"First this, then this, after that this, and finally this!"
With the survival, sightseeing, and vacation guide dictated by the self-proclaimed Herrscher of Sentience still echoing in her mind, Focalors sighed softly as she looked down the street before her.
She assessed her current state.
She possessed little power, and this body had been crafted in a way she could not comprehend—according to that Herrscher, it was a "puppet" vessel.
It could house a human consciousness, and from the outside, it was indistinguishable from a normal person.
This particular puppet vessel was one she had crafted specifically for herself.
Focalors didn't know how far the Herrscher of Sentience had delved into such arts, but she still offered a few flattering compliments to appease the other's pride. After all, the woman had come to help her and Furina, and regardless of her actual capability, Focalors felt a sincere sense of gratitude.
She then turned her gaze to the silver card in her hand.
It was a card the Herrscher of Sentience had pressed into her palm before she arrived in this world. Based on what she had been told, this card would grant her recognition within this reality.
In other words, it would transform her from an "outworlder" into a "local."
Focalors felt a surge of curiosity about the person who could create such an object, as well as the card itself, but knowing they were not exactly close, she was forced to suppress those questions in her heart.
Just mentally recite "Use," I suppose.
As a burst of light flared from the card, a flood of knowledge and awareness—memories that had never existed before—rushed into her mind.
For an ordinary person, processing so much new information might have been overwhelming, but to a god like her, it was trivial.
Gods, Familias, Dungeons, Adventurers—a completely different worldview, entirely different deities, an entirely different world.
Once she had digested the memories, Focalors knew exactly what she had to do.
Honestly, upon learning that Furina had placed the weight of everything on her shoulders, Focalors felt a pang of heartache that overshadowed her own helplessness.
Furina had already endured too much pain, more than any human should ever have to bear, and the root of that suffering was her.
The torment, the sorrow, the endless days, the endless trials—if she could, Focalors did not want to add any more pressure or worry to Furina's life.
Even though Furina had likely pushed this situation onto her out of a subconscious need for self-preservation, she was more than willing to turn that assumption into reality.
With no known path ahead and no end in sight, Focalors hoped that in this strange world, so different from Teyvat, Furina might be able to live a little more freely and easily.
The day was already growing late. Taking a deep breath, Focalors set off toward the Guild.
--+--
Meanwhile.
Furina had spent the entire afternoon at the Guild with Sushang.
Conversations between people often revealed startling news—one could even gauge market trends, the integrity or corruption of officials, and social undercurrents. For Furina, this habit of gleaning insights from the smallest details had long since become an instinct, etched into her very marrow.
Quietly absorbing the various scraps of information, she checked the time as the crowd of adventurers began to thin.
Is it already dinner time...? Though both my body and mind are exhausted, it was well worth it.
The young girl was quite satisfied with the intelligence she had gathered. Even though the adventurers' exchanges were often colored by subjective emotions and biases, rationally filtering and processing that information was her specialty.
Pulling her thoughts back from their constant, rapid-fire calculations, Furina looked at the girl sitting across from her, only to discover that at some point, she had slumped onto the sofa with no regard for her image.
She was even wearing a ridiculous white eye mask, featuring a hand-drawn cartoon of wide, staring eyes—a piece of art that made Furina suspect the girl had drawn it herself.
"..."
Is this really the proper state for a bodyguard...?
No... now that I think about it, she isn't a professional bodyguard at all, just someone recruited by my "other self" to help...
Thinking of the girl's straightforward and lively nature, Furina let out a small sigh.
It was only natural that the previous situation had made her uncomfortable, but she herself had been so immersed in her own world that she hadn't considered Sushang's feelings.
Even if she was doing "important work," it was still only her work.
"Sushang." She called the girl's name. Seeing no reaction, she called a few more times.
Sleeping this soundly? In a crowded place like this?
There was nothing for it. Furina stood up, walked over to Sushang, and gently shook her shoulder: "Sushang, it's time for us to go."
"..."
Still no reaction.
This quality of sleep was so extreme that Furina didn't know whether to feel frustrated or envious. To be able to drift off so easily and sleep so soundly—perhaps that was a sign of a truly carefree spirit.
She pondered how to wake the girl up properly. Looking at her light snoring and the trace of drool at the corner of her mouth, a mischievous thought suddenly crossed her mind.
Leaning down until her face was right beside the brown-haired girl's ear, Furina whispered, "Class is dismissed, Sushang."
"Ah...?! Class is dismissed?!"
The girl, who had been sleeping soundly, jolted upright at the keywords, her posture awkward because she was still half-slumped on the sofa.
As her consciousness returned, Sushang finally relaxed and lifted the eye mask.
Seeing the smiling, pretty face in front of her, Sushang couldn't help but make a bitter face: "Furina, you scared the life out of me! I thought I'd been sent back to the academy to repeat a grade!"
"Is returning to the academy really that unbearable for you?" Furina laughed.
When they first met, she had seemed every bit the Liyue swordswoman, but after only half a day together, that filter had been thoroughly shattered in Furina's mind.
"Ugh, you have no idea what I went through back then. Training with the sword, studying books—how could any normal person handle that kind of grind?"
Sushang pouted, looking deeply aggrieved.
"Apologies~ I didn't mean to stir up your painful past. But I didn't expect your sleep quality to be so good. I couldn't wake you no matter how hard I tried, so I had to resort to that." Despite finding it amusing, Furina didn't dwell on the topic.
"It's fine, I was just complaining. It's all in the past anyway. I'm happy not to see my teacher, and I'm sure my teacher is happy not to see me."
Sushang scratched her head and brushed the topic aside: "Did you finish gathering your intel? Shall we go now?"
"Yes, we've been here all afternoon... but the results are quite encouraging. I have a general impression of most of the Familias now, so the time wasn't wasted."
Actually, it was still a bit of a waste, Sushang thought to herself.
The truth was, she hadn't been genuinely asleep; she had been waiting for an opportunity for their paths to cross.
Watching a figure walk into the Guild hall, the brown-haired girl's eyes widened in surprise: "Furina! Look! Over there—there's someone who looks exactly like you!?"
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL