"Alright, my adorable Charlotte, go ahead and ask your question. After all, I, Furina, am extremely busy and still need to return to the Palais Mermonia to handle national affairs," Furina said with her hands on her hips.
"O-okay, Lady Furina!" Charlotte quickly nodded, silently marveling at how kind Furina was.
"Lady Furina, may I take a photo of you?" Charlotte asked carefully.
"Of course you may, but I have one condition—you must capture my majestic splendor!" Furina struck a dramatic pose.
"Wonderful! Don't worry, Lady Furina, I'm not exaggerating when I say my photography skills are the best in all of The Steambird!" Charlotte patted her chest proudly.
"Very well then, go ahead." Furina nodded with a smile.
Click click click. After a few shots, Charlotte said, "Lady Furina, I'm done!"
"Really? Let me see, let me see!" Furina quickly leaned in.
"W-wow... so close..." Charlotte felt a little dizzy—this was her first time being so near to a god.
"Lady Furina smells so nice..." she murmured.
"Hey now, stop getting distracted and show me the photos," Furina nudged her.
"Oh, right! Sorry!" Charlotte snapped back to her senses and awkwardly pulled out her kamera.
"Wow!" Furina's eyes widened at the pictures. Honestly, even though the device's resolution wasn't great, the results looked better than when she used the bracelet Akio gave her.
"Charlotte, you're amazing!" Furina praised. "Hold on a sec."
As she spoke, she tapped her bracelet. A golden light scanned Charlotte's kamera, and in an instant, the photos were uploaded to Akio's harem group chat.
Group Chat:
Furina: "Hubby! Girls! I've arrived back in Fontaine~ Look! These were taken by Charlotte, a reporter from The Steambird! Aren't they great?"
Yae Miko: "!!! I've heard so much about The Steambird's reputation across Teyvat, and now I see it's well-deserved. These shots are fantastic."
Yoimiya from Naganohara: "Wow! So pretty! Furina, you said the little reporter's name is Charlotte? If I ever visit Fontaine, I want her to take pictures of me too!"
Furina: "Of course, of course! When are you girls coming to Fontaine? I'll be your host!"
Kamisato Ayaka: "Maybe in a little while, I've been quite busy lately."
Hiiragi Chisato: "+1. I'm swamped too! I'm about to collapse!"
Akio: "Such lovely pics of Furina! Saved and cherished!"
Akio: "@Hiiragi Chisato, sweetheart, make sure you're getting enough rest! Your hubby's coming to see you tonight!"
Hiiragi Chisato: "@Akio!!! Yes! Come quickly, hubby! With you here, I feel like I've got the strength of a hundred people!"
Furina: "Waaah, I miss you too... @Akio"
Akio: "Alright, alright, my darling Furina, wait until you're back at the Palais Mermonia—we'll video call!"
...
"Eh?" Charlotte stared blankly at Furina who was now fiddling with her bracelet. Wait, weren't they in the middle of an interview?
"Yay!" Furina suddenly cheered. She couldn't wait to get back to Palais Mermonia and video call Akio.
After centuries of loneliness, even though they had only just parted ways, Furina missed Akio terribly.
"..." But seeing Charlotte still standing there, Furina quickly put on a serious face.
"Ahem... Dear little Charlotte, what would you like to ask? I really do have official matters to return to," she said with a straight face.
"..." Clorinde let out a sigh from the side. She was also in Akio's group chat, of course, and had seen all the messages.
Furina! The 'official matters' you speak of are video calls with your husband? Do you really miss him that much?
Clorinde's mind conjured up an image of Akio. Okay, fine, she had to admit—she missed him terribly too.
With a couple of taps, Clorinde sent a message in the group chat.
Clorinde: "I miss you too!"
Her words instantly set off a firestorm in the group. In everyone's eyes, Clorinde had always been the cold, stoic, aloof goddess-like woman—and here she was, openly expressing her longing?
Naturally, the other beauties in the group all started tagging Akio and pouring out their own heartfelt yearning for him.
"Uh... Lady Furina, if you're busy, I'll just ask one question," Charlotte said, assuming that the Hydro Archon must be extremely busy handling state affairs and didn't want to take up too much of her time.
"May I ask, Lady Furina, what is your opinion of the Great Divine Sovereign?" she asked, notebook in hand.
"Akio?" Furina tilted her head, thinking.
"So the Great Divine Sovereign's name is Akio!" Charlotte quickly jotted that down—after all, it was a god's name!
"Akio is an incredibly, incredibly handsome and dashing god! And super gentle!" Furina said with stars in her eyes. "He has the power to save countless people from tragedy and pain! If I were to describe him... I'd say he's the best god in the entire world!"
"Eh?!" Charlotte was stunned! The Hydro Archon herself just said that he was the best god in the world?
Everyone knew what Furina was like. For her to give such high praise—it didn't sound like her at all!
Charlotte stared at Furina. When she talked about Akio, her eyes sparkled, and her expression lit up with joy.
No way... Could it be... Lady Furina is...
As a seasoned reporter, reading people's expressions was second nature. Though mortals shouldn't speculate on a god's emotions, Furina's reaction made Charlotte's imagination run wild.
Ahem... Clorinde, of course, noticed Charlotte's shifting gaze and cleared her throat.
Now was definitely not the time for such things to be exposed—after all, the love between two Archons was not a simple matter.
"Miss Charlotte, Lady Furina has urgent matters to attend to. We can't stay too long, so we'll be taking our leave now," Clorinde said calmly.
"Oh? R-right, of course," Charlotte nodded quickly.
"Miss Charlotte, please don't overthink things. If you're going to write an article, just report the facts—don't add any unnecessary... interpretations," Clorinde said, her tone carrying a subtle weight.
"Yes, Miss Clorinde," Charlotte replied, instantly sobered. She realized Clorinde had already seen through her thoughts and quickly nodded in understanding.
"Well then, my adorable Charlotte, we'll take our leave." Furina waved, and Clorinde gently pulled her away.
"Goodbye, Lady Furina!" Charlotte waved back, then turned and walked off herself.
A/N: Enjoying the story? Read 60+ chapters ahead on Patreon! Your support helps: Patreon.com/nneol