Chapter Ninety-One: Focalors Dead Drunk (4+1k)

The bar in Fontaine was very quiet. Lu Mingze was wiping down the glassware he'd used during his shift as a bartender, his head lowered in quiet concentration. Though he could have cleaned everything directly through the power of dreams, that would have somewhat ruined the atmosphere.

Under the dim night lighting, the girl named Focalors was savoring her Blue Hawaii cocktail, sipping it carefully and watching the waterline in her glass slowly descend. As the azure liquid gradually dwindled, the joy on her face slowly transformed into a wistful, resigned contentment.

Every surprise and happiness in life has its moment of ending—and now, that moment was approaching.

She drank slower and slower, her hand tightly gripping the rim of the glass, feeling the chill of the crushed ice inside. It was like gazing at a souvenir bought home from a joyful trip.

"Something on your mind?" Lu Mingze asked softly.

He didn't turn his head, simply quietly wiping down the bar counter. Unlike Lu Mingfei, Lu Mingze possessed a stronger, more fulfilled heart. He wasn't the type to easily fall for anyone. Though Focalors did make him feel something special—but that was all it was.

"A little bit, I suppose. But thank you—I feel much better now." Focalors lifted her head, revealing a brilliant smile, like fireworks blossoming on a summer night—radiant and dazzling, yet fleeting, as if it might vanish at any moment.

"That's good to hear."

The little devil's lips curled upward slightly. His peripheral vision casually drifted toward Focalors, and the girl's contented smile brought him a measure of quiet pleasure as well.

But at the same time, questions began to stir in his heart.

The world of the Dream Tapir didn't seem to be, as he had imagined, a world that existed within Lu Mingfei's mind. He could sense, repair, and reshape this world, yet he lacked the ability to expand it—as if this world existed somewhere even he couldn't reach.

*'If the Dream Tapir's world were inside my brother's heart, I should be able to expand it with ease. Why can't I do it at all? That shouldn't be possible. Something's wrong.'*

*'And if Focalors, like Furina, is a mental entity created by Lu Mingfei himself, then how come Furina could disappear while Focalors remains? Is it because Focalors and Furina are the same person? Or is there some other reason? I need to confirm this.'*

Carrying these questions, Lu Mingze spoke in the casual tone of everyday conversation, his elegant, warm smile perfectly in place, and probed gently: "They've all left."

"Mmm, they've all gone back," Focalors responded in kind.

From her perspective, Lu Mingze was an existence on par with Lu Mingfei—a black dragon from another world. Since Lu Mingze could enter this Dream Tapir world and even knew of her existence, he should naturally know all sorts of things. The small matter of Lu Mingfei and Furina's departure went without saying.

So, she didn't think too much when answering. Nor could she possibly imagine that Lu Mingfei had previously spoken to Lu Mingze in the tone of a man in the throes of delirium, making him think his brother had lost his mind and leading him to dismiss everything entirely.

Because Furina had never been like that, Lu Mingfei probably wouldn't be either.

"Why didn't you leave?" Lu Mingze continued his casual small talk, his outward expression unchanged, but inside, a terrifying storm was already raging.

Today, he had learned one thing with absolute clarity: the other world Lu Mingfei had spoken of might very well be real. Though he hadn't yet gathered complete evidence, and though he'd been fooled once before, he could feel with certainty that he was drawing close to the truth.

And the closer he got to the truth, the more carefully he had to tread. If Lu Mingfei ever caught on and stopped sharing those stories about Furina, he'd lose his baseline for comparison.

"I don't want to leave. I want to stay a little longer."

"Why? What's so good about this place?"

"There is—here, I can see the world with my own eyes, truly." Focalors took another sip of her Blue Hawaii. Watching the drink approach its end, her feelings grew complicated.

What kind of feeling was it?

Even she couldn't say.

There was disappointment, and dissatisfaction. But also relief, fortune, and happiness. She slowly raised her head, leaving the last drop of Blue Hawaii untouched, pressed her lips together gently, then let out a soft breath. Lifting her head, she offered a sincere smile. "Thank you. It's been a long time since I've had anything this good."

"That's because you're a mental entity—you don't have a body."

Lu Mingze's gaze was warm with concern and sympathy, just like a reliable friend. Combined with his elegant, youthful looks, the effect was devastating.

But that was only the surface.

His words weren't merely about concern—they were also testing a hypothesis. If Focalors were a mental construct created by Lu Mingfei, she shouldn't be aware that she was a mental entity. She ought to believe herself a complete person in this world.

That said, from that earlier remark—"they've all gone"—Lu Mingze had already gathered much more. This was merely further confirmation, wrapped in a layer of inconsequential comfort.

"Mmm. In that world, I... I gave my body to her. I could only stay in that cramped Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale, adjudicating again and again... like working a job that never ends. It was so, so exhausting. Many times I thought about giving up, but Furina never chose to surrender. So how could I—oh!"

Mid-sentence, Focalors suddenly stopped, frantically covering her mouth. A realization struck her—she probably shouldn't be telling this boy these things. If Furina ever found out...

*I am Focalors. I can't be this cowardly!*

*I am the Hydro Archon of Fontaine!*

"Heh, is something on your mind?" Lu Mingze propped his chin on one hand, smiling.

"..."

Focalors blushed slightly and said nothing, also finding it hard to meet the handsome boy's gaze. The sense of security he gave her was too strong—he could effortlessly control the distance between them, coaxing words out of her without her even realizing it.

And that drink called the Blue Hawaii carried alcohol, which numbed her senses to a degree and made her more willing to speak her heart.

"Madame Focalors, you wouldn't want Furina to hear that you drank yourself silly in a dream, and then, because you couldn't get another drink, you rolled around on the floor crying and throwing a tantrum, now would you?" Lu Mingze threatened with a beaming smile.

"I did no such thing! Don't you spread lies!"

Focalors shot to her feet, glaring daggers at the little devil.

"Oh, no, no—my friend, whether it's actually true or not doesn't really matter. What matters is that once you've done it, you'll deny it anyway. So the real question is, will they believe it—understand?" Lu Mingze continued, savoring the explanation.

"How could they possibly believe it! Impossible—I have a very positive image in their minds. Absolutely impossible." But as she spoke, Focalors suddenly remembered what she'd done during that argument between Lu Mingfei and Furina.

She had... said something about them fighting, hadn't she?

Her image in both Furina's and Lu Mingfei's eyes might have just crumbled not long ago. If, under those circumstances, they heard Lu Mingze's little story...

They just might believe it, wouldn't they?

"..."

An archon's inner collapse happens in an instant. She had endured for five hundred years; no amount of torment or suffering had ever bent her spine. But today, the little devil's remark about rolling around crying and throwing a tantrum—especially with the possibility that Furina might believe it—had genuinely broken her.

Imagine: you've struggled and endured for five hundred years to save the world. Just as you're about to become a legendary hero, someone suddenly pops up and, shortly before your sacrifice, tells the people who know you: "Oh, this one? Just recently she was rolling on the floor crying because she couldn't get a drink~"

And what's even more terrifying...

They actually believe it.

Five hundred years of reputation—*poof*—gone!

Then what was all her suffering over all those years for?

"Aaaaah, I can't take it anymore! I'm about to die—can't you at least let me die with some dignity? I've endured for so long! You can't just make five hundred years of my efforts go to waste in an instant! Waaaaaaaaah!" Focalors wailed hoarsely.

She pounded the table while crying and kicking up a fuss, her big eyes seeming to warp into wavy shapes as clear tears spilled out. It was release fueled by alcohol, and the lament of helplessness.

"You're going to die?"

The little devil latched onto the key point instantly.

"Huh?"

Focalors froze, suddenly realizing she might have said something she shouldn't. She slowly raised her head, coughed lightly twice, then said: "Ahem, ahem... I was just—just speaking casually for fun. Yes, that's all made-up. You don't need to take it seriously."

"Oh?"

"You said it yourself—the truth doesn't matter, what matters is whether they believe it. And I'm a reliable archon—how could I possibly go off and die so easily?" Focalors puffed out her chest.

"Hmm..." Lu Mingze thought for a moment, then said: "Is it really that hard to figure out? It's simple. You had Furina pretend to be the Hydro Archon in front of the people of Fontaine, while you stayed inside the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale, scheming something or other on your own."

"At the same time, the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale is connected to Fontaine's entire power supply and contains immense energy. So it wasn't hard to deduce that you were accumulating vast amounts of power to achieve some end. If I reverse-engineer the process from the answer, it's easy enough to derive a reasonable explanation."

"And all Lu Mingfei and Furina would need to do is check the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale to roughly confirm whether what I say is true, and thus deduce what your plan is."

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"Stop it—please stop! Do I have to get on my knees and beg you?" Focalors shouted, slapping the table.

Lu Mingze smiled. In truth, he didn't know Focalors' specific plan, because he didn't have enough information. But that didn't matter. Focalors' emotions were already stirred up. As long as he offered plausible reasoning, she'd easily lose her composure and fall right into the situation he wanted.

"I want another Blue Hawaii!" Focalors glared at him and shouted.

"And if I say no?" Lu Mingze raised an eyebrow.

"Then I'll roll around on the floor right in front of you, crying and throwing a tantrum, and answer nothing no matter what you ask! I'll make a scene right here!" Focalors declared with absolute confidence.

"Huh?"

Lu Mingze's mouth fell slightly open, and his gaze toward Focalors turned increasingly incredulous. He couldn't help asking: "Have you considered your own image?"

"Didn't you just say it yourself? They'll believe you—they'll definitely believe you! So what's the point of me staying dignified anyway? Either way—either way it's going to end up like that..." Focalors said between sobs, wiping her tears.

"...Six."

The image of the Seven Archons was rapidly crumbling inside Lu Mingze's mind. He'd thought they were all extremely proper. Focalors' initial demeanor had matched his expectations perfectly. But now it seemed that propriety had all been an act.

*Tsk. This is giving me a headache...*

That style of playing by no rules at all—why did it feel familiar somehow?

"I want to drink that! That one! Get it for me!" Focalors pointed at a bottle on the counter, pounding the table and yelling, without a trace of divine dignity.

"..."

Lu Mingze's brows furrowed deeply. He sighed, turned his gaze toward the direction Focalors was pointing, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly. "I don't think you should have that one. This bottle is called Aqua Vitae, and it's—"

"Aaaaah! I don't care! I want it! All I want is something to drink—is that too much to ask? You won't even let me have a drink in a dream? Are you a devil? Even an actual devil couldn't be this heartless! Waaaaah—you're horrible!"

"..."

Lu Mingze took a deep breath, his smile gradually becoming perfunctory. He slowly took down the Aqua Vitae, smiled at Focalors with narrowed eyes, and said: "In that case, you'll need to answer some questions for me first. If I'm not satisfied with your answers, you won't be getting any."

His goal was information. As long as he could achieve it through Focalors, the process didn't matter. Though Focalors' image in his mind had already crumbled, her value remained intact.

If she wanted to drink, then let her drink. Whatever happened afterward wasn't his problem anymore.

After all, the sensations inside the Dream Tapir were real, and they would even transmit back to the real world. If Focalors was someone from another world, and she returned while dead drunk... thinking about it was rather delightful.

He didn't know what would happen, but it felt like things had suddenly become very interesting. Wonderful.

"What questions do you want to ask? I'll... I'll answer as I see fit," Focalors said.

"Excellent. My questions are quite simple..."

Ten minutes later.

Focalors, who had been force-chugging three bottles of Aqua Vitae, collapsed onto the floor, occasionally letting out an unintelligible groan or two. She was like a puddle of mud, completely stripped of self-control.

"Truly foolish—I warned her. That's ninety-six-proof Aqua Vitae. Tsk tsk tsk. Downing three bottles in a row... with that kind of courage, she does qualify as a god." Lu Mingze looked at the utterly plastered Focalors and commented.

"Help me up... *hic*... I can still drink more," Focalors murmured in a trembling voice, slowly raising a hand.

"So, your goal is to return the Authority over Water to the Hydro Dragon, Neuvillette, correct?" Lu Mingze took down another bottle of Aqua Vitae from the shelf and secretly replaced its contents with colorless honey water meant to counter intoxication.

"Didn't you already know that? Why bother asking." Focalors slowly crawled back into her seat, hiccuping as she lifted her head and looked at Lu Mingze with languid eyes.

"To confirm. Guesses are guesses, after all. If you don't confirm, I'll have to look elsewhere for answers." Lu Mingze shrugged helplessly.

"Ugh, no no no! Please don't tell Lu Mingfei or the others! If they find out, my plan definitely won't succeed, and then Fontaine will—will—" Mid-sentence, the alcohol-hit Focalors burst into tears, sobbing as she pounded the table like an ordinary person in need of care.

"...Sigh."

After a brief silence, Lu Mingze sighed once more. He'd lost count of how many times he'd sighed in this dream. The Seven Archons of Teyvat had, in his mind, completely lost their divine seriousness and majesty. They were more like ordinary people burdened with responsibility and power.

Divinity? All of it was an act!

And from the conversation just now, Lu Mingze could also readily read Focalors' desire to become human. She herself didn't want to be a god—because being a god had brought her nothing but suffering and exhaustion, with none of the freedom and glory of a human life, only the obligation to save the world.

"So tell me—was my guess correct?"

"Your guess is right."

"If you die, will Furina be affected? The two of you are one, aren't you?" Lu Mingze handed the Aqua Vitae bottle filled with honey water to Focalors.

"...No effect. We've already separated."

Focalors looked away, pouting slightly, and opened the bottle to drink directly. The way she sulkily drank was adorably foolish. She didn't even notice that the liquid inside had a different color and taste from before.

Perhaps she simply couldn't be bothered to care?

She was already completely in his grasp, after all...

"Are you afraid of death?" Lu Mingze suddenly asked.

"...No." Focalors hesitated briefly, but still answered quickly.

"You're afraid."

"I'm not! Don't you make things up!" Focalors slammed the table and stood up.

"On that question, I already asked you once earlier. You answered without hesitation—much cleaner and more decisive than just now."

"So—so what?" Focalors' momentum deflated, and she slumped back over the table, sipping her honey water in gloomy silence. In her evasive eyes, some peculiar emotion seemed to flow—a feeling of longing that carried no hope.

"You're not unafraid of death. You *must* die. More precisely, in your plan, you must die."

Lu Mingze sat down across from her, bringing his face close to hers, gazing directly into her eyes as he continued: "Your five hundred years of humiliation within the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale wasn't entirely for hiding. It was also to overcome yourself. Only suffering could steel your resolve to march toward death."

"Your courage in the face of death isn't true courage—it's been honed through hardship. You've grown weary of your current life and desperately want to end it. That's why you're willing to die."

"Actually, I do admire you. Someone as timid as you, going this far for the people of Fontaine, pushing yourself to this dead end—how did you ever make that decision? Are you truly a coward, or are you brave?"

Through the sustained gaze, Focalors' firm and stubborn eyes... seemed to soften.

(End of Chapter)