Albedo's laboratory was located deep within Dragonspine, nestled in a cavern that could only be accessed via a wooden suspension bridge.
Thanks to the naturally harsh environment of Dragonspine acting as a barrier, there wasn't much need for anti-theft measures. After all, the lab didn't contain anything particularly valuable, only experimental data so complex that even alchemy experts would struggle to make sense of it.
After lighting a bonfire in the semi-open-air laboratory, the temperature inside the cave rose slightly, though it was still freezing cold.
Fortunately, Furina had taken an anti-freezing potion. A single dose could sustain her for several hours in these extreme conditions, a truly miraculous effect.
Currently, even sticking her hands into a pile of snow only made her feel a little cold, not the bone-piercing chill she had expected.
When she pulled her hand out of the snow, there were no signs of frostbite. Her hands were still rosy, soft, and full of elasticity, almost like rare works of art.
Of course, an ordinary potion couldn't possibly have such powerful effects, not even one brewed by Albedo himself. The real reason Furina could play in the snow so carefreely was that Richard had cast a protective blessing on her.
In simpler terms, a buff.
While Klee and Furina were playing around the lab, Richard noticed Albedo staring blankly at his bookshelf.
"What's wrong?" Richard asked.
Albedo snapped out of it and shook his head. "My alchemy notes are missing from the shelf."
"In a desolate place like this, I doubt anyone would steal an alchemy notebook they can't even understand," Richard replied, implying that whoever took it was clearly targeting Albedo specifically.
"Looks like you were right. There's indeed a troublesome guy lurking somewhere in Dragonspine," Albedo said with a sigh.
"Better deal with it early, trouble will only multiply if left alone," Richard warned, casting a glance toward the two figures, one big, one small, building snowmen outside.
"If trouble comes knocking, I won't hold back."
"As you should," Albedo agreed with a nod.
Richard walked over to Albedo's drawing board and saw, as always, a mix of exquisite and haphazard strokes. He couldn't help but comment, "Can you at least finish one of your drawings for once? I mean, even if the background's sketchy, could you at least color it in?"
"That takes too much time. These are just practice pieces, not worth being that meticulous over," Albedo replied as he stood beside Richard, looking at his own work.
"But seriously, your skills are definitely improving," Richard said, stroking his chin.
Seeing Richard's interest, Albedo asked, "Want to draw one yourself? I remember you're pretty good at drawing too."
Richard shook his head and pulled out a camera he had prepared in advance. "No need. This thing is way more efficient than hand-drawing."
"Klee, Furina, look over here!" Richard called out to them.
His shout drew their attention. Just as they both turned toward the lens, the camera let out a click, capturing a moment of pure joy, a small and large figure smiling radiantly beside a half-finished snowman.
Albedo leaned in to look at the photo as it developed. "I have to admit, this is far more convenient than sketching by hand."
"Right? I'm keeping the photo. But I'm giving you the camera. It was meant as a gift for you anyway. Once I'm back in Fontaine, make sure to send me some pictures of Klee in your letters," Richard said as he stuffed the camera into Albedo's hands, leaving no room for refusal.
To Albedo, the camera felt less like a gift and more like an added responsibility.
The photo's two stars came running toward them through the snow, leaving a trail of big and small footprints behind them.
"Hey! You took our picture without asking! Let me see it! If I look bad, I'll be mad!" Furina pouted, her soft white ahoge nearly poking Richard's nose as her pretty face almost pressed into his chest.
"I'll be mad too! Klee wants to see it!" Klee chimed in, mimicking Furina's tone, bouncing on her tiptoes to get a peek.
Furina snatched the freshly developed photo from Richard's hands and squatted down, placing it at the perfect height for Klee to see without needing to tiptoe.
"Hm… From a composition standpoint, there's nothing to criticize. Colors, lighting, focus, Richard, I didn't know you had such talent," Furina remarked, genuinely surprised.
"You flatter me. Just average," Richard said humbly. After all, the Hydro Archon afternoon tea photo was his doing. You don't get that kind of quality without some skill!
"This isn't average at all. A lot of reporters can't even take decent pictures. I've had terrible photos printed in the paper, makes me want to toss those reporters into a photojournalism academy… Does Fontaine even have one of those?"
She visibly fumed at the memory. Some of the photos published were just so bad, it was a miracle her natural beauty could still shine through.
"There's no academy, but the Fontaine Institute does have a Photographic Research Society. Newspapers often pay them to train photojournalists," Richard recalled.
"Then clearly, they're not paying enough attention in class," Furina muttered.
"Got a pen?" she asked.
Richard handed her a charcoal pencil from Albedo's drawing board.
She carefully signed the back of the photo with a beautifully stylized signature. Judging by her practiced movements, she'd clearly done this many times before.
Then she taught Klee how to sign her name too, even designing a special signature for her.
After both signatures were complete, Furina whispered a few things to Klee, and then Klee ran over to Richard and said:
"Sister Furina said, since you're going back to work in Fontaine and won't see Klee often, I should give you this photo so you can look at it when you miss me!"
Her eyes sparkled with expectation.
Richard knelt down, smiling as he accepted Klee's gift. He promised he'd frame it and put it on his desk.
"You better treasure that photo. My signed photos are very rare, and extremely valuable!" the celebrity Furina reminded him.
But in her heart, she was thinking: If Richard looks at this when he misses Klee, won't he see me too? We're in the same picture, after all…
Klee didn't fully understand what "signature" meant but still declared, "Klee's signature is super rare too!"
Unaware of Furina's inner thoughts, Richard smiled and said, "I will. Thank you, Klee, and thank you, Lady Furina."
"We're off-duty now. Just call me Furina."
"Yes, Lady Furina."
Furina: "..."
'Ugh, whatever.'
She turned around and pulled Klee back to their unfinished snowman.
After teasing the adorable Archon for a moment, Richard noticed Albedo watching him intently.
"What, you want a signed photo from Furina and Klee too?"
"No… I just think you and Lady Furina get along surprisingly well. And she doesn't feel like a god at all…"
"She feels approachable, right? Like the girl next door," Richard said casually.
"You know what I mean," Albedo replied.
"I do. But she is the Hydro Archon, Barbatos confirmed it himself. Honestly, out of the Seven I've met so far, none of them feel very godlike."
"Is that so…" Albedo didn't argue.
"By the way, you sure you don't want Klee's signed photo?" Richard teased, waving the photo in his hand.
Albedo gave him a speechless look, as if you'd give it to me even if I said yes.
Richard laughed and carefully tucked the precious photo into his inner coat pocket. Then he picked up the Festering Desire sword, preparing to "feed" it.
"There should be a Hilichurl camp nearby, right?" he muttered.
"Yeah, not far. There's also a Frostarm Lawachurl nearby. If you want better results, take it out too," Albedo suggested.
"Sure. Watch over them for me, I'll be back soon." Richard slung the sword over his shoulder and strode deeper into the snowy forest.
The only drawback of the Festering Desire was that it needed to kill monsters directly to absorb their power. This meant Richard had to first freeze his targets, then finish them off with a strike, slow and inefficient, but he wasn't in a rush.
Soon after, a thunderous roar shook the forest, dislodging snow from the trees. Then all was silent again.
Furina looked toward the source of the sound, curiosity glinting in her amber eyes.
"What was that?"
"Nothing. Just Richard collecting some sample data," Albedo replied.
"But… isn't that an awfully loud way to collect samples?" Furina asked, pointing toward the mountain, where a white wave of snow was tumbling down from the summit.
The ground began to tremble.
Albedo, used to life on the mountain, recognized the signs immediately. "Avalanche! Take Klee and run!"
"But Richard!"
"He'll be fine."
With Richard's power, even if Dragonspine itself collapsed, he'd still be fine.
Still, Furina glanced back anxiously before following Albedo and Klee into the cave.
They made it back in time, just as the avalanche swept through, devouring everything in its path, even the suspension bridge.
Luckily, they had reacted early. Had they waited any longer, they wouldn't have escaped.
As quickly as it came, the avalanche passed. Once the ground stopped trembling, they cautiously stepped out of the cave.
"Ah! It's Richard!" Klee pointed toward the broken bridge. A familiar figure stood there.
But as they focused on the figure, Furina pulled Klee back, frowning.
"Wait, something's off."
"I feel it too," Albedo said solemnly.
That "Richard" was walking too smoothly, almost too smoothly. Something about it felt… off. Like a bad actor trying too hard to imitate their role, similar, yet jarringly unconvincing.
As a talented opera actress and director, Furina's eye for such things was sharp.
Combining her knowledge of Richard with this strange behavior, she quickly concluded: This was not the real Richard.
Someone was impersonating him. But who? And why?
She recalled the tales Richard had told her earlier, of the strange happenings on Dragonspine.
"Damn crow's mouth," she cursed.
Albedo stepped forward, drawing his sword.
The fake Richard, realizing he'd been exposed, lunged at them without hesitation.
Clang! Clang!
Several sharp clashing sounds echoed. In just moments, Albedo and the impostor had exchanged several blows.
It was clear the fake lacked Richard's overwhelming power. If the real Richard were here, he wouldn't even need to raise a finger, just the authority of ice would've paralyzed everyone.
As the fight dragged on, the fake suddenly leapt backward, creating distance. Then he dropped his sword and summoned a pure-white Cryo lotus in the air, radiating bone-chilling cold despite its pristine appearance.
If it fell, they were in real danger.
Just as Albedo prepared to risk everything to interrupt the casting,
A cold voice rang out behind the impostor.
"That's far enough, monster."
Richard stepped forward, walking on thin air, corruption sword in one hand, and dragging an unconscious body in the other.
Klee's eyes went wide. "T-Two brother Richard's?!"
Richard's expression turned even colder as he stared down the imposter.
'How dare you wear my face, when you're not even in my league?'