Since it was a bomb, Kachina jumped in fright. She didn't hold the Jumpy Dumpty steady in her hands, and it slipped free—thankfully she caught it in time, so it didn't fall to the ground.
Such a cute little round ball was actually a bomb. She'd never seen anything like it before. Shouldn't a bomb look more intimidating?
"This is a bomb made by Mondstadt's Spark Knight from the Knights of Favonius. If you have enough of them, you can blow the Stadium of the Sacred Flame straight up into the sky," Koji said, describing its power.
"Seriously? That strong?"
Kachina's mouth hung open, utterly unconvinced.
"Is that true?" an excited, almost "princess of the cosmos" kind of voice rang out.
Mavuika and Venti walked over. Hearing there was a bomb that could blow up the arena, Mavuika couldn't help getting interested.
What kind of bomb could have that sort of power? She was genuinely curious.
"You can ask Venti about it. Like, what happened around Windwail Highlands," Koji said, tossing the explanation to Venti.
"Uh…"
"The maker of this bomb might be a little kid, but the destructive power is terrifying," Venti said with an awkward smile. He'd remembered that whole incident too.
"You might not have heard of Klee, but you've heard of Lady Alice, right, Mavuika?"
At the name Alice, Mavuika's eyebrow twitched upward as she said in surprise, "Alice from the Hexenzirkel?"
"You've met her?"
Mavuika nodded, both amused and exasperated. "Back then, I met her once. She thought Natlan's terrain made travel inconvenient, and suggested blasting the mountains flat… or filling in all the ravines."
"Honestly, Alice's ideas are always wildly unrestrained. Of course I couldn't agree."
In the end, Alice didn't actually do anything. She had plenty of mischievous ideas, but she was still kind-hearted, and she didn't cause Natlan any real trouble.
As for the deeper reason—Mavuika didn't know it. Natlan was connected to the Ruler of Death, and Alice didn't want to stir up problems here either.
"Heh. That does sound like something Alice would do," Venti said, nodding.
And this was still the "mild" version. She'd only wanted to reshape the land. The things she'd once proposed regarding the hilichurls—that was the truly inhumane stuff.
"Kachina, as long as you use this Jumpy Dumpty and throw it at every opponent standing in front of you, you'll blast them all away—ding!" Koji said with absolute certainty.
Sure, in the game Klee's combat strength had fallen behind, but in real life? She was a walking little bomb, no question.
"No, no—this feels dangerous," Kachina shook her head without hesitation.
In arena fights, stopping at a safe point was enough. This bomb felt like it could get people killed.
That wasn't the kind of "getting stronger" she wanted.
Mavuika felt a bit relieved. The kid hadn't disappointed.
…
The opening ceremony of the Sacred Night Patrol of Returning Fire.
Amid Natlan's cheers, the Pyro Archon Mavuika stood atop the platform. Her long hair looked like blazing fire—so much so that even the little ahoge on her head seemed to be burning. It was hard not to laugh. The contrast was ridiculously distracting.
"Everyone, for this Sacred Night Patrol of Returning Fire, we have a special guest. She is…"
"Fontaine's superstar—Lady Furina!"
Mavuika's voice was clear and powerful. She didn't call Furina the Hydro Archon, because the people of Fontaine all knew the current Hydro Archon was Focalors—Furina had already retired.
From beginning to end, there were very few people who knew Furina had never possessed the Hydro Archon's power.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Furina."
Standing to the side, Furina didn't look stage-shy in the slightest. She was poised, composed—every bit the calm confidence of a true superstar.
Anyway, she wasn't the Hydro Archon anymore. The role she needed to play now wasn't "a god," but simply being a human named Furina. There was nothing to "expose," so she felt full of confidence.
"It really is Lady Furina!?"
"A living Lady Furina!"
"Lady Furina, I'm your dog!"
…
Because of local customs, Natlan people generally wouldn't choose to leave Natlan. But through merchants and tourists who came to do business or travel, Natlan still understood the outside world quite well.
A household-name, nation-level superstar like Furina showed up in all kinds of newspapers. No one expected they'd get to see her from this close.
"See? Furina, your popularity is huge. The atmosphere is even more fired up now," Mavuika said with a smile.
"I didn't expect this either. It feels like they're even more enthusiastic than Fontaine's people," Furina said, smiling awkwardly but politely.
Mostly because people in Fontaine could see Furina easily—every day, even—so they were used to it to an absurd degree.
"Mavuika, if you have a speech to give, go ahead. I'm just here to watch the fun—I didn't prepare any kind of script," Furina joked.
"Alright."
Mavuika nodded and gave the customary address. This wasn't her first time, so she did it with practiced ease.
"Honestly, Furina's popularity is terrifying," Lumine couldn't help sighing.
They were sitting in the audience stands. Around them, people from Natlan's various tribes kept expressing how welcome Furina was.
"That's normal. Furina's popularity can rank near the top across the Seven Nations. The 'Hydro Archon' identity drew massive attention, and her performances on stage won endless praise," Koji said.
Furina's popularity owed a lot to that Hydro Archon identity.
Someone who didn't even understand what a god really was—and yet for five hundred years, she acted out a "Hydro Archon" who was accepted by the public. That was veteran-actor territory.
"Natlan's vibe… the fighting spirit is intense," Eula's expression turned serious. It was the kind of presence only constant combat could forge.
"The Abyss's influence is still here in Natlan. They have no choice but to fight," Venti said.
Take Mondstadt, for example—even after Grand Master Varka took the elites away, Mondstadt still didn't have major issues. Most of what needed handling day-to-day was just wild monsters.
"Back during the Archon War, Liyue's Millelith could rank first among the Seven Nations in combat strength."
Venti had seen the Millelith's bearing in that era. Personally trained by Morax, their strength and will were both impeccable—worthy of being one of the top elite forces.
"But today's Millelith are far from what they were."
"With no gods stirring disasters, humans can develop on their own, and Morax has stepped into the background."
"Hey. You're talking like you know so much—do you even understand the Geo Archon?"
At that moment, a burly Natlan man beside them spoke up, his tone dripping with ridicule.
Besides the title "Geo Archon," Morax also carried the epithet "God of War." For a land like Natlan that fought year-round, it wasn't strange that some people admired Morax as a war god, and dug into his glorious deeds from the past.
"Huh?"
Venti hadn't expected to get questioned like this. He almost couldn't keep a straight face.
I'm the Anemo Archon. I'm one of the Geo Archon's few old friends. If I don't understand Morax, who possibly could?
Koji laughed.
This was truly an upside-down world—telling the Anemo Archon he didn't understand the Geo Archon.
(End of Chapter)
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