"Borrow the Dendro Archon's power?" Jiang Qiao's expression turned strange at Egeria's suggestion.
The latter was puzzled.
"…Is something wrong?"
"The previous Dendro Archon died five hundred years ago. The current Dendro Archon of Sumeru is Lesser Lord Kusanali."
"…How could that be?!" Egeria's face was filled with shock and disbelief. "After me, the Cataclysm should have ended. Although the previous Dendro Archon did expend a lot of power, she shouldn't have perished."
Egeria, having slept for five hundred years, hadn't expected to hear such shocking news upon awakening.
"You'll have to ask King Deshret about that."
"King Deshret… you mean the Scarlet King? He should be long dead." Egeria paused, hearing the name. Although she had been imprisoned for a long time, during her free time, she had been quite concerned about Sumeru, her neighbor.
And with the water veins as her intelligence network, her knowledge of the continent was second only to the Anemo Archon, who could gather information through the wind.
The god known as the Scarlet King had been defeated thousands of years ago. Even the previous Dendro Archon's expression had turned strange when they talked about it.
"Forget it, if the previous Dendro Archon is no longer around, then the current Dendro Archon, Lesser Lord Kusanali, should be fine. As the God of Wisdom, I believe her choice of successor would definitely be correct."
To adjust the seal on the Great Irminsul Tree, the power of an Archon on the level of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was enough. Egeria felt that even if Lesser Lord Kusanali, as the second generation Archon, was slightly weaker, she shouldn't be that much weaker than her predecessor, right?
"You're looking for Lesser Lord Kusanali? She's currently in prison."
Prison, a word so familiar to Egeria.
"…Did she also do something against Celestia?!"
Egeria was surprised—Sumeru shouldn't be as urgent as Fontaine, right? The biggest threat here was right beneath her.
As for being imprisoned, she wasn't surprised.
Just like her, the heart of the Primordial Sea, the Dendro Archon, closely connected to the Irminsul trees, was also irreplaceable.
For Archons like them, Celestia couldn't easily replace them.
"Oh, that's not it. She's being held captive by the Akademiya."
"Akademiya… wait, you mean… humans?" The confused Egeria pondered the meaning of "Akademiya," then suddenly realized and widened her eyes in disbelief.
No, this was too absurd!
Lesser Lord Kusanali was the Dendro Archon, an Archon!
Although Archons hoped that humans could stand beside them, everyone knew the vast difference between humans and Archons. Even if there were exceptionally powerful individuals among humans, capable of rivaling gods, because they weren't on the same starting line, an Archon being imprisoned by humans…
…that was too embarrassing.
[Furina]'s expression was also slightly strange—or rather, Focalors'.
Being with Jiang Qiao, she could see some of the information he shared.
This naturally included information about Lesser Lord Kusanali.
They were both second-generation Archons, but without considering Furina, the mascot who embarrassed the Hydro Archon's name, the difference between them…
No, even Furina, a weakling, was far better than the current Dendro Archon!
At least Furina, although weak, was still respected by everyone in Fontaine.
The Dendro Archon, Nahida, was disliked by her people, then abandoned, and they even wanted to create a new god to replace her.
An Archon disliked and abandoned by her people… if the other Archons knew, they would definitely laugh themselves silly.
How could a god be so pathetic?
Even a dog wouldn't be in such a state. She was truly worse than a dog.
"This…"
Egeria was dumbfounded.
Had the living environment for Archons in Teyvat become so harsh after her five-hundred-year slumber?
The times had changed too quickly.
"Fontaine is still better…" Egeria could only comfort herself with this thought.
At least Fontaine wouldn't imprison their Archon, right?
At this moment, [Furina] raised an eyebrow, as if sensing something.
She gently waved her hand, and a small figure floated in from outside the tree.
Pink and familiar, its appearance surprised Focalors:
"Fairy… Ely?!"
"Weren't you staying in Fontaine to admire the scenery?" Surprise mixed with anxiety, Focalors clenched her fists inwardly. Damn it, how did this little thing follow her?! Her solo trip!
"Yes, but Fontaine's scenery is just so-so. I saw most of it when we were on the Navia Line. It's just water."
"I heard that Sumeru's scenery is quite different, so I came over."
"And—a fairy from the Land of Fairy Tales has the duty to supervise Reliable Me! How can I neglect my duties?!" Fairy Ely blinked her innocent eyes, her words impeccable.
"Could it be that Bad Me is planning to do something strange with other girls while I'm away?"
"If that's the case, Fairy Ely will definitely not stand idly by."
Focalors was annoyed, but Jiang Qiao didn't mind—[Furina] simply crossed her arms and asked another question:
"Since you've come to Sumeru, then what about her?"
"Her… she seems to have gone to the Fortress of Meropide."
"Huh?"
Focalors was stunned.
Jiang Qiao was also slightly surprised.
Fairy Ely explained in her sweet voice—
"Furina, where are we going next?"
"Mmm…" Furina hesitated. Although Fontaine's scenery was quite nice, she wasn't sure how fun it was.
Her daily routine was basically eating cake, watching trials at the opera house, and playing with cats.
These were fine for her to pass the time, but she couldn't bring Fairy Ely along for these, could she?
Wait—she had an idea.
"How about we go collect seashells?"
Collecting seashells by the seaside was undoubtedly a romantic and fun activity. Furina recalled that two hundred years ago, when her mental state wasn't so strained, she had enjoyed collecting seashells during the low tide.
"Okay, okay!"
—Collecting seashells wasn't illegal, but the problem was… they had collected many bivalve shells.
And they happened to be caught by a devoted fan of the Hydro Archon, who immediately reported them to the Palais Mermonia.
Neuvillette, looking at the two brought before him by the Gardes, after a moment of hesitation, delivered his judgment:
"I apologize, but according to Fontaine law, bivalve shells during low tide belong to the Hydro Archon, while murex shells belong to the people. You two…"
"Since you wish to experience Fontaine's… style, how about visiting the Fortress of Meropide?"
"That's what he said."
"Mmm, Neuvillette is indeed a very just and impartial Chief Justice."
Fairy Ely, having described the situation, praised Neuvillette's adherence to the law.
Focalors, however, was confused. "Wait… why is there such an absurd law?"
Focalors, having just been released from the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale, was clearly unaware of the changes in Fontaine law over the past five hundred years.
"…Let me see." Jiang Qiao, slightly amused, looked through Furina's memories stored within this body.
"Oh…"
"This law was implemented to prevent overfishing of bivalve shells. Furina came up with this solution. And after the incident, for the sake of legal stability, it wasn't changed, and it has become a custom of respecting the Archon…"
"…Is something wrong?" Jiang Qiao, having browsed those memories, noticed Focalors's unusual behavior and asked, puzzled. The latter whispered softly, "Be gentler… slower…"
Manipulating memories was an unfamiliar area for most people.
Even for an Archon like Focalors.
But within Elysian Realm Elysia's fifty-thousand-year-old memories, to utilize memories more effectively, Jiang Qiao had developed this "skill."
But clearly, not everyone could adapt to his method of delving into memories.
For Focalors, currently sharing a body with Jiang Qiao, this forceful intrusion was a bit… too stimulating.
It made her feel slightly dizzy.
"Oh, I understand."
Subconsciously, Jiang Qiao soothed the agitated Focalors with his consciousness—specifically by… well, you know.
[Furina]'s cheeks even flushed slightly from this unconscious action.
But Jiang Qiao didn't mind. He was more surprised:
"Although this crime exists, …I don't think this law has ever been enforced."
This law in Fontaine was more of a symbolic custom.
Even if one violated it, no one would care. Who would know what kind of seashells you collected?
Unless someone was looking for trouble. After all, with Fontaine's numerous bizarre laws, one could always find one or two to use against someone.
"There was also the matter of releasing the flying object."
"Weren't we together?" Jiang Qiao naturally knew about this law. A certain Emergency Food had almost been charged with this crime.
He hadn't been worried, but normally, no one would bother with this charge—Furina had done that out of desperation, wanting to take a shortcut.
Wait…
[Furina], resting her chin in her hand, seemed to understand something.
Previously, because [Furina] was with him, there hadn't been any problems.
Who would dare to cause trouble for someone accompanying the Hydro Archon? The Hydro Archon had the power to influence Fontaine's laws.
But… once he left…
The reckoning came.
[Furina Qiao] illegally collected shells belonging to Furina.
Jiang Qiao released a flying object.
Both charges were placed on the unfortunate Furina.
Thus, she earned a seven-day trip to the Fortress of Meropide.
As for her using the Hydro Archon's name—well, the Hydro Archon wasn't present, was she?
Neuvillette would just ask if she wanted to deal with it or not!
As a law-abiding Chief Justice with no personal bias, although Mr. Hydro Dragon wanted to show leniency towards [Jiang Qiao (Furina)] and Fairy Ely, who had made significant contributions to Fontaine, he still had to uphold the law.
Besides, it wasn't as if he hadn't done anything.
At least while Furina and Fairy Ely were playing, a Melusine had approached, and Fairy Ely, out of curiosity, had touched the Melusine without permission. This crime, after obtaining the Melusine's consent, had been pardoned.
"If she went to the Fortress of Meropide, then why are you here?" Focalors asked, puzzled and slightly dissatisfied.
Focalors expressed regret and concern for Furina's unfortunate imprisonment—or perhaps the scenery there wasn't bad either.
But if she was going there, why not take this little thing with her?!
Just stay there for seven days and help her keep an eye on this little brat! When they returned, she would share the wonderful memories of their "trip" with her, wouldn't that be great?
You… you're useless!
"I don't want to go to the Fortress of Meropide, so I ran away."
"Fleeing from justice?!"
"Hmph~ What do you mean, fleeing from justice? A fairy from the Land of Fairy Tales isn't bound by mortal laws! What was it called again… mmm, right, diplomatic immunity!"
"I can just have Reliable Me explain it with her Hydro Archon identity when we get back~"
Hearing Fairy Ely's righteous words, Jiang Qiao didn't react, but Focalors was speechless.
You're doing this right in front of me, the God of Justice? Alright, alright, I'll charge you with contempt of court!
Focalors wanted to drag Fairy Ely back to Fontaine and throw her into the Fortress of Meropide—unfortunately, she couldn't.
Making a mental note of this, Focalors decided to inform the Gardes when she returned.
Arrest any pink fairies on sight!
Setting aside Focalors's thoughts,
Undoubtedly, Furina, far away in Fontaine, was unjustly imprisoned in the Fortress of Meropide, experiencing the classic "serving time for Jiang Qiao."
And it seemed that the Raiden Shogun wasn't the only Archon to be imprisoned.
"Forget it, since we're here, there's no need to go back."
"Did you bring the thing I left with you?" [Furina] rested her chin in her hand, looking at Fairy Ely, who nodded and took out a light blue chess piece from her wand.
"…The Gnosis!" Egeria, stunned by Fairy Ely's arrival, was naturally no stranger to this object. After all, she was the one who gave it to Focalors.
"I didn't think I would need it, so I didn't want to bring it out of Fontaine." Jiang Qiao took the Gnosis and curled his lip.
This thing was a good tool, but unfortunately, just like that certain someone who had been scammed by the whale said, it wasn't exactly a good thing.
He could use it, but honestly, it didn't provide much benefit to him anymore.
And in a way, the Gnosis was even more important than the Divine Throne.
Once it was shattered, the sleepyheads in Celestia would definitely be alerted.
Therefore, when he retrieved Focalors, he had left the Gnosis with Fairy Ely in Fontaine—as for Mr. Hydro Dragon… he trusted Neuvillette's strength, but not his judgment.
What if the Fatui showed up and tricked him into giving away the Gnosis?
It wasn't that he couldn't give it away, after all, this thing wasn't important to Fontaine,
But it was still a valuable item. Wouldn't it be better to exchange it for something useful?
Those Fatui would do anything to obtain it.
It would be nice to make those rich guys bleed a little.
But now, it seemed this thing had a new use.
Looking at the mirrored Tunigi Hollow in the distance, [Furina] held the Gnosis, a smile appearing on her lips.
If he used this to block the Tunigi Hollow, what would the Fatui do?