Boom Boom Bakudan! Fontaine! [3/3]

[Temporarily closed, will be back after a few hours]

Placing a signboard at the front of his café, Isaac softly sighed. 'As much as I love staying inside and earning money... There are times when I have to make decisions.'

'However, the reward is quite promising.' Isaac lightly smirked. The reward was a television, after all.

Other than the manga he buys from the system, Isaac has no other source of entertainment. As such, having another form of it would be of great use to him, as well as others who visit his cafe.

"Haha! Wow! Everything's blue!" Behind him, the innocent and overly excited Klee was looking around the street.

"Don't run too far, Klee. Also, play safely." Isaac saw her running and playing everywhere and couldn't help but raise a few limits. 'If she accidentally drops one of her toys... I don't know how I'll handle the situation...'

"Hehe, don't worry Mister Isaac, I know how to play safely!" Klee turned her head and looked at him while crouching down in front of a flower bed. "Master Jean gave me rules when inside a city! I won't cause any disasters, I promise!"

And yes, Isaac took the time to give his name to her, and likewise, she also told her name to him. It would be weird if Isaac and Klee kept referring to each other as Demoiselle and Mister respectively, after all.

"Alright, let's go. For our first tour, I'll introduce you to Palais Mermonia." Isaac lightly shook his head with an amused expression. "Be sure to stay by my side and don't run off too far, alright?"

"I will! I can't wait to look around!" Klee ran to him said with enthusiasm. She then looked at her toy that was hung on her backpack. "Me and Dodoko would play everywhere!"

Isaac calmly nodded and soon, the two of them departed. True to Isaac's words, their first destination would be Palais Mermonia— the palace where the Hydro Archon and the Chief Justice reside.

It was quite the sight in the Court of Fontaine. All administrative matters were handled there— of course, by Monsieur Neuvillette. As for the ruler of the nation herself? She hardly takes an interest.

While walking down the street, something caught Klee's interest. She gasped at the sight of an approaching machine. "What is that? Is that a ruin guard, Mister Isaac?"

"Those are Gardemeks." Isaac calmly explained. "They help with the nation's security. They can be found in the military, police force, and even the working class."

"Oooh!" Klee heard Isaac's explanation and understood it instantly. "So they're like the Knights of Favonius of Fontaine?"

"Yes, they would be akin to the Knights." Isaac nodded his head with affirmation.

Soon, the two of them momentarily stopped as they watched the Gardemek walk past them, its mechanical churnings heard clearly.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Remembering something, Klee turned around and reached out for her backpack and took out a red notebook and a pack of crayons.

She then opened the notebook and started scribbling on it with her different crayons— all while standing up.

"Hm? Are you drawing the Gardemek?" Isaac probed as he leaned to look at her drawing. From what he could make from the childish drawings, she was drawing a humanoid figure that looked like the Gardemek they had seen earlier.

"That's right!" Klee nodded her head as she looked at him. "I like to draw new things I found! Look, I've got a bunch of them!"

She then presented the book to him and Isaac saw her various sketches. From Mondstadt's seelies to even what seemed like Andrius, the Wolf King.

'...did she meet the King of the Wolves?' Isaac saw her drawing and asked internally as he felt nervous. 'You know what? I'm not even gonna ask her. It is what it is.'

Isaac calmly waited for her to finish her drawing before the two of them continued their walk.

The two of them saw a lot of people as they walked, and, as a curious child, Klee also saw all sorts of new things. Such as the poodles dressed in clothes.

Just then, the two of them walked past a Melusine, and Klee instantly turned around. Klee then separated from Isaac and ran to the Melusine patrol who was skipping.

"Whoa! You're cute!" Klee approached the Melusine with a playful and innocent voice.

"No— Klee!" Isaac instantly turned around and looked at Klee.

"Ah— young miss, please let go of my hand..." The Melusine, who was almost the size of Klee, tried to gently let go of Klee's hand which was shaking their hand. "Although I would love to play with you, this is not the appropriate time!"

"Oh... Sorry..." Klee let go of her hand and replied with a dispirited voice.

"I'm really sorry, officer." Isaac quickly interjected between them and apologized to the Melusine.

"It's alright." The Melusine let out a soft sigh and soon smiled. "Human children often do this, so we Melusines know how to handle the situation."

"Thank you for your understanding, officer." Isaac also felt relieved that the Melusine didn't feel offended.

Soon, the three of them reached an understanding and the Melusine went back to their patrol.

"You mustn't do that, Klee." Isaac lowered his head and looked at Klee as he spoke with a calm tone.

"I know... But they just looked so cute..." Klee replied with a dispirited expression. "I didn't mean to hurt them..."

"It's good that you learned something." Isaac lightly scoffed. "In the future, when you meet people like the Melusines, be sure to talk to them first before getting touchy, alright?"

"I will!" Klee, who had now learned a new rule for herself, nodded with a determined expression.

"That's good. As long as you do no harm, you can do as you wish." Isaac felt like a teacher giving his pupil a life lesson right now. And to be honest, he kinda of likes it. 'Acting like this makes me sound wise... I might try this more in the future.'

*

*

*

The two of them chatted a bit more before finally arriving at the center of the Court of Fontaine. Klee saw the rotating core at the center of the plaza and didn't miss the chance to draw it.

They then took the elevator and went up. After a few moments, they finally arrived in front of Palais Mermonia.

Isaac then got curious about something and looked at the public clock which was near the elevator. 'It's already sharp noon? An hour and a half already passed...'

'Time flies when you're babysitting.' Isaac sighed internally. He then looked at Klee as he pointed at the palace in front of them. "Well then, Klee. Here is Palais Mermonia— the palace where our beloved Hydro Archon and respected Chief Justice resides."

Before Isaac could finish explaining, Klee had already run off toward Palais Mermonia. Since it was only a single pathway leading to the palace, Isaac wasn't worried that she'd be lost.

'...children.' Isaac watched her run before shaking his head with a light scoff before also walking.

It didn't take a while for Isaac to catch up to Klee as the latter was busy looking around. They were, after all, quite high up. It was the perfect vantage point.

Soon, the two of them stood by the path leading to Palais Mermonia and looked at the Court of Fontaine it's entirety.

"Look— if you look at your left, you can see the famous Opera Epiclese." Isaac pointed his hand before looking at Klee. "..."

"I can't see anything!" He then realized that she was too short to look past the railings.

He then thought for a moment before getting an idea. "Pardon my rudeness," He soon gently lifted her and placed her on his shoulder. "How is it? Can you see now?"

"Whoa!" Klee, who was suddenly lifted, marveled at the sight presented to her. A soft gentle breeze brushed past her face while being lifted by Isaac. "So this is Fontaine!"

Isaac nodded. He then continued with what he was saying earlier. "As I was saying, if you look at your left you'll see Opera Epiclese, most commonly known as the Opera House. It's where Fontaine's trials are held."

'Just don't notice the thing that looks like a head cutter without a blade in front of it...' Isaac silently prayed.

"Oooh! I can see it! Can we go there, Mister Isaac?" Klee, who saw the Opera House, lowered her head and looked at Isaac with anticipation.

'That's way above my pay!' Isaac internally lampooned. He then put up a wry smile, "Forgive me, Klee. Perhaps a chance in the future."

"Oh, well I understand." Klee didn't seem to be too disheartened by this and nodded her head.

Isaac calmly nodded before he pointed in another direction where flying ruins could be seen. "Now if you look at your far left, you'll see the former Fontaine Research Institute."

"Due to an accident a few months ago, the research institute is now a floating attraction," Isaac explained to her. "However, for now, it's off-limits to the public."

"Now, finally, if you look at your far right, you'll see Elynas— where the Melusines live." He then pointed at the right side, pointing at a mountain. "There are a lot of stories regarding Elynas, if there's a chance, I can tell some of them to you if you want."

Isaac then finished speaking and was finally about to let Klee down. Just then, while putting her down, something slipped out of her backpack.

Isaac saw what it looked like and his reflex moved faster than his thoughts and he quickly caught it. 'I-Is that a Humpty Dumpty?!'

With a fast-beating heart and cold sweat, Isaac quietly and carefully slid the "toy" back into Klee's bag and placed her down.

He just stopped an arson from happening.

He then quickly tried to change and shift the conversation. "W-Well? How is it? Although there is more to Fontaine for you to see, Klee, this is what I can show you for now."

"It's fine," Klee, oblivious to what just happened, shook her head. "I liked this tour very much, Mister Isaac! I got to see new things and draw them too!"

"I'm glad you liked it." Isaac let out a sigh of relief with a gentle smile. He then looked at her with languid eyes. "Well then, now that we've finished our tour, isn't it time for us to return? I'm sure you'd want to go back to Mondstadt now."

"Yeah, I'm getting hungry," Klee said as she patted her stomach. She then looked at Isaac once more. "Let's go back, Mister Isaac!"

Isaac nodded. "Sure."

Soon, a barrage of notifications bombarded his face.

[+15]

[+15]

[+15]

[+10]

[...]

Everything went smoothly.

Klee got to explore the Court of Fontaine.

Isaac learned how to watch over a child.

Nothing exploded.

He reaped system points.

And most importantly, he would now get his reward.

All according to keikaku.

However, there was one problem that he hadn't anticipated.

High on top of Palais Mermonia, on an unsuspecting window, a person with grayish-white hair that had a big ahoge looked Isaac's departing figure.

'Oh? It's that man again...' She curiously looked.