Chapter 66: Angry Retainer

"Who are you people?! Don't you know that this place is where the Fatui stays?! You guys don't know the"

"Then, we're in the right place," Leo interjected.

Leo's gaze lingered on Polochko, who was seething with anger as he lifted the man by his neck, raising him high into the air. This is the first time I've seen him this angry… Scary.

"Where are the knights?! These hooligans are attacking us!"

Just as he said, a few knights with insignias different from those of the guards at the gates entered the room with weapons.

"What's with the commotion!?" a knight yelled, "By the order of the knights, lower your weapons!"

"Yes! Arrest them!" Krupp yelled enthusiastically.

Leo's grip tightened as his mind raced. The knights weren't supposed to be here this quickly. A flicker of unease danced across his face before he set the cup down with a faint clink. Rising to his feet, he positioned himself in front of Krupp. The subtle tension in his stance made Krupp tilt his head, his brow furrowing in puzzlement.

"What now, twerp, are you going to beg for mercy?!"

Leo turned around and looked at Polochko intently as if asking for help. In response, Polochko searched his pockets and tossed the ID card to Leo. Leo caught it mid-air and briefly looked at it—confirming it was the one he gave Polochko earlier, and flashed it on Krupp's face.

"Like I care about this crappy piece of-" One look was enough to make him go pale. He immediately ran towards the knights, who were already arresting Leo's guards.

"Stop! Please, stop!" he yelled. "It was just a misunderstanding! I apologize if we created a disturbance; they are part of our group. There was merely some miscommunication among us."

A knight frowned. "It is still by regulations that any sort of violence should be apprehended, and no exceptions must be made."

Krupp gritted his teeth and replied. "I understand, but it was just a gas leak that caused the explosion, you know? From where we lived there are a few gadgets that need to be regulated and sometimes mishandling of these gadgets will result in umm... unprecedented explosions."

The knight eyed Polochko, clearly not believing Krupp's word. "That doesn't explain why-"

Krupp interrupted and pushed the knight outside, towards the huge hole where the door should have been. "Yes, yes, we understand," he said with a strained smile, "I will make a detour to the headquarters of the knights later and explain, and maybe pay for some reparations for the trouble we caused."

The knight turned after getting pushed out and warned with an annoyed look. "Windblume festival is near, it would be great if no such things would happen again." he then murmured, "It's not that these things are normal occurrence or tolerated."

With a casual wave of his hand, the remaining knights dispersed, retreating to their assigned patrols with an annoyed look on their faces. The onlookers who had gathered in curiosity, scattered just as fast.

"So, what can we do for you, young master?" Krupp said clasping his hands in front of Leo and bowed slightly.

Leo cleared his throat and replied, "We will stay on Mondstadt for a few weeks and I'm thinking of staying in this hotel,"

A certain memory then resurfaced in his mind and he added. "after all, you wouldn't chase us off, am I right? Not when Lord Pantalone is the one paying for your accommodations."

Krupp's eyes twitched, "Yes, of course, you are very welcome here, in fact, the room on the top will be exclusively yours while you stay here, young master."

"But your men don't seem to agree to that," Polochko interjected.

"What do you mean, umm... Mr. Retainer?"

"This guy claimed your time is too precious to waste on speaking with one of your master's envoys."

He never said that...

"Preposterous! I would never neglect my superiors!"

Polochko stepped closer, his gaze sharp and unyielding. Krupp instinctively stumbled back, collapsing into a chair as Polochko leaned down and began whispering into his ear.

The whispering was low and deliberate, clearly meant to stay between them. But Leo, standing a few meters away, sharpened his hearing and strained to catch every word despite Polochko's attempt at secrecy.

"Then I assume you know what needs to be done, Overseer. Slackers like that need to be rooted out from the organization."

Leo shivered, how much did the man get to his nerves to make Polochko this mad? Even if they were slacking, killing them was just too much.

"I-I will do so, Mr. Retainer!" Krupp said stiffly.

"Polochko, my name's Polochko, and this is young master Leo, Lord Pantalone's son."

Leo stayed silent as Krupp's face went pale. One look at him and everyone who saw him would mistake him for a ghost.

"Young master," Polochko said, facing Leo with a smile, "I believe you should leave the preparations and the talk to us. You want to explore the city right?"

"I do but,"

Polochko eyed one of Leo's guards and made him run towards the carriage. "Plus, I think we would not have any time to explore the city if you join the talk, this would take a lot of time."

The guard returned along with a pouch of mora and handed it to Leo.

"Are you sure it's alright?"

"Yes, it would just be a few hours of talking."

Leo turned—giving one more glance towards Polochko and the trembling Krupp, before leaving the place.

As Leo left, Polochko pulled Krupp up, his eyes showing no emotion, and his smile vanished. "Now then, I believe we have a lot to talk about, Mr. Krupp."