Lora and Callirhoe walked for a long time. By the time they returned to the venue, the poetry gathering had already begun, and quite a few people were taking part in the activities.
Lora had no interest in those activities, but Callirhoe seemed very interested. Not wanting to spoil her fun, Lora simply watched from the side, as though watching her own child join in.
She watched Callirhoe take part with the others, guessing lantern riddles, writing poems, and reciting verses together.
Hu Tao picked up a fallen leaf. Several lines of poetry had been carved into it. The poem looked deeply sorrowful, yet it was filled with longing and love. No one knew who had written it, but Callirhoe's mood clearly changed.
Lora understood. This was the poem Callirhoe had written. She had written her love into it.
Then Lora saw Callirhoe come before her again after experiencing all of that, her expression hesitant.
"What do you want to say? You can say anything in front of me, Callirhoe," Lora said softly, looking at Callirhoe, who seemed unsure how to begin.
"I want... to see Finch again, Lady Egeria," Callirhoe said, looking at Lora as she voiced the wish in her heart. "But with my current strength, I'm afraid I won't be able to maintain this form for very long. I'm afraid..."
Before she could finish, Lora had already raised her hand. She gently touched Callirhoe's forehead, sending a small amount of pure divine power into her. It completely stabilized Callirhoe's power, allowing her to maintain her form for a long time.
Feeling the abundant power within her, Callirhoe thanked Lora with great emotion.
Lora looked at Callirhoe and said, "Child, I am your mother. You don't need to thank me..."
Callirhoe steadied her emotions and nodded.
"Would you mind if I came with you? I'd like to see what my son-in-law is like," Lora suddenly said.
"Lady Egeria..." Hearing Lora's words, Callirhoe covered her face shyly.
"Don't worry. I won't interrupt. You two can talk. Just ignore me," Lora said with a smile.
The two of them arrived at Springvale. Venti volunteered to help them find Finch. As a famous drunken bard of Mondstadt, Venti also had quite a reputation in Springvale.
When people heard he was looking for Finch, many kindly pointed the way and helped them find him.
"Oh my, why are so many people looking for me today? It's not even my birthday..." Finch looked a little bewildered when he saw them approach.
Callirhoe gazed at Finch's aged face and said softly, "Finch..."
The moment Finch heard her voice, he froze. Then excitement overtook him.
"That voice... Callirhoe?"
"...I didn't expect you to still remember." Callirhoe was a little surprised when Finch called out her name.
"Remember? Hahaha, of course I remember! How could I forget?" Finch walked toward Callirhoe, his voice trembling with tears. "But you didn't look like this back then... Back then, you were more like someone from a fairy tale..."
"Oh... Look at my memory. A fairy from a fairy tale could turn into anything, couldn't she..." After realizing what he had said, Finch laughed at himself.
Callirhoe laughed too. "It's been so long, and you can still make me happy..."
"That's because you always appeared at night... It made me think it was only a dream..." Finch said.
Callirhoe looked at him and said apologetically, "I made you wait so long, Finch."
"Not long... Not long at all... It was only the blink of an eye," Finch said, shaking his head.
And yet, that blink of an eye had already spanned a person's entire life.
Callirhoe brought Finch before Lora and said to him, "Finch, this is... my mother."
Lora, who had only been watching from the side and had no intention of getting involved, froze for a moment. She stared blankly at Callirhoe.
"Huh?"
Finch looked at Lora in surprise, but he understood. Callirhoe herself was already so extraordinary, so her mother naturally could not be judged by ordinary standards. It made sense for her to look so young.
He bowed to Lora and said, "Hello... I'm Finch. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Uh... Hello, hello. You two talk. Go on, talk. I'll just watch from the side," Lora said to Finch with a slightly awkward smile. She quickly looked at Callirhoe and said, "Didn't you write him a poem? Hurry and read it..."
"Ah... Right... Finch, I wrote a poem for you..." Callirhoe nodded and took out the poem she had written for him. "Would you like to hear it?"
"Of course! I'm willing to listen to every word you say," Finch said with a nod.
"It is a story about a Spring Fairy..."
Callirhoe read the poem she had written to Finch. Though she said it was the story of a Spring Fairy, it sounded more like a poem singing of their love. It was filled with affection.
The love between a Spring Fairy and a human.
[...Now, I give you my heart. May you accept this... belated promise.]
After she read that line, she held up a beautiful Spring Heart and gave it to Finch.
"Finch, this heart is my promise to you. I hope you like this gift."
"Like it? How could I not..." Finch looked at the Spring Heart in Callirhoe's hands, tears falling from his eyes.
Callirhoe turned back to Lora and said, "Lady Egeria... When you asked me before, I didn't know the answer. But now, I think I have it."
"And what is your answer?" Lora asked, looking at Callirhoe.
Callirhoe looked at Lora and said earnestly, "I want to become human. I want to be with Finch. Perhaps our time will be short, and perhaps I will taste loneliness in the future, but at least we will have this moment."
"To have this moment..." Lora sighed. "That was the choice many of your brothers and sisters made. And now, it has become your choice too. I will grant this wish for you, Callirhoe."
Lora came to the lakeside and raised her hand, pouring her power into the lake.
All the waters of Teyvat were connected to Fontaine. After reclaiming her divine body, Lora no longer needed Neuvillette's help to command the water system from anywhere and draw out the power of the Primordial Sea.
Since she was already bearing original sin, one more sin made no difference.
The Heavenly Principles? The Heavenly Principles were practically sleeping like the dead. How could they possibly interfere with her act of creation now?