Work Text:
Hu Tao felt like it was time to expand and bring in new clients. Everyone would need funeral rites at some point and she was the right person to come to. That’s how she found herself in Mondstadt. She was sure the pile of “Buy one get one free” coupons she brought would be useful for the citizens here. Her main goal, however, was to speak with the Adventurer’s Guild and the famous Knights of Favonius. As adventuring organizations they likely had a higher mortality rate and perhaps she could offer them a deal.
Her consultant, Zhongli, was watching over the parlor while she was gone. He always had her full trust. He’d given her quite a bit of information about Mondstadt’s funeral rites in preparation for her trip. Getting things right was very important to her and Zhongli always, oddly, had mountains of information on nearly everything.
As she approached the city she passed a woman wearing plate armor and a red, black and white skirt and had deep red roses in her hair. She smiled kindly at Hu Tao as they passed. She looked like an adventurer, Hu Tao turned to greet her.
“Hello there!” She said with a cheery wave. “I’m Hu Tao, the director of the Wengsheng Funeral Parlor in Liyue. I’m expanding and looking for information on the mortality rate here.”
“Oh, hello!” The woman said, clasping her hands in front of herself. “I’m Noelle, maid of the Knights of Favonius. Uh-um… What do you mean by mortality rate?”
“It’s nice to meet you, Noelle!. As a funeral parlor I would need to know the number of deaths that occur in Mondstadt. It’s important for me to know which areas have the highest mortality rates so I can be prepared to provide my services.” She explained.
“Oh, I see. ”Noelle said, looking confused. “Well, I’m not sure about the exact numbers, but I know the Knights of Favonius have been dealing with some new threats and have suffered a few casualties..” the maid trailed off sadly.
Hu Tao nodded, “Thank you for letting me know. I would also like to speak with the Adventurer’s guild. I imagine they have some information as well.
“Yes, I believe they would have more information about the dangers adventurers face. I can accompany you to the Adventurer’s guild if you’d like?” Noelle offered.
“That would be great! I really appreciate all your help.” Said Hu Tao gratefully.
“Of course! As a maid of the Knights of Favonius and knight in training, it’s my pleasure and duty to help those in need.” She exclaimed resolutely.
_________________________________________________________________________
As they walked through the gate Hu Tao took in the sight. Straight ahead there were several large buildings, between those she could see the famous Anemo Archon statue and Favonius Cathedral, what a sight. To each side of the gate there were several small shops and stands, however a couple of the stands on the right were scattered across the cobblestone streets and some pieces were even smoldering.
Hu Tao stopped in her tracks when she heard the word explosion. She saw a few people, presumably the shop owners, speaking with a tall woman in a purple dress and a young man with a little girl dressed in red hiding behind him.
“But she blew up my cart and stand, AGAIN!” A woman was telling the trio, pointing to the little girl. “I can’t keep replacing everything, Lisa. Something has to be done about this.”
“Now, now, Beatrice.” The tall woman, Lisa, responded smoothly. “The Knights will help rebuild and replace your things and Klee here will help you rebuild, isn’t that right cutie?” She said, turning to the little girl.
The little girl ducked her head back behind the young man and he stepped to the side, taking away her hiding spot. She squeaked and put her hands over her face to hide.
The young man sighed and knelt in front of her. “Klee-”
“I’m so sorry, Albedo! I didn’t mean to, it was an accident!” She interrupted.
“-you have to help rebuild and clean up. You need to take responsibility for your actions, even if it was an accident. This is how you show that you’re sorry.” He continued. “And you still have to talk to Grand Master Jean.”
“Do explosions happen here often?” Hu Tao asked Noelle.
The woman responded with a nervous nod. “That’s Spark Knight, Klee, Captain Albedo and our librarian, Miss Lisa. Klee has some trouble with… controlling her bombs.” She looked at the mess and put a hand to her mouth. “I’m sorry, but I’ll have to help with the clean up! The Adventurer’s guild is right over there. Later, I can go with you to the Knights of Favonius!”
“Ok, thank you, that sounds great! Oh! Would you mind giving them some of these coupons?” She handed a few of her “buy one, get one” coupons to the kind maid and waved goodbye, heading off to talk to the guild staff.
Hu Tao skipped up the stairs. Besides the Adventurer’s guild and the Knights of Favonius there were frequent explosions. Plenty of new clients to be had. Yes indeed, it looked like this might be a worthwhile trip!