"Father, here's the cake we made."
Lyney came over carrying the cake baked at the House of the Hearth. Paimon licked her lips; it smelled amazing. It had to taste just as good.
At the House of the Hearth, some of the children loved making desserts. Their skills were in no way inferior to those of the highly rated patisseries outside.
Arlecchino glanced at Paimon. What a strange little creature. In all of Teyvat she had never seen anything of that species.
"Give the cake to me. You two stay here at the House of the Hearth," Arlecchino said, taking the cake.
When you visit someone, you naturally bring a gift. She was sure Furina would be interested in this cake.
Furina, somewhere in the future: You've moved me… with your sincerity.
...
Palais Mermonia.
Since a Harbinger had requested an audience, Furina, as the Hydro Archon, had no choice but to agree. She did, however, insist on calling Neuvillette over; otherwise she wouldn't feel safe.
"Lady Furina, I still have other matters to attend to. Can't you receive the Fatui Harbinger yourself?" Neuvillette said helplessly.
You're the Hydro Archon—are you really afraid of a single Fatui Harbinger?
Furina (internally): I really am.
Others might not see it clearly, but if she didn't even understand herself by now, then who would?
She was only playing the role of Hydro Archon. She didn't possess the power of a god.
She'd heard of the Harbingers. The closer they were to the top of the ranking, the stronger they were said to be.
"Neuvillette, the Harbingers are the top brass of Snezhnaya. It's only appropriate that you meet them too," Furina argued, quite reasonably on the surface.
Neuvillette fell silent for a moment, then nodded.
They didn't have to wait long before Koji and the others pushed open the doors and entered.
"Miss Furina, this is a cake made at the House of the Hearth. I hope you like it." Arlecchino said with a playful glint in her eye as she looked at Furina.
Furina's heart gave a heavy thump. Had Arlecchino already noticed something? Why did that gaze feel so probing?
"Lord Neuvillette, Hydro Dragon King."
Arlecchino nodded to Neuvillette. Being the one holding valuable information really was a wonderful feeling.
"…"
Neuvillette looked deeply at her. Very few people knew what he truly was.
"Miss Arlecchino, what business do you have with Lady Furina?" Neuvillette asked.
"Nothing much. I only wanted to discuss the calamity in Fontaine's prophecy. I've managed to obtain some useful information," Arlecchino replied with an easy smile.
"Really?!"
Furina leapt to her feet, all fear forgotten. Her eyes held only desperate hope.
Arlecchino couldn't help feeling a twinge of emotion. This "Hydro Archon" without divine power still cared so deeply about Fontaine.
Ah, gods… in the end, they were all beings who loved their people.
"Miss Furina, could I trouble you to show me the power of the Hydro Archon?" Arlecchino decided to tease her a little.
"Huh?"
Furina's gaze tore itself away from the cake, and visible panic flashed across her face.
She, a person with absolutely no power, was supposed to fight a Harbinger? Was this some kind of joke?
If they seriously sparred, it would immediately expose the fact that she had no divine power at all.
Neuvillette frowned. To tell the truth, he had always sensed something off about this Hydro Archon—many things just didn't line up.
"I'm only joking. As the Hydro Archon's persona, Miss Furina isn't suited for combat. I can understand that," Arlecchino said with a light laugh.
Furina's face went pale in an instant. She'd been exposed. Arlecchino knew who she really was.
A persona…
At those words, Neuvillette's expression shifted in sudden realization. No wonder he'd always sensed that strange discordance clinging to Furina. He'd never expected it to be something like this.
In that moment, everything fell into place.
Personality was easy enough to understand. But then… where was the god's true nature?
…The Oratrice!
The core adjudication mechanism of the Opera Epiclese—endowed with self-awareness and capable of delivering independent verdicts on its own. He had always believed it to be a man-made intelligence embedded within the machinery. Now it seemed far more likely that the Hydro Archon's godhood had been controlling the Oratrice all along.
What Arlecchino had said was almost certainly true; Furina's expression alone was proof enough.
What a dramatic twist. Furina was not actually the true Hydro Archon at all. You could say she was just one part of the Hydro Archon, and possessed none of a god's power.
"Lady Furina, do you know where the Hydro Archon's godhood is now?" Neuvillette asked.
Furina shook her head. She understood that the "her" inside the mirror was probably the Hydro Archon's godhood, but as for where that godhood resided, she had never been told.
"Furina, do you know anything about the plan that the Hydro Archon Focalors laid out?" Koji asked.
"I don't. I just followed her instructions and played the role of a Hydro Archon on the surface," Furina said. Now that she'd been exposed, she simply dropped the act.
From here on, it all depended on what Focalors had arranged.
She was still afraid, but alongside that fear came a lightness she'd never felt before. A weight lifted from her heart.
She had always worried that once she was exposed, everyone would look at her with cold eyes. But no one did. That, at least, let her breathe a little easier.
"To hold the role of Hydro Archon for five hundred years… Lady Furina, your will is truly astonishing," Neuvillette said, his eyes complicated as he looked at her.
There was genuine respect there, for one who had walked on the edge of danger.
As the Hydro Archon's persona, she had endured the erosion of five hundred years. That kind of mental fortitude was remarkable.
So even if Furina was only the Hydro Archon's persona, he felt no mockery toward her—only deeper admiration.
"It's… not that big a deal…"
Tears slipped from the corners of Furina's eyes before she even realized it. Over five hundred years, her mind had already been pushed to its limits. In the end, she was only human.
Someone might argue: over in another world, White Ai had gone through hundreds of millions of cycles and three great reincarnations.
But White Ai was called the most perfect of the Golden lineage. Her mental resilience had never been that of an ordinary person.
None of them were very good at comforting people, and no one quite knew what to say to Furina.
Koji thought for a moment, then brought Greater Lord Rukkhadevata over.
"I understand."
After Koji gave her a quick explanation, Rukkhadevata grasped the situation. She gently wrapped Furina in an embrace, soft hand stroking the Hydro persona's back.
"What a wonderful child. Five hundred years… you've worked so hard."
Compared to her own daughter's five-hundred-year confinement, Furina's five hundred years had been far more agonizing. Nahida, after all, was still a god; her divine nature could resist the erosion. Furina could only endure it head-on.
"God of Plants?" Neuvillette murmured thoughtfully.
As Hydro Dragon King, he could sense the gentle, benevolent aura Rukkhadevata gave off, a god connected directly to the world tree itself—a truly special being.
The lush vitality flowing from her enveloped Furina. Even though Furina had no idea who this was, she instinctively clung to that warmth.
It felt… just like a mother.
"Greater Lord Rukkhadevata really is incredible," Arlecchino said in awe.
She hadn't expected Koji to be able to invite this one over—the first Dendro Archon, the one all of Sumeru had worshiped. Even after more than five hundred years of absence, the people of Sumeru still hadn't forgotten her.
...
(End of Chapter)
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