Liyue Harbor, Northland Bank.
"Here you go, little Klee, take this candied hawthorn skewer. If there's anything else you'd like to eat, just tell me," Tartaglia said, smiling his most ingratiating smile, working to keep his face as friendly and harmless as possible so he wouldn't frighten her.
Klee, perched on a stool, shook her head. "Mom says Klee isn't allowed to take food from strangers." "Mister, you're a bad guy, aren't you?"
"Mister... ahem..."
Something inside Tartaglia cracked. He shook his head quickly. "How could I possibly be a bad guy? I just invited Klee here to play!"
"See? We haven't done a single thing. We only want to play with you."
"Although, I'm really not old enough to be a 'mister' yet, am I? How about you call me big brother instead?"
That word — mister — had lodged itself in him like a splinter.
Klee was about the same age as his own little brother. How had he suddenly been bumped up an entire generation?
That was hardly fair. Did he really look that old?
Klee pointed at the Debt Collector standing off to one side. "He looks all mean and scary. Klee's frightened."
"Eh?"
One small finger aimed his way, and the Debt Collector went pale with panic. "I... I look mean?"
Klee nodded.
Tartaglia frowned slightly. "What are you doing, scaring a little kid?"
"I... Lord Childe, I didn't do anything... this is just my face..."
"Enough, enough, no explanations. Go make yourself useful somewhere else." Tartaglia waved a hand and shooed him out the door.
Not long after, an Electro Cicin Mage was swapped in to replace him.
Next to a big burly man, a friendly older sister came across as far less threatening.
Tartaglia shot the Electro Cicin Mage a look, and she caught his meaning at once, coaxing Klee to try the sweets laid out on the table.
Klee wasn't the least bit foolish. She waited until the Electro Cicin Mage had eaten several bites and come to no harm, and only then did she pick up a small piece of Lotus Flower Crisp from the plate and take a bite.
"Hmm? It's not as tasty as the ones Big Sister Xiangling makes!"
That left Tartaglia blinking. "Big Sister Xiangling... you mean the little chef over at Wanmin Restaurant?"
He might be a Snezhnayan, but he'd lived in Liyue long enough that its cuisine hadn't escaped him.
At first he hadn't cared much about the food at Wanmin Restaurant.
But Zhongli was forever running up a tab there — and charging it to his account!
Having served as that man's wallet for so long, he'd noticed something: Zhongli rarely visited the grand establishments like Xinyue Kiosk or Liuli Pavilion. It was always Wanmin Restaurant.
So, out of pure curiosity, he'd gone and tried it himself — and the food really was delicious.
Klee nodded at his question. "That's right, Big Sister Xiangling's family runs a restaurant!"
"Perfect. I'll send someone to buy some right now!"
Tartaglia hurriedly dispatched a subordinate to Wanmin Restaurant.
His goal at the moment was simple: treat Klee well, wait for Ye Xi to come collect her, and get a chance to meet Ye Xi face to face in the process.
It was a last resort, but there was no other way. Otherwise he'd never get near the man at all.
His excellent intelligence network had told him that Klee was a child Ye Xi doted on.
As long as Klee didn't take a dislike to him, Ye Xi wouldn't treat him as an enemy either.
Klee suddenly piped up. "Mister, didn't you just say you'd play with Klee?"
"Uh... big brother can play with you!"
"Ooh, then Klee wants to go blow up some fish!"
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