"Neuvillette, look at me properly!"
"I really do have something very important to tell you!"
Furina's head popped out from beside him, her lips pressed into a thin line, clearly displeased by Neuvillette's complete indifference.
"Speak. I'm listening."
Neuvillette didn't even lift his head, continuing to read the document.
Repeated attempts to make progress had yielded little, and the search for the Melusine remained fruitless. Compounded by the recent string of murders, Neuvillette was in no mood for Furina's antics.
"Neuvillette, I am the Hydro Archon of Fontaine! How can you not trust me even in the slightest?!"
"I've already told you it's about something important—related to the murderer!"
Neuvillette finally set down the documents in his hand and turned his gaze to Furina.
Not because he believed her, but because he figured the best way to focus on his work was to deal with her first.
Seeing that Neuvillette had finally turned his attention to her, Furina triumphantly declared,
"The murderer can impersonate others! To prevent our people from being infiltrated, we can use secret codes to verify each other's identities!"
"Lady Furina, Miss Clorinde already suggested this earlier."
"Is there anything else? If not, please leave."
"Clorinde already suggested that?" Furina asked, stunned.
Furina froze in place, a little embarrassed.
But seeing Neuvillette trying to dismiss her, Furina naturally refused to leave. After all, her ultimate goal in coming here was to have Neuvillette protect her.
"Wait, wait! I have something else to discuss!"
Neuvillette had just picked up the next document when Furina slammed it back down, instantly giving him a headache.
"What is it now?"
"Neuvillette, have you forgotten we haven't agreed on a secret code yet? What if someone impersonates us?"
Neuvillette was speechless.
"If someone impersonates me, I can simply pass judgment on them."
"And if they impersonate you, the murderer won't be able to deceive my eyes."
Furina's eyes lit up.
"Neuvillette, I didn't realize you cared about me so much! You know me so well!"
"No, I just think ordinary people couldn't possibly imitate you."
Furina: "???"
"Alright, enough small talk. You may leave now."
"Ah, Neuvillette, don't kick me out!"
"Actually, my deductive reasoning skills are quite sharp too! Let me see what trouble you're facing—I might even offer a brilliant solution!"
"Oh, and another thing! It's been ages since I've held a public meet-and-greet. Neuvillette, when will you have time to accompany me?"
Furina flitted from Neuvillette's left side to his right, chattering incessantly and driving him to the brink of madness.
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Neuvillette grabbed the incessantly talking Furina and dragged her out of the room, tossed her out, and returned to his seat.
Much quieter now.
Yet no sooner had Neuvillette begun reviewing a document than the door creaked open, a pale blue strand of hair peeking in to survey the situation.
Neuvillette's eye twitched slightly. He pushed the cake he'd been saving for lunch into Furina's arms and promptly tossed her out again.
Back at his desk, Neuvillette let out a soft sigh and resumed his work.
Yet just as he picked up the fourth file, ready to examine it, the door swung open again.
"Neuvillette, your cakes are delicious! Do you have any more?"
Bang!
The sound of the door slamming shut.
Click!
The sound of the door being locked.
This time, Neuvillette processed a significant number of documents smoothly. Locking the door truly was the most effective way to improve work efficiency.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door.
"Monsieur Neuvillette, here are the latest official documents requiring your review."
Neuvillette rose from his seat and opened the door.
To his surprise, Furina was still there, though she hadn't tried to force her way in. Instead, she was crouched in a corner, drawing circles on the floor.
As Neuvillette accepted the documents from the Melusine, he noticed something was amiss and asked, "What is Miss Clorinde doing right now?"
"Monsieur Neuvillette, Miss Clorinde appears to be investigating the sudden appearance of those recording conches on the streets."
Neuvillette nodded, finally understanding why Furina had come to his office today.
"Monsieur Neuvillette, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
After handing the items to Neuvillette, the Melusine hurried away.
Neuvillette glanced at Furina, who was still squatting on the ground, drawing circles with her finger. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Come in."
Furina's body froze at the sound of Neuvillette's voice, then slowly stood up, her face etched with disbelief.
"M-me?"
"Keep quiet and don't disturb my work," Neuvillette nodded.
Furina immediately let out a cheer. "Wonderful, Neuvillette! I knew you were the best!"
With that, she happily skipped into Neuvillette's office.
Neuvillette watched Furina's exuberant figure with a helpless shake of his head.
Just as he was about to close the door and return to his desk, he noticed a small, ferocious-looking figure drawn on the ground where Furina had been squatting. The drawing depicted a creature with a mouth twice the size of its body, spewing water directly at a nearby vase.
A vein throbbed on Neuvillette's forehead, but he couldn't bring himself to kick Furina out again. Instead, he instructed the kitchen to cancel her dessert.
The day finally arrived for the agreed-upon exchange. Neuvillette personally escorted the soulless Vacher to the designated location early that morning.
During this time, Neuvillette had endured immense mental anguish. Every moment brought the risk of new victims, yet he could only wait, unable to find any useful leads.
For days, he had tirelessly sampled water from every corner of Fontaine, but the unknown force remained as elusive as if it didn't exist at all.
Neuvillette truly couldn't fathom where this entity had emerged from or why he had never uncovered any intelligence about it in all these centuries.
If it weren't for the ever-increasing number of victims and the random locations of the incidents across Fontaine, Neuvillette would have begun to doubt whether this force even truly existed.
As each minute ticked by, Neuvillette's heart grew heavier with each passing moment.
The rain had begun to fall unnoticed long ago. The Melusine who had accompanied Neuvillette to this place, along with the guards watching the perimeter, showed no inclination to seek shelter. They remained silent and motionless, patiently awaiting the appointed hour.
As the agreed-upon time drew near, a figure emerged from the distance.
Upon spotting the silhouette, the crowd immediately tensed, weapons at the ready.
"Punctual as ever, Neuvillette," the newcomer remarked.
The speaker was a strikingly young man, his voice sounding no older than his early twenties. He wore a wooden mask that concealed his face, leaving only his eyes and mouth visible.
Knowing that this was one of the members of the Criminal Organization they had been hunting for so long, the crowd's emotions surged. They glared fiercely at him, their hands twitching toward their weapons.
Sensing the hostility in their gazes, the masked man scoffed, "Don't just stare. If you have a problem, why don't you just make your move?"
"Rest assured, I won't resist."
"But you must understand this: if anything happens to me, I guarantee even more people will suffer the consequences!"
Hearing the man's words, someone couldn't contain their anger and roared back.
"Haven't you already killed enough people?!"
"Then make your move!" the man retorted even louder, instantly inciting the crowd. They all turned to Neuvillette, ready to swarm the man and teach him a lesson the moment he gave the order.
But Neuvillette, far more composed, addressed the man calmly.
"We've brought the person you asked for. Where's the hostage?"
"Patience, Neuvillette. I need to verify the merchandise first, don't I?" the man chuckled softly.
"With your overwhelming numbers, we weaklings naturally have to be extra cautious."
Neuvillette shot him a penetrating look before instructing his men to help Vacher forward.
"Tsk, tsk... This goods aren't up to standard," the man remarked, his eyes gleaming with malice.
The man glanced at Vacher and shook his head.
"Are you trying to back out of the deal?!"
Feeling the angry glares from all around, the man continued calmly.
"How can you call this backing out?"
"We made it perfectly clear from the start: hand over Marcel, and we'll release two hostages."
"A two-for-one exchange? That's already an exceptionally good deal."
"Yet you tried to pull a fast one on us, sending us an incomplete 'delivery.' You're the ones who broke the agreement."
"Vacher was already in this state when we discussed the exchange."
Neuvillette looked at the man and calmly explained.
"With your resources, uncovering this information wouldn't have been difficult. If you don't believe me, you can investigate yourselves."
"That's your problem, not ours. You failed to properly secure your 'merchandise.' So many of you, yet utterly useless."
Unfazed, the man suddenly smiled and proposed.
"How about this? I've always been soft-hearted."
"Even though you only brought half the agreed-upon goods, that already constitutes deception on your part."
"Yet I'm willing to overlook past grievances and still do business with you."
The man raised a single finger and whispered, "One!"
"You can only save one of the two hostages!"
"Come now, make your choice, Neuvillette!"
"The Maison Gardiennage officer or the Melusine? I eagerly await your decision!"
"What did you say?!"
"Demons!"
"You bunch of lunatics!"
The crowd erupted in fury at the man's words. Their gazes pierced him like knives, wishing they could tear him apart with their eyes alone.
The man merely cast them a contemptuous glance before continuing.
"Before I even arrived here, the two hostages had already been imprisoned in separate, distant locations, each rigged with a timed bomb."
Neuvillette's hand clenched into a fist, his gaze growing colder by the second.
With such elaborate preparations, it was clear the man had never intended to negotiate in good faith!
In other words, the enemy had known Vacher's condition from the start. They had only proposed the exchange to mock him!
"Bastards! You damn demons!"
"Come on, make a move! You bunch of cowards!"
The crowd glared at the man with furious eyes, but he remained unfazed, taunting them relentlessly.
"If you want to keep wasting time, I couldn't care less."
"Where are they?" Neuvillette demanded, taking a deep breath and speaking each word deliberately.
The man merely smirked. "Neuvillette, we've already made a preliminary assessment of your strength. The time we've given you won't be enough to save both of them!"
"Now, let's see your choice, Neuvillette. They're both..."
The man then revealed two locations: one on the northern end of the island, the other on the southern end.
"The Maison Gardiennage officer is to the north, while the Melusine is to the south. You'd better make your choice quickly, Neuvillette!"
"Otherwise, you might end up saving neither of them. That won't be our fault—we gave you a chance."
Without a moment's hesitation, Neuvillette soared into the air at his maximum speed, surging southward like a ferocious torrent.
The overwhelming aura emanating from Neuvillette sent the man flying several meters before he crashed heavily to the ground.
Lying on his back, the man stared up at the sight in stunned silence before erupting into maniacal laughter.
"Just as I thought!" he howled. "This choice was no challenge for you at all, Neuvillette!"
"Because in your heart, there's only the Melusine! Ha ha ha ha!"
"Look at Monsieur Neuvillette, the one you trust so blindly! See how biased he is!"
"Don't slander Monsieur Neuvillette!" the crowd roared.
The others present didn't let the man's words plant seeds of doubt in their minds. Though they were astonished by the raw power Neuvillette had displayed, their hearts soon burned with renewed hope.
If Monsieur Neuvillette possesses such power, perhaps he can save both of them!
Of course, they also dispatched some of the fastest among them to rush toward the other location and attempt a rescue there.
The remaining members swarmed around the man lying on the ground, eager to teach him a lesson and vent their pent-up frustration and rage.
Seeing this, the man's laughter gradually subsided, but he showed no signs of panic.
"Oh dear, looks like you're the ones making the first move..."