Buying the Bouf d’ete Residence was easy. The owner said it had been the site of an incident, so he was selling it cheaply. Thanks to that, I was able to buy the entire house, and Capitano seemed pleased after looking around its interior.
"It is cleaner inside than I expected."
"Please do not say things like that. You are raising a flag."
"What does that mean? Are you saying ghosts will appear? Do not worry."
"Yes, understood, Heavenly Pillar Knight."
At those words, Capitano flinched and looked at me. His gaze was full of suspicion, as though asking just how much this boy knew.
"You claim to have come from the future, yet you know even my past. Did you lie about coming from the future? Or are you a spy of the Heavenly Principles? Speak."
A cold aura flowed from around Capitano. He looked ready to fight at the slightest provocation.
I spoke casually as I tidied up the house.
"To be precise, I came from somewhere higher than the Heavenly Principles. From there, I watched your past, present, and future, and somehow drifted into this place."
"Then you are one who came from outside Teyvat."
"That is correct. Which is why I am afraid of myself."
"Why fear yourself? With your knowledge, you seem to have nothing to fear."
"Because I am afraid history will change because of me."
I continued speaking as I rolled up the carpet... Ah, that was the wrong way to put it. The carpet had rolled toward the right. Looking closely, it seemed there was a rough stone caught beneath it.
I spread the carpet back out to remove it. Capitano picked up the stone and spoke.
"Your existence is like this."
I understood what he meant.
"Yes, exactly. If my existence twists the story, history could unfold in another direction. You too may be affected, Capitano. That is why someone like me should disappear as soon as possible."
Capitano sighed. It seemed things would not be easy for him to accept as they were.
"Then I shall help you meet a painless death. What do you need? Tell me."
"It is fine for now. I will not die for at least another three years. During those three years, I need only prepare to meet my death while avoiding Crucabena’s eyes."
"Was buying this residence part of that preparation?"
"No. This residence will be inherited by my younger sister."
"A younger sister? You have one?"
"Do you remember the little girl who glared at you before I left the House of the Hearth?"
"Yes. Her eyes were filled with venom. That child is your sister?"
"Yes. And she will become a Fatui Harbinger. If she does, please take good care of her."
"Hm. Very well. I shall see to it."
Having roughly finished tidying the house, we walked toward the outskirts of the Court of Fontaine. Then, a familiar voice sounded nearby.
"Heheh~ I got another limited-edition cake today~"
That innocent, somewhat foolish-looking manner, and those bluish clothes—it was Furina, no matter who looked at her.
"That child must be the God of Water."
"Yes. Though she is nothing more than a shell."
"A shell? What do you mean?"
"I will show you."
I walked in the direction Furina was approaching from. Before long, our eyes met.
"Oh my~ How fortunate you are today, my subject. To encounter me without even making a reservation~"
"..."
"Hm? Why is your reaction so lukewarm, my subject? Are you not happy to meet m—"
I leaned close to Furina’s ear and whispered.
"That is enough pretending, Lady Furina—the one who is human."
"...?!"
A slight crack seemed to form in Furina’s mask. Her grip on the cake bag in her hand began to tighten.
"Heheh~? I do not know what you mean, my subject. Would you care to tell me why you say such things?"
"You have suffered greatly for five hundred years, Lady Furina. It must have been hard, suppressing your true personality because of Focalors’s prophecy."
Crack.
More cracks began spreading across her mask. Fear seemed to be filling Furina’s face.
"I-I-I do not know what you are talking about! I will forgive your disrespect toward me, so let us discuss such things somewhere quiet..."
"What should we do with poor Lady Furina, who has become so sad that tears come even while she smiles?"
Furina soon dropped the cake box onto the ground. Capitano could not hear my voice, but he could clearly see Furina suffering a mental breakdown in real time.
"Hm. To make a god collapse like that with words alone. Such a waste for a talent like you to die."
Capitano deeply regretted that Avrora had to die. After seeing this scene, he wanted even more to keep me alive.
"So, Lady Furina, if you wish to find me, come to the House of the Hearth north of Fontaine this winter. I have somewhere I need to be until then."
"Y-you... who are you...?"
Furina asked, trembling as she pointed at me. Who was I?
"Merely one of your subjects and an examinee preparing to take the bar exam. I will be going now, poor doll of prophecy, incapable of feeling happiness."
After delivering that cringeworthy adolescent line, I bid Furina farewell. With her eyes unfocused, she simply stood there blankly, the cake box fallen at her feet.
"W-wait... wait..."
"Let us go, Lord Capitano."
"Truly remarkable..."
Capitano and I left the Court of Fontaine behind, abandoning Furina in the midst of her mental collapse.
The beach outside the Court of Fontaine.
We sat on the shore and talked.
"What did you say to that god?"
"I merely told her a truth she wished to hide."
"And what benefit does that bring us?"
"At the very least, she will become subordinate to me."
"It seems you could take this nation into your hands without Arlecchino needing to make a move."
"In my personal opinion, Crucabena is not suited to be a Harbinger. Someone like you is far more suited to it."
"You flatter me."
"You are worthy of it."
"I apologize for asking only what I am curious about, but I would like to hear your story. What is it that you want?"
What did I want? Honestly, I did want the House of the Hearth to be liberated. With someone like Capitano, killing Crucabena in one stroke would be no trouble at all. But if I did that, the story would become twisted. Those meant to die had to die, and those meant to live had to live. In that case, leaving behind my mark without affecting the story was not a bad idea.
"Have you heard of the serial disappearances of girls?"
"Yes. It is an unsolved case that has been circulating through Fontaine since the beginning of this year. Why ask about it?"
"I know who the real culprit is."
Capitano gave a derisive snort, as though he had expected as much.
"As expected. But what does that case have to do with you?"
"I need to retrieve a substance from there that I will need when I die."
"A substance that brings death? What is it?"
"There is a substance that affects only Fontainians. It is related to Egeria, the previous God of Water. Fontainians who come into contact with it either go mad, have their skin melt away, or in severe cases melt to death."
"How horrifying. What does that substance have to do with the unsolved case?"
"Simply put, it is human experimentation. Impossible human experimentation. The culprit is conducting those experiments to bring back his beloved lover."
"It reminds me of Dottore. It leaves a foul taste in my mouth."
"So my proposal is this: we retrieve that substance from the laboratory below, and while we are at it, rescue the women being held captive there."
"Is that your wish? But would doing so affect your future?"
"That..."
The serial disappearances of girls were a long-unsolved case. Why had it remained unsolved for so long? Because there were no witnesses and no evidence. The Traveler followed the trail, discovered the place, and only then was the whole truth revealed. But if I went there first and saved the girls, things could change. Saving people was good, but I could not ignore the consequences.
"It will have an effect. That is why I am making this proposal. I understand there is a medicine that erases memories. Do you have any?"
"Dottore likely has some. That fellow makes just about anything."
I remembered that Peruere gave those who escaped the House of the Hearth medicine to erase their memories so they could begin new lives. I was certain it had come from Dottore.
"Bring that medicine, and we can proceed. There is not enough time to go to Snezhnaya and back right now, so call for me another time."
"Very well. I am glad to be of help to you. Is there anything else you want?"
What else could it be? I had to make Peruere stronger. Make her stronger so she could take Crucabena’s head. But Peruere had lived her entire life in the House of the Hearth, so the only techniques she knew were the ones Crucabena had taught her. The same went for me. That meant that when we challenged Crucabena, there would already be counters to our techniques—and Crucabena would know them. We needed to master new techniques. And right here was the Heavenly Pillar Knight himself.
"Please teach me your techniques."
"Oh? What techniques do you mean?"
"Teach me techniques that can kill Crucabena."
"Hm. You ask me to teach you how to kill my comrade? Interesting. But even if I taught you, what use would it be? You will die before you can kill Crucabena."
"Teach me well enough that I can pass them on to someone else. I will leave them to my younger sister."
"Very well. I admire that spirit. You brought the sword I gave you, I trust?"
I took out the Alley Flash I had packed in my luggage. The Empty Vision was with it as well.
"Good. I will train you. There may be eyes watching here, so let us move somewhere else."
"Yes, Lord Capitano."
And so began my training under Capitano, which would continue for a couple of months.
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