Furina was mildly worried by the news of kidnappings echoing through Fontaine once more.
There was already one major missing persons event in the news, so her initial thought was that there was an imitation going on. However, this string of kidnappings was reported to occur around Elynas, and the victims of this new case don't have any connections to the victims of the major missing persons case.
Furina was, quite frankly, getting tired of kidnapping cases. Especially when it doesn't have seemingly any connections to the prophecy. Furina doubts that the kidnappers would actually somehow trigger the end of Fontaine through flooding.
Though, after 500 years, it would be quite nice for a plot twist to happen right about now. Otherwise, fictional tropes would have her going on for another 500 years before anything happens…
Furina shivered at the thought. What a dreadful possibility. She should tune back into Neuvillette's words now.
"Are you listening to me now, Lady Furina?" Neuvillette asked.
Oops. It sounds like Neuvillette caught onto her again. That was embarrassing.
"Haha! I was merely thinking about this new case," Furina easily replied, "Please continue on!"
Neuvillette sighed, "As I was saying, all of our investigators that have gone to Elynas have disappeared, suggesting that the kidnappers may be more powerful than we initially thought. And that perhaps, it is not kidnapping, but death. Not to mention, several Melusine have been going missing as well, and it sounds as though I will be forced to go and conduct my own investigation as well."
Furina's eyes widened, "What? You? Investigating something from which no one has returned?" Furina conjured the most final tone possible in her voice, "I'm afraid I cannot allow you to do that, Monsieur Neuvillette."
Neuvillette narrowed his eyes, "Unless we are willing to let more and more people go missing, my power is necessary for the completion of this case."
"Send a vision bearer towards them, then! Clorinde should be perfectly sufficient for this case, shouldn't she?" Furina tried, not willing to risk the hydro sovereign to whatever foul creature preying on her citizens.
"A champion duelist has actually gone out to investigate this matter on his own, in worries for a friend that lives in Elynas. He held a pyro vision, but he has gone missing as well," Neuvillette said.
Furina winced. She knows who he's talking about, he had just been promoted to a champion duelist just a week ago. And now, he's already gone. If this were a play, she would've claimed that the playwright invented that character for the sole purpose of dying at the start of the play without sacrificing more popular champion duelists.
Furina said, "Well, fine, if we cannot just ignore this problem until it goes away… Then I suppose I can grant you the right to investigate this… For a week! If you do not come back by then, I shall assume that you have died, and will send in the army to deal with this issue and hopefully rescue you."
Neuvillete raised an eyebrow, "I doubt an army could do what I could not."
"It's the spirit of it!" Furina reassured, "Now, go on, time is ticking! I'll send out a notice that the Opera Epiclese will be closed for the rest of the week, and that all of its court cases will be either postponed or sent to the lower courts."
Neuvillette bowed, "Thank you, Lady Furina. I shall leave tomorrow morning."
Neuvillette leaves the room, and Furina sighed in exasperation, "Ugh, what a headache. Perhaps I shall get some fresh air after I'm done with my duties…"
Quite honestly, if whatever group lurking in Elynas gets the better of Neuvillette, Furina may as well just jump into the ocean and never resurface. All of her plans currently hinged on hoping that mirror-her could solve the issue, or Neuvillette somehow regaining his full draconic power and washing away the prophecy.
500 years, and that's all she can say about her plans to save her nation. Hah. She's pathetic.
Furina sighed and restrained her tears and went to work drafting the notices for the Palais Mermonia to spread the word.
Furina doesn't go out at night often, and whenever she does, she always wears a disguise, otherwise she'll wake up the entire city, and sign autographs all night.
She finishes early in the night, and it becomes just an hour before midnight as she finally puts on an adequate disguise for the night. A hat to cover her hair, which was tied up to not let the uniqueness of the hair show. She was wearing an extremely cheap shirt and jacket, and a dirty pair of pants, which were becoming a fashion trend in the poorer communities of Fontaine that she was becoming increasingly disturbed with. Why would the good people of impoverished Fontaine just dirty perfectly good pairs of pants?
She also carries around a pen and notebook around just so she could communicate without speaking, for her voice is the most recognizable voice in Fontaine. She also learnt sign language, just in case anyone had the ability to use sign language and was also staying up late at night.
The nightlife in Fontaine was fun, but it's been quite a few years since she last went out. Mostly because as the centuries were coming closer to an end, she became progressively more depressed at the passage of time.
Anyways, Furina became Cloe (Her name changes every once in a while, as it would be rather suspicious for Florette to have survived 500 years. And recently, she's taken a liking to Clorinde's presence around her, so she named this cycle Cloe.) and she set out into the streets of Fontaine.
Most of the nightlife in Fontaine usually congregates in around 2 to 3 districts, but given any era, it might be higher or lower than that. After all, most Fontanians elect to sleep at night.
Furina was looking for stress relievers, and so she was set on finding some kind of game to play with other people tonight. While she was a self-admitted glutton, if she needed to eat, she could get her needs filled by her servants at home. However, there was rarely anyone inside the Palais Mermonia who wanted to play any games with her.
It causes some problems that she's made herself mute during her outing, as many of these games require some sort of auditory indicator that she was finished with her turn, but it never posed a serious issue. Many of her fellow late night citizens were all out for the same reason anyways.
Now that she thought of it though, Genius Invocation TCG has been steadily increasing in popularity these past few years, haven't they? Perhaps she could start learning that game, as it sounds like the type of thing that could easily last a hundred years…
As she was deep in thought while heading to her destination, Furina spotted an extremely suspicious man staring at Beaumont's Workshop.
The man was wearing a hood and mask that she was completely certain was to hide his identity. The man was also wearing a cheap robe that wouldn't look out of place in some type of fantasy novel. Additionally, seemed to wear a long sleeved shirt under his robe to hide his skin, along with wearing gloves. And his shoes were… Actually the most odd part of his set, as his shoes looked oddly elaborate for some reason.
To Furina, the situation was quite obvious. The man was obviously looking to rob the workshop for… Some reason. Normally, she would've just ignored it and let the guards handle it, but…
She looked around her area, and realized that nobody was around to hear her.
Well, the place she was heading to was still 20 minutes away. She could do a good deed and prevent a crime with just the sound of her voice, couldn't she?
And who would ever believe that Furina, the archon of Fontaine, the Regina of All Waters, would just shout at some random thug in the middle of night?
"Hey! You!" Furina shouted out, grabbing his attention, "What do you think you're doing?!"
The man seemed surprised, "Oh, uh, hello there? I was just… Looking around."
Furina was equally surprised by his reaction. He didn't recognize her voice?! How?!
Wait… Is he a tourist?
What would a tourist be doing up late at night looking at a workshop ?
Furina blinked, "Looking around? This late at night?"
The man awkwardly scratched his head, "Ah, well, you see… I'm traveling with some friends, and I accidentally ended up saying I was here before and could guide everyone. But I don't actually know this place very well…"
…Ah.
Furina had to hold in a laugh. That would be a fantastic start to a comedical play! What a foolish thing, to lie to everyone knowing fully well you cannot meet their expectations.
Just like…
Furina shook the thought away, no need to ruin her night off. Either way, eventually, this tourist will find out who she is, and he'll have a funny story to tell his friends, which they obviously won't believe.
Honestly, she hopes that this tourist will recognize the gold he struck, and will become a playwright just for the sole purpose of writing out the last month and the next year as a hilarious play.
After all, the hydro archon in disguise helping a poor tourist deceive his friends? Comedy gold!
Now that Furina thought about it, this could be exactly the distraction she needs to not think about her impending doom. She could just help this poor tourist for a few weeks or months, and then she'll reveal herself just as when he's about to leave Fontaine, and one day, they'll meet again after he made a massive comedy that'll no doubt last for the ages.
Her plan she came up with in a moment does hinge on the fact that he never hears the archon, but she was quite confident that he won't. After all, the chances of tourists managing to get into the Opera Epiclese is close to 0, as every Fontanian is rushing to try and watch a trial to hear the voice of their archon.
So, Furina puffed her chest out and gloated, "Well, I was here tonight to enjoy myself away from the crowds of stardom, as I am the most popular celebrity in Fontaine. Even if you're a tourist, you must have heard of me. As a connoisseur of the arts, I simply must help you on this journey so that one day, you will construct a marvelous play that I can watch in the future."
The man tilted his head, "You're really that popular?"
Furina's eye twitched, "What, you don't believe me?"
The man awkwardly laughed, "I mean, can you believe the amount of luck I would need for that? I mean, I can understand you being a celebrity, it would explain your clothes. But the most popular? I don't wish to be rude, but maybe your ego needs to be downsized for your own good…"
Furina had to remind herself that this was going to look hilarious in 5 years from now when she's seeing it happen on stage just so she didn't slap the man.
So, she just pouted, "Fine, you don't need to believe me. The alias I'm going under is Cloe, don't bother looking for my true name then, you won't find it if you're so inconsiderate of my popularity. And you are?"
"Momon," he answered, "It's nice to meet you, Cloe-sa- ah, Cloe."
Momon? What an odd name.
"Well, Momon," Furina said, testing the name on her lips. It was actually a very nice name, she should try and use it somewhere to try and popularize it some more, "I shall be your savior in Fontaine. And the first thing we must do… Is to fix that atrocious attire of yours!"
Momon looked down at his clothing, "What? What's wrong with it?"
"What's wrong with it is that you clearly just tossed on whatever you had in your suitcase!" Furina adamantly said, "We must fix this at once, and go visit a tailor!"
"This late at night?" Momon responded, "Are there even any open?"
Furina nodded, "Of course, there are districts in Fontaine dedicated to night owls. I frequently visit quite a few. We can find something your size."
Now that Furina noticed it, Momon was quite large, and was more than a few heads above her in height.
Hm, there are a few directors and playwrights who are famous not only for their plays, but also their looks. Momon could possibly be one of those…
Momon sighed, "Well, I don't have any money on me…"
Furina rolled her eyes. She should've guessed that he would've been more focused on learning the terrain of the city rather than actually buying anything. "Fine, we can go tomorrow night. Tonight, I can just guide you through the most important parts of this city so you don't embarrass your friends when morning comes."
"Really? Thank you, Cloe, I didn't expect you to do so much for me," Momon said, "Which does elicit the question of why you're doing so much on your day off…"
Furina smiled, "Well Momon, I simply believe you'll come up with a fantastic play one day, and I wish to watch it. And I will help you come up with that story. Now, let us head off."
Momon didn't respond for a second, before eventually he nodded, "Right."
They headed off on their merry way around Fontaine in the middle of the night.
After a few hours and many close calls where Furina was speaking far too loudly in the presence of others before switching to her sign language and whiteboard, they finished their tour of Fontaine.
The sun was starting to shine, and Furina knew that she was going to have an awful time getting up tomorrow, but she genuinely enjoyed spending the night with someone.
She just tried to forget the fact that it's only temporary, just like everyone else has been.
(Bitterly, she wishes Neuvillette was a night person so she could drag him with her. But that dragon sleeps at 10 PM sharp and spends most of his time doing work if he isn't sleeping.)
"Well," Furina said, looking in the direction of the sunrise, "I suppose we both must exit the stage so we don't get caught."
Momon nodded, "Yeah. Thank you for the tour, Cloe. We'll meet tonight at the same place and roughly the same time, then?"
Furina smiled back, "Right! I'll see you then, Momon."
"See you, Cloe." Momon said, turning around to leave.
Furina waved goodbye as she made her way back to her home. According to the clock, Neuvillette shouldn't be waking up for another hour, so she should be fine.
She was already feeling a bit saddened by the departure, so she looked back to Momon…
…but Momon had already disappeared.
Furina thought that was a bit odd, as this street didn't have an alleyway he could enter, and the only exits were to keep going straight, jump off the cliff, or to go down the sewers.
But Momon was oddly secretive about where he had come from. Perhaps he had some sort of mysterious past he didn't want anyone to find out.
…Which meant it was her duty to find out what that was! Ha, that play Momon will write is going to be amazing! She can hardly wait the 2, 3 years needed for it to become reality.
And so, she turned back and headed to the Palais Mermonia with a smile on her face.
CLASSIFIED INFORMATION ISSUED TO ALL FLOOR GUARDIANS OF THE GREAT UNDERGROUND TOMB OF NAZARICK.
Our benevolent and most Supreme Master, Ainz Ooal Gown-sama, has infiltrated the City of Fontaine! Ainz-sama has taken the initiative to enter the city without any protection. Yet, this has worked out most wonderfully as Ainz-sama has made contact with the False Goddess of Fontaine, Focalors/Furina (Her true name is still being discovered from our captives as they cannot agree on where the name Focalors is used in relation to Furina's title as the "Hydro Archon." However, the falsity of Focalors/Furina's divinity is guaranteed as Ainz-sama is the only true god.)
Ainz-sama played an immaculate deception upon the disguised false goddess, as Ainz-sama did not let a single hint slip that he knew of her true identity! And with his infinite wisdom, spent hours picking information out from her brain without rousing the slightest of suspicion!
This was the true reason why Ainz-sama left without any protection. For any of us would've no doubt aroused far too much suspicion, compromising the entire mission! But Ainz-sama was far too kind to let that happen, so he bravely went on his own, knowing with his vast foresight that the False Goddess would make contact with him unknowingly, allowing us to gain exclusive access to the top echelons of Fontaine!
Truly, Ainz-sama is a master that is most worthy of being the leader of the 41 Supreme Beings, and a master who we are all proud to serve.
We must hasten our plans to ensure that Ainz-sama will not be disappointed when he returns!
All hail Ainz Ooal Gown!
Demiurge.
Bonus Scene that I had to cut because I changed when Neuvillette left from the draft.
A few hours later, she was back on her throne in the Opera Epiclese, fighting to stay awake as her eyes were threatening to put her back to sleep.
She wanted to stay up. She really did. But this case involving whether or not people had the right to place down a sign on public property was really boring…
"Ahh…" Furina quietly moaned, "I should've just went to bed…"
"Did you say something, Lady Furina?" Clorinde asked from the side as she went to stand at her side.
"Oh!' Furina jumped up, wide awake, "Uh! No! Nothing!"
Clorinde looked at her for a few moments before shrugging, "Very well."
Furina sighed as slumped deeper into her chair.
That play better be worth all of the sleep she's going to miss…
AN:
This is a crackship I thought of in the shower lol. The line of thought was "Ainz had to pretend to be this cool guy that he wasn't. Furina had to pretend to be a god. Wait, they're both pretending to be a god. What if Furina was Skeletonsexual?" and voila, this fic.
It's also kind of weird because I'm a NeuviFuri shipper, but you know what, this story idea is hilarious in my head, so I'm just gonna write it.
Anyways, this story is gonna be published when I finish writing the entire fic, of which my prediction is about 8 chapters with maybe 20k words involved. This chapter is roughly 3k words long, so it should be fine. Will I get beta readers for this? Lmao no.
My other two active fics have 100k+ words and 300k+ words anyways, so they can handle being less updated for the duration of this fic being written.
The story is kinda convoluted and doesn't make sense if you think about it for like, 20 seconds. But that's the fun of it.
Also, to all of the Genshin x Overlord crossover writers, can y'all please update your fics I'm dying :(
[Since this fic is pre-written, you can read the entire fic in google docs if you wanted to. It's in the Grand Library of Ashurbanipal Discord server in my channel. You can get the link from my profile. Otherwise, this uploads weekly for the next 2 months every Sunday.] [This fic is now completed, so there is no longer a reason to go to the Discord. But you can still pop in anyways if you really want to.]
[Actually, I think the links in people's bios are broken on FFN because this is a dying website. Rip. Anyways, if you really want to find me, you can search for my Archive of Our Own profile by just searching Archive of Our Own Skryb and find the working links that way.]