===✧✦✧===
[Fischl, recognizing the wanderer she had encountered before, elegantly flipped her hair and declared, "Ah! 'Tis thee, the vagrant of Inazuma. Once more, our paths intertwine."]
Mona, sensing something amiss, quickly rushed between the Traveler and Fischl.
["The Prinzessin was just—Huh?"]
Before Fischl could react, Mona had already cast a hydro teleportation spell, whisking everyone away.
Scaramouche frowned, his tone darkening. ["Last time, with the Millelith present, it was inconvenient to act against the savior of a neighboring nation. But now that we've crossed paths again by chance, I thought I might as well settle this..."]
An illustration showed Scaramouche's large hat—no, rather, his cool pose—with the caption: "The Sixth of the Fatui Harbingers—Scaramouche."
["Who was that mage just now? She shouldn't know me... Does she possess some kind of 'sight'?"]
His tone and demeanor shifted sharply, shedding his previous gentleness. Now, he perfectly matched the stereotypical image of a Fatui Harbinger.
Readers sighed in relief, their brows relaxing as they retracted their earlier comments about his kindness.
Scaramouche pondered briefly before commanding, ["Soldiers!"]
The moment he spoke, Fatui operatives emerged from the shadows like a dark army, kneeling on one knee.
["Go and deal with those—"
Before he could finish, a "Meteor" streaked across the sky overhead.
[Another Fatui agent reported, "Sir! Another anomaly has appeared. This meteorite is the largest one yet."]
[Scaramouche considered for a moment. "Change of plans. The top priority remains the collection and study of the meteorites."]
[A kneeling Fatui operative spoke up, "Sir, leave the task of hunting down those three brats to me."]
[Scaramouche shot him a glance. "...Did you not hear what I just said? When have I ever granted you the right to act on your own?"]
To emphasize Scaramouche's imposing aura, Lucian drew every illustration of him from a low angle, concealing his height while making his presence loom as tall as a three- or four-story building.
===✧✦✧===
Meanwhile, Mona had teleported the group not too far away, but at least they had shaken off pursuit.
Mona explained to the Traveler and the others that even the simplest divination revealed their pursuer was a "Fatui Harbinger"—a force not to be underestimated.
[Oz: "Could he possibly be stronger than the rare astrological prodigy, Lady Mona?"]
Mona, with her prideful nature, couldn't let that slide and immediately retorted.
["W-Who said that?! He's only slightly stronger than me in combat! In terms of astrology, he's nowhere near my level!"]
"Slightly stronger, huh..." Scaramouche scoffed.
While Signora had returned to Snezhnaya to report, he remained in Inazuma, allowing him to continue reading.
He had encountered that astrologist Mona before—she was skilled, but the gap between them was far more than "slightly." After all, Mona wasn't primarily a combatant.
Still, this astrologist Mona knew group teleportation, just like Lucian.
Was escape ability some kind of inherited trait among prophets?
Did every prophet's master first teach their disciples how to flee? Were they worried about getting beaten up after making prophecies?
===✧✦✧===
Returning to the story, the group speculated about the Fatui's presence. While Mona was still analyzing, Paimon spoke up first.
["Could it be... these meteorites were caused by the Fatui?"]
[Mona: "Paimon! How dare you steal my line?!"]
It seemed Paimon's habit of copying others extended even to stealing dialogue.
[Paimon: "Pulling a star from the sky is way too exaggerated."]
Zhongli: Indeed. Far too exaggerated.
Fischl, too, felt the Fatui were dangerous. Concerned that Mona and the Traveler might get into trouble if they continued investigating, she said to the Traveler:
["Herald of the Stars, thou art truly my most excellent retainer! I shall dispatch my subordinates to shield thee from the encroaching darkness."]
[Oz added, "For example... me."]
Indeed, Fischl had no other subordinates besides Oz.
No one else was willing to play along with her—though in the future, she'd have Mona and Bennett keeping her company.
No wonder she was so eager to go on adventures with Bennett. While part of it was concern for him, another part was simply because Bennett was genuinely willing to indulge her.
Mona's pride flared up again as she crossed her arms and declared:
["Fischl, are you looking down on me? I'm plenty strong, you know!"]
Fortunately, Fischl had poured all her emotional intelligence into Oz, who smoothly reassured:
["There is none more trustworthy than thee, my lady. However, the Prinzessin merely worries for thy safety."]
Low EQ: I'll send someone to protect you.
High EQ: I trust you, but I'm still worried about you.
===✧✦✧===
In the story, the group discovered a massive "Fate Star," but Fischl chose that moment to bid them farewell.
It turned out that the appearance of this Fate Star had caused even physically robust soldiers to fall into slumber, forcing Fischl to take over their guard duties.
[Fischl: "Traveler, farewell. Thou art a fine listener, willing to indulge me in conversation."]
["Usually, even within the Guild, many adventurers only partner with me to glean Oz's reconnaissance results from my words."]
["This brief journey was a splendid adventure. To part so suddenly... I, too—"
Fischl revealed her genuine feelings—she was reluctant to part with the Traveler.
After all, few people humored her as much as the Traveler did.
But Paimon, ever the low-EQ individual, bluntly asked:
["Huh? Fischl's way of speaking... isn't it a little different from usual?"]
In the story, Fischl was startled. Lucian thoughtfully included her inner monologue:
[Ack—ACK! I lost focus just now...]
In other words, she broke character.
Oz swiftly covered for her:
["What the Prinzessin means is that thou art both courageous and possessed of wisdom beyond mortal ken! Any enigma shall crumble before thee!"]
It was as if Oz and Fischl had swapped roles—Fischl's words were straightforward, while Oz's "translation" became incomprehensible.
No matter how high Oz's EQ was, readers understood—this Fischl was truly just immersed in her fantasies. She had been exposed.
Fischl covered her face with a book. How... how am I supposed to explain this to mortals now...?
But little Amy needn't have worried. Most people already knew her words were flights of fancy.
If anything, knowing her true thoughts and real self only made her more endearing, and people would play along with her even more.
After Amy's departure, the story reached its conclusion as Mona recounted the tale of the Fate Star.
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice-Over · Fischl: About the "Unreconciled Stars"
"Ahem, the final act of destiny hath been marred by fallacy, and Shikikan's blessed verses no longer ring true. The Prinzessin doth decree that such errors shall not repeat."