Chapter Text
“Pheeww…” Paimon sighed, draping herself over the bed. “Paimon’s exhauuusted and she didn’t even argue! Is this what it’s like being in court all the time?”
“Well of course not,” Furina lifted her chin. “ I always sat in a throne above the other people. When the state needed a lawyer, we always had a state lawyer and the champion duelists. Not enough spectacle here! That was far too boring.”
“Boring?” Lumine demanded. “I think they were going for the death sentence!”
“Exactly,” Furina scoffed. “What good is a death sentence if criminals instantly die, painlessly? Send them to prison or make them suffer for what they did!”
“Furina, you’re concerning.”
“ Thank you for the compliment.”
“Ugh, nevermind. What’s done is done and I’m pretty happy we just got out scot-free.”
“For you, maybe,” Furina sighed. “But I’m something of a public figure in Fontaine. The instant one person who’s been to Fontaine before sees my face in those paparazzi shots, we’re going to be hounded.”
“But why are we here again?” Paimon asked. “If we were here to see Rex Lapis… but Rex Lapis is dead… what do we do?”
“Liyue is one of the only places with visa application to Inazuma as of now, due to it’s important status as a trade hub,” Furina turned the fire off and strained the macaroni in a colander she bought. “Even if Rex Lapis is dead, the Raiden Shogun Focalors knew would’ve never backed down from a fight. She’s practically invincible!”
“Focalors knew?” Lumine questioned. “And I’ve been meaning to ask… divine side. You said something about that.”
Furina had been preparing for this. She didn’t want to lie, but five hundred years of lying had conditioned her for this.
“You see my eyes?”
Lumine pulled her bangs away. “Yeah, with your funny eyelashes. What of it?”
“These two represent my sides,” Furina lied. “This one, the light blue with the normal pupil– that’s me. Furina. The Furina you know.”
“...Yes?”
Paimon looked around and decided it was best to ask questions after this conversation.
“This eye,” Furina pointed. “Represents my divinity. Focalors, the god.”
“How does that work?” Lumine crossed her arms.
“Shhhush. Anyways. Five hundred years ago, we were one– the divinity part in a human packaging. But a tragedy happened, and Focalors and I were– separated. Consciousness, anyways. I’m the ‘human packaging’, with Focalors in the backseat ready to help when needed, but she’s still me and I’m still her.”
Lumine looked skeptical. “Can you not remember anything before this ‘tragedy’?”
“Only what Focalors deems necessary to know,” Furina shrugged helplessly. “Bits and pieces, here and there.”
Lumine shook her head. “And you’re still a god…?”
Then these must be the creations of the REAL Hydro Archon!
The best lies are woven with threads of truth, Furina.
“Of course,” Furina slapped on a mask of offense. “The divinity is still inside of me, you know. I’m as much of a god as Venti is– arguably more, since he doesn’t do shit nowadays.”
“Furina!” Paimon screamed. “The macaroni sauce!”
A rancid smell of burnt cheese filled the air.
Lumine appeared to have mulled it over that night after they had a small dinner of takeout from Wanmin, since she seemed far cheerier than she had been the night prior.
Furina, relieved, promised to herself that when everything had blown over and Fontaine was saved, she wouldn’t have to lie to Lumine and Paimon anymore.
Paimon seemed nervous at first, but after seeing that Furina and Lumine were feeling themselves again, went back to her commentary of Liyue’s customs.
“Mmmhmm,” the bored clerk made a note on her paper. “And the purpose of your visit to Inazuma?”
“We’re delegates of the Palais Mermonia, there to discuss official trade routes with the Tri-Commissions,” Furina smiled winningly. “We’ll be there and back within a month.”
The clerk looked up, one eyebrow raised. “You do realize the Sakoku Decree stops most trade routes. What trade routes are you talking about?”
Paimon started stress sweating. “The– the, uhm. Indemni..tium? The Tri-Commission told us about some energy issues in Inazuma City, so we’re there to discuss whether Indemnitium would be a valid energy source.”
The clerk nodded thoughtfully. “I see. It’s true that the city has had some resource shortages after the start of the war against Sangonomiya. I see. Alright. Do you have your passport? Or a representative?”
Furina slid their passports over. “No representative.”
The clerk squinted. “Does that say… does that say ‘Furina de Fontaine’? And you two,” she turned to Lumine and Paimon. “You two don’t even have last names…”
Furina turned to Lumine and Paimon. Fuck.
“Eerrr… yes!”
“...”
“I’ll give you a hundred thousand Mora if you stamp it.”
“...”
“Two hundred thousand.”
“Welcome to Inazuma, esteemed delegates of Fontaine!”
“Apparently, since there aren’t any ships going between Liyue and Inazuma until the next two months…” Furina sighed. “We’ll have to wait a bit. Want to go back to Third Round Knockout?”
Paimon nodded. “Thank the Archons you’re rich, Furina!”
Lumine shrugged. “Two months until the next trade ship… I feel like we should do some exploring around the rest of Liyue.”
“I’ll see if we can secure some tents or something,” Furina sighed. “What is it with you and wanting to sleep outside so much?”
Lumine laughed. “I guess I’m just more used to it. Maybe we’ll meet those adepti you mentioned, though.”
“Oh.” Furina shivered. “Yeah.”
What if we meet that thing again?
“Don’t worry too much, Furina!” Paimon patted her shoulder. “With you two here, there’s nothing that can hurt us!”
“What are you then?” Lumine demanded. “Emergency food?”
“Hey!”
The gentleman from before was sitting at his same spot, listening to the story the storyteller was telling.
Wow Furina! Such a way with words you have! A story the storyteller is telling! Genius!
“You again?” Furina asked. “You seem to like this place a lot.”
Zhongli turned around. “Ah, Miss Furina, Miss Lumine and Miss Paimon. Good to see you again.”
He speaks like he’s older than me! Hmmmph!
“Good to see you too!” Paimon sat down on her chair. “Do you like the food here?”
“Mm,” Zhongli blew on his tea and took a sip. “The storyteller is quite good. His stories are a bit far-fetched, but entertaining nonetheless.”
“What an esteemed gentleman you are,” Furina sighed dramatically, sitting down. “One pot of chamomile tea and two servings of crystal shrimp, please.”
“Chamomile tea? So early in the day?” Paimon questioned.
“Why not?” Furina shrugged. “We don’t have a lot to do… I just have to pay off that disgui– dress you guys bought me back in Mondstadt, at the Northland Bank.”
“Mondstadt?” Zhongli questioned. “How is the situation there? I haven’t been there in quite a bit myself.”
“Ah, same old,” Furina sighed, at the same time Lumine said “the Stormterror threat is over, thankfully”.
Zhongli chuckled. “Good to hear. I don’t believe Barbatos has been sighted in quite a while.”
Five hundred years ‘quite a while’.
“You speak like an adeptus,” Paimon shook her head. “Ancient and wise!”
He stiffened a bit, but relaxed– far too quickly. A practiced calming of oneself.
Furina had observed this same expression once too many times on Neuvillette, whenever someone committed a hideous crime even he couldn’t stay impartial to.
“That’s a compliment, Mr. Zhongli,” Furina sighed. She seemed to be sighing a lot. “No need to be so stiff and formal.”
“...I see. My lunch break is almost over. I’ll have to go back to work now.”
As he left, Furina gently spilled some tea on the back of his tailcoat, glowing Hydro for only a moment before disappearing into the fabric.
Only Lumine noticed, giving her a raised eyebrow as Furina set the teapot down.
The apricot-honey combination of osmanthus wafted out of the small puddle.
“Hmm… yes. Thank you for paying back your loans on time,” the lady at the desk smiled. “It’s rare nowadays that we have patrons willing to uphold their end of the promise.”
Furina’s gaze dropped down to the nametag. Ekaterina .
“Of course!” Paimon said cheerily. “If we make a promise, it’s good to keep it!”
“I most certainly agree,” Ekaterina smiled warmly. “Loyalty and promise are two of our most important values here at the Northland Bank.”
“Hehe!” Paimon giggled. “It’s refresh–”
“Hey, you three!”
Lumine and Furina slowly turned around. On the staircase, there stood a ginger with a red mask and a grey suit.
Not a normal member of the Fatui.
The guards around them saluted him as he sauntered down the steps. “You three… I recognize you! You were on the paper a few days ago!”
“...”
“For… for that court case?” Lumine asked.
Alarm bells were ringing in Furina’s head.
“Yep! You guys caused quite a stir, you know! It’s not every day someone is accused of killing Rex Lapis– just like how it’s not every day someone beats Yanfei in a court case.”
“But Yanfei knew she was in the wrong!” Paimon put her hands on her hips. “Furina said afterward! ‘With the blood of an Illuminated Beast in her veins, she knows better than we do that we didn’t kill anyone!’”
“But you still won, and that’s what matters.” he nodded. “I’m Childe, by the way.”
Furina snorted. “Child? What are you, a kid?”
“C-H-I-L-D-E,” Ekaterina spelled out.
“Oh. Thanks.”
Childe laughed. “Right, thank you, Ekaterina. But… you know…”
He wants us to do something… of course he does…
“With the Rite of Parting happening soon,” he began. “I feel it would be wise to tell the adepti beforehand.”
Mhm.
“Another side quest?” Furina complained outwardly, lifting her arm in a dramatic mockery of distress. “That’s cruuuelll.”
“I’m with Furina here,” Lumine nodded. “What’s in it for us?”
“The Qixing remains convinced of your guilt. You need to get through to the adepti before they do, or you’re screwed,” Childe smiled, but his eyes turned cold. “With the might of the Qixing and the adepti against you… it doesn’t matter who you are.”
Ugh.
“And you think it’s a good idea to saunter up to the adepti?!” Paimon gasped. “Wouldn’t they attack us anyways?”
“I’ve recently procured a Sigil of Permission,” Childe beamed. “These will allow you to get the guarantee that, at least, the adepti won’t attack you on sight.”
"Where's your guarantee of its validity?" Furina demanded. "You Fatui have tried to attack m- us in the past. What's saying this isn't a deathtrap?"
Childe thought for a moment. "I suppose you're right to be suspicious. The last Sigil of Permission was said to have been destroyed centuries ago. You can double check with the owner of the Yanshang Teahouse, as I procured the Sigil from him."
“...okay, then. Say it's real. Is our only compensation here ‘not get smote by the adepti’?”
“Furina!”
“What?”
“Hmm," Childe nodded. “No, she’s right. At the Northland Bank, we do value fair exchanges.”
He thought for a moment.
“Alright, how about this? I can see you both wield elemental power. These Sigils of Permission contain a lot of power– enough to use as a conduit, at least a few times. If you’re ever in a bit of a squeeze, rip it apart and you’ll buy yourself some time to escape.”
“Discounting us as weak that fast?” Furina demanded.
“Just realistic,” Childe sighed. “Even I, as a Harbinger, might meet my match in battle some day.”
Harbinger!
“A Harbinger?” Paimon floated back a few floats. “You– You’re just like Signora! How do we know you’re not tricking us?”
“Signora… Signora. You’ve met her too, huh?” Childe’s face clouded over.
That’s interesting.
He genuinely dislikes her.
“I don’t like her much either. Her methods are… questionable at best. Trust me, if the Tsaritsa wouldn’t have my head in an instant…”
Paimon nodded along. “She’s the worst! She attacked us!”
“Attacked?” Childe shook his head. “What happened to peaceful diplomacy…? No matter. I’ll talk to her later. Do we have a deal?”
“Do you have another Sigil?” Furina asked.
He looked surprised. “No, just the one.”
That’s… weird. A half-truth. Furina, be careful.
“Why would you give us your only Sigil?”
“It’s just as much in our benefit as it is yours,” he shrugged. “If the adepti find out Rex Lapis is dead, the Fatui will take a massive hit as well. Our main branch of the Bank is here, plus Liyue is one of our biggest trade partners and allies.”
“We’ll do it!” Paimon said.
“No, we won’t,” Furina slapped a hand over Paimon’s mouth. “I need to know what else you have to offer. Putting our lives on the line and hoping that a centuries-old Sigil will work?”
“Interesting!” Childe laughed. “Very well. I’ll throw in five hundred thousand Mora and talk with the Qixing– I heard you guys wanted to go to Inazuma? We can get you there.”
“Are the Fatui active in Inazuma?”
Childe looked away for a moment.
Contemplating whether or not to lie? Don’t try me.
“Yes,” he said finally. “Why?”
Good choice.
“I don’t want a way to Inazuma,” Furina crossed her arms. “I want protection while we’re there. If a single Fatui soldier attacks us while we’re in Inazuma, as they’ve so graciously done in Mondstadt…”
Ekaterina stiffened. “Who are you to threaten Master Childe?”
“Calm down, Ekaterina, it’s fine,” Childe soothed. “That’s reasonable. I’ll spread the word.”
“It’s a deal, then.” Furina lifted her hand.
They shook on it.
“What a negotiator you are!” Childe clapped. “And… Did you say your name was Furina…?”
“What’s it to you?” Furina folded her arms even more.
“Nothing, nothing, keeping your name in mind for later,” Childe beamed. “You should apply to join the Fatui! Maybe we’ll have a new Harbinger soon.”
No thanks.
“I’m good,” Furina nodded. “If there’s nothing else…”
He handed Lumine the Sigil, and she stashed it away in her inventory.
“Alright then. Farewell.”
The three of them walked out.
After they did, Furina immediately called on Hydro to search the area for elemental energy that would react with hers.
Hydro reacted with all other elements, after all.
Furina motioned for the two to make some idle small talk, nothing important.
The Electro she sensed followed them all the way back to Baiju Guesthouse.
After shutting the door and coating all available surfaces in a layer of Hydro that stopped all elemental energy bugs from coming through, Furina finally stopped talking to Paimon about tent preferences.
“We’re being watched,” Furina said finally. “One Electro user. Probably a Delusion– not strong enough of an energy to be a Vision.”
“Watched?” Paimon screeched. “What??”
“Bugs,” Lumine realized. “We’ve been bugged.”
“What?”
“Bugs are listening devices,” Lumine explained. “I can’t feel any presence watching us… and Furina feels elemental energy. They’ve planted ears on the walls.”
“Stupid Harbinger, after your comrades fucked up royally you still think you can dupe me? ” Furina tapped her foot, sending splashes of water up. “Your little Knave and that ‘Fair Lady’ character…”
“...Knave?” Paimon whispered. “Lumine, Furina keeps bringing up the Knave… she’s one of the Harbingers. Is there some animosity…?”
“These idiots …” the water started bubbling violently.
Paimon floated just a bit closer to the ceiling.
“You know what?” Furina laughed. “Sure. I’ll do your stupid little side quest. When you try to double cross me, I’ll put you in a coma.”
The three of them took the time the next day to grab some illness masks.
Furina had noticed that whenever someone was sick in Liyue, they often bought the masks Fontainian surgeons would use.
The three of them snuck out to get some takeout from Third-Round Knockout, only to be greeted with multiple newspaper handouts of them.
“Urgh…”
Furina snatched one and dragged Paimon behind a wall.
“This guy they’re interviewing is convinced we’re innocent, and this guy they’re interviewing is convinced we bribed Yanfei.” Furina crumpled up the paper and tossed it behind her, where it melted into water as it fell. “The press is as stupid as always.”
“Paimon always forgets you’re a celebrity in Fontaine,” Paimon said thoughtfully. “It’s really a wonder no one noticed you before this!”
“People are stupid and I never liked getting my picture taken,” Furina stomped out of the alleyway and pushed her way through the crowd, leading them back to Baiju Guesthouse.
Lumine shrugged at Paimon and followed Furina.
The people noticed their masks and their warm clothing (for they had covered themselves with cloaks) and immediately made a wide path for them, covering their mouths and looking away.
Furina pushed open the door to the hotel, stomped up the stairs, unlocked the door and slammed it closed again.
I do really still hate the Knave.
I used to just feel blind fear… but really…
Lumine set the takeout down and Paimon started nibbling tentatively at the food.
“We leave tomorrow at dawn,” Furina announced, setting two backpacking bags down. “Fill these two and we’ll leave for Jueyun Karst.”