Chapter 52 Eula Story Quest. Part 1

After our delightful meal, our party consisting of Eula, Noelle, Lumine, Paimon, and of course, myself left Noelle's house after me and Lumine helped the maid clean up after breakfast.

"So where do we even go to get evidence about your uncle?" Paimon asked the pressing question.

Eula who to begin with gave us this mission grumbled a bit but then she explained that we needed us to act as sympathetic nobles from Sneznahya who wanted to get into contact with his benefactors.

Couldn't really use Fontaine's nobility as neither me nor Lumine could pull off the French feel apparently.

Turns out Fontaine being an allusion to Renaissance and Industrial Revolution France being ruled by nobility made out for a fairly shitty land for the common folk, so uprisings weren't uncommon with how polluted and terrible the land was from the over industrialization which is why that Hydro elemental fled to Liyue and took over the Qixing lake.

"Jake, Lumine, due to you both not being the most well-known here in Mondstadt, I believe you should be the ones to speak to my uncle so we can get some headway into the investigation," Eula said before continuing. "Me and Noelle are obviously out of the question as we are well known in Mondstadt disregarding the fact that I of course am the black sheep of my clan, so I won't be able to approach my uncle with dubious intent." Eula huffed at the end as though it pained her to admit it.

"Alright... Allow me to speak to Schubert, I believe that I may be able to schmooze into his graces." I offered with Eula and Lumine giving me a look.

"Jake despite you taking on a nobleman's clothes and demeanor, your manner of speech and holding of yourself does not fit to an aristocratic standard," Eula said harshly but I could tell she was merely being honest, so I firmed my face and called upon the shitty etiquette lessons I saw my cousin being put through by my grandmother.

I held my posture firmly with my arms held to my sides as I coolly met Eula's amber gaze. "Eula of the magnanimous Lawrence clan, I Jake of the Schnee bloodline, greets you as a true ally that will stand beside me in both fair and harsh weather." Paimon just gapped at me as Eula and Lumine's face twitched and seemingly by instinct Eula's hand rose in response to my greeting.

Bending down at the unspoken queue I was given; I laid a glancing kiss on her knuckle before I rose back up. "On this day of gentle warm winds, I wish to converse with you of matters bearing aristocratic content due to all haste as I have news of much import that can bring your clan much prestige."

Eula's face twitched as she maintained that same blush and then spoke. "Alright, that's enough Jake. You certainly have the ability to... Converse with my uncle under aristocratic conduct but using me as a test subject to prove your abilities is a slight, I shall not forget!"

Paimon meanwhile flew around me seemingly inspecting me from all angles before she herself exclaimed. "Wow, Paimon didn't even recognize Jake with how his eyes turned all cold and was so stiff!"

Before I could soothe and maybe even give Paimon a hug to console her I heard some very distressing things from Lumine and Noelle.

Lumine said. "I am going to throw you in the lake if you pull that again."

And Noelle whispered the more distressing. "I want him to give me work while looking down at me like that." With Lumine's slow threatening warning not to pull that holier than though act without just cause, seemingly only I heard the maid of Favonius's masochistic whisper.

Then again Noelle literally lived and breathed her hard work. She found no greater joy than in serving others in some way or another...

Noelle blushed an incandescent pink and coughed covering up her face as she realized I actually heard and understood her, while Eula and Lumine were talking about further details of the plan.

"Alright Jake you be the primary speaker and I have this strong heady Sauerkraut that is by far my uncle's favorite food that will serve as a meeting gift. As well as prove that you had done research upon him before meeting him." Eula explained and we all nodded.

Once the final details were in place, we were told that her uncle had a large camp at the mountain near Springvale. "He spent a great amount of the clans Mora making that camp and keeping it well stocked just so he could read some antique books from the Lawrence Clan's golden age humph." Eula groused.

"Uh, aren't you coming with us, Eula?" Paimon asked as she held out her arms when Eula looked poised to leave us at the moment.

Eula shook her head and even I knew that as the black sheep of her family, she was all but unable to come with us.

"I and Noelle, along with a detachment of knights will follow you all from a distance should you manage to get my uncle to lead you to wherever the Fatui is," Eula said before she paused and chewed on her lip for a moment. "Should you go to wherever the Fatui is and find a Harbinger, flee upon one of Jake's flying summons. Tensions between Mondstadt and Sneznahya is at an all-time high and we don't want true war to spark between the nations... At least yet anyway." She muttered.

While she said that I wondered if after Liyue and Inazuma's bullshit that the Fatui pulled, came to light, I wondered if I could somehow pull the nations into attacking Sneznahya or at least putting them into their place. Even if Sneznahya and the Tsaritsa were the strongest nations and had the strongest Archon, I very much doubted they could deal with the combined power and military of Mondstadt, Liyue, and Inazuma.

Especially once you consider how the vast majority of the icy nation is a frozen hellhole and is completely incapable of feeding its populace, especially its huge military, and has to rely on trading with its southern nations of Fontaine, Mondstadt, and Liyue for food.

Their act of terrorizing and killing all those people in northern Liyue is going to hurt them as that was apparently one of the most fertile lands for farming in all of Teyvat.

-

With Noelle and Eula helping to round up some knights Lumine Paimon, and I went to where Eula told us her uncle Schubert was. Not long after we flew past Springvale, we saw the very same camp sticking out like a sore thumb as it was placed beside on a leyline totem area where people can call upon the monsters of the world and after cleansing them, we could get some Mora or condensed magic... Somehow, I had no idea how it worked, and I hadn't spoken to Lisa who could explain it.

As we landed a way out of the sight of Schubert, we scrutinized his camp. "Wow that tent is so ragged... but look at all those books and that chair looks so fancy!" Paimon cried out as pointed at the literal human-height stack of books actually on the naked ground beside the man who was reading his book on his fancy aristocratic chair.

'Lisa would skin him alive for putting books on the dirt.' I thought with my face twitching as I very clearly imagined the scary milf librarian laughing in her dommy mommy manner while she drowned the man in lightning for daring to ruin antique books as those most certainly were.

"Well let's get this schmoozing out of the way so we can throw this guy in prison," I muttered as we walked out of the thicket in front of the man, so he didn't think we were sneaking up on him.

Just as noble etiquette demanded we didn't bother hailing one another as that was beneath us. Even as he noticed our very obvious forms approaching him, he waited for us to be within speaking distance before he spoke. "Hmm? And what can I do for such a... Foreign personage of note to be approaching me?" He said as he much like many others mistook my Schnee outfit for someone directly from Sneznahya.

"Hail good friend of Mondstadt. I Jake of the Schnee clan of Sneznahya greets you." I said as Lumine and Paimon were obviously trying to conduct themselves and not burst out into laughter.

Then I made up some cock and bull story about how I was looking to purchase land here in Mondstadt to start a local winery business and as a person of note I 'had' to come to pay my respects to my local parallel in nobility.

Then once we were both done subtly trading barbs with one another about how I came from Sneznahya to Mondstadt and how his land was superior, and I called his land weak for allowing the Fatui to bend his over. I reached into my space bag.

"In honor of our greetings, I did however prepare a meeting gift should our meeting go as planned. Of which I believe we will be able to be neighbors." I said as I held out the large platter of his nasty sauerkraut.

The nobleman inhaled happily at seeing the gift and smiled as he graciously took the gift. "Hmm authentic Gebratenes Flesisch mit Sauerkraut!" The man nodded after he took a bite out of the sour food before he looked back at us. "It's evident that your sentiment is genuine. As a young person nowadays only no small amount of effort would you be able to acquire such a dish."

I merely nodded as the man excused himself to finish his meal in the comfort of his expensive chair.

-

Finally, the man finished his meal while me and Lumine were talking, and he walked over to where I and Lumine were sitting atop a piece of rubble.

"I acknowledge your genuine goodwill. However, such sincerity must imply you came here beyond the meeting of your local counterpart as you say, dear friend." He spoke regally as if I couldn't smell the pungent sour smell of his meal wafting from him.

"Yes, we have come as news of the Lawrence clan's scheme to elevate their position has reached us and we wanted to join in the endeavor in return for your assistance in squaring away any pesky concerns about Sneznahyan citizens opening a large-scale business here in Mondstadt. "Lumine explained with the man frowning.

"I believe that it was a family secret here in Mondstadt... But I suppose the Fatui couldn't keep their mouth shut." The man mused as he held his hand to his mustache face before he lightly shrugged. "Well considering your meticulous etiquette, you must be a talent of unusual fortitude. I am willing to place my full trust in you as should our scheme come to fruition your request can easily be accomplished once the Lawrence clan rises to power once again."

Eula's uncle then nodded as though the matter was settled and shrugged. "Well then, let's get going, shall we? You will all understand the rest of the details in due time.' The man spoke as he left the fucking books in the dirt while he carefully covered up his chair and put it under the tent and began to lead us towards the Dragonspine mountains.

While Schubert was leading us towards where the Fatui was Paimon pointed out a little detail I forgot. "If he leads us to the Fatui won't they recognize you both or even me?" She whispered frightfully.

Lumine and I shared a look before we both took out the Fatui masks we got from mugging those Fatui agents outside their hotel when we went to steal the Holy Lyre.

While Schubert was leading us toward the cave where the Fatui was I made sure to make obvious footprints in the ground for Eula and the rest of the knights to track. If the leader of the scout division of the Knights of Favonius couldn't see the Geo crystals I left in the ground where my feet walked then she needed to get a new job.

Once we did however get into the small cave that led into the Fatui's hideout which was probably a dead faded Domain, Schubert looked to me and Lumine and asked why we were now wearing a mask.

"Nobility shouldn't bare their faces to their lesser," I said disdainfully.

My statement made Schubert hum in thought before he chuckled. "Hmm, even if they are powerful our status is much higher than theirs in the land of Mondstadt... And therefore, we shouldn't allow those thugs to admire our true faces so easily! I see Haha!"

Paimon leaned into me to whisper. "Good thinking Jake even Paimon felt smug for a moment!"

Then Schubert slowly with all the nobility of a pompous ass king made us slowly walk past Fatui agents who were cleaning up the dirty domain and obviously were going to treat this place as some sort of encampment and stronghold like the other one the knights cleared out.

"Hold it right there. Who's this?" Seemingly the lead Fatui agent all but snarled seeing our trio beside Schubert.

But unsurprisingly Schubert leaped to our defense, as should he allow others to slight his guests then that would be a stain upon his own personage for allowing that guest to be seen as someone unworthy of being around him would only drag down his own image.

"They're are my guests... Now if you happen to offend them in even the slightest, then you will be held accountable by the full might of the Lawrence Clan!" Schubert said clearly as he folded his arms over his chest and stared down at the Fatui agents.

"This matter is of utmost secrecy! They must leave!" The Fatui agents hissed, and I couldn't help but notice the man's mask actually had a large red line down the side of his visor and wondered if it indicated of being of a higher rank or something.

"You dare question the ways of a nobleman? I don't have time for this. Make way peon!" Schubert said disdainfully waving his hands at the Fatui agent like he was some dog he wanted to shoo away without wanting to actually make contact with the beast.

The fatui agent blustered about Schubert being all high mighty but he still bowed his head and allowed us to pass with the magitech door lighting up and allowing us to path through.

Once we reached the next area it was another killzone of a path that the Fatui were obviously going to use as protection to stop knights from invading as the long hall had a single thin bridge leading to the other side and deeper into the heart of the domain.

But instead of the endless abyss in other active domains, this domain was dead it had a pool of lava beneath the bridge as well as the bridge's platforms had flamethrowers on the sides and bottom to inflict harm on others when the platforms randomly flipped over. Yay...

"We shall be meeting the organizer of this detachment of the Fatui, his name, or at least the name he told me, was Sergei, and allow me to do the talking as he most certainly will reproach me for bringing you three into the plan," Schubert said we walked over to the Fatui agent in Fatui Assassin clothes.

Then as per canon basically word for word the man called into question what in the world outsiders with no credibility were doing here and Schubert went on this long-winded speech that boiled down to us having noble manners couldn't possibly be part of the Knights of Favonius, and thus despite me having the very recognizable white hair and Paimon's presence, we most certainly weren't the 'Honorary Knights of Favonius' that killed dozens of Fatui agents. Nope, these aren't the droids you are looking for...

"Enough! You dare to question my word! If it wasn't for me, your filth wouldn't have been able at all to get into Mondstadt's mundane and magical defenses to pull your shenanigans! Without the support of the Lawrence Clan, you all would have been driven out of Mondstadt like a pack of dogs by the Knights!" Then he pointed at the Fatui agent who could likely kill the pompous noble without a blink as he ordered the man. "You must immediately offer your sincerest apologies to my friends- you have offended their honor!"

Sergei merely gave us a side eye before he nodded. "Fine, I shall make no further inquiries... Now to the matter at hand, do you have the diagram of Mondstadt's new defensive system as promised?"

While Sergei was given the map made by Schubert and began bitching at the noblemen's cartography skills, they finally finished ironing out the details of the map itself.

"And you are sure of the reliability of this information?" Sergei asked as he tucked the diagram into his jacket's pockets.

"Yes of course!" Schubert scoffed before he walked forward to the railing with his face being illuminated by the flamethrowers and boiling lava below glow. "Do not forget our agreement in any case... The flag of the Lawrence Clan will fly above the Knights of Favonius Headquarters. The rights to that building as well as the whole of Mondstadt belong to the Lawrence Clan!" He monologued evilly clearly stating his so-called plan of country-wide domination.

The Fatui agent Sergei only nodded along, and his voice was as dry as the desert when he spoke, "Yes, yes, we will both profit from this agreement. There's no use rambling to the lava below about your grand scheme."

But Schubert seemingly was already fully absorbed in his delusions as he continued to monologue about his plans. "Once this is all over, I shall stand atop the Favonius Headquarters and spit upon their pathetic rule over Mondstadt. Then the city and all its people will once again be under the rightful and unwavering rule of the Lawrence clan! Just it should be..."

While the dumbass was monologuing me and Lumine had removed our masks and Schubert asked what we were doing.

"The jig is up!" Lumine yelled as she stepped forward and I cringed as she without even a warning shot a kick straight between Schubert's legs and right into his balls...