"Excuse me, who exactly is the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles?"
"Since the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles sustains Heavenly Principles, then what exactly are the 'Heavenly Principles'?"
Charlotte's opening salvo was a bombshell, leaving Lin Qiu momentarily unsure how to respond to him.
Is this the kind of thing one can just blurt out? No, Lin Qiu could blurt it out, but others shouldn't listen carelessly.
Lin Qiu is an outsider to this world; his affairs would not be recorded on Irminsul.
So, there's no problem with him writing or saying these things; Heavenly Principles would not know.
Charlotte, however, is a native of Teyvat; knowing too much would actually do her no good.
After some thought, Lin Qiu said, "Let's keep it a secret for now, otherwise wouldn't that be a spoiler?"
Charlotte nodded in agreement. Besides being the nation of justice, Fontaine is also the nation of opera.
People in this nation love watching operas and detective novels, so they naturally understand the egregious nature of spoilers.
What she didn't know was that while Lin Qiu was talking about not spoiling, his novel was about to drop a huge spoiler.
Archons, don't just stand there, he's talking about you.
"Then, where did the Twins come from?"
"Spoiler alert."
"What exactly is the 'usurpation of the Son of Man'?"
"Spoiler alert."
"What kind of creature is Paimon?"
"Spoiler alert."
"Has Lumine found her brother?"
"Spoiler alert."
"..."
"..."
Charlotte pouted, like a small hedgehog whose quills hadn't fully grown, puffed up in anger.
In the end, she hadn't gotten any answers; every question was a spoiler.
She gave up asking, Charlotte put away her notebook and picked up the book again to read.
In the text, the protagonists Lumine and Paimon arrived before a Statue of the Seven. Lumine merely touched the statue lightly and gained the power of Anemo element.
Seeing this, Charlotte couldn't help but exclaim, "A novel is just a novel; this protagonist's cheat is really good."
If she had that ability, wouldn't she have all seven element powers after traveling the world and conducting interviews?
However, Charlotte was not obsessed with power; she merely expressed a slight Feelings at Lumine's golden finger and continued reading.
A giant dragon flew over the Traveler's head, flying towards the distant forest.
When the Traveler entered the forest, he saw a young man comforting the dragon.
"The green-clad young man cupped his hands and said gently, 'Don't be afraid, relax, I'm back.'"
Lin Qiu had somewhat blurred the description of Venti.
After all, it would be boring if the Anemo Archon's identity was guessed directly.
"The Dragon Disaster of Mondstadt?"
Charlotte connected Mondstadt and the giant dragon to the Dragon Disaster of Mondstadt.
Charlotte had previously gone to Mondstadt to interview about this matter.
"It's been some time, hasn't it? Can it still be considered breaking news now?"
For the people of Fontaine, the novelty of the Mondstadt Dragon Disaster had passed, and few still brought it up as a topic of conversation.
The Dragon Disaster was still ongoing, but the people of Fontaine were no longer discussing it. Could writing about this in a novel still gain popularity?
"This green-clad young man can actually converse with a giant dragon. Who exactly is he?"
He is the Anemo Archon of Mondstadt, and also a famous slacker in Teyvat.
As she continued reading, Charlotte's confusion not only remained but actually increased.
Just as she was about to continue reading, the cruise ship arrived at its destination.
"Dear passengers, please be careful," Melusine reminded the disembarking people.
"Arrived? So fast?" Charlotte was stunned; she had only just started reading.
Lin Qiu, meanwhile, grumbled at his side, "Because you spent most of your time asking me questions."
"Oh right, the exclusive interview report! I need to hurry back to the Steam Bird Newspaper to organize the data."
Charlotte said as she handed the book back to Lin Qiu: "Teacher Qiu Cheng, please follow me, I'll take you to the Steam Bird Newspaper."
She still remembered Lin Qiu saying he wanted to submit a manuscript to the Steam Bird Newspaper, and she would take him there before leaving.
"This is your first time in Fontaine, isn't it? I'll be your guide."
Worried that Lin Qiu, being new to the place, wouldn't find his way, Charlotte volunteered to be his guide.
Lin Qiu readily agreed; Fontaine was much larger than in the game, and he was genuinely afraid of getting lost there.
The two walked and talked. "Miss Xia, I think we're quite familiar now. You don't have to call me 'teacher' or use 'you' in the honorific sense when addressing me."
"Okay, Teacher Qiu Cheng."
"I mean, could you call me Qiu Cheng, or Lin Qiu?"
"Yes, Teacher Qiu Cheng."
Lin Qiu: "?"
Everyone is speaking Teyvatian, right?
Is it Fontaine's linguistic customs that differ from Liyue, or am I not expressing myself clearly? Why does it feel like we've been communicating for ages but achieved nothing?
Charlotte pretended not to see Lin Qiu's confused expression.
The reason she responded that way was entirely intentional; it was because Lin Qiu had also deliberately called her "Miss Xia," which was too rude!
And he was right, Lin Qiu was doing it on purpose.
But jokes aside, Charlotte still had something serious to discuss with Lin Qiu.
"Teacher Qiu Cheng, I currently cannot assess your worth."
"So, the interview fee will have to be put on hold for now. How about I treat you to a meal first?"
"Sounds good." Lin Qiu didn't stand on ceremony.
He had already spent most of his savings on the way here.
After arriving in Fontaine, he would also need to rent a house, and he didn't know when the manuscript fees would come through.
At this moment, Charlotte offering to treat him to a meal was truly a godsend.
Perhaps this would be the best meal Lin Qiu would have for a while.
Charlotte didn't know what Lin Qiu was thinking at the moment; she just silently led the way.
"This is the Steam Bird Newspaper. The editors are on the second floor, to your left. The first three offices are all the editorial department."
"Teacher Qiu Cheng, you can go in and find an editor yourself. I need to go back to my workstation to organize the data now, so I can't accompany you."
One must know that Charlotte had just returned from interviewing news; besides Lin Qiu's exclusive interview, she also had other news materials to organize.
Charlotte had already rushed into the Steam Bird Newspaper, waving her hand and saying:
"I'll come find you after I've put away the materials. We can have dinner then, and find a place to stay."
Good thing Lin Qiu's hearing was good, otherwise, with Charlotte's sprinting speed, he probably wouldn't have heard the latter part of her words due to the distance.
Is this what a reporter is like? This speed is truly something ordinary people can't achieve.
He walked into the Steam Bird Newspaper and found an editor at the location Charlotte had mentioned.
The conversation went smoothly. The editor reviewed the content and, after discussing it with others, agreed to publish Lin Qiu's novel.
It would be test-released in Fontaine and Mondstadt, and the manuscript fees would be split fifty-fifty.
Upon hearing this split, Lin Qiu almost couldn't resist asking, "Who gets the fifty?"
Fortunately, he managed to suppress this humorous thought.
Walking out of the Steam Bird Newspaper, Charlotte was standing at the entrance, waving to him.