"Is the Primordial Sea Water the reason Nico guided me to Fontaine?" Richard asked.
"Yes, but not entirely. The Primordial Sea Water can indeed help you, but its effects aren't as great as you might imagine." Alice's voice, unusually, grew serious.
"You'll need to go to the alternate space where this planet nurtures the Primordial Sea Water. Only the water at its very core can make you complete."
"I imagine by now you've guessed a little about your origins, haven't you? But no matter what, you will always be my good nephew, that will never change."
Richard fell silent for a moment before finally blurting out: "Then tell me how to get there!"
"Ahaha… I don't know." Alice broke character in a second.
The office fell into dead silence.
"Say something! You keeping quiet is making the atmosphere super awkward!" Alice complained.
"I get it. So, Lady Alice, don't tell me you only know about the existence of the Primordial Sea Water and nothing else?" Richard said helplessly.
"You're not even calling me 'aunt' anymore? How realistic!" Alice sighed, then added:
"Sometimes knowing too much isn't a good thing. When the time comes, you'll naturally know how to enter that alternate space. Until then, just enjoy the journey."
"I'm working…"
"Work… Work is also a form of travel, you see? Travel broadens your horizons, so work… well, maybe that counts too?" Alice faltered, realizing even she didn't buy that excuse, and quickly changed the subject.
"When do you plan to go see Shenzi? You flirted with her and then ran away, and in over a century, you haven't once gone back to Inazuma. This time, she was the one who came to see you, it's no wonder she's angry."
"You should know what my situation was back then."
"True. You wouldn't even see me at the time, hiding who knows where."
"Sorry."
"No need. Given the circumstances, I can understand your choice."
Alice knew that Richard had discovered some truths about the world in Inazuma, along with parts of his own origin. Unable to handle it, he had withdrawn. It was only natural.
When she brought him home as a child, Alice had already known this day would come.
Fortunately, Richard eventually found himself again and wasn't consumed by the shadows of his past life. That alone brought Alice relief and comfort. After all, she had raised him on her own; Richard was no different from her own child.
"So, when will you go to Inazuma?"
"Why are you so concerned about this?"
"Well… you see, I've been friends with Yae Miko for years. Isn't it normal for me to ask on her behalf?"
"Did she get some dirt on you?"
"Impossible! I… I…"
"Got caught off guard?"
"No way! I was just… letting her win. And who knew she'd built such a high alcohol tolerance over the years…" Alice muttered something about "faulty intelligence" and "not my fault," grumbling that "next time I'll definitely show that fox who's boss!"
"You got drunk, made a fool of yourself, and she caught it on camera." Richard guessed.
"You, how do you know?! Did she tell you? Wait, don't tell me you two teamed up to set me up!" Alice yelped.
Even though Richard couldn't see her, he could imagine Alice sweating buckets on the other end.
"I guessed. So she's holding something over you, and now you're Inazuma's lobbyist?"
"Lobbyist sounds so ugly. This is just a senior caring about her junior, understand?"
"No senior plies their junior with alcohol. Do you remember what you did to Yae Miko when I first arrived in Inazuma?" Richard's face twitched.
When Richard had first gone to Inazuma, he hadn't known about Alice's relationship with Miko. She had told him to just drop her name when he got there, and people would take care of him.
Naively, Richard believed her. But when he gave Alice's name at Ritou's entry checkpoint, within minutes, he was dragged to the Grand Narukami Shrine, his very first meeting with Yae Miko.
It had not been pleasant. Richard admitted that, back then, the pink-haired fox's lightning really was stronger than his.
Thanks to Alice, Richard got himself a brand-new hairstyle right off the boat, ion-permed, very fashionable.
It wasn't until he got closer to Miko later that he learned why she had treated him like that at first.
Hearing Richard bring this up, Alice gave a cold hum. "Do you remember how many loaves of bread you've eaten in your life?"
"…Right. Then just remember this: whatever dirt she has on you, Miko will pay you back exactly as you once treated her, a fox never forgets, even a hundred years later."
"That's impossible. We came to an agreement."
"Agreement?" Richard's ears perked up.
"I mean, we reconciled." Alice corrected herself.
"Reconciled? No way she'd let you off that easily." Richard didn't believe it. Nobody knew better than him how difficult Miko was.
"Of course. With the way she feels about you, just sharing a few tidbits of information about you was enough to satisfy her."
"My information? Wait, you didn't…" Richard felt a bad premonition.
"I showed her your childhood photos."
"How do you even still have those? I took them all!"
"My child, don't you know I always keep backups of precious photos? Three burrows for the cunning hare, I've taught you this before, haven't I?" Alice sounded smug, full of pride at her little victory.
Richard's face went blank. Of course, he knew that rule. He'd searched every possible hiding spot and dug up three stashes of hidden photos. He hadn't expected her to have yet another backup.
"The older the ginger, the spicier it is. Young man, you still have much to learn~" Alice teased gleefully.
Richard shot back instantly: "You got played by the fox."
Miko wasn't old ginger, she was his age.
"That was an accident! If I had another chance…"
"You got played by the fox."
"I'll get my revenge next time!"
"You got played by the fox!"
"Doot doot…" The signalbird line suddenly went dead; someone had hung up in a fit of pique.
Richard let out a long breath, feeling drained. The thought of Miko seeing his childhood idiocy made his scalp tingle.
Forget Inazuma… He wasn't going.
"Remember to go to Inazuma. I don't recall raising you to be the kind of man who toys with women's feelings." The signalbird crackled back to life, and Alice's voice suddenly cut in again.
"You didn't hang up?!"
"…"
No response this time. She must have finally disconnected.
Richard shook his head and opened the envelope lying on his desk, now inert without magic.
Inside was Alice's real letter. It mentioned Klee and the Primordial Sea Water, more detailed than their earlier talk, providing leads Richard could follow if he chose.
The rest was family chatter, little stories about her life, like a parent writing to a child left at home while they worked abroad. Richard suspected she'd written this alongside Klee's letter.
At the very end was a photo.
It showed a stunning woman in white wedding attire, delicately made up, radiating such charm that Richard's breath caught. He couldn't tear his eyes away for a long while before carefully putting it away.
"Heart racing? Then act on it, my dear nephew. First capture the little fox, then together we'll seize the Narukami's place, bringing her and her followers into our family, as your bride!"
Richard: "…"
'Did you hang up or not?!'
He shoved the letter into a drawer, cutting off communication physically this time.
Only then did Alice finally hang up, leaning back with a stretch. "Richard, what will you do when you keep leaving girls hanging like this? Choose one? Or all of them? Whatever, more nieces-in-law just means more family for me."
At least she wouldn't have to worry about Richard's marriage prospects.
.....
Meanwhile, Richard had Lynette arrange for several secretaries to borrow the books Alice mentioned about the Primordial Sea Water from Fontaine's library.
As Lynette was assigning the task, Richard added:
"Also, bring me the borrowing records. See if there's any suspicious names."
Since the group that made the 'Sinthe' must have studied the water, maybe they'd left a trace.
"Understood."
The books were soon brought back, along with the records. Few had borrowed them in decades, barely a few pages of names.
Comparing the lists, Richard found all the books had once been borrowed by an adventurer named Vacher.
His instincts screamed something was off. He sent people to the Adventurers' Guild to dig up details.
"Disappeared more than ten years ago…" It turned out Vacher had vanished long ago, declared missing with no trace despite search efforts.
After all, adventurers going missing was nothing unusual.
"Ten years ago… wasn't that when the missing girls case began?" Lynette pointed out.
"Coincidence? I don't think so." Richard shook his head.
"Should I ask the Fatui about it?"
"Yes, please. And also check if Freminet is available."
"Freminet? He should be rehearsing with Lyney for an upcoming show at the Hotel Bouffes d'Ete. They perform regularly there."
"You need him for something?"
"Yes. Diving expertise. Alice mentioned some possible sites for the Primordial Sea Water, a few underwater. I'll need a professional to map the depths near Fontaine."
Freminet, as a seasoned diver and old acquaintance, was perfect for the job.
"Got it. I'll head to the House of the Hearth tonight." Lynette switched into efficient mode, taking it seriously.
"Of course, if he's too busy, just ask him to mark a few areas. I can search myself."
"You'll go alone?"
"You can come too if you want, but it won't be pleasant. We'll be diving."
"I'll ask if Freminet's free first." Lynette's eyes flashed, but she didn't refuse outright.
....
"Just marking zones on a map? The seabed is complex. Maybe I should come along too?" Freminet suggested.
He was hoping this would give him an excuse to skip the upcoming performance; he hated being stared at by strangers.
If he could dive instead, helping Richard while avoiding the stage, all the better.
"But what about Lyney? You've practiced for ages, right? You can't do a two-person act with only one." Lynette's pointed questions immediately killed his hope.
"F-Fine… Just be careful then," Freminet murmured.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu