Cyrus stared into Yichen's eyes, which were practically glowing with the word "profit."
Then he imagined mountains of commissions and an endless stream of Mora…
In his mind, he could already hear coin pouches clinking merrily.
He swallowed hard.
Then—
Bang!
His massive palm slammed down on the counter, making the commission board jump.
"Done!"
"I'm in!"
"I'll take this deal!"
"Details—details we can talk through later!"
His booming voice shook dust loose from the ceiling beams.
Yichen smiled, harmless and sincere.
"Great. Then I'll head back and report to Grand Master Jean."
"WAIT."
Cyrus's eyes widened like bronze bells. He lunged forward and grabbed Yichen before he could turn away.
"Report?! You little—after all that grand talk, you're telling me Jean hasn't even approved this yet?!"
Yichen staggered from the grab, but his expression turned astonishingly innocent. He scratched the back of his head.
"Eh? What does *'ehe~' mean here, huh?"
Cyrus nearly laughed himself to death from sheer disbelief.
"So this is a classic case of selling me a project that doesn't even exist yet?!"
"How can you call it selling?" Yichen said seriously, struggling free from Cyrus's iron grip.
"This is called preliminary market research and confirmation of potential partner intent!"
"Look—Guild Master Cyrus, you're bold and visionary. You understood immediately and agreed on the spot! That's the best market feedback possible!"
"With your support secured, doesn't that give me way more confidence when persuading Grand Master Jean?"
Cyrus stared at Yichen's completely earnest 'this is for the greater good' face. His mouth twitched.
In the end, he released him with an irritated wave.
"Scram! Go already!"
"If you fail to convince Jean and get my hopes up for nothing, you're blacklisted forever!"
"Relax! Leave it to me!"
Yichen vanished faster than the wind.
Back at the Knights of Favonius headquarters, Yichen laid out the entire "grand blueprint" to Jean—start to finish.
Jean listened quietly, brows drawn together, fingers tapping lightly against the desk as she thought.
"Outsourcing grassroots commissions to the Adventurers' Guild…"
"That idea is far too bold."
Her concerns were obvious.
"Guild Master Cyrus may be forthright, but the Adventurers' Guild operates outside the Knights' system. Service quality, information security, responsibility allocation—these are all risks."
"If something goes wrong, public dissatisfaction will still fall on the Knights."
"Yichen, your intentions are good—but I cannot gamble with the citizens' trust or the Knights' reputation."
Yichen had expected this.
He immediately adopted an expression that said 'Grand Master is wise beyond measure' and smoothly deployed Plan B.
"You're absolutely right, Grand Master! A full rollout would be risky."
"So… how about we start with a pilot program?"
He stepped closer and lowered his voice, as if sharing a classified secret.
"We designate a small residential area in West Mondstadt. One month only."
"We divert only the most trivial, non-confidential, time-consuming requests—finding cats, finding dogs, mediating neighbor disputes—to the Adventurers' Guild."
"The Knights assign someone—say, me—to track, record, and evaluate the results in real time."
He spread his hands.
"Controlled risk. Visible results."
"If it works—full rollout, everyone wins."
"If it fails—small scope, immediate shutdown, minimal damage."
"What do you think?"
Jean looked into Yichen's eyes—bright with confidence—and then thought of the endless paperwork… and her increasingly dark under-eye circles.
In the end, responsibility warred with her longing for efficiency—
And efficiency won.
"…Alright."
She nodded slowly.
"We'll do a one-month pilot."
"But Yichen—"
Her tone turned firm.
"You will personally oversee everything. No mistakes. You will report progress daily."
"Mission acknowledged!"
Yichen snapped to attention.
The pilot program began quietly, under cautious observation.
At first, West Mondstadt's residents were uneasy.
Accustomed to bringing everything directly to the Knights—especially to the '万能的琴团长'—they now found themselves redirected to the Adventurers' Guild.
Complaints surfaced:
"Are the Knights abandoning us?"
"Can adventurers be trusted?"
"Don't scare my precious cat!"
But within one week, the mood shifted.
Efficiency skyrocketed.
Adventurers, motivated by rewards and guild points, worked at lightning speed.
A ring lost in the morning? Returned by noon.
Feuding neighbors? A seasoned mediator showed up the same afternoon.
More importantly—
Knights were no longer buried under trivial tasks. Patrols increased. Monster response improved.
Public safety visibly rose.
The Adventurers' Guild, meanwhile, was ecstatic.
Low-rank adventurers entered a golden age of commissions.
Income rose.
Spending rose.
Good Hunter sold more steaks.
Angel's Share sold more drinks.
Economic activity surged.
After one month, tax revenue growth far exceeded the subcontracting costs paid to the Guild.
Even employment improved—more low-tier commissions meant more accessible work.
A plan that seemed like "cutting corners" had somehow boosted:
Tax revenue
Employment
Citizen satisfaction
Knights' efficiency
Adventurers' Guild workload
All at once.
Jean stared at the pilot summary report Yichen submitted—clear data, concrete cases, undeniable success.
She read it three times before believing it was real.
Then she looked up at Yichen, standing straight, wearing a very obvious "please praise me" expression.
Her gaze was complex.
Shock.
Admiration.
Relief.
And a faint, bittersweet realization—that her years of overwork might not have been the most efficient path after all.
For the first time in a long while—
She could leave work on time and enjoy a cup of tea.
"The pilot…" Jean said softly, a hint of ease in her voice,
"…was very successful."
"Yichen, you did excellent work."
"We'll proceed with gradual citywide implementation."
"Yes, Grand Master!"
Yichen's crisp reply echoed through the office.