"Dottore, I think Koji's right. The Raiden Shogun would probably answer your question."
"Why don't you go ask her?" Arlecchino suggested with obvious schadenfreude.
Everyone present knew exactly what kind of god the Raiden Shogun was. Her mastery of martial arts had long reached the realm of the sublime—one of the very peaks among gods. And her Musou no Hitotachi (One Thought Slash) carried a fearsome reputation: she had slain a god with a single strike.
Sure, the top three Harbingers had strength on the level of gods… but even among gods, there were differences in rank and power.
At best, they could bully the little Dendro Archon or that silly Furina—after all, those two were on the weaker side.
Dottore fell silent. How could he not understand Arlecchino's intention?
"Enough with the pointless bickering," the Captain said.
The Doctor immediately shut up.
He knew perfectly well how terrifying the upright, incorruptible Captain was. Even if every one of his segments charged together, they still wouldn't be a match.
The gap between the First Harbinger and the Second was a chasm that was nearly impossible to cross.
On the throne above, there was still no sign of the Tsaritsa. Koji couldn't help feeling puzzled.
So the Cryo Archon wasn't going to show herself?
"Today, we've gathered mainly to discuss Scaramouche's death," the Jester, Pierro, said.
"A puppet is a puppet. Dead is dead. What's there to discuss?" the Marionette, Sandrone, replied coolly.
With a mouth that foul, if Harbingers weren't forbidden from harming each other, that puppet would've been quietly erased a long time ago.
"Anyway, I've got nothing to say about him. And there's no reason to mourn him."
La Signora, Rosalyne, clearly felt the same. Scaramouche was simply unpleasant—especially that mouth of his, the kind that made you want to tear it to shreds.
"Agreed. Spending Mora over this would be a waste," the Regrator, Pantalone, added, also expressing that there was no need to mourn Scaramouche.
No achievements, no contributions—yet he still wanted that kind of treatment? Keep dreaming.
Scaramouche joined the Fatui… and if you asked what he contributed, no one present could name anything. As the Doctor's experimental subject—did that count?
…When you looked at it that way, he really was useless.
The Captain and Pierro both had nothing to say. Sure, it was a bit cold to reject a "colleague" like this, but Scaramouche truly hadn't produced any real results.
"In that case, that's that," Pierro concluded, not interested in lingering on the topic. "Scaramouche is gone. All Harbinger seats beneath him will move up accordingly."
"A puppet isn't worth mentioning."
"The Gnoses we've acquired now total five. What remains is the Pyro Archon's Gnosis in Natlan."
"I have a question." Lumine raised her hand. She still wanted to see what the Tsaritsa looked like.
"The Tsaritsa is occupied at the moment and can't appear in person," Pierro said flatly. "You'll have the chance to meet her in the future."
Lumine was a little disappointed. This Cryo Archon really was mysterious.
"The Descender's bones… they don't feel that useful," Koji said leisurely.
"What?"
Quite a few Harbingers stared, dumbfounded. Even for them, this was the sort of matter they didn't have the authority to know.
A Descender's remains… just hearing it gave people an inexplicably ominous feeling.
"Whether they're useful or not is for Her Majesty to decide," Pierro replied, expression unchanged.
Koji wasn't surprised that he knew. This might be a secret, but once your strength reached a certain level, you naturally gained the right to learn about things like this.
"The Gnosis in Natlan—Capitano. I'm assigning it to you," Pierro said.
This wasn't Pierro's personal decision. It was the Captain's own choice. As one of the few Khaenri'ahns still alive, Pierro respected the Captain's will.
The meeting dispersed.
To Koji, it had basically just been a Harbinger meet-and-greet.
The Damselette, Columbina, followed behind them, which surprised Tartaglia and the others. They'd never seen her act like this before. Was something drawing her interest?
"Damselette. Why are you following the two of us?" Koji asked.
Columbina thought for a moment, then spoke.
"Do you know anyone from the Seelie race?"
"I've met one," Koji nodded. "The Goddess of Flowers, Nabu, in Sumeru."
"So it's her…" Columbina nodded lightly.
That lunatic… yes, she knew her. In the end, she'd played herself straight into death.
So she had actually come back to life, huh.
Hopefully this time she wouldn't stir up any bizarre disasters.
"The Goddess of Flowers?" Lumine heard it for the first time. Just from the name, it sounded like a female deity.
…Did Koji go and flirt with another one again?
"Sumeru used to have three gods. She was one with an incredibly deep mind—she had that simp Akhmar wrapped around her finger," Koji said.
"Now she's revived, and she's doing community service in Sumeru."
Lumine judged bluntly, "That already sounds unreliable. Is she pretty?"
Koji nodded. "As the title 'Goddess of Flowers' suggests, she's a deity as gorgeous and flamboyant as a bloom. It's not hard to see why she could charm Akhmar."
She might not be the most beautiful god out there, but that seductive aura was rare—every smile and every glance could hook the heart.
Columbina fell silent. The Seelie race was known for beauty, and the Goddess of Flowers had always been someone who used that advantage to the fullest.
"I see." Columbina nodded. "Come on, then. Let's go meet the Goddess of Flowers."
Lumine's interest was piqued. She wanted to see, properly, whether the Goddess of Flowers really deserved that kind of praise.
"Columbina," Koji said, "I'll call you that. Do me a favor and tell Tartaglia… we'll hang around Snezhnaya again next time."
After saying that, Koji took Lumine and left Snezhnaya.
…
Sumeru City.
"I'm exhausted, Nahida. Sorting out all the travel routes out in the wild… you can't dump all of it on me," Nabu complained.
There weren't many Withering Zones anymore, but there were tons of monsters. Lately she'd been running herself ragged, rushing from place to place.
Yes, she was a god.
But she wasn't some wronged workhorse, either.
Koji arrived and offered a teasing suggestion.
"How about I send you to the desert to plant flowers?"
The desert was huge—perfect. Let the Goddess of Flowers do a little greening project.
"You're a demon!" Nabu stared at Koji in horror.
Even if she drained every last drop of divine power, there was no way she could turn the entire desert into a sea of flowers. The area was simply too vast.
The soil would need transformation. The water problem would need solving. Even if a stronger Nahida handled it, it still probably wouldn't be possible.
"So you're the lunatic Goddess of Flowers?" Lumine sized her up curiously.
Nabu really was striking—especially that blazing red hair, which added an extra touch of bold, unrestrained allure.
"Who are you calling a lunatic?!" Nabu shot Lumine a glare. What an awful way to address her.
She should be calling her the breathtakingly beautiful Goddess of Flowers, obviously.
Nahida, watching from the side, didn't dispute the nickname at all. Nabu really was unhinged. The moment she slipped out of anyone's sight, no one could predict what kind of trouble she'd cause next.
(End of Chapter)
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