The first thing I learned after declaring my intention to save Fontaine was that saving a nation did not excuse you from community service.
Somewhere inside my grand, heroic, emotionally heavy imagination, I had pictured myself standing atop a shining courthouse, cloak billowing behind me, sword raised toward the heavens while prophecy itself looked upon me and whispered, Oh no, the idiot has arrived.
Instead, I was standing near Romaritime Harbor with a bundle of Magic Pockets in my arms while Paimon hovered beside me and supervised like a tiny floating manager who had never paid taxes but somehow understood labor exploitation.
"Shigeru, you're holding them wrong," Paimon said, pointing at the stack in my arms with the confidence of someone who was not holding anything.
I looked down at the pockets, then back at her. "They are literally small bags."
"They're special small bags!"
"They are still bags."
"They're Magic Pockets!"
"Paimon, I have carried national secrets, suspicious artifacts, divine trauma, emergency snacks, and Greg in my life. I can carry bags."
Greg, perched on my shoulder, flicked his tail once.
I turned my head slightly. "Do not include yourself in the suspicious artifact category."
His tail flicked again, slower this time, with the proud dignity of a creature who had absolutely included himself and saw no shame in it.
Lumine walked a few steps ahead with Nilou, holding one of the Magic Pockets Lyney had left behind. Her thumb brushed over its opening as she examined the stitching, the material, and the faint Hydro-like sheen woven into the fabric. It looked simple at first glance, but Fontaine's simple things had the annoying habit of being engineered like they were personally offended by normal craftsmanship.
Nilou accepted another pocket from me and turned it carefully in her hands. "It's beautiful," she said softly. "Even something made for an emergency is designed so elegantly."
"That's Fontaine," I said. "The nation where disaster preparation comes with stage presence."
Lumine glanced back at me. "And these are connected to the prophecy?"
"Yeah," I replied, passing another pocket to Paimon, who immediately dropped slightly under its weight despite it not being heavy at all. "They're meant to protect important belongings if the waters rise. Documents, keepsakes, small items, the things people don't want to lose when their entire world suddenly becomes soup."
Paimon hugged the pocket against her chest and shivered. "Don't say it like that!"
"What? Soup?"
"Fontaine is not soup!"
"Not yet."
"Shigeru!"
Nilou's expression dimmed at the joke, not because she thought I was being cruel, but because the truth behind it was too ugly to ignore. She looked across the harbor, where people still moved about as usual, buying food, arguing over mechanical parts, laughing near the railings, and watching the water glitter like it wasn't the symbol of their possible doom.
"It must be frightening," she said. "To live every day knowing the water could become something that takes everything away."
I followed her gaze. "Yeah."
Paimon went quiet for once, and Lumine's eyes shifted toward me, sharp but patient. She knew I was still choosing my words. She knew I wasn't telling everything. That was the dangerous thing about Lumine knowing me this well. My silence had become suspicious. My jokes had become suspicious. Even my normal breathing probably had lore implications at this point.
"We're not telling people they're doomed while handing these out," Lumine said quietly.
"Of course not," I said. "That would be bad customer service."
Her stare flattened.
"I know, I know." I adjusted the stack in my arms and softened my voice. "We give them the pockets. We smile. We say it's a precaution. We don't add emotional damage unless specifically requested."
Paimon stared at me. "When has emotional damage ever been requested?"
"In Sumeru, approximately every other day."
Nilou made a small sound that might have been a laugh and might have been despair. Honestly, after Sumeru, the line between the two had become thin enough to use as a bookmark.
We started with the nearby stalls. A middle-aged woman selling small wrapped pastries accepted the Magic Pocket from Lumine with polite surprise, then looked at the Traveler's face a little longer than normal. Recognition arrived carefully at first, then all at once.
"Wait," she said, eyes widening. "You're the blonde Traveler Lady Furina welcomed earlier, aren't you?"
Lumine smiled politely, the kind of smile she used when she wanted to remain friendly but could already feel social complications crawling toward her. "Yes, that's me."
The woman's gaze shifted to me. Her eyes narrowed with the terrible accuracy of public rumor.
"And you're the one who kneeled."
I straightened with dignity. "I am many things."
Paimon immediately added, "He also puked on someone's shoe."
The woman's face changed.
Lumine closed her eyes.
Nilou made a tiny panicked noise. "Paimon…"
"What?" Paimon said. "She might have heard already!"
I slowly turned toward my oldest emergency food candidate. "Paimon."
She froze midair. "Yes?"
"Do you understand that some stories do not need assistance spreading?"
Paimon crossed her arms. "Paimon believes in accurate reporting."
"That is how Charlotte possesses people."
Lumine blinked. "Charlotte?"
I coughed. "Later."
The pastry woman looked between us like she had just discovered the world was more complicated than she wanted it to be before lunch. To her credit, she still accepted the Magic Pocket and tucked it carefully beneath her stall. "My husband says the prophecy is nonsense," she said after a moment, her voice quieter. "But he still packed our wedding rings together last week. Just in case."
Nilou's expression softened immediately. "That must be hard."
The woman smiled, but it did not fully reach her eyes. "In Fontaine, we say dramatic things loudly and fear quiet things privately. It keeps business moving."
That was such a Fontaine sentence that I almost applauded. Instead, I gave her the most genuine smile I could manage. "Then keep the pocket close. Not because you've surrendered to the prophecy, but because protecting what matters is never stupid."
The woman looked surprised, then nodded. "That's… a kind way to say it."
"Rare moment," Lumine muttered.
"I heard that."
"You were meant to."
Greg flicked his tail.
"I know you agreed, Greg. I felt the betrayal through your claws."
The next few minutes passed in a rhythm that almost felt normal. We handed Magic Pockets to shopkeepers, travelers, dockworkers, and families waiting near the harbor. Some accepted them with nervous gratitude. Some laughed it off, saying Fontaine had survived worse rumors and would survive this one too. Some asked Lumine about other nations, about whether the stories were true, about whether she had really faced gods and dragons and impossible disasters. A few asked Nilou about Sumeru's theater once they recognized the way she moved, and she answered with a warmth that made even Fontaine's anxious citizens relax for a moment.
That was Nilou's talent, I thought. Not only dancing. Not only beauty. She could stand in front of strangers and make kindness feel natural instead of forced. Fontaine had its grand stages, its legal performances, its polished mechanisms and theatrical declarations, but Nilou carried a quieter kind of stage with her. Wherever she smiled sincerely, people seemed to remember that the world did not have to be cruel every second.
Then a small boy approached me with both hands behind his back and the deeply suspicious expression of a child preparing to negotiate.
"Can the Magic Pocket hold anything?" he asked.
"Depends," I said, crouching slightly. "What are we hiding from the law?"
Lumine's head snapped toward me. "Shigeru."
The boy's eyes widened with excitement. "It's not from the law!"
"That's what innocent people say."
Paimon flew down beside me. "Don't teach him that!"
The boy proudly brought out a small toy boat from behind his back. It was carved from wood, painted blue and white, and shaped like an Aquabus. My stomach immediately attempted to file a formal complaint.
He held it up. "Can it hold this?"
I stared at the tiny boat.
The tiny boat stared back.
The enemy had taken miniature form.
Nilou covered her mouth, already knowing where my mind had gone. Lumine did too, because her mouth twitched. Paimon didn't even try to hide her grin.
I accepted the toy boat slowly, placing it inside the Magic Pocket like I was sealing away an ancient evil. "Yes. It can hold this dangerous maritime creature."
The boy frowned. "It's not dangerous."
"Not to you."
"It's a toy."
"That's how they start."
Paimon burst out laughing. "He's scared of the tiny boat!"
"I am not scared," I said, handing the pocket back to the boy. "I am respectfully cautious toward vessels of all sizes."
The boy looked at Lumine. "Is he okay?"
Lumine smiled gently. "No."
"Blondie."
"He asked."
The boy ran off laughing, clutching the Magic Pocket and the tiny boat like he had just received both emergency supplies and a free comedy performance. I stood again, dignity injured but still breathing.
Nilou touched my sleeve lightly. "Are you really going to be okay on the Aquabus?"
My body went still.
Paimon's grin became wicked.
Lumine turned her face away, but I saw her shoulders shake once.
I looked toward the Aquabus station in the distance. Elegant. Smooth. Beautiful. Mechanically advanced. Probably stable enough to carry passengers without a single bump.
Horrifying.
"I am a man who has faced gods," I said.
Paimon hovered closer. "You threw up on a shoe."
"That shoe was an unfortunate civilian casualty."
"You were pale for twenty minutes."
"Strategic color change."
Lumine finally looked back at me, amusement glowing in her eyes. "You don't have to ride it if you really can't."
Ah.
Concern disguised as teasing.
My weakness.
One of many, apparently.
I placed a hand on my chest and lifted my chin with all the dignity I could salvage from recent public history. "No. I shall ride the Aquabus. For knowledge. For progress. For Fontaine. For the plot."
Nilou's brows drew together. "For the plot?"
"For tourism," I corrected smoothly.
Paimon pointed at me. "He's definitely going to suffer."
Greg flicked his tail.
"Greg, you are supposed to be emotionally supportive."
Tail flick.
"That was not emotional support. That was betting against me."
By the time we finished distributing the last of the Magic Pockets near the lower harbor, the sun had shifted enough to paint the water in softer light. Fontaine's mechanisms kept turning, ferry bells rang in the distance, and the Aquabus station ahead looked more and more like a boss arena with railings.
Lumine fell into step beside me as Nilou walked just ahead with Paimon, both of them talking quietly about the people we had met. Greg adjusted himself on my shoulder, claws gently gripping my jacket as if preparing for turbulence that absolutely would not exist and therefore would personally murder me.
"You handled that better than I expected," Lumine said.
I glanced at her. "The Magic Pockets or the child with the enemy boat?"
"The people."
"Oh." I thought about the woman with the wedding rings, the boy with the toy Aquabus, the dockworker who joked loudly while slipping the pocket into his coat like he was afraid of being seen caring too much. "They're scared."
"Yeah."
"But they're also living." I looked toward the Court of Fontaine, barely visible beyond the waterways and lifts. "That's the thing about people. Even under prophecies, curses, gods, war, whatever terrifying nonsense Teyvat throws at them, they still wake up and buy bread."
Lumine's expression softened. "That sounds like something you admire."
"I do." I smiled faintly. "It's stupidly brave."
She looked at me for a moment longer, then her hand brushed mine. Not quite holding it yet, but close enough to remind me that she was there.
"Then we protect that," she said.
I nodded. "Yeah."
A second later, Paimon turned around and ruined the emotional balance with expert timing. "Hey! Are you two flirting again while Paimon is doing all the walking?"
"You are floating," Lumine said.
"Emotionally walking!"
Nilou laughed softly. "Paimon, would you like a pastry? The woman from earlier gave us some."
Paimon's outrage dissolved instantly. "Yes!"
"Unbelievable," I said. "A single pastry and all principles vanish."
Paimon accepted the pastry from Nilou with shining eyes. "Principles are temporary. Snacks are now."
I pointed at her. "That is horrifyingly wise."
We reached the Aquabus station soon after, and my entire soul took one look at the vessel waiting there and tried to exit through my spine.
It was elegant.
Of course it was.
The Aquabus looked less like transportation and more like a moving theater balcony designed by someone who believed public infrastructure should be admired before it was used. Its curved frame gleamed, its seats looked comfortable, and the water around it was calm. Too calm. Criminally calm. The kind of calm that whispered, Come aboard, Shigeru. Let us destroy you politely.
I stopped walking.
Lumine noticed immediately.
Nilou noticed half a heartbeat later.
Paimon noticed and began grinning like a tiny demon with no legal restraint.
"Wow," Paimon said. "He froze."
"I did not freeze."
"You absolutely froze."
"I was observing."
"The Aquabus?"
"My natural predator."
Nilou stepped closer, concern returning. "We can wait if you need a moment."
The softness in her voice almost healed me.
Almost.
Then the Aquabus guide announced cheerfully that passengers could board soon, and my stomach remembered betrayal as a lifestyle.
Lumine leaned toward me. "Still want to ride?"
I inhaled slowly, exhaled, and summoned all four nations' worth of trauma, romance, stupidity, and dignity. "Yes. I will not be defeated by public transportation."
Greg flicked his tail before Paimon could even respond.
I stared at him. "Your lack of faith wounds me."
Tail flick.
"It wounds me repeatedly."
We boarded.
Immediately, I made several strategic decisions. First, I sat near the edge but not too near the edge, because being close to water felt like inviting round two of the Shoe Incident, and Fontaine had not yet recovered from round one. Second, I sat between Lumine and Nilou because emotional support had physical geometry, and I intended to use all available resources. Third, I kept my eyes forward and my breathing controlled, because if I looked at the water too long, the water would know.
Nilou sat to my right, her hand resting lightly near mine in case I needed it. Lumine sat to my left, pretending not to watch me carefully. Paimon floated in front of us with the pastry in both hands, looking far too entertained by my suffering.
The Aquabus shifted smoothly.
Too smoothly.
My soul flinched.
Paimon's eyes widened. "He made the face."
Nilou immediately turned to me. "What face?"
Lumine answered without looking away from me. "The face where he says he's fine, but his soul is leaving his body."
"I am perfectly fine," I said, voice steady through pure hatred of water physics.
Paimon pointed. "That's the face!"
Greg leaned forward from my shoulder and peered at my cheek.
"Do not inspect me."
Tail flick.
"I am not pale."
Tail flick.
"I am stylishly undercolored."
The Aquabus began moving, gliding away from Romaritime Harbor with such elegant smoothness that any normal person would have found it relaxing. Nilou certainly did. Her eyes widened as the waterways opened around us, her dancer's heart clearly caught between the motion of the vessel, the rhythm of the canals, and the graceful architecture unfolding ahead. Lumine looked impressed too, though she hid it better. Paimon was already looking around for things to comment on.
I, meanwhile, was fighting a private war.
"Fontaine is really beautiful from here," Nilou said softly.
"It is," Lumine agreed.
Paimon nodded. "Paimon didn't expect the ride to feel this smooth!"
My fingers tightened on the seat.
Lumine looked at me.
I smiled.
She smiled back with absolutely no mercy.
"Smooth," she repeated.
"You are enjoying this," I whispered.
"A little."
"Cruel woman."
"Fiancée privilege."
Nilou leaned closer, her voice gentle. "Does talking help?"
"Depends on the topic."
"What topic would help?"
"Ground."
Paimon laughed so hard she nearly dropped her pastry.
The Aquabus guide continued cheerfully explaining Fontaine's waterways, the operation of the transport lines, and the view ahead. I caught maybe half of it. The other half was drowned out by my inner monologue screaming, Why is there no turbulence? Why is smoothness worse? Why does stability feel like betrayal?
Then, just when I thought the ride might become survivable through sheer stubbornness, someone came running toward the station platform behind us.
"Wait! Please wait!"
The voice was bright, urgent, and familiar in a way that made my brain immediately produce one conclusion.
Pink-haired journalism gremlin acquired.
A young woman hurried aboard just before the Aquabus fully departed the next stop, camera and notebook practically radiating professional curiosity. Her pink hair bounced as she caught her breath, and her eyes swept over the passengers with the terrifying sharpness of someone who could turn a sneeze into tomorrow's headline if it had enough emotional framing.
Charlotte.
I knew her, obviously.
Not personally.
Not yet.
But I had played enough Genshin before getting isekai'd to know when a journalist-shaped event flag had entered the area.
She steadied herself, adjusted her camera, and gave the Aquabus guide a quick apology before her gaze landed on Lumine.
Her eyes lit up.
"Oh!" she said. "You're the Traveler, aren't you? The famous blonde Traveler from the stories?"
Paimon puffed up proudly. "That's right! And Paimon is her best travel companion!"
Charlotte's gaze shifted to Paimon with delight. "And Paimon! Of course, of course. I've heard so many accounts. Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru… You're practically walking history."
"Floating history," I corrected weakly.
Charlotte's gaze snapped to me.
Her journalist instincts visibly awakened.
"And you are…"
I gave her a tired smile. "Shigeru. Professional problem. Occasional fiancé. Recent victim of Fontaine's maritime infrastructure."
Lumine sighed. "Ignore the last part."
Paimon immediately said, "He puked on someone's shoe earlier."
Charlotte froze.
Then slowly, like a flower blooming under the sun, her expression brightened with horrible potential.
"No," I said.
She pulled out her notebook.
"No."
Her pen appeared.
"Absolutely not."
Before Charlotte could fully descend into journalism crimes, Nilou stepped forward with a gentle smile, her hands folded politely in front of her. Somehow, even on a moving Aquabus, she looked graceful enough to make the entire vehicle feel like a stage.
"It's nice to meet you," she said warmly. "I'm Nilou, from Sumeru's Zubayr Theater. I'm traveling with Lumine, Paimon, Shigeru, and Greg."
Greg, who had been sitting on my shoulder like a tiny nobleman judging Fontaine's public transport system, lifted his tail in a solemn salute.
Nilou smiled and gestured toward him. "Greg is very important too."
Greg's tail rose a little higher.
I stared at him. "Do not let this inflate your ego."
Tail flick.
Too late.
Charlotte's attention immediately shifted, and to her credit, she did not treat Nilou like some random extra traveling with the famous Traveler. Her eyes sharpened with the recognition of someone who understood people as stories, and Nilou's presence was absolutely a story.
"Sumeru's Zubayr Theater?" Charlotte repeated, her pen moving again. "Then you're a performer?"
Nilou nodded. "A dancer."
Charlotte's eyes brightened. "That explains it. Your posture, the way you move, even how you stand while the Aquabus is moving. You look balanced without trying too hard."
Nilou's cheeks flushed faintly. "Thank you. I suppose dancing makes you aware of movement, even when you're not onstage."
I leaned slightly toward Charlotte, still pale but spiritually revived by the chance to praise my goddess. "Translation, she is beauty, elegance, emotional healing, and divine stage presence given human form."
Nilou covered her face with one hand. "Shigeru…"
Charlotte's pen moved faster. "That was a very quotable statement."
"No, it wasn't," Nilou said quickly, her face reddening.
"Yes, it was," I said.
"No," Lumine said.
Paimon nodded. "Paimon agrees with Lumine. If Charlotte writes every embarrassing thing Shigeru says, The Steambird will become too dangerous."
Charlotte smiled professionally. "I make no promises."
I pointed at her. "See? Journalism gremlin."
Nilou lowered her hand, still embarrassed, but there was laughter in her eyes now. "Please don't mind him too much. He says strange things, but he usually means them kindly."
"Usually?" I asked.
Nilou looked at me sweetly. "Usually."
Lumine smiled. "Accurate."
Greg flicked his tail.
"Greg, you are not allowed to join the majority opinion."
Tail flick.
Charlotte watched all of us with visible delight, but when she turned back to Nilou, her expression softened into something more genuine. "What do you think of Fontaine so far, Miss Nilou? As someone from Sumeru, and especially as a dancer, I imagine the architecture and waterways feel very different."
Nilou looked out through the side of the Aquabus.
The city opened wider around us, water glittering beneath archways and mechanical lines, towers rising with bright confidence under the blue sky. Her face reflected the view softly, wonder mixing with thoughtfulness.
"It's beautiful," she said after a moment. "But not only beautiful. It feels… composed."
Charlotte tilted her head. "Composed?"
Nilou nodded slowly, choosing her words with care. "In Sumeru, performance feels close to the earth, to people gathering, to music reaching someone's heart directly. Here, Fontaine feels like the whole nation is arranged like a stage. The water, the machines, the buildings, even the way people speak… everything feels prepared for an audience."
Paimon blinked. "Whoa. Nilou made Fontaine sound fancy and scary."
"That's because she's correct," I said.
Charlotte's pen moved, but slower now, because even she seemed to understand that Nilou had said something worth preserving carefully. "That's a beautiful observation."
Nilou smiled gently. "Thank you. But I don't mean it as a criticism. Stages are important. They let people share joy, sorrow, fear, and hope. I just wonder…"
She paused.
Lumine looked at her. "Wonder what?"
Nilou's gaze drifted toward the water. "I wonder what kind of feelings Fontaine has been performing for so long."
The Aquabus grew quieter.
Even Paimon stopped chewing her pastry.
I looked at Nilou and felt my chest tighten a little.
See?
This was why she was dangerous.
Not in the sword way.
Not in the magic way.
In the "quietly walks straight into the emotional core of a nation and touches the wound without even realizing she found it" way.
Charlotte stared at her, pen hovering above the page. "That… is not the answer I expected."
Nilou gave a small apologetic smile. "Sorry. Was that strange?"
"No," Charlotte said, her voice softer than before. "It was excellent."
I nodded proudly. "My goddess has spoken. Fontaine has been analyzed through dance philosophy. Pack it up, court system."
Lumine smacked my shoulder.
"Ow."
"Let the moment breathe."
"The moment was breathing. I gave it accessories."
Paimon sighed. "He really can't help himself."
Nilou laughed softly, and the sound loosened the quiet enough for everyone to breathe again. Charlotte finally wrote something down, but this time she did not look like she was collecting gossip. She looked like she was trying to remember the feeling of Nilou's words properly.
Then her eyes moved to Greg.
"And Greg?" Charlotte asked, smiling. "May I ask what role he plays in your party?"
Greg straightened.
I felt him do it.
He actually straightened.
Traitorous little diva.
Nilou answered before I could ruin him. "Greg watches over Shigeru."
Paimon immediately added, "And judges him."
Lumine nodded. "Constantly."
Greg flicked his tail with dignity.
Charlotte's eyes shone. "A guardian and critic?"
I groaned. "Please don't give him titles."
Nilou smiled. "He deserves them."
Greg's tail tapped my neck once, gentle but smug.
"Unbelievable," I muttered. "My own shoulder companion has become a public figure."
Charlotte raised her pen. "Greg, would you like to comment?"
Greg flicked his tail.
Charlotte gasped softly. "Fascinating."
"No," I said. "Do not interview my lizard."
Paimon pointed at Greg. "He agreed to be interviewed."
"He flicked his tail!"
"That's how Greg talks!"
Lumine leaned back, amused. "She has a point."
Charlotte looked delighted. "Then I'll write that Greg declined verbal comment but expressed quiet confidence."
I stared at her. "That was disturbingly accurate."
Greg flicked his tail.
Charlotte nodded solemnly. "Thank you."
"Do not thank him!"
Nilou's laughter slipped out again, softer than the water but bright enough to make the ride feel warmer. She reached over and lightly squeezed my hand, probably to calm me down, though at this point it was unclear whether I needed comfort from the Aquabus, Charlotte, or Greg's growing fame.
Maybe all three.
Charlotte's gaze caught the gesture.
Her journalist eyes sharpened again.
I immediately pointed at her. "No headline."
She smiled innocently. "I haven't said anything."
"You thought something."
"I think many things."
"Dangerous woman."
Nilou looked confused for half a second, then realized where Charlotte's attention had gone. Her face warmed again, but she didn't pull her hand away. Instead, she held mine a little more openly, her thumb brushing once over my knuckles.
Lumine noticed too.
Her eyes softened, then she quietly took my other hand.
My soul almost forgot it was under attack by smooth water.
Almost.
Paimon hovered in front of us, looking between our hands and Charlotte's notebook. "Paimon is warning you, Charlotte. If you write about their romance, Shigeru will become impossible."
"I am already impossible," I said.
Lumine squeezed my hand. "He means worse."
Charlotte's smile became terrifying. "That does sound newsworthy."
"No," Lumine and Nilou said together.
I blinked, then smiled. "Look at that. My fiancées have formed a media defense alliance."
Nilou's face turned pink. "We're protecting ourselves too."
"From what?"
"Your mouth," Lumine said.
Greg flicked his tail.
"I swear, Greg."
The Aquabus continued its smooth glide toward the Court of Fontaine, and Charlotte, having fully decided we were the most interesting passengers available, settled into the seat across from us. She asked Lumine about her first impression of Fontaine, Paimon about snacks, Nilou about the difference between performing in Sumeru and possibly performing in Fontaine, and me about why I kept glaring at the water like it had insulted my bloodline.
"It did," I said.
Charlotte's pen hovered. "The water insulted your bloodline?"
"Emotionally."
Nilou squeezed my hand again. "He gets sick when the ride is too smooth."
Charlotte blinked. "Too smooth?"
Paimon nodded eagerly. "Yup! He can handle danger, storms, monsters, fighting gods, and terrible ideas, but calm water defeats him."
"Paimon, your accuracy wounds me."
"It should."
Nilou looked at Charlotte with a kind smile. "He tries to act dramatic about it, but he really is struggling. Please don't tease him too much."
I stared at Nilou.
Charlotte softened immediately. "Of course."
Paimon groaned. "Aww, Nilou protected him."
Lumine smiled. "She always does."
Nilou's cheeks reddened. "I just don't want him to suffer more than necessary."
I placed one hand over my chest, though it was difficult because both my hands were being held. "Goddess behavior."
"Shigeru…"
"Accurate goddess behavior."
Charlotte scribbled something.
Nilou quickly turned to her. "Please don't write that."
Charlotte paused, then smiled. "I'll keep it off the record."
I narrowed my eyes. "Can I trust that?"
"For her sake, yes."
I considered this, then nodded. "Acceptable."
Lumine leaned closer and whispered, "You're very easy when Nilou is involved."
"I am a man of culture."
"You are a man of weakness."
"Same thing."
Nilou tried very hard not to laugh and failed.
For a few moments, the ride became strangely peaceful. Charlotte asked Nilou about the Zubayr Theater, and Nilou spoke with the gentle brightness she always had when talking about dance. She described how the stage in Sumeru felt alive because of the people gathered around it, how children would crowd near the edges with wide eyes, how the sound of clapping at the Grand Bazaar had a different warmth from formal applause.
Charlotte listened seriously, and even Paimon grew quiet.
I watched Nilou as she spoke, the sunlight catching the side of her face, her voice turning memories into something soft enough to hold. Fontaine's grand structures surrounded us, but for that moment, Sumeru felt close again. The theater. The music. The warmth. The way Nilou danced as if joy itself could be protected by movement.
Then she looked at me.
"And Shigeru," she said, smiling softly, "was very strange when he first watched me dance."
Lumine's eyes sharpened with immediate interest. "Oh?"
Paimon gasped. "Story time!"
"No," I said.
Nilou's smile turned mischievous. "He looked like his soul had left his body."
"That was artistic enlightenment."
"He forgot how to speak."
"Rare spiritual experience."
Paimon pointed at me. "So Nilou defeated him before the smooth water did!"
Lumine smirked. "That sounds right."
Greg flicked his tail.
"Do not confirm my romantic defeat."
Charlotte was writing so fast I feared for the paper.
Nilou laughed, and this time she looked less embarrassed and more comfortable, like she had realized that being part of the chaos did not mean being swallowed by it. She could tease too. She could tell stories too. She could stand in the middle of this ridiculous party and shine in her own way.
Good.
That was what I wanted.
Because Nilou was not just my goddess.
She was not just softness.
She was not just the person who held my hand when the story grew heavy.
She was joy with a spine.
Grace with courage.
The kind of person who could look at a nation built like a stage and still wonder what feeling it was hiding.
Charlotte eventually lowered her notebook and smiled at her. "Miss Nilou, I hope you do perform in Fontaine someday. I think people here would love you."
Nilou's eyes widened slightly, then softened. "Maybe. If the chance comes, I'd like that."
I grinned. "Fontaine is not ready."
Lumine nodded. "It really isn't."
Paimon crossed her arms. "Paimon wants front-row seats if it happens!"
Greg flicked his tail.
Nilou smiled at all of us, cheeks warm but eyes bright. "Then if I ever do, I'll dance for all of you first."
The words were simple.
But they landed gently.
Lumine smiled.
Paimon cheered.
Greg gave one solemn tail salute.
And I, because I was a strong man with powerful emotional discipline, nearly combusted.
"Smooth water," I whispered, staring ahead. "Please take me now before my heart explodes."
Nilou's face turned red. "Shigeru!"
Charlotte looked thrilled. "That one is absolutely going in my private notes."
"Private only!"
"Private," she promised, laughing.
For a while after that, Charlotte shifted the interview back to Lumine and Paimon. She asked about their first impressions of Fontaine, whether the Hydro Archon's greeting had surprised them, and whether the rumors of a duel had been exaggerated. Lumine answered carefully, polite but guarded, while Paimon answered with the dangerous honesty of someone who could be bribed with snacks but not tact.
"Lady Furina was really flashy," Paimon said, waving both arms for emphasis. "Paimon didn't know whether to bow, clap, or hide behind Lumine."
Charlotte looked delighted. "That is a wonderful description."
Lumine sighed. "Please don't turn that into a headline."
"I would never reduce such a historic arrival to a cheap headline," Charlotte said with professional seriousness.
I narrowed my eyes. "You absolutely would if it was catchy."
Charlotte smiled. "Only if it was accurate."
"Devil."
Lumine looked at Charlotte with cautious curiosity. "You said you work for The Steambird?"
"That's right," Charlotte said, brightening. "We cover everything from court cases to cultural events, social affairs, political developments, and unusual incidents."
Paimon pointed at me. "He's an unusual incident."
"I am a cultural event."
"You are a walking court case."
"Fontaine hasn't charged me yet."
"Yet," Lumine said.
I looked at her. "Et tu, Blondie?"
She squeezed my hand. "Especially me."
Charlotte laughed, but then her gaze returned to me with quieter interest. "Actually, I did want to ask about one thing. When witnesses described what happened earlier, they said you addressed Lady Furina not just as the Hydro Archon, but with a kind of personal respect. Was that deliberate?"
Ah.
There it was again.
The sharp question wrapped in curiosity.
Paimon stopped mid-bite. Lumine's thumb stilled against my hand. Nilou's expression softened, because she already knew this answer would not be purely stupid. Greg's tail curled lightly against my neck, steady and quiet.
I looked out across the water instead of at Charlotte. The Aquabus glided forward, and beyond the glassy canals, Fontaine unfolded in bright layers of white stone, blue water, bronze mechanisms, and distant towers. Beautiful. Polished. Dramatic. A stage large enough to hide a tragedy.
"Personal reverence," I said after a moment.
Charlotte's pen slowed. "For Lady Furina?"
"For the person carrying the title," I replied.
The Aquabus grew quieter around us.
Lumine's hand remained around mine. Nilou's fingers brushed lightly over my knuckles. Charlotte studied me carefully. Her excitement did not vanish, but it changed shape. Less gossip, more attention.
"That's an interesting distinction," she said.
"It's an important one."
Paimon tilted her head. "Shigeru…"
I smiled before the moment could become too heavy. "Also, she's cute."
Lumine smacked my shoulder.
Nilou went pink.
Paimon groaned. "There it is."
Charlotte's pen resumed at dangerous speed. "Would you like to clarify that statement?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"Extremely."
"Is it because of the fiancées?"
"Yes."
Lumine stared. "Do not drag us into your article."
Nilou covered her face again with one hand.
Charlotte blinked, then looked between Lumine, Nilou, and me. "Fiancées?"
Paimon nodded like she was reporting breaking news. "Yup! Both of them!"
"Paimon," Lumine warned.
"What? It's true!"
Charlotte's eyes became terrifying.
I pointed at her. "No headline."
She smiled innocently. "I haven't suggested one."
"That means you have five."
"Seven."
"Devil!"
Nilou looked at Charlotte apologetically. "Please don't write anything that would trouble Lumine."
Charlotte's expression softened again. "I won't. Not without permission."
That seemed to relax Nilou, and because Charlotte was not stupid, she clearly noticed that Nilou's gentle requests were somehow more effective than my dramatic accusations. She adjusted her notebook and shifted the topic with professional grace.
"Then may I ask about your journey into Fontaine instead? You all arrived together, Lady Furina welcomed you personally, and now you're heading toward the Court. What do you expect to find there?"
Lumine answered first. "Answers."
Paimon nodded. "And maybe food."
Nilou smiled. "And perhaps a better understanding of Fontaine's people."
I leaned back against the seat, trying very hard not to let the smooth ride win. "Court cases, emotionally repressed dragons, beautiful architecture, suspicious mechanisms, cute reporters, dangerous duelists, and possibly one ginger problem with a wallet."
Charlotte stared. "That was… very specific."
Lumine muttered, "He does that."
Paimon folded her arms. "Paimon still doesn't like the ginger problem part."
Charlotte tilted her head. "Ginger problem?"
"Long story," Lumine said.
"Violent story," Paimon added.
"Friendly violent story," I corrected.
"That doesn't make it better!"
Charlotte scribbled something small, then looked up again. "You really speak as if you already know Fontaine."
I looked at her.
For half a second, the answer sat too close to the truth.
I knew Fontaine from a screen, from quests, from dialogue boxes, from late nights before Truck-kun sent me into Teyvat with all the grace of a wrestling finisher. I knew pieces. Fragments. Enough to help. Enough to hurt. Enough to be dangerous if I spoke too soon.
Then I grinned. "I have the face of a man who reads suspiciously specific travel brochures."
Charlotte stared at me for one long second.
Then she laughed. "That is not an answer."
"No," Lumine said. "That's one of his evasions."
"I call them flavor responses."
"They're evasions."
"Flavorful evasions."
Nilou smiled softly, but she did not push. That was another kindness from her. She knew there were things I carried strangely, and while she worried, she trusted me to open them when I could.
As the Aquabus approached the higher waterways, the Court of Fontaine came into fuller view. Even I forgot my suffering for a moment.
The city rose like a dream made by architects who had never been told to calm down. Towers lifted into the sky with elegant arrogance. Bridges stretched over canals, broad and graceful. Mechanical systems moved with quiet precision, and the water carried reflections of buildings so clean they looked almost unreal.
Nilou leaned forward, eyes shining. "It really does feel like an entire city built as a performance."
Charlotte smiled, pleased. "I think Fontaine would accept that compliment proudly."
"She's a dancer," I said. "Her descriptions come with elegance installed."
Nilou blushed. "Shigeru…"
Lumine looked at Nilou with a soft smile. "He's not wrong, though."
Paimon nodded. "Nilou makes everything sound pretty."
Nilou's blush deepened, but she looked happy. Not overwhelmed, not hidden behind us, not reduced to someone simply accompanying Lumine and me. Here on the Aquabus, with Fontaine opening around us and Charlotte listening properly, Nilou stood as herself.
Good.
Very good.
Charlotte eventually lowered her notebook and looked at me with a quieter expression. "May I ask one more question?"
"Legally, I cannot stop you."
Lumine muttered, "He would if he could."
Charlotte smiled, but her gaze stayed serious. "When you spoke about Lady Furina, you said 'the person carrying the title.' Do you believe the Hydro Archon is burdened?"
The wind moving through the Aquabus felt cooler for a moment.
Paimon stopped mid-argument with her pastry. Nilou looked down at our hands. Lumine watched me carefully. Greg's tail rested lightly against my neck again, no judgment this time.
I kept my gaze on the city.
"Yes," I said.
Charlotte did not write immediately.
That surprised me.
She waited.
So I gave her one more sentence.
"Some smiles are too bright because they're trying to hide the dark."
Nilou's fingers closed around mine. Lumine was silent. Paimon's eyes softened. Greg's tail stayed steady, warm against my skin.
Charlotte finally wrote something, but her pen moved slowly this time. "That," she said, "I won't twist."
I looked at her.
For once, I believed her.
Then the Aquabus shifted slightly as it approached the next stretch of the route, and my stomach remembered its unfinished rebellion.
My face changed.
Paimon pointed instantly. "The face is back!"
"No, it isn't."
Lumine looked at me. "It is."
Nilou squeezed my hand. "Breathe slowly."
"I am breathing slowly."
"You're glaring at the floor."
"The floor is stable. I respect the floor."
Charlotte raised her camera slightly. "Would a photograph help preserve this historic arrival?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"Charlotte, I will throw myself into the canal."
"That would also be newsworthy."
"Devil!"
Paimon laughed, Lumine sighed, Nilou tried not to, and Greg flicked his tail with the unmistakable rhythm of someone who had switched sides to journalism.
The Aquabus carried us forward anyway, gliding toward the Court of Fontaine as if my suffering, Nilou's growing fanbase, Greg's public debut, and Charlotte's headline crimes were all part of the route schedule.
The city of justice waited ahead.
Furina's smile waited somewhere beyond it.
The prophecy waited beneath everything.
And Charlotte, with the terrifying smile of a journalist who had just discovered fresh gossip, continued writing while I fought for my life against the smoothest boat in Teyvat.
I stared at the water and whispered, "I will save this nation."
Lumine blinked. "That sounded heroic."
I swallowed hard. "Right after I survive public transportation."
Paimon nearly dropped her pastry laughing. Nilou's laughter finally slipped free, soft and bright beside me, and Lumine smiled despite herself while Greg's tail tapped my neck once.
I sat there between the women I loved, beneath a sky too blue for a nation under prophecy, riding toward a city built on justice, drama, and secrets. Maybe the waters of Fontaine were carrying us toward fate. Maybe they were carrying us toward disaster. Maybe they were carrying us toward a courtroom, a dragon, a god behind a mask, and answers buried beneath centuries of performance.
But at that exact moment, as Charlotte scribbled down my misery and Paimon accused her of headline crimes, I could only think one thing.
If I puked on another stranger's shoe, Fontaine might actually put me on trial.
_____
End of Chapter 184
Quest Completed:
Successfully distributed Magic Pockets without causing legal panic.
Reassured Fontaine citizens while only mildly traumatizing them with prophecy hints.
Faced your natural predator: smooth public transportation.
Met Charlotte, the pink-haired journalism gremlin.
Introduced Nilou properly to Fontaine's media ecosystem.
Allowed Greg to become a public figure against your will.
Revealed that some smiles are too bright for a reason.
Survived the Aquabus. Barely.
Rewards:
+1 Charlotte Suspicious Interest
+1 Nilou Fontaine Screentime
+1 Greg Public Recognition
+1 Lumine Emotional Anchor Moment
+1 Paimon Snack-Based Journalism Commentary
New Passive Unlocked: "Smooth Water Weakness: Confirmed"
Warning Added: The Steambird Is Watching