Furina rushed toward Neuvillette's office in a panic, still shoving the office door open and charging straight up to Neuvillette.
"Lady Furina, didn't I tell you before that you need to knock before entering my office..." Neuvillette rubbed his forehead, feeling extremely helpless and displeased with Furina's behavior.
"This time, I genuinely have serious matters to discuss with you!" Furina puffed out her cheeks, looking at Neuvillette. "Take a look at this first."
Saying this, Furina handed Neuvillette a survey report concerning Gray River.
Of course, this report was compiled by Cecily.
Seeing that Furina had genuinely presented official documents, Neuvillette also became serious.
After reading the entire report meticulously, word by word, Neuvillette furrowed his brow slightly and began to ponder.
After a moment, Neuvillette spoke to Furina. "Lady Furina, first, I must apologize for my previous misunderstandings regarding you."
Furina:???
What kind of image did I hold in your heart before?
Neuvillette ignored the bewildered Furina and continued.
"I have finished reading this report. Indeed, there are many impoverished citizens in Gray River, which is a problem we urgently need to address."
Hearing Neuvillette's words, Furina rejoiced internally. Since he agreed, they could depart immediately.
"However—" Neuvillette changed the subject. "There are also many evildoers down there and the internal conditions are complex. Without a concrete plan, I do not recommend you go directly."
"Ah—alright."
The human and the dragon discussed things like this for an entire afternoon, with Rina occasionally expressing her opinion by prompting Furina.
They both tacitly skipped the step involving the Council.
Hilarious, when it comes to true national affairs, would it ever be up to them?
It wasn't until evening that the discussion finally yielded a result.
The next day, Furina would lead a small group of accompanying personnel into Gray River to attempt to establish friendly relations with the locals.
Although Gray River appears to be Fontaine's territory, in reality, since the last incident, the nobles of The Court of Fontaine haven't managed the Gray River much, leaving them to fend for themselves.
The Hydro Archon's command bypassed the Council, giving direct orders to tomorrow's accompanying personnel.
The next morning.
Most Fontainians were still deep in their dreams at this time.
Furina had already gathered the team and quietly set off from the Palais Mermonia, traversing half of Fontaine, arriving at an underground passage sealed by a large iron gate.
With a single glance from Furina, the nearby team members understood immediately.
The key to this large iron gate's lock was found deep inside the warehouse; when they found it, it was covered in a thick layer of dust.
With a long, drawn-out creak—the large door was slowly opened.
A dark environment appeared before everyone, and long-sealed dust rushed out.
"Cough, cough... cough... cough, cough..." Everyone choked and started coughing. Once the smoke and dust slowly dissipated, the vanguard team members entered the cave first.
Inside the cave was a bottomless, vertical shaft, navigated by ladders. Its sheer depth made ordinary people tremble.
Cecily was also in this team, serving as the deputy captain for this trip.
She dropped a small stone and silently began timing it.
"One, two, three, four, five..." At this moment, with a thud, the sound of the stone hitting the ground was heard.
"Without considering other factors, the height below is approximately 1/2gt squared, or about 122.5 meters. In reality, due to the effects of air resistance and the speed of sound, the actual depth should be less than 122.5 meters, and there is no disturbance below. The preliminary judgment is that we can proceed downward, but please bring safety ropes."
[T/L: Yeah no, I'm not great at math so I can't fact check this…]
Cecily quickly made a basic judgment using her knowledge of physics and the team members immediately sprang into action.
Furina: What is she doing?
Rina scoffed to Furina. 'Hmph, ignorance is bliss... Looks like I need to find time to tutor you.'
Furina: ???
Unknowingly, the team members had already descended more than halfway.
Furina slowly walked to the edge of the shaft, looked down and couldn't help but tremble.
"Lady Furina." Cecily walked up to Furina and asked. "Will you go down by yourself or climb down using a safety rope?"
"I'll go down mysel—" Before Furina could finish her sentence, she saw Rina turn her head away and not look at her. She knew immediately that her plan to have Rina carry her down had fallen through.
"As the Hydro Archon, I have decided to personally experience your hardship. I will descend just like the rest of you."
"Yes, Lady Furina." Cecily didn't think much of it and simply handed the rope to Furina.
Furina took the rope with slightly trembling hands, and her feet, feeling like they were filled with lead, slowly moved toward the edge of the shaft.
"It's so high..." Furina was terrified inside and her weak legs almost made her lose her footing. "If I fall down... but I've already said the words. A Hydro Archon cannot be afraid of heights... calm down, Furina, you can do this..."
After completing her mental preparation, Furina mustered her courage, slowly extending one foot downward. After finding the ladder rung, she slowly lowered the other foot. The entire sequence of movements was extremely slow.
Cecily saw Furina's state, approached her and said, "Lady Furina, if you are afraid, I can carry you on my back."
"H-how could I be afraid? I am Focalors, the Hydro Archon! I'm just being cautious; after all, caution is the parent of safety!" Furina let out two awkward laughs. She absolutely would not admit the fact that she was truly scared.
"Understood, Lady Furina." Cecily remained completely unsuspecting and continued with her own tasks.
Furina then moved her hands onto the ladder one by one, then extended her left foot down, followed by her right foot after finding the rung, and then her left hand, then her right hand. As time slowly passed, Furina continued her descent at a snail's pace.
Suddenly—Furina's foot slipped and she instantly lost her balance. Just then, Hydro covered her entire body, stabilizing Furina's balance and allowing her to return to the ladder. Her heart also calmed down.
Furina felt she couldn't move anymore, although protected by the rope, she was already close to tears the moment she slipped.
She was terrified of death, but she was even more afraid of Fontaine's destruction.
Furina stopped where she was, hesitating to move forward. On the other side, the vast majority of the team members had already reached the bottom.
Seeing this, Rina frowned.
'I still have to help her, huh? What an idiot…' Rina muttered to herself.
'How troublesome—' she snorted, taking control of the body. Hydro instantly covered her entire body and she flew down the shaft within ten seconds. Before any team members could notice the anomaly, her red pupils reverted to normal blue pupils.
Two minutes later.
As the last team member reached the bottom of the shaft, Cecily began calling roll.
After finishing the roll call and confirming that all members were present, she requested instructions from Furina. "Lady Furina, everyone is here now. Should we depart immediately?"
Furina, who had just been sent down by Rina in ten seconds, was still a little confused about the situation. She could only follow Cecily's lead and announce it to everyone. "Let's go."
"Yes, Lady Furina!"
The group slowly walked toward the interior of Gray River.