"Okay!" Lumine did not even ask what Lora needed to discuss with Neuvillette that required sending them away.
Paimon still wanted to ask questions, but Lumine simply dragged her off.
Only after the two had left did Neuvillette and Chaya walk over.
The Chief Justice said casually, "Today, the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale seemed more hesitant than usual when delivering its verdict."
The fact that he used the word hesitant proved he had already realized something as well.
Lora smiled faintly. "After all, it was judging three Archons. Of course it hesitated. Still, in a roundabout way, it fulfilled Furina's dream—putting gods on trial before the Oratrice."
"Perhaps once she learns the truth, she'll feel more frightened than happy..." Neuvillette sighed helplessly.
"When that time comes, you may end up comforting even more people," Chaya said softly from the side.
"Ah... that can't be helped." Lora sighed too, then looked at Neuvillette. "Remember to investigate the background of that man selling Sinthe. There should be a connection to the Confrerie of Cabriere and their president, Marcel. Keep a close watch on him."
"Marcel?" He nodded slightly. "Understood. I'll have people investigate him discreetly."
Marcel's background was far from clean, and his methods were hardly flawless. It was simply that no one had suspected him before, so no one had ever investigated him thoroughly.
But now that Lora had given the warning, things were different.
With the Chief Justice of Fontaine personally investigating—and with Lora backing him—Marcel would have no chance to erase his tracks.
"As for everything else, take it step by step." Lora let out another sigh. "All right, that's everything I needed to entrust to you. Is there anything the two of you want to say to me?"
Chaya shook her head.
Neuvillette then asked, "Those three seemed to be heading to the Fortress of Meropide on purpose."
Lora gave a small hum of acknowledgment. "Yes. They did it deliberately."
"The fissure leading to the Primordial Sea lies beneath the Fortress of Meropide?" he asked.
"That's right." Lora nodded. "In truth, the Fortress of Meropide was created to guard that fissure. I assigned Fontaine's sinners there to guard my greatest secret."
"But they do not understand how dangerous that place truly is," Neuvillette said quietly.
He continued, "However, Wriothesley may have realized something. Or perhaps he has been preparing for the prophecy all along. He brought several researchers from the Fontaine Research Institute into the Fortress of Meropide, where they are working on something."
The Fortress of Meropide was Wriothesley's territory. Although Neuvillette was the Chief Justice, he rarely interfered with matters inside the Fortress, nor was there any need to.
"I know what they're doing. There's no need to interfere." Lora sighed and shook her head. "This is Fontaine's people trying to save themselves."
Neither Chaya nor Neuvillette said anything further. The two soon took their leave and departed from the Opera Epiclese.
After everyone else in the opera house had gone, Lora headed toward the chamber of the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale and entered that isolated space.
The moment she stepped inside, Focalors rushed over and hugged her.
"Lady Egeria..."
Lora gently stroked her hair and smiled. "What's wrong? You're not a child anymore. Are you still acting spoiled?"
"Were those really Inazuma's Electro Archons? And there were three of them!" Focalors looked up at her, clearly still shocked by what had happened earlier.
Lora nodded. "That's right. Makoto, Ei, and the puppet Ei created using a divine vessel—the Shogun."
"Did you call them here?" Focalors asked.
"Not exactly." Lora shook her head. "I helped them in Inazuma before, so they came to Fontaine to help me in return. You could call it... a tacit understanding between Makoto and me."
"Then... what about the temporary Chief Justice, Chaya?" Focalors continued. "She's an incredibly powerful god. Logically speaking, a god that powerful shouldn't still exist in Teyvat anymore... So is she one of The Seven too?"
Lora smiled. "What do you think?"
Focalors blinked. "Could she be... the Geo Archon?"
Lora merely smiled without answering.
Focalors continued thinking out loud. "Although I've never met the Geo Archon, I've heard the people of Liyue call him Rex Lapis, the Lord of Geo. He should look like a man, so why—"
Lora immediately covered Focalors's mouth.
"All right. Any further would be rude."
"Hm?" Focalors looked at her blankly.
"You don't need to think about it too much." Lora smiled helplessly. "You only need to know they all came here to help me."
"I knew it. As long as Lady Egeria returned, you would definitely bring hope back to Fontaine!" Focalors smiled brightly at her.
"I'll bring you dessert tomorrow. What would you like to eat?" Lora asked while rubbing her hair again.
Focalors blinked, thought for a moment, then answered honestly, "I want to eat a lot of things..."
"Then I'll bring you a little of everything. As much as you want."
"Thank you, Lady Egeria!"
When Lora returned to the Palais Mermonia, Furina was already sitting on the sofa, staring solemnly at the door.
Seeing her like that, Lora deliberately glanced behind herself first before asking, "There's nothing behind me. What's with that expression?"
Furina looked at her and frowned.
"Lora! You're supposed to be my bodyguard! Logically speaking, you should be following me wherever I go! But ever since we got back to Fontaine, how much time have you actually spent with me? Tell me!"
Hearing the accusation, Lora raised an eyebrow and seriously thought about it for a moment.
"Probably... a few hours?"
"And I've been paying you this whole time! Is this your attitude toward work?" Furina stood up and tried her best to put on an imposing aura while glaring sternly at her.
But the moment Lora walked a few steps closer, Furina's momentum instantly collapsed. She quickly backed up and sat back down on the sofa, staring at her cautiously.
"Are you... going to hit me?"