Chat Group: Starting by Swapping Bodies with Elysia?

"T-this… what's going on?!"

The primordial waters of the Primordial Sea didn't submerge everything as Vacher had expected. They simply froze in place, just like his manic, abruptly interrupted laughter.

The vibrant, iridescent flow seemed to be frozen in time, even the splashing water droplets hanging motionless in the air.

"Mmm, it seems I arrived just in time."

The clear, girlish voice, familiar to every household in Fontaine, echoed in the not-so-spacious area, making Vacher, who now saw her clearly, freeze like a deer in headlights.

"If you had been any later, I would have punished you the fairy way."

"Oh dear, that sounds quite scary~ Well, never mind that. Did you get all the evidence against this criminal?" The blue and white-haired girl, followed by [Jiang Qiao (Furina)], blinked her heterochromatic eyes, dismissing the matter with a smile, then asked.

Fairy Ely puffed out her small chest proudly, "Of course! With Fairy Ely on the job, everything is a piece of cake! Fairies from the Land of Fairy Tales are the most capable!"

"Let me see…"

With her hands behind her back, the girl's small leather shoes clicked against the ground as [Furina] walked gracefully to Fairy Ely's side. She looked at the notes, the evidence against the victims, and… the video recording captured by Fairy Ely using her camera module, then nodded in approval:

"Mmm, indeed, very well done."

"…You… you did this on purpose?!"

Vacher could clearly see the images projected by Fairy Ely. Seeing himself in them, he instantly understood everything and glared at [Furina], even momentarily forgetting his fear of a god.

He had thought that Navia and the others had discovered the truth after reading the notes, but…

"You… you knew I was the culprit behind the serial disappearances from the very beginning?!"

"Correct, but no prize."

Her casual words were laced with sarcasm.

Undoubtedly—Vacher had been playing the role of a "monkey" all along.

Thinking that he was the hunter, targeting Navia and the others as his prey, but he was the true "prey."

For Vacher, with his strong pride, this realization was a devastating blow.

At the same time, he couldn't understand.

"Why?! If you knew from the beginning, why not just arrest me?! Why go through all this trouble?!"

No matter how he looked at it, this was clearly unnecessary.

[Furina] smiled:

"Indeed, that would have been more convenient."

"But I am the God of Justice."

"If I were to rashly accuse someone based on personal bias or incomplete evidence, wouldn't that make justice seem too cheap?"

Furina puffed out her cheeks—Just say it directly.

You're being sarcastic, aren't you?!

… I'm magnanimous, I won't stoop to your level!

Navia's eyes sparkled.

The Spina di Rosula was founded on their dissatisfaction with Fontaine's farcical justice system. As a child, she had also admired the operas performed at the opera house, believing that the world was just as exciting and beautiful.

Until she encountered the residents of the lower levels and witnessed the ugliness of the nobles, she finally understood her father's intentions in establishing the Spina di Rosula.

—If Fontaine, which claimed to uphold justice, couldn't defend justice due to its so-called laws, then the Spina di Rosula would defend the righteousness of Fontaine's people.

The relatively lawful Spina di Rosula had always filled the gaps in Fontaine's legal system. Those criminals might escape the rigid laws, but they could never escape the Spina di Rosula's punishment.

Because of Callas's death, she held considerable resentment towards Chief Justice Neuvillette, the Palais Mermonia, and even Furina, the Hydro Archon. After all, this was undoubtedly caused by the Palais Mermonia's inaction.

She admired the Hydro Archon, but only as a mascot, a celebrity.

It wasn't until their conversation at the Debord Hotel that Navia's perspective changed.

"Navia, I apologize for what happened to Mr. Callas. This apology also extends to the Spina di Rosula and all the Fontaine citizens who have suffered because of this."

"I know your anger towards Vacher, and I understand your feelings."

"Fontaine needs justice—starting with this, not only to clear Mr. Callas's name, but also to get the rusty gears of Fontaine's law turning again."

Recalling the blue and white-haired girl's words, Navia smiled.

She didn't like Fontaine's dramatized trials, as it undermined the dignity of the law.

The Spina di Rosula's relatively lawful approach meant they couldn't be revolutionaries; they could only be a lubricant, mitigating the dissatisfaction and anger of the lower class.

But everything had changed.

Starting with the once absurd Hydro Archon.

It was because of this that Navia suppressed her anger towards Vacher, her father's killer, and played along with this charade.

"Everything went as planned. You're quite impatient, Mr. Vacher~ Now, we've caught you red-handed." [Furina] said with a hint of regret, looking at the frozen Vacher.

All the evidence against Vacher regarding the "serial disappearances" case, his confession, his capture red-handed, all recorded…

The gears of justice were now complete, only needing the ever-flowing water to set them back on the right track.

"Now, please come with me."

"I'm not asking—you're under arrest." With that, [Furina] glanced at the Seafood Trio. The three Oceanid bullies instantly understood, swarming Marcel and punching him.

Although using violence against a criminal seemed inappropriate, if the mortal wasn't cooperative—then this was just a "suppression" and "arrest" tactic.

Besides, she was the Hydro Archon!

Her power as the Hydro Archon was limitless! (For sure)

—During this process, perhaps because the Seafood Trio wasn't strong enough, Navia also "helped" a little, specifically by stepping on him a few times and letting him experience her beloved parasol.

"What about this thing?" Furina, seeing the battered Vacher being taken away by Lumine and Navia, shrank back, but knowing that he was the culprit behind the serial disappearances, she didn't feel any sympathy. However, seeing the still-frozen iridescent water flow, she nervously tugged at Jiang Qiao's sleeve, her face filled with anxiety.

Knowing about the primordial waters of the Primordial Sea, Furina instantly understood the prophecy she had been searching for.

But unfortunately, even though she had discovered the "truth" behind Fontaine's people dissolving in water, Furina still couldn't do anything.

After all, she wasn't a powerful Archon like Focalors.

Moreover, perhaps even Focalors couldn't solve this problem?

After all, even now, she didn't know where the real Hydro Archon was or what she was doing.

Normally, the revelation of the primordial waters of the Primordial Sea would only make Furina more apprehensive.

As a mere mortal, even knowing this, she could only struggle in pain, placing her hopes on the only possibility.

That was waiting for Focalors to fulfill her promise—a promise that seemed to have no end in sight.

However, everything had changed after Jiang Qiao's arrival.

Now, she had another option, another source of hope.

Of course, Furina also knew that relying on someone else, especially someone she had just met, was pathetic and selfish.

But other than this, she really had no other choice…

Sensing Furina's conflicted and pained emotions, the blue and white-haired girl chuckled and patted her head. Due to their height difference, she had to stand on her tiptoes slightly.

"There, there, leave it to me~"

The reassuring, clear voice, like a clear spring, soothed Furina's anxiety. [Furina] looked at the frozen primordial water, seemed to think of something, and nodded to herself.

The next moment, her pale fingers curled slightly, and a faint, light blue glow spread.

The Primordial Sea was the origin of life on this planet; almost all life was born from it.

And what it represented was the most fundamental power of the world of Teyvat.

To control this, mere elemental power wasn't enough, unless one was like Egeria, the heart of the Primordial Sea, possessing control over its waters, or wielding the most fundamental power of an Sovereign dragon.

But for Jiang Qiao, this wasn't a problem.

Even though [Furina]'s body could only wield simple elemental power, as long as he infused his will into this power, he could still achieve effects comparable to that of a Gnosis or the Abyss.

"Retract."

Gently raising Furina's hat, the blue and white-haired girl chanted softly, and the surging primordial water obediently flowed into the hat—until the spring was almost dry, Jiang Qiao stopped.

"You…" Furina was stunned. She hadn't expected Jiang Qiao to actually be able to do it! And what made her eyes widen even more was that she was just an ordinary person, yet Jiang Qiao, using her body, could do such a thing, and that…

Staring at the hat, Furina gulped.

She was certain that her hat was just an ordinary hat, how could it hold so much primordial seawater?

"Mmm, curious?" The girl, gracefully placing the hat on her head, sensed Furina's thoughts and smiled teasingly.

"…Well, a little."

"Just a simple little trick, nothing to worry about."

"The adepti in Liyue possess the technology to fold space."

Furina nodded, seemingly understanding—although Fontaine wasn't lacking in magical elements, its steam-powered technology, no matter how mysterious its Numina of Justice and Order might be, wasn't on the same level as the other nations.

As for Furina, a mere mortal, her understanding of this was—Amazing!

"Is it solved just like that?" Furina looked at the shallow primordial spring, slightly dazed.

Fontaine's prophecy, was it resolved so easily?

"Of course—not."

"This is just one spring. There are many more like this throughout Fontaine." With that, the blue and white-haired girl casually tossed the Primordial Crystal she had taken from Virgil into the slowly refilling spring.

Boom—

A faint light emanated, then formed a Celtic triangular knot, creating a seal.

"This should alleviate the problem for a while, but when the other springs erupt, the water level will still rise."

"And this seal won't last long."

[Furina] said calmly, clapping her hands.

Compared to a physical metal valve, suppressing the primordial water with energy was more difficult. Without constantly injecting power, the seal would soon break—because the primordial water's power was above that of elemental energy.

"!!!"

"Don't worry too much. Although it looks troublesome, it's not difficult to deal with." Seeing Furina's panic, he casually comforted her.

At least in Jiang Qiao's opinion, compared to Fontaine's ideological and administrative problems, the most concerning prophecy wasn't actually that troublesome.

As long as he returned the power of the Sovereign dragon to Neuvillette, everything would be resolved.

But in reality, even without doing so, Jiang Qiao had his own methods to solve this problem.

—The authority of Creation and Withering.

This authority, obtained from Wendy, had the power to rewrite the blueprint of life.

Transforming life from one form to another was just a matter of effort for Jiang Qiao, who possessed this authority.

"Alright, let's go." Having collected the evidence, there was no point in staying here any longer.

Navia and the others had already taken the evidence and Vacher to the opera house, and as the God of Justice, [Furina] clearly shouldn't miss such a grand event.

Moreover, Jiang Qiao had prepared a surprise for Vacher.

Taking the Navia Line to the Ile d'Eros, undoubtedly—the "serial disappearances" case had made the Opera Epiclese incredibly crowded.

"Hey, hey, have you heard? I heard it's about the serial disappearances again, and they've supposedly caught the real culprit."

"Come on, they always say that. I bet it's another fake."

"Real or fake doesn't matter, I just hope it's entertaining. I didn't enjoy the last one at all. I hope this time I can get my money's worth."

The audience murmured amongst themselves, and [Furina] gracefully led Furina down the aisle towards the Hydro Archon's throne.

"Hey, don't you think Lady Furina is especially stylish today?"

"Not really, wasn't she always like this?"

"Bullshit, was Lady Furina like this before?"

"Hey, with my fiery temper, do you know Lady Furina better than I do? I've watched every single one of her trials!"

"You're just a poser!"

"You're the poser!"

Undoubtedly, the topic of their argument made Furina blush.

Fortunately, Neuvillette's appearance soon put an end to the commotion.

"Silence." He struck the ground with his cane, a crisp sound echoing through the opera house.

The force was so great that one wondered if he would break the floor.

"Regarding the previous serial disappearances case, the Gardes have new evidence."

"The true culprit behind the serial disappearances is not Miss Lumine, but…"

"The president of the Chambre de Commerce de Calabre—Marcel!"

Everyone's gaze shifted to the defendant's seat, where the handcuffed, bruised, and swollen Marcel stood.

"Eh? How could it be him? I heard President Marcel is a good person, he's helped many people."

"They must have made a mistake, right?"

"Appearances can be deceiving, who knows?"

"Say, he looks terrible, his whole face is swollen. Isn't this excessive force?"

Knock, knock.

"The accuser is—Navia, the leader of the Spina di Rosula."

The audience instantly erupted.

"Ooh, this is getting interesting!"

"I heard these two are close, right?"

"A falling out between friends! I smell drama!"

Neuvillette coughed, then announced, "Now, please take a look at the evidence provided by Miss Navia."

The audience was instantly delighted.

Ooh, something new?

Quickly, quickly, serve it up!