Toriko: Gourmet Chat Group

As the group continued to eat the various zongzi, Focalors felt like she was about to cry. What kind of miserable life have I been living for the past five hundred years, just sharpening a blade in the dark every day?

"Furina, just how strong are you now? Be specific," Focalors asked curiously.

"How strong am I?"

The question actually stumped Furina. She had no idea what her full power was.

"Focalors, how about... we spar a little and find out?" Furina said suddenly, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

Pfft!

Kenji and Elysia couldn't help but burst out laughing. They looked at Focalors with great interest. This was just too delightful. They highly suspected that Furina was doing this as a little bit of intentional payback.

Huh? Me? Fight an Emanator of Preservation?

Focalors froze on the spot. Even with her limited understanding of an Emanator's power, she could feel the sheer immensity of the power contained within Furina's body.

Could I even win? Furina, are you trying to kill me?

"Pfft, hahaha! Focalors, you actually believed me?" Furina clutched her stomach, laughing so hard it hurt.

Kenji suspected that Furina might have been secretly glanced upon by Aha, the Aeon of Elation.

Focalors was speechless. How did my silly Fufu turn into this? Who on earth influenced her? She seemed to be trending towards becoming a full-blown prankster.

"My plan has been completely disrupted," Focalors sighed. "I was originally going to return the authority of the ancient dragons to Neuvillette, since the Heavenly Principles stole it from them."

Kenji spoke calmly, "Focalors, to the victor go the spoils. You can't really call it theft. In the battle between the Heavenly Principles and the ancient dragons, the Heavenly Principles were the victors. The dragons' power and authority are naturally the spoils of war. The winner takes all, and the loser bites the dust."

"The law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, has always been the rule of this world," he continued. "It's either the wolf dies or the sheep dies. Either the weak wolf starves, or the weak sheep gets eaten."

The victor becomes king, the loser is branded a bandit. Regardless of the beginning or the process, the final result is what decides everything. Focalors had thought about things too idealistically. The defeated have no right to decide anything; that is a privilege reserved for the winner. It was a cold, but very real, truth.

"I..." Focalors opened her mouth but found she couldn't refute his words. She wasn't an idiot, and what Kenji said was brutally simple and clear. Just look at the Archon War: the gods who survived to the end became the Seven Archons. They were the victors.

"You don't have to pay too much attention to what I said. Just focus on doing what you think is right," Kenji said. This Hydro Archon, Focalors, was truly unlucky, having been handed such a mess and tasked with finding a way to fix it.

"My, my ♪, I never thought you could say something so philosophical, Kenji," Elysia said, raising an eyebrow with a smile. Survival of the fittest... I understand it, but I can't quite accept it. Is there truly no paradise to be found?

Oh yes, there is. The Elysian Realm.

"Focalors, I've also learned a lesson," Furina said, clenching her fist. "If you want justice, you need a bigger fist." Without power, you can't accomplish anything. Her fist was the truth now. Anything else could talk to her shield.

Focalors sighed softly and rubbed her head, a look of resignation on her face. He had a point.

Now that there was a solution, Focalors no longer stayed in her little dark room. She joined Furina and the others in the outside world. The feeling of being out after five hundred years was strange, filled with novelty, curiosity...

"Neuvillette? What are you doing here?" Furina called out in surprise. Neuvillette was standing by the Fountain of Lucine, lost in thought.

"Lady Furina, what are you doing at the Opera Epiclese so late at night?"

"Hehe, nothing much. Do you recognize this person?" Furina grinned and pushed Focalors forward.

As expected, Neuvillette was stunned.

"You are... the Archon Focalors?" After a moment of thought, everything clicked into place. No wonder Furina had never felt like the true Hydro Archon for the past five hundred years. So she had been playing a part, a split persona.

"If I'm not mistaken," Neuvillette continued, "you have been the one controlling the Oratrice all this time, haven't you?" Some things hadn't made sense before, but the moment Focalors appeared, Neuvillette understood everything. For her to have not shown her face for five hundred years, she must have been planning something big.

"Neuvillette, for the last five hundred years, did you enjoy your role in this play?" Focalors asked softly.

Like hell I enjoyed it! Neuvillette screamed internally. Furina never processed a single document! I, the great Iudex, have been doing clerical work for five hundred years! If the other Sovereign Dragons found out, they would laugh themselves to death!

Of course, Neuvillette was too classy to voice such a complaint.

"This isn't the place to talk. Let's return to the Palais Mermonia." He took a deep breath. He still had many questions for Focalors, like what exactly her plan had been all these years. Now that she was out, did it mean the plan was about to be implemented, or that it was no longer necessary? He couldn't see through Furina's power now. Perhaps it was because of her that Focalors was able to walk free from the Oratrice.

"Focalors, Neuvillette, try this. It's a very delicious soup."

After returning to the Palais Mermonia, Furina poured them both a bowl of Century Soup, giggling to herself. Elysia had described the side effect to her; although the soup was incredibly delicious, the resulting smile was a work of art. She was a little curious to see what kind of expression Neuvillette would make after drinking it.

"It smells so good~" Focalors licked her lips, feeling her mouth water uncontrollably. What kind of soup was this? It even had an aurora effect. Was it a luminous dish?

Neuvillette observed the Century Soup. It was as clear as water, yet it carried the aroma of at least several hundred ingredients. It was unheard of. The "Air Water" Furina had brought him before was excellent, so he figured this soup must also be delicious.

Gulp—

"Ahhh..."

Neither of them thought Furina would poison them, so they drank a mouthful without hesitation. A rich, complex flavor exploded in their mouths. The feeling of satisfaction was so intense that their moods instantly brightened. Their eyes drooped, and their mouths curved upwards into a wide grin. While not as exaggerated as Komatsu and the others, it was still quite the expression.

Click—

I have to get a picture of this! Kenji pulled out a camera and recorded their embarrassing state. The very serious Iudex making such a smile... the image was simply too beautiful, like a hallucination. This trip was more than worth it.

Furina, you did well! Praise be to the Church of Furina!

"Hahaha..." Furina couldn't stop laughing. Tears streamed from her eyes. "The looks on your two faces are just priceless!"

Is that really Neuvillette? This is too funny! So lewd! This was something she could laugh about for the next two and a half years.

"Fu—ri—na—!" Neuvillette's face, now back to normal, instantly darkened as he watched her laugh hysterically. "Be turned... to foam!" He blasted her out of the Palais Mermonia with a powerful jet of water.

And I trusted you! Is it fun to tease an honest dragon?

"Haha, Neuvillette! I'll be back!" The blast didn't even break Furina's shield; it felt like being hit with a water gun. Seeing that expression on Neuvillette's face was totally worth it.

Suddenly, the sky above Fontaine was covered in dark clouds, and a torrential downpour began. Legend has it that when the Iudex of Fontaine cries, is sad, or is in a bad mood, it rains.

"Pfft, there there, little water dragon, don't cry," Focalors said, trying to console him with a laugh. Although the lewd smile was embarrassing, having Neuvillette share the experience made it hilarious.

Neuvillette's face grew even darker, and the hydro elements around him began to surge.

The tides... are about to return!

Years later, according to certain unofficial historical records: the disaster in Fontaine's prophecy was caused by Neuvillette.

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