Noticing Jean's serious expression, Lora immediately nodded.
"Yes, I'll remember that."
After all, Lora's way of thinking differed from Jean and the others. Her words were meant as playful banter from a position equal to Venti's. But in Jean and the others' eyes, what she said was indeed disrespectful to Anemo Archon.
Jean continued,
"As for why there are three temples... you all understand now, right? The temple symbolizing the Dragon of the East Wind is now blocked by the storm, becoming the lair of the Stormterror. We simply cannot approach it."
"Let me help too!"
Lumine suddenly offered, requesting to join the mission. "The Knights of Favonius are searching for my brother—I can't just stand by and do nothing."
"Thank you so much, Traveler!"
Hearing Lumine's initiative, Jean was genuinely surprised and smiled gratefully. "Rest well tonight. We'll move once the Knights are fully prepared!"
Lora swiftly made a local Fontaine gesture.
"Hey hey hey! I can't do it—I don't have a Vision. This isn't my kind of job."
"No worries. Lora can stay and rest in Mondstadt while we're gone!"
Lumine patted Lora's shoulder with a smile.
Jean arranged for Lora and the others to stay at Mondstadt's finest inn under the name of the Knights of Favonius.
Leaning against the headboard, Lora felt her fatigue vanish as she recalled the encounter with the Abyss Herald earlier that day.
Judging by their reactions, they had recognized her identity.
What would await her next?
…
Several days later, Jean sent word to Lumine that the Knights of Favonius were prepared to purge the remnant forces from the Temple of the Four Winds.
Shortly after Lumine departed, Venti arrived at the door.
He held a bottle of wine in his hand, waving it cheerfully as he said,
"Lora, look! This is the fine wine I buried in Windrise before my slumber! Let's have a drink!"
"Um... Are you sure you came here to ask me for the 'Holy Lyre der Himmel'?"
Lora watched Venti holding the wine, his face beaming with a smile. Even knowing him inside out, she couldn't help but feel a sense of unreliability.
"Of course!"
Venti nodded.
Lora pointed at the bottle.
"If you drink this, how are we supposed to retrieve the 'Holy Lyre der Himmel'?"
"Huh? Retrieving the 'Holy Lyre der Himmel' is obviously your job—did you think I'd do it?"
Venti suddenly adopted a shocked expression, staring at Lora.
Lora frowned.
"Are you sure?"
Venti nodded solemnly.
"Of course! I no longer rule Mondstadt. There's no doubt my power is now minimal. I can still offer encouragement and support, but when it comes to taking action, you're the better choice. Even though you've just been revived, I believe you can handle it!"
"Do you even realize what that last sentence implies?"
Lora looked at Venti, her expression shifting from shock to confusion, then from confusion to utter speechlessness.
Her fists clenched.
Venti blinked.
"Huh?"
But quickly, his smile faded. He turned his gaze toward Mondstadt's city gates.
Noticing his reaction, Lora sensed something was amiss.
"What's wrong?"
Venti spoke slowly.
"Oh dear, looks like someone's trying to give us some extra work! The Knights of Favonius are busy with the dragon disaster. We can't let them get close to Mondstadt—that'd just stir up unnecessary trouble. Lora, those unwelcome guests outside the city... shall we handle them together?"
"Unwelcome guests outside the city?"
Lora furrowed her brow. Who could these "unwelcome guests" be, to make Venti say something like this?
Without delay, Lora and Venti slipped past the Knights of Favonius and made their way to the plains outside the city.
When she saw the so-called unwelcome guests before her, her expression turned peculiar.
"Venti, you call these Hilichurl unwelcome guests?"
Indeed, before her and Venti stood a vast horde of Hilichurl.
They wielded bows or clubs, while massive Mitachur brandished wooden shields and giant axes. These Hilichurl advanced menacingly toward Mondstadt. Though threatening, they hardly warranted such an extreme reaction from Venti.
Sure enough, just as Lora was puzzling over this, a fissure suddenly split open behind the Hilichurl.
A cryo Abyss Herald emerged from within.
"An Abyss Herald?"
Lora frowned.
This must be the so-called uninvited guest.
"Lora, be careful! It's not just him!"
Venti's hand already gripped the "Skyward Harp." The Abyss Herald spread his arms, and two Abyss Mages—one cryo, one hydro—flew out from behind him.
The moment these two Abyss Mages appeared, they swiftly divided the battlefield.
They drove the Hilichurl toward Venti, leaving Lora alone to face the Abyss Herald.
Venti drew her bow, Anemo power forming an arrow on the "Skyward Harp."
As the embodiment of wind, he didn't need to draw his bow in a standard archer's stance—the wind itself propelled his arrows.
The Wind's Arrow pierced through the bodies of two Hilichurl creatures, but soon, the two Abyss Mages closed in on Venti, launching their attacks.
Venti didn't resort to divine power, relying solely on Anemo elemental energy to fend off the Abyss Mages.
The Abyss Herald advanced before Lora, cryo blades coalescing at his side as he swung at her.
Lora swiftly retreated, evading the cryo blades' sudden assault.
"So you intended to test me?"
Lora saw through the Abyss Herald's plan, yet she showed no panic, instead smiling. "In that case, allow me to offer you a small taste of God awe."
As the words fell, the sea-blue highlights at the ends of Lora's long hair glowed.
A colossal surge of hydro power erupted, shattering the incoming cryo blades in Aether and swiftly transforming them into blades of hydro.
Simultaneously, dense hydro power gathered in Lora's hands, coalescing into a greatsword.
The blade shimmered azure throughout, its hilt adorned with patterns resembling Hydro Eidolon.
The crossguard, connecting hilt and blade, featured a circular balance scale—a symbol of justice—with an exquisite gem suspended at its center.
This was Egeria's weapon, the "Judgment of the Raging Sea."
Once, it had been the supreme symbol of the Fontaine Court, the very embodiment of the Hydro Archon.
Lora gripped the hilt of the "Judgment of the Raging Sea," thrusting it into the ground like a scepter.
Centered around her, a Hydro barrier rapidly formed. Hydro was drawn from the Ley Line, coalescing into more water blades at her sides.
With a smile, Lora gazed at the Abyss Herald shrouded in Hydro energy and declared,
"The First Circuit Court of Fontaine is now in session!!"