[Kael arrived at the deepest part of the Fortress of Meropide.]
[This place held the Fortress of Meropide's most important secret.]
[Beneath the massive gate lay the location of the Primordial Seawater.]
[The pressure gauge needles swayed continuously.]
[Wriothesley observed, "The water pressure has been unstable lately."]
[Kael said nothing. He silently walked toward the gate.]
[He gently crouched down and pressed his hand against the gate.]
[The whale's body had grown even larger.]
[And unlike before, the whale seemed to have awakened from its slumber.]
[It was absorbing the Primordial Seawater much faster than before.]
["I will be staying here temporarily for the time being to stabilize the Primordial Seawater below."]
["Clorinde, before I leave the Fortress of Meropide, you must stay by the Hydro Archon's side and protect her."]
["Stay here?" Clorinde's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly.]
["Your Holiness, the environment here is terrible. Why must you insist on staying?"]
[Kael did not elaborate.]
[The reason he stayed was to learn of the whale's movements at the first possible moment.]
[Once the Primordial Seawater dried up, he would eliminate the whale at the first opportunity.]
[From then on, the Primordial Seawater would vanish completely.]
["Stop asking for now. Go to the Hydro Archon's side."]
["Also, send someone to Poisson with orders for the surrounding people to evacuate temporarily. Based on my observations of the waters, my process of stabilizing the Primordial Seawater will cause some of it to surge into Poisson."]
["Once everything stabilizes and the water recedes, they can return."]
["Of course, to avoid worrying the citizens, do not expose my actions. Say it was a conclusion drawn from geological surveys."]
[At this...]
[Wriothesley and Clorinde exchanged glances.]
[They did not quite understand what Kael wanted to do.]
[But they believed the Pope's words without question.]
Paimon: "Huh? Kael is going to live at the very bottom of the Fortress of Meropide? The environment there is the worst."
Wriothesley: "Mr. Kael should be staying directly in the control room, waiting until the All-Devouring Narwhal has absorbed all the Primordial Seawater."
Beidou: "That'll take a very, very long time."
Clorinde: "Not necessarily. That giant whale has an enormous appetite. It will absorb the Primordial Seawater clean very soon."
Navia: "Waaah, is His Holiness saving the people of Poisson once again? If that's the case..."
Lumine: "Then in the previous life, Silver and Melus wouldn't have died."
Charlotte: "Poisson, huh? After Mr. Kael suppresses the Primordial Seawater, it will flood Poisson. This way, people who were prepared in advance will also be on guard. Perhaps until everything ends, no one will remain in Poisson."
Mona: "If that's the case, wouldn't the prophecy really be unable to come? Impossible. The prophecy cannot be stopped."
Skirk: "Perhaps because of the variable of Mr. Kael, a Reincarnator, the prophecy has become invalid."
Kaeya: "I'm so jealous. Even the Heavenly Principles don't care about Mr. Kael?"
Paimon: "Don't forget, this guy once served as fodder for Celestia."
Lumine: "Paimon, what do you mean by fodder? Don't talk about Kael like that."
[House of the Hearth.]
[Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet stood respectfully behind Arlecchino after leaving the Fortress of Meropide.]
["Regarding the flooding of Poisson."]
["Before the flood occurred, Clorinde took people from the Marechaussee Phantom to Poisson."]
["Using the pretext of a topographical survey report, she ordered everyone to evacuate Poisson."]
["According to our observations, Clorinde took this matter very seriously. If anyone refused, the Marechaussee Phantom would arrest them directly."]
["This evacuation of Poisson was executed quite cleanly, taking less than an hour."]
[So rushed?]
[Arlecchino placed her hands beneath her chin. She pondered for a moment, then smiled. "I understand."]
["It must have been an order from His Holiness."]
[Speaking of Pope Kael, Lyney's eyes were still full of admiration.]
[Even though the other party had nearly pinned a false charge on him last time, he believed that Pope Kael's heart would always be with the people of Fontaine.]
["Is this the so-called method of His Holiness?" Arlecchino ultimately shook her head.]
["How many times can Fontaine be saved by relying purely on such methods?"]
["If the next flood occurs in the Court of Fontaine, what then?"]
[Hearing Arlecchino's muttering to herself.]
[Lyney spoke again. "Father, after the Poisson flood, an ancient ruin seems to have been washed out."]
["Also..."]
["Also what?" Arlecchino pressed.]
["Also, I learned through back channels that this flood cast a shadow over many people's hearts."]
["From what they said, this flooding of Poisson is precisely the beginning of the prophecy's opening."]
Arataki Itto: "Hey, I say, the people of Fontaine have something wrong with their brains. He saved them, and they still act like this."
Thoma: "You can't say that. Mr. Kael didn't explain it clearly to them."
Yae Miko: "And how do you want him to explain it? Should he say he's suppressing rioting Primordial Seawater? Then the people of Fontaine would be even more terrified."
Yae Miko: "Waaah, my poor Kael, damned if he does, damned if he doesn't."
Lumine: "Stop. You're crying at the wrong grave."
Paimon: "The ancient ruin of the prophecy stone tablets has appeared. I remember that in this life, it was at this time that everyone worked together to put Furina on trial."
Navia: "....."
Clorinde: "....."
Lyney: "Thinking about it now, I feel very sorry."
Dvalin: "Putting Furina on trial?"
Kamisato Ayaka: "Was it because her identity as a false god was exposed?"
Yelan: "That's too crazy."
Lumine: "Ugh! Sigh, I was also in the wrong here."
Navia: "Partner, what's wrong?"
Charlotte: "Traveler, do you know something we don't?"
Lumine: "Sigh. If it were up to me, I wouldn't want the previous life's trial to be stopped by Kael, because then..."
Everyone would be able to know Furina's truth.
Venti: "There's something fishy here. Do tell."
Zhongli: "And it's something you cannot speak of, something that can only wait to be exposed. It must be a major matter."
Charlotte: "Lumine, you really can't say?"
Lumine: "I'll talk about it later. If Furina ultimately cannot be put on trial, I'll give you all the details then."
Kael's home.
Furina looked at Lumine in disbelief.
She said shyly, "Hey, why are you saying these things in the livestream? There's no need. I feel pretty good right now."
Lumine snorted. "That won't do. After all, we'll likely be family in the future. You've suffered for five hundred years. It's time the people of Fontaine knew."
Did five hundred years of hardship need to be rewarded?
The answer was no.
Furina had never considered what kind of response her suffering deserved.
But Lumine saying so still made her very happy.
[Several more days passed.]
[During this time, Kael sat quietly before the gate.]
[He used his powerful perception to monitor the changes in the Primordial Seawater and the All-Devouring Narwhal.]
["Your Holiness."]
["Clorinde asked me to tell you that after the Poisson flood, an ancient ruin appeared."]
["Lord Neuvillette and the Traveler went to investigate."]
["After investigating, they sealed off the scene on the grounds that the ruin was filled with Primordial Seawater, forbidding anyone from approaching."]
[Ancient ruin?]
["Did they discover anything?"]
["I don't know. After Lord Neuvillette returned, he only requested the scene be sealed off and mentioned no discoveries within the ruin."]
[Then he must have discovered something.]
[Kael's brows furrowed slightly.]
[But at this moment, the most important thing was ending the prophecy.]
[Everything else could be set aside for now.]
["There shouldn't be any problems."]
[Kael smiled. "He may be very rigid, but..."]
["Lord Neuvillette is the Iudex of Fontaine. No one is more trustworthy than him."]
Paimon: "Oh no, Kael missed one thing, and Furina is going to suffer."
Kaeya: "Why do you say that? I look at Fontaine's Iudex and he looks like the very image of justice. How could there be a problem?"
Lumine: "Uh... can I even say this?"
Neuvillette: "Things have reached this point. There should be nothing that can't be said."
Aether: "You brat aren't the final boss, are you?"
Neuvillette: "It's better if I say this myself. At least in this life, I was the one who proposed that Lumine and the others put Furina on trial."
Venti: "Huh???"
Dvalin: "It's hard to imagine that you would betray Lady Furina."
Neuvillette: "Betrayal is too strong a word. I'm talking about this life. The prophecy was approaching. We discovered stone tablets in the ruin concerning the prophecy, but one tablet was missing. I went to question Furina, and she kept using strange excuses to evade me. I ultimately had no choice and proposed a way to force her to speak to Lumine."
Neuvillette: "That was to put Furina on trial, using the excuse that she wasn't a true god to force her to tell the truth about the prophecy. I didn't expect..."
Wriothesley: "I didn't expect you'd hit the nail on the head. She really isn't the Hydro Archon."
Neuvillette: "Sigh, this is a very unpleasant memory."
Kamisato Ayaka: "Rest assured, with Brother Kael here, everything will be fine. It's just a shame he trusts Neuvillette so much. The Neuvillette of the previous life shouldn't have disappointed him."
Lumine: "Wait, Ayaka, your way of addressing him is strange. When did that change?"
["I want to ask you something."]
["What exactly is Kael doing right now?"]
[Inside a luxurious office in the Court of Fontaine.]
[Neuvillette asked Furina with a stern expression.]
["His Holiness?"]
["That doesn't seem to be any of your concern."]
[Furina's indifferent attitude instantly made Neuvillette's face darken with anger.]
["He gave advance warning about the Poisson incident."]
["I believe he knew where the flood would erupt."]
["This time it was only Poisson. What if next time it's the Court of Fontaine?"]
["Are we supposed to evacuate everyone in the Court of Fontaine within a short time as well?"]
[Faced with Neuvillette's questioning full of rebuke.]
[Furina instantly lost her confidence.]
[She equivocated, "Y... you... what kind of attitude is that?"]
["Are you questioning Kael?"]
[Hearing this, Neuvillette's angry expression changed again, becoming somewhat helpless. "I mean this is not the correct way to resolve the prophecy."]
[The two argued for a few sentences.]
[Neuvillette continued, "The Traveler and I discovered three stone tablets concerning the prophecy in the ancient ruin."]
["They depict the scene of the previous Hydro Archon Egeria kneeling before Celestia, but because one tablet is missing, we don't know why the previous Hydro Archon looked so guilty kneeling before Celestia, as if begging for forgiveness."]
["Can you explain this matter to us so we have more information to deal with the prophecy's occurrence?"]
["I don't know. I have never seen these stone tablets." Furina refused flatly.]
["Then you should know why the previous Hydro Archon Egeria knelt before Celestia with a look of begging for forgiveness."]
["I don't know. Besides, every generation of Hydro Archon has their own secrets. It wouldn't be strange even if I didn't know."]
[Furina's few sentences made Neuvillette's face turn livid with anger.]
["Then I'll ask you one more time. What exactly is Kael doing? You should know this."]
["Him?" Furina was stunned. "His Holiness has a myriad of affairs to attend to daily. He doesn't report every single thing to me."]
["You are lying, Lady Furina."]
[A sudden voice interrupted the conversation between Furina and Neuvillette.]
[The two turned toward the voice. The one who had arrived was none other than the Fatui Harbinger, The Knave Arlecchino.]
["You... what are you doing here..."]
[The moment she saw The Knave, Furina panicked.]
["Please halt." Clorinde stepped forward, blocking Arlecchino.]
["No need to get excited, Fontaine's Champion Duelist. I am only here to ask for some information."]
[Arlecchino smiled, her gaze falling on Furina, who dared not look her in the eye. "Late some nights ago, I know His Holiness went to find you."]
["That same night, he also found me and told me not to overthink things. He would guarantee breaking the prophecy and saving Fontaine."]
["Since then, His Holiness has never appeared in public again. Even with the appearance of the ancient ruin, he did not go."]
["This is not reasonable."]
["I believe he must be doing something under your orders. Could you please tell us what method you are preparing to use to break the prophecy?"]
["Surely it's not truly as Lord Neuvillette said, making everyone leave their homeland."]
[Seeing Neuvillette and Arlecchino's aggressive postures.]
[Furina took a deep breath.]
["Fine, at this point, I can tell you Kael's plan. Kael will eliminate all the Primordial Seawater and save Fontaine."]
[Furina recounted the conversation she had with Kael that night.]
["An enormous whale capable of devouring Primordial Seawater?" Neuvillette's face changed instantly.]
[He seemed to have some impression of this whale.]
[Suddenly, Neuvillette seemed to remember something and said in panic, "That's the All-Devouring Narwhal. Even if all of Teyvat is destroyed, it won't be affected."]
[Arlecchino's pupils constricted violently upon hearing this. "What did you say? You let His Holiness handle that kind of dangerous matter alone?"]
["Furina! What were you thinking?"]
[In that instant, even Clorinde, who was ordered to protect Furina, looked at her with eyes full of horror.]
["I... I believe in him..."]
["Believe in him?" Arlecchino said furiously. "Since I can remember, big and small matters in Fontaine have been handled by the Pope."]
["The prophecy is drawing near, and you just cast aside everything you should be doing with a single 'I believe in him.'"]
["I can sense that the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale contains extremely terrifying power. What is going on with that power?"]
["Do you truly not know, or do you deliberately think the Pope should bear everything for the things you are responsible for?"]
["No... I don't... it's not like that..." Furina was so anxious she was about to cry.]
[She had not expected that even though things had taken a turn for the better regarding the prophecy.]
[Neuvillette and Arlecchino's reactions would be so intense.]
[What Furina found even more unexpected was that the giant whale was such a terrifying existence.]
["Are you the Hydro Archon or not?" Arlecchino stared at Furina solemnly.]
["Are you questioning my identity? I am of course..."]
["Furina!" Arlecchino said. "Do you dare accept my accusation and prove your identity?"]