Genshin Impact, all those behind-the-scenes big shots are me

He didn't have Ryder's memories of Aina, so his understanding of her wasn't thorough enough, but now it seemed that Aina was impeccable in both ability and loyalty.

However, when he abdicated, he said that he would let Aina choose her own successor to manage Fontaine, but unexpectedly, she has persisted alone until now.

The passage of hundreds of years may not mean much to gods, but for humans, even with her power, it is enough to bring considerable mental pressure.

"You've worked so hard all these years," Su Chen said softly.

Aina paused, her eyes suddenly reddening.

After regaining her memories, the longing and sorrow she had felt for Su Chen's departure over the past few hundred years erupted. Hearing these words now, she found it difficult to control her emotions.

"I'm sorry, Lord Ryder, I didn't mean to... I just..." Aina hurriedly wiped her eyes.

Su Chen smiled and said, "It's alright. I'm the one who should apologize. It's what I owe you."

"Then... will Lord Ryder be taking over the Privy Council again this time he returns to Fontaine? I can make arrangements immediately, and I'm sure Lady Funina will be very happy."

"Well," Su Chen rubbed his temples, "we'll talk about it later. I need to take care of some things now."

Hey~

They originally came to reclaim their power.

Now look what's happened, we've been dragged into this again.

He needed to quickly find out what happened back then, and... figure out an excuse to return to Sumeru... oops, I mean, an explanation.

...

Fontaine.

Inside a banquet hall under the name of the Privy Council.

The hall was brightly lit, and figures moved about, preparing for the upcoming banquet.

Fu Ningna poked her head out of the doorway, and after seeing that everything was okay inside, she swaggered in.

"Ah, Lady Funina, what brings you here?" The logistics staff who were setting up the scene saw her and hurriedly went over to greet her.

Funina straightened her posture and calmly said, "There's no need to be nervous about my people. I'm just taking a casual stroll in the midst of my busy schedule. Coming here is an inevitable consequence of the chaotic nature of fate."

"Huh..." The person in charge opened his mouth, thinking, "Lady Funina, can you speak human language? I don't understand mythology."

"What's going on here?" After a three-second pause, Funina asked.

"Oh, as Lady Aina instructed, a banquet will be held here tonight as a welcoming ceremony for the Sumeru Envoys... It should be soon."

"I see, the Sumeru Envoys, huh?" Funina nodded, feigning nonchalance. "Then I'm sure my arrival will make the banquet even more dazzling!"

The person in charge immediately said, "If it were Lady Funina, that would be natural. I believe your arrival would be an honor for everyone. However... I heard that you have also arranged a banquet tonight to entertain that blond traveler from a foreign land. Is it alright for you to go?"

“OvO…”

Fu Ningna suddenly remembered that there was indeed such a thing.

Although the travelers were invited through a trial, Fontaine etiquette must not be neglected; the elegant and noble water god would not allow such a problem to occur.

So when she set off for Harbour Harbor, she had already given instructions to have a banquet prepared.

I'm sure that even the poorest travelers would be completely awestruck after witnessing the high-class Fontainebleau feast!

but.

Funina has decided to expose the true face of the Great Sage Hein. She thinks this Hein must be Ryder, or at least some kind of 'reincarnation' or something. Anyway, the teardrop is reacting, and if she's not allowed to, she'll eat the teardrop!

Finding Ryder is of course the most important thing in the world; the Cricket Traveler can forget about it.

"Go and have someone inform Navelette to entertain the traveler and the great magician Linni for me." Funina, full of ideas, came up with a good solution in a flash.

Person in charge: "Huh?"

"What? Hurry up and go!"

"But... will Lady Vilette really go?"

Everyone knows that the Supreme Judge never attends banquets like this, and he doesn't care about anything except trials.

"Don't worry." Funina patted Naizi confidently, "Just say that I sent him, he wouldn't dare to refuse."

The person in charge thought to himself, "You don't seem to have much authority in front of Lady Villette... Oh well, go ahead, a worker doesn't have the right to refuse his boss."

After she left, Funina began to stroll around the banquet.

The more I think about it, the more excited I become.

If Ryder comes back, she'll definitely bite him hard first.

"But... why isn't this thing responding again? That's really strange." He took out the golden teardrop and looked at it. As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a blurry image in the teardrop, and then Su Chen's image reappeared.

"Ah! They're out! They're out!"

Funina shouted excitedly.

The maids preparing the banquet all looked at her.

"Hmm~ It's nothing, you guys go about your business." Funina coughed lightly, pretending to be nonchalant as she walked to the backstage of the banquet hall, slipped inside, and carefully peeked out while holding back her tears.

This teardrop belongs to Su Chen. Back then, she used the last bit of power of the rules to collect the scattered memories of the former after he was decomposed into this teardrop. It can be said that apart from his body, this teardrop is everything to Ryder Cross.

For Funina, it was her everything.

After each performance as the Water Goddess, the physically and mentally exhausted Funina would return to her room. Only when she took out these tears and felt Su Chen's presence would she have the courage and motivation to continue.

How much longer? Funina had considered giving up altogether.

Without Ryder, she could only talk to herself every day, keeping the secret of playing the water god to save Fontaine deep in her heart.

Even though all the people of Fontainebleau now believe that she is the Water Goddess, it still cannot alleviate the pressure on her mind. Five hundred years is a very long road. She can only maintain the posture that the Water Goddess should have at all times, and forget what she was like at the beginning.

At that time, probably only Ryder Cross would remember Frynn.

Funina has two secrets.

One is the secret to saving Fontainebleau.

The other is the secret that keeps her going.

“Five hundred years…” Furina stared at her tears, her expression sorrowful. “Ryder, have you really returned? I’m so lonely, so isolated. How much longer… I miss you so much…”

So lonely.

I feel so lonely.

I miss you so much.

The ethereal voice seemed to transcend time and space, causing Su Chen, who was walking in Fontainebleau, to pause in his steps.

He turned around and looked around, searching.

"Lord Leh... what's wrong?" Aina asked, puzzled.

"It's nothing..." Su Chen pondered for a moment. The voice just now was... Funina? It should be, but how could he have heard Funina's voice?

The sky was suddenly filled with gloom.

"It looks like it's going to rain." A scholar looked up, puzzled. "That's strange, everything was fine just now."

Although it was evening, the sky was still ablaze with fiery clouds from the previous day, making everything very beautiful.

In the blink of an eye, it turned into a cloudy day.

Another scholar said, "There is a legend in Fontainebleau that when the Water Dragon King cries, it rains from the sky."

“It’s all just rumors. There are many rumors about Fontaine, and none of them can be verified.” Aina shook her head. “Besides, the weather by the sea is always like this. It often rains out of nowhere, and sometimes it even pours rain… Anyway, everyone, let’s hurry up. The banquet hall is over there.”

Nobody seemed to care.

Anyway, these scholars didn't come to Fontainebleau to study the Water Dragon King.

Huh? What are you doing here?

Lord Hein said there were many hot girls at the beach in Fontainebleau, so they came (not really).

Okay, this is a diplomatic activity bearing the real name of the state.

Su Chen turned his gaze away from the sky.

For some reason, he felt that the change in the weather was not due to the so-called Water Dragon King, but rather to the Water Goddess Funina.

"Lord Ryder, what's wrong?" Aina asked in a low voice as she walked beside him.

"It's okay, let's go."

Su Chen just felt... a little uncomfortable.

Hearing the sound from earlier made him feel a tightness in his chest.

Shaking their heads, the group continued forward and, led by Aina, arrived at the banquet hall.

The hall has been set up, with long tables covered with white tablecloths and various items on them—food, wine, fruit, and so on.

Some maids stood by the hall waiting for orders.

"Where is Iris?" Aina asked as she walked in.

"She was summoned by Lady Funina, apparently to go to Momang Palace," a maid replied.

Aina nodded. Since she had been summoned by Lady Funina, there was nothing she could do.

According to the reception procedure, the Water Goddess naturally wouldn't come here; she would be in charge of everything from beginning to end... But why is Lady Funina coming here to summon people? Aren't there plenty of guards outside?

Well, since it was Lady Funina who did it, anyone who can guess the meaning behind it must be out of their mind (Water God, please forgive me, I didn't mean to offend you).

"Your Excellency Hein, and all of you, welcome to Fontaine. Please allow me, on behalf of Fontaine, to express our sincerest respect to you all."

After the polite official remarks, everyone dispersed, and the members of the delegation couldn't wait to enjoy the food. They had traveled through deserts and oceans along the way, and following the Great Sage Hein, they had gone hungry three times a day.

"Not bad."

Su Chen walked over to the long table.

He prefers this type of dinner party to sitting at a table waiting to be served.

"Ok?"

at this time.

Sensing a gaze from a dark corner, Su Chen turned his eyes—a blue figure flashed past his field of vision.