry, it's just too hilarious..."
Furina:...
Laughter drifted from time to time from the normally disciplined team. Only Cecily stood straight with a serious face. Furina could only use coughing to cover up the fact that she was about to lose her composure.
"Ahem, your disguise is very good. Hurry up and go ask for intelligence..."
"Yes, Lady Furina!" Louis didn't laugh at all; without a mirror, he couldn't see what he looked like.
Perhaps, even if he had seen his own appearance, he wouldn't have laughed.
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.
.
Louis went to knock on the door.
"Who is it? If you're from The Court of Fontaine, get lost immediately!" An impatient voice came from the other side of the door.
"Ahem, fellow villager, I just arrived here. I have nothing to eat right now and I was wondering if there's any place here that could help me out?" Louis asked in a pitiful voice.
"Hmm?" Upon hearing that it wasn't someone from The Court of Fontaine, the old man opened the door, half-believing. As soon as he opened the door, he saw a young man covered in mud, hunched over with a bent back, standing miserably at his doorstep.
The old man's guard was immediately lowered; after all, they were both fellow sufferers.
"Oh my, young man, how did you end up like this?" The old man looked at Louis with sympathy and pulled him into his house.
Furina and her group hid in the distance, watching the conversation between the two.
Rina's ears were extraordinary, so she naturally heard their conversation clearly. Furina and the others could also tell from their expressions that Louis had succeeded.
'I have to say, he actually has some acting talents; he could even become an actor after retiring from here.' Rina said to Furina.
"Indeed." Furina nodded.
'Speaking of which, I have nothing left to teach you about singing. Do you still want to continue learning acting?' Rina asked Furina.
Over the past few days, Furina hadn't relaxed her singing practice. Whenever she had free time in the evening, she would pull Rina to give her lessons. Furina was gifted with exceptional talents, mastering any singing knowledge very quickly. This resulted in Furina having learned almost all the singing techniques that Rina possessed. What was lacking now was only proficiency, which Furina could only practice on her own.
"Yes! I want to become a qualified opera actor, so acting naturally cannot be neglected!" Furina unhesitatingly asked Rina to continue teaching her acting.
'With such high singing talents, Furina's acting surely won't be bad either. She will definitely become a legendary actor in Fontaine's history. Once Furina truly becomes an actor, if Louis has the intention to switch careers and become an actor, Furina could even consider taking this young man under her wing. At least, regarding today's matter, my impression of him is quite good.' Rina thought to herself.
.
.
.
At the same time, on Louis's side
"Old man, my family is poor. I finally got into university, but my family didn't have the money to pay my tuition. I went out to take out a loan and got swindled into taking a usurious loan. Now, my entire family, except for me, has already starved to death and the loan sharks are still chasing me for the debt, so I had to flee here..."
Louis said helplessly to the old man, even shedding a few tears from the corner of his eyes.
The old man heard this and felt very heartbroken. He gently patted Louis on the shoulder and said to him. "Young man, I see you are pitiable. How about this, I'll tell you: a new autonomous organization was recently established in our area. I think it's quite good. Although its influence isn't as big as the previous one yet, they are all serving us and doing good deeds. Go and explain your situation; they should be willing to let you exchange labor for a Reward. Here, this is the address."
Saying this, the old man handed the map marked with the address to Louis and stuffed the only two steamed buns he had in his house into his hand.
"Young man, this is the only thing I can take out from my house right now. Take it and eat; don't despise it. You need these more than I do right now." The old man smiled kindly at Louis.
"No, no, old man, I can't take this..." Louis tried to stuff the buns back to the old man, but the old man absolutely refused to accept them. The two went back and forth for a dozen rounds before the old man finally gave in and took the buns back.
"You… young man, why are you so stubborn?" The old man said crossly.
The two fell into silence at the same time.
After a moment of silence, the old man finally sighed and said: "Alright, I can understand that you want to maintain your dignity, but survival is the first priority. Hurry up and go find this organization. Be careful on the road; a group of people from The Court of Fontaine arrived recently, make sure to avoid them."
"...Hmm, I will. Old man, you take care too." Louis felt a bit guilty, but also touched, and hurriedly left the old man's house.
What a simple and honest old man.
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.
Louis returned to the team. He first reported his findings and the entire squad finally had a direction.
After he cleaned himself up and returned to his original appearance, everyone headed toward the location marked on the map.