At the House of the Hearth, the ones who survive are the strong ones. Because if you are weak, you die. Whether Dottore takes you away and you die, you die during training, or you die while carrying out a mission, there are many ways to die for being weak. Of them, the year-end test is important. It is the House of the Hearth’s greatest and worst festival: a chance to display the results of a year’s training, and at the same time prove whether you deserve to survive or deserve to crumble away. Kids our age are too young to participate, and since we do not know anything yet, it may feel like a festival to us. But for those older children over there, it is a matter of life and death.
"Urgh! Damn it!"
"Hehe! Victory goes to me, the survivor!"
Senior children continued their swordsmanship matches in the training grounds built near the House of the Hearth. Though honestly, calling it a colosseum would suit it better. To give it some semblance of fairness, seniors with Visions fought other seniors with Visions. The spectacles were that much flashier, which was why the children loved them.
And on this day, Crucabena apparently even brought people in from Snezhnaya, because food stalls had been set up. Naturally, everything was free. Crucabena claimed she did not charge money because orphans had no money, but most of the people running these stalls were Fatui. Orphans who safely graduated from the House of the Hearth had their abilities recognized and became Fatui, so the Fatui volunteered with the mindset that it would be good to earn the favor of children who would become their juniors. That was why so many Fatui openly advertised their names like that.
"How is it, kids? This is salmon caught in Snezhnaya! Eat up, and make sure you remember Uncle Dmitri, all right?"
"Thank you, Mister!"
If you looked at it without thinking, it was no different from a children’s amusement park. But when you knew the ugly reality behind it, it made you want to throw up. So I did nothing but keep drinking water beside a drum with a fire burning inside it.
"Hey, little one. Why are you guzzling down that much water? That’s already your fifth bottle, you know?"
"It’s nothing you need to concern yourself with. My stomach feels bad, that’s all."
"Wow, you’re young, but that frown of yours could put any Snezhnayan slum to shame. How about it? Want to have some vodka with us—Urk!"
"You bastard! What kind of alcohol are you trying to give a little kid?!"
"Why are you suddenly smacking me on the back of the head?! Look at that face! Doesn’t he look like he’s already lived through every hardship in the world at that age? The cure for something like that is one shot of vodka and all his problems—Urk!"
"Jeez, you drunken fool. Hey, kid, go play with the other children. This isn’t somewhere you should be."
"Yes, understood."
I left my spot, but instead of going to the festival grounds they told me to go to, I headed for the nearby lake. I felt like I would lose my mind if I stayed there any longer. Perhaps because it was winter, the water had frozen solid, making for an excellent skating rink. But I had not come to play on the ice.
"Let’s see... should I try smelt fishing?"
I snapped off a skinny branch nearby to use as a makeshift fishing rod. I had already gotten a hook, line, and bait from some seniors who had been fishing. Put this together like so, and... done.
Now I just needed to break through the ice. Normally, the proper way would be to use tools to make a hole. But I possessed a Pyro Vision that could melt ice. I could simply melt through it.
Visualizing a drill around my fist, I used the power of my Vision. A few dozen seconds after I began melting the lake ice with a Pyro drill and waited for water to burst through, a hole finally opened, and I was ready to fish. I brought over a rock to use as a chair.
"I hope I catch lots of smelt. Peruere will like them."
I had sent Peruere off to play with Cravie and Citra. The three of them would be together after I disappeared, so it was not a bad choice for them to build their friendship starting now. I did not know when I would disappear, but I hoped it would at least be before Cravie died. I did not want to see Peruere forced to kill her friends with her own hands.
Ah, I got a bite. Nice, I caught one. Let’s keep fishing. As I concentrated on my fishing, a heavy, solemn voice sounded behind me.
"A young child fishing alone in a place like this. Is there something weighing on your mind?"
This voice was very familiar. But why were you appearing already? Were you the special guest Crucabena mentioned?
Capitano?
"I have plenty to think about. Things like my future. I worry about what I should do for my younger siblings, too."
"Hm. Fishing is a good hobby for clearing one’s head. But do you not spend time with your younger siblings?"
"They will play just fine without me. They have to."
"They have to... You look young, yet you think like a man already prepared to leave. What have you seen in the House of the Hearth?"
I had not seen anything yet. All I had seen was that, in the story, Crucabena held battle royales and handed people over to Dottore for human experimentation. I had never witnessed with my own eyes how it was actually done.
"I don’t know. If you are someone like him, wouldn’t it be faster to ask the director yourself?"
"You call her the director rather than Mother. It seems you have seen far too much after all."
"Then what will you do with me? Kill me?"
"No. If anything, you have piqued my interest. Would you show me your face?"
Perhaps because I had been so focused on catching smelt, I had practically buried my nose in the fishing hole. I stopped fishing and turned my head toward Capitano.
"Hm. Such a face full of deep thoughts. It is not something one sees in a child your age. And you have already awakened a Vision. No wonder Arlecchino has taken an interest in you."
"So why did you come here?"
"Hm? You speak as though you know me. Yet this should be our first meeting. Nor do you show any sign of surprise at seeing me. What a curious child."
His instincts were annoyingly sharp. Was that the depth of experience gained from living for over five hundred years?
"You seem to know something about me, so I believe this conversation will go quickly. Who are you?"
Capitano had already become wary. What choice would benefit me here? Should I act like a child? Or like some sort of prophet?
"Before asking someone who they are, shouldn’t you tell me why you came here?"
"Hm. That much is easy. Pierro told me a new constellation had appeared in the starry sky. Up to that point, it was an ordinary occurrence whenever someone with a Vision appeared. But Pierro said that when he had astrologers investigate it, its fate was completely black. If I tell you that much, you should understand what I mean."
There was a theory that the starry sky of Genshin Impact was fake. It was also something anyone at the level of a Fatui Harbinger likely knew. And there was a line that appeared when teleporting in Genshin Impact.
"‘No matter where you are, a place will forever exist for you beneath Teyvat’s starry sky.’"
Constellations. They were the character constellations you saw all the time when unlocking duplicates. There was also a hint that the gods of Celestia had created them as a kind of trick to keep those with Visions properly under control, but I had never thought deeply about it. Yet Capitano had said just now that my fate was pitch-black. That meant it was impossible to observe my fate. From there, the conclusion followed: I was an existence separate from this world. An outsider.
"What is it that you want to hear?"
I walked over to stand before Capitano and spoke. The difference in our heights was immense, but Capitano knelt down and brought his face level with mine.
"Did I not say it earlier? Who are you?"
"If I tell you, will my secret be kept?"
"I guarantee it. It will not reach Arlecchino’s ears."
Silence passed for a while, and I was about to reveal my secret. At that moment...
"Hey! Demon King! What are you doing over there?! Aren’t you coming?!"
Citra shouted from far away. Beside her were Cravie, eating cotton candy, and Peruere, holding a live salmon in her hand.
"Ah! I’m smelt fishing!"
"If you’re done catching them, come quickly! The seniors with Visions are about to start fighting!"
"Got it! I’ll be there in a little while!"
Capitano seemed to be preparing to leave.
"It seems I came too late."
"No, they just came early, that’s all."
"I can hear your answer to this matter later. And this is a gift from me, so keep it with you."
Capitano gave me an Empty Vision and the Alley Flash.
The Alley Flash was a one-handed sword, so I would probably be able to put it to good use. But why was he giving me an Empty Vision?
"Um, this Vision, exactly what is it...?"
"You will come to understand in time. Now is not the time to speak of it, so let us look forward to our next meeting."
With that, Capitano slowly disappeared from before my eyes.
"What was he trying to ask me? Now I’m even more curious."
I returned to the children with the few smelt I had caught. They would taste good grilled, at least.
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