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But after only a few seconds, realizing that she had inadvertently made the atmosphere heavy,
Navia quickly broke into a bright smile and said cheerfully, "Haha, look at me—why am I bringing up such depressing things!"
"Anyway, didn't you come to see Eula for something?"
Paimon suddenly smacked her forehead, snapping back to her senses.
"Oh, right! I almost completely forgot the important stuff!"
Taking a deep breath, Paimon then gave Eula a concise rundown of everything that had happened earlier.
Navia listened intently from the side, fully focused on Paimon's account. Whenever she heard something crucial, excitement sparkled in her beautiful, lively eyes.
After Paimon finished speaking, Navia couldn't wait to ask, "So that's how it is! In other words, you're also trying to gather evidence to prove that Lyney isn't the real culprit behind the serial disappearances of young women, right?"
Paimon froze for a moment at Navia's words, then scratched the back of her head in confusion, thinking for a bit before replying, "Uh… sort of, I guess? But actually, we're just going to ask Yanfei to act as his legal representative."
Navia waved her hand dismissively, clearly unconcerned about the distinction.
"That's basically the same thing! In the end, everyone here is driven by a sense of justice, trying to break through obstacles and uncover the truth!"
"That makes us like-minded companions on the same path! And honestly, I've been closely following the progress of this serial disappearance case myself."
She paused slightly, then smoothly proposed, "How about this—I'll go make some necessary preparations first, and later we can launch a joint investigation together? After all, there's strength in numbers!"
At that moment, Shao Yun—who had been standing off to the side, observing coldly—suddenly stepped forward and rejected her outright.
"Sorry, that won't work."
Navia was stunned by his blunt refusal and asked in confusion, "Huh? Why not?"
Shao Yun replied with a serious expression, his tone firm.
"The reason is simple. We're tired, and we don't want to get involved in any detective work or chasing down criminals."
"Besides, the main reason we came to Fontaine was for a vacation. We don't have the energy to meddle in other affairs."
He paused briefly, then added, "Of course, if you want to investigate, feel free. Just don't drag us into it."
"And if you think you can't handle it alone, once I bring Yanfei over, the two of you can work together."
Hearing his explanation, Navia blinked awkwardly, then forced a slightly stiff smile.
"Oh… I see. Sorry about that—I got a bit overenthusiastic."
Seeing her reaction, Shao Yun shrugged helplessly and even poked fun at himself.
"I get it. After all, judging by the rumors, we do look like a bunch of people who love sticking our noses into everything."
"So, it's only natural that you'd think that way…"
In truth, Shao Yun could understand Navia's position. Fontaine's judicial system really was rather absurd—almost like a farce.
As always, the same logic applied: the so-called "coal powered generation" theory—if no one burns the coal, then everyone in Fontaine dies. There's no choice. That was probably why the Fortress of Meropide existed in the first place…
But still, he genuinely didn't want to get dragged into these pointless troubles anymore. Right now, all he wanted was to wait until his "brother-in-law" Aether finished accumulating the necessary energy, and then leave far behind without looking back.
…
The conversation moved on, and Eula revealed Yanfei's possible whereabouts.
"As for Yanfei, she said this morning that she was going to buy some books. You can probably find her at the book stall near my place. If not, just go straight to my apartment—she should be there."
Shao Yun nodded and replied gratefully, "Alright, thanks. I'll head over now."
The reason Shao Yun volunteered to go himself was simple: to minimize further contact with Eula—something he had promised her.
Just as he was about to leave to look for Yanfei, Paimon flew in front of him and blocked his path, clearly unwilling to give up.
"Shao Yun, can I talk to you about something?"
Seeing her hover in front of him, Shao Yun asked, "What is it, Paimon?"
Paimon glanced toward the courtroom doors of the Opera Epiclese behind him and voiced her idea.
"Even if we're not defending Lyney or acting as his legal representatives… could we still look for some evidence?"
The moment Paimon suggested wading back into this mess, Shao Yun's expression turned serious.
"What? Didn't I already make myself clear earlier—"
But Paimon had anticipated this. She quickly cut him off and explained urgently, "I know, I know! But we'd just be giving Yanfei some evidence, that's all! It would help lighten her workload a bit—just think of it as helping Yanfei, okay?"
Seeing Paimon use Yanfei as a shield, Shao Yun couldn't help but feel conflicted.
He frowned slightly, sinking into thought.
"Hmm…"
The atmosphere instantly grew tense. Navia watched Shao Yun nervously, while Lumine and Silver unconsciously held their breath. Even the usually composed Melus waited quietly for Shao Yun's final decision.
All eyes were on him.
At last, Shao Yun pressed his lips together, then slowly nodded in agreement.
But he immediately laid down his conditions.
"Fine. I won't interfere with your social activities. Helping to look for evidence is okay—but don't get yourselves burned. We already have enough trouble as it is."
He thought to himself that as long as they were only gathering evidence and not actually standing in court, things probably wouldn't spiral out of control—so long as they were careful.
Seeing that Shao Yun had finally relented, Paimon happily patted her chest and promised, "Don't worry! We definitely won't cause trouble! We're just helping Yanfei reduce a bit of hers!"
Still worried that the little creature might act impulsively, Shao Yun warned her solemnly once again.
"Paimon, remember this clearly: don't let your head get hot, and don't be fooled by that 'coal powered generation' 'boiler operator.'"
"No matter how convincing she sounds, you can't trust even a single punctuation mark of what she says!"
Navia looked awkward upon hearing this strange description.
"Coal powered?"
Beside her, Lumine twitched the corner of her mouth and muttered softly, "Power generation…?"
Paimon looked utterly confused.
"Boiler operator? What does that mean, Shao Yun? Are you talking about Furina?"
"But why use such weird words to describe her? I don't get it at all…"
Facing Paimon's innocent confusion, Shao Yun remained calm, his tone firm.
"It's fine if you don't understand the metaphor. Just remember this—treat everything Furina says as complete nonsense."
With that, he started walking forward, muttering quietly to himself, "Trying to use us as coal to generate power… honestly, only she could come up with something like that."
At that moment, Eula—who had been silent—suddenly remembered something and spoke up.
"Oh, right. Shao Yun, could you pass a message to Yanfei for me?"
"Tell her I can't go home tonight. I'm on night duty here, so she doesn't need to worry."
Without turning around, Shao Yun waved his hand.
"Got it. You can tell her yourself later."
…
Shao Yun left the grand doors of the Opera Epiclese and headed for the aquabus back to the Court of Fontaine.
When he arrived at Marcotte Station, a familiar and hurried figure caught his eye.
In the distance, Charlotte was clutching her beloved camera, jogging toward him while muttering anxiously, "I'm late, I'm late—hope the magic show isn't over yet! I hope the performers haven't left!"
Watching her approach, Shao Yun was surprised to realize who it was and called out instinctively, "Charlotte?"
Hearing her name, Charlotte slammed on the brakes and stopped in her tracks.
She immediately greeted him enthusiastically.
"Whoa! So, it's Mr. Tacitus! I didn't expect to run into you here—are you here to watch Lyney and Lynette's performance too?"
Shao Yun smiled and nodded, recalling Lyney's astonishing magic from earlier.
Still, what left a deeper impression on him was what came afterward—Furina publicly accusing Lyney of being the culprit behind the serial disappearances.
Thinking of that, he said thoughtfully, "Yes, I came for the magic show."
"And not only did I get to see a great performance—I also witnessed quite the spectacle afterward."
Charlotte immediately leaned in, eager.
"Oh? What kind of spectacle? Tell me!"
Shao Yun recounted how Furina accused Lyney in full detail.
After hearing everything, Charlotte's mouth fell open in shock. It took her a long moment to recover before she exclaimed excitedly, "My goodness! That's huge news! Fontaine's headlines have been coming one after another these days—and now even the serial disappearance case has resurfaced!"
Seeing her excitement—like a pirate discovering treasure—Shao Yun quickly poured cold water on her enthusiasm.
"Don't get excited yet. It's just a meaningless farce."
"Neuvillette merely thought the method resembled that old case, and Furina blew it completely out of proportion."
He frowned, dissatisfaction clearly written on his face, and after a brief pause, continued complaining.
"Pinning a case that started over twenty years ago on a seventeen-year-old kid… How does that make any sense?"
"And all for the sake of 'judgment,' resorting to this constant 'coal powered generation' nonsense… I really don't know what to say."
Charlotte largely agreed with what he said up until that point.
But when it came to the "coal-burning power generation" analogy, she shook her head in confusion.
Still, she quickly collected herself and offered her own view.
"Even if what you're saying sounds strange, under Fontaine's current legal system, once an accusation is made, the judicial process must proceed according to the law."
"Even if the accusation is riddled with logical flaws, the trial itself can't simply be halted."
She hesitated slightly, then added, "Honestly, I'm also surprised that Lyney is being treated as the culprit. I really don't understand why Lady Furina would accuse him like this."
Recalling the crowd's heckling, along with the whole "coal powered generation" theory, Shao Yun snorted.
"Hmph. She was basically forced into it by the crowd—absurd at first glance."
With that, he waved his hand dismissively, clearly unwilling to dwell on the annoying topic any further.
"Whatever. It doesn't concern me anyway. I'm just here in Fontaine as a tourist—I'm not planning to settle down here. All this mess has nothing to do with me."
He muttered to himself as he turned to leave.
After taking a few steps, however, he turned back and offered Charlotte a friendly reminder.
"Oh, by the way—if you're going to the opera house to report on this, you should know something."
"Neuvillette has tightened security there. When I left earlier, they even made me register my personal information."
Charlotte nodded quickly in thanks.
"Ah, got it. Thanks for the heads-up."
After that, the two went their separate ways—Shao Yun to find Yanfei, and Charlotte to dig up the next big headline at the opera house.
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