At the Knights of Favonius Headquarters, Klee's Private Confinement Room
Under the escort of a duty knight, Furina arrived at the door of Klee's confinement room.
"This is Klee's confinement room, Lady Furina. If there's nothing else, I'll return to my post now," the knight said. Seeing Furina nod, he saluted and went back to his duties.
Furina looked at the door, and there was even a chibi version of Klee's face hanging on it. She raised her hand and knocked gently.
From inside came the sound of quick little footsteps, tap tap tap, and before Furina could push the door open, it swung open from the inside.
Furina froze. 'Wait, the door can be opened from the inside?!'
"Is someone here to let Klee out to play?!" Klee hadn't even seen who was at the door before she called out excitedly.
"Huh? It's Sister Furina! Did you come to see Klee for something?" Klee looked up at her with wide eyes.
"Ahem. Klee, sweetie, I'm here to… play with you today," Furina said. She hadn't expected she'd ever be the type to coax a child.
"Play with Klee! Then let's go on an adventure! Let's go fish-blasting!" Klee cheered up even more at the idea, grabbing her backpack full of Jumpty Dumpties and rushing for the door.
But Furina quickly grabbed her back, "L-Let's just play inside the room, okay? No fish-blasting today. It's dangerous outside right now. When things calm down, then we'll go play, alright?"
With Richard not around, Furina didn't dare run around Mondstadt's outskirts; honestly, she didn't even dare wander freely inside the city. She kept her range of activity close to the Knights' headquarters, and whenever she did go somewhere crowded, she always brought her guards.
Mondstadt was a mess right now. If she ran into Fatui agents or Abyss Order creeps with Klee and Richard wasn't there… how was she supposed to deal with those dangerous lunatics alone?
Honestly, with Klee's Vision, the kid would probably be more useful than her in a fight.
At that point, who'd be protecting who was up for debate…
And if by some terrible chance, Charlotte or some other reporter caught them out there, her spotless reputation as the Hydro Archon would be ruined!
Worse yet, if Klee got hurt while she was out playing under Furina's watch, given how much Richard adored Klee, he'd probably skin her alive!
Thinking about the consequences, Furina made up her mind.
'No fish-blasting! Not unless Richard came along!'
"No fish-blasting? Aww… then what does Sister Furina want to play?" Klee looked a little disappointed, but she was still happy to have someone to play with.
She stepped aside to let Furina into her special confinement room.
"Klee, you can just call me Furina, like your brother does," Furina said as she stepped in, glancing around at the room's décor.
This was no confinement room; this was obviously Klee's toy room!
Unlike the dark, gloomy, intimidating cells you'd expect, Klee's 'confinement' was bright and full of childlike charm. Sunlight streamed in, and the décor matched the highest standards for a kid's room.
Most eye-catching was Klee's big kids' desk, stacked with fairy tale books, plush Dodocos, half-finished coloring books, and… an alchemical lab kit?!
'Wait a second. Why does she have an alchemy set in here? It looked so out of place, like tossing a spicy cracker into a pile of pastel macarons!'
"Klee, that alchemy kit…?" Furina asked. She guessed it was left by Klee's other 'big brother,' Albedo.
After all, Richard had told her Klee's other brother, Albedo, was Mondstadt's Chief Alchemist.
It made sense. Albedo was why Richard could leave Klee in Mondstadt and not drag her around everywhere.
As the sister of the Chief Alchemist, it wasn't strange for Klee to have her own set of tools. Maybe Albedo even came in here sometimes to teach her basic alchemy.
What's that saying? 'Education should start young,' right?
Haha, Mondstadters really do care about early childhood education…
"That's the alchemy kit my mom gave me! It's my best helper for researching bomb recipes! I've made so many super-strong bombs with it, I've blown up lots and lots of fish!" Klee beamed, spreading her little hands wide to show Furina how big the explosions were.
Furina: "..."
She wasn't sure she felt the 'power,' but she was definitely sure that Klee's mother, Alice, must be something else.
Giving her daughter an alchemy set was one thing, but letting her research explosives? What kind of powerhouse was Richard's aunt anyway…?
Staring at the child who couldn't go three sentences without mentioning fish-blasting, Furina couldn't help asking, "Klee, why do you love blowing up fish so much, eek!"
Before she could finish, Klee proudly presented a clear jar right in front of her face; inside were several dried lizards.
The sudden move startled Furina so badly she squeaked, stumbled backward, and plopped down right onto Klee's little bed.
"Wh-what's that in your hands?!"
"Lizards!" Klee answered, then cheerfully explained: "Furina, every lizard has a different pattern, and once their tails dry out and you grind them up, they make great bomb ingredients! That's what Albedo told me! Now you know too!"
"Th-thanks… wow… my strange knowledge has really grown today, hahaha…" Furina forced out a laugh. Her impression of that Albedo she'd never even met had just plummeted to rock bottom.
'Who teaches a kid this stuff?!'
'Mondstadt is… way too 'free,' isn't it?!'
"Sister Furina was asking why Klee loves fish-blasting, right?" Seeing Furina clearly didn't want the dried lizards, Klee obediently put the jar aside.
"Yes, can you tell me why?" Furina steadied herself; at least the topic was back to normal, kind of. She tried to calm her fluttering heart and asked.
"Because fish are yummy! And bombs are fun!" Klee answered without hesitation.
'I really shouldn't have asked.'
She decided to change tack. "So how does Richard feel about you blowing up fish? Doesn't he try to stop you?"
"Richard is super nice! Whenever he has time, he takes Klee out to blow up fish; he never stops me. Sometimes he even helps me blow them up!"
"But Richard likes fishing with electricity more than bombs. He says it's 'efficient'? Klee doesn't get it, but it sounds really amazing!" Klee added thoughtfully.
Furina: 'This whole family is absolutely insane.'