Waiting is a boring thing.
Since there's nothing urgent happening in Inazuma for now, and the Traveler's resistance life won't end in just a few days, Ye decided to return to Fontaine using the Teleport Waypoint.
It's not too late to go back when the next plotline requiring his presence begins. This also saves him from having to dodge the Tenryou Commission's pursuit everywhere.
After returning to Fontaine, Ye summoned Clorinde to the Grand Cathedral.
"How has Lady Furina been lately?"
Facing the Supreme Bishop's expressionless question, Clorinde thought carefully before answering seriously, "Not well at all."
Ye was surprised. "Why not?"
There shouldn't have been any major incidents in Fontaine recently, right?
"Lady Furina has been feeling very irritable these days. She's been listless even during trials, and the newspapers are reporting that she might be sick."
"That's quite serious."
Ye couldn't help but become solemn.
After all, Furina has always been full of energy, especially in the spotlight of the courtroom, where she often outshines the trials themselves.
Therefore, Furina's current state is clearly abnormal.
What's going on? Could it be… because I haven't been having shared dreams lately, so she's dissatisfied?
Ahem, of course, Ye now knows that the dreams he used to have were shared dreams, and the one who bore the brunt of them was naturally Furina.
As Ye's superior and the person he most loves to hate, after obtaining the cheat code known as "Nameless," Ye took great care of Furina.
Every time, it was a heart-pounding, exhilarating experience—Ye felt good, and Furina felt good too.
Yes, Ye can guarantee that Furina definitely felt good, because during that period, Furina was in great shape, with all her stress relieved.
Clearly, like Ye, Furina also saw those dreams as a stress-relief tool.
But recently, during his time in Inazuma, Ye really hadn't dreamed of Furina anymore. After having solo dreams, it goes without saying, but even when he did have shared dreams, it had been quite a while since he and Furina last relieved stress together.
So, is Furina's current bad state due to losing her stress-relief channel?
This isn't Ye being self-absorbed. There's a saying: "I could have endured the darkness if I had never seen the light."
Furina is a perfect example. From the moment she was born, she lived in darkness. Light? What's that?
She's been under immense pressure every day. Compared to Furina, Ye's stress is like a firefly trying to outshine the moon—there's simply no comparison.
In such circumstances, Furina endured silently for five hundred years. Then one day, she suddenly found a way to relieve her stress—yes, it was Ye's unintentional shared dreams.
No doubt, even though Furina was on the receiving end, those dreams had a tremendous stress-relieving effect!
Ye can personally attest to how effective they were.
But just as Furina was getting used to this stress relief, suddenly, she stopped having those dreams… Ye thinks his speculation is completely reasonable. What's wrong with that?
This definitely isn't self-absorption, right?
So, should I have another shared dream with Furina to help her relieve stress?
Helping one's superior alleviate life pressure is also part of being a loyal subordinate, right?
Ye considers himself Furina's absolute loyal dog, so he should take on this responsibility.
Sigh, being exploited by one's superior, being played with, being used as a tool to relieve stress—this is the helpless fate of a subordinate!
What else can Ye do but accept it?
There's no other way. None at all.
So…
After making excuses for a while, Ye's thin skin got the better of him. He really didn't have the courage to have another shared dream.
Forget it, let's not be self-absorbed. Maybe it's not really like that.
"Maybe Lady Furina is indeed sick. I'll go check on her later."
Clorinde's expression turned slightly strange. "Supreme Bishop, Lady Furina is a god. How could she really get sick? That's clearly just sensationalist tabloids trying to grab attention."
"Who says gods can't get sick?"
Ye casually brushed it off:
"Lady Furina, in order to stand on the same ground as humans and understand them, to avoid making decisions like the Raiden Shogun that alienate the people, has long since entrusted all her power to the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale. Now, aside from not aging or dying, Lady Furina is practically no different from a human."
"What?!" Clorinde couldn't help but look shocked.
"This is a secret. Even Neuvillette doesn't know. This is also the real reason why I've tasked you all with protecting Lady Furina at all times—because only under the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale can Lady Furina display the absolute power to judge even foreign gods."
Ye spoke lightly, but Clorinde's expression turned grave. An unimaginable weight seemed to press down on her shoulders.
"Supreme Bishop, I understand. I will never reveal this, and I will do everything in my power to protect Lady Furina, leaving no gaps. Even if it costs me my life, I will not let Lady Furina suffer even a scratch."
"I trust you, which is why I've told you this. When I'm not around, Lady Furina's safety is in your hands."
Ye continued without changing his expression:
"By the way, don't let Lady Furina know that you're aware of this. Otherwise, she'll blame me."
"Yes, Supreme Bishop."
Clorinde could understand. After all, Lady Furina must have only told the Supreme Bishop about this and strictly forbade him from spreading it. This was Lady Furina's trust in the Supreme Bishop.
If Lady Furina found out that the Supreme Bishop had told her, she would surely be disappointed in him.
And the Supreme Bishop entrusting such a secret to her was also a sign of his trust in her. She absolutely must not betray that trust.
Well, she's not wrong.
Ye told Clorinde this because he trusted her. She was completely reliable.
Even if he hadn't told her, Clorinde would have diligently protected Furina. Telling her was just to make her even more cautious, to ensure she didn't slack off even a little.
At the same time, it was also setting up a plot point.
Of course, the reveal of this plot point is still far off, so there's no need to worry about it for now.
For now, let's think about how to restore Lady Furina's good mood.
This is really a tough problem!