It was just a guess... perhaps, perhaps the figure disguised as Charlotte is the same person who once shot me right in the head!
However... I let out a long breath... I still don't have strong enough evidence. It could be that the perpetrator is someone else.
I turned to Furina, her face showing deep shock as she stared at me intently, as if she couldn't believe what I had just said.
She was utterly astonished because I turned out to know her biggest secret, unknown to ordinary citizens - that she was just an ordinary human, not an Archon!
Furina parted her lips, about to say something, but closed them tightly again.
She looked confused until finally saying in a slightly trembling voice, "What do you mean?! I am the Archon!"
I shrugged, not too concerned about her exposed lie. I mean... I already knew you were human from the game's spoilers... of course I knew, silly!
"Oh really? You're a coward... and a cowardly Archon? How funny. Aren't the signs that you're just an ordinary human clear enough?"
At this point, I shifted my attention to the fake Charlotte figure, staring at her with narrowed, scrutinizing eyes.
"We'll discuss that later. I don't know what she's going to do to us."
"Why am I involved..." Furina muttered softly, more like whispering to herself. But I could hear her clearly.
Hey... I should be the one saying that.
Suddenly, the true fake Charlotte curved her lips wide, and her face slowly transformed into the form of...
a young girl!
She was the daughter of Mr. Gloomy-Face!
Hey... weren't you already dead? Weren't you sacrificed all this time?
Never mind the issue of life or death. The fact is, I know that at that time she had died and been brought back to life.
My assumption is that she lived through a ritual performed by Mr. Gloomy-Face to resurrect his wife. But it failed, and instead, his daughter came back to life!
Without any warning, the girl then threw something at us. A reddish, glowing iron ball, with vine-like roots coiling around its surface.
I acted quickly, trying to protect Furina with my own body.
Actually, I could have just run away immediately. Especially with my current Agility.
But, with this burden... I had to do anything to protect her!
Not long after, the object that was thrown fell to the ground.
Slowly, it emanated a blinding bright light!
***
Quest Name: Symphony of Silence
Category: Special Quest
Region: Fontaine
Description: In this quest, you are tasked with restoring harmony to Fontaine, which has been disrupted by chaotic energy. You need to find an ancient musical score believed to have the power to quell the chaos. To complete this task, you must track down and collect the "lost notes" scattered throughout the Fontaine region. After collecting all the notes, you will face the Melody Warden, the entity that guards the balance of energy in Fontaine. Using the power of the ancient score, you will harmonize the disrupted melody and restore balance to the region.
Another Special Quest... and this time, there's no deadline... I let out a breath. At least because there's no deadline, I should be grateful...
By the way, after that blinding light faded, I was surprised to find myself and Furina suddenly stranded in an unfamiliar place that I didn't recognize at all.
I turned to Furina with a puzzled look.
"Do you know where this is?" I asked her.
But Furina just shook her head gently and replied, "I don't know either."
I felt annoyed by her helplessness. Even though maybe a little information from her could have saved us in this critical situation!
With a slightly sarcastic tone, I commented, "Typical room dweller... touch some grass once in a while!"
Furina looked confused at my words. "What do you mean?" she asked again.
I remained silent, not intending to respond further. I shifted my attention to look around, observing the surroundings of this strange place.
Is this still in the Fontaine region? I wondered.
As an outsider, I had absolutely no extensive knowledge of this area because I had never set foot there in the game; the last storyline I followed was only until the end of the Sumeru chapter.
All I knew about Fontaine was just some general information I got from social media.
I let out a long sigh.
Suddenly Furina approached and nudged my leg with a small kick.
"Answer me! I am the Archon, you know!" she said again in a slightly raised tone.
I raised my eyebrow at her annoying tone of voice.
"Yes... yes... Lady Furina. What would you like to ask me?" I replied in a slightly mocking tone.
"What should we do now?" she asked directly.
I shrugged. "Go home? Maybe?" I paused. "Isn't this good for you? You want to escape from the trial, don't you? You're sick of it all, so you're looking for an inn, using a disguise, and so on. Let me guess, there, you got into trouble and you ran away from it."
Furina frowned at my words.
"Know-it-all!" she retorted curtly.
Again, I shrugged, not too bothered by her response. "I think I know what needs to be done to get out of here."
I let out a long breath, then murmured to myself... Between having to complete a special quest or having to go with the flow... Anyway, this developer loves to see me suffer.
One incident after another keeps happening... never giving me a rest.
Maybe I should hold on to faith in the Archons to be blessed.
Speaking of Archons, there's one right next to me.
***
A/N: If you want to read the 7 advanced chapters with a faster update frequency than the webnovel, you can read it on my patreon whose link is below:
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