A Human Couldn't, At Least Shouldn't

"So, what's the price?"

Even Focalors had to admit, the future proposed by this unknown Descender was incredibly tempting.

But Focalors didn't lose her reason or become blinded by it.

After all, [Furina] hadn't revealed her intentions at all.

Although, to save Fontaine, Focalors didn't mind paying any price within her power—everything she could offer, without sacrificing the lives or will of others.

But if salvation only brought greater destruction, then this help was meaningless. At least Focalors wasn't willing to gamble Fontaine's fate on this unknown.

"The price… hmm, although I'd like to say there is no price, with your personality, even if you believed me, you would still be filled with doubts." A slender, gloved finger gently rubbed her smooth chin. After a brief moment of contemplation, her expression brightened.

Jiang Qiao, in [Furina]'s form, seemed to have thought of something and smiled brightly:

"In that case…"

"Let's consider this a transaction—the content of the transaction is to help Fontaine escape its predetermined fate, and the price you need to pay…"

"Give me everything you have, how about that?"

"Your flowers, your love~ everything that belongs to Focalors, the Hydro Archon."

"And I promise you, what I take will never go against your will, or the will of this body's owner." The blue and white-haired girl, her pretty face filled with sincerity, extended her slender arms and gently touched her relatively flat chest.

"There's no need to hesitate or be apprehensive. After all, what you've been pursuing is a gamble in itself."

"Compared to believing that you can deceive Celestia, isn't another Descender, with a status equal to Celestia, worth betting everything on?"

These tempting words echoed in Focalors's ears, tipping the scales in her heart towards this person.

After all, as he said, everything she had been doing was a gamble.

She was gambling that she could deceive Celestia, that Celestia wouldn't discover the truth about Furina, and that Furina could achieve everything she expected.

But whether it would succeed, even Focalors herself wasn't sure.

After all, as Egeria's dependent, she knew very well that Celestia couldn't be challenged.

Therefore, all she could do was gamble everything she had.

And if it was a "Descender" from outside Teyvat, with a status equal to Teyvat's fate, perhaps they could truly lead Fontaine's fate towards a better, new future?

As for the price Jiang Qiao asked for—everything she had… Although this was practically sacrificing everything for Focalors as an individual, having inherited Egeria's prophecy, Focalors had already prepared herself for self-sacrifice.

Just like her original plan, wasn't she also prepared to shatter the divine throne by sacrificing herself and returning the Sovereign dragon's power to Neuvillette?

In that case… what did it matter to give everything to this Descender before her?

Taking a deep breath, Focalors looked at the girl who shared her appearance and said solemnly, "I hope you can fulfill your promise."

After speaking, Focalors felt a sense of unease.

Just like the fear of facing death, after giving everything away, Focalors couldn't imagine what she would become.

Perhaps it was no different from dying? After all, she had given away everything.

[Furina] smiled and slowly approached.

As Focalors's every pore seemed to tense up,

The next moment—

"Mmm…?!" Focalors, who thought she had prepared herself for any situation, widened her eyes, her mind going blank as she felt the "softness" pressing against her.

She wanted to say something, but being silenced, she could only let out muffled whimpers.

… This is what you meant by "everything"?

Suddenly, Focalors remembered something—Furina was that strange man… which meant that the current [Furina] was actually that strange man.

Wait… a man?!

Could it be that this guy was after her body from the very beginning?!

…

"Boom—"

Elysia, standing amidst the ruins, lowered the custom-made Honkai energy weapon, "Flowers of the Past (Bow)," crafted by Vill-V, and brushed her hair aside, a satisfied expression on her face as she looked at the fallen Emperor-class Honkai beast.

"Very good~ Done, time to go home?"

"As expected, I'm still as dazzling today…" Smiling, Elysia suddenly felt a slight unease, a twinge of irritation.

"…I'm feeling a bit annoyed."

The pink-haired Flame-Chaser, with her clear blue eyes, subconsciously puffed out her cheeks. She had a strange feeling, like something precious was missing, or perhaps… like her beloved had cheated on her.

"…Could Bad Jiang Qiao be up to no good?" Her metal-heeled boots clicked against the broken stones as she looked at the ground suspiciously.

"I should ask Fairy Ely."

Elysia, feeling uneasy, fumbled for a strange communication device.

[Unlimited Battlefield Communicator]

—Jiang Qiao wasn't the only one who could obtain strange items from the chat group's gacha. As a member of the chat group, although it was rather inconspicuous, Elysia would also use it to pass the time, thinking, Since I'm free, why not pull for fun?

Unfortunately, her luck hadn't been good. She hadn't pulled anything of value.

Besides useless fillers like the Hannah Stigmata and Naku Weed,

The best, or at least the most satisfying, item she had pulled so far was this "Unlimited Battlefield Communicator."

Its function was simple: communication—uninterrupted, regardless of distance, even capable of cross-world communication.

However, with the chat group for communication, it didn't seem particularly useful.

Within the world of Honkai, the communication devices developed by Vill-V were often no less effective than this item.

And since there was only one pair, it seemed rather useless.

But because Fairy Ely and Bad Jiang Qiao had gone to another world, to prevent him from flirting with unknown girls, Elysia had given this to Fairy Ely, hoping to learn about Bad Jiang Qiao's situation from her, since she wasn't in the chat group.

"Hello, hello~"

"Beep, beep, beep"

"Oh, it's Dummy. What's up?" Fairy Ely's childish voice came from the communicator, making a vein throb on Elysia's forehead—she had been annoyed by this nickname for a long time.

What did she mean by "Dummy"? Was she stupid?!

Unfortunately, it seemed impossible to correct—although she wanted to use force to correct Fairy Ely's nickname… looking at that appearance, she couldn't bring herself to do it!

After all, using physical means to persuade someone wasn't Elysia's style.

She could be forceful with Bad Jiang Qiao, but with Fairy Ely… Having tried to capture her before and ended up with a bump on her head, Elysia decisively abandoned such foolish actions.

She couldn't be forceful at all!

Hmph! It's all Bad Jiang Qiao's fault!

Elysia decisively blamed Jiang Qiao.

"Hmph, nothing, just curious about how things are going over there." Elysia thought, Why am I getting angry at a doll? Focus on the main contradiction! Then she began to subtly inquire.

"Ooh, Teyvat is so fun, especially Fontaine!"

"The desserts are delicious, the scenery is beautiful, and we can even ride the Navia Line and sightsee on the water~" Fairy Ely's childish voice was filled with uncontainable joy, the bragging tone self-evident.

Her description was vivid… after all, she was a doll based on Elysia. For the sake of accuracy, she might indeed be talented in this aspect. In any case—for Elysia… it was infuriating.

Elysia, gritting her teeth and puffing out her cheeks, was already immersed in the scenery of another world just by listening, but the blowing sand and the surrounding rubble, ravaged by Honkai beasts, brought her back to reality.

… Damn it, Bad Jiang Qiao and Fairy Ely are enjoying the scenery and delicious desserts of another world, while I'm stuck here working overtime and eating sand… This stark contrast made Elysia feel incredibly unbalanced. She angrily kicked a stone…

"Ow!"

Clearly, Miss Pink Fat Woman paid the price for her recklessness.

Even the "Flame-Chaser attire" high heels meticulously designed by Eden, for the sake of aesthetics and other considerations, couldn't prevent such self-inflicted pain.

Sitting on the stone, holding her foot, Elysia mumbled, "Bad Jiang Qiao, mean Jiang Qiao…"

At this moment, Elysia was filled with regret.

Why did she refuse that bad guy's invitation? If she hadn't, she would be enjoying herself with him right now.

She wouldn't be stuck in this desolate place, eating sand.

With MEI and the others' abilities, even if she suddenly slacked off, there wouldn't be any problems… but it couldn't be helped. After all, as time went on, the scale of Honkai eruptions around the world was increasing…

Looking at the hurrying figures in the Fire Moth relief camp in the distance, Elysia frowned and sighed.

… She would just have to wait until after defeating the Honkai to visit other worlds with that bad guy.

Thinking this, she mumbled, "When the time comes, I'll definitely make that bad guy make it up to me!"

As for now… with Fairy Ely there, there shouldn't be any problems, right?

The call ended.

Fairy Ely put down the communicator, which seemed rather large compared to her size, and shook her head helplessly:

"Really, Dummy isn't honest at all. She clearly wants to ask about Reliable Me, but she has to beat around the bush."

"This isn't like Elysia at all~ If this continues, oh dear…"

"What kind of person is she?" Furina asked curiously. While Jiang Qiao was inside, she had been chatting with Fairy Ely.

Compared to Elysia's yearning for other worlds, wasn't Elysia's world also a fascinating, different world for Furina, who had never left Fontaine since her birth?

And Elysia, this name she had seen in the chat group, from the few words exchanged, it was clear that she had a close relationship with Jiang Qiao.

"A beautiful girl as dazzling as falling petals? Mmm… Dummy is still far from that! But, as Fairy Ely from the Land of Fairy Tales, when I grow up, Dummy will definitely be an amazing, perfect beautiful girl!"

Furina briefly imagined it, and of course, also slandered her inwardly—Isn't this just bragging?!

Her curiosity about this Elysia was partly genuine, but perhaps also partly "intelligence gathering."

After all, if Elysia and that Jiang Qiao were close, without understanding her "opponent," she could easily lose completely.

However, it wasn't as if Furina was an honest girl herself.

This sincere yet complicated, bittersweet emotion made Furina feel at a loss.

But even if she wanted to continue subtly inquiring, it seemed pointless, because Fairy Ely, with her innocent face, said something that made Furina panic:

"Hmph~ Trying to gather intel from Fairy Ely?"

"Even you, Furina, can't do that. After all, Dummy is my grown-up self, and a fairy from the Land of Fairy Tales wouldn't betray Dummy."

"W-what are you talking about?!" Her inner thoughts being completely exposed made Furina incredibly embarrassed. Her cheeks flushed as she retorted, then to change the subject and avoid Fairy Ely's knowing gaze, she walked to the door and peeked through the crack, muttering to herself, "Really, what is that Jiang Qiao doing inside? He hasn't moved at all."

In fact, out of curiosity and concern, Furina had already tried to peek before.

However, through the crack, she could only see [Furina] standing a distance away from the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale.

Nothing else.

He hadn't even moved!

And this undoubtedly dispelled Furina's previous concerns.

If she had been worried about him doing something strange, what could Jiang Qiao possibly do with the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale?

He couldn't possibly be doing something strange to the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale, right?

A human couldn't, at least shouldn't!

With the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale's size, it couldn't be used for anything… private!

Instead of worrying about him doing something strange, Furina's biggest concern now was whether he would damage the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale.

If that happened, things would be bad.

After all, the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale had been operating for five hundred years, erected since the opera house was built. Even though they were now trying to decouple trials from it, people were already accustomed to its existence.

If it suddenly malfunctioned, the people of Fontaine would definitely be suspicious!

Thinking this, Furina, worried, peeked through the crack. She had been hesitating whether to go in and check, but after another look, [Furina Qiao] froze.

Just a moment ago, [Furina] was still in front of the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale.

But in the blink of an eye, he had disappeared.

Thinking it was an illusion, Furina instinctively rubbed her eyes, but the empty space proved that it wasn't an illusion.

She pushed the door open, and the empty interior of the opera house came into full view.

Furina looked around for Jiang Qiao, but found nothing, as if no one had ever been here.

Where was he?

As Furina wondered, a familiar voice echoed beside her—

"Looking for me?"