Hearing Lora say she would not hit her, Furina felt much more at ease.
Furina lowered her voice and leaned closer. "So, are you really several thousand years old?"
Lora nodded. "Yes. I'm not lying to you about that. I'm quite a bit older than Neuvillette."
"Doesn't that mean you're older than me too..." Furina said in surprise.
"Isn't that only natural?" Lora looked at Furina's dazed expression and sighed helplessly. Why did this girl look so silly sometimes?
Lora went on, "In any case, I'm not human. So it's perfectly normal for me to know gods."
Furina blinked. "What does one have to do with the other? Not being human is one thing, but that doesn't mean you should know gods, right? There are plenty of non-humans out there, and it's not like every one of them knows gods..."
"..."
Seeing Furina keep digging for answers, Lora brought out her trump card.
"I am the Adeptus of Purifying Water and Judgment, an adeptus of Liyue. I fought in the Archon War, kicked down the doors of hostile gods, and wiped out their lairs. Back in the day, I punched that little minnow Qingce and kicked that giant octopus in the Harbor..."
"Wait! Stop, stop. Don't say any more..." Furina hurriedly cut off Lora's boasting. She stared at Lora. "You're a Liyue adeptus? You fought in the Archon War?"
"Yes. I wouldn't lie to you," Lora said with a nod.
She really had fought in the Archon War. Since she had been guaranteed a place anyway, whether she fought or not hardly made a difference. She had just joined in a little.
And she really was a Liyue adeptus too. The contract was written clearly in black and white. Anyone who did not believe it could take it out and see for themselves.
"Then this Miss Chaya..." Furina's gaze shifted from Lora to Chaya. Looking at the person sitting quietly before her, utterly still despite the patrol ship's faint rocking, she lowered her voice and asked Lora, "Could she be Liyue's deity?"
Her timidness was clear in her voice as she asked.
Lora understood what Furina was worried about. She shook her head. "No. Rex Lapis is already dead. The coffin lid's been nailed shut. It would be pretty difficult for him to crawl back out."
Furina finally relaxed after hearing that, but Chaya looked as if she was having a hard time holding it together.
Chaya closed her eyes and sighed.
Furina asked, "Eh? Miss Chaya, why are you sighing? Did we touch on something painful?"
Lora immediately nodded. "Exactly. You don't know this, but my older sister revered Rex Lapis more than anything. After Rex Lapis passed away, she suffered terribly..."
Furina looked at Chaya. "Um... Miss Chaya, the dead can't come back to life. Rex Lapis is already gone, so you shouldn't take it too hard..."
"...Thank you for your concern. I'm not taking it hard." Chaya's lips twitched slightly, but in the end, she held back the urge to knock Lora on the head.
As they spoke, the patrol ship arrived at the Court of Fontaine.
After disembarking, Furina said to the people from the Maison Gardiennage, "Take this traveler and her flying pet to the Palais Mermonia and lock them up! Tomorrow, have Neuvillette put them on trial!"
As she spoke, Furina even sounded a little excited. She believed judging this special traveler from another land was the grand final trial she had been waiting for.
She had originally planned to hold the trial immediately, but that did not quite fit procedure. She still had to submit the documents to Neuvillette first. Furina rarely disrupted Fontaine's procedures. To her, those procedures had to remain stable, because if she broke them, she did not have much ability to restore them.
"Yes!" The Maison Gardiennage staff nodded and led Lumine and Paimon away.
Compared to other criminals, however, Lumine and Paimon showed no surprise or worry about being arrested. They had seen the gesture Lora made to them.
After watching Lumine and Paimon be taken away, Furina turned to Lora and Chaya. "Let's go. We're going to see Neuvillette."
Although most of the buildings in the Court of Fontaine had already been rebuilt or renovated, the overall layout still followed its ancient structure. Since Lora and Chaya had once stayed in the Court for a time, neither of them needed Furina to lead the way.
Furina pushed open the door to Neuvillette's office and called out, "Neuvillette, I need to talk to you!"
Neuvillette, who was working, showed a faintly helpless expression. He looked up, but when he saw Lora and Chaya behind Furina, he quickly stood.
"You're here?"
Lora nodded. "Mm. I'm back."
"Will this be a short stay, or...?" Neuvillette asked.
"I'm staying long-term. I won't be leaving this time," Lora told him.
Hearing that, Neuvillette gave a slight nod. "Good. Long-term is good... I'll arrange rooms for you and Miss Chaya."
"Hey!" Furina interrupted him, frowning in confusion. "Wasn't I the one who greeted you first?"
Neuvillette looked at Furina and asked calmly, "Then, what does Lady Furina wish to say to me? I assume it is not another request like, 'Raise the trial platform a little higher so the view is clearer,' is it?"
"Of course not!" Furina shook her head, then whispered to him, "Help me save some face! They're still here!"
Neuvillette nodded. "Very well... Then what does Lady Furina need from me?"
Furina cleared her throat and put on a solemn air. "Today, travelers from another land set foot in the nation of Hydro. As outsiders, they dared to draw their swords against me, a god! This is an offense against a god. Therefore, I demand that you put them on trial tomorrow for the crime of offending a god."
After listening to Furina, Neuvillette said slowly, "Forgive my bluntness, Lady Furina, but I have already heard from several people that you brought a group to the harbor today. In essence, this matter should be considered something you initiated, should it not?"
"Eh?" Furina froze.
Neuvillette continued, "I have also met that traveler before. She is indeed someone who dares draw her sword against a god. She has even truly fought a god before, and that god was the Raiden Shogun, renowned for martial strength. Therefore... Lady Furina, she does not need to be judged."
"This..."
Furina looked even more shocked. She had not expected Lumine to have truly fought a god, much less a powerful god like the Electro Archon.
And survived!
"I will have that traveler and her companion released. Lady Furina, please do not do anything that would damage the dignity of the Court of Fontaine," Neuvillette said to Furina