Your Grace, what do you need this transport equipment for?

As for that other group of helpful souls, naturally, that meant the discussion area's designated mine sweeper.

[Arataki Itto: Ha! Sure enough, it's time for me, Arataki "The One and Oni" Itto, to step up!]

[Kuki Shinobu: Wait-]

[Arataki Itto: I just asked Kujou Turtle. The current Hydro Archon is called Focalors, right?]

[Arataki Itto: Hahahahaha! Visions are handed out by gods. That's intel I learned from Granny and the others, and this is a Hydro Vision, too! The answer's gotta be Focalors. What are you all still agonizing over?!]

[Paimon: Bean Man, have you considered whether there's something fishy about Kujou Sara being kind enough to tell you that?]

[Arataki Itto: Huh (panicking), oh no! I forgot she might be jealous of me and deliberately feeding me false intel!]

[Arataki Itto: Damn you, you underhanded Kujou Turtle!]

[Kuki Shinobu: No, Boss. General Kujou really didn't fool you about the Hydro Archon's name.]

[Kujou Sara: If you'd paid attention to the earlier discussion, you should know the current Hydro Archon's divine name is Focalors.]

[Paimon: It's just that...]

Paimon spread her hands, and the next moment, the system's notification sounded right on cue.

[System: Incorrect answer.]

[Arataki Itto: What? Was the intel I knew before fake?]

[Kuki Shinobu: Boss, you really didn't read any of our discussion or analysis.]

[Arataki Itto: Kujou Turtle just caught me using underhanded tricks! When would I have had time to read? Those huge chunks of text make my head spin just looking at them!]

From his tone, he even seemed to think he had a point.

Still, Arataki Itto's scouting had served a purpose. At the very least, Furina, seated in the VIP section, silently ruled out one possibility.

[System: The punishment for Arataki Itto, who selected an incorrect answer, is-]

[Arataki Itto: Hmph! I don't know where I went wrong, but bring it on! As the great Oni King, I won't run away!]

[Paimon: Hmph (folding her arms), you already used an exemption before!]

[Arataki Itto: Ha! Th-that doesn't count! I wasn't ready back then. Now, even if I have to eat beans for a year, I'll accept it!]

For once, the viewers of Teyvat were a little curious about the punishment, too.

After all, the first person to answer each of the previous three questions had gotten it right, making them somewhat forget that wrong answers came with punishments.

Now that Arataki Itto had answered incorrectly, it instead gave them a feeling of:

Ah, someone finally got it wrong again.

That sort of feeling.

The long-awaited punishment considerably eased the increasingly solemn atmosphere for a while.

Seeing that even the audience at the Opera Epiclese had temporarily put aside the earlier video and questions to discuss what punishment this perpetually cheerful, entertaining Inazuman oni would receive, Furina grew somewhat thoughtful.

[System: For the next year, Arataki Itto will be compelled to become a five-star model citizen of Inazuma.]

[System: Specifically, he will respect the elderly and care for children, earn his own living, protect the environment, volunteer to clean the streets, greet others with a bow, speak elegantly and politely, dress normally, bow whenever he sees Kujou Sara...]

[Arataki Itto: I choose exemption.]

[Paimon: Pfft.]

[Kuki Shinobu: Ahem, well, Boss, this punishment is actually acceptable.]

[Kujou Sara: Who said, "Even if I have to eat beans for a year, I'll accept it"?]

[Kamisato Ayato: Oh my, if only our punishments were all like this.]

[Arataki Itto: What do you know?!]

[Arataki Itto: If I have to keep that up for a year, I might as well kill myself!]

Arataki Itto had originally been prepared to endure it. After all, aside from his bros and Granny, his pride seemed to matter most to him.

His word was his bond. If he broke it, where would that leave his dignity as the great Oni King?

But...

He had already been ready to swallow the humiliation, but when he saw "bow whenever he sees Kujou Sara," Arataki Itto simply couldn't hold it together, okay?!

[Arataki Itto: Anyway, this isn't my fault! This screen is just too vicious! Coming up with such an utterly vile punishment-it's downright devastating!]

[Kuki Shinobu: Looks like Boss really can't accept it. This punishment has even forced him to use fancy words.]

Inside Tenshukaku, Raiden Ei gave Yae Miko a puzzled look.

"Is this some terrible punishment? Why do I feel like this punishment is actually a good thing for Inazuma's people?"

If every Inazuman could meet the requirements of this punishment, what need would there be to worry about achieving eternity for Inazuma?

Miko rolled her eyes. "You think it's good, but for some people, it's like you never being allowed to eat sweets or practice swordsmanship again. It strips away their individuality and erases their souls just the same. It's as unacceptable as losing their own ambitions."

Raiden Ei lowered her head in thought.

"Never mind. Still, this designated helper did fairly well. He ruled out a wrong answer. Give him a reward later."

Although Arataki Itto wasn't at Tenshukaku and had even been temporarily sent somewhere safe yesterday-though Kujou Sara had provoked him into running straight to the Tenryou Commission and getting arrested today-the job of designated wrong-answer eliminator had already been assigned to him.

Yae Miko didn't mention that this young oni would keep eliminating wrong answers even without a reward.

Still, if he could indirectly bring about a small change in Ei, then Arataki Itto had played quite a significant role.

So Yae Miko agreed with a charming smile and privately decided that, if she met the young fellow next time, she would go a little easier on him with her tricks.

[Lisa: That rules out two options now. Which of the remaining ones should we choose?]

[Xingqiu: I still don't think it should be me. Even as a backstage prop master, my ambition is to become a great chivalrous hero. I wouldn't do this.]

[Sangonomiya Kokomi: As for me, I ordinarily wouldn't either, but if a friend asked for help...]

[Xingqiu: Uh, if you put it that way, then I'm not certain either.]

[Wriothesley: Oh? Is everyone still agonizing over it? An international friend has already helped us answer once, so both the reward and punishment have been reduced, right?]

[Clorinde: Your Grace, what are you planning?]

[Wriothesley: This video is on Fontaine's home turf, after all. It won't do for us locals not to get involved. I'll take the lead.]

Wriothesley, who was making his usual rounds through the Fortress of Meropide, wore a faint smile. He was also one of the few sharp people who had noticed certain extraordinary images revealed in the video just now.

For some reason, Wriothesley thought of that peculiar Hydro Vision. He calmly took a sip of tea and made his own probing move.

[Wriothesley: Hmm, then I'll choose Neuvillette. After all, however I look at it, in my personal understanding, only Lady Egeria and our esteemed Chief Justice seem reasonably reliable among these options.]

[Wriothesley: Though I'd also very much like to choose Lady Egeria, the former Hydro Archon who entrusted our Fortress of Meropide with its duty, reason tells me that Lady Egeria should no longer be with us.]

[Wriothesley: That should leave the Chief Justice as the reasonably reliable one.]

[Furina: Hey! Are you saying I'm unreliable?!]

[Wriothesley: Don't get worked up, Lady Hydro Archon~. Leaving aside the fact that our Inazuman friend just ruled out your option, if I'm right, everything's fine. If I'm wrong, I'll have helped everyone eliminate another wrong answer. Isn't that pretty good?]

[Clorinde: In that case, all right, Your Grace. I hope you succeed. If you don't, I'll go next.]

Seeing Wriothesley and Clorinde so eager, Fontaine's other star-rated users also felt a surge of boldness.

Indeed, never mind all that talk about this only being the second day since the screen appeared and needing to conserve this month's exemptions.

The issue now was that, damn it, this was already the second day since the screen appeared. Across ten videos, star-rated users from Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru, and Snezhnaya had all been eagerly rushing to answer, while only Fontaine's and Natlan's participants were still cautiously watching.

No, Natlan's situation probably had nothing to do with caution. They'd heard things were quite chaotic over there, so there was probably more to it.

That meant only the people of Fontaine seemed to lack any courage, falling behind at every turn in this bloodless competition.

What, did people think they were all the sort to raise a white flag the moment they saw an enemy?

They, too, had the courage to risk everything.

In that case, even if this question's reward would be greatly reduced, even if Fontaine's star-rated users had to use two or three exemptions, they had to claim its reward.

But Wriothesley had already prepared himself to fail, only to find, unexpectedly, that he really had gotten it right.

[System: Correct answer.]

[Wriothesley: ...Oh? Now this is interesting.]

[Wriothesley: Our beloved Chief Justice, just to be safe, let me ask you something first. Would you participate in Lady Furina's musical?]

[Neuvillette: My sole duty is to serve as Chief Justice of the Court of Fontaine. Other matters do not fall within my consideration.]

[Wriothesley: Even if Furina begged you?]

[Neuvillette: ...]

[Neuvillette: I'm not certain either (troubled).]

Seated in his judge's seat, Neuvillette genuinely wasn't quite sure.

Under normal circumstances, he would not entertain Furina's unreasonable antics.

However, as a Hydro Dragon, his feelings about this Hydro Archon were also quite complicated. At this point, he wasn't certain whether, if Furina truly threw a tantrum and begged him, he might work backstage on a musical in the future.

After all, if it was only backstage work and he didn't have to appear onstage, he didn't seem quite so opposed to it.

And...

If he hadn't participated in a musical but had truly bestowed a Vision upon Furina, then there was a serious problem here.

Could Lady Furina have subsequently shattered the Hydro Archon's divine throne, restoring his Ancient Dragon Authority to completeness?

Did Furina have that kind of resolve?

No, no, no. Before that, how had Furina survived shattering her own divine throne?

Not only survived, but become human?

One simple question had left Neuvillette, who normally had to maintain an outward calm even when he felt aggrieved, on the verge of losing even that outward composure.

The plaintiff and defendant below also obediently remained silent, not disturbing Neuvillette, who was clearly deep in thought.

After all, compared with their little dispute, the matter above was clearly far more significant.

Who in Fontaine didn't know that Chief Justice Neuvillette was someone who, come rain or shine, would never allow anything-not even the Hydro Archon throwing a tantrum-to violate his principle that an ongoing trial must not be interrupted?

Now, this very man was actually neglecting an ongoing trial and focusing all his attention on something else. This was an absolute first since Fontaine's reforms.

Honestly, if the setting hadn't been inappropriate, the two of them could have slung their arms around each other's shoulders and munched on a slice of melon apiece.

Neuvillette pondered for a long time. Even as his anxiety threatened to bring rain outside, he still couldn't find a fully coherent explanation.

The only certainty was that there must still be circumstances he didn't know about. He lacked some crucial information, preventing his thoughts from forming a coherent whole.

But as Fontaine's Chief Justice and the newly born Hydro Dragon Sovereign, Neuvillette could listen to everything through all of Fontaine's waterways. If anything here could be kept from him, it could only be somewhere completely devoid of flowing water, or-

The Hydro Archon herself was hiding something from him.

With that thought, Neuvillette looked up at Furina, who was watching him with a somewhat expectant expression...

Hmm, I'm probably overthinking it. Could she really keep a secret?

Still, Neuvillette did gain some understanding of why Furina had been wearing such a strange expression for a while now.

Of course Furina's expression was strange.

Wriothesley's correct answer confirmed that Neuvillette was the "Hydro Archon" who would grant her future self a Vision, and countless thoughts flashed through Furina's mind.

Of course, whatever plans she had would have to wait. The most important thing now was to bluff her way through this video and its questions first.

[System: The esteemed five-star user Wriothesley is awarded one Civilian-3 Small Floating City.]

[System: The Civilian-3 Small Floating City is a civilian floating city designed and manufactured during the middle period of the Netheril Dynasty for the rapid colonization and development of new worlds. This floating city has three levels: the base power level, the middle production zone, and the upper residential zone.]

[System: This model of floating city is designed with specialized personnel and equipment hauling devices, allowing for the rapid transfer and placement of personnel and equipment. Its designed personnel transfer rate is 60 people per second, with a standard designed capacity of 30,000 residents and a full-load capacity of 50,000 residents.]

[System: Friendly reminder: by installing additional personnel and equipment hauling devices and removing some equipment from the middle production zone, the population capacity can be further increased to 100,000. This arrangement is suitable only for short-term accommodation. Long-term accommodation is liable to result in unnatural personnel losses.]