Chapter 524
It felt like passing through a waterfall, with the cool yet gentle touch of water flowing past you.
Then, the two appeared in a small courtyard.
The quaint and simple buildings, with flowers planted in the courtyard and weeds growing on both sides of the stone steps of the path, look vibrant and like ordinary village buildings.
At the entrance to the courtyard, a girl with light blue hair stood quietly to greet them, wearing a blue dress that flowed like clear water, her delicate features exuding a gentle aura.
"Your Majesty, the Furcalos of Hydro Archon, and La Signora Egeria, welcome. I have prepared tea, which is of ordinary taste, please do not find it offensive."
The gentle, graceful girl led the two to a small pavilion in the courtyard.
Furina surveyed her surroundings, then walked to the courtyard and sat down.
"Pureblood Sprite Lilith, I have an important question to ask you."
"Lilith ... if you may, please call me Marianne, that's my proper name."
"Marianne? The Machine Lord's sister? It seems something complicated has happened."
Furina narrowed her eyes and shook her head, saying:
"I won't delve into those matters for now. I've come here only to ask you to answer one question. I know the Pure Water Spirit have grievances against me, and I have no intention of arguing. But this question concerns the future and fate of Fontaine. If you still care about your homeland, if you have even the slightest respect for Egeria, please answer my question truthfully."
"... Please speak."
[Marianne] She hadn't expected the Hydro Archon to be so decisive. But she still undoubtedly had concerns for Fontaine and Egeria. Therefore, she was prepared to listen to the Hydro Archon's questions.
"I met Rene at the bottom of the Gestalt, but he now calls himself Nacizenkruz."
"..."
[Marianne] was speechless, but upon hearing the title, she instinctively clenched her fist— Nacizenkruz, another name for the Narwhal's Cross. He'd done so many terrible things to everyone, yet he still used that term to refer to himself; what was he trying to do?
Furina noticed Marianne's unusual reaction but didn't bother to investigate further. She recounted her journey to uncover the truth behind the Narwhal's Cross Holy Sword as clearly and concisely as possible: how she entered Gestalt, how she met Rene under Jacob's guidance, and finally, Rene's words about the world, destiny, and the World Tree.
"What?"
Maria's eyes widened as she listened, as if the amount of information she was suddenly given was so overwhelming that her brain was about to crash.
Furina paused, giving the other party ample time to process and calm down.
[Marianne]'s expression shifted constantly, sometimes appearing dazed, sometimes clenching her teeth, sometimes filled with sorrow. After a long while, she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and whispered:
"I regret to inform you, Hydro Archon Furcalos, that I do not know much about the details of Rene's plans. If you are asking me what he specifically did, I may not be able to answer that."
"No, I don't care about his plans. There's only one thing I care about: based on what you know about him, is it possible that he's lying about what was just mentioned?"
"..."
Furina kept in mind the answer Furcalos needed, her blue eyes filled with an unusual sense of pressure as she stared intently at [Marianne].