In Fontaine, when the Hydro Archon and the Hydro Dragon Sovereign simultaneously agree on a course of action, no aristocrat dares to stir up trouble behind their backs.
Of course, in reality, not a single one of those traditional nobles had been conscripted, so there was no conflict to be had.
Just as Focalors was letting out a sigh of relief over the smooth execution of the decree, Jibril returned with more "spoils of war," causing her heart to practically stop once again.
"Lady Jibril... what is this?" Focalors asked cautiously.
"You mean these two?" Jibril gestured toward the two figures lying on the floor, currently being poked and prodded by a curious Furina.
One was a slender girl with blonde hair dressed in adventurer's gear; the other was a tiny, infant-sized girl in a white bodysuit wearing a crown that looked strangely familiar.
"One is a Descender from another planet, and the other is a juvenile form of the Shade of Time," Jibril introduced them casually. "I sensed them while I was grabbing the Shade of Space, so I figured I'd just snag them both while I was at it... Furina, you know them?"
"Mm-hmm!" Furina nodded excitedly, her finger still busy poking the floating creature. "This is Lumine, the Traveler who saved Mondstadt and Liyue, and this is her pet, Paimon! They're super famous in Teyvat! I've wanted to meet them for ages!"
Focalors wasn't quite as air-headed as her human counterpart and quickly caught the crucial detail.
"The Shade of Time? This little pipsqueak?" She looked at Paimon in shock. She never imagined that a high-and-mighty primordial existence would look so... well, endearingly chubby.
"You think I'd make a mistake?" Jibril glanced at her sideways. "A divinity of this level is something I can see through at a single glance."
"No! Of course I wouldn't question your power!" Focalors shook her head frantically.
Having seen Neuvillette and the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles get crushed, she wasn't about to be fooled by appearances. The Traveler's strength was merely average for now, and Paimon was in a juvenile state. Though their identities were special, given Jibril's power, capturing them the moment they were found was child's play.
"I'm just... a bit surprised."
As she spoke, Focalors looked past Lumine and Paimon to the small, pure-looking girl standing behind Jibril—a child with porcelain skin and a pale green aesthetic. The girl, whose pupils were shaped like leaves, looked back at her with equal curiosity.
Similar spiritual ripples emanated from both of them.
"If I'm not mistaken, you must be the Lesser Lord Kusanali of Sumeru?" Focalors asked.
"Yes. My name is Nahida, the current Dendro Archon of Sumeru." The white-haired girl with the side-ponytail nodded shyly before asking, "And you are the Hydro Archon of Fontaine, Focalors?"
"I am." Focalors nodded. She paused, then asked, "Nahida, were you... forcibly conscripted by Lady Jibril, or...?"
"I asked to come voluntarily!" Nahida shook her head before the sentence could be finished.
"Why?" Focalors was baffled. Even if Jibril was powerful beyond measure, an Archon loved their people. Nahida couldn't possibly have abandoned Sumeru for that reason alone, could she?
"Because... the people of Sumeru don't seem to need me. The one they want is Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. For five hundred years, they have governed the nation perfectly well without me."
Nahida's eyes dimmed slightly as she continued, "As long as they have the Gnosis, my presence in Sumeru isn't actually that important... Compared to that, resurrecting Greater Lord Rukkhadevata is the most important thing to me."
"Resurrecting Rukkhadevata?!" Hearing such an explosive topic, Focalors was stunned once again.
"Yes! Sister Jibril promised that if I become Master's maid, he could help me resurrect the Greater Lord!" Nahida nodded, her cute, innocent face full of longing, like a young daughter missing her mother.
"Resurrecting an Archon... can such a thing really be done?!" Focalors looked up sharply at Jibril.
"I can't do it myself. I'm better at killing things than bringing them back," Jibril said, waving her hand. But before Focalors could sink into disappointment, Jibril added, "But for Master, it's a trivial matter! Whether it's bringing the dead back to life or rewinding time itself, it's a piece of cake for him."
"That Master... no, our Master... can even do things like that?!" Focalors reflexively changed her terminology, her eyes brimming with hope. If even an Archon could be resurrected, then the previous Hydro Archon, Egeria, could also...
"Of course he can." Jibril's absolute certainty gave both Nahida and Focalors a massive surge of confidence. "What, do you have someone you want to bring back too?"
"Yes!" Focalors nodded vigorously. "I want to resurrect the previous Hydro Archon!"
"Sure, sure. We're already bringing back the Goddess of Flowers, the Dendro Archon, and the Electro Archon—one more Hydro Archon won't hurt." Jibril agreed immediately.
Focalors beamed with joy, but then a realization hit her. She looked at Nahida, then back at herself.
"The Goddess of Flowers, the Dendro Archon, the Hydro Archon..."
The Dendro Archon was Rukkhadevata; the Goddess of Flowers was her close friend. Given Jibril's style, it wasn't strange that those two would be revived together. The Hydro Archon was her own request. But...
"The Electro Archon?"
As a former familiar of Egeria, she knew a bit about the Electro twins. Although she didn't know Raiden Makoto had perished, she could guess a fair amount. But that wasn't the issue. The issue was—
"You've already settled things with the Electro Archon too?!" Focalors was shocked.
The Dendro Archon, the Hydro Archon, and now the Electro Archon. She thought Jibril would stay quiet while the conscription within Fontaine was underway, but in just a short while, she had already "negotiated" with so many deities.
Counting them up: the Anemo and Geo Archons were male, meaning out of the five female Archons among the Seven, Jibril had already secured three. If one included Raiden Makoto, the Goddess of Flowers, and Rukkhadevata, the count was even higher. The efficiency was staggering.
"Not just the Electro Archon, there's the Cryo Archon too!" Seeing Focalors' shock, Jibril raised a finger and wagged it. "Though that one insisted on meeting Master before she formally submits. She doesn't want to come over just yet. That kind of 'personality' type is actually quite a refined taste for Master, so I didn't knock her out and drag her here by force."
Coming from Jibril, that statement was incredibly persuasive.
"What about the Pyro Archon?" Focalors noticed the omission. Jibril hadn't mentioned that particular deity at all. Was the current Pyro Archon special in some way?
"The Pyro Archon...? You mean that biker chick in leather pants?"
At the mention of that name, Jibril shook her head in distaste. "Her fashion sense is terrible. Let's pass on her. At most, I'll recruit her to be the security guard for the maid corps."
"..."
That's the reason?! Focalors had no words.