After learning the news, Furina rushed straight back to the Palais Mermonia and locked herself inside her bedroom.
She even canceled her entire day's schedule.
She knew perfectly well that such behavior would inevitably invite gossip.
But she simply couldn't care anymore.
"So suddenly... Why now, of all times?"
Having played the role of the Hydro Archon, Focalors, for five hundred years...
Furina felt utterly miserable.
"Why wasn't there any warning at all?"
"Just because of a few legends, they concluded the prophecy is real?"
In the past, she'd wondered whether the prophecy might be false.
But after living for five hundred years herself...it was obvious that an ordinary human couldn't possibly live that long.
Gradually, she had come to believe the prophecy without question.
And so, she had spent five centuries making absolutely certain that no one would ever doubt her identity.
She'd acted like an eccentric god for five hundred years.
By now...she'd gone completely numb.
"...That Genius..."
Furina hurriedly dug out the file that had been delivered to her before.
It contained information on the Genius.
"If he knows all this..."
"...then does that mean he also knows everything about the prophecy?"
Looking at the composed face in the photograph, fear welled up inside her once more.
Even Neuvillette's gaze wasn't as profound as the man in the picture.
Clearly, the Genius was far more calculating than Neuvillette.
What if he saw through her?
At this moment, she desperately wanted to meet the Genius...yet was equally terrified of doing so.
His title literally contained the word Genius.
Perhaps he truly lived up to it.
And judging from his appearance, he certainly didn't look easy to fool.
"What am I supposed to do..."
Bang!
The tightly shut window was suddenly flung open.
Furina jumped in fright.
"Who's there?!"
But after seeing who had arrived, she relaxed slightly.
"...It's you again."
The newcomer was, naturally, Su Ran.
If it had been anyone else, she might have been genuinely terrified.
With him...she was still worried, just not nearly as much.
"...Ahem."
"Next time, don't do this."
"If you really want to see me, I can just give you permission to come and go from the Palais Mermonia."
After this happened once...
then twice...
Furina was truly at a loss for words.
Fortunately, he'd never shown any malicious intent.
"The moment I came in, I saw you looking so flustered."
"What happened?"
"Did someone bully you?"
"...Was it this guy?"
Su Ran walked over to Furina and pointed at the portrait of Zhongli hanging on the wall.
"Hmph!"
"I'm the Hydro Archon, Furina!"
"Who could possibly bully me?"
...She was only facing a tiny little crisis.
"Hey, Eighty-Five."
"You said before that you could match the Genius."
"...Was that actually true?"
She recalled the outrageous boast he'd made during their first meeting.
Back then, she hadn't believed a word of it.
But then he'd later claimed to know the merchant from beyond the stars...
and actually produced proof.
Now...she found herself wanting to believe him, just a little.
"Oh?"
"Does Furina want to meet the Genius?"
"...Well..."
"Not especially."
Furina didn't know how to explain.
She was terrified that someone would keep digging deeper until they uncovered her secret.
Eighty-Five didn't seem dangerous.
But that didn't mean he was harmless.
If word leaked out...everything she'd endured over the past five hundred years would have been for nothing.
She had persevered for half a millennium.
There was no way she'd allow all that effort to go to waste.
"So you do want to meet him."
"What for?"
"Knowledge?"
"Power?"
"...Knowledge."
If she'd answered power, that would have looked incredibly suspicious.
As a god,
her strength was supposed to be beyond imagination.
But knowledge?
No one expected an Archon to know absolutely everything.
Compared to letting people think she was powerless...she felt it was much safer if they simply assumed she wasn't especially bright.
"My knowledge is no less than the Genius's."
"Anything he knows..."
"...I know too."
"If you have any questions, just ask me."
"I can probably answer them myself."
Naturally, Su Ran wasn't about to run all the way back to Liyue and kidnap Zhongli over here.
Besides, Zhongli was currently serving as one of Liyue's Qixing.
The only reason that arrangement still worked was because not much time had passed, and it had little effect on Fontaine.
Otherwise, Furina might eventually discover the truth.
"...Really?"
"You're that knowledgeable?"
Furina glanced at Su Ran, then looked back at Zhongli's photograph.
Honestly... the man in the picture looked much wiser.
"Don't believe me?"
"Go ahead and ask."
"...How many stars are there in the sky?"
Furina immediately came up with one of those impossible trick questions.
"Not a single one."
"...No cheating!"
"This isn't a riddle!"
"You can't just say there are none because it's daytime!"
Furina puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
She hadn't actually wanted to test him.
She'd only hoped to stump him, then ask him to help her find the Genius.
After all, Neuvillette's meaning had been obvious.
The Genius was in Fontaine.
And he'd even suspected she already knew him.
How could she not be worried?
"I'm not joking."
"There really aren't any."
"Teyvat's sky is fake."
"So there genuinely isn't a single real star."
"..."
She felt as though she'd just learned another earth-shattering secret.
Not only was her identity as the Hydro Archon fake...
even the sky itself was fake?
"...Then."
"Do you know Fontaine's prophecy?"
Furina asked as casually as she could.
"Oh, that?"
"Sure."
"The one about Fontainians dissolving in the Primordial Sea?"
"I've already cured one person's constitution."
Navia had become the first person whose genes he had altered, completely freeing her from the effects of Primordial Sea water.
"...Really?"
"If I'm lying, I'm a puppy."
Then...it was probably true.
Hearing such an innocent oath, Furina believed him.
It sounded childish, but surely no one wanted to become a dog.
"So..."
"You really can solve Fontaine's prophecy?"
If that were true...then perhaps he could serve as a backup plan.
If her own mission ultimately failed, maybe Eighty-Five could still save Fontaine.
"Oh, absolutely."
"But since you're the Hydro Archon..."
"...I figured you'd be perfectly capable of handling it yourself."
"So I don't really need to make the effort."
Furina: No! You absolutely DO need to make the effort!
"...Well..."
"Being too lazy isn't a good thing."
"I think you should still work a little harder."
"After all, I'm a god."
"Sometimes I'd like to witness humanity's brilliance too."
She could only phrase it as tactfully as possible, begging Su Ran not to give up.
Because she truly wasn't confident in herself.
If she failed...then this was the biggest lifeline she had.
She understood perfectly well that you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket.
Inside Furina's heart, her tiny inner self had already collapsed to the floor—Crying, throwing a tantrum, and stomping her feet in sheer panic.
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