Fontaine, Opéra Épique.
Furina, the Hydro Archon, rose from her exclusive high seat.
"Ahem… Do not let a person's appearance sway your judgment. This is of utmost importance, for emotions can cloud reason."
Furina's sudden remark, though not directly tied to the case at hand, wasn't entirely irrelevant either.
The words came from Fontaine's recently serialized detective novel—
The Adventures of Furmes.
And the culprit in this case was an imitator of this very novel.
Neuvillette, though exasperated, could do little about Furina's antics. The statement did have some relevance.
The culprit, appearing honest at first glance, had nearly fooled the Special Patrol.
Fortunately, Captain Chevreuse's keen insight led to his capture.
Having finished her performance, Furina was in high spirits, urging Neuvillette to deliver the verdict and close the case.
After all, today was the release day for the serialized publication, and she had to hurry back to read the newspaper.
Meanwhile, on the third floor of The Steambird, chaos reigned.
Editor-in-Chief Euphrasie sat at her desk, her head pounding.
Was something wrong with Teacher Lingyuan? Why would he submit this manuscript?
Was this even publishable?
They had agreed on a fifty-fifty split for the manuscript fees. He couldn't possibly be unaware of how massive The Adventures of Furmes was in Fontaine.
And now, to submit something like this…
Knock knock knock—
"Come in."
Euphrasie looked up to see Charlotte.
Charlotte spoke, "What's going on, Chief? The third floor's in an uproar. Is there big news for the evening edition?"
"See for yourself." Euphrasie pushed the manuscript across the desk to Charlotte.
Charlotte picked it up and saw it was the draft for the evening's Furmes publication.
Her expression shifted as she read the title: "The Final Problem?"
This title felt like trouble.
However, Teacher Lingyuan wasn't one for clickbait.
Could this really be the grand finale?
That didn't make sense. Given Furmes' popularity, Lingyuan's manuscript fees had surpassed those of every author in The Steambird—perhaps even all of Fontaine.
Subscriptions to The Steambird had skyrocketed several times over because of him.
There was no reason to suddenly end it.
Was he out of ideas? Had his talent run dry?
With these questions, Charlotte finished reading "The Final Problem."
She finally understood why her colleagues and Editor-in-Chief Euphrasie were so frantic.
This wasn't just Furmes' final case.
In the ending, both the detective and the villainous professor plunged off a cliff together, falling into a bottomless abyss.
If this content went out, people might storm The Steambird's doors tonight, demanding Lingyuan's address.
The problem was, they didn't even know who Teacher Lingyuan was or what he looked like.
The only clue was that he likely lived in Liyue.
That was because Lingyuan's private agent was a cheerful Liyue girl named Yanfei.
Self-proclaimed legal consultant, she handled all business related to The Adventures of Furmes with The Steambird.
Charlotte approached Euphrasie.
"Chief, I recall Teacher Lingyuan had a condition: no matter what he submits, as long as it doesn't violate Fontaine's customs or laws, it must be published, right?"
"That's why I'm getting a headache…"
Euphrasie crossed her arms, rubbing her temples.
"Forget that for now. Why did you come to see me?"
Euphrasie decided to change the subject. At this point, they'd probably have to treat a dead horse as if it were alive.
Charlotte explained her reason for coming.
Some time ago, a merchant in Chenyu Vale had acquired a batch of tea leaves.
But there seemed to be an issue with the batch, tied to an industry she'd been investigating.
"That's the situation, so I want to dig deeper. If necessary, I'll head to Chenyu Vale to check it out."
Euphrasie knew Charlotte's temperament.
Stopping her was impossible.
She approved Charlotte's plan, urging her to be cautious.
Charlotte patted her 'Monsieur Verite.' "Don't worry, I'll be careful."
— — — — — —
That evening, Lady Furina, having listened to the water quality monitoring report, returned to Palais Mermonia.
Entering her room, her maid had already followed her instructions, setting out a small cake—only sixteen pieces available daily—paired with red tea on the table.
Of course, there was also her most anticipated Steambird evening edition, the literature column.
Shedding her usual flamboyant demeanor, Furina sat at the table with utmost grace, letting out a long sigh.
Another day endured…
Only in this small room could she rest for a moment, returning to her true self.
Not the Hydro Archon Furina seated on her divine throne.
"Phew, I wonder what bizarre case awaits tonight. So exciting…"
— — — — — —
The next day, Café Lucé's business was even busier than usual.
Clorinde didn't understand. Lady Furina was a sweets enthusiast, so why had she specifically requested coffee today?
And the people around—did they all have dark circles under their eyes? Had they not slept well last night?
Listening closely, she realized they were all talking about Furmes.
Clorinde was reading it too and found it quite interesting.
But she'd been busy last night and hadn't had time to catch up.
She'd expected to hear discussions about the case, but most of the chatter was about the author.
Apparently, someone had even put a bounty on Teacher Lingyuan's address? And was sending knives?
What was this nonsense? How had it escalated to targeting the author?
But Clorinde had no time to dwell on it.
She needed to hurry and deliver this coffee to Furina, then head with her to the Opéra Épique.
She had a duel to complete today.
Unseen by Clorinde, just above, The Steambird's entrance was already swarmed with people…
Inazuma's Yae Publishing House said, We understand. We totally get it.
Their entrance was similarly besieged by furious readers.
They demanded that Yae Publishing House provide Lingyuan's home address.
They wanted to send the author some Inazuman specialties—Violet Melons.
Leading the charge—no, not a person.
Leading the charge was an oni: Arataki Itto, head of the Arataki Gang…
Yae Miko hadn't expected this. Just as this little guy and Paimon had unlocked the final layer of Ei's heart, lifting the Sakoku Decree, foreign culture had begun flooding in.
But she'd already guessed whose handiwork this was.
"Lingyuan Xianyu, My 26-Year-Old Female Gu Immortal. How did I not notice before? You share my taste for mischief."
Yae Miko's comment referred to this volume's content, which deliberately pushed all the clues to a climactic peak.
The next moment was about to explode.
Yet, the story cut off abruptly after Bai Ningbing's line, "Fang Yuan, I'm pregnant!"
Given the release schedule, readers might have to wait a month for the next installment.
Their current state was… imaginable.
But for Yae Miko, "This is just too entertaining, isn't it, Mu Yang?"
"Should I go see him? Or perhaps write a book in response? This sales chart top spot is a challenge to this Palace Maiden."
Fortunately, Yae Miko ultimately decided against going to Liyue.
Because even if she went, she wouldn't find Mu Yang.
No matter how resourceful the readers were, they couldn't track him down in Liyue.
Mu Yang had already boarded the merchant Dori's trade ship and slipped away to Port Ormos.
"Too beautiful, Sumeru! Hmm? Isn't that Layla? Let's take a look at the distant Sabzeruz Palace, folks."
At this moment, Layla, relaxing in Port Ormos, had no idea of the adventure awaiting her.