Seeing that things were progressing smoothly and had gotten off to a good start, Neuvillette extended an invitation.
"Then, after the performance concludes, we can head to the Palais Mermonia to discuss the specific details in greater depth. Would that arrangement be acceptable to you?"
Shao Yun casually waved his hand, indicating he had no objections, and replied nonchalantly, "Sure, no problem. Guests follow the host's lead."
Neuvillette was clearly caught off guard by how agreeable Shao Yun was.
After that, Shao Yun tilted his head slightly and once again directed his gaze toward Furina, who was seated high above in the opera house.
Lowering his voice a little, he said softly to Neuvillette beside him, "Do you want to say something to her up there? She looks like she can't sit still."
Hearing this, Neuvillette also turned to look.
Sure enough, Furina appeared just as Shao Yun had said—visibly restless in her seat.
However, Neuvillette merely shook his head slowly, his expression calm, and replied evenly, "There's no need. Just let her be. Her self-regulation abilities are quite strong…"
Hearing Neuvillette say that, Shao Yun shrugged. "Alright then. Since this is an internal Fontaine matter, it's better for an outsider like me not to get involved…"
With that, he stopped paying attention to Furina's situation.
Just then, Lumine and Paimon returned, each holding several bottles of Fonta.
"Shao Yun, we got the drinks!"
Lumine quickly walked up to Shao Yun with a smile and handed him one bottle of Fonta, then turned and passed another to Neuvillette.
"And this one's for you."
Neuvillette looked at the Fonta suddenly placed into his hand and froze for a moment, asking in confusion, "You even prepared one for me?"
Lumine nodded seriously and replied affirmatively, "Of course. We're all sharing together."
Neuvillette fell silent briefly, accepted the drink, and said, "Then, thank you for your thoughtfulness."
Although he said that, Neuvillette never actually took a sip—clearly, he wasn't very fond of carbonated drinks…
…
Because Shao Yun had set a good tone, Lumine and Paimon also started chatting with Neuvillette, and ticket-holding audience members gradually filed into the venue.
Before the magic show began, the surroundings slowly dimmed.
Seizing this perfect opportunity, Shao Yun took the initiative and wrapped an arm around Lumine.
Lumine looked at Shao Yun holding her close, helplessly thumped his chest once, but still allowed herself to remain in his embrace.
As the magic show began, the audience in the opera house fixed their eyes unblinkingly on Lyney's performance on stage.
A hat floated in midair, while cards, doves, and all kinds of strange magical props poured out from Lyney's hands and the hat itself… But these alone were not enough to truly amaze the audience. What followed was what Lyney truly wished to present.
Before all the spectators, Lynette leapt into the water tank suspended above the stage. As she spoke, the lid slammed shut, turning the tank into a sealed space.
Just as everyone thought this was a sudden stage accident, Lyney snapped his fingers, and Lynette inside the water dissolved into bubbles and vanished, leaving behind only her clothes in the tank.
Lyney moved with ease across the stage. After several calls, Lynette—who had seemingly melted into the water tank—walked out from behind him, and the two accepted thunderous applause together.
Next, Lyney and Lynette pressed on while the momentum was hot and performed the magic trick called "Exchange."
They randomly selected a young girl as the lucky audience member, bringing her in as a guest performer into the magic box among the seats.
The performance then began, and the audience started counting down.
From time to time, Lyney's voice could be heard coming from the magic box on stage. At one moment, he pretended to complain about the difficulty of the trick; at another, he suddenly appeared from the box on stage, only to realize he had gone to the wrong one and hurriedly shut the lid again…
After the countdown ended, Lyney successfully emerged from the magic box located among the audience seats.
However, just as the selected girl was supposed to open the magic box on stage and appear, the water tank hanging above the stage suddenly fell and smashed the magic box to pieces…
Because of Lynette's earlier disappearance, the audience assumed this was also part of the magic effect and burst into admiration.
"Ahhh! This effect is so realistic!"
"Mr. Lyney, are you going to restore the stage next?!"
At that moment, Lyney's pupils began to tremble uncontrollably as he stared fixedly at the chaotic scene on stage.
His lips quivered as he muttered in disbelief, "H-how could it turn out like this?!"
Neuvillette stood up at once and shouted with commanding force, "Silence!"
Immediately after, he issued decisive orders.
"The performance is suspended immediately! Medical personnel, follow me at once. Security forces, act now—secure the scene, detain all performance staff, and temporarily seal all entrances and exits of the opera house! No one is permitted to enter or leave at will!"
It was obvious that what had just happened was by no means a prearranged stage effect, but a real, sudden performance accident.
Paimon rushed into Lumine's arms in fright.
"We've only been here for our second day, and we're already running into trouble?!"
Beside her, Shao Yun calmly examined the shattered water tank on stage and the flowing water mixed with vivid crimson, muttering softly, "Unless all that red liquid is tomato sauce or something… then this is probably a real incident."
Hearing that, Paimon couldn't help but complain bitterly.
"Why is it like this?! We just wanted to have a nice vacation and relax, and instead we run into something this unlucky!"
In contrast to Paimon's frustration, Shao Yun appeared unusually calm and explained casually, "People dying is a pretty normal thing, isn't it…? Hasn't Paimon gotten used to that by now?"
After all, the number of people who died in the Tanit tribe could be piled into a small mountain—it really had let Lumine experience something akin to the grand spectacle of the Town of Strawberry back then…
…
After hearing Shao Yun's words, Paimon recovered from her earlier shock and made a suggestion.
"Even if that's true, should we go check on Lyney and Lynette?"
"After all, someone died during their magic performance! I don't think they're as calm as they look on the surface."
Hearing this, Lumine thought for a moment, then nodded lightly in agreement.
"Mm, you're right. Shao Yun, we'll go see how Lyney and Lynette are doing. Wait here for a bit while we're gone."
In Lumine's heart, she knew well that Shao Yun wasn't particularly close with Lyney and Lynette, so she didn't ask him to come along.
And Shao Yun also understood that he shouldn't let himself interfere with Lumine and Paimon's normal social interactions.
So, he readily agreed.
"No problem. Go take a look—but don't bring trouble onto yourselves."
Lumine smiled and nodded, promising she would be careful.
Then she took Paimon with her to find Lyney and Lynette, planning to comfort the two siblings, who were clearly at a loss right now.
Watching their retreating figures, Shao Yun leaned his head back helplessly and sank heavily into the sofa seat, muttering softly, "Sigh… should've gone on a picnic instead, played with some Blubberbeasts—patting their round bellies would've been way more fun…"
…
After a not-so-short period of time, the security forces finally reached a preliminary conclusion in their investigation.
Neuvillette read the detailed investigation report in his hands with a grave expression.
A moment later, Neuvillette slowly stood up and stepped onto the center of the stage.
His tall, upright figure immediately drew everyone's attention. The previously noisy venue gradually fell silent as people held their breath, awaiting the results he was about to announce.
"The security investigation has reached an initial conclusion. First, it is with regret that I inform you that the person trapped inside the magic box has unfortunately passed away."
"After identity confirmation, the deceased was named Cowell, an assistant performer in Lyney's magic troupe."
As he said this, murmurs rippled through the audience, faces filled with shock and sorrow.
Neuvillette paused, then continued, "Second, based on our analysis, the direct cause of the water tank's sudden fall was fireworks igniting the rope above the tank."
"However, it remains unclear why the person inside the box turned out to be Cowell, rather than the audience member originally selected to participate in the performance."
"Additionally, there is a more critical matter we must inform you of—after a comprehensive search of the scene and surrounding areas, we discovered that the young girl who should have been inside the magic box has vanished without a trace, as if she evaporated into thin air."
"This situation is no longer a simple stage accident… and it also bears many characteristics of the 'Serial Disappearances of Young Women.'"
"Therefore, the security forces will raise the alert level. The lockdown may continue for some time—please remain patient."
The moment Neuvillette uttered the phrase "Serial Disappearances of Young Women," the entire venue erupted.
The audience whispered among themselves as fear and unease rapidly spread.
Just then, Furina, seated in the VIP section, seemed as though some hidden trigger had been activated. She suddenly burst into a string of exaggerated, piercing laughter.
"Hehehe, I see now, I see! Using such an obvious mystery as your 'grand finale'—aren't you underestimating us a bit?"
Then, with a slight turn of her eyes and a faint, ambiguous smile, Furina shamelessly fanned the flames toward Lyney.
"This master magician Lyney, so skilled and capable of anything—couldn't he be the true culprit behind the 'Serial Disappearances of Young Women'?"
Hearing this sudden, severe accusation, Lyney froze completely.
His eyes widened in shock and disbelief as he trembled and pointed at himself, stammering, "W-what? Why me? This was clearly just an accident!"
Furina completely ignored Lyney's defense. Without changing expression or missing a beat, she leisurely began laying out her so-called "reasons."
"Think about it—didn't this entire bizarre incident occur during your spectacular magic performance?"
"That poor girl was chosen to participate, then vanished inexplicably before everyone's eyes. And in the end, the one who died turned out to be your assistant!"
At this point, Furina deliberately paused, her sharp gaze sweeping over Lyney before she continued slowly,
"And then let's recall what you said at the opening—'from something to nothing, and from nothing to something.' The more one thinks about it, the more it sounds like a blatant provocation toward everyone, doesn't it?"
===BREAK===
Like the story and want more chapters?
Join and support me by joining my Patreon!
[email protected]/SiRoasa