A Harbinger

"If it isn't Childe, the Fatui Harbinger. What sort of misfortune do you have in store for us? Why did you show up?"

Hu Tao murmured disapprovingly as she stepped forward. It seemed Childe knew about her true identity as well, as he laughed heartily. "Aw, don't be like that. I didn't think I would see you here. How is Mr. Zhongli? I haven't been in touch lately."

The frown on her face did not ease in the slightest.

Childe continued, oblivious to the hostility he brought upon himself with every word. "Why are you looking so grim? Did Mr. Zhongli leave the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor just like everyone else did? Whoops, my bad! It was a slip! A slip of tongue." His lips curved into a grin and he winked mischievously at the irritated Hu Tao

Without warning, she snapped her head towards Childe with a grin. "Why should you be allowed to walk freely anywhere you wish when you're a Fatui, is what I'm wondering about~"

Childe looked pensive as if he was mulling something over. He then shifted his weight uncomfortably from one foot to another and chuckled, suddenly showing his childishness once more, an endearing trait of his.

"Perhaps you forgot, but Fatui run deep within the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor~ So if you don't wish to have your only home demolished, I would stay quiet!"

"Eek!? The Fatui?" Paimon shrieked with terror, snapping her head around quickly to get a glimpse of the tall figure standing in front of them.

The Fatui werr known by everyone as an overpowering military force in terms of power and numbers, making it the strongest of all the seven nations. 

They were widely feared and despised by all other nations due to their deceitful and conniving reputation. 

Their large organization was mostly composed of combatants and mercenaries, rather than simply bureaucrats, politicians, and merchants for an organization who proudly called themselves "diplomats."

Hailing from the frozen lands of Snezhnaya, the Fatui were publicly seen as a political department of the nation that represented the "goodwill" of the Tsaritsa, their ruler, and managed to spread into foreign affairs with all six other nations, often using economic means and fair trade movements to first engage with other governments in order to safely insert their influence inside of the nation's center of power and then strike from the inside, like they did in Mondstadt.

If they were to get the full control of Mondstadt back then, the Fatui would without a doubt, cease being the once-friendly and diplomatic organization, and would turn to using corrupt and violent means to get what they wanted, putting abusive taxes and inhuman demands that naturally would always cost the lives of civilians in the process.

Despite their public façade of a benevolent group that seemed to engage with merchants and politicians with friendly proposals, their notoriety became known the moment the truth about them spread around from Mondstadt. Yet by doing so, Mondstadt turned into their primary target of elimination. 

Thankfully, this made it so that the Fatui could no longer keep their true colors from the people showing, and were now widely viewed as a threat to all nations, which could help save Mondstadt in the long run. If a war was to take place between Snezhnaya and Mondstadt, two other countries agreed to lend their help.

Now, the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor was a business based in Liyue Harbor. Along with burying the dead, they also performed funeral rites for Adepti and dealings with Fatui, which was only rumored.

From what Childe mentioned, however, it appeared to be true.

Even with this reassurance, Childe could not remove her dark glare and bitter tone. And so he took to another tack. "I'm a messenger, with a certain goal in mind. Not to mention, I'm filthy rich! There is no reason for the Millelith to arrest me."

He smirked confidently as he leaned against the restaurant wall, all eyes fixed on him.

"Now, where is Mr. Zhongli? I feel rather relaxed in his presence. I need to say hi to him after so long."

She grit her teeth, unable to contain her anger any longer. "So callous of you. Zhongli probably wishes to bury himself alive upon learning that your presence is back in Liyue."

"Eh? I thought we were getting along though..." Childe pretended to be shocked. Then he sighed deeply. "No matter, it doesn't seem like you have any idea where he is, so I might as well search for him myself later."

At this point, Lumine still hadn't addressed the question about the restaurant. Was it right for her to remain silent? Perhaps she should say something? Were those two about to fight here?

But no matter how much she struggled, she was unable to force herself to speak.

"So, cute blond girlie, are you going to answer my earlier question or not?" Childe turned to look at her, startling her out of her thoughts.

He gave her an encouraging smile. "Come on! Don't worry. I've heard the cries of help coming from this little flying…thing…I'll happily pay for all of you."

"Paimon's not a thing! Paimon is Paimon! This sounds way too suspicious to Paimon! We are not...*Growl*...going..."

In the middle of her speech, Paimon's stomach growled in response. She huffed indignantly and glared at the man in front of her, yet the glare only made her more cute.

To Hu Tao's chagrin, despite knowing exactly where Mr. Zhongli was, she could not help but refrain from uttering a single word in reply. She merely stared at him, unimpressed by his words and actions.

Even so, her cold demeanor softened somewhat when she heard the mumblings of hunger coming from her party members.

Lumine, Paimon, and Iris were starving, and while Hu Tao could easily survive without eating for two whole weeks, she was used to eating regularly ever since joining Yomite's party.

That might have made a change in her diet and also the reason why she was currently feeling hungry.

(Well, if the Harbinger is willing to pay...then we might as well scam him!) She flashed a cutesy smile at Childe. "Yes, let's go inside then~"

Childe smiled, seemingly seeing through her intentions, and headed inside.

The girls huddled close together, reaching an agreement of course, and followed him.