Not long after Su Ran left with the two Arlecchinos, Neuvillette's hospital room welcomed another visitor.
It was Furina.
As Fontaine's Chief Justice, Neuvillette was indispensable.
If his severe injuries delayed the nation's trials, the entire Fontaine judicial system would suffer a tremendous blow.
The Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale might still be there,
but without Neuvillette,
Fontaine's justice would unquestionably be missing something.
"I heard you were seriously injured and hospitalized, so I came to visit immediately!"
"See?"
"I'm such a considerate superior!"
"I must be the first person to visit you!"
Furina beamed proudly, her smile nearly reaching her ears.
"...Unfortunately," Neuvillette replied flatly,
"you're not the first."
"You're the fourth."
"Three people already came before you."
"...Huh?"
"There was actually someone faster than me?"
Furina's expression instantly fell.
She'd wanted to surprise him.
Instead...she was late.
"Before you arrived," Neuvillette explained, "the Genius came."
"He brought Arlecchino..."
"...and a child."
"...Oh..."
Furina absentmindedly sat beside the bed.
Her gaze drifted toward the fruit basket on the bedside table.
Then—she suddenly froze.
"...Wait!"
"You mean the Genius?"
"The one who created that dream in Inazuma..."
"...and caused chaos in Liyue?"
She nearly fainted from fear.
Even her legs began trembling.
Watching her reaction, Neuvillette couldn't help admiring her acting.
Had he not personally witnessed everything the previous night, he might truly have believed Furina had never met the Genius.
As expected of Focalors.
Her performance was flawless.
"...Haven't you already met him?"
"The injuries I'm suffering now..."
"...were inflicted by him."
Hearing that, Furina became even more frightened.
Even Neuvillette couldn't defeat the Genius?
Was Fontaine doomed?
"H-He..."
"He's far too unreasonable!"
"And when exactly have I ever met him?!"
He'd actually beaten Fontaine's Chief Justice badly enough to send him to the hospital?!
"...But don't worry, Neuvillette!"
"I'll make sure justice is served!"
Though terrified, Furina still forced herself to make the promise.
"..."
Had Neuvillette not seen Su Ran climb out of Furina's bedroom window with his own eyes,
he might actually have believed her.
"Furina..."
"Your acting truly is remarkable."
"...Uh..."
"Thank you?"
She didn't understand why he was praising her acting at a moment like this.
Still, she accepted the compliment.
After all, her acting had been honed over five hundred years.
She was so convincing that even pretending to be confused looked completely genuine.
Yet Neuvillette couldn't shake the feeling...that she was acting for him.
"Furina."
"The Genius already told me about the prophecy."
"He said it's real."
"And that it will soon unfold in Fontaine."
Having reached this point, Neuvillette no longer wished to dance around the issue.
Surely, Furina knew far more about the prophecy than he did.
"...He really said that?"
At once, fear returned to Furina's face.
She had never found any clues regarding the prophecy.
Her investigations had yielded nothing.
Yet Fontaine's sea level truly had been rising year after year.
"...I understand."
"Don't worry about the prophecy."
"I've already prepared everything."
"When the time comes..."
"...you and all my people only need to watch."
Without even saying goodbye, Furina hurried out of the room.
Watching her disappear, Neuvillette fell into deep thought.
"...Furina."
"What exactly are you hiding?"
Why was it that even the Fatui Harbingers knew these things...
while he, who had faithfully served Fontaine for five hundred years as Chief Justice, knew nothing?
Or...was it simply because, as an elemental dragon, he wasn't trusted?
Walking back toward the House of the Hearth with the children,
Su Ran could clearly feel Arlecchino's gaze lingering on him.
"If there's something you want to ask..."
"...just ask."
"I can't promise I'll answer everything."
Now that he'd given permission, Arlecchino didn't hesitate.
"...Why did you injure Neuvillette?"
"Because I felt that if I didn't teach him a lesson..."
"...he wouldn't understand the gap between our strength."
"I was worried he'd end up causing me trouble."
...Just because of that?
The Genius really was nothing like she'd imagined.
He acted entirely on impulse.
Working alongside a colleague like him...
was genuinely dangerous.
"...How much longer until the prophecy comes to pass?"
After visiting the space station and witnessing him solve Navia's condition,
Arlecchino had developed genuine trust in his abilities.
Though he often behaved frivolously, a Genius undoubtedly possessed the power to turn the tide.
"When a certain blond traveler finishes dealing with Sumeru..."
"...and reaches Fontaine."
"That's about when."
Since Su Ran wasn't particularly interested in Sumeru, he'd never gone there personally.
But...after replacing Scaramouche with someone far more intelligent—the Doctor—had Lumine ended up getting completely stuck?
The answer...was yes.
Once the Doctor became the enemy, the situation proved far more troublesome than fighting Scaramouche.
The Doctor might be arrogant, but he wasn't nearly as reckless or overconfident.
He'd realized that Greater Lord Rukkhadevata had returned.
Had there only been Lesser Lord Kusanali, he wouldn't have been overly concerned.
But with Greater Lord Rukkhadevata back...
everything changed.
After all, she was a god who had lived for thousands of years.
When it came to strategy and planning, she far surpassed Kusanali.
As a result, the confrontation reached a complete stalemate.
Poor Lumine suffered the most.
Since neither side could gain a decisive advantage, she was forced to run around constantly,
trying to create openings for Rukkhadevata's faction.
"So she really is stuck..."
Su Ran sighed.
Still, it didn't matter.
Even if Fontaine's story unfolded without Lumine...he alone was enough.
"...What happened?"
Arlecchino noticed the change in his expression.
"The blond traveler got stuck."
"She probably can't beat the Doctor in Sumeru."
"...You're the one who caused that too?"
"Yep."
"I only raised the difficulty a tiny little bit."
"Who knew she couldn't handle it?"
"I even brought Greater Lord Rukkhadevata back."
Su Ran sounded genuinely puzzled.
Was the Doctor really that formidable?
Even if neither Rukkhadevata nor Kusanali specialized in combat, with their overwhelming computational ability, they shouldn't have been losing to the Doctor.
"...Still."
"It doesn't matter."
"As long as I'm here..."
"...everything will be fine."
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