Genshin Impact: Joining the Genius Society-Chapter 119: Arlecchino Can’t Keep a Straight Face

Chapter 119: Chapter 119: Arlecchino Can’t Keep a Straight Face
"..."
In the
House of the Hearth
in Fontaine,
Arlecchino
silently closed the light novel in her hands.
Her expression was unreadable.
So
this
was what the so-called "Genius" had been talking about?
When Su Ran first mentioned his... "research," she had thought he was referring to something dangerous, some grand, world-shaking experiment.
But after reading these
light novels
from Inazuma, she could only come to one conclusion:
"He’s insane."
There was no other explanation.
He’d left
Columbina
and
Sandrone
alone— yet for some reason,
she
had caught his attention?
Even as a woman herself, Arlecchino was painfully aware that she didn’t exactly ooze "feminine charm."
And
this
was the person who had supposedly piqued Su Ran’s interest?
How desperate was that man?
"Father," a soft, cat-eared girl beside her spoke up timidly, "should I... bring you more of those?"
Three young boys and girls were seated nearby— the children of the House of the Hearth.
The one who had spoken was
Lynette
, her calm, doll-like face framed by silver hair and feline ears.
Compared to her brothers, she had more curiosity about such things.
After all, girls were naturally more drawn to stories of love and emotion.
"No need."
Arlecchino shook her head firmly.
She had seen enough.
In fact, she now had a new label for these books:
Corruptive trash literature.
"From now on," she said coldly, "light novels like these are
banned
in the House of the Hearth.
They’ll only
corrupt
you."
The children froze.
Lynette’s expression went blank.
She had thought that sharing these novels with "Father" might give them something to bond over— that maybe, for once, she’d found a common hobby.
But now...?
Why had reading them only made Father
angrier?
And what did "corrupt" even mean?
"But... Father, those stories—"
"If you have objections, speak them," Arlecchino said softly.
She wasn’t unkind with her children.
Her tone carried the firmness of a strict but loving parent.
To the children of the Hearth, Arlecchino was both a protector and a figure of awe.
They all firmly believed:
Father can’t be wrong.
"Why was Father interested in these books to begin with?"
Though she didn’t say it aloud, Lynette silently vowed vengeance on whoever had introduced
such nonsense
to her Father.
"It was the Genius," Arlecchino said.
The moment she uttered the name, the room went still.
"You mean... the
new Second Harbinger
?"
Now
Lyney
was intrigued.
To the children of the House of the Hearth, the
Fatui Harbingers
were near-mythic figures to be admired— even the lowest-ranked
Childe
.
But the Second?
He had become
legendary
almost overnight.
Lynette’s ears drooped.
"Yes," Arlecchino said quietly.
"A very... peculiar individual."
When he’d gone quiet for a while after leaving for Inazuma, she’d assumed he was focusing on his duties.
But lately, rumors about him had exploded again— this time, all centered on
Liyue.
"He’s dangerous," she warned.
"Not mad like the Doctor, but dangerous all the same.
If you ever meet him—stay away."
Su Ran was unlike any Harbinger she’d ever known.
Even
Childe
seemed more normal by comparison.
The s she’d heard from the
Captain
still chilled her to this day.
The man who could crush a Harbinger in three blows... and only spared him because the
Tsaritsa herself
had begged for mercy.
Even the Captain, who feared nothing—not pain, not death— had spoken of him with a trace of
unease.
"So," came a voice from the door, "is that fear I hear... or have you even lost the courage to be afraid?"
The large double doors of the Hearth swung open.
All four inside—the Harbinger and her three wards—instinctively tensed.
Someone had entered
without knocking.
An intruder?
Unthinkable.
And yet the voice was... oddly familiar.
As the door creaked wider, their gazes dropped toward the sound of tiny footsteps.
A small, doll-like figure stepped into view.
"You..."
Arlecchino’s composure faltered for the first time in years.
It was
her.
Or rather— a
miniature version
of her.
Ever since that ill-fated visit to the Genius’s workshop— a visit she had only taken because
Signora
had insisted—
Arlecchino had been... unsettled.
Because she had discovered that the Genius had recreated, in painstaking mechanical form,
every female Harbinger
— and even the
Tsaritsa
herself.
Each doll’s personality eerily matched the original.
And now, one of those dolls—
Arlecchino-chan
— was standing right here.
"Father?"
The youngest boy,
Freminet
, blinked in confusion, gazing back and forth between the real Arlecchino and her pint-sized duplicate.
"I thought you never left the workshop," the real one said, her tone clipped and wary.
"As long as I my movements, it’s fine," the tiny doll replied cheerfully.
"A
mature
father doesn’t need to chain his children down."
She hopped onto the tea table, then leapt gracefully onto a chair, crossing her legs with the poise of an aristocrat.
Lynette’s eyes sparkled with admiration.
Small Father is so cute...
I want to hold her... and pet her...
"What are you here for?"
Arlecchino’s voice hardened again.
The doll’s presence could only mean one thing— the Genius was meddling in Fontaine’s affairs.
And she wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.
"For this," the doll said simply.
She raised her hand, and a small, sky-blue
chess piece
floated above her palm.
Arlecchino froze.
"A... Gnosis?"
She had weathered countless storms during her time in Fontaine— but this... this was different.
"Why do
you
have that?"
She had spent years in Fontaine, working toward that very goal, yet progress had been painfully slow.
And now this
miniature copy
of her had waltzed in holding the prize in her hand.
"A little coercion, a little persuasion," the doll said airily.
"And
Focalors
handed it over herself."
"You of all people should understand, right?
She wouldn’t want her secrets getting out."
Arlecchino stared at her, utterly dumbfounded.
"You... used the same trick he used on me?"
The doll smirked.
"After reading so many light novels, surely you’ve learned
something
about leverage?"
Arlecchino: "..."
She wanted to scream.
She
knew
those novels were a mistake!
"And how do you even know Focalors’s secret?"
"That," the doll said, with a smug little smile, "is classified."
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