After everyone’s roadblock robbery… no, it was a roadblock interception, the owner successfully retrieved his wallet.
“Paimon: So, she ran away?”
“Lyney: Yes, it’s a shame we didn’t catch her in the end. She threw something on the ground to attract my attention, and I lost sight of her in an instant.”
“Lynette: This thief’s skills are excellent, a bit beyond our expectations.”
“Qixuan: Now that the little interlude is over, let’s hurry to Fontaine.”
Everyone boarded the aquabus to Fontaine and even met Charlotte, a famous journalist from Fontaine, on the boat. During their casual chat, they learned about a long-standing troublesome case in Fontaine: the Damselette Disappearance Case. As they chatted, they arrived in Fontaine.
“Charlotte: Well, bye-bye. If you get a chance next time, you must come to the Steam Bird News Agency to find me. And Miss Qixuan, I really love your stories. If they’re adapted into a serialized novel, they’ll definitely be a huge hit!”
“Qixuan: Thank you. I’ll definitely go if I have time.”
“Lumine: Bye-bye.”
Charlotte left.
“Paimon: By the way, where are we going next?”
“Lyney: If you don’t mind, how about coming to my place first? After all, the materials I collected are still with me.”
“Qixuan: I’d like to visit Fontaine first. Why don’t you two go ahead?”
“Paimon: (Suspicious gaze) You’re not going to sneak off and cause more trouble behind our backs, are you?”
“Qixuan: Paimon~~”
“Paimon: Uh-ah-ah, alright, alright, I get it, I get it. Let’s go, Lumine.”
Lumine was still a bit worried before leaving, but Qixuan told her it was fine, I’m just going to stroll around.
After everyone left, Qixuan looked in one direction and then set off.
… … … … …
At Lyney’s doorstep.
“Lyney: This is my temporary residence! Eh? Freminet! So you’re home. Where did everyone go? I have a few friends I want to introduce to everyone.”
“Freminet: Ah, Lyney, Lynette… They just left a little while ago…”
“Lyney: Is that so? Hmm… Father is returning from Sumeru soon, so everyone must be getting busy, right? It can’t be helped.”
“Oh, right, you two, this is my younger brother, Freminet. He’s a very skilled diver.”
“Freminet: H-hello.”
“Paimon: Hello, I’m Paimon! This is Lumine, and we have another companion who will arrive a bit later because he has something to do.”
“Lumine: Hello, Lyney’s family is quite large.”
“Lyney: Haha…”
“Freminet: Um… Lyney, c-could you come here for a moment…”
“Lyney: What’s wrong, Freminet? Do you have something to tell me?”
“Lumine: Um, you two talk first.”
Lumine and Paimon turned their backs.
“Freminet: It’s like this…”
Freminet briefly explained the situation.
“Lyney: Alright, I understand.”
“Paimon: What happened?”
“Lyney: Nothing, just a bit of family business. Sorry about that. Oh, right, Freminet, Lumine and I collected some more materials for the Magic Pocket. How are things on your end?”
“Freminet: Mm, I collected a lot underwater. I was just about to give them to you.”
“Lyney: As expected of you, underwater work is more efficient. Let’s hurry and send them to the workshop.”
Just then, the sky suddenly turned gloomy, and it started to rain shortly after.
“Paimon: Ugh, it was sunny just now. Fontaine’s weather is so strange.”
“Lyney: Hehe, it can’t be helped. On days when there’s a trial at the Opera Epiclese, these sudden showers often appear. But don’t worry, it’ll stop soon.”
“Freminet: …”
“Paimon: Hmm? What’s wrong, Freminet?”
“Freminet: I usually believe another legend. It’s said that Fontaine once had a Hydro Dragon. Although no one knows where it went now, every time it cries, it rains.”
“When I was very, very young, my mom told me that if I wanted the rain to stop so I could go out and play, I should shout at the sky, ‘Hydro Dragon—Hydro Dragon—Don’t cry anymore!’”
“Lumine: Could it be Fontaine’s elemental dragon?”
“Paimon: If it really is an elemental dragon, it’s not surprising for it to have such power. Then I’ll try it too!”
“Hydro Dragon! Hydro Dragon! Don’t cry anymore!”
But the rain continued to fall, seemingly without effect.
(Paimon: Do you know who I am? How rude.)
(Neuvillette: You’ll get your just desserts when you come to Fontaine.)
… … … … … … …
“Lyney: Haha, it didn’t quite work, did it? Legends are just legends after all.”
“Lynette: Brother, I think if a magician understood romance more, they might be more popular.”
“Lyney: Ahaha, my apologies… It might also be because we don’t know the Hydro Dragon at all, and the Hydro Dragon’s mood wouldn’t improve from being comforted by strangers.”
After some time, the rain stopped.
“Lyney: I didn’t expect this rain to last so long. It’s getting a bit late… Oh no!”
“Paimon: Does Lyney still have something to do?”
“Lyney: Yes, it’s about some preparations for the Opera Epiclese performance. I need to find a way to catch today’s last aquabus.”
“On the day of the performance, you can take the aquabus to Erinnyes. The Opera Epiclese is on that island. I’ll have Lynette meet you at the fountain plaza in front of the Opera Epiclese.”
“Freminet: Um… hmm, are you leaving now?”
“Lyney: What’s wrong, Freminet? I’m a bit rushed… Oh, I understand. You’re too shy to deliver the Magic Pocket materials, right?”
“I wonder if I could trouble Lumine to make another trip and help deliver these materials to Beaumont’s workshop, to the owner there. Freminet, he, um… is a bit introverted, and the owner of that shop is very talkative. Freminet has always been quite afraid of her.”
“Lumine: Oh~~ I get it, I get it. Just leave it to us.”
“Paimon: What do you get?”
“Freminet: Um… I’m really sorry. I’ll find a way to repay you two.”
“Paimon: Ah, you don’t have to be so serious about it. It’s just a small favor.”
Paimon and Lumine went to deliver the materials, while Qixuan on the other side waited for a long time at her destination until the last person left the Opera Epiclese.
“Qixuan: Finally, everyone’s gone.”
She then walked in, passing directly through doors and such. At this moment, the Opera Epiclese was no longer as lively as it was during the day. The sounds of noise, debates, and trials had all vanished without a trace. The entire Opera Epiclese was left with only Qixuan’s footsteps.
Tap, tap, tap.
Qixuan walked onto the stage of the Opera Epiclese and then looked up at the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale, which was also the hidden location of the Hydro Archon Focalors. The machine emitted a faint blue light, and Qixuan simply looked at her.
One second… two seconds… three seconds… no reaction at all.
Just as Qixuan was about to use some means to get this “Big Focalors” to come out and chat, the sound of a door opening came from afar. Qixuan looked at the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale twice more, then sent a message into it: “Focalors, if you want to change Fontaine’s prophecy by another method, meet me by Fontaine Lake tomorrow night.”
She then directly teleported back near Lyney’s temporary residence. After Qixuan left, the person who opened the door pushed it open and entered. A tall figure gradually appeared under the blue light of the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale. It was Neuvillette, who had come to retrieve the day’s documents. After collecting the documents, he looked back at the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale. He always felt something strange here, but perhaps he was overthinking it, so he left.
Now there was truly no one left, and the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale flickered twice before returning to its original faint blue light.
… … … … … …
Qixuan asked Lynette, who was still standing at the door, and then went to find Lumine and Paimon.
Meanwhile, at Beaumont’s workshop.
“Paimon: Boss~ Boss~?”
“Estelle: Oh, new faces, huh? Are you here to buy something, make something, or just want to chat with me?”
“Paimon: Uh… we’re just here to deliver materials. Look, they’re for making that… whatchamacallit…”
“Estelle: Magic Pockets. I can tell at a glance. I’ve custom-ordered several batches from here.”
“Lumine: Do I need to pay?”
“Estelle: No, no, they prepaid a lot of funds here. At the time, when I heard about the purpose of these Magic Pockets, I even wanted to give them a discount. But they insisted on paying the original price, saying that my business wasn’t easy. Hehe, they’re truly a group of both rich and kind-hearted people.”
“Paimon: So Lyney and his companions are that rich…”
“Estelle: I don’t know, maybe magicians in Fontaine earn a lot.”
“Paimon: By the way, Boss, does your workshop usually use machines like this to produce things? It feels so advanced.”
Inside the shop, a machine used for hammering refined iron was operating, feeling very convenient.
“Estelle: If there’s a machine, who would still use their hands? Not making good use of cutting-edge technology is a waste, and waste is a crime.”
“Paimon: Such a large machine, what exactly powers it?”
“Estelle: Well, if I were to directly explain the energy system to laypeople like you, it might be a bit complicated…”
Just then, Qixuan secretly hugged Lumine’s waist from behind.
“Lumine: Ah!”
“Paimon: Ah!!!”
“Estelle: Ah!!!”
“Qixuan: Am I that scary?”
“Paimon: Oh, it’s Qixuan-jie! You scared me to death! It’s all Lumine’s fault, suddenly yelling, making me follow along…”
“Lumine: When did Qixuan-jie come back?”
“Qixuan: I just came back. I asked Lynette where you were and came to find you.”
“Lumine: Don’t do that next time, you’ll scare people to death.”
“Qixuan: Then next time I’ll hug you openly?”
“Lumine: …When have you not hugged me? Every day when we stay outdoors or in my Serenitea Pot, you always…”
“Qixuan: Ahem! By the way, what were you talking about?”
“Paimon: The Boss was just explaining what kind of energy powers this big machine.”
“Estelle: Exactly, exactly. Simply put, the energy that Fontainians use daily in the city basically comes from Indemnitium, which is a type of energy generated by trials.”
“Paimon: Huh? Trials can also generate energy? What’s the principle behind that?”
“Estelle: Hmm… I don’t know exactly how to explain it. It’s probably like…”
“Qixuan: Fontainians believe in absolute justice. This is the faith of Fontainians, right?”
“Estelle: That’s right, that’s right. This young lady is absolutely correct. And the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale collects people’s faith and converts it into energy for all of Fontaine to use.”
“Lumine: The power left by the gods is also feeding back to the people of Fontaine.”
“Paimon: The Hydro Archon is truly amazing. But then again, faith is really something magical.”
“Lumine: Gods gain power through faith.”
“Paimon: Oh, right! The Hydro Archon uses this machine to convert the power generated by faith into energy for all of Fontaine to use. Now there’s no need to worry about energy problems.”
“Estelle: Although this concept and idea you mentioned are somewhat new to me, they sound very reasonable. And… besides Indemnitium, there’s an energy called Ousia and Pneuma energy.”
“Its generation doesn’t rely on the power of the gods, but this energy itself is very unstable and still cannot be widely used for civilian purposes.”
Just then, a group of local Fontainian socialites arrived.
“Toung: Not working hard to earn money, but chatting with others again, Boss? How about a chat with me?”
“Estelle: You… why are you here again? I told you I’d definitely pay back the money I borrowed from your Capulet Merchant Guild next month. Why are you still pestering me?”
“Toung: Who knows if you’ll run away by the end of this month? Today, I need to take back at least fifty percent… no, seventy percent.”
“Estelle: You…”
“Paimon: It seems this workshop isn’t doing so well. Anyway, we’ve already given her the materials. It’s none of our business, so let’s quietly slip away.”
“Lumine: Hmm, it sounds like a normal debt relationship.”
“Qixuan: Not necessarily. Look, there’s someone we know.”
As soon as Qixuan finished speaking, a familiar voice came.
“Childe Tartaglia: Hey, hey, before you get busy collecting debts, why don’t you settle your own accounts first?”
“It’s one thing for the Capulet Merchant Guild to compete with our Northland Bank for business, but they even have bad debts with the Northland Bank. Cutting in line… how about I settle things first?”
“Paimon: It’s Childe!”
“Toung: People from the Northland Bank? We said we’d definitely pay it back next month. Why are you still pestering us…”
“Lumine: …”
“Qixuan: Hahaha.”
“Childe Tartaglia: Eh? It’s Lumine, Paimon, and… uh, Miss Qixuan. Hehe, I didn’t expect to meet you in Fontaine.”
“Paimon: We didn’t expect you to be here either. Why aren’t you staying at home in Snezhnaya? Why did you run off to Fontaine again?”
“Lumine: So many chance encounters today.”
“Childe Tartaglia: Hahaha, it’s a long story. I’ve been in Fontaine for a while now, and life has been quite boring.”
“Now that I’ve met you, it must be fate, right? Not only do I have old friends with me, but it’s you guys, who always cause trouble wherever you go.”
“Qixuan: Can I take that as a compliment?”
“Childe Tartaglia: Hahaha, from any angle, life is probably about to get interesting.”
“Paimon: We don’t really like that kind of interesting you’re talking about. It’s better for the journey to go smoothly.”
“Lumine: Actually, I also like a bit of excitement.”
“Qixuan: Really? I have something good for you tonight.”
“Paimon: … … … I’m tired.”
“Toung: Ahem… Um, Northland Bank guy, did you forget something?”
“Childe Tartaglia: Don’t interrupt. Meeting old friends like this is very rare.”
“Toung: You guy, you’re the one who came to collect debts from us, and now you want us to stand aside and wait for you to chat… Listen up, we’re paying you back right now! Come here!”
“Childe Tartaglia: I said don’t interrupt… Oh, right, Lumine, last time when Tonia and Teucer went ice fishing, Teucer said… And Tonia really liked the gift Miss Qixuan gave her.”
“Toung: Hey! You, you, you… don’t go too far! Brothers, get him!”
“Lumine: Sigh, they’re in for it…”
… … … … … …