Fontaine.
Kirara was still there. Since she rarely got to travel this far, she wanted to spend a couple more days in the city brimming with technology. The real reason, though, was that Furina had been bored and invited her to stay longer, even promising a shopping trip together that night.
When a god invited you, a little nekomata could hardly refuse.
That evening, they agreed to meet at Fountain of Lucine.
Kirara messaged Furina that she'd be late due to a small delay. Furina replied she didn't mind and would wait.
Putting her phone away, Furina noticed a stray kitten by the road. After hanging out with Kirara these past days, she'd developed a soft spot for other cats too. She crouched down and beckoned.
"Oh? You little thing, come here!"
The kitten didn't budge. Instead, startled, it darted away with a sharp "meow!"
"What, you dare run? Stop right there!"
Furina chased it into a dim alley. At the end was a drainage pipe, and the kitten vanished inside.
She sighed in disappointment. Turning to leave, she froze.
A strange-looking figure stood not far ahead, staring at her with cold eyes, weapon in hand.
Oh my. Someone's actually targeting me?
Her boredom evaporated, replaced with a thrill of excitement. Did they simply see a lone, frail girl, or had they recognized who she really was beneath her hat?
If it was the latter… how bold. How interesting.
The alley was empty. As the weapon-wielder advanced step by step, Furina's heart raced with glee, though her eyes flickered with fear. According to Focalors' script, her persona right now was that of an ordinary girl pretending to be a god, so she had to act the part—scared and helpless.
"Wahhh!"
She stumbled backward, tripped on a stone, and fell to the ground in a panic.
"Wh-who are you? What do you want? Please, don't kill me…"
The figure loomed over her, scrutinizing her for a moment. Then, suddenly, they turned and bolted.
Furina watched their retreating back, disappointment plain in her eyes.
Seriously? That's it?
Why run? I was ready for some fun. Boring.
But just as they reached the mouth of the alley, the stranger whipped around to glare at her once more.
Furina instantly snapped back into terrified mode.
Satisfied, they disappeared.
She slowly got to her feet. Her clothes were spotless despite the dirty ground. Walking out of the alley, she pulled out her phone to message Xia Zhi.
[Cream Puff]: Cousin, cousin! I just got attacked!
[Xia Zhi]: ?
[Cream Puff]: Some person followed me into an alley with a weapon. Looked like they were testing me by intimidation.
[Xia Zhi]: Any leads?
[Cream Puff]: It was a woman. She tried to disguise herself, but I saw right through it.
[Xia Zhi]: Anything else?
[Cousin's Cream Puff]: Her eyes were weird. A red "X" in her pupils.
Just then, Kirara's voice called from afar. Furina pocketed her phone.
Kirara looked flustered. "Sorry for making you wait!"
Furina, dead serious: "Yes, you made me wait. You'll have to let me pat your head to make up for it."
"Eh?"
Though confused, Kirara obediently lowered her head, letting the Hydro Archon stroke her hair.
"Is… is that enough?"
"That's enough."
Furina withdrew her hand, satisfied.
Nekomata were far more obedient than stray kittens.
Xia Zhi stared at Furina's messages, thoughtful.
Someone had attacked her. Surprising, but not alarming. Fontaine's water levels were rising daily, the "end" looming. Desperate people doing reckless things wasn't unusual.
Besides, Furina was no longer that helpless girl from the Corridor of Fate. She was a real god now—one with absurdly thick health bars. Even an Archon wouldn't faze her, let alone a random assailant with a knife.
What caught his attention was her last note: Her eyes were weird. A red "X."
Combined with Furina's confirmation the attacker was a woman, it reminded him of something Klee's mother had once said.
The Hexenzirkel had a mysterious member codenamed [X], who claimed to be a Magical Girl and had been searching for someone.
Could they be the same person?
If she really was a Magical Girl, it made sense she'd dare to challenge a god.
Unable to reach a conclusion, Xia Zhi pulled the Platinum Treasure Chest he'd gotten off Guoba yesterday from his inventory and chose to open it.
A small fishing net appeared before him.
[Inescapable Net]
Quality: Platinum
Type: Special Item
Trait: Targeting, Capture
Effect: Select a target and throw this item. Ignores the target's size, guaranteeing a successful capture. The stronger the target, the higher the chance of escape.
Hidden Effect: Against aquatic creatures, escape chance is halved.
Recyclable: 1000 points.
A control-type tool.
Its function was similar to the [Chain of Darkness], which bound enemies. But unlike that, the [Inescapable Net] guaranteed 100% capture on the throw. That kind of effect was practically causal law.
The only drawback was that captured targets could still escape. But if the target wasn't alive—say, an object—this weakness didn't matter.
In battle, even a one-second hard control could swing the odds dramatically.
And its hidden effect worked especially well on aquatic creatures.
So it really was just a glorified fishing net.
Xia Zhi smirked and put it away. If it evolved to higher quality, its causal powers would only get stronger. Since they'd be heading to Inazuma by sea, he could always use it to snag some fresh seafood.
The next morning, everyone accompanied Charlotte to the venue of the photography contest she'd entered earlier.
The Windblume Festival had ended, and the results were out. All winning photos were posted publicly.
Charlotte had taken first place with her shot "Tears of the Dragon."
It was the picture she'd snapped during Xia Zhi's music competition—Dvalin bowing his head before him, looking like a sorrowful child.
Xia Le tilted her head back, staring at the photo of herself in a daze.
Beside her, Xia Lin whispered, "Crybaby."
Xia Le turned and glared. "That was Dvalin crying, not me."
"That is you."
"I'm the Time Dragon. She's the Sky Dragon. Are you dumb?"
Xia Lin's eyes widened. Out-argued, she sulked and turned away.
Xia Le skipped over to Charlotte, beaming. "Congratulations, Sister Charlotte!"
"Thank you."
"Sister Charlotte, could you send me a copy of that photo? I love it!"
"Sure, I'll send it to you later."
"Yay!"
Xia Le nodded happily.
It was the first picture of her meeting big brother. Such a meaningful memory had to be preserved.
As for the crying part? Those details didn't matter.