Furina lowered her head silently. Because of the height difference, Luc Vaudelier couldn't see her expression.
A few seconds later, Luc clearly saw Furina's petite frame tremble twice while sitting on the stool, her shoulders quivering with stifled sobs.
Luc, who had never comforted a crying girl before, panicked. If he had truly upset her, then this would be even harder to deal with than coaxing a stubborn Melusine back home.
He quickly swallowed his pride and leaned closer, apologizing frantically:
"Uh… I'm sorry.
I shouldn't have raised my voice. You can play however you want.
If you don't think it's fun enough, you can even ride on my back if you like.
Do whatever makes you happy—just please, don't cry, alright?"
Luc almost choked on his own words. If you keep crying, I might start too.
Furina placed her hands on the table and buried her head in her arms, crying even harder.
Huh?! Why is she crying even more now?!
Luc was completely lost. He had already apologized and backed off. How had this escalated?
The heart of a woman… it's more mysterious than any philosophical tome I've read.
At last, Furina's voice emerged, muffled but filled with years of pent-up weight:
"I just wanted to be happy… is that really so much to ask?
I've played the part of the Hydro Archon for five hundred years. I tried so hard…
But you… you never saw that. You only noticed when I finally had a moment of peace."
Her voice grew softer, like the tide pulling away from the shore—carrying with it all the exhaustion and grief hidden beneath her extravagant persona.
"I don't want you like this…"
Then, without warning, she jumped down from the stool, shoved the phone back into Luc's hands, and stormed back to her room. Not once did she look back.
The three seafood-shaped familiars—crustacean-like companions of Furina—tried to follow her, but the door slammed shut before they could reach her.
Luc stood alone in the grand living room, the cell phone still clutched in his hand.
It looked like he had pulled Furina back from her game addiction… but could it really be called "rescue"?
A chill ran down Luc's spine. The sudden silence gnawed at him.
"So quiet…
After five hundred years of carrying Fontaine on her back… was this the silence she endured all along?"
His chest tightened.
I wouldn't have lasted a month. I'd have snapped. In a world like this, how could anyone keep going like that—alone? Forgotten?
She didn't even ask for anything… she just wanted to play on a phone.
He looked down at the device in his hand, which somehow still showed full battery despite days of use.
Luc sighed.
"I'm sorry… Furina. I'm not worthy of you."
Maybe she didn't want the phone anymore because of her pride, or a burst of emotion. Maybe she'd regret it later.
But he wanted her to have it anyway—so she could see more of the world, even through a screen.
He took a deep breath, walked to her bedroom door, and knocked gently.
"I'm sorry, Furina…
Can you hear me?"
"I'm not here to beg or guilt you. I just… I wanted to say goodbye."
Luc's voice, bitter but sincere.
"I remembered everything you did. I really did.
I was just too impulsive earlier."
He paused, unsure if she was listening.
But even if she wasn't—he had to say it.
She saved Fontaine. She bore burdens that no mortal should. And yet almost no one truly knew what she endured behind the divine curtain.
People always praise heroes after they've won. But those praises are hollow when the hero still suffers in silence.
Furina wasn't just an Archon—she was a young woman who had been forced into that role by Focalors the moment she was born.
Any other person might have broken.
"I left your phone on the table. I also sliced the chicken and made a cold beef salad—it should be enough for a few days."
***
Luc turned, dragging his suitcase to the front door. He cast one last glance at the home he had come to cherish—the home that had once seemed like a dream come true.
He looked back at Furina's room.
For a moment, he almost imagined the door would open.
It had only been a few days since he arrived, but it felt like lifetimes.
Maybe I've been alone too long. Maybe that's why I keep screwing this up.
If he stayed, Furina might just grow more and more upset. So rather than cause more hurt, Luc made the hardest decision he'd made since arriving in Teyvat.
He gently closed the door behind him.
The world outside was cool, the sky tinged with Fontaine's signature soft blue. He walked toward the city square.
How did I blow this?
He had died and reincarnated into the world of Teyvat—a dream come true for many.
He had been picked up by Furina herself, the Hydro Archon—the most adored and dazzling woman in Fontaine.
Others would kill for that kind of start… and I still managed to mess it up.
He wandered the streets, stomach growling, pockets empty. No Mora, no food, no place to go.
It reminded him of when he first left his rural hometown and arrived in the city.
Back then, too, he was poor, scared, and totally alone.
His parents hadn't supported his studies. They had heard that his cousin's cousin, "Fu Ning" got rich doing odd jobs instead of going to school.
Thus began the infamous "studying is useless" theory in the village.
Everyone parroted the idea: why study when you can just "make it" early?
But Fu Ning never returned. His promises faded. And the sister-in-law who had once bragged about him now stayed silent.
Rumors spread: Fu Ning got rich. No—Fu Ning went to jail. No one really knew.
Luc, however, believed the last version.
With no help from home, Luc worked to support himself. School on weekdays. Part-time jobs on weekends. A rented shoebox apartment.
Meals were steamed buns and pickled vegetables. Nothing more.