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Before long, Shao Yun and the others appeared at the entrance to Poisson.
Shao Yun looked down toward the massive pit below.
What spread out before his eyes was an underground town built deep within the earth—Poisson.
Gazing at this unique settlement, Shao Yun exclaimed in amazement, "Wow—why is Poisson built inside a pit?"
Hearing his question, Navia stepped in to explain the town's history.
"The reason for this goes all the way back to Fontaine's first diluvian period."
"Poisson used to be a shipping hub built above sea level. Unfortunately, that flood disaster completely changed everything."
"Little by little, it developed into what you're seeing now."
"Sigh, there was really no choice. If Lady Furina hadn't come up with an effective solution to the flooding problem, Poisson would've been gone altogether…"
Shao Yun wasn't particularly concerned about the flooding itself—his attention had been drawn to something else entirely.
"Have you ever done any kind of flood defense drills?"
Navia paused for a moment after hearing the question, then repeated the key words. "Flood defense?"
Shao Yun quickly raised his hand and pointed toward the small waterfall near the entrance of Poisson, explaining, "Yeah! Look—once you climb out of this pit, it's straight into the sea. And seawater keeps pouring down into the pit nonstop. That looks really dangerous!"
Navia followed his finger and took a closer look. After a moment, she nodded in agreement. "Mm… you're right. But there's nothing we can really do about it…"
Shao Yun then offered a rather naïve suggestion.
"Why not find a chance to move out of the pit?"
Hearing this, Navia gave a bitter smile.
"Oh my, that's easy to say… Leaving aside the fact that most people in Poisson aren't exactly well-off, even if we moved out—where would everyone go?"
"Besides, more than half of Fontaine is ocean anyway."
"There are only a handful of places truly suitable for human habitation. What, are we supposed to have everyone turn into fish and live in the sea?"
Realizing that the core issue was simply being "poor," Shao Yun nodded in understanding and said, "That's true. If funds are limited, then flood prevention has to be done properly."
"I've personally seen what happens when someone doesn't take waterproofing seriously—it led to a huge disaster and cost many people their lives."
...
Meanwhile, far away in Liyue, Keqing was seated at her desk, buried in paperwork, when she suddenly let out a loud sneeze without warning.
"Achoo!"
The sudden jolt made her shudder, and the pen in her hand nearly slipped to the floor.
"That's strange… what's going on? Did I catch a cold? I should probably go see Doctor Bai after work, just to be safe."
She muttered to herself while rubbing her nose.
...
After hearing Shao Yun's suggestion, Navia said thoughtfully, "Mm, you're not wrong. I should make a point of emphasizing this to everyone in the Spina di Rosula sometime."
Just then, Paimon hurriedly chimed in, "Oh right—Navia, where are we staying tonight?"
Navia smiled slightly at the question, then casually pointed at Clorinde. "Oh, don't worry—we'll be staying at Clorinde's old home."
Caught completely off guard, Clorinde jumped in surprise.
"What? Staying at my place? How come I didn't hear anything about this?"
Faced with Clorinde's shock and confusion, Navia nodded confidently and reminded her kindly, "Oh come on, don't tell me you've already forgotten our bet? A bet's a bet—you lose, you pay up."
"Besides the hundred Mora, the loser also has to agree to one reasonable request. So, heehee…"
Clorinde hesitated, her expression conflicted. After some deliberation, she finally agreed reluctantly.
"Alright… I don't have a problem with it, but I'm not sure my house has that many rooms."
Navia waved her hand breezily and laughed. "Oh, that's fine! Just like when we were kids—we can just lay bedding on the floor at your place!"
Hearing this, Shao Yun was utterly stunned.
"Wait—what exactly is going on here? Then what did we come all the way to Poisson for?"
Navia answered lightly, "What else? Of course, to grab my pajamas! And then we're having a pajama party."
"You didn't seriously think we came all this way just to go to bed early, did you? That'd be such a waste of precious time!"
At this, Lumine's curiosity was piqued as well. "A pajama party?"
Seeing this, Navia nodded vigorously and said with certainty, "That's right! A pajama party! It's definitely going to be super fun!"
...
Night fell, and moonlight bathed Clorinde's old home.
As Clorinde was about to take out the key to her front door, Navia suddenly darted forward and held out a hand to stop her.
"Wait, Clorinde! I know where you keep the key to your old house. Do you believe me?"
Clorinde froze for a moment, then shook her head, clearly unconvinced.
Finding the key to my apartment might've been a coincidence, she thought, but this is my old home. The spare key is hidden so well—how could she possibly know?
So, she replied skeptically, "I don't believe it! You finding my apartment key was pure luck. But the key to my old home—"
Her voice trailed off, growing weaker.
Because she saw Navia walk straight up to the door, casually move the flowerpot aside, and pull out the spare key hidden underneath.
Clorinde was completely stunned.
After a long moment, she finally snapped back to reality and asked, "How did you know where I hid the spare key?"
Navia smiled mischievously and answered in a mysterious tone, "Heehee that's a secret! I can't tell you"
As she spoke, she deliberately winked at Shao Yun standing nearby.
If Shao Yun hadn't casually mentioned it back when he went to visit Clorinde, Navia never would've thought of it!
Seeing Navia wink at him in thanks, Shao Yun muttered inwardly, "As expected… they really are all the same…"
...
Navia inserted the spare key into the lock, and with a crisp click, the door to Clorinde's home slowly swung open.
She stepped inside first, as naturally as if it were her own place.
"Woohoo—we're home!"
Following close behind, Paimon floated in curiously, eyes wide as she looked around.
"Wow! So, this is Clorinde's old home? Why does it feel so empty? There's barely any furniture…"
Hearing this, Clorinde smiled and explained, "I spend most of my time living in my apartment in the Court of Fontaine, so only basic necessities are left here. Everything else is over there."
As she spoke, she glanced toward her bedroom and muttered softly, "There should be bedding for sleeping on the floor… I just don't know if it's gotten moldy after all this time."
At that moment, Shao Yun walked over to a table and casually wiped its surface.
Seeing the layer of dust coating his fingers, he frowned and suggested, "Shouldn't we do a bit of cleaning first? This dust has really built up."
Hearing this, Navia nodded thoughtfully in agreement.
"Mm, you're right. There's way more dust than I expected. It'd feel uncomfortable staying here without cleaning."
...
Everyone got moving and began cleaning up the dust.
Paimon flew around with a cloth, wiping places others couldn't reach.
Just then, a tightly locked bedroom door caught Paimon's attention.
"Huh? Why is this room locked?" Paimon asked curiously, staring at the closed door.
Clorinde looked at the door, a complex emotion flickering in her eyes, before explaining softly, "That's my master's room. It doesn't need cleaning. I'll take care of it myself when I have time."
Paimon nodded thoughtfully, rubbing her head as realization dawned. "Oh! I see—your master… I think I remember something. Navia mentioned her to me before."
Since Paimon already knew, Clorinde didn't elaborate further.
"That's right. My master disappeared when I was ten. For a long time after that, I was taken care of by Navia's family. But I've always believed my master will come back."
Realizing she might've touched on a painful memory, Paimon quickly apologized, her face full of remorse. "Oh no, I'm so sorry—I didn't mean to bring up bad memories…"
Clorinde gently shook her head. "It's okay. You don't need to apologize."
"Now that the house is pretty much clean, what should we do next?"
The moment Clorinde said they were basically done cleaning, Navia impatiently tossed her cloth into a nearby bucket of water and declared matter-of-factly, "Isn't it obvious? We hurry up and change into our pajamas! It's pajama party time!"
Despite the talk of a pajama party, in reality, only Navia and Clorinde changed into pajamas—Lumine, Paimon, and Shao Yun all remained in their usual clothes.
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