"You said what?! The culprit behind the missing girls case is Uncle Marcel?!"
After regrouping, Clorinde and the others once again soared into the sky on beams of golden light.
Upon hearing the name Shajin mentioned, Navia's mouth dropped open in shock—wide enough to fit an egg.
Shajin tilted his head, curious like a kitten.
"What? You know him?"
Navia nodded, her expression conflicted, like a jar of mixed emotions had been spilled open inside her.
"Yeah… he's the chairman of the Confrerie of Cabriere—my father personally supported him and helped build it up."
"At first, they only did basic buy-low, sell-high deals, but now the business has ballooned like a snowball rolling downhill. They're practically citywide."
Shajin raised an eyebrow, his look practically saying, Oh? You don't believe me? Then he grinned. "Perfect. I'll show you the evidence myself~"
Wrapped in golden light, the group shot down like meteors.
In the blink of an eye, they plunged into the ocean, swallowed by the deep.
Then, slipping into an underwater tunnel, Shajin led them swiftly through the passage until they reached its far end.
Furina smacked her lips and gasped, "I can't believe there's such a creepy place so close to the heart of Fontaine. This looks like… some sort of lab…"
Shajin casually popped open a nearby crate. Like a curious little squirrel, Furina leaned in to peek inside.
"What's in here… Eh? These are all pretty cute things~"
"Pink accessories, hairbands, necklaces, makeup cases…"
"Wait? There are names next to them…"
"Items labeled with different girls' names—what's that supposed to mean?"
Clorinde narrowed her eyes, thoughtful. "These must be… the victims from the 'missing girls case.'"
Furina staggered back a step, as if she'd just seen a monster.
"Uwah?! They were brought here?!"
"And then… turned into water…"
Shajin glanced at the others. No one looked particularly disturbed—perhaps he'd interpreted Furina's reaction as one of her usual theatrical performances?
After all, it was pretty dramatic.
He then picked up a nearby notebook and began flipping through it casually.
Navia pressed her lips together tightly.
"If there are this many boxes… then that must mean…"
Without even skimming the rest, Shajin strode forward and picked up a report, then handed it to Navia.
She saw the name printed boldly at the top—it was her father's.
"Callas."
"Find someone to kill Jacques and Callas. I don't trust Jacques to carry it out…"
"We haven't uncovered the key intelligence Callas fed to the gang members yet."
"That old dog is too slippery. Even if he holds to his word, the advantage is still in his hands."
"If he wants to move against us, he can strike at any time. The only way to solve this… is to kill him."
"Fair point. Just make sure not to touch Navia—so long as she's unharmed, the old dog won't bite."
"…"
Navia's fists slowly clenched.
Clorinde looked around the lab, eyes narrowing.
"…Huh?"
She seemed to have noticed something.
Walking toward a pile of crates on the ground, she opened one up.
"These… they're all Sinthe."
"And these bottles… they're filled with the raw stuff—what must be the so-called Primordial Sea Water."
"In Progress, Completed, Samples…"
"Hmph. Pretty neatly categorized."
Furina cautiously stepped up to a lab bench.
"Experiment No. 16. Goal: to verify and expand on Jakob Ingold's conclusions regarding the Primordial Sea…"
"Experiment failed. No human form emerged from the water. Girls No. 22, 23, and 24 were dissolved…"
"Who the heck writes something so horrifying in such a cold, clinical tone?!"
Shajin moved beside Furina, leaning in ever so slightly.
She could feel his breath brushing against her ear.
Too… too close!
"Furina, you didn't finish reading."
"The researcher's goal…"
"…was to revive his lover—Vigneire—who had been dissolved."
Shajin handed the notebook to the others.
Navia took it, and the three of them began reading together.
Navia blinked.
"Mm… this just looks like a normal love diary? Kinda sweet, actually."
Clorinde pointed to a page.
"Check this part."
"She's picking out baby names."
Furina glanced over it.
"So many names… An entire page full, all crossed out. None of them made the cut?"
"Let me see…"
"The one they settled on in the end was…"
"Marcel?!"
"Wait, that can't be right—Marcel's way older. If he's the son of Vacher and Vigneire, then the missing girls case would've had to start ages ago!"
Flick!
"Ow! Shajin, why'd you flick my forehead?!"
Shajin retracted his "culprit finger" with a grin.
"Let me break it down for you~"
"Marcel's real name is Vacher. He and his lover Vigneire were once adventuring partners."
"During one underwater expedition, Vigneire came into contact with the Primordial Sea Water and dissolved before Vacher's very eyes."
"With help from others, Vacher learned about the existence of the Primordial Sea, and began kidnapping young girls to experiment—trying to restore Vigneire."
"To hide his crimes, he took on the alias Marcel and started a business."
"Later in his research, Vacher discovered that diluted Sea Water had euphoric effects, so he began selling Sinthe."
"While raising funds for his continued experiments, he clashed with the Spina Di Rosula."
"After a long period of both overt and covert conflict, he planned to assassinate their leader—Callas—at a banquet."
"Though the plan went awry, he used the Sea Water to dissolve the real killer and framed Callas for the murder."
"More recently, he tried the same tactic again—this time to frame Lyney for the missing girls case."
"But that plan failed, and the truth about the Sea Water was exposed."
"Still, to try and frame the Fatui? Either gutsy or just plain dumb~"
Navia gathered up the evidence.
"We have to move fast. Let's go expose Marcel—no, Vacher—for who he really is!"
…
But just as the group rushed back to the Opéra Épiclès, they were met with breaking news:
Someone had already been named as the culprit in the "missing girls case."
And that person was…
The Eleventh Fatui Harbinger—Childe, Tartaglia.
Shajin: ????
_
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