Furina nodded. "Look, no matter which angle you consider, you will be utterly defeated in a duel of strength. As the Hydro Archon and God of Justice, I shall mercifully forgo this easy path to victory."
"Alas, an effortless win is always so dull. I wouldn't want a duel that should have been thrilling to become utterly boring." Furina waved her hands and shook her head with theatrical boredom.
"Then, allow me, as the God of Justice, to challenge this foreign Traveler in court!" Furina declared, striking upon a brilliant idea.
The citizens of Fontaine instantly understood—and were elated.
"Ahh! Yes! Now that's exciting!"
"Well, after all, Fontaine is our home turf. It would be a shame not to use the opera house!"
Paimon was speechless. "Why do you care so much about the audience's reaction? Have you stayed in your opera house too long or something…?"
"And… you said you want to have a showdown in court. How exactly are you going to do that? Do you mean putting us on trial?"
Lumine: "But we didn't commit any crime…"
Furina smiled sweetly and said with confidence, "Haha, but of course there are reasons to judge you. And they're quite obvious, aren't they?"
Lumine: "??? Obvious???"
Furina looked down at Fu Ning. "Fu Ning, recite the law and let these foreign Travelers understand their failure~"
Fu Ning nodded. "Understood, Lady Furina."
He turned to Lumine and Paimon and stated, "According to Fontaine's regulations, no flying objects are allowed within the city limits during the first three days of every month. You two have violated this ordinance."
"There is also a provision that stipulates any criminal behavior personally apprehended by me—Fu Ning—shall be punished at triple severity."
"Therefore, Traveler, please cooperate. Your punishment will be three times the standard sentence."
Fu Ning spread his hands toward them matter-of-factly.
The citizens of Fontaine clapped in realization. "Oh! I remember that law now! As expected of Lady Furina and Lord Fu Ning—they know the laws of Fontaine inside and out!"
Paimon was even more bewildered. "How… how is this obvious?! What kind of weird law is this…?"
"?"
Suddenly, Paimon realized something. "Wait—hold on, are you saying I'm the flying object?!"
Fu Ning nodded solemnly.
Lumine was stunned. "Uh…"
Furina also nodded. "Indeed. If you have no objections, I will now place you under arrest in the name of the Hydro Archon and Fontaine's Supreme Guard!"
Fu Ning readied himself. "I obey the will of the Lord Hydro Archon."
Sensing things were getting out of hand, Lynette quickly stepped forward. "Apologies, Lady Furina, Lord Fu Ning. I don't mean to spoil the fun, but… may I interrupt for a moment?"
"…I don't think Paimon qualifies as a 'flying object,' don't you agree?"
Paimon eagerly nodded. "That's right, Lynette! Finally, someone sane! How could I possibly be classified as a flying object!?"
Fu Ning: "…"
Who are you calling not sane?
Well, technically, he wasn't exactly normal. After all, he transcended human limitations.
Furina raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Great Magician Lyney, my beloved people are allowed to object—but then, how will you prove that this creature is not a flying object?"
Lyney smiled calmly. "Haha, as a magician who just ruined everyone's fun, I naturally must take responsibility for saving the show."
"And with such a lovely audience present, why don't I perform a little magic trick?"
With a snap of his fingers, the red glow of the Pyro Vision on his body lit up. A crimson thread appeared—stretching from Lumine's left wrist to Paimon's back.
Lyney: "Thump, thump—"
Paimon gasped. "Huh?! When did Lyney do that behind my back?"
Lumine understood immediately—it must have been when Lyney formally introduced himself earlier.
Lyney nodded. "As you can see, Paimon should technically be defined as… something akin to a balloon. This thread has always been here—it just wasn't visible until now."
One Fontainian whispered: "Uh… that's not magic. That's just nonsense."
Another Fontainian disagreed: "Hahaha, I think it's hilarious! Genius!"
A third was at a loss: "I don't even know what to say… But Lady Furina's plan was…"
For a moment, Furina didn't know how to respond.
Then she burst into laughter. "Hahahahahaha!"
She clapped in delight. "Excellent! Wonderful! Lyney, I love this kind of unexpected twist. With you here, today's performance is complete."
Paimon was dumbfounded. "Performance?! You're calling everything that just happened a performance?!"
Furina ignored her. "In that case, this trial is adjourned. The God of Justice shall not falsely accuse the innocent."
"But… if there's a valid reason, then not just foreign Travelers—"
"I can even judge the gods of other nations, hehe… hahaha!"
Fu Ning smiled faintly. It was true.
After all, Mondstadt's Anemo Archon had once served a twenty-eight-day sentence in Fontaine.
"Well then, Mister Lyney, Miss Lynette, I'm greatly looking forward to your next performance at the opera house. That's all for today—farewell, everyone."
With that, Furina turned and left.
The crowd of Fontaine citizens, seeing that the entertainment was over, gradually dispersed.
Fu Ning glanced at Lumine and Paimon.
"Energy talent, Sequence Ten."
He activated his ability, condensing an energy spike to slice through the red thread connecting Lyney.
"Traveler Lumine, hold on to your balloon—don't let it float away." With those words, Fu Ning vanished to catch up with Furina.
Paimon was livid. She stomped her foot. "Ugh! Who's a balloon?! Paimon is not a balloon! I'm gonna give Fu Ning the ugliest nickname ever!"
"If he keeps calling himself Fontaine's Supreme Guard…"
"Then I'll call him… Fontaine's Shortest Guard!"
Swish!
Fu Ning's figure instantly reappeared beside Paimon, delivered a light smack to her head, and glared at her as he spoke, word by word: "I made it very clear back in Liyue."
"I. Can. Hear. You."
Then he vanished once more.
Paimon clutched her head, wailing, "Ouch, ouch… it hurts…!"
Lumine: "…"
Lyney: "…"
Lynette: "…"
"Wow… how infuriating. Fu Ning said back in Liyue that we'd see his true self in Fontaine."
"Is this what he really meant?!"
Lyney scratched his head. "Haha… Actually, Master Fu Ning is usually very gentle. But when it comes to Lady Furina, he becomes completely unreasonable—he'll protect her unconditionally."
"You know, the relationship between Lady Furina and Lord Fu Ning is… anything but ordinary, hehe."
Lynette nodded in agreement.