Undercover in Snezhnaya, My Teyvat Spy Life [79]

Two days later, two major events rocked Mondstadt.

The first:
With the Knights of Favonius’ approval, Snezhnaya’s Northland Bank officially opened in Mondstadt, taking over the former Goth Grand Hotel as its headquarters.

Beyond basic deposits, the bank’s main business was collateral-based lending.

Residents could use their assets to secure interest-free or low-interest loans—pending Northland Bank approval.

And the Fatui’s Harbinger publicly declared:
There would absolutely not be any predatory loans.
Every contract would be fair and transparent, with the Knights of Favonius acting as third-party witnesses.

These generous terms were tempting, especially to a city devastated by disaster and desperate for mora.

And with the Knights standing witness, people felt sure they wouldn’t be swindled.

The only sticking point was that the operator was the Fatui from Snezhnaya.

Despite Artem’s many good deeds—enough to soften or even win over quite a few Mondstadters.

When it came to money, even with the Knights’ guarantee, people just couldn’t bring themselves to fully trust the Northland Bank.

Yet as most of Mondstadt watched warily, A few bold souls had already used their assets to secure sizable loans.

The contracts were clear, the terms transparent; each bore the seal of the Fatui and the Knights of Favonius.

Most crucial of all, the loan amounts were significant, and even with interest, the monthly repayments stayed within an acceptable range.

Word spread quickly, from one to ten, ten to a hundred.

In just a day, the whole city was buzzing.

Conversations in every street and alley revolved around the new bank and the surge of eager, would-be borrowers.

A line had quietly formed outside the former Goth Grand Hotel.

If you looked closely, it was all Mondstadt locals clutching their asset papers.

The Fatui—once so fiercely boycotted—had finally pried open a foothold in Mondstadt’s business world, taking advantage of the city’s moment of disaster.

The second major event, announced in tandem with the bank’s grand opening:

Fatui Chief Inspector and Snezhnayan envoy Artem Vetrovski, leading the Fatui’s elite, had slain the dragon Ursa atop Dragonspine—

Ending Mondstadt’s latest dragon disaster.

The news swept through Mondstadt, setting off wild celebrations.
The monster that had brought so much harm and loss was finally gone.

Inside the Knights, though, it was dead silence.

A rampaging dragon had been taken down—surely a cause for joy.

But to the Knights, it was even more bitter than humiliation.

Because it was their old rivals who killed it, and after their own disastrous, bloody defeat.

The contrast was brutal.

The Knights’ reputation for incompetence was now set in stone.

“Grand Master, when will you come back?”
“I can’t hold on much longer…”

Jean stood at her window, watching the bustling crowds across the street, and sighed in despair.

And it wasn’t just the dragon.

There was also Dawn Winery, the pillar of Mondstadt’s economy, had surrendered.

Crepus Ragnvindr himself had come to beg Jean to approve the Northland Bank’s opening.

He’d sighed that the winery simply couldn’t go on any longer.

Trade routes cut, factories destroyed, without outside capital, Dawn Winery would collapse within days, which would be an incalculable blow to Mondstadt’s economy.

When Jean heard this, her blood pressure spiked—and she fainted on the spot.

With the city’s leading businessman saying this, Jean knew it was over.

Everything the Fatui had done these past days had finally borne fruit.

So when Pantalone returned with his offer, Jean could only nod weakly.

The last thing she managed was to insist that every loan contract from the Northland Bank had to have the Knights of Favonius as witness, ensuring every agreement’s legitimacy.

But this well-intentioned safeguard, ended up granting Northland Bank contracts legal standing.

It erased the people’s last lingering doubts.

That was what set off the current lending frenzy across Mondstadt.

---

On the top floor of the hotel, Pantalone sipped his tea, blowing gently before taking a contented sip.

Then, half-joking, he said, “Your little subordinate is quite something. I rather like him.
What do you say? Have you considered letting him come work for me?”

He was speaking to Arlecchino, who was sprawled on the sofa reading intelligence reports.

“Hmph. Artem is a child of the House of the Hearth,” she replied coldly. “Which is to say—he’s my child. If you want him, fine—just let me tear down your Northland Bank and I’ll consider it.”

Her expression was icy, her gaze on Pantalone as cold as death.

Artem was the strongest, most capable agent of the House of the Hearth, Arlecchino’s pride and favorite.

Every time he took action, he brought in funds and favors for her organization.

To her, Pantalone’s request was nothing short of trying to snatch meat from a tiger’s mouth.

No one would take what belonged to her—not even Her Majesty herself.

“Tsk. No need to get so serious.”
“I just thought your subordinate seemed promising. Lend him to me for a few days sometime.”

Pantalone didn’t get angry, only smacked his lips a little in disappointment.

With Dawn Winery handled, he’d taken advantage of a couple days’ leisure to review everything Artem had done since arriving in Mondstadt.

And the more he looked, the more amazed he became.

A genius. An absolute prodigy tailor-made for me.

First, the conscription tax:
Without spending a single mora, without risking a single soldier, Artem had forced Dawn Winery—the economic pillar of Mondstadt—to bleed dry.

He’d pressured the Knights into accepting an army of redundant reservists, driving their expenses through the roof.

Then, unleashing Stormterror, he’d devastated the region with windstorms, forcing the winery to keep spending to rescue Mondstadt.

Next, he had Dottore chase the dragon all across Mondstadt, and even lured Grand Master Varka away, leaving only an inexperienced, naive girl as Acting Grand Master.

When the winery’s funds were stretched thin by disaster relief, he sabotaged their trade routes, cutting off revenue and forcing them to pay ruinous penalties, while also breaking their ability to aid the city.

With the Knights and winery both broke, and reconstruction stalled, he spent lavishly, reversing the Fatui’s reputation in Mondstadt overnight.

At the same time, he weaponized public opinion, pinning a label of incompetence on the Knights and crippling their influence.

Then he unleashed a second dragon, hammering the Knights’ reputation even lower.

Especially after devastating two squads, the Knights’ standing hit rock bottom.

Then, with absolute brazenness, Artem announced a dragon-slaying campaign, a public slap in the face for the Knights of Favonius.

Under cover of the hunt, he destroyed Dawn Winery’s key breweries.

Step by step, he’d forced a family that once commanded half of Mondstadt’s economy into being the most indebted household in the city.

When the winery could hold out no longer, Pantalone himself showed up to deliver the final blow, forcing the Ragnvindr family to surrender.

Now, with Ursa slain, the Fatui’s standing in Mondstadt had soared again, and the Knights owed them a massive favor.

Each move had built on the last—

Turning Mondstadt’s once-vibrant economy into a stagnant pool, and erasing the Knights’ prestige.

That was why the Northland Bank could open so smoothly.

Not to mention, Artem’s latest letter had included a detailed list of methods for extracting Mondstadt’s assets, his handling of public opinion and “plants” was nothing short of masterful.

If Pantalone had known these tricks back in the day, he could have taken Mondstadt long ago.

“Ah, what a talent…”
“If only I could have him working for me.”

He couldn’t help but sigh.

Compared to such a clever, resourceful talent, all his own subordinates looked fit for the trash heap.

With skills like these, Artem’s past as a Mondstadt spy was barely worth mentioning.

Yes, when Jean approved the Northland Bank, she’d also handed Pantalone a dossier on Artem.

Since the last attempt to send information to Snezhnaya had vanished without a trace,

this time, she handed the spy’s file directly to the actual Harbinger.

Surely this troublemaker won’t escape justice this time!

But Jean, full of hope, could never have imagined—

Her latest tip-off had failed yet again!

---

T/N: LMAOOO JEAN just... give up girl

This is a fan translation of 提瓦特之我在至冬做臥底 by 曉風殘月聽荷 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!