Ajax, thanks for the preliminary reading.
Every time another Traveler between worlds came to Mondstadt, Katheryne hoped that he, she or it would kill Amber.
And if only Katheryne did it! The whole of Mondstadt was waiting for this. Amber was too silly and too shit-worker even for the Order of the Ordo Favonius, famous for its stupidity and worthlessness. Ember is also Teyvat's worst archer and a problem generator for everyone she passes by. The donkey-eared hat that Amber adored was a kind of danger signal for those who did not yet know that at the sight of this girl they had to run as fast as they could. Even Sex-Preoccupied Lisa, who molested everyone in a row, and while demanding gifts for it, even she tried to stay away from Amber — Lisa taught Donkeess magic, sending her the necessary books, but she never let her into the library premises and didn't allow Amber to approach herself.
And only the Traveler, who had not yet received Mondshat citizenship or the status of a foreign guest, could end off the Outrider of the Order with impunity. That is why Jean, the head of the Ordo Favonius, kept Amber on eternal vigil to meet the Travelers.
But fools are really lucky, and Amber is still alive.
Katheryne mentally went over the antics of Donkeess just for the last two weeks:
- Amber received a gliding license and immediately lost it for flying in a territory prohibited for flights (the fifteenth time since the first exam).
- Amber's glider scared the yaks of a merchant caravan (no-fly zones were created for a reason), and Jean compensated the merchants.
- Amber volunteered to protect the village from the Dendro Slime, but could only set it on fire, and as a result, the Slime rushed around the village so much that it burned and trampled two vegetable gardens and almost set fire to the house. Jean paid compensation to the peasants.
- Amber posted missing person notices around the capital in places where only stray cats could see them.
- Amber volunteered to be a flight instructor and gave the student a collection of children's stories instead of a gliding textbook. She read fairy tales at her leisure and once learned to fly from them. Is anyone else wondering why the Mondstadt Gliding Inspectorate keeps revoking Amber's gliding license? And yes, I don't understand too why she is allowed to take exams again and again. And I agree with you that Jean, allowing Amber to be an instructor, wished the Traveler to croak because she still had not killed this donkeess.
Katheryne did the routine work of the administrator of the Adventurers' Guild, which didn't need attention — she gave out fees and new orders to its members, answered the same type of questions from passers-by — and she continued to think.
The Ordo Favonius had long ago turned into a dummy, and in addition, the Grand Master Varka took on his expedition all its members who were at least good for something worthwhile. Personnel shortage in the Order is severe. But still Amber wasn't worth keeping there.
Especially since her grandfather took off in an unknown direction the day before the Varka guards were supposed to arrest him for betraying Mondstadt. The Ordo Favonius dispersed all the Outriders who were under Amber's grandfather's leadership — their training, despite many years of daily training, turned out to be zero. And those few who were at least good for something and who were transferred to other divisions of the Order, Varka took with him.
Katheryne, after the Outrider leader escaped, asked the Guild Information Department agents to find out everything about his family. And she got zero. Amber's grandmother, mother and father simply disappeared a year before the grandfather's flight. There was no information about their deaths. Amber's family didn't appear in Liyue, where her grandfather was from. They were not in other countries either. But Amber didn't ask questions, didn't worry. And she didn't talk about the family living abroad, didn't receive letters. She experienced the flight of her grandfather hard but she was only worried about her own status in the Ordo Favonius, and not that her grandfather left her like a scabby puppy and forgot about the existence of a granddaughter.
A stupid donkeess can't survive outside the Order, she will very quickly end her days in the cheapest port brothel, beaten to death by some sadist who will not be given at least some valuable whore. And nobody and never will take Amber for any other job, except for the most low-class brothel.
Of course, the Ordo Favonius has a lot of dirty secrets, and Mondstat is very unhappy with it, outraged townspeople and peasants can rebel and destroy the Order at any moment, so Amber's grandfather could leave compromising evidence with trusted persons, and these things will be made public if the Grand Master kicks Amber out of Ordo Favonius. But still, there are too many incomprehensible things in the Amber case.
And now is not the time when incomprehensibility is acceptable. The fact that you are a bionic puppet doesn't mean that you can't be an independent and autonomous person, have your own goals and desires. Katheryne was created by Fatui, a semi-government-semi-military organization from Snezhnaya. But Katheryne of Mondstadt, like all other Katherynes, began to live on her own a long time ago. The Adventurer's Guild was also created by the citizen of Snezhnaya. But she herself was from Liyue. And the Guild had become an independent state within states even before Katherynes appeared.
Katheryne of Mondstadt sent Fatui very far, so far that even from Snezhnaya it is not visible, shortly after she was brought to Mondstadt.
Katheryne liked Mondstadt, she did not want to go anywhere, but can Mondstadt survive the war with Snezhnaya? Katheryne felt disgusted for Snezhnaya, calling it a slave-creating territory with zero concepts of pleasure and freedom. However, there is no hope for the Ordo Favonius, and the townspeople and peasants have no idea about the war, they will not even understand where to run and what to do in case of attack. Lone heroes are also dubious. Diluc protects Mondstadt from monsters, but will he save the city from Snezhnaya if it will promise him a state order for large quantities of wine? Mondstadt exists for Diluc only as means of maintaining his plantations and distillery.
Noelle hates the Ordo Favonius, and wants to destroy it, but is indifferent to Mondshadt himself and she doesn't wish it either good or evil. Moreover, Noelle's parents got rich and are waiting for their daughter in a luxurious estate in Liyue. Will she agree to hand over her sabotage squad and her spies to Katheryne, if she promises her to liquidate the Order? And will these people want to save Mondstadt? Does Noelle have the backing of Liyue's trading corporations?
There was also the Order Abyss. Strange, unknown, with incomprehensible goals. So far, bringing only harm to Mondstadt. But at the same time, harm is shallow, it is more imitation than aggression. Did the Amber family escape to the Abyss? And was Amber related to her family if they abandoned her so easily? Or they didn't do it, and is Amber just playing dumb to spy without interruption for the Abyss?
And what about Diluc? What is his relationship with the Abyss?
And Kaeya... A strange person, illogical actions: seemingly an ordinary knight, that is a drunkard, a fool and a libertine, but at the same time, only Kaeya solves really serious problems. If the Ordo Favonius still exists, it is only thanks to Kaeya, not Varka, much less Jean.
In addition to all this, there was Khaenri'ah. Everyone considered this country disappeared, but it recently declared itself as a strong contender for a considerable slice of the political pie.
And Mondstadt could be the cherry on top of that slice.
Is it bad or good? How profitable is it to support the Khaenri'ah with all the strength of the local Guild? Or is it better to choose the Abyss? Or bet on the preservation of Mondstadt's independence? But who will provide it — the Ordo Favonius or the home guard?
Katheryne didn't know what to do. However, the fact that she will decide, and not drunkard Cyrus, the nominal head of the Mondstadt Guild, is beyond doubt.