"No need to thank me. It was just a small favor."
Nolan replied modestly, then took the initiative to bring up the matter of completely resolving the prophecy crisis.
Focalors took this very seriously. After sensing that she had mostly recovered, she too wanted to finally bring to completion the resolve she had held onto for so long.
Centuries of loneliness were at last coming to an end, and the ending had turned out to be unexpectedly beautiful and fulfilling.
Unable to suppress a trace of excitement, Focalors nodded and said,
"Let's return to Fontaine now. From my observations over the years, Neuvillette has already formed a deep bond with Fontaine. He won't refuse us."
"Mm. No rush though—let's have breakfast first."
Nolan nodded. His thoughts were the same as hers.
Focalors had no objections. As a soul, whether she ate or not made no difference anyway.
But after hundreds of years, she had long forgotten what food tasted like. Since they were already at the final stage, there was no need to rush—relaxing a little and savoring the taste of food sounded nice.
The two of them walked out of the room together.
After eating the breakfast that Noelle, Lumine, and the others had prepared early in the morning, they used Interstellar Travel to teleport to Fontaine City, arriving beside Furina at the Palais Mermonia.
"Little Furina, we finally meet face to face."
Focalors smiled as she looked at the adorable girl who shared her appearance, though their outfits differed slightly.
Previously, although Nolan had granted them the ability of Interstellar Travel, the two had not met in person in order to prevent any unforeseen accidents.
They had only spoken within their hearts, easing the loneliness of centuries spent guarding a secret.
Now that the separation of authority was complete, there was no longer any need to hide.
"Hmph, it's been hundreds of years—I'm not little at all anymore!"
Furina's eyes reddened as she crossed her arms and turned slightly to the side, speaking with dissatisfaction.
"You've worked hard. From now on, I'll help share the burden."
Focalors gently pulled Furina into an embrace.
"Wait—what do you mean, share the burden? Isn't my mission already over?"
Furina froze for a moment. Her fair face showed both anger and grievance.
She had played the role of the Hydro Archon for hundreds of years, constantly on guard against exposing her true identity, living every day on edge. It had been utterly exhausting.
Why did it have to continue even now? Furina wanted a life that truly belonged to herself. She didn't want to play anyone's role anymore!
"I'm sorry, Furina. After several hundred years, in the hearts of the people—
"The one who loves the spotlight, enjoys the praise of her citizens, and shines as Fontaine's brightest and most dazzling star… you are the true Hydro Archon to them."
Focalors gently stroked Furina's back, continuing in a soothing voice,
"I can't possibly imitate your personality. If the change were too sudden, the people of Fontaine would start wondering whether something had gone wrong with their Archon.
"When that happens, all kinds of speculation and suspicion would arise, unsettling the public."
"But… but…"
Furina clenched her hands against Focalors' back. She desperately wanted to shout that she didn't want to be the Hydro Archon anymore, yet she knew Focalors was right.
The sense of responsibility in her heart made the words impossible to say.
She had played the role of the Archon, only to step down and have the real Archon play her instead—it all felt strangely backward.
"Don't worry. Leave all the duties of the Hydro Archon to me. You only need to appear when public appearances are required. The rest of the time, you can do whatever you want."
Focalors said gently.
"…Mm, alright." Furina thought it over and, having no other choice, could only agree. Bearing the responsibility of the Hydro Archon alone was indeed exhausting.
But if the true Hydro Archon, Focalors, were to share the burden, and she herself only needed to appear on important occasions, then it didn't seem so bad after all.
"Let's go. We'll go see Neuvillette. Come to think of it, I really owe him an apology too—after tricking him into coming to Fontaine to serve as the Chief Justice, I basically vanished."
Focalors released Furina, smiling as she spoke.
"What a woman burdened with sins…" Hearing that, Nolan muttered quietly to himself.
Making Furina play the Hydro Archon for several hundred years, then deceiving Neuvillette into coming to Fontaine—how could that not count as grave sins?
"What are you mumbling about?"
Focalors shot him an annoyed glare, even though what he said wasn't entirely wrong.
"Ahem, I'll go ahead first." Nolan cleared his throat, pushed open the door to the reception hall, and headed toward the Chief Justice's office across the way.
Focalors gave a light snort and followed along with Furina.
Outside, they ran into Clorinde, who had just arrived for work. When she saw two Lady Furinas walking out together, her eyes widened slightly.
"Um—Clorinde, why don't you come with us too? You'll understand what's going on in a bit."
Furina was startled at first upon seeing Clorinde, but then realized there was no longer any need to hide things—at least not from her. So she invited her along.
"Yes, Lady Furina." Clorinde nodded, casting a curious glance at Focalors.
Before long, the group arrived at the door to the Chief Justice's office.
Nolan politely knocked. After hearing a "Please come in" from inside, he pushed the door open and entered.
"You—"
Neuvillette was somewhat surprised to see Nolan. The words "have time to come here" hadn't even left his mouth yet—
When he noticed the two identical Hydro Archons following behind him.
For a moment, even he, the Hydro Dragon Sovereign, felt a trace of confusion. After thinking for a second, he said,
"Lady Furina, is this some sort of clone technique you're practicing?"
"Of course not." Furina rejected the idea offhand, then looked at Focalors. "You explain it yourself."
"Mm."
Focalors knew that only she could explain things clearly. She took a couple of steps forward and said with a light smile, "Long time no see, Neuvillette."
Hearing that familiar tone, Neuvillette—who had been writing documents—paused, then set his pen down. He looked at Focalors with a complicated expression.
"So it was you."
When Focalors had first invited him to Fontaine, she spoke in exactly this manner. But for some reason, her personality had changed drastically afterward.
Back then, he had only recently been born, still ignorant of human hearts. He hadn't known Focalors for long and didn't truly understand her.
As such, he hadn't suspected anything. Later, after getting to know Furina for a long time, he assumed that was simply her personality and felt nothing was amiss.
Now, seeing Focalors—the one who had originally invited him to Fontaine—standing here again, Neuvillette wasn't foolish. He more or less understood what was going on.
If there were two of them, then everything made sense.
"I'm very sorry for hiding certain things from you. Now, let me explain everything."
Focalors slowly began recounting to everyone present her plan to save Fontaine.
(End of Chapter)
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