Even Today, We Must Still Answer for Yesterday

"Ah… ah…" Lumine opened her mouth slightly, testing her new voice with surprise. "Hello?"

The sweet, girlish voice brought tears to Lumine's eyes—she could finally speak in a way others could understand!

"It seems to be working well." Jiang Qiao nodded in satisfaction.

Furina, however, was surprised: "Eh, how did you do that?"

She had only seen Fairy Ely and Jiang Qiao fussing over Lumine for a bit, and then Lumine could suddenly speak.

The whole process probably took less than ten minutes, right?

"[I] placed Fairy Ely's special translation module inside her body," [Furina] explained calmly.

—As a ELF, Fairy Ely's body was composed of various modules and components.

And the "vocal cords" module had the function of analyzing and recompiling language.

Although a ELF's components weren't typically compatible with humans, with a little adjustment, it wasn't a problem at all.

"It would be more convenient with Sumeru's Akasha System," the blue and white-haired girl said with a hint of regret.

In fact, this method was more of a temporary measure. The truly proper way was to have Lumine actually learn Teyvat's language.

But to do so, it would require instilling "reason," injecting knowledge.

To avoid using power from outside this world as much as possible, the most suitable tool for this was Sumeru's Akasha System, which could instill knowledge to a certain extent, saving a lot of unnecessary time.

Of course, it didn't matter much.

After solving Lumine's language problem, the next priority was to investigate her situation. Furina, unable to contain herself, wanted to ask about the Fontaine prophecy, but Jiang Qiao stopped her.

As Furina looked at her questioningly, the girl said softly, "The fates of the people in this world are intertwined, forming a predetermined tapestry."

"And the only ones who can change the course of destiny are 'Descenders,' who don't belong to this world."

"…What do you mean?" Furina was confused.

She wasn't stupid, of course. Her extensive experience had granted her considerable wisdom, but the erosion of time, mental stress, and the fear and ignorance surrounding the prophecy had left her quite clueless about such matters.

"It means—she is someone who can change fate, not someone who can answer your questions." The blue and white-haired girl took a sip of hot tea, feeling slightly helpless towards Silly Furina.

"But as for the specifics, for certain reasons, I don't intend to explain too much."

Furina bit her lip. Although confused and slightly unwilling, she still nodded.

With the "acting Hydro Archon" precedent, even without knowing the details, she would try to accept it—after all, there might be a reason behind it.

[Furina] smiled slightly, pleased.

—This time, he wasn't deliberately being cryptic or mischievous towards Furina and the others. It was due to the special nature of this world.

This continent called Teyvat, its order was built upon Gnosticism—a belief system that advocated for an absolute, perfect material order, keeping the lower beings in a state of blissful ignorance.

People could obtain a prosperous life without excessive labor.

Correspondingly, their entire lives would be transformed into constellations projected into the starry sky, moving along predetermined paths, also known as "fate."

And the "fate" that maintained this system was essentially a special "matrix computation device."

Also known as the "eggshell."

In this process, all interactions between people would be captured by the eggshell. Even constellations that deviated from their predetermined paths could be corrected with excessive computational power.

This was why Focalors had to hide in the shadows.

If "fate" discovered what she was doing, it would definitely interfere with all its might, hindering her efforts and rendering her five-hundred-year wait futile.

And this was also why Furina absolutely couldn't be exposed—because in the eyes of "fate," she was currently the true Hydro Archon.

Even if she was somewhat clumsy and eccentric, in "fate's" judgment, the equation Furina = Focalors held true.

If exposed, "fate" would discover that Furina ≠ Focalors (Hydro Archon). Due to the necessity of the Seven Archons for maintaining the current order, it would definitely drag Focalors, hiding in the shadows, out and reintegrate her into "fate."

"You've really been through a lot." After comforting Furina slightly, Jiang Qiao learned about Lumine's experiences from her—including the matter she was most concerned about, the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles and her sibling.

Hearing about her tragic experiences, even Jiang Qiao couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement—well, he couldn't help but chuckle.

This definitely wasn't his fault, it was because this [Furina] body was naturally like this (for sure).

"…Haven't encountered that thing, huh?" While amused, the blue and white-haired girl also rested her chin in her hand, seemingly in thought.

When the game became reality, and the world expanded exponentially, the original probabilities would naturally decrease exponentially—but in Jiang Qiao's judgment, that Emergency Food was definitely "deliberately" placed by Lumine's side.

After all, Lumine was a rare variable possessing the position of a Descender. Her appearance was a huge variable for Teyvat's fixed system. Just like the so-called butterfly effect, every person and every event Lumine encountered in this world would introduce countless "variables" to "fate."

A small number was fine, but once the number increased, the entire "fate" system would be at risk of collapse.

Therefore, those responsible for maintaining this order would definitely intervene, or at least guide—judging from the actions of that lady who had found a new job in this world, she clearly intended the latter.

And the unidentified flying object, clearly connected to Celestia, played this role, guiding Lumine towards the future someone desired.

Of course—this wasn't to say that the little thing was using Lumine. It was also possible that it knew nothing, simply accompanying the Traveler on her journey.

But weren't those who were ignorant and innocent often the easiest to manipulate?

—Observe first.

Jiang Qiao decided to wait and see before taking further action.

Furina, both worried and relieved, said, "In that case, Lumine definitely isn't the culprit behind the serial disappearances."

Knowing Lumine's importance, she valued the girl greatly and was racking her brains, thinking of how to clear her name.

After all, if she was convicted, even using the Hydro Archon's authority would be troublesome. Although she could force it, that would make Fontaine's justice a joke.

Even the superficial procedural justice couldn't be maintained.

But Lumine's account was enough to exonerate her from the case.

"Are you sure?"

"This alone isn't enough to prove her innocence."

"After all, this isn't an alibi, is it?"

Lumine's experiences did sound pitiful—but this couldn't change the fact that she was present at the crime scene.

If simply stating one's whereabouts could prove their innocence, then the so-called evidence would be too unreliable.

"Huh, whose side are you on?!" Furina glared at [Furina] with dissatisfaction.

"I'm on the side of justice." The blue and white-haired girl shrugged.

Undoubtedly, this was a critical hit to Furina.

She gritted her teeth.

You're using a feather as an arrow, aren't you?!

I wasn't even this impressive when I was the Hydro Archon…!

The furious Furina wanted to pin this bad guy down on the sofa—and then use more forceful methods to reclaim her body.

But thinking, Since we've already swapped, why not enjoy this comfortable human life for a while instead of rushing back to that prison?, Furina suppressed her urge to teach him a lesson.

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

"As long as the real culprit behind the serial disappearances is caught, everything should be resolved, right?"

"Indeed—why do you think this case has been so difficult to solve?!" Furina nodded in agreement, then rolled her eyes, "This case has been stalled for over twenty years!"

If the serial disappearances case were easy to solve, the Palais Mermonia wouldn't have been investigating for over twenty years.

But even with the combined efforts of the Steambird and the Gardes, they still had no leads.

Fontaine had millions of people, who knew where that damned culprit was hiding?

"…Wait, do you know who the culprit is?" Furina, in Jiang Qiao's body, suddenly paused, looking at the blue and white-haired girl sipping tea with suspicion. The latter chuckled,

"Guess?"

"…You really know?!"

"Well… you also know about me. Is there anything you don't know?" Thinking that this guy knew her secret, Furina wasn't surprised, but she was curious, even having the illusion that "was there really anything this guy didn't know?"

"Of course I don't know everything. Even a god probably couldn't do that. I just happen to know some things I should know."

"I'll definitely add 'banning riddlers' to Fontaine law later!"

"He's in the audience."

"?"

"…You're saying, the culprit behind the serial disappearances is in the audience?!"

"Hehe, a culprit would always be worried about leaving traces, wouldn't they?" The girl said calmly.

Although it might seem strange for a criminal to attend a trial they caused, Fontaine's atmosphere was… well, you know. Besides, if he didn't personally handle the aftermath and eliminate the clues, he would have been exposed long ago.

"Then why didn't you expose him during the trial?!" Furina was annoyed.

If they caught him directly, wouldn't the problem be solved on the spot?

"It's not appropriate."

"?"

"Fontaine is a nation of justice, upholding justice." The girl stood up gracefully.

Even if someone had to die, they should die knowing why, right?

If someone died without knowing the reason, it would be unfair to both the victims and Fontaine's law.

Just like he had said before—the missing girls case shouldn't be solved by him, or by the Hydro Archon.

As a widely known and sensational case, whoever solved it would definitely make headlines in the Steambird, right?

The Hydro Archon, destined to step down, didn't need such attention. It would only create more obstacles for the future transition.

And the otherworldly visitor named Jiang Qiao clearly didn't need the title of a hero.

"Alright, let's go."

"Ah… where to?" Furina was confused.

"'Even if time has come to today, we still need to answer for yesterday.'"

"What do you mean…"

"Literally."

"Besides, without gathering enough evidence, how can we legally bring that culprit to justice?" The blue and white-haired girl's single ponytail, a characteristic of the Seven Archons, swayed in the breeze from the window. A gentle yet resolute light flickered in her heterochromatic eyes. She raised her gloved hand and gently took Lumine's hand, leading her outside.

Furina's face turned slightly green—Seeing myself holding another girl's hand, what kind of dream is this?

Huh? It's not a dream? Oh, okay then.

This strange feeling made Furina, trailing behind, call out angrily, "Hey, wait for me!"

"..."

"…You said investigation, and you meant the Lucine Fountain?" Furina, catching up, looked at [Furina], who had brought Lumine out of the opera house and stopped in front of the Lucine Fountain, and couldn't help but retort, "Don't tell me you're planning to gather intel from this place?"

This fountain sounded mysterious, but after so many years, if there was anything unusual about it—Furina didn't believe it.

"The Lucine Fountain is where Fontaine's water converges. All water flows eventually gather here."

"I know that, of course, but what does that have to do with the evidence we're looking for?" Furina rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you're expecting it to just tell you, right?"

"Shhh~ Listen."

"Fine, fine… I'll listen…" Looking at the blue and white-haired girl raising her index finger, Furina felt dismissive—she had played around this fountain countless times.

There was nothing unusual about it. What was there to listen to?

What kind of sound could there be?

The next moment, a familiar voice echoed in Furina's ears:

"So long… so lonely… how much longer…"