The Pope of the Court of Fontaine?
Kael remained the Reincarnator.
The audience watching the screen didn't react much to the title itself. They had already grown accustomed to his status as a traveler across lifetimes.
But his identity in this second Reincarnation... that was a different story.
It was common knowledge that in a place like Mondstadt, the Knights of Favonius held the reins of government. Yet, the influence of The Church could never be ignored.
A Pope, at least on the surface, held a status no lower than the Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius.
Navia: "Wait, I don't remember the Court of Fontaine ever having an institution like The Church."
Clorinde: "Mr. Kael is a variable within Teyvat. Perhaps it only exists because of him."
Neuvillette: "It is not that the Court of Fontaine never had a Church. However... that was hundreds of years ago."
Lynette: "Does that mean Mr. Kael's Reincarnation story will take us back to the Fontaine of centuries past?"
Lyney: "Not necessarily. Just because the current Court of Fontaine lacks a Church doesn't mean Mr. Kael couldn't have maintained it until the present day in his past life."
Venti: "Ehe, it looks like Kael became quite the big shot this time."
Yae Miko: "Oh my, a big shot? Then he won't be able to act like an aimless wanderer who knows nothing, like he did with Lumine."
***
Inside Kael's home.
Paimon rubbed her distended, drum-tight belly.
"Huh? Kael actually had a connection with Fontaine?" she asked, her expression shifting to one of surprise.
"Furina, it looks like you're going to be in this one!"
Had her expectations actually come true?
Furina stared at the light screen, her beautiful eyes fixed and unmoving.
The Church...
In her memories, such a thing had indeed existed.
Its primary purpose had been to sing hymns of praise to the greatness of the gods.
But shortly after Furina began her role as the Hydro Archon, the clergy began to resign, one after another.
Furina had been devastated for a long time.
She knew the truth in her heart. In the eyes of those people, her hysterical, over-the-top performances were not how a god should behave.
The decline of The Church was their silent protest against the god she portrayed.
Furina had cried for an entire night. But in the days that followed, she continued her exaggerated acting to win the approval of the common folk.
She eventually dismissed the people of The Church as stubborn traditionalists, unable to keep up with the divine mind.
Ultimately, over the next 500 years, the Fontaine Church faded entirely from the memories of the people.
'This is bad. This is so, so bad.'
'Kael is terrifyingly capable. If he became the Pope of the Court of Fontaine, a fake god like me will never escape his grasp.'
'I won't even last five years before he sees through me, let alone 500.'
'And the Prophecy of Fontaine turned out to be fake... my ending in that past life must have been miserable.'
After the great flood.
The citizens of Fontaine had not been dissolved into the Primordial Seawater.
No one knew what had actually happened behind the scenes of the Prophecy.
Lumine had learned the full truth from Neuvillette at the end of her journey.
But Furina herself remained ignorant of what Focalors had done in the end.
She simply believed that as long as no one discovered she was a fake, Fontaine would be saved.
Unfortunately, the final flood felt like a cruel joke to her.
The destruction of Fontaine and the dissolving of its people into the sea never happened. The Prophecy was a lie.
***
In Kael's bedroom.
Kael lay on the bed, quietly watching Lumine.
Her beauty wasn't the most striking in Teyvat, and her figure couldn't compare to the more mature women he knew.
But Lumine had a face you could look at forever.
"You were amazing, Lumine..."
Kael reached out, gently patting her.
"Stop it."
Lumine's entire focus was consumed by the Viewing System.
Fortunately, now that the Reincarnation story had begun, her physical condition had fully recovered.
Just as she had suspected, Kael's cycle of Reincarnation had happened more than once. She wasn't the only one he had encountered.
She just hadn't expected this story to take place in Fontaine.
Thinking of Furina, who had suffered for 500 years for the sake of her nation, Lumine felt a sharp pang in her chest.
She turned to Kael, her expression serious.
"There is something I need to tell you."
Lumine didn't hold back. She recounted everything she had seen and heard during her travels in Fontaine.
Especially the truth regarding Furina.
The Pope's Verdict
She told Kael everything she knew, holding nothing back.
Kael, of course, was already well aware of Furina's secret. He knew the weight she carried better than anyone in Teyvat.
But he had to play the part.
He let out a long, heavy sigh, masking his knowledge with a look of weary pity. "I never imagined she was going through something so difficult... to endure five hundred years of pain all by herself."
"Yes, and who knows what will happen in this Reincarnation," Lumine said softly. "If it's anything like our past lives together, I'm sure the Furina of that era was very happy."
Kael remained silent.
'Should I call her kind-hearted, or is she just tossing me into a pit of fire?'
The chat in the live stream began to flicker with activity.
[Paimon: @Kael @Lumine, are you two done whispering yet? The new Reincarnation story is starting!]
[Kael: Yeah, we're done. We'll be out in a second.]
[Lumine: (You're lucky this time.)]
[Aether: Hmph! What were you two talking about for so long? Lumine, tell me the truth... did he bully you?]
[Lumine: Relax, brother. Kael is just like he was in his past life. He's very gentle.]
[Navia: Let's get this started. I'm dying to see what Mr. Kael looks like as a Pope in our Fontaine.]
[Wriothesley: As a Pope, his authority should be quite high. At the very least, he would be on equal footing with Monsieur Neuvillette.]
[Neuvillette: No. Strictly speaking, the Pope is the representative of divine authority. His power would technically sit above that of the Iudex, though I would still retain the right to put Mr. Kael on Trial.]
[Alhaitham: Why does this sound less like a history lesson and more like a power struggle? The Hydro Archon of Fontaine...]
[Thoma: I heard Fontaine suffered a massive flood recently. Didn't the Hydro Archon resign?]
[Sangonomiya Kokomi: Resign?]
[Dvalin: A god... can resign?]
[Venti: Hehe, I finally found a god even more unreliable than me!]
[Barbara: .....]
[Klee: It's starting, it's starting! Wait, who is this big brother? Klee has never seen him before.]
[Clorinde: Wriothesley?]
[Wriothesley: ???]
[Court of Fontaine, Fortress of Meropide.]
[Wriothesley led a squad of guards through the damp, metallic halls. They moved with purpose, eventually surrounding a group of about a dozen men wearing distinctive headwear.]
["It's His Grace."]
["What's going on?"]
["This is..."]
[The Hat-Cap Association.]
[It was a guild that had existed within the Fortress of Meropide for a long time.]
["Your Grace, what is the meaning of this?"]
[Dugier, the president of the association, asked the question with a look of feigned confusion.]
[Wriothesley didn't waste words. His expression remained cold, a mask of iron that offered no room for negotiation.]
["You. Dugier."]
["You founded the Hat-Cap Association and used your position to brainwash and intimidate your members. Your goal was to turn them into your personal property."]
["I am here to deliver your verdict."]
[Verdict?]
[Dugier froze.]
[His eyes swept fiercely over the surrounding members of the Hat-Cap Association, searching for a traitor. The implication was clear. Someone had snitched.]
[However, Dugier was a man who kept his head.]
[He let out a mocking laugh. "Your Grace, I am well aware of your status in the Fortress of Meropide. But even this place has rules."]
["I am the president of the Hat-Cap Association. Our internal regulations don't seem to violate any of the laws of the Fortress."]
[Wriothesley didn't argue. He simply watched the man's performance with a chilling silence.]
["Besides, everyone in the Fortress of Meropide is already a convict serving a sentence."]
["Even if you are the Duke, for you to say you're delivering a 'verdict' to a prisoner..."]
[Dugier narrowed his eyes, a smug smile tugging at his lips.]
[Unless a prisoner committed a truly heinous new crime, those already branded as sinners were rarely judged again. Not even the Hydro Archon or the Iudex would bother with a second Trial for a man already behind bars.]
[As the Duke of the Fortress, Wriothesley understood this better than anyone.]
["Furthermore, if Your Grace wants to convict me, you should at least produce evidence that fits the laws of the Fortress."]
[Just as Dugier began to gloat, a cold, feminine voice rang out from the entrance.]
[Clorinde stepped into the light. Her impressive figure swayed with every confident stride, and a flintlock pistol rested firmly in her hand.]
["Are you suggesting that the words of the Pope could be false?"]
~✦~ End of Chapter ~✦~
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