Leaving Beaumont Workshop after meeting Childe felt like walking away from a lit fuse and pretending the smoke was decorative.
The rain had softened into a fine drizzle by the time we returned to the street, thin enough that most Fontainians continued walking without concern, but persistent enough to make the entire Court of Fontaine shine beneath a gray sky. Water gathered along the edges of polished stone, slipped into drains, and flowed toward the canals as if the city itself had been designed to accept sadness elegantly. Honestly, that was the most Fontaine thing imaginable. Even the rain looked like it had been properly rehearsed.
Lumine walked beside me with Childe's Hydro Vision resting in her hand. She had not put it away yet, and that alone told me enough. Lumine was not careless with important objects. If something mattered, she kept it secure. If something was dangerous, she watched it. Childe's Vision was both, so she held it like a question she did not want to ask too loudly in public.
Paimon hovered near her shoulder, staring at the Vision with a suspicious frown. "Paimon still can't believe he just gave it to us like that. Who hands over their Vision and walks away smiling?"
"A ginger man with poor impulse control," I said, tugging my collar slightly as Greg adjusted himself against my neck to avoid the drizzle.
Lumine gave me a sideways look. "That isn't an answer."
"It is a personality diagnosis."
Nilou walked on my other side, her expression gentle but thoughtful as she glanced back toward the street where Childe had disappeared. "He seemed cheerful, but I don't think he was completely fine. When he talked about his Vision, he smiled like he wanted everyone to stop worrying."
"That's Childe," Lumine said. "He turns worrying into everyone else's problem."
Paimon nodded with great seriousness. "He's annoying, dangerous, friendly, rich, and way too happy about fighting. Paimon hates that combination."
"You only included rich because you're still hoping he pays for dinner someday."
"That doesn't make Paimon wrong!"
Greg flicked his tail once against my neck, and I looked down at him with disappointment. "Do not side with the emergency snack economy. We have standards."
His tail flicked again.
"Apparently we do not."
The banter helped, but only a little. Childe's Vision felt heavier in Lumine's hand than its size should have allowed. To anyone else, it was a strange personal item temporarily entrusted to a friend. To me, it was foreshadowing with a Hydro frame. Fontaine had barely opened its curtains, and already the stagehands were pushing future disasters into place.
Lumine slowed just enough for the others to move slightly ahead. "You were worried about him."
"I worry about many things," I replied. "Childe, Furina, emotionally repressed dragons, public transportation, Paimon near unsupervised food stalls, Greg's rising political influence…"
"Shigeru."
Ah. Blondie voice. Direct, sharp, and affectionate enough to make lying feel rude.
I sighed and lowered my voice. "Childe has always had a connection to the Abyss. You already know some of that from his Foul Legacy, from Liyue, from the way he looks at danger like it personally invited him to dance. Fontaine is going to pull on that connection."
Lumine's fingers closed more tightly around the Vision. "And you know how?"
"Pieces," I said. "Not everything, but enough to know we should keep that Vision safe. Enough to know that if Childe says everything is fine, we should assume everything is extremely not fine."
Paimon had been pretending not to listen, failed completely, and floated closer with wide eyes. "But that's just normal Childe behavior!"
"Exactly. That's the problem. He is naturally difficult to diagnose because his default setting is suspiciously cheerful violence."
Nilou's expression softened with worry. "Then we'll watch for him too. Even if he is dangerous, he helped us, and he trusted Lumine with something important."
Lumine looked down at the Vision again. Her face stayed guarded, but her thumb brushed over the cold casing once. "He's still trouble."
"He is," I said. "But unfortunately, he's our trouble now. Like a recurring boss with a tragic family discount."
Paimon groaned. "Paimon refuses to accept ownership."
Greg flicked his tail.
"You too?" I asked. "Fine. Majority vote says the ginger problem is communal."
Lumine sighed, Nilou laughed softly, and we continued through the city. The road curved toward a busier commercial district, where shops lined the covered walkways and citizens moved between awnings with umbrellas, waterproof bags, and that special Fontainian grace of people who could make errands look legally significant. Somewhere nearby, a vendor shouted about fresh pastries, which made Paimon's head turn so quickly I worried she might achieve flight speed strong enough to break local traffic laws.
Before Paimon could begin negotiations with her stomach, another storefront caught her attention. It displayed rows of books under a glass awning, their covers painted with masked suspects, courtroom shadows, teacups, blood-red roses, and detectives posed dramatically beneath titles that all seemed one step away from accusing the reader personally.
Paimon floated toward the display. "Whoa, look at all these books! Are they all mystery novels?"
Lumine stepped beside her and scanned the covers. "A lot of them seem to be. Murder cases, disappearances, courtroom mysteries…"
Nilou tilted her head, curiosity mixing with unease. "Fontaine really enjoys crime stories?"
"Of course," I said. "This nation doesn't just have trials. It has trial merch."
Paimon picked up one book and squinted at the summary with exaggerated effort. "A murder at a masked ball, five suspects, one detective, and a missing fountain pen… Why does even the fountain pen sound dramatic?"
"Because Fontaine looked at crime and said, 'What if the lighting was excellent?'"
Lumine examined another book and returned it carefully to the display. "It makes sense in a way. A nation built around justice would naturally be interested in mystery, guilt, and truth."
Nilou's gaze moved over the painted covers. "Maybe people enjoy fictional crimes because stories like these promise that the truth can be found by the end. Real fear doesn't always give people that kind of comfort."
That sentence settled quietly beneath the drizzle. I looked at her, then at the rows of beautiful books with their neatly printed tragedies. Nilou was right. Fictional mysteries were safe because they promised answers. The dead had names. The culprit could be revealed. The motive could be explained. Someone could stand in a room near the end and say, This is what happened, and everyone would finally breathe.
Fontaine's real mystery was not so kind. Its culprit was history. Its evidence was water, authority, grief, and lies. Its victim list was an entire nation. Its judge was a dragon who did not yet understand the full shape of his own heart. Its Archon smiled like applause could hold back the sea.
I tapped one of the book covers lightly and said, "People turn fear into entertainment when they don't know how else to hold it."
Lumine looked at me quietly. Paimon stopped pretending to read. Nilou's hand brushed mine for a moment, warm and grounding.
Then I felt the atmosphere getting too heavy, so I grinned with the survival instinct of a man allergic to emotional silence. "Also, murder mystery novels are Fontaine's version of snacks."
Paimon perked up immediately. "So Paimon can buy one?"
"You cannot eat it."
"That's not what Paimon meant!"
"Good. Character development."
Lumine put the book back and glanced toward the route ahead. "We should keep moving. Lyney and Lynette's show will begin soon."
"Right!" Paimon said, excitement returning all at once. "Magic show! Paimon almost forgot because Childe appeared and made everything weird."
"That is his passive ability," I said as we left the stall behind. "Whenever Childe enters the scene, all normal plans develop bruises."
Nilou smiled. "At least no one was badly hurt."
"Goddess optimism," I said. "Powerful, dangerous, and highly effective against my worst thoughts."
Lumine glanced sideways at me. "Will it make you a better person?"
"No."
"At least you're honest."
Greg flicked his tail once, and I decided to interpret it as approval because after two water rides and a Childe encounter, I deserved one delusion.
Unfortunately, Fontaine had other plans.
The route to the Opera Epiclese required another Aquabus line.
The Navia Line waited along the waterway, bright, elegant, and smooth enough to awaken personal trauma. The moment I saw it, my body stopped moving. Not out of fear, obviously. I was a warrior. A survivor. A man who had faced gods, Abyssal nonsense, political disasters, and Paimon's food budget.
But my soul saw that beautiful boat and whispered, Again?
Paimon noticed instantly. "Oh no. He froze again."
"I did not freeze," I said, staring at the vessel. "I recognized an enemy."
Lumine sighed, though her mouth twitched. "It's an Aquabus line."
"A boat with a route name is still a boat."
Nilou stepped closer, concern already softening her face. "We can take a moment before boarding."
"No," I said with solemn determination. "I survived one Aquabus. A second cannot defeat me."
Paimon squinted. "That sounds exactly like something people say before being defeated."
"Paimon, I need support."
"Paimon supports the truth."
Greg flicked his tail.
I pointed at both of them. "When history records my suffering, I want it known that the emergency food and the shoulder lizard chose betrayal."
Lumine gently took my left hand without teasing this time. Nilou took my right, her fingers warm and steady, and suddenly the second boat looked slightly less evil. Still evil, of course. Let us not rewrite reality. But now it was emotionally manageable.
Paimon grinned like the little menace she was. "Ah, Paimon gets it. He's using romance to survive transportation."
"I am using available party buffs."
Lumine squeezed my hand. "Fiancée support buff?"
"Exactly."
Nilou laughed softly. "Then we'll make sure you survive the Navia Line too."
"See?" I said to Paimon. "This is why she's a goddess."
Nilou's cheeks warmed, but she didn't let go of my hand. That made the boat lose another ten percent of its psychological power.
We boarded with me seated very carefully between Lumine and Nilou, hands secured, eyes forward, and dignity placed once again on life support. The Navia Line began gliding toward Erinnyes with the sort of smooth elegance that normal people would find relaxing. I found it suspicious. There was no honest movement, no roughness, no warning. Just calm water and polished transport pretending it was not attacking me.
Paimon floated in front of us, watching my face with open curiosity. "How are you feeling?"
"Like a man who has accepted that Fontaine is built on beautiful trauma and public transportation designed by my enemies."
"So bad?"
"Poetically bad."
Lumine leaned closer. "Breathe normally."
"I am breathing normally."
"Not dramatically."
I inhaled in a less theatrical manner.
Nilou smiled. "Better."
Greg climbed slightly higher on my shoulder, tucking himself beneath my hair to avoid the damp wind. His tail rested against my collar with the casual entitlement of a creature who had never paid rent in his life.
I glanced at him. "Comfortable?"
Tail flick.
"Of course you are."
The Navia Line carried us away from the Court's tighter waterways and toward a broader view of Fontaine's grander side. The route toward the Opera Epiclese felt different from the streets behind us. Less like ordinary travel and more like approaching a sacred performance hall. The rain softened the distance, blurring the edges of stone and water until everything looked painted.
Paimon drifted closer to the window. "It really feels like we're going somewhere important."
"We are," Lumine said.
Nilou watched the distant shape of the Opera with growing wonder. "A place where justice is performed."
"And where performances are judged," I added.
Paimon turned back to me. "That sounds ominous."
"It is."
"Can you maybe not say ominous things before a magic show?"
"I can try."
Lumine glanced at me. "Will you?"
"No."
"At least you're consistent."
The ride thankfully did not last long enough to reduce me into a tragic puddle, though when we stepped off near the fountain plaza, I still needed a moment to silently thank the ground again. This time I did not speak aloud, because Lumine was already watching me with the expression of a woman prepared to stop me from proposing to pavement a second time.
The plaza before the Opera Epiclese opened wide beneath the gray sky, elegant and almost unreal under the rain. People gathered in small clusters, some heading toward the opera house, others lingering around the fountain as if drawn by habit, beauty, or a wish they did not want to speak too loudly.
And there it was.
The Fountain of Lucine.
Beautiful. Bright. Terrible.
Water flowed and gathered in graceful curves, its surface shimmering beneath the rain as if the fountain itself did not know where its own water ended and the sky's tears began. To most people, it was a landmark. A place of hope, beauty, and ceremony. A place to toss coins, make wishes, and admire the elegance of Fontaine before entering its greatest stage.
To me, it was heavier than that.
The Fountain of Lucine was a beautiful place to make wishes, and a terrible place to hear the dead. I remembered what would happen here, remembered the voices, remembered the truth carried in waters people mistook for decoration. My mouth wanted to speak. My brain stopped it. This was becoming a worrying trend. At this rate, I might accidentally mature, and nobody wanted that.
Nilou slowed beside me, still holding my hand. Her eyes fixed on the fountain, wonder shifting slowly into solemnity. She did not know what I knew, not fully, but Nilou felt things. She always did.
"It's beautiful," she said softly. "But it feels… full."
Paimon tilted her head. "Full?"
Nilou searched for the words without looking away from the water. "Like a theater before the curtains open. Everyone is waiting quietly, but there are too many feelings gathered in one place."
Lumine looked at the fountain more carefully after that. Greg became unusually still on my shoulder. I swallowed every explanation pressing against my tongue: the voices, the dissolved, the trial, the grief gathered in water while the living came to wish without knowing who was listening.
Instead, I smiled lightly and said, "Fontaine really commits to atmosphere."
Lumine's eyes moved to me. She knew. Not what I was hiding, but that I was hiding it.
"Shigeru," she said softly.
"Later," I replied.
Nilou's fingers tightened around mine, not demanding more, only reminding me that I did not have to carry the later alone.
We moved toward the Opera Epiclese with the crowd. The building rose ahead like the physical form of Fontaine's obsession with judgment and spectacle. If the Court of Fontaine was a stage, then the Opera was its crown jewel, altar, courtroom, and confession booth all at once. Massive doors, elegant stonework, sweeping lines, and an air of importance so thick that even Paimon seemed to float with slightly more caution.
"Paimon suddenly feels underdressed," she whispered.
"You are wearing the same thing you always wear," Lumine said.
"Exactly! What if Fontaine judges Paimon's outfit?"
"Fontaine judges everything," I said.
Paimon glared at me. "Not helping!"
Nilou smiled at her. "You look lovely, Paimon."
Paimon brightened instantly. "Really?"
"Of course."
I leaned toward Lumine. "Nilou's support magic remains unmatched."
Lumine nodded. "It is powerful."
Greg flicked his tail in agreement, and Paimon immediately puffed herself up with renewed confidence as we entered the Opera.
Inside, the Opera Epiclese was even grander than I remembered. The ceiling rose high above us, lights gleaming against polished surfaces, and rows of seats curved around the stage with perfect precision. The air carried a low hum of conversation from citizens gathering for Lyney and Lynette's show. Nobles, officials, families, tourists, fans of magic, lovers of drama, curious onlookers, and people who simply wanted to witness something worth discussing tomorrow all filtered into place.
Fontaine loved an audience.
The problem was that sometimes the audience did not know what genre it had walked into.
We had not taken many steps inside before the atmosphere shifted again. A man approached us with measured grace, silver hair neat, attire formal, and bearing dignified enough that Paimon instinctively stopped midair chatter. His presence was calm, but not soft. Formal, but not cold. He carried authority the way deep water carried pressure: quietly, constantly, impossible to ignore if you understood how much weight was there.
Neuvillette.
There you are.
Hydro Dragon. Chief Justice. Rain-in-human-form. Elegant, dignified, emotionally constipated. And if Furifuri cries because you failed to understand her, I will absolutely smack you with the full authority of a man who survived two Aquabus rides.
Greg's tail flicked once against my neck.
I did not know if he sensed my internal violence, but judging by the timing, he approved.
Neuvillette's gaze moved over our group with composed attention. First Lumine, then Paimon, then Nilou, then me, then Greg. When his eyes reached Greg, something almost imperceptible shifted. Not surprise exactly. Recognition? Curiosity? A dignified acknowledgment from one ancient-water-adjacent being to one shoulder lizard with a superiority complex?
Greg lifted his tail.
Neuvillette inclined his head slightly.
I stared.
Did my lizard just receive diplomatic recognition from the Hydro Dragon?
Lumine stepped on my foot before I could say it aloud. The pain was immediate, corrective, and unfortunately necessary.
Neuvillette turned his attention to Lumine and gave a formal greeting. "Welcome to the Opera Epiclese. I am Neuvillette, Iudex of Fontaine."
Paimon hovered closer to Lumine, suddenly polite in a way that made me want to check whether Celestia had fallen. "Oh! Nice to meet you. You're the Chief Justice, right?"
"That is correct," Neuvillette said. His voice was calm and deep, the kind of voice that sounded like it had passed through rain and centuries before becoming speech. "I have heard of your travels through the other nations. Fontaine welcomes you as guests."
Lumine nodded. "Thank you."
I stepped forward slightly and gave a controlled bow, not kneeling as I had before Furina, but respectful enough that Lumine's gaze immediately snapped toward me. "Chief Justice Neuvillette. I've heard a great deal about the justice of Fontaine."
His eyes rested on me. Then, very calmly, he replied, "Then I hope Fontaine will meet your expectations."
No, bro.
I am here to make sure Fontaine survives them.
Out loud, I only smiled faintly. "I hope so too."
Neuvillette studied me for one quiet moment longer. He noticed things, this dragon. Of course he did. He might not understand humans yet, not fully, but he knew when words carried weight beneath their surface. He knew when someone bowed politely while thinking about hidden verdicts, ancient guilt, and one dramatic little Archon smiling too brightly somewhere behind the system he served.
Nilou stepped beside me and bowed gently. "It's an honor to meet you. I'm Nilou, from Sumeru."
Neuvillette's gaze softened by a fraction. "A performer, then."
Nilou looked surprised. "Yes."
"Fontaine respects performance greatly," he said. "I hope the Opera Epiclese leaves a meaningful impression on you."
Nilou looked around the hall, then back at him. "It already has. But if I may say so, it feels more solemn than I expected. Like everyone gathers here for spectacle, but the building remembers judgment first."
Neuvillette paused.
Only slightly.
Paimon blinked. "Nilou…"
I felt my chest tighten. There she went again, walking into emotional boss arenas unarmed and somehow landing critical hits.
Neuvillette's expression did not change much, but the air around him seemed to still. "That is a perceptive observation."
Nilou smiled softly. "Thank you."
I leaned toward Lumine and whispered, "Goddess behavior."
Lumine whispered back, "Let her have the moment."
"I am worshipping the moment."
"You are endangering it."
Greg flicked his tail against my neck, and Neuvillette's gaze moved to him again. "And your companion?"
Greg straightened like the diva he was.
I cleared my throat. "Greg. Part-time guardian. Full-time judge of my life choices."
Neuvillette regarded him with solemn dignity. "A valuable role."
Greg lifted his tail higher.
I stared. "No. Absolutely not. Do not validate him."
Paimon whispered, "Too late."
Lumine's mouth twitched. Nilou covered her smile, and Neuvillette, to his credit, did not laugh. That made it worse. His solemn acceptance of Greg's fake official position granted it more legitimacy than any joke could have.
After exchanging a few more formal words, Neuvillette gestured toward the seating area. "The performance will begin soon. Please, take your seats. I trust you will find Lyney and Lynette's show worthy of Fontaine's stage."
Lumine nodded. "We will."
As Neuvillette moved away, composed as falling rain and twice as emotionally repressed, I watched him go with my jaw tight. Lumine leaned closer, her voice low enough that only I could hear.
"You were thinking something violent."
I looked at her. "How would you know?"
"You looked polite."
Paimon nodded from my other side. "That's how Paimon knows too. When Shigeru looks too polite, something dangerous is happening inside his head."
Nilou glanced after Neuvillette. "He feels quiet."
I looked at her.
She searched for the right words. "Not cold. Just quiet. Like rain that forgot how to stop."
For a moment, I could only stare at her.
Then I whispered, "Goddess behavior."
This time, Lumine did not stop me.
We found our seats with a clear view of the stage. Lumine sat on my left, Nilou on my right, Paimon floated slightly ahead of us, and Greg perched on my shoulder with the confidence of someone who had just received validation from the Chief Justice of Fontaine himself. Around us, the audience filled in by degrees, excitement rising as people whispered about Lyney and Lynette, Lady Furina's earlier welcome, Blondie's arrival, and rumors of a duel that had almost happened.
A few glances came our way. Some curious, some admiring, some confused, and at least one person looked at me like they were trying to confirm whether I was, in fact, the man from the shoe incident.
I pretended not to notice.
Lumine did notice.
She smiled cruelly.
I whispered, "Do not."
"I didn't say anything."
"Your face did."
"Good."
Paimon floated near the seat in front of us, excitement beginning to win over the unease again. "Paimon is excited! It'll be nice to watch a show without fighting anything."
Lumine looked at Paimon.
Nilou looked at Paimon.
Greg looked at Paimon.
I slowly placed my face in my hands.
Paimon blinked. "What?"
"Paimon," Lumine said gently, "why would you say that?"
"Say what?"
I lifted my head and stared at the stage. "You have tempted fate in the nation of trials, prophecy, and dramatic irony."
Paimon's eyes widened. "Wait, is something going to happen?"
I did not answer immediately. The lights began to dim, and a hush moved through the Opera Epiclese like breath being drawn before a verdict. The stage glowed beneath carefully arranged light, curtains waiting, mechanisms hidden behind beauty, the whole hall balanced on anticipation. This was the point where a normal person would settle in and enjoy the show.
I was not normal.
I was an isekai'd idiot with spoilers rotting in my brain, Childe's malfunctioning Vision in Lumine's possession, two fiancées beside me, a judgment lizard on my shoulder, and the knowledge that Lyney and Lynette's beautiful magic show was about to become the opening act for murder, accusation, and Fontaine's first real crack.
Nilou's hand found mine under the armrest. "You're tense," she whispered.
I glanced at her, then at Lumine, who had also noticed and was watching me with quiet concern. Paimon hovered closer, her excitement slowly changing shape into worry.
"Is the show bad?" Paimon asked.
"No," I said softly. "The show is good."
Lumine's eyes narrowed. "Then what's wrong?"
I looked toward the curtains.
"That's the problem."
The curtains rose, and Lyney stepped into the light with a magician's smile, bright and confident, while Lynette appeared beside him with her calm, unreadable elegance. The audience erupted into applause. Paimon forgot her worry for half a second and clapped excitedly. Nilou's eyes widened with performer's appreciation, and even Lumine watched with interest despite her suspicion.
Lyney welcomed the audience with theatrical ease, promising illusion, wonder, and a performance worthy of Fontaine. Lynette stood beside him like silence given perfect posture. Their chemistry was polished, their timing precise, their presence unmistakably practiced.
The first trick began harmlessly.
A flourish. A misdirection. A little burst of applause.
For a moment, it really was beautiful.
And that made it worse.
Because I knew what waited behind the curtain.
I sat between the women I loved, with prophecy in one pocket and a Harbinger's Vision in another, watching light dance over the stage while the first shadow moved quietly behind it.
________
End of Chapter 187
Quests Completed:
Reached the Court of Fontaine marketplace without letting Paimon turn mystery novels into snack logic.
Inspected Fontaine's national obsession with trials, murder mysteries, and dramatic book covers.
Survived the Navia Line through emergency fiancée hand-holding and sheer stubbornness.
Reached the Fountain of Lucine and successfully did not reveal the horrifying lore attached to it.
Allowed Nilou to emotionally read the fountain as a stage full of unspoken feelings.
Entered the Opera Epiclese without proposing to the pavement.
Met Neuvillette, the Hydro Dragon pretending to be a civil servant.
Maintained polite diplomacy while internally threatening to smack him if FuriFuri cries.
Witnessed Greg receive dignified recognition from the Chief Justice of Fontaine.
Allowed Nilou to emotionally analyze the Opera Epiclese and Neuvillette with terrifying accuracy.
Sat down for Lyney and Lynette's magic show without screaming spoilers.
Detected the active murder flag behind the curtain.
Rewards:
+1 Pavement Loyalty
+1 Fiancée Transportation Support Buff
+1 Lumine Suspicion Stack
+1 Nilou Emotional Perception Crit
+1 Paimon Fate-Tempting Dialogue
+1 Greg Diplomatic Recognition
+1 Neuvillette Caution Meter
+1 Furina Protection Instinct
+1 Fountain of Lucine Dread
+1 Murder Mystery Flag
New Passive Unlocked: "Polite Face, Violent Thoughts"
New Hidden Trait: "FuriFuri Protection Protocol"
New Party Buff: "Hold Hands or Shigeru Dies on Boats"
Warning Added: Magic Show Safety Rating: Extremely Suspicious.
Next Quest: When the Curtain Falls.