Dinner was unusually quiet.

Because Su Ran really had prepared mushrooms.

He had even placed two sliced mushrooms neatly on Arlecchino’s plate as garnish.

Round and pale—

They looked eerily like her eyes.

If not for the killing intent radiating faintly from Arlecchino, Navia might have burst out laughing.

Arlecchino finished every last piece of steak on her plate—

But she never touched the two mushrooms.

The fact that she could sit there this long without flipping the table was already impressive.

To be fair, aside from those two mushrooms, the meal was excellent.

Better than any restaurant Arlecchino had ever visited in Fontaine.

"So grown up, yet still picky with food?"

Su Ran clearly disapproved of unfinished plates.

More importantly—

He wanted to see Arlecchino eat those mushrooms.

Of course, if she hadn’t specifically mentioned "eyes" during their earlier stare-down, he might not have connected the dots so quickly.

So in a way—

This was partly her own fault.

Arlecchino stared at the mushrooms.

She felt blatantly provoked.

In the end, with a cold expression, she ate them.

Su Ran and Navia almost lost control.

But they held back their laughter out of respect.

For Navia, this dinner strangely felt like eating at home.

As for Su Ran and the Knave—

They felt like siblings who loved bickering.

Childish.

But warm.

Navia didn’t have siblings.

She hadn’t felt something like family in a long time.

And to her surprise—

She felt it here.

From two Fatui Harbingers.

"Arlecchino-chan isn’t allowed to be picky either~~"

Su Ran casually dropped the two mushrooms from his own plate into his daughter’s bowl.

Little Arlecchino: ...

Since you’re my father and my master, I won’t expose you.

But anyone with eyes could tell who the real picky eater was.

The Knave was annoyed.

But helpless.

The power gap was too large.

If she could truly retaliate, she absolutely would.

But realistically—

She had no means to oppose him.

"Dinner’s over. Time to prepare for the experiment. Navia, anything you want to say? If you don’t say it now, you might not get another chance."

"Eh?!"

Navia’s good mood instantly flipped.

"There’s danger involved?"

"Every surgery carries risk. It’s only a matter of probability."

Su Ran could ensure her safety.

But even he wouldn’t promise zero risk.

"Th-Then... should I write a will?"

Navia suddenly felt like she’d boarded a pirate ship.

"That works. Since I’ve helped so much, make sure you leave your inheritance to me."

"W-What—?! Where are we?!"

In the blink of an eye, Navia found herself somewhere completely unfamiliar.

Arlecchino immediately became alert. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

An environment that changes without warning—

Dangerous.

"My space station. Only equipment at this level can guarantee I modify Fontainian genes as quickly as possible."

Given enough time, Su Ran could theoretically analyze the Hydro Dragon’s ancient authority directly.

But that would be pointless.

It offered him little improvement.

Why waste effort deciphering a Dragon Sovereign’s power just to absolve Fontainians?

He’d rather run another Simulated Universe.

A small robot approached Navia.

A beam of light scanned her body.

Before Su Ran appeared a projection panel displaying every detail—

Including the contents of her stomach.

He could even tell what she had eaten for breakfast and lunch.

After finishing Navia, the robot habitually scanned the next target nearby.

Arlecchino.

She tried to block it.

Too late.

The scan was instantaneous.

Data uploaded to the station’s system.

"Well now~ Arlecchino, didn’t expect that. You’ve got quite the figure. Not inferior to Signora at all."

Even wrapped tightly in clothing—

Technology left nothing hidden.

"What did you do?"

Seeing her full-body model appear on the screen, Arlecchino’s vigilance spiked.

"Just checking your physical and mental health. Your curse is already severe. If it reaches your heart... you might not be you anymore."

Su Ran glanced at her blackened hands.

The darker and further the markings spread—

The stronger her power.

But also—

The deeper the erosion.

Navia glanced at Arlecchino’s exposed hands.

Black.

Elegant.

Almost beautiful—

If one didn’t know it was a curse.

"Don’t worry! Since Mr. Genius can solve the Fontainian dissolution problem, removing a curse should be easy too!"

Even though Arlecchino was a Fatui Harbinger she barely knew—

Navia instinctively offered comfort.

Arlecchino looked at her in slight surprise.

"I’m used to it."

The erosion.

The whispers.

She had long grown accustomed.

But Navia—

Reminded her faintly of someone from her memories.

A child much like this one.

—------------------------------

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