Chapter Summaries

Xingsu recognized a familiar taste in the pastries and hurried to the kitchen to ask Escoffier about them. After he praised her cooking to win her over, her wagging tail knocked over the fish soup, and she dragged him out of the kitchen to talk in private.

• Xingsu asked Navia who had made the pastries and learned that Escoffier was in the kitchen.
• Xingsu found Escoffier teaching Poisson cooks how to prepare fish and fish soup.
• Escoffier asked Xingsu what he thought of her birthday cake, and he gave her lavish praise.
• Escoffier's excitedly wagging tail knocked the simmering fish soup off the stove and spilled it.
• Escoffier ended the cooking lesson, grabbed Xingsu, and hurried him out of the kitchen.

Xingsu learned that Claire, whom he knew as Clervie, had opened a dessert shop and hurried to find her. When a suspicious man tried to get Claire to use L㏒s in her desserts, Xingsu burst in and seized him.

• Xingsu asked Escoffier who had made the refreshments at Navia's birthday party, and learned that Claire had left to prepare her new shop.
• Escoffier gave Xingsu the address of Claire's dessert shop, and he rushed away calling her Clervie.
• A man visited Claire's shop and tried to persuade her to use L㏒s, an unfamiliar drink, in her desserts.
• Claire began opening the bottle, but someone broke it with a thrown stone and spilled the glowing liquid.
• Xingsu grabbed the man by the neck and demanded to know who had sent him to sell L㏒s.

Xingsu stopped a L㏒s seller in Claire’s shop and learned that Sir Valerius was tied to the illegal trade. After helping Claire, he left with desserts while keeping his discovery that she was Clervie to himself, but Claire asked whether they had met before.

• Xingsu choked the L㏒s seller unconscious and read his memories, uncovering a scheme linked to Sir Valerius.
• Xingsu explained L㏒s and Fontaine’s ineffective ban to Claire, then accepted her offer of desserts.
• As Claire prepared the pastries, Xingsu reflected on Clervie’s return as Claire and chose not to disturb her peaceful life.
• Xingsu started to leave with the dessert box, but Claire stopped him and asked whether they had met before.

Xingsu left Claire’s dessert shop with an unconscious L㏒s dealer, while Claire hesitated to ask about their connection and gave him a rag as evidence. At the station, the suspect woke in terror, and Clorinde arrived to ask what had happened.

• Xingsu brushed off Claire’s sense that they had met before and tried to leave with the unconscious dealer.
• Claire repeatedly stopped Xingsu, gave him a rag stained with L㏒s as evidence, and invited him to her dessert shop’s opening.
• The dealer briefly regained consciousness while Xingsu dragged him out, but Xingsu knocked him unconscious again.
• An officer examined the rag and sent it for forensic testing before directing Xingsu and the suspect to a nearby room.
• The suspect woke, admitted to selling L㏒s, and cowered when Xingsu confronted him.
• Clorinde entered the room and asked Xingsu what had happened.

Xingsu confronted a L㏒s dealer and exposed the desperate circumstances behind his crimes before leaving him to the authorities. He then learned Arlecchino had suspected Clervie was alive, but had kept silent because she feared disrupting Clervie’s peaceful life.

• Xingsu told Clorinde he had caught a L㏒s dealer, and she explained that Fontaine authorities were moving against powerful nobles and their armed shooting clubs.
• A Melusine confirmed the substance was contraband L㏒s and prepared to take the dealer for interrogation.
• Xingsu revealed that the dealer’s family was under surveillance and threatened to expose the noble supplying him, prompting the dealer to beg for his family’s safety.
• Xingsu confronted the dealer about the harm L㏒s had caused, then told the Melusine to take him away.
• Xingsu returned to Arlecchino and told her that Clervie was still alive.
• Arlecchino admitted she had suspected Clervie was alive after recognizing a familiar flavor at the Hotel Debord, but had stayed silent because she lacked proof and feared disturbing Clervie’s peaceful life.

Xingsu and Arlecchino comforted each other over their shared past and Clervie before Lyney interrupted them with news that Valerius had sent armed men to Fleuve Cendre. They hurried there and overheard Valerius’s men planning to kill witnesses and target a family, leaving Xingsu and Arlecchino ready to intervene.

• Xingsu tried to leave the study, but Arlecchino embraced him and they confessed their love before kissing.
• Lyney interrupted them to report that Valerius had sent armed men to Fleuve Cendre, and Arlecchino suspected they meant to silence witnesses.
• Xingsu told Lyney to do extra training, then left with Arlecchino for Fleuve Cendre.
• Valerius’s men discussed killing everyone on a list and abusing a peddler’s family, while keeping his daughter alive for their master.
• Xingsu and Arlecchino silently took positions at the alley exit and heard the men’s plans.

Xingsu and Arlecchino planned to draw Valerius out and expose his crimes by sending Lynette to gather evidence. Lyney finally accepted the plan after his sister rejected his desperate proposal to use a Delusion.

• Xingsu told Arlecchino that Valerius had trapped Clervie with debt and tried to control her through L㏒s, and they discussed Valerius’s hidden criminal network.
• Xingsu decided to make Valerius come out of hiding, then proposed a plan involving Lynette’s infiltration and intelligence gathering.
• Lyney objected to Lynette’s assignment, insisting that he join the operation because he had been training to handle its dangers.
• Arlecchino warned Lyney that he lacked a Vision and could not withstand the operation’s risks, so Lyney asked permission to use a Delusion.
• Lynette’s distressed reaction made Lyney abandon his request, and he accepted Arlecchino’s arrangement.

Xingsu secured a letter of introduction to Valerius from Threshold Bro, then visited Claire’s bakery and encountered a nervous child he had taught. After Xingsu left, Claire felt an inexplicable connection to his name and sensed fragments of erased memories.

• Xingsu showed Threshold Bro a photograph of Valerius’s dead enforcer and asked him to write an introduction to Valerius in exchange for protecting his family.
• Threshold Bro explained that Valerius’s trusted second-in-command handled the illicit sales and child trafficking, then gave Xingsu a letter directing him toward Valerius’s underground hideout.
• Xingsu visited Claire’s bakery, where she gave him a honey soufflé and said business was going well.
• A boy Xingsu had taught entered the shop, bought a berry tart, and hurried away nervously after recognizing him.
• Claire heard Xingsu nearly call her by another name, then found herself repeating his name and sensing hazy fragments of erased memories.

Xingsu used a fake newspaper report about Lynette's disappearance to infiltrate a hideout in Fleuve Cendre under the codename Morning Star. He convinced the gang leader to accept him, though the leader misunderstood Xingsu's motives and agreed to help him hand Lynette over to Valerius.

• Xingsu spread a newspaper story claiming Lynette had disappeared, and Fontainians joked about the report during afternoon tea.
• Xingsu arrived at a rundown house in Fleuve Cendre with a forged letter and claimed he was there to replace an arrested man.
• The hideout leader questioned Xingsu's identity and doubted he could abduct Lynette, a Vision holder.
• Xingsu disarmed the guard behind him, seized the leader at knifepoint, and forced the gang to let him inside.
• Xingsu introduced himself as Morning Star and claimed he needed money to raise 108 adopted children.
• Xingsu demanded that he personally hand Lynette over to Valerius, and the leader agreed while mistaking Xingsu for a noble's former subordinate seeking protection.

Xingsu delivered the bound Lynette to Valerius’s cliffside mansion while Lyney followed in secret. Valerius turned on Xingsu, but Xingsu used Spirit Separation to freeze the armed men and asked Valerius to speak openly.

• Xingsu inspected the unconscious Lynette and stopped the boss from touching her while Lyney followed them in secret.
• The boss brought Xingsu to Valerius’s mansion, where Valerius accepted Lynette as a gift and welcomed Xingsu inside.
• Valerius revealed that he suspected Xingsu of being an undercover agent and ordered armed thugs to surround him.
• Xingsu used Spirit Separation to immobilize the thugs and asked Valerius to have a frank conversation.

Xingsu tortured Valerius while Lynette escaped the mansion after recording evidence of its imprisoned children. After Lyney rescued her from the guards, the siblings plunged into the river, and a mysterious woman with a scythe appeared before their pursuers.

• Xingsu punched Valerius, stabbed his thigh, and began settling their scores.
• Lynette escaped her cell, recorded evidence of the dungeon, and climbed out of the mansion, but an alarm exposed her escape.
• Lynette fled pursuing guards with Anemo power until a bullet wounded her leg, and Lyney arrived to rescue her.
• Lyney carried Lynette off the cliff with an emergency glider, but gunfire damaged it and sent them plunging toward a river.
• A burst of Pyro power and a gentle breeze redirected their fall, and the injured siblings drifted away in the river.
• A woman carrying a scythe appeared at the cliff and confronted the pursuers.

Clorinde and Chevreuse captured Valerius’s guards and found his staged suicide, while Xingsu spoke with Clervie about her past and the missing lenders. Clervie recognized the smell of blood on Xingsu and asked him to tell her the truth, saying she did not have much time left.

• Clorinde and Chevreuse raided Valerius’s mansion and arrested the guards, who were still confused after Spirit Separation.
• Chevreuse examined Valerius’s body and suspected that his apparent suicide had been staged.
• Clorinde ordered the suicide note and physical evidence preserved, the mansion locked down, and everyone questioned before she and Chevreuse left.
• Xingsu visited Claire’s dessert shop, where Claire told him she had been an orphan and planned to donate her earnings.
• Clervie asked Xingsu to take her to the orphanage and inferred that he had caused the lenders to disappear because she smelled blood on him.
• Clervie asked Xingsu to tell her the truth, saying she did not have much time left.

Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet sought Xingsu’s advice and gave Arlecchino a gecko for her birthday, making her smile. After the celebration, Xingsu led Arlecchino to a private surprise, where she found Clervie waiting.

• Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet discussed how to choose a birthday gift Arlecchino would like.
• Lyney and Lynette asked Xingsu for advice, and he suggested that Arlecchino preferred quiet, cold-blooded animals.
• The three children prepared a gecko, a soft cushion, and a reptile care notebook for Arlecchino.
• Arlecchino accepted the gecko and smiled at the children’s thoughtful gift.
• Xingsu led Arlecchino to a candlelit room, where Clervie greeted her with a birthday wish.

Xingsu learned that Clervie was a fading remnant of a person who had died years ago, and sought Lin’s help to keep her alive. After restoring Clervie’s memories with his necklace, he left her eager to surprise Arlecchino for her upcoming birthday.

• Clervie told Xingsu that she suspected she had died long ago and was gradually disappearing.
• Xingsu sensed that Clervie was an unstable memory construct and told her she was already dead.
• Xingsu asked Lin to stabilize Clervie, and Lin offered to help in exchange for precious memories.
• Clervie asked Xingsu to restore her past, and he used his necklace to bring back her memories of the House of the Hearth and her death.
• Clervie recognized Arlecchino and Peruere in her memories, then proposed giving Arlecchino a surprise for her birthday.

Clervie reunited with Arlecchino and Xingsu, teased them about their relationship, and later watched as Arlecchino visited Xingsu after drinking and kissed him. The chapter ended with the two sharing an intimate night while Xingsu remained determined to find a precious memory that could save Clervie.

• Clervie praised Xingsu’s surprise and her own pastries, then asked him and Arlecchino how their romance began and whether they had kissed.
• Xingsu and Arlecchino each claimed the other had made the first move, and Xingsu admitted they had kissed but had not gone further.
• Clervie and Arlecchino sent the embarrassed Xingsu out of the room so they could talk privately.
• Xingsu worried about finding a precious memory within a month to trade for a chance for Clervie to live on, then thought of a possible candidate.
• Arlecchino came to Xingsu’s room after drinking fire-water, kissed him, and told him she loved his gift and wanted to give him something in return.
• Clervie watched from outside as Arlecchino and Xingsu spent the night together.

Chevreuse investigated evidence sent by Morning Star and met Xingsu at Clervie's dessert shop, where his unusual presence made her wary. Xingsu brought pastries and flowers to Arlecchino, but the bag also contained condoms and Viagra, leaving him to ask whether she would hear his explanation.

• Chevreuse told Clorinde that Morning Star had sent evidence of Valerius's crimes and that the Special Patrol Unit was investigating nobles' apparent suicides before Chevreuse left for an armed brawl.
• Chevreuse bought pastries from Clervie, who said she had reunited with an old friend, and noticed that the shopkeeper seemed happier than before.
• Xingsu visited Clervie's shop with a sore back, received pastries and flowers for Pepe, and prompted Chevreuse to wonder about the danger she sensed around him.
• Chevreuse learned that Xingsu was a teacher who volunteered at the orphanage and decided to visit Clervie's shop more often to keep an eye on it.
• Xingsu returned to the orphanage, learned Arlecchino was in her office, and brought her the dessert bag and a bouquet.
• Arlecchino found condoms and Viagra in the bag alongside the cake, and Xingsu asked if she would let him explain.

As Fontaine’s rising sea fuels public fear and Morning Star’s vigilante deeds divide the nation, Xingsu asks to meet Furina and use her divine power to pursue a solution to the prophecy. Furina meets him at the Palais Mermonia and asks him to explain his insight into the crisis.

• Fontaine’s people grew increasingly afraid as the sea rose, while Furina publicly vowed to lead them through the crisis.
• The public learned of Morning Star, whom nobles condemned and ordinary people praised for exposing corrupt nobles and punishing wrongdoers.
• Xingsu wrote to Neuvillette, offering a possible approach to the prophecy and asking for a chance to meet Furina and seek her power.
• Neuvillette told Furina about Xingsu’s request and research abilities, and Furina agreed to hear him out.
• Xingsu and Furina met at the Palais Mermonia, recalled their previous encounter, and exchanged news about their lives.
• Furina set aside their small talk and asked Xingsu to explain his insight into Fontaine’s rising sea crisis.

Xingsu showed Furina how his box could preserve a memory and proposed using it to record Fontaine before the prophecy struck. While examining her memories, he discovered the secret behind her performance as Hydro Archon and learned how long she had borne the burden alone.

• Xingsu asked Furina to touch the box, which showed her an immersive performance by Lyney and Lynette.
• Xingsu explained that the box preserved memories and suggested using them as a blueprint to rebuild Fontaine after the prophesied crisis.
• Xingsu examined Furina’s memories and uncovered a conversation in which Focalors asked her to impersonate the Hydro Archon until the prophecy ended.
• Furina agreed to maintain the act, knowing that any flaw could doom Fontaine.
• Xingsu realized Furina had spent years pretending to be a god while carrying the fate of Fontaine alone.

Xingsu exposed Furina’s secret and offered to help Fontaine avert the prophecy, but Furina could not tell him where Focalors was. She broke down and confessed how exhausted and helpless she felt after five hundred years of pretending to be the Hydro Archon.

• Furina asked Xingsu whether his plan could truly resolve Fontaine’s prophecy, and he said he wanted to ask Focalors.
• Xingsu revealed that he knew Furina had been assigned to impersonate the Hydro Archon, and Furina realized he had learned this from her memories.
• Xingsu told Furina that he was not from Teyvat and offered to help Fontaine; Furina agreed to trust him and asked what he would do next.
• Xingsu asked where Focalors was, but Furina said she had not seen her since the assignment five hundred years earlier.
• Furina recounted her fruitless efforts to find a way to save Fontaine and broke down in tears, saying she could do nothing and was tired of holding on.

After comforting Furina, Xingsu learned more about Fontaine’s prophecy and traded her sealed memories to Lin to bring Clervie officially back to the House of the Hearth. The chapter ended with the household celebrating Clervie’s return and Lin praising the memories.

• Xingsu comforted Furina after her breakdown and left the Palais Mermonia determined to solve Fontaine’s prophecy.
• Arlecchino questioned Xingsu about his closeness with Furina, then reassured him and kissed him when he struggled to answer.
• Xingsu and Clervie prepared dinner together, and Clervie described how the House of the Hearth children had eagerly devoured her pastries.
• Xingsu contacted Lin and offered Furina’s memories in exchange for the power needed to restore Clervie.
• Lin channeled the power into Clervie, and Xingsu and Arlecchino celebrated her official return to the House of the Hearth.