Chat Group: Starting by Swapping Bodies with Elysia?

Work had to continue. In response to the lazy Miss Qingque's 'invitation,' Jiang Qiao, after objective consideration, gave his reply.

Jiang Qiao: Keep up the good work.

At this, Miss Qingque, unusually, gritted her teeth, regretting why she had coveted that extremely brief vacation.

But there was no helping it, work had to continue, and Miss Qingque could only sigh, then pick up the jade abacus and continue her diligent work.

Of course, compared to the two whose conversation was more encouraging, there was someone whose mood was even more complex and apprehensive.

The blue-and-white-haired girl sitting on a chair at the top of the Palais Mermonia courtyard ignored the interaction between Qingque and Jiang Qiao, instead staring intently at the message from the person named Jiang Qiao in the group, directed at her.

—You've worked hard.

Ah... such familiar yet unfamiliar words.

In these five hundred years, Furina had hardly heard such words, at least the people of Fontaine had never said this to her—of course, this wasn't strange, because as a god, she hadn't actually done much for the people. Most of the time, she was just playing the role of a 'comedian.'

And in the eyes of the people of Fontaine, it was natural to think, 'How could a god possibly be tired?'

'Lady Furina has always been so confident and at ease!'

They therefore revered this approachable god.

But for Furina, who was essentially just a cursed human, this was clearly a 'forced act.'

She was just forcing herself.

Five hundred long years were but a fleeting moment for an Archon, but for a human, it was an unimaginable number.

During this time, the accumulated bitterness and loneliness in her heart were immeasurable.

So much so that when she saw someone say to her—You've worked hard—Furina, who had been smiling, felt a tightness in her chest, as if all the accumulated bitterness had poured out like a flood at this moment.

Her eyes were a little moist, but these weren't tears—gods wouldn't shed tears as easily as fragile mortals, right?

Therefore...

The water element in the courtyard seemed a little too abundant.

The girl's reddened eyes could only be explained this way.

But this mood came briefly and also went briefly.

Rather than tears, Furina was more—or rather, she should be more 'alert.'

Saying such a thing to me out of the blue... Does this person know something?

Alert, uneasy, and even terrified, the girl's lowered hands clenched together, a little damp.

"I must first probe him!"

Such determination was revealed in her heterochromatic, divine eyes. Out of her inner worries, Furina made a decision.

Although she felt it was impossible for the other party to know her situation, for the sake of the people of Fontaine, she couldn't tolerate even the slightest possibility.

However, despite saying this, Furina was still a little scared.

She was afraid that this unfamiliar group member might be like Kyouko... gulp... No, it shouldn't be, right?

After all, the other party had specifically reminded her and helped her out of a difficult situation.

Besides—she was the God of Justice! How could she be afraid of someone she had never met?

Thinking this, Furina pondered and began to refine her words—if it were before, she would definitely have used that flamboyant style, but after the experience of being attacked by Kyouko through the network cable, Miss Furina, who had learned her lesson, felt that she should be more cautious.

Therefore—

Furina: Why do you think I'm working hard? @Jiang Qiao

A moment later.

Jiang Qiao: Aren't you?

He asked in return.

And this answer made Furina even more flustered.

Yes, I am indeed very tired... But, b-b-but... How did you know this?!

This was her biggest, most important secret—seeing that not only had she not probed anything, but she had become even more flustered, Furina's brain suddenly crashed.

Th-Th-This... What should she do next? Should she just ask—How do you know?

....No! Maybe he just got lucky?

Kyouko: ?

Kyouko: What do you mean?

Back in her own world, sitting on the stone steps of the abandoned church, a basket of Bubble Oranges sent by Furina next to her, the red-haired girl put an unpeeled Bubble Orange in her mouth while looking at the chat group information, frowning slightly.

Kyouko: Is there something wrong with Furina?

Although she had also noticed that this newly made friend seemed to be hiding something, and despite being a god, she seemed exceptionally weak, Kyouko, who respected other people's secrets and considered their feelings, certainly wouldn't ask directly.

But when she saw Jiang Qiao's message, Kyouko smelled something unusual.

Regarding this, she might be curious, but she was more concerned.

After all, as a lone wolf, Kyouko didn't actually have many friends...or it would be more appropriate to say that she currently had no friends at all.

Furina was her only friend... Well, the other people in the chat group seemed pretty good too, so it was a little better.

—But in any case, if Furina encountered any trouble, Kyouko wouldn't stand idly by.

Seeing Kyouko appear, Furina immediately panicked.

Not to mention whether this man knew something.

If she was questioned to the bottom of this...

Recalling Focalors' warning, the flustered Furina hurriedly replied.

Furina: Hmph~ How could there be a problem? I am the God of Justice, a god!

Furina: How could a god be tired!

Kyouko: Really?

Furina: How could the God of Justice lie! Lying is for puppies!

Furina: Cough, however, a dazzling god like me, who is always active in front of the admiring public, and receives so much attention, it is indeed a tiring thing! (Proud)

Furina replied in this way, trying to suppress the matter.

Hu Tao: Hey, hey, what are you talking about? Let me see...

Hu Tao: Oh oh... The Hydro Archon of Fontaine...

Hu Tao: Indeed, I heard that the Hydro Archon of Fontaine is very loved by the people of Fontaine, completely different from our Rex Lapis of Liyue.

Hu Tao: But speaking of which, since you are the Hydro Archon, you should know our Rex Lapis, right? (Expectant face)

Furina: Rex Lapis of Liyue... Hmm, yeah, as one of the Seven, of course, I know him.

—Undoubtedly, Furina did not know the oldest of the Seven.

In fact, she was just an ordinary person. In order to do her best to play the role of a god, she didn't even dare to leave Fontaine, let alone run to the territories of other Archons.

What if she was exposed!

Furina had absolutely no confidence in being able to bluff her way past the other members of the Seven!

However, Furina had absolutely no knowledge of the interpersonal relationships of the Seven, and her knowledge of Focalors was extremely scarce. Faced with Hu Tao's question, in order to prevent suspicion, she could only pretend, "Ah, I'm very familiar with your Geo Archon."

After all, I am the Hydro Archon Focalors!

This relaxed state naturally made it easy to gain Hu Tao's trust, but it also brought Miss Furina some trouble—for example, the very curious Director Hu immediately began to ask Furina questions, wanting to learn about her own Rex Lapis.

After all, for the people of Liyue, their belief in Rex Lapis was very strong.

If they could hear some secrets of their own Rex Lapis from the Hydro Archon, who was also one of the Seven...

Regarding this, Furina was obviously at a loss.

She just wanted to bluff her way through, using the names of the other Archons to bolster her own Archon facade. She didn't actually know anything about Rex Lapis!

But after thinking about it, Furina suddenly had an idea.

Anyway, he was so far away, and she had heard that Rex Lapis rarely showed himself and had almost no contact with the people of Liyue. In that case...since she had already made up a relationship, she might as well make up some stories of her own.

Rex Lapis would certainly never know!

As Fontaine's big star, Furina had a considerable talent for creativity in this area, and she remembered that when she was bored and reading books in the Fontaine library to collect inspiration, she had also seen a few books that were said to be from Liyue... The Melusine in charge of maintenance told her that it was called... unofficial history?

For the purpose of understanding the other Archons and thus better playing the role of the Hydro Archon, she deliberately read a lot, including those about Inazuma, Mondstadt, and Sumeru.

Things like the Raiden Shogun can't cook... intimate with her familiar, the reference for the statue of the Anemo Archon at the entrance of the Mondstadt Cathedral is actually...

Recalling the content she had seen in the unofficial history of Liyue.

It seemed that...the Archon named Azhdaha was actually in a relationship with Rex Lapis, that Rex Lapis was actually a woman, and that there was a special relationship with the Stove God...

Hmm... Was that Rex Lapis of Liyue so wild?

Furina, taking a deep breath, thought this, and finally stopped thinking, just casually taking this sufficiently wild history to fool Hu Tao.

And Hu Tao, who was currently in the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, was also watching with great interest.

Although she found it a little hard to believe—but since this was content revealed by the Hydro Archon, who was on good terms with Rex Lapis, it must be true, right?

Do you understand what endorsed by a god means!

"Hmm~ Director, what are you looking at?" A gentle, girlish voice sounded nearby. What came into view was a gray-blue-haired girl in a wide-sleeved, immortal-style dress. Her appearance made Hu Tao a little excited—one of the two new consultants hired by the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

Well, should she say returned?

The original consultant named Zhongli, after seeing the thing called a spirit core in her hand, bought it from her on the grounds that he liked it very much. However, because he had no money, he prepaid two years' worth of salary.

Hu Tao didn't want to accept money from this knowledgeable elder, anyway, this thing was something she had just picked up, but she couldn't resist the other party's insistence, and it was even two years...

Well, of course, this wasn't the most important thing.

What made Hu Tao even happier was that after the consultant asked for a period of leave and returned, he brought back a very cute girl in an ancient style.

According to the introduction, her name was 'Guizhong.' Because their personalities were very similar, Hu Tao got along with her almost immediately. In addition, the other party's knowledge was on par with the consultant, so she simply kept her in the parlor as a consultant as well.

However, unlike Consultant Zhongli, Sister Guizhong rarely put things on her tab. She usually paid in cash, hmm... She was completely different from Consultant Zhongli.

"Hey, hey, Sister Guizhong, let me tell you..." Hu Tao, who got along very well with Guizhong, liked to be with Guizhong very much—although the latter often went to the Jade Chamber to chat with the peddler named Madame Ping, she had returned early today.

Having something interesting to share, Hu Tao immediately told Guizhong the unofficial history she had heard from Furina:

"Our Rex Lapis actually..."

Guizhong's expression was a little puzzled at first, but the

but the more she listened, the weirder it became, and finally, she raised her sleeve and covered her face.

'Pfft'

"Director, who told you this?" Guizhong, who was a lively character, couldn't hold back after hearing those wild histories and couldn't help but ask.

But Hu Tao said:

"Hey, don't disbelieve it. The Hydro Archon of Fontaine told me this."

"The Hydro Archon... Focalors?" Guizhong was a little surprised.

She originally thought that Hu Tao had heard these rumors from somewhere, but... another member of the Seven?

Could this be true...?

Recalling the past Morax and Azhdaha, them... Guizhong fell into a brief silence, then covered her mouth with her sleeve...

'Pfft'.

Haha, no, she had to tell Morax about this... Right, and A-Ping, A-Ping would definitely laugh out loud after hearing this, hahaha.

—It could be predicted.

When he learned of this sufficiently wild 'Rex Lapis record' from Guizhong.

The consultant named Zhongli fell into a long silence.

And regarding this.

Looking at Furina, who was frantically outputting strange and bizarre records to Hu Tao in the chat group, Jiang Qiao couldn't help but sigh—your history is pretty wild, huh.

"Jiang~ Qiao~"

A sweet, girlish voice sounded in his ear—Elysia was smiling.

For her, who was also a member of the chat group, Jiang Qiao's movements in the chat group obviously couldn't be hidden from her.

"You seem to be very familiar with that child named Furina."

"Mm-hm."

He admitted it! This bad guy actually admitted it!

The headlights of the girl fluctuated, and Elysia was a little annoyed.

You're not even pretending, are you?!

However, compared to Jiang Qiao seeming to be very familiar with the new group member, Elysia was more curious about who the other party was. After all, almost every member of this chat group came from a different world, and they also symbolized a completely different world.

"Are you talking about Furina? A very strong girl, shouldering an important responsibility... If I had to say, she might be a bit like Pardofelis, or maybe a bit like you?"

"Eh—?"

If she was only curious about the previous part, then Elysia was really interested in the latter part.

A girl who was very similar to herself? Hmph~ Strength is of course a given.

But... Could that child named Furina also be a pink-haired girl like herself?

Thinking this, Elysia suddenly paused.

Wait...pink-haired girl?

If that were the case, wouldn't their roles completely overlap?

There only needs to be one pink-haired beautiful girl, and that's me, Elysia!

Guessing her thoughts through her puffed-out cheeks, Jiang Qiao was a little helpless;

"Not the hair color."

Not the hair color?

Then it's beauty?

Is that child named Furina a beautiful girl as radiant as a flower, like me, Elysia?

"How should I put it... If I had to say, it's probably..."

"Probably what?"

Looking at Jiang Qiao, who had paused, Elysia was a little curious.

But the former, after a brief silence, shook his head on his own;

"Nothing..."

"What do you mean, nothing?"

Elysia puffed out her cheeks, a little dissatisfied with Jiang Muer's behavior of saying half a sentence—although she really wanted to teach this bad guy a lesson, so that he would understand the 'price' of saying half a sentence, arousing other people's curiosity, but not taking responsibility.

But unfortunately, there were not only the two of them on this transport ship.

And the pink-haired Fat Woman had absolutely no interest in the [Blue Wendy] that Jiang Qiao was currently using!

Jiang Qiao's mind echoed with the two unspoken words.

If he had to say it...it was probably suffering?

It was just that these two were completely opposite.

Riding on this transport ship manufactured by Vill-V using new technology, the speed of returning to headquarters was much faster than expected.

And during this process, Jiang Qiao also repaired [Seele] and took back his own body.

And brought her to MEI's laboratory.

However, MEI wasn't the only one there. Mobius was also there, but unlike before, Mobius was sitting on a small platform.

"Oh, Mobius, why did you suddenly think of sitting on this thing?"

Elysia was a little puzzled, but when she got close to the snake, she was very interested in this small, seemingly fun platform.

"Hmph~ Do I need to report my movements to you?"

"But since I'm in a good mood, I'll tell you~"

"Because of over-exercising, I pulled some muscles." While speaking, Mobius's gaze, with a hint of a smile, fell on Jiang Qiao.

"Oh, that's so careless."

Elysia, who hadn't noticed anything unusual, rested her chin on her hand. Although she was surprised that Mobius, who usually didn't like to move, would go to the gym, it wasn't a strange thing.

When the food in the cafeteria was very good, she would also go to the training ground to burn off some calories after the meal. Perhaps Mobius just suddenly felt like it?

Out of concern, Elysia said: "You have to take care of your body, Mobius."

"Hmph~ Don't worry, my body is perfectly fine~"

"Okay, that's enough chit-chat. If you want, you can catch up later."

MEI interrupted the conversation between the two with a somewhat subtle tone, then looked at Jiang Qiao with a smile:

"Thank you for your hard work in ARK City."

"But if there's a next time, I still hope you can keep the commotion a little smaller." MEI said faintly.

Although she understood the correctness of Jiang Qiao's decision, the scale of the event was a bit too exaggerated, right?

An entire sea area was cut off and pulled into the sky... Moreover, in order to prevent any Mistakes, this guy even included the airspace in that area. As a result, from the perspective of the satellites, that sea area was directly bald.

And the Fourth Divine Key had been borrowed, so there was no way to carry out weather concealment... It could be said that the satellites in that area had a clear view of the situation in that sea area.

But fortunately, Fire Moth was an organization that fought against Honkai, and the final right of interpretation was in their hands.

As long as they later explained it as a new type of anti-Honkai weapon developed by Fire Moth, the pressure from the United Nations would be greatly reduced.

However....

Vill-V was in charge of dealing with the United Nations, right?

At this moment, MEI was relieved.

She only needed to deal with the problems on the higher-ups' side, and diplomacy was the responsibility of Vill-V's diplomat persona.

That is to say, this was Vill-V's job.

Therefore...

Let Vill-V suffer a little, and I'll take the blame!