"Furina, you have to understand—human strength has its limits."
"If a god can ensure humanity's safety, then why should I bother working?"
"Besides..."
"I'm not even from Fontaine."
Su Ran stood with his hands on his hips, admiring his own reflection in the full-length mirror inside Furina's room.
"But..."
"You can't just do nothing, can you?"
Just because he wasn't from Fontaine, did that mean he could simply ignore whether Fontainians lived or died?
Please don't.
The world could use a little more kindness.
"The disaster itself isn't a big deal."
"As long as the Hydro Archon returns the Authority of the Hydro Dragon to the Hydro Dragon Sovereign..."
"...then none of it will be a problem."
Furina: ...
Authority of the Hydro Dragon?
She didn't have such a thing!
From beginning to end, she'd only ever been a fake.
Where was she supposed to produce something like that?
"...How do you know all this?"
She had absolutely no idea what this "Authority of the Hydro Dragon" even was.
So where had Eighty-Five gotten this information?
Su Ran turned around and looked at Furina with obvious surprise.
"Is that really such obscure knowledge?"
"Celestia defeated the Dragon Sovereigns and divided their Authorities among the Seven."
"And a complete Hydro Dragon Sovereign..."
"...can directly resolve Fontaine's prophecy."
"Uh..."
"Of course I know that."
"I was just..."
"...wondering how you know something like that."
Furina was so nervous she could hardly breathe.
She was terrified she'd expose herself.
She had never encountered any of this knowledge before.
This so-called Dragon Authority had absolutely nothing to do with her.
"I'm just curious..."
"How exactly would the Authority be returned to the Hydro Dragon you're talking about?"
Forget the Dragon Authority.
She hadn't even found the Hydro Dragon.
Furina had absolutely no idea that Neuvillette was the legendary Hydro Dragon Sovereign.
All she'd ever known was that as long as she played the role of the Hydro Archon well enough,
Fontaine could be saved.
As for dragons...those were merely legends.
And why would she have investigated old legends?
Now that Su Ran had brought it up,
she suddenly realized...she really knew almost nothing.
...Am I actually useless?
I didn't even know something this important...
"It's simple."
"As long as the Hydro Archon dies..."
"...the Authority naturally returns to the Hydro Dragon."
Furina blinked.
"...Huh?"
What kind of ridiculous setting is that?!
What do you mean the Hydro Archon has to die before the Authority is returned?
So I have to die to save Fontaine?
...No.
She wasn't even the Hydro Archon.
Even if she died, Fontaine still wouldn't be saved.
Furina was on the verge of emotional collapse.
For five hundred years, she had investigated countless things, only to end up learning everything from Eighty-Five instead.
"Furina..."
"Do you want to die?"
"...No."
She sat heavily on the edge of her bed, looking utterly dejected.
These past five centuries...had been unimaginably painful.
If dying could truly resolve the prophecy, then perhaps it would have been worth it.
But she wasn't the Hydro Archon.
Her death would accomplish nothing.
"So..."
"You must have another way to save Fontaine, right?"
"Otherwise, why would you say none of this is a problem?"
Instead of paying attention to Furina, Su Ran reached out and gently touched the full-length mirror.
When Furina wasn't looking, his arm slipped straight into the mirror.
Then...he touched something soft.
He gave it a firm squeeze.
Inside the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale—
Focalors stared at the hand that had suddenly reached through the mirror.
She had just become alert...
when the large hand pinched her cheek hard.
Focalors: !!!
Hiss!
Before she could retaliate, the hand had already withdrawn.
That despicable man!
You pinched my daughter, so now you're deliberately picking on me instead?!
Just wait!
I'll get my revenge next time!
Even as she silently vowed revenge, Focalors was equally shocked.
She had believed that no one knew her secret.
Even if someone eventually discovered it, she had expected it would only happen after Neuvillette reclaimed the Hydro Dragon's Authority.
So how did this Fatui Harbinger know?
"..."
Furina remained seated on the bed, completely silent.
How exactly was Fontaine supposed to be saved?
She had no idea.
For five hundred years, she'd simply kept telling herself that as long as she continued acting as the Hydro Archon,the prophecy…the disaster...would somehow disappear.
As for how that would happen...
she genuinely didn't know.
She glanced at Su Ran, who seemed to be having an absurd amount of fun playing with the mirror.
Why is it that someone else can be this happy just playing with a mirror...
...while I've had to suffer through this role for five hundred years?
"Hiss!"
After pinching Focalors's cheek again, Su Ran finally received retaliation this time.
Tiny bite marks appeared on his hand.
It didn't actually hurt, but the fact that Focalors had managed to leave marks at all...
showed she'd bitten down with remarkable force.
"...Eighty-Five."
"Can you really save Fontaine?"
Listening to everything Su Ran had said, Furina was beginning to doubt herself.
Can simply acting as the Hydro Archon really save Fontaine?
This business about the Hydro Dragon...
the Dragon Authority...she had absolutely no clues.
Compared to herself—who knew nothing yet still had to save Fontaine—this carefree fellow, who clearly seemed to know everything and yet wasn't worried in the slightest, actually looked far more reliable.
"Of course I can."
"But I don't need to waste my time doing it."
"Because..."
"...aren't you here?"
The more casually he spoke,
the more Furina found herself believing him.
"...Then..."
"Why don't you tell me your plan?"
"There are always multiple ways to solve a problem."
"Listening to more ideas might help save some effort."
Furina finally softened her attitude.
Even so, she still refused to reveal her own secret.
No matter how incredible Su Ran's solution sounded, she only dared consider it a backup plan.
"At its core, Fontainians dissolve because of a flaw in their genes."
"A slight genetic adjustment solves everything."
"I can create a completely harmless gas and spread it throughout Fontaine."
"Anyone who inhales it..."
"...will become immune to dissolution."
Furina nodded.
A great plan.
Unfortunately...she had no idea how to make such a gas.
"And what about the rising seawater?"
"Dissolution isn't the only problem."
"There's still that."
"I once built a device."
"It can hold several hundred billion worlds."
"When the seawater rises..."
"...just store all of it inside."
Furina felt even more depressed.
Is there...
...anything at all that I can actually do?
Why do you sound infinitely more like a god than I do?
"...Where's that device?"
If she could just get it, then Fontaine would never be flooded.
"Oh."
"I gave it away."
"...You gave away something that valuable?!"
Furina practically launched herself off the bed.
A device capable of containing several hundred billion worlds?
How absurdly powerful was that?!
Not only did Furina suddenly want to hit someone...
even Focalors, inside the mirror, wanted to jump out and kick him.
Su Ran tilted his head.
"Valuable?"
"I just made it on a whim."
"It only took a few hours."
"...Then the materials must've been incredibly rare."
"You probably can't make another one, right?"
At this point, Furina could only comfort herself that way.
"I just gathered the materials locally."
"They're not rare."
"Compared to the materials..."
"...my intelligence is the truly valuable part."
"After all..."
"I'm the one capable of making something like that."
The moment he said that, Furina stopped trying to act reserved.
"Stop staring at that stupid mirror already!"
"What's so fascinating about it?"
She grabbed Su Ran and pulled him away.
Then, with unprecedented seriousness, she asked once more—
"This time..."
"...you're really not making all of this up, are you?"
—------------------------------
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