Hearing the news of the world's end again, Furina understood the gravity of the situation even more clearly. She turned to Neuvillette and Focalors, saying,
"Listen to me. During my conversations with Emily, I gathered some information..."
Furina then recounted everything Emily had told her earlier to Neuvillette and Focalors.
After hearing Furina's account, both fell into deep thought.
The fact that the mysterious organization had higher-ranking members had already been anticipated by Neuvillette and Focalors.
However, what they hadn't expected was that, according to Emily's calculations, no matter how hard they tried, the ultimate fate of the Teyvat continent remained its destruction, driving her to despair.
Especially Neuvillette, who had met Emily personally, knew how strong her inner resolve was.
Moreover, her capabilities had been proven in this very incident. She had completely outmaneuvered Amos, whose threat far surpassed that of No. 6, calculating his every move from start to finish.
Therefore, her claims carried significant weight.
Neuvillette suddenly realized that the world would soon face a catastrophic crisis!
His thoughts drifted to the Fatui and Snezhnaya. Had the Cryo Archon's recent order for the Fatui to collect the Gnosis from other nations been issued in response to this impending cataclysm?
"What should we do now, Neuvillette?" Furina asked.
"Do you think the other nations would support us if we told them about this?"
Neuvillette shook his head.
"First, we lack concrete evidence to support our claims. Even we ourselves harbor doubts about this conclusion."
"Furthermore, the relationships between the Seven Nations aren't close enough for true cooperation. Some are plagued by internal strife, while others have deep-seated conflicts with other nations."
Though Neuvillette didn't explicitly name these nations, Furina and Focalors could easily guess which ones he meant.
"Therefore, unless we reach the absolute brink of disaster, there's only one way to compel all nations to set aside their prejudices and cooperate to overcome this crisis."
"We need an intermediary who can facilitate cooperation among the Seven Nations," Neuvillette calmly analyzed.
"Someone who maintains good relations with all seven nations? That's practically impossible to find!" Furina exclaimed.
"No, there is indeed someone who might be suitable right now."
Hearing Neuvillette's words, Furina and Focalors immediately pressed him for more information.
"Who is it?"
Neuvillette pondered for a moment before slowly revealing the Traveler's identity.
"She is a Traveler from beyond this world."
"A Traveler?"
Unlike Focalors, who remained secluded within the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale and was largely unaware of current events, Furina had some knowledge of the outside world.
"You mean the Traveler who always has a small white sprite with her? The one who resolved the Stormterror crisis in Mondstadt and joined forces with the Liyue Qixing to defeat the Overlord of the Vortex Osial? The one who set out for Inazuma several months ago?"
The Traveler's reputation preceded her, and Furina had followed her exploits with some interest.
However, due to Inazuma's isolationist policies, Furina had received no further updates on her activities.
Moreover, Fontaine was currently facing an unending series of crises, leaving her with even less energy to inquire about someone so far away in another nation.
Still, her reputation alone was enough to impress anyone.
Neuvillette nodded and then spoke.
"Lady Furina's information is somewhat outdated. According to my latest intelligence, the Traveler is already en route to Sumeru."
"I heard she ended the long-standing conflict between the Inazuma Shogunate and Watatsumi Island, reunifying Inazuma. Through some means, she persuaded the Raiden Shogun to rescind her edicts, lifting Inazuma's isolationist policies. She even challenged the Fatui Harbinger 'La Signora' to a Champion Duel and won, after which the Raiden Shogun executed La Signora."
"Executed?!"
Furina and Focalors were stunned by this news, completely unprepared for the Raiden Shogun's ruthlessly decisive action. To execute such a high-ranking Fatui Harbinger—a crucial asset to Snezhnaya—with such swiftness was unimaginable.
Considering the immense pressure they faced in Fontaine simply because Tartaglia had gone missing, Furina couldn't fathom the scale of Snezhnaya's reaction once they learned of this event.
"Yes, Lady Rosalyne's remains have been transported back to Snezhnaya."
"Precisely because of this, Snezhnaya has lessened its pressure on Fontaine considerably, allowing me to focus on internal affairs."
"Amazing! Truly incredible!"
After digesting the information, Furina was speechless with awe upon hearing the Traveler's glorious exploits.
She had personally witnessed Tartaglia's formidable strength, yet he was merely the last-ranked Fatui Harbinger.
With La Signora, who held four ranks above Tartaglia, Furina could only vaguely imagine her immense power.
Yet this formidable being had ultimately been defeated by the Traveler, proving the Traveler's extraordinary strength.
Moreover, she recalled that the Traveler had also defeated Tartaglia once before in Liyue.
If only I could become that strong someday!
Though Furina didn't particularly enjoy combat, that didn't stop her from indulging in such grand aspirations.
Furina, like Navia, could wield two Elemental Powers and combine them, but her strength still fell far short of Navia's.
However, Furina suddenly recalled the insights she had gained through sensory sharing with Neuvillette earlier, and she felt her power might be capable of a slight surge.
If the timing weren't so poor, she would have already begun reliving that sensation.
"The Traveler has already forged strong ties with three nations, and Sumeru, her next destination, is a highly unique land. There's a high probability she'll once again earn the favor of Sumeru's leaders," Neuvillette stated slowly, sharing his inner thoughts with Furina and Focalors.
"With ties to four nations, she'd be the ideal candidate to facilitate cooperation among the Seven Nations."
After listening to Neuvillette's words, Focalors pondered briefly, then smiled wryly.
"Neuvillette, you've harbored similar ideas for quite some time, haven't you?"
"You learned about the impending global catastrophe long before us, so you've been preparing for it in advance."
Faced with Focalors' inquiry, Neuvillette hesitated for a moment before giving a slow nod.
Seeing Neuvillette's gesture, Furina was momentarily bewildered. Her first instinct was to demand why he hadn't told her about this.
But just as the words were about to leave her lips, she suddenly realized that even if he had told her the truth, there was nothing she could have done to help. Reluctantly, she abandoned her questioning to avoid embarrassing herself.
"Since you already have a plan, Neuvillette, proceed as you see fit. We trust you," Focalors said softly, a gentle smile gracing her lips.
To Furina, however, this scene was nothing more than honeyed words meant to manipulate Neuvillette. She knew Focalors' true nature all too well; this declaration was undoubtedly a scheme to dump the entire burden on Neuvillette while Focalors herself sought opportunities to slack off.
Of course, Furina would never admit that this scheme aligned perfectly with her own inclinations!
Hearing Focalors' words, Neuvillette nodded.
"Then I will continue to monitor the situation in Sumeru closely. When the time is right, I will contact the Traveler."
"I have already dispatched Miss Clorinde to Sumeru. I trust she will handle matters with utmost competence."
Upon hearing Neuvillette's words, Furina finally understood why she hadn't seen Clorinde lately—she had been sent to Sumeru!
What puzzled Furina, however, was that Neuvillette had already dispatched two teams of intelligence operatives to Sumeru. Why would he now send Clorinde, a formidable combatant, especially when Fontaine was facing such a dire crisis?
Though she didn't understand, Furina refrained from pressing the matter further, and Neuvillette showed no inclination to offer an explanation.
Brushing aside the issue for now, the conversation returned to the All-Devouring Narwhal.
"I have a brilliant idea!" Furina suddenly announced, raising her hand. "Since the whale's true intention is to save everyone—even though we reject its methods—perhaps we could lighten its punishment slightly."
"Given the immense destruction it caused in Fontaine, why not make it do free labor until all of Fontaine's cities are rebuilt? Then we'll release it. What do you think?"
Hearing Furina's proposal, Neuvillette and Focalors considered it briefly before agreeing. After all, given the Narwhal's immense size, simply sending it to the Fortress of Meropide was impractical.
Neuvillette then conveyed Furina's idea to the All-Devouring Narwhal. Initially, the creature reacted violently, thrashing wildly. However, after Neuvillette demonstrated the Hydro Dragon Shockwave again, the Narwhal finally calmed down.
Yet its eyes had lost their gleam, as if the meaning of its aquatic life had been extinguished.
With post-disaster duties demanding their attention, Neuvillette and Furina bid farewell to Focalors and hurried back to Fontaine, taking the All-Devouring Narwhal with them.
Focalors, unable to stray too far from the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale, remained behind to oversee the triage and treatment of the wounded.
Witnessing this final scene, the Melusine doctor, Lofan in disguise, lowered his hat and refocused on his patients.
As he treated them, Lofan mentally tallied the Points he had acquired.
The total Points earned far exceeded his expectations. He currently held 300,000 Points, with at least another 200,000 yet to be collected.
Adding in the Points spent during the incident, his total profit surpassed one million Points—though a significant portion had already been spent.
The lion's share of his Points had been spent on acquiring Dark Furina's body. Otherwise, Lofan would have already unlocked the next phase of the System's functions.
A body of Dark Furina's caliber might have barely broken even at its base price, but customizing it at triple the cost made recouping the investment virtually impossible.
Even after orchestrating a major incident that would ripple across all nations, drawing Neuvillette, Furina, and Focalors into the scheme simultaneously, Lofan still suffered a significant loss.
Though his heart ached somewhat, Lofan quickly recovered.
From the outset, he had braced himself for a total loss. After all, he had been completely duped by Furina's manipulations.
Considering he still retained such a substantial number of Points, the outcome was already far better than expected. He shouldn't be greedy and demand more.
As his understanding of this world deepened, Lofan realized his earlier anxieties weren't mere paranoia. Teyvat's looming crisis was very real.
Indeed, as the Traveler grew stronger, she would naturally require a grander stage. Teyvat was simply too small for her.
While this posed a challenge for the Traveler, it meant utter annihilation for those caught in her wake.
Given the Traveler's rapid growth rate, by the time she had explored all Seven Nations, she would likely face enemies even the combined forces of the Seven Archons couldn't defeat.
The good news was that the Traveler had only just finished their journey through Inazuma. To traverse all Seven Nations, it would take considerable time, giving Lofan ample opportunity to accumulate Points.
By now, he had almost completely exhausted Fontaine's resources. It was time to move on to another nation to "shear the sheep."
When considering the most suitable nation, Sumeru stood out as the clear choice.
The other nations carried significant risks. Lofan planned to wait until the System unlocked its next tier of functions, use his Points to further enhance his capabilities, and then test his mettle in those countries.
For the time being, caution dictated that Sumeru remained the safest option.
Lofan had anticipated this move and had already planted "seeds" in Sumeru beforehand.
He possessed a decent understanding of Fontaine's situation, having roughly reviewed its storyline in the game. While he couldn't recall every detail, he retained a solid grasp of the general plot, allowing him to maximize his Points extraction efforts.
He already had a rough plan in mind, just waiting to put it into action.
Before proceeding, however, Lofan needed to redeem the ability to defend against Nahida's powers. Otherwise, if his plans backfired, he could be trapped indefinitely within her fabricated dream realm—a prospect that hardly seemed amusing.
Although the likelihood of such a scenario was extremely low, caution demanded that he not skimp on the 100,000 Points.
Even if I lose Points, I can always earn more later. Lofan maintained a remarkably optimistic outlook.
"Your wound has been bandaged, you know. It's best to avoid any strenuous physical activity for the next two weeks and get plenty of rest each day," Lofan said with a gentle smile, his voice exceptionally soft and soothing.
"Thank you! Thank you so much, Doctor!"
"You're welcome. It's all part of my job."
Lofan waved dismissively, perfectly embodying the role of the Melusine Doctor.
In truth, the System AI could have handled these tasks entirely, and the injured patient before him was simply another iteration of his own body. But Lofan had grown accustomed to this.
Since there was no dual perspective, he only needed to treat the patient as a complete stranger, and his inner thoughts wouldn't feel strange at all.
"More injured here! Is there a doctor available?"
"Coming!" Lofan called out in a raised voice. He gathered his medical supplies and, adopting Melusine's signature adorable gait, hurried toward the sound. As he approached, he flashed the injured patient an angelic smile.
"I'll be treating you now. Please relax and try to remain still."
While treating the wounded man, Lofan organized the gains he had acquired from this incident, aside from the Points. These included the sensory sharing experience with the Sovereign Dragon and the remaining Indemnitium.
In truth, the earlier array hadn't actually failed; Lofan had simply devoured all the remaining Indemnitium.
After all, having paid such a steep price, it would have been foolish not to collect some interest.
Besides, these things weren't particularly valuable to those people, so Lofan took them without a shred of guilt.
Though these items might not prove useful, free was free.
Driven by the desire for a bargain, Lofan studied them thoroughly, only to discover they offered surprisingly little benefit.
What a waste! If only I'd demanded a dragon whisker from Neuvillette instead.
At least then, even if the whisker proved useless, it could have served as a decorative ornament.
With all official matters resolved, only personal affairs remained.
Lofan mentally recalled Furina's image once more, his gaze softening slightly.
He had not only freed her from her suffering but had also saved Focalors in the process.
Being able to thwart Focalors' plan and devise a new scheme to deceive Celestia was something even Lofan admired himself for.
Therefore, it shouldn't be unreasonable to claim a significant portion of Points from both of them, right? He was confident they would understand.
Besides, the Points he earned from them were mostly reinvested in their care.
The irony struck Lofan as amusing. When he initially saw Furina as a convenient Points farming tool, he never imagined he would end up pouring all his earnings back into her.
Perhaps this was Furina's revenge after all...
"Alright, that should do it. Just rest and recover properly, and your wounds should heal completely within a week."
"Thank you so much, Doctor! I feel so much better now!"
"Seeing you regain your spirit makes me very happy as a doctor."
After reassuring the patient, Lofan carried his medical supplies to find the next injured person, but his mind had already drifted elsewhere.
Lofan could have left for Sumeru long ago to begin his next scheme, but he lingered until Neuvillette and Furina had departed. He couldn't quite bring himself to let go.
Lofan didn't see this as a weakness; on the contrary, he was pleased.
The fact that he could still feel such emotions proved he was still a person with flesh and blood.
Of course, even Lofan himself couldn't explain why he clung so stubbornly to proving this point.
As for returning to Furina's side under the identity of Emily to accompany her, Lofan hadn't considered it yet. The time wasn't right.
He needed to grow stronger—strong enough to face the crises that would inevitably arise.
Only then could he make amends not only to Furina, but to everyone else he had wronged.
After all, for him, it would merely cost a few extra Points.
Lofan gazed up at the final defense line where Furina had last stood, his eyes gradually deepening with thought.
From today onward, I believe Furina will finally be able to sleep peacefully on her own.
I hope her nightmares of those painful memories will fade away.
I hope she has sweet dreams tonight...
-
Volume 4 Over!
Spy-A rare visit from the novels protagonist. Forgot about that guy frfr. I know melusine are all female, but its lofan so its fine.
Also by the time this chapter should come out I am on a trip so a slight delay on the next volume. Should not be long tho!