Furina held a large crab claw with her pale, delicate hand. The claw had been thoroughly grilled and seasoned, emitting a mouthwatering aroma and looking rather appetizing.
Wasn't an outing in nature supposed to be about friendly interactions with wildlife? How had it turned into this?
Furina took a bite of the crab meat. It was tender, juicy, and sweet. Since the claw was large, it contained a satisfying amount of firm meat. One bite brought an overwhelming sense of satisfaction.
'Mmm, so delicious!'
'How am I supposed to face Mademoiselle Crabaletta after this!?'
Fortunately, the members of the Salon Solitaire members were pure Hydro constructs—essentially water given form, with only superficial resemblance to their real-world counterparts.
Otherwise, the mental image of Furina summoning her dear companions only to drool over them would be... unbecoming.
Her friends would cry.
"Would you like another crab leg?" Richard asked, expertly controlling the fire. As the crab leg neared doneness, he seasoned it with spices. Before long, another crab leg was ready.
Upon hearing this, Furina quickly finished the claw in her hand in a few bites and, cheeks puffed out, mumbled, "Y-Yes, another one."
Anyone watching her like this, so adorably gluttonous, might think the food in the Palais Mermonia was terrible.
In reality, the cuisine of the Palais Mermonia ranked among the best in Fontaine. Especially the afternoon tea desserts, each week, different master pastry chefs from across Fontaine were invited to ensure variety and taste.
It's fair to say that over the past five hundred years, Furina had tasted every delicacy imaginable. Her standards for food were extraordinarily high.
Yet here she was, this picky gourmet, sitting by a campfire, holding a crab claw in an unladylike manner, asking for more.
On one hand, this proved that Richard's cooking skills were truly exceptional. On the other, the novelty of outdoor cooking had clearly whetted her appetite.
"You know, even if you didn't stay on as secretary general, you could probably run a restaurant in Fontaine and make a good living," Furina remarked sincerely.
At first, she hadn't believed in Richard's cooking skills. He had swiftly defeated a Heavy Armored Crab, built a fire, laid out his spices, and started grilling like it was second nature.
Who would expect a secretary general, a high-ranking official of the Ministry of Administration, to also be such a skilled chef? Using simple ingredients and seasonings, he cooked a dish that even she, the Hydro Archon Furina, found incredibly delicious.
But right after speaking, Furina contradicted herself.
"Actually, you'd better stay as secretary general. Good chefs aren't hard to find, but a truly capable secretary general is rare."
She thought back to her recent days at the city hall. Without Richard's support, she would've made a mess of everything. She might not have even survived her first week in office, ending in a scandal so bad that Neuvillette would have to clean up after her.
Wait, "clean up after her" sounded ominous. That phrase was a bit too unlucky.
"Thank you for the compliment. Want another one?" Richard asked, handing over a freshly grilled crab leg.
"Well… never mind. I see you haven't eaten much yet. You should have this one. Also, since we're friends now, you don't have to use honorifics when addressing me."
Furina had been about to accept right away, but she remembered how Richard had been grilling crab legs the entire time and barely ate anything himself, while she had been eating nonstop and doing nothing to help. She felt a little guilty.
"Honorifics are necessary," Richard replied, ever the professional. "In the workplace, titles help establish hierarchy and clarify responsibilities. Using proper titles keeps organizations orderly and efficient."
"But you said it yourself, that's in the workplace. We're on break now, so just call me Furina," she insisted, waving her now-empty crab leg like a conductor's baton.
Seeing that Richard wanted to argue further, she pointed her crab leg at him and said:
"No more excuses. That's an order!"
Richard could only give in, smiling as he said, "Yes, Lady Furina!"
"Drop the 'Lady'!"
"Yes, Lady Furina!"
"…"
The Heavy Armored Crab's claws and legs were soon polished off. Richard then dismantled the crab shell to use it as a pot, removing the inedible parts like the intestines, stomach, gills, and heart.
He filled the shell with a ball of water formed by elemental energy, added other ingredients gathered from the riverside, and prepared a seafood soup. Now, all that was left was to wait for it to simmer.
Soon, he and Furina would enjoy a delicious crab soup.
Furina watched Richard's seamless and efficient actions, dumbfounded. If she had wilderness survival skills like that, even if she lost her status as the Hydro Archon someday, she could still thrive in Teyvat, right?
While Furina was lost in her thoughts, Richard suddenly spoke:
"You sneaky bunch, how long are you planning to hide in the grass?"
Startled, Furina quickly looked around. 'Were there people nearby?'
Sure enough, a group of Treasure Hoarders emerged from the grass. Each of them was carrying a box, seemingly transporting goods.
But... since when did Treasure Hoarders behave so honestly? Doing porter work like this?
If they were truly honest laborers, they wouldn't be called Treasure Hoarders.
Judging by the situation, those boxes were either stolen goods or dangerous contraband.
Regardless, now that they had been spotted, something had to be done, especially in front of Furina.
Truth be told, Richard also had another motive. He wanted to see if Furina was merely pretending to be weak, or if she truly was, as his observations suggested, powerless to even truss a chicken.