Fontaine Court—amid countless waters, this lone city stood supreme. The Palais Mermonia, which represented Fontaine's highest authority, was located right here in Fontaine Court, the very heart of the nation.
"Welcome, Lord Aotian, and honored Traveler."
The moment the aquabus docked, Lyney and Lynette stepped forward and greeted them respectfully.
"You two are with the Fatui?" Lumine put her hands on her hips.
The pair didn't look like ordinary Fatui soldiers at all. With looks like that, they were definitely gacha-pool material.
"Lynette and I are from the House of the Hearth. Father would like to meet you," Lyney said with a smile.
"Let's go say hello to the 'Servant' then." Koji had no objections—especially with Eula right at his side.
House of the Hearth.
Arlecchino sat on the sofa, one leg casually crossed over the other, and introduced herself. "Hello, Koji, Lumine. I am Arlecchino, Fourth of the Fatui Harbingers—the 'Servant.' To the children of the House of the Hearth, I am their 'Father.'"
She didn't address them by titles or codenames, just their actual names.
"Nice to meet you, Arlecchino. I have a question—do you happen to have three long-lost sisters?" Koji moved to stand beside Eula.
Arlecchino: "?"
Only then did she really notice it—this Eula did look an awful lot like her. The coloring and aura were different, but the facial features were surprisingly similar.
If she didn't know for a fact that she was an orphan, she might really have thought Eula was her own sister.
Lyney and Lynette both nodded quietly. When they'd gone to greet the group earlier, they'd already felt that Eula's face and figure were very similar to their Father's. They just hadn't dared say it out loud at the time.
"I don't have any connection to Eula," Eula said, her expression complicated as she looked at Arlecchino.
This was truly eye-opening—who would have thought she resembled the Fourth of the Fatui Harbingers so much?
"Hello, Miss Eula. Perhaps this is what you'd call fate. It's a pleasure to meet you," Arlecchino replied with a smile.
"Lawrence, is it? I've heard of them. A fallen noble house from Mondstadt."
Of course, she wasn't the type to judge people with tinted glasses.
Judging character was one of her specialties.
"Eula, if you ever went dark, would you turn into another Arlecchino?" Lumine couldn't resist teasing.
Both Eula and Arlecchino rolled their eyes at her.
Servant (internally): Should I just change my codename to "Dark Eula"…?
Still, Arlecchino had more or less figured out what kind of person Lumine was—shameless to the core, utterly unlike the other Harbingers.
Lyney and Lynette kept their heads lowered, feeling incredibly awkward, like they were sitting on pins and needles. Were they supposed to be listening to this?
"You two can go," Arlecchino said.
Noticing how uncomfortable they were, she waved them away.
The two bolted, not wanting to stay in the room a second longer.
"I truly have no relation to Miss Eula here. Honestly, I never thought I'd run into someone who looks this similar to me," Arlecchino sighed.
Eula nodded. The coincidence was almost too much.
"Anyway, let's get to the point. What do you think about the calamity in Fontaine's prophecy?" Arlecchino asked bluntly.
Lumine scratched her head. "I don't really know anything about that…"
"The prophesied disaster in Fontaine has something to do with Skirk here," Koji said, pointing at Skirk.
The Star-Devouring Whale had caused the water level of the Primordial Sea to change, so he wasn't wrong to say that.
"Oh?"
Arlecchino's gaze sharpened as she examined the expressionless woman, feeling a faint but undeniable sense of threat from her.
"Her student is Childe Tartaglia," Koji continued.
At the mention of a familiar name, Arlecchino's interest in Skirk clearly grew.
"I have heard Tartaglia talk about having a very powerful master. I didn't expect that master to be you," Arlecchino said.
"Your power is very unusual. It isn't ordinary elemental strength," Skirk remarked, looking at Arlecchino's hands.
Arlecchino only smiled, saying nothing.
Her bloodline truly was special. Long ago, there had been a dynasty known as Crimson Moon, and she was one of its descendants. Flowing through her veins was a power that bordered on a curse—the ability to control an ancient crimson lunar flame.
Of course, that power wasn't without a price. It constantly corroded her from within, and one day it would bring about her own end.
"Back to business. Is Fontaine's crisis actually related to you?" Arlecchino asked.
"If you're talking about the root cause of the rising Primordial Sea, then yes. It's indeed related to the pet my master raised—the Star-Devouring Whale," Skirk admitted with a nod.
Arlecchino's mouth twitched. A pet causing the calamity foretold in Fontaine's prophecy—was this a joke?
"A whale, huh… I recall Tartaglia has a move where he uses elemental power to form a giant whale," Arlecchino mused.
Skirk nodded. "Ajax's technique is indeed modeled after the Star-Devouring Whale. His talent is excellent, and he has a heart unafraid of battle."
Arlecchino agreed completely. After all, Tartaglia had challenged every single Harbinger to a fight at some point. Most of them simply ignored him—they weren't battle maniacs like he was.
"Since you know the cause, you're not planning to stop us, are you?" Arlecchino asked.
Skirk's strength alone was impressive enough. The master of the Star-Devouring Whale had to be on a completely different level.
Skirk shook her head. "No."
"…I see. Then this is Fontaine's problem to handle ourselves. Looks like I'll have to pay a visit to the Hydro Archon," Arlecchino said. When she mentioned the Archon, a strange, unreadable smile appeared on her face.
She had always been suspicious of Fontaine's superstar, the Hydro Archon Furina. There was a jarring sense of dissonance about her.
She'd originally planned to look for a chance to test the Archon. Now that she knew the true source of the crisis, that no longer seemed necessary—once the danger fully surfaced, Furina would definitely have to act.
Furina (somewhere off-screen): …I'm the real Star-Devouring Whale?
"Furina doesn't really have much power. She's only the Hydro Archon's 'persona.' Aside from living a bit longer than the average human, she doesn't have the power a god should. You're better off looking for the Hydro Dragon King, Neuvillette," Koji said bluntly, dropping the bomb.
Rather than let Arlecchino toy with Furina, it was better to simply tell her the truth.
"Oh?"
This piece of intel genuinely surprised Arlecchino—but it also neatly explained the sense of mismatch she'd always felt.
So the Hydro Archon had split herself. Furina was only the personality. The true divine authority, Focalors, should be hidden in the shadows, quietly working to resolve Fontaine's crisis.
"So you're saying Miss Furina has been playing the role of the Hydro Archon, as a human, for five hundred years?" Arlecchino said slowly.
Thinking about it, she couldn't help but feel genuine respect. Furina might lack divine power, but to stand shoulder to shoulder with gods for centuries in nothing but a mortal body, enduring the erosion of time and strain on her mind—that was worthy of admiration.
"Lyney, have the children make a delicious cake. When the time comes, we'll pay a visit to Lady Furina," Arlecchino instructed.
Lyney still had no idea what was being discussed inside the room, but a command from Father was something he would always carry out obediently.
Koji wasn't surprised. The Hydro Archon went out every day; where she liked to go and what she liked to eat were easy enough to learn.
And Furfur's favorite food was, of course, little cakes.
(End of Chapter)
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