The scepter struck the wooden floor with a dull thud. The presiding Chief Justice carried a natural air of authority, and the entire courtroom instantly fell silent the moment he spoke.
"My, my—Neuvillette, do be a little gentler toward my citizens, won't you? Hmph."
A soft, melodious voice drifted through the hall, making even the Chief Justice's brow crease a little deeper.
"It's Lady Furina! She's here!"
"She's as beautiful as ever!"
The crowd erupted again at the familiar voice, craning their necks to spot the Hydro Archon's figure.
From the right side of Nolan's group, two figures appeared on the higher stands. The one leading was a young girl with pure white hair.
A deep-blue miniature hat rested upon her head. Her fair face held a pair of rare heterochromatic eyes—one a light blue, the other a deep azure.
She wore a formal tailcoat with a long skirt hem, under which was a crisp white blouse. Beneath that, a pair of short white shorts peeked out, her snow-white legs wrapped in symmetrical black leather garter bands.
On her feet were ornate court heels, with frilled white ankle socks just high enough to hide the ankles, exuding an air of elegant refinement.
There was no mistaking it—this young woman was none other than Furina, the Hydro Archon of Fontaine.
In truth, Lady Furina was Fontaine's most celebrated superstar—there was no second place. Reports and portraits of her were everywhere, and Nolan and the others had already seen her face in the papers before coming here.
Behind her walked a tall woman, wearing a tilted blue side hat. Long, slightly purplish-black hair cascaded down from beneath it.
Her face, too, was fair as carved jade, and her violet eyes were as still as a tranquil lake—yet they carried a quiet, suffocating pressure.
Nolan recognized her as well. After all, this woman was almost always seen following the Hydro Archon around; whenever journalists photographed Furina, she appeared alongside her.
This woman was Clorinde, the strongest Champion Duelist in Fontaine—and Furina's personal bodyguard.
The title "Champion Duelist" was, in itself, a profession unique to Fontaine.
In Fontaine's judicial system, being found guilty did not automatically mean imprisonment. A condemned person always had another choice—
They could challenge a Champion Duelist to a no-holds-barred duel upon the opera stage!
Should the defendant triumph, their crimes—no matter how grave—would be absolved, and they would walk free.
Of course, unless one faced the death penalty, few would ever make such a choice.
For being convicted only led to imprisonment and reform—but losing a duel meant the end of one's life, the curtain falling forever.
Champion Duelists were among Fontaine's mightiest—masters of combat skill, battle sense, and technique.
To challenge one on a whim was nothing short of suicide.
And if one's opponent happened to be the strongest of them all, Clorinde herself, then the outcome was absolutely certain—defeat, without exception.
Recalling the information he had gathered before arriving in Fontaine, Nolan couldn't help feeling curious about this strongest Champion Duelist.
He wanted to see just how powerful she truly was. His pupils turned golden, and he glanced at her as if casually, like any other spectator.
[Level: 86]
For a human, that was an impressively high level—no wonder she could claim the title of strongest Champion Duelist.
Perhaps only a handful of beings—like the Hydro Archon herself or her retainers—could surpass her.
Nolan then instinctively turned his gaze to the Hydro Archon.
[Level: 36]
"Huh?" Nolan blinked in disbelief. Did I read that right? Or does this Archon have some kind of interference ability? How could a god wielding divine authority only be Level Thirty-Six?
According to Ei's words, this Hydro Archon wasn't a top-tier deity, but even so, she shouldn't be able to obscure his "Golden Eye of Judgement."
After all, he himself had reached Level 111, and with Fischl training diligently beside him, she'd already hit Level 95.
With the two of them combined, even beings over Level 200 would have no secrets before his eyes.
Which meant the issue wasn't with him—something about this Hydro Archon didn't add up.
Either she had once been injured or weakened—though judging by her complexion, that seemed unlikely—or there was another possibility entirely.
That the girl before him, "Furina," might not be the real Hydro Archon at all.
But according to Fontaine's records, the current Hydro Archon had inherited the position from her predecessor over five hundred years ago. Both her appearance and personality matched historical descriptions perfectly.
By all logic, she should be the true Hydro Archon. Yet with a level that low, her very life force fell short of what any god should possess.
In that case, how could she have lived for centuries?
Forget it, Nolan thought. There are too many possibilities—a vessel, a remote puppet, an avatar… all plausible. For a god, such things are hardly difficult.
He didn't need to dig deeper for now. What mattered was that Furina currently held the authority of the Hydro Archon. As long as she could act with that power, she was the one to negotiate with.
While Nolan pondered, the Chief Justice turned his calm gaze toward Furina and spoke:
"Even for one as exalted as the Hydro Archon, I must ask you to remain silent once the trial begins."
"Yes, yes, I know. Now, let's get started already—I can't wait to see what sort of amusing things today's trial will bring!"
Furina plopped down casually in her special seat, crossing her snow-white right leg over the left, resting her cheek against her hand, looking thoroughly bored.
Beside her, Clorinde stood silently, poised and vigilant.
Neuvillette, long accustomed to the Archon's temperament, simply ignored her—engaging her only led to endless chatter.
He turned his gaze toward the audience, calling once more for silence. His authority carried weight—within moments, the crowd obediently quieted down.
Seeing that the trial was about to commence, Nolan and the others also withdrew their attention from the Hydro Archon's side for the time being.
Then he looked again—
[Level: 119]
His eyes widened. The Chief Justice, Neuvillette, was Level 119—almost at the threshold of the top-tier Archons themselves!
Wait… could he actually be the true Hydro Archon?
But then again, if that were the case, why would he let Furina sit upon the divine throne in his stead?
If his intent were to remain hidden, serving as Chief Justice was hardly a low-profile position either…
And Neuvillette's helpless attitude toward Furina didn't look like an act either.
What a pity—when Nolan transmigrated, Fontaine's version hadn't been released yet.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be so clueless about these identity issues now… he wouldn't even be confused about who the Hydro Archon actually was.
When the Chief Justice, Neuvillette, saw that the audience had settled down, he turned his gaze toward the plaintiff's stand. Looking at the pale-haired plaintiff and his legal representative, he spoke:
"Mr. Fleur, as the plaintiff, please explain the charges you are bringing against Mr. Kiril."
"Understood, Lord Neuvillette. I'll have my attorney present our statement."
The pale-haired Fleur nodded, glancing at his representative. Compared to his own amateur knowledge, it was better to let a professional lawyer handle it.
The attorney nodded in return, then looked toward the defendant's stand and began:
"My client and Mr. Kiril both run clockwork guard businesses. Some time ago, a major client placed a large order with Mr. Fleur, and the contract was formally signed.
However, Mr. Kiril hired thieves to steal and destroy that contract, then undercut our price to snatch away our client.
If this were fair competition, we would have no complaints. But using such vile means is intolerable. Therefore, Mr. Fleur is filing a formal accusation and demands compensation for our losses!"
As the accusation echoed through the hall, the audience began whispering among themselves.
"So that's what happened? That's downright despicable!"
"Heh, business is war."
"Just look at Kiril—he reeks of a nouveau riche! Probably made his fortune pulling dirty tricks like this."
With their murmuring, the massive scale-like machine at the back of the stage—the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale—tilted slightly toward the plaintiff's side.
Paimon tilted her head and whispered to Nolan and Lumine:
"So that machine's agreeing with the plaintiff, huh?"
"Maybe. But that's only temporary," Nolan replied. "If the defendant presents a strong enough argument, it'll probably tilt back the other way."
Lumine nodded slightly.
"Nonsense!"
"The only reason our clockwork guards are cheaper is because we optimized our production process to lower costs!
That client came to me of his own accord—contracts or whatever have nothing to do with it!"
The defendant, Kiril, shouted angrily from his stand.
"Everyone's production process comes from the same Fontaine Institute! You say 'optimized,' but who's going to believe that?!"
Fleur retorted from across the aisle.
Seeing the argument begin to spiral, Neuvillette frowned, tapping his scepter once more. The loud, resonant sound brought the room back to silence.
He continued calmly:
"Both sides will maintain courtroom order. Defendant, you may now speak."
This time, Kiril had learned his lesson and let his defense attorney handle things. The man was clearly experienced—he immediately spotted a flaw in the plaintiff's claim.
"Accusations require evidence, not just words. Mr. Fleur, you allege that Mr. Kiril hired thieves to steal your contract. Then where is your proof?
Have you caught this so-called thief? And as for the destroyed contract—how can you prove you didn't tear it up yourself?"
The crowd below nodded, voices rising again:
"Yeah!"
"Where's the evidence?"
"You can't just accuse someone because they took your business!"
The Oratrice's scales tilted toward the defendant's side, balancing out once more.
"Hmph. Of course we have proof! We've already captured the thief himself!"
Fleur crossed his arms proudly.
Moments later, a small, thin man was dragged to the center of the stage. Bowing his head, he addressed the Chief Justice:
"Lord Neuvillette, I confess—I was wrong. I shouldn't have accepted Mr. Irill's request to break into Mr. Fleur's study and tear up the contract… all for a bit of mora."
"Oh?" Neuvillette's eyes narrowed as he studied the trembling man.
"Turns out it was Kiril after all."
The crowd, as fickle as ever, immediately shifted its opinion again—now Kiril seemed guilty once more.
"Haha! Even the thief himself admits it. Looks like that's that, then! Neuvillette, what are you waiting for—pass judgment already!"
From her special seat, Furina let out two bright laughs.
"Eh? Even the Hydro Archon says so—then it must be true!" Paimon said, spreading her hands.
"Maybe," Lumine murmured, frowning. "But something feels… off." She glanced toward Furina, feeling that the Hydro Archon's conclusion had come far too lightly.
Nolan nodded slightly. "That thief called him Irill—he got his employer's name wrong. If Kiril had really hired him, how could he not even remember the man's name?
"And besides, look at him—he's frail. Does he look like someone capable of sneaking into a merchant lord's office and stealing a contract?"
A simple analysis—but enough to make Nolan wonder if this Hydro Archon was a bit… dense. Or maybe just eager to show off.
Her behavior lacked the composure befitting a true god.
Sure enough, the defense quickly pointed out the same flaws, claiming the thief had been bribed to make a false confession and that Kiril had never met him.
After all, this thief had been captured by the plaintiff's side; no one could confirm he was the actual culprit, making the evidence weak and unreliable.
Sensing the irregularity, Neuvillette pondered briefly before announcing a temporary recess. He ordered the guards to investigate the thief's identity.
At that moment, Nolan noticed the thief on stage stiffen slightly—his eyes darting with faint panic.
Was it the natural fear of a captured man… or guilt over the truth about to be uncovered?
"Ugh, I hate it when trials get interrupted halfway for investigations."
Furina stretched lazily and said, "Clorinde, let's go have some sweets in the lounge. We'll come back later."
"As you wish, Lady Furina."
The strongest Champion Duelist followed the Hydro Archon as the two left the hall together.
Nolan, catching this, thought it was the perfect chance to approach her. He gave a subtle signal to Lumine and Paimon.
Both understood immediately.
Paimon clutched her stomach and groaned dramatically, "Ow… my tummy hurts! Must've eaten something bad this morning! Traveler, come with me to the restroom!"
Not bad, Nolan thought, giving her an approving thumbs-up in his mind.
Together with Lumine and Paimon, he told a nearby staff member to watch their seats for them.
Then the three slipped out—ostensibly for the restroom—after the departing Hydro Archon.
(End of Chapter)
➤ Want More? Extra Chapters on Patreon!
➤ [email protected]/RedX43
➤ +400 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter Drop!
➤ Thanks for reading! 🙌