Chat Group: Starting by Swapping Bodies with Elysia?

"Eh, that vicious 'serial disappearances' suspect is such a young girl? No way, she doesn't look the part."

"Who knows? Although she looks cute, there's a saying, 'Appearances can be deceiving'."

While the audience discussed the blonde girl in the defendant's seat, the blue and white-haired girl sitting on the throne had a strange expression on her face.

Looking at the blonde girl with a face of "pure innocence untainted by knowledge," she couldn't resist the urge to retort—It's you, Traveler!

—Undoubtedly, the defendant was Lumine, one of the protagonists of Genshin Impact, and one of the Traveler twins.

But what puzzled Jiang Qiao was that he didn't see the mysterious Emergency Food beside Lumine.

Could it be the one from the Abyss Order?

"No… it's not." [Furina], after observing Lumine, dismissed this idea. Setting aside why someone associated with the Abyss Order would brazenly appear at the Opera Epiclese, the very heart of Fontaine's justice system, her innocent appearance alone was enough to determine that this was likely the unworldly, newly awakened Lumine.

Besides…

[Furina]'s gaze fell upon the girl's chest—the embedded gem indicated the type of elemental power she could currently wield.

—Chat group.

Jiang Qiao: Has anyone in Liyue seen a Traveler named Lumine? @Hu Tao

Hu Tao: Lumine? Who's that? Never heard of her.

Hu Tao, although confused, answered truthfully.

Hu Tao: There shouldn't be such a person in Liyue.

She was quite certain. Although Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's business wasn't related to this, due to its status in Liyue and Hu Tao's extensive network, she could remember almost everyone of note.

What? Was this person an adventurer?

Then she needed to remember her even more!

After all, adventurers, constantly exploring the wilderness, were among the most high-risk professions in Teyvat. They were all potential customers for Wangsheng Funeral Parlor!

Jiang Qiao: What about Mondstadt?

Hu Tao: Mondstadt is a bit chaotic lately, I'm not sure… Wait, I see Xingqiu. He's the second young master of the Feiyun Commerce Guild. I heard they have some business dealings with Dawn Winery in Mondstadt. I'll ask him for you.

Jiang Qiao: Thank you.

"Do you know this person?" Furina, in Jiang Qiao's body, obviously couldn't see the chat group messages, asked curiously.

Jiang Qiao pondered for a moment, then said uncertainly, "Sort of?"

How could he not know her? From a certain perspective, wasn't she just him?

Of course, outside the context of Genshin Impact, they were separate individuals.

"That's the famous Traveler, a walking disaster, a 'human calamity' who wreaks havoc wherever she goes." His slightly teasing tone left Furina bewildered.

"…Huh?"

She glanced at the blonde girl in the defendant's seat. This girl looked rather unintelligent, but… she was that dangerous?

Although she wondered if he was teasing her, if this seemingly harmless girl was truly that "terrible," for the safety of Fontaine's citizens, Furina felt it necessary to quickly send her to the Fortress of Meropide.

Unfortunately, the current [Furina] was in Jiang Qiao's hands, and Furina couldn't use her authority as the Hydro Archon to deal with the Traveler.

"Haha, just kidding." The blue and white-haired girl, seeing Furina's serious yet conflicted expression, instantly guessed her thoughts and chuckled.

"…Deceiving the Hydro Archon is a grave offense!" Furina, realizing she had been tricked, puffed out her cheeks and glared at the "herself" sitting on the throne.

"Oh dear, it seems that's indeed the case—but right now, I am the Hydro Archon, am I not?" The blue and white-haired girl smoothed her sleeves and stated a harsh reality that silenced Furina.

With their positions reversed, the real Hydro Archon, Furina, seemed to have become the weaker party… No, she wasn't strong to begin with, and she wasn't the real Hydro Archon.

…So frustrating!!!

Furina puffed out her cheeks, annoyed.

Although the body swap was uncomfortable, it had also, in a way, liberated her, allowing her to escape the suffering of being [Furina (Hydro Archon)] for a while.

Therefore, despite the awkwardness of being in a male body, Furina quite enjoyed this feeling of being herself, of not needing to be someone else's "substitute."

But now, seeing Jiang Qiao using the Hydro Archon's authority, Furina was incredibly frustrated.

"However, what I said wasn't entirely a joke." The girl shook her head slightly, her gaze shifting from Lumine in the defendant's seat.

She looked at the chat group.

Hu Tao: Mondstadt seems a bit chaotic lately. It seems a monster called Stormterror is harassing the city. As for the Traveler, Lumine, there's no such person, at least no one from the Feiyun Commerce Guild has heard of her.

Jiang Qiao: Thanks.

Hu Tao: Hey, no need to be so polite. If you really want to thank me, why not patronize Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?

Jiang Qiao: …

Hu Tao: Hey, for old times' sake, I'll give you a 20% discount!

Seeing Hu Tao's sales pitch, [Furina]'s expression was somewhat complicated.

Fontaine was full of human-like Oceanids. Even if they died, they would simply flow back into the sea and then converge at the Lucine Fountain.

It was difficult for him to even create demand, even if he wanted to—besides, Wangsheng Funeral Parlor didn't have international business.

Oh…

[Furina]'s gaze fell upon the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale. She thought this might be a good potential customer.

There was no need to actually do anything, but the treatment Rex Lapis received in Liyue, the God of Justice in Fontaine deserved the same!

"Strange, why do I feel a chill down my spine?"

Within the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale, in a domain similar to the Raiden Shogun's Plane of Euthymia, the girl in a blue and white dress hugged herself and shivered, feeling puzzled. Not to mention that she was a god, even practically speaking, she didn't even have a body right now. What was going on?

Although strange, Focalors didn't think too much of it. She simply observed the people of Fontaine within the Opera Epiclese from the shadows.

And her "vessel"—Furina.

In fact, Focalors had been watching Furina for these five hundred years.

Because they were essentially the same person, she could easily sense the pain hidden beneath Furina's flamboyant exterior.

As time went on, Furina's spirit became increasingly fragile.

Focalors, witnessing all of this, naturally felt heartache, but for the sake of Fontaine's people, she couldn't do anything, only silently staying within the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale, accumulating the Numina of Justice and Order required for her plan.

In fact, this was also a very difficult task for her.

After all—the Chief Justice presiding over the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale was Neuvillette, Teyvat's Hydro Dragon.

Doing this without being exposed, even though Neuvillette's ancient dragon power wasn't complete, wasn't easy.

However—

Things seemed to have changed somewhat now.

"I feel like… she's changed a lot." Focalors observed [Furina] from the viewing platform, experiencing this… illusion?

Before, when she saw her, she could still sense Furina's hesitation and pain.

But the current [Furina] was as calm as the deep sea, as if everything was natural and effortless. She was incredibly natural and confident, without a trace of "confusion."

In this aspect, Focalors even felt a sense of inferiority.

She was also afraid.

Afraid that Furina wouldn't be able to hold on, afraid that something would happen to the position she was upholding, afraid of the "death sentence" that awaited her in the future.

In this regard—weren't gods and humans actually quite similar?

"…This should be a good thing, right?" Although she didn't know why Furina had undergone such a drastic change in such a short time, Focalors felt that this change wasn't a bad thing—at least if Furina was like this, she would definitely be able to persevere until that moment arrived, right?

The disappearance of the pain caused by Focalors's request also somewhat eased Focalors's guilt towards Furina.

"Is it because of this person?" Focalors looked at [Jiang Qiao], sitting beside [Furina], and wondered.

All the changes seemed to have started with the appearance of this stranger.

If possible, she would like to interact with him, but thinking of her own responsibilities, Focalors sighed and continued her work.

After finishing his investigation,

Jiang Qiao finally confirmed the nature of the Traveler who had appeared at the Opera Epiclese.

Looking at the pure gem, he made his judgment—

She was an "original."

Untainted by any elemental power.

Although it was strange that Lumine was an original, Jiang Qiao, recalling her background, instantly understood.

As the twin who had been sealed away, Lumine's arrival in Teyvat should have been completely "random." It was only because of the Genshin Impact storyline that she started at Falcon Coast, encountered Paimon, and embarked on a journey to find her sibling.

But for Teyvat, which had become "reality," Lumine's actions were clearly no longer influenced by the so-called plot. Even if she went to other places, there wouldn't be an Emergency Food popping up, saying:

Let's explore the rest of the area later!

In this case, Lumine could start anywhere—Liyue, Inazuma… ahem, the nuclear wastewater there might be a bit dangerous, but in any case, the vast world couldn't stop Lumine's footsteps.

Jiang Qiao glanced at the guards who took the stand as witnesses.

—According to their testimony,

According to a friend of the victim, Lemonie, a few days ago, while gathering materials near Poisson, Lemonie found this girl, who seemed to have been shipwrecked, on the beach. Out of kindness, Lemonie brought Lumine home. Later, Lemonie disappeared, leaving only a puddle of water and Lumine holding a blade.

This evidence would normally be insufficient to establish guilt, but for Fontaine's somewhat "dramatic" trial process, combined with Lemonie's friend's accusations, and the fact that it fit the pattern of the serial disappearances, it was enough for the case to be brought to the Opera Epiclese.

Although Neuvillette felt that there were many suspicious points, he was the Chief Justice, not an investigator. The Chief Justice, who valued the division of labor, turned his gaze towards [Furina] in the viewing platform.

Cases like this were usually quite troublesome to handle.

Especially when neither party seemed to have legal representation.

To legitimize the proceedings—the Palais Mermonia had come up with a "good solution" over time.

That was to ask for the "Hydro Archon's" opinion.

Furina, as the Hydro Archon, would judge the case based on her subjective will and offer her perspective.

And because of a god's exalted status, even if Furina's deductions seemed absurd, as long as she spoke, the people of Fontaine had their guiding light.

From a certain perspective, judgment in Fontaine often relied not on "evidence," but on—"The Hydro Archon deems you guilty!"

Of course—one could argue. If they succeeded, it would be Furina who was embarrassed.

The Hydro Archon's authority would be questioned, and to maintain the "truth," Furina would use various methods to smooth things over.

And if they failed… well, what more was there to say? A seat in the Fortress of Meropide awaited!

"Lady Furina, what are your thoughts?" Neuvillette asked seriously.

He didn't actually like this practice, as Furina was quite unreliable in this regard.

But Furina, as the "Hydro Archon," had the right to interpret the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale, the core of Fontaine's judicial system.

But the people of Fontaine didn't understand the workings of the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale at all. In that case, they could only ask the "Hydro Archon" herself, its creator, right?

The God of Justice's judgment would never be wrong… probably?

"Hey, are you alright?" Furina asked softly with concern. Although Jiang Qiao had been composed in front of Clorinde, she was now worried.

After all, facing a subordinate and presiding over a trial were completely different.

For her, these trials were the most stressful.

If she won, it was fine, but if she lost, it was over!

[Furina] didn't speak, only rested her chin in her hand, feeling the gazes from all directions. Just as Furina was breaking out in a cold sweat, wondering if she should speak on his behalf, he finally spoke:

"Unfortunately, I don't intend to offer my opinion so rashly—after all, as the God of Justice, I shouldn't show any bias."

If it were Furina, the most appropriate course of action would be to fabricate a story and convict the Traveler, sending her to the Fortress of Meropide.

Even just to maintain her image as the Hydro Archon, she should do so.

But—Jiang Qiao chose this answer instead.

Relying on the Hydro Archon's authority to pass judgment was certainly convenient, but if a god constantly interfered in human disputes, how could that be considered "justice"?

There was no such thing as a lawmaker personally participating in a trial. A god merely expressing a biased opinion would already be undermining the "justice" this nation upheld.

Furina acted that way because she had no other choice. Just doing that was already her best effort.

What she upheld wasn't so-called "justice," but "truth."

Of course—to save the people of Fontaine from the prophecy, this could indeed be called a form of justice. But since there was a choice, why would Jiang Qiao, as [Furina], uphold one form of justice while abandoning another?

Furina panicked slightly.

Alright, she had to admit he was right, but their current priority was to play the role of the Hydro Archon! Doing this would easily arouse suspicion among Fontaine's citizens!

Furina could already imagine what the spectators below would say.

"Eh, it's different today. Lady Furina didn't give any suggestions."

"Sigh, indeed, I was hoping Lady Furina would offer some interesting deductions. It's a bit boring."

See, see! I told you! The people are already dissatisfied. Next, they'll start questioning whether you're the real Hydro Archon!

Furina felt distressed—she shouldn't have trusted this guy to play the role of the "Hydro Archon."

It would have been better to use that method to get her body back!

"Hey, quickly explain to them, like I usually do!" Furina urged anxiously, not even considering whether Jiang Qiao knew how she usually acted.

Jiang Qiao naturally knew, but—Heh, I'm not doing it. I'm playing it cool and silent!

[Furina] looked down at the audience, her gaze calm and gentle, yet the imposing aura was impossible to conceal.

The audience stared back, and after a moment of silence, the opera house erupted in a cacophony of excited chatter.

"Wow, Lady Furina seems so cool today!"

"Indeed, indeed, Lady Furina has a very handsome aura today."

"Mmm, I saw something similar in Liyue, what was it called? Something that makes people bow down…"

"She's different from usual."

"Well, how can we understand the matters of gods? Besides, don't you like it?"

"Hehe, true. You know… Lady Furina is so stylish like this! She was cute before, but this is even better!"

"I'm Lady Furina's dog!"

"That's a bit much, don't you think?"

"Woof woof!"

Hearing the noisy and somewhat crazed chatter of the audience, Furina, who had been worried that Jiang Qiao would mess things up, fell silent.

—This is completely different from when I'm in charge!!!