"I hadn't planned on staying here for long, so I never really thought about joining a Familia."
Fearing that her companion might think she had been playing hard to get, Furina explained, "Now that Sushang is here, I've changed my mind."
"If Miss Tiona is willing to tell me more about the various Familias, I'm happy to offer what I can in return."
Her phrasing carried a certain sense of distance. Tiona, being an Amazon, wasn't particularly fond of such formal, guarded speech, but she was used to it by now; she had long since trained herself to translate such talk into the straightforward language she preferred.
"Hahaha, don't worry about any returns! Let's just chat like normal people. I was just sitting here waiting for someone anyway, and I was getting bored!"
The Amazon girl waved her hand with a grin and pointed toward a nearby seat. "Let's go over there and talk!"
Off to the side, the staff member's expression darkened as they watched Tiona whisk the two of them away.
That person from the Loki Familia definitely won't say anything good about the Freya Familia... But if I speak up now, it'll seem too deliberate.
As it turned out, the staff member's intuition was spot on.
Once they were seated, Tiona bluntly asked for Sushang's name.
Her directness didn't quite match the social etiquette Furina was accustomed to, but far from feeling offended, Furina found herself quite taken by it.
"My name is Li Sushang. You can just call me Sushang!" Sushang, who had left the decision-making to Furina, was surprised to find herself being addressed directly.
This girl with the bronze skin seems to have taken an immediate liking to me, doesn't she?
"Li Sushang? What a strange name."
Tiona tried her best to tame her tongue and adjust her tone, but she ended up butchering it with a clunky "Su-shang."
The awkward pronunciation made Furina smile. Names from Liyue were indeed difficult for outsiders; they followed naming conventions and phonetic patterns quite different from other nations.
While the naming style in Inazuma was somewhat similar to Liyue's, the pronunciation was significantly simpler.
Sushang scratched the back of her head, feeling a bit embarrassed. "It's fine! Just call me whatever you're comfortable with!"
"I really like you!" Seeing her attitude, Tiona immediately stopped worrying about the pronunciation and laughed. "The moment I saw you, I just knew our personalities would click!"
"Huh?"
The two girls exchanged a puzzled look.
If this were between two people of the opposite sex, one might call it love at first sight, but what exactly was this situation?
"I like your straightforward way of speaking, Miss Tiona! You know what they say—a chance meeting is like reconnecting with an old friend!" Though she wasn't entirely sure how to describe it, Sushang responded with equal kindness to the girl's warmth.
"A chance meeting... is like an old friend?"
Tiona wasn't sure where that saying came from, as she had no idea where Sushang was from, but she liked the sentiment.
It was true! She had looked at Sushang and just felt that they shared a common spark—wasn't that just like being friends?
Furina: "..."
Don't you mean, "Meeting by chance is like finding a long-lost friend"?
She studied Sushang's expression carefully and realized she wasn't hiding her identity by deliberately misquoting—she truly believed that was the phrase, and she even looked quite proud of it.
Isn't that an old Liyue saying? Are you sure you're not from Teyvat?
No... could it be that because the two worlds are similar but distinct, the language has shifted? Perhaps in Sushang's homeland, that is exactly how the saying goes?
While Furina was still deep in thought, Sushang had already moved the conversation forward.
"It's so lucky that we've met a reliable local right after arriving! We were just wondering where we could learn as much as possible about the various Familias."
Touched by the word "reliable," Tiona patted her flat chest and grinned.
"Leave it to me! I don't usually pay much attention to the other Familias, but I pick things up when I'm chatting. Which ones are you interested in? Actually, why not just join the Loki Familia?"
"Our atmosphere is great! And aside from the mandatory monthly activity requirements, there aren't any complicated rules!"
Isn't this "dating" phase moving a bit too fast?
Furina composed herself, finally returning to her calm state.
"Miss Tiona, could you perhaps share your own perspective and tell us about the Familias that left an impression on you?"
"Familias that left an impression?" Tiona thought for a moment and then rattled off a list like a machine gun. Furina processed the information, synthesizing it into her own understanding:
Ganesha Familia: Commissioned by the Guild to maintain order in Orario, often hosting entertainment events.
Hephaestus Familia: The most famous smithing Familia in Orario, with four branches in Babel. According to Tiona, weapons are arguably the city's greatest consumable—and luxury—item.
Dian Cecht Familia: The most famous healing Familia in Orario, selling medicine and providing treatment to adventurers.
Demeter Familia: The largest agricultural Familia, responsible for the city's vegetable and fruit supply.
Ishtar Familia: Known for controlling all the brothels in the Pleasure Quarter.
The volume of information was substantial.
At the very least, Furina now understood that while the Guild held significant power in this city, it didn't manage every aspect of urban life—in fact, it seemed to take a hands-off approach to many things.
Is that really the case, or is it just the surface appearance?
As a god of a nation, Furina wasn't used to a city lacking a central, official authority. Even in Fontaine, there were places beyond the reach of the Court, but everyone knew where the authority lay, and everyone knew whom to go to for justice if something went wrong.
Even in free-spirited Mondstadt, there were still the Knights of Favonius and the Church.
This Guild is even more... "free" than the Knights and the Church?
Furina couldn't find the right words to express her thoughts.
But she didn't need to dwell on it; after all, she didn't need to worry about how to manage a city outside of Fontaine.
Among all of Tiona's descriptions, two Familias stood out to Furina. One was, naturally, the Loki Familia—the one Tiona was so passionately recommending.
It was a powerful, top-tier organization, well-funded, low-stress, with close-knit members and a down-to-earth deity. It seemed like an excellent choice.
The other was the Freya Familia, which Syr had recommended earlier.
Compared to the Loki Familia, Tiona didn't have many positive things to say about Freya's. That was understandable, given they were competitors.
Yet, from Tiona's brief remarks, Furina gleaned a key detail: although the Freya Familia was hailed as the strongest, it didn't seem particularly unified or harmonious—it sounded as though its members were all pursuing their own interests and agendas.
So far, Furina couldn't tell if this was just a biased opinion from Tiona, the generally accepted truth, or simply how things actually were.
However, based on the information gathered, and observing how the four members of the Loki Familia (Tiona included) interacted with one another, she couldn't help but feel that perhaps the Loki Familia was, indeed, her best choice.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL