'Forget it—I'll set aside the matter of appointing a personal secretary for now. Clorinde was a fine choice anyway.
Furina picked up the draft proposal Li Cha had prepared, settling into her chair with eager anticipation.
At first, she perused the document with a smile. But as she flipped through the pages, her delicate brows gradually furrowed into a tight knot.
Even after reading it all, she couldn't believe it and read it again from start to finish. Then she stared at the title "On the Construction of a Clean, Transparent, and Efficient Administrative System" in stunned silence.
'What the—?'
'The title is the only part that mentions the topic; none of the actual content has anything to do with it!'
'Clickbait?'
Furina looked at Richard suspiciously. Considering how loyal he'd been before, she started to wonder if there'd been a mix-up, like the cover page accidentally got stapled onto an entirely unrelated report.
"Richard, did you grab the wrong file?" she asked with a socially acceptable smile while closing the proposal.
"No," Richard replied confidently.
"Then why does the content have nothing to do with the title?" A hashtag-shaped vein appeared on Furina's forehead. "Is this how you do things? Are you messing with me?!"
"Lady Furina, you have to understand, Liyue Harbor wasn't built in a day. It may seem like the title and content don't match, but there's actually an invisible connection between them," Richard said calmly, pulling nonsense out of thin air.
"Invisible connection?" Furina looked back down at the document. "Why can't I see it, then?"
"Yes. Every measure in this draft serves the goal of a 'transparent government.' The reason you don't see the connection is that pushing it openly would face too much resistance. The best way is to advance subtly, like rain moistening things quietly."
Yeah, right.
The truth? The title and content had zero connection. The only reason for the grandiose heading was that stuffing buzzwords into the title was far safer than putting them in the actual proposal.
Besides, Richard's proposal wasn't harmful to the City Hall, just useless. It was full of safe, boring reforms that changed nothing but looked like an effort. It was like a mobile game announcing they fixed 300 bugs, none of which affected actual gameplay.
Did we do something? Yes.
Did it matter? Not really.
As for whether it would fulfill Furina's grand vision... Richard could only say: Leave it to future generations.
He certainly didn't expect to see this so-called "transparent government", a walking contradiction, in his lifetime.
At best, Furina's ideas were bold. She was a leader with vision, that was for sure.
"Subtle and silent reform? How long will that take?" Furina asked, not willing to wait ten years. By then, the "vegetables would be cold" (i.e., it'd be too late).
"Ten years? Eight? Who knows? Maybe the world will end before this gets implemented."
"So... basically, never!" Furina exclaimed.
"You can't be that pessimistic. The future holds promise!" Richard replied with a comforting smile for his idealistic boss.
Furina tossed the proposal onto the desk. "Is there a faster way? Something less... subtle?"
To her surprise, Richard nodded and answered with certainty: "There is."
Furina had already braced for disappointment; she didn't expect Richard to actually surprise her like this.
"Really? What's the method? What's the cost?"
She wasn't a political rookie anymore. She understood that every policy has benefits and consequences. But if the cost was within reason, then it was acceptable!
"We submit our entire department to the Court. I'm sure they'll investigate us thoroughly and broadcast it to the public, achieving true transparency!"
"As for the price, well, there would no longer be a Ministry of Administration. And if anything goes wrong, or if someone sets us up, we can all head to Meropide for team-building exercises."
"…How is that a solution?! That's just political suicide!" Furina snapped.
Richard raised a brow. So you do know it's suicide? Then why are you so obsessed with "transparency"?
"In fact, Lady Furina, why are you so fixated on a massive goal like a transparent government? If you want political achievements, why not start small? Like focusing on wrapping up the cases at the Court."
"That alone would be a big accomplishment," he added smoothly, like a seasoned courtier guiding an ambitious monarch.
Furina had to admit, he had a point. Better to pocket what she could first.
"…Fine."
That tone sounded so reluctant.
"But there are so many cases. Can our department even handle them all?" Furina suddenly remembered, her department, the Ministry, mainly dealt with internal logistics and coordination between other departments to keep the Court of Fontaine running smoothly.
They didn't have many people who could actually investigate cases. Anyone with that talent had already been poached by the Court long ago.
"Don't worry, we do have someone in our department who's great at this." Richard gave a very "I saw this coming" smile.
"Someone great?" Furina blinked. She didn't remember hiring any top-tier investigators.
"Right under your nose…"
'Wait… is he talking about me?' she wondered. Not to brag, but she was decent at investigations. After all those trials she'd watched at the Opera Epiclese, she'd picked up a few tricks.
'Hmph. So Richard has good taste after all. Even I didn't realize how well he saw through me. The Hydro Archon's skills run deep!'
She cleared her throat, ready to accept the praise coming her way.
"That person… is your new personal secretary, Lady Clorinde."
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
"What's wrong, Lady Furina? Did I say something wrong?"
Richard watched as Furina's little ahoge drooped sadly, clearly disappointed.
'What, you thought I was talking about you?'
"…N-No, you're right. Clorinde is indeed good at investigations," Furina muttered. She reluctantly agreed to his suggestion, let Clorinde handle it.
And so, thanks to Richard, the task of digging up old cases once again landed on Clorinde's plate.
But this time was different; Clorinde would now have to share a large portion of the credit with Furina. After all, she was no longer just a Court agent leading a special investigation. Thanks to Richard's maneuvering, she was now Furina's personal secretary.
For Richard, it was a win-win: avoid Furina dragging him into a political suicide mission, and cleverly redirect the work to Clorinde. All calculated. All smooth.
Because hey, Richard's petty like that.
Offend the Secretary General and think you're walking away? Think again.
And not long after, when Clorinde heard about this… she quietly typed a question mark.