Hello I'm back, thy leg is healed but I don't have molars anymore.
===BREAK===
"I was supposed to guide you, but not only did you end up helping distribute the Magic Pouches, I even made you wait while we brought back the materials we collected."
"It's fine, we were just wandering around anyway. But I didn't expect the method for making the Magic Pouches was actually provided by you!"
"Hehe, just a small trick." As they approached Hotel Bouffes d'ete, Lyney slightly quickened his pace. "Alright, that's our temporary residence up ahead… Oh? Freminet, you're back already!"
"Lyney, Lynette, and… these two…"
"This is Paimon, and this is Lumine." Lyney introduced them to each other. "And this is my younger brother, Freminet. He's an excellent diver. We split up earlier—most of the Romaritime Flowers were gathered underwater by him."
"Yes. The Romaritime Flowers—I collected quite a lot underwater. I was just about to give them to you."
Paimon exclaimed, "Lyney, you have such a big family!"
"Hahaha, actually there are even more. But 'Father' is returning soon, so everyone's been quite busy lately. It can't be helped… Well then, now that we've got the materials Freminet collected, we just need to deliver them to the workshop. After that, I can take you to the Opera Épiclèse."
"Yay! Huh…" Paimon held out her palm toward the sky. "Why does it feel like it's raining? That's strange—it was sunny just a moment ago."
The others looked up as well. Lyney sighed. "It really is raining. It can't be helped—on days when there's a trial at the Opera Épiclèse, sudden showers like this are quite common. Don't worry, though. It won't last long. Let's take shelter here for now."
"Alright. I noticed Freminet's staring at the sky so intently, hehe."
"…Me? Oh. Actually, I've always believed in a certain legend…"
"What legend?"
"It's said that Fontaine once had a Dragon Sovereign. Whenever it cried, the sky would rain. When I was little, my mother told me that if you want the rain to stop, you can shout at the sky: 'Hydro Dragon—Hydro Dragon—don't cry—'"
"If it's truly an elemental dragon, having such power wouldn't be surprising." Lumine pondered.
"Hahaha, want to give it a try? Though even if there really is a Hydro Dragon, it might not be able to hear us from here."
"Brother, if magicians understood romance a little better, they'd probably be more popular."
"Ahaha…"
…
"You… why are you here again? Haven't I already repaid the money I borrowed from your guild?"
"You only repaid the principal. There's still the interest!"
"But after receiving Lady Furina's Magic Pouch order, I repaid it that very month… The contract clearly stated that early repayment only required interest up to that date. Don't push your luck, or I'll take you to the Court of Fontaine!"
"Heh, did you really repay it early? Our records only confirmed receipt this month. When we calculate the interest carefully, the numbers don't match."
"You…!"
"Since the Magic Pouch order earned you such a hefty sum, surely you're not going to quibble over this small amount of interest?"
When they arrived at the Beaumont Workshop to deliver the materials, Lumine, Paimon, Lyney, and Lynette were greeted by this very scene.
"We finally waited for the rain to stop, only to run into scumbags like this again. Lumine, we have to help that workshop owner!"
"Wait—" Lyney raised a hand to stop her. "It seems someone else is about to step in."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Paimon and Lumine saw an old acquaintance—'Childe'—enter from another direction.
"Hey, before you rush off to collect debts, shouldn't the Confrerie of Cabrière settle its own accounts first? Competing with our Northland Bank is one thing, but leaving bad debts with us… Mind if I cut in line and clear things up first?"
The Confrerie of Cabrière members were startled, then visibly flustered. "Northland Bank? I already said that debt will definitely be repaid next month. Why are you still hounding us…"
At the same time, Paimon gasped, "Childe?!"
Childe immediately abandoned the debt collectors and turned to Paimon. "Lumine and Paimon? To run into you here in Fontaine—what a surprise!"
"We didn't expect to see you here either! Shouldn't you be staying back home in Snezhnaya? Why are you in Fontaine again?"
"It's a long story. I've actually been in Fontaine for quite some time… There's no conflict here, so it's been rather dull. But now that you're here too, I have a feeling things are about to get much more interesting!"
The Confrerie of Cabrière members coughed awkwardly. "Ahem, Childe… Northland Bank's man, aren't you forgetting something?"
Without turning his head, Childe replied, "Don't interrupt. Running into old friends in a foreign land is a rare opportunity. You can wait a moment."
"You brat… You were the one who came to collect from us, and now you're leaving us hanging? That's going too far…"
"What? Want to fight?" Childe finally shot them a sideways glance. "I was just looking to stretch my muscles anyway."
"You—! Let's talk this out!!"
The two sides finally clashed. There was no need for Visions or Delusions—pure martial skill was enough. Before long, the Confrerie of Cabrière members were all knocked to the ground by Childe.
They struggled to their feet and fled, shouting from a safe distance, "Everyone saw it! This guy called 'Childe' struck first! Just wait for a notice from the Court of Fontaine!"
"Whatever."
Shrugging, Childe turned back to Lumine and Paimon.
Paimon said, "It's good to teach bad guys a lesson, but… what they said just now—you're not really going to be dragged into a trial, are you?"
Lumine added, "They seemed to recognize you. At the very least, showing your Vision would've made them back off. There was no need to start a fight."
"Vision… heh. Nothing but a mood killer."
"How so?" Paimon asked curiously.
"Imagine waiting so long for a duel, only for your Vision to suddenly fail. Doesn't that ruin the mood? I don't need the thing to fight—but in my opponent's eyes, if I can't go all out, it takes the fun out of it."
"Visions can actually fail?"
Glancing at Lyney and Lynette, Childe said, "This isn't the place to talk. Follow me."
Lumine immediately understood. After explaining briefly to Lyney, she followed Childe, putting some distance between themselves and the siblings.
Childe said:
"Recently, I've felt a power stirring within me, and my mood occasionally sinks for no reason. Perhaps that's why my Vision has been failing.
I don't remember if I ever told you—when I was fourteen, I fell into an unknown abyss…
Most of my skills were learned during that time. The one who taught me was my master, Skirk.
She was a woman of few words, incredibly mysterious. No one knows where she came from or what she had experienced.
Once, I asked her why she was willing to take me as her disciple. She gave a vague answer—because I had awakened 'it.' Its mark was left upon me, and one day, these combat techniques would prove useful."
Paimon scratched her head. "'It'? What's that supposed to mean? What did you awaken?"
"My master never made it clear. But I suspect 'it' is related to a dream I had when I first fell into the abyss… In the dream, I stood at the bottom of an endless sea… And before me was a whale so enormous it was suffocating."
"A whale? That sounds familiar! When you fought Lumine at the Golden House, didn't you use a move with a giant whale? Was that it?"
"Haha, that was just a conceptual whale created with elemental power. After that dream, the image was burned into my mind. I've never been able to shake it…"
"Then why not ask your master? She might know the answer!"
"Easier said than done. Ever since I left, I've never stopped searching for my master and that abyss. But after all these years, I've found nothing. Even the place where I fell into the abyss has no trace left now."
"Ah…" Paimon shrank back slightly. "That sounds like a ghost story…"
"Yeah. All clues about my master have vanished. But fortunately, I found a lead on that whale… Heh. It won't be long now before I can cross paths with it. Just thinking about it gets my blood pumping!"
Lumine speculated, "That whale… it wouldn't happen to be in Fontaine, would it?"
"Secret, secret! I made a promise to someone—I can't reveal that part." Casting a distant glance at Lyney and Lynette, Childe said, "That's enough for now. I've got things to take care of, and it seems you do too. See you around."
===BREAK===
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