"So what did I miss?" Lars entered Jean's office after knocking politely. Kaeya, Lumine, Paimon, Jean, and a honey-brown haired woman wearing a purple and white dress that he Lars didn't recognize were in the middle of a discussion.
"Oh, another cutie appears!" The woman giggled, causing Lars to blush at her sudden usage of words. She smiled and winked at him.
"You already know the rest of them. So it seems I'm the only one left that hasn't introduced myself. I'm Lisa, the resident librarian here. And what's your name, darling?" Lars cleared his throat, trying not to mind that the girl was now standing in front of him, getting too close for someone who just got to know him.
"Hi Lisa... My name's Lars. You're kinda... getting a little bit close here..." Lars stepped back as Lisa was up to his face. Jean sighed at the woman's antics, while Kaeya could only chuckle. Meanwhile, Lumine was pretending not to care, crossing her arms and acting indifferent.
"Using the Anemo elment without wielding a vision, possessing strength to fight off Stormterror. You and Lumine are quite the anomalies." Lisa slid a finger down his chest. Lars gulped at the contact. Is this woman really flirting with him in front of them.
"I'll take that as a compliment." He smiled at her.
"Alright Lisa, that's enough. We have more important matters at hand." Lisa pouted before she went back to the blonde knight's side. Lisa then cleared her throat, as she looked at Lars and Lumine standing beside each other.
"So to recap, Mondstadt's elemental sphere and ley lines are now akin to a yarn ball in the paws of a kitten. And for a mage like me, it couldn't get much worse. My skin is one elemental particle away from a full-blown breakout." Lisa started before Jean continued.
"And because of this interference..." She smiled sadly at Lumine. "the Knights of Favonius would have better ways to help you than just putting up missing person posters." Lumine shrugged.
"My brother's not going to be that easy to find in the first place. So there's no blame in your part." Jean nodded before continuing.
"We simply ask that you repose in Mondstadt while we help you seek out your brother." Lumine narrowed her eyes at hearing Jean's suggestions. Is she seriously telling her to stay still and do nothing? No way is she going to comply to that.
"Though judging by you guys' expressions, I'd wager that's an impossible request to fulfill." Kaeya smirked at the two.
"Then we will compensate you two in exchange for your assistance." Lumine nodded. She could work with that. Getting out there means that she could find clues about her brother's whereabouts, not to mention she could help those in need, much better than just sitting and doing nothing.
"Let's discuss the plan. We may have an opportunity to cut this problem off at the source, Lisa here has revealed the sources of Stormterror's power with her detection magic." All eyes were on Lisa. The librarian stepped up and started her explanation on the matter.
"They're located in the abandoned Four Winds' Temples. Stormterror's ability to whip up these kinds of storms can be attributed to it drawing power from the temples."
Jean continued. "Our objective is to deal with three of the four temples. I trust everyone understands why we are only dealing with three." She looked around the room, sensing confusion from Lumine and Paimon.
"Well Paimon doesn't." Paimon scratched her head. Lumine nodded, though guessing that it might just be a local thing.
" We'll explain later. For now, time is against us. We have to take the initiative while we can before the situation escalates." Jean declared. Lars raised an arm.
"Just a quick question. Why is Grand Master Varka not here? I mean, his nation is in the middle of crisis and he is the Grand Master after all, y'all should be having all hands on deck. That's just my opinion." The three before him remained silent, with Jean trying to act composed.
"Who's this Varka dude? And why are you calling him the Grand Master. I thought Jean was the Grand Master?" Paimon questioned. Kaeya stepped up a little.
"Allow me to explain. Jean here is actually the Acting Grand Master, Varka assigned her to temporarily take his spot before he went on an expedition." Paimon and Lumine blinked.
"Huh? So she's not that actual Grand Master? Paimon's confused."
"Yeah, I thought so to when I first saw her...." Lumine hummed.
"You wanna know why this place has so few knights? Its cuz that Varka guy took 80% of the nation's military with him on his expedition."
"What?!" Paimon shouted at Lars' revelation of information. "You gotta be joking!"
"Hey, my jokes are funnier than this. He also took all of the horses too."
"Not the horses! Wait, that means your position is completely useless then!" Paimon pointed at Kaeya who chuckled nervously, raising his hands in surrender.
"Well, you've caught me..."
"That's... so irresponsible." Lumine muttered. "And you say that he's not coming back to help with the situation?" Jean bit her lip on the blonde girl's question. She was feeling a bit ashamed at the confrontation. It hits harder because she already long agreed with the criticism.
"We haven't received a message from any members of the expedition or from Varka right, Lisa?" Lisa shook her head. Jean sighed a little. Guess Mondstadt is alone in this matter.
"What do you need all of the nation's horses for is my question? That's such a deeply unhinged logistical choice. It's like he left you holding a clipboard that has quietly turned into a live bomb, waved goodbye and rode off. Strip away manpower, mobility, and rapid-response capability, and suddenly every problem becomes existential."
"And I bet 100% you don't even know what his expedition is for." Lars hit the nail on the head, as Jean, Lisa and Kaeya remained silent.
"I know I'm just an outsider and I'm probably stepping out of line here. But human to human, and as someone with morals and a working brain, I'm just saying you can't take all of that crap with a smile on your face. I get that Varka's some sort of living legend here, but does that really excuse him? No wonder the Fatui are pouncing on you." Jean remained silent, before she sighed loudly.
"I understand your point, and believe me I didn't sign up to be a miracle factory either."
"I really respect you, by the way. You absorbed the damage and kept the city standing. You didn't just hold the line, you became the line." Jean smiled a little at that.
"But framing your exhaustion as noble rather than avoidable is… telling, you get what I mean?" Lars scratched his head a little.
"I just think it's a good idea to stop routing reality through him." Jean widened her eyes, that suggestion didn't sit right with her. Kaeya raised his hand.
" Woah there, you're not suggesting she denounces him are you?"
To be continued....
(Jean be like: Why am I taking political advice from two outlanders? And why am I feeling that I should do what they say?)