For Fontaine right now, nothing was more dangerous than the Water from the Primordial Sea.
All they needed from the Fatui was a little cooperation. Arlecchino was Fontainian herself. She would act for the sake of her homeland. Even if she had returned to Fontaine carrying the Tsaritsa's mission, that did not erase her attachment to Fontaine.
She was different from Dottore.
"I understand." Neuvillette nodded. "In that case, I'll have my people give the Fatui a reasonable amount of leeway."
Although he still did not fully understand Lora's plan, at a time like this, all he needed to do was trust her.
Following Lora's guidance, Lumine and Paimon had already begun advancing the plan step by step. Together with Navia, they entered a Domain to investigate and discovered a stone tablet engraved with the prophecy.
But before long, Lora no longer had time to keep watching their progress, because Zhongyue, Xianyun, and Xiao had already returned to the Court of Fontaine.
Zhongyue sprawled lazily across the sofa and immediately began complaining to Lora.
"You have no idea. That guy from Narzissenkreuz... what was his name again? Rene, right? He was ridiculously annoying to deal with! I already told him there was no reason to keep carrying out his salvation plan, but he just wouldn't listen!"
"You're the Geo Dragon Sovereign. Don't tell me even you had trouble dealing with him?" Lora asked in surprise.
Zhongyue instantly shot upright.
"What kind of question is that? What do you mean, 'even you'? Look across all of Fontaine. Aside from the few people in this building, who exactly could beat me? I said he was troublesome, not unbeatable!"
Lora could not help laughing.
Zhongyue continued grumbling:
"You have no idea how much water there was in that place. It was unbelievably annoying. And that guy ran ridiculously fast too. Just chasing him around took forever."
"So what was the final result?" Lora asked.
Zhongyue looked at her as though she had just asked something idiotic.
"Are you stupid? I'm standing here, aren't I? What do you think happened?"
Xianyun held back a smile and explained:
"We resolved the situation already. However... Rene himself could no longer truly be considered a stable life-form. There was no way for us to save him."
Lora sighed softly and nodded.
"I know."
"But he was still someone worthy of respect," Xiao suddenly said after remaining silent this entire time.
Lora nodded in agreement before suddenly saying:
"By the way, now that you're back, there's someone else you should go see. She's handling documents in her office right now. If you hurry over, you should still catch her."
"Uh..."
Xiao already knew exactly who she meant.
He looked at Lora, hesitated briefly, then quietly asked:
"Do we really have to go?"
"Why wouldn't you?" Lora smiled. "Aren't you technically her subordinates? Your boss is already hard at work, so how can the rest of you be resting? Come on, I'll take you over and have her assign you some proper jobs."
With that, Lora stood up smiling and waved for the three of them to follow.
Xiao clearly looked reluctant, but in the end, he still followed her.
Xianyun and Zhongyue had no objections whatsoever.
They had already seen Chaya before anyway.
Not going?
Did people seriously think Lora was some kind-hearted saint?
This woman absolutely had a vicious side.
Xianyun had personally experienced it already.
As they walked, Lora chatted casually with the three behind her.
"When you see her later, make sure you properly catch up. I'll also have her arrange a few decent positions for you. The Court of Fontaine has been overwhelmed lately, and we're seriously short on manpower."
Watching Lora ramble happily ahead of them, Zhongyue quietly turned toward Xianyun.
"Why does this feel weird?"
"No, it doesn't." Xianyun shook her head calmly. "That's just Lora."
Lora soon brought the three of them to Chaya's office.
Chaya herself remained perfectly calm.
She was already used to all this.
Xiao, meanwhile, still looked visibly uneasy.
Chaya slowly asked:
"Have you completed your task?"
"It's done," Xianyun answered.
"Good." Chaya nodded slightly.
She naturally understood exactly why Lora had brought them here.
"The Court of Fontaine has many affairs requiring attention lately. You arrived at the perfect time. I'll arrange some official duties for the three of you."
"Yes," Xiao answered with his head lowered.
Lora did not stay to interrupt their reunion any further. After saying goodbye to Chaya, she quietly left the office.
Furina was currently resting in her room, leaving Lora with nothing much to do on her own.
At that moment, Lumine arrived at the Palais Mermonia looking for her.
"What is it?" Lora asked curiously, looking at Lumine, who had suddenly come to find her.
"We're almost ready," Lumine said. "But we still need your involvement."
"You need me too?" Lora looked slightly surprised.
Lumine nodded.
"Yes. We still aren't sure where the proper line should be drawn. After all, we don't want anyone getting hurt, Furina included. So we need you to decide exactly how this plan should proceed."
Hearing that, Lora smiled and nodded.
"I understand, Lumine. Just tell me the time and place for the meeting. I'll be there."
"Okay!"
Lumine nodded happily. After settling the details with Lora, she quickly left the Palais Mermonia.
Watching Lumine walk away, the smile on Lora's face gradually faded, eventually turning into a soft sigh.
Lumine's words had already made one thing perfectly clear.
She had most likely figured out Lora's true situation.
But Lumine chose not to say it aloud, and Lora chose not to ask.
"Thank you..."
Lora quietly murmured as she watched Lumine's departing figure.
Neuvillette walked over to her side. Seeing the complicated emotions on her face, he asked gently:
"Did the Traveler come to see you?"
Lora nodded.
"Yes. They're almost ready. Now they're only waiting for the final plan to begin."
Neuvillette looked at Lora silently for a moment before finally speaking.
"Even though I've already said this many times, I still feel this is the most appropriate moment to repeat it."
He looked at her seriously and continued:
"Miss Lora, if there is anything you need me to do, please tell me."
"To me, Fontaine is no longer merely a nation of humans."
Seeing Neuvillette's solemn expression, Lora smiled and nodded.
"Mm, I understand. Don't worry. If I need help, I fully intend to drag everyone I can into helping me. Look, I even dragged all three from Inazuma over to fight that whale."
Seeing Lora smile again, Neuvillette also gave a small nod.
"Then I'll take my leave for now. There are still official matters waiting for me to handle."