A Duel Proposed
"As you can see, travelers from afar have come to my nation. Come, let us offer them our blessing." The moment Focalors finished speaking, warm applause and cheers erupted from every side.
Conan thought of how Ayumi had described this before, and had to admit she was right — this really was more like a pop star making an entrance than anything else. It didn't feel remotely divine.
"Not a bit like a goddess, huh."
Conan turned toward the person who had voiced his exact thought. Sure enough, it was Haibara.
"If we hadn't been told beforehand that this Hydro Archon really has lived for five hundred years, there'd be absolutely no way to equate her with a god," Haibara said.
"Five hundred years?!" Conan's eyes went wide.
If she had truly lived that long, then within this game's setting she really must be a goddess — even if she was admittedly quite different from the image of divinity he'd always held.
"I hear that you have come to resolve the prophecy looming over my nation," Focalors said. "I will, for the moment, acknowledge your good intentions. But you need not worry yourselves in the slightest. With me, Focalors, here in Fontaine, that prophecy is nothing worth concerning ourselves over. So, strange travelers — if you have no other business, you may take your leave."
Conan grew anxious at Focalors' words. This had to be some obstacle "Noah's Ark" had cooked up to keep them out of Fontaine. If the Hydro Archon banished them, it would almost certainly count as failing the trial.
But how could anyone possibly change a goddess's mind?
"Lady Focalors, please don't be so quick to send us away! We know full well that someone of your power needs no help from us — but we would still like to offer what small assistance we can. And so, to prove our worth to you, let us settle this with a splendid duel!"
The others had all been at a loss, but Xia Yu, recalling the details she'd once dug up about Fontaine's judicial proceedings and guessing that this game's backdrop mirrored Fontaine in Teyvat, stepped forward and called out boldly to the Hydro Archon.
Conan was puzzled. Why would proving their worth require a duel? Shouldn't solving the prophecy be about deductive reasoning?
Everyone knew how capable Xia Yu was — her skills were plain to see. But their opponent this time was an actual goddess. Was really challenging her to a duel such a good idea?
"Xia Yu..." Ran tugged gently at Xia Yu's sleeve from behind, looking up at her with concern.
Xia Yu glanced back at her and gave a small look that said relax, I know what I'm doing.
Seeing Xia Yu's confident expression, Ran let some of her worry go and didn't try to stop her.
When the surrounding crowd heard that someone had actually dared to challenge the Hydro Archon to a duel, far from taking offense, they cheered with anticipation, one and all.
"Ahahaha! Excellent! Daring to challenge a goddess such as myself to a duel — travelers, I applaud your courage!" Focalors laughed heartily. "Consider it a reward of sorts. I accept your request for an epic showdown."
Conan had been watching the Hydro Archon's reactions closely ever since Xia Yu spoke up. She was a goddess, after all — with someone openly defying her, who knew whether she might take offense?
And that was exactly how he caught it: the instant Focalors heard Xia Yu's challenge, her expression flickered. She buried it beneath a smile almost immediately, but Conan trusted that his eyes hadn't deceived him.
Could it be... the Hydro Archon didn't actually want this duel?
Conan wasn't entirely sure of his own read. She was a goddess, after all — if she didn't want to duel, why would she agree? No one could force her hand, surely.
The moment Xia Yu heard Focalors accept, she dropped into a fighting stance, ready to move.
Conan noticed that when the goddess saw Xia Yu square up, she took a startled step backward, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly.
"Lady Hydro Archon seems a little... afraid of this duel, doesn't she?" Haibara murmured.
"Looks like you noticed it too."
"Mm. She's hiding it as best she can, but it still shows. I'd say today's duel isn't going to happen."
Sure enough, the Hydro Archon soon declared that a single one-on-one duel lacked spectacle, and instead proposed transforming the duel into a contest in the courtroom.
The stage would be the recent string of missing-girl cases in Fontaine. Gathering every clue currently known about the case, they would — three days from now, in the Opera Epiclese — identify the culprit and the method of the crime. And under the Hydro Archon's own scrutiny, they would win the trial, see their verdict confirmed by the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale, and thereby prove their powers of deduction.
"Yes! Now that's more like it!"
"That's right, now we're talking!"
"Lady Focalors, what a wonderful idea!"
Listening to the crowd's excited cheering, the players were all somewhat baffled. Why were these people so delighted at the mention of a trial? And what did "a contest in the courtroom" even mean — two lawyers going head-to-head?
Even without fully understanding the situation, it was obvious that Focalors' proposal amounted to permission for them to enter Fontaine. And generally speaking, a game wouldn't include plot threads that had nothing to do with anything — which meant this missing-girl case had to be tied to their clearance conditions. Getting to the truth was essential.
So no one hesitated. They accepted the Hydro Archon's proposal of a courtroom showdown on the spot.
Once they agreed, Focalors said nothing more. She left behind a single attendant to brief them on the case, then departed with her guard in tow.
Somehow, Ran couldn't shake the feeling that the Hydro Archon had left in rather too much of a hurry. Was something wrong?
But she didn't dwell on it. Whatever could make a goddess rush off like that had to be important — and it wasn't their concern right now. The priority was getting into Fontaine and gathering clues.
As their party — two adults and nine children — officially entered Fontaine, they were swiftly stunned by the sight before them.
It was exactly as people had said: Fontaine was the nation of water. Fountains and flowing channels were everywhere, and the various cities were linked and threaded together by waterways and steamships. Along the roads, strange little robots patrolled or stood recharging, and every so often one could spot short, stubby-legged little figures weaving through the crowds — some working, some simply enjoying themselves — no different from any ordinary Fontainian.
"It's like something straight out of a fairy tale," Ran breathed, her eyes shining with wonder.
"Yeah. This kind of dreamscape is probably only possible in a full-dive VR game," Xia Yu agreed.
Haibara, meanwhile, paid not the slightest attention to what anyone was saying. Her eyes stayed fixed on the little figures passing in front of her. Their appearance was unmistakably that of a different species, and she was genuinely curious about their physiology — if only there were some way to examine one.
Her fingers twitched, itching to do something. But with no instruments or equipment at hand, Haibara could only give up on the idea, ruefully.