When Lumine and Paimon returned from the first ruins suspected to belong to the Lemuria Dynasty, Yuto finally met the busy Dragon King, whom he hadn't seen all day.
Looking at the tall figure before him, Yuto sighed with a complicated expression, then asked,
"Neuvillette, how do you feel about the current situation in Fontaine?"
Hearing this, Neuvillette looked at Yuto with some surprise, as if he was quite taken aback that Yuto would ask such a question.
He was silent for a moment, seemingly pondering what the five words "Fontaine's situation" in Yuto's mouth truly meant.
"Humans and Melusines coexist peacefully, growing and building together. The current Fontaine… is already very good."
However, Neuvillette's answer did not satisfy Yuto. He merely gazed at him with his sea-blue eyes, then sighed helplessly and said,
"You should know I'm not talking about that, but rather…"
"What exactly are your feelings for Fontaine?"
Yuto said to Neuvillette with unprecedented seriousness.
For Yuto now, it was not only important to deal with the arrival of the Star-Devouring Whale but also to pay attention to Neuvillette's emotional state.
This state did not refer to feelings of love or affection, but rather the Dragon King's feelings towards humanity.
Focalors had played a grand game; she not only wanted to accumulate Indemnitium and shatter her divine throne to return the complete Ancient Dragon authority to Neuvillette,
—she also wanted to ensure Neuvillette would never again be able to act against humanity.
Only he could absolve the sins flowing in the blood and bones of the people of Fontaine. From this perspective… he was irreplaceable.
Up to this point, although all the questions Neuvillette should have asked and the events he should have witnessed had occurred before him, and had been answered by Yuto and Navia,
To ensure the subsequent plan could proceed smoothly, it was still necessary to double-check his emotional state.
Hearing Yuto's question, Neuvillette fell into a long silence.
For him, it was still a difficult question to answer.
He still didn't understand where those feelings in his heart came from, but… he had to admit one thing.
The words Yuto said to him on that stormy night and when they met in Bai Song Town… made him begin to confront his inner self.
Five hundred years ago, when he first received that anonymous letter… he had no feelings whatsoever for humans as a species.
No… it wasn't even that he had no feelings; he simply didn't care at all.
Whether humans existed or not wouldn't affect him, which was why he focused his attention on the Melusines, who were essentially a variant of the Vishaps.
During the period when the Melusines integrated into Fontaine society, he also witnessed many, many cases and saw much of humanity's brilliance.
He didn't know when, but Neuvillette's perception of humanity in his heart began to change little by little.
From initial indifference to slight curiosity, then to doubt, and finally… to questioning his own essence.
When he desired to understand humanity… it signified that humanity had become an indispensable part of his life and consciousness.
Thinking of this, Neuvillette slightly raised his head, his gray eyes looking at Yuto, and softly spoke a sentence that somewhat surprised Yuto.
"I am the Chief Justice of Fontaine. I was, I am, and in the future…"
"I will be."
Hearing this, the serious expression on Yuto's face instantly turned into one of slight surprise, but this surprise quickly softened.
He gently closed his eyes and smiled softly, as if he had heard a satisfying answer.
"How about it? Do you have some idea about your true nature?"
Yuto asked with a smile.
Neuvillette nodded, then picked up his cane, and as he walked towards the door of the lounge, he said,
"The next Judgment is about to begin, concerning some lingering issues from the previous missing girl case. Are you not attending?"
"No, there are still some matters to attend to at Palais Mermonia. I also need to prepare a souvenir for that Ritou envoy."
"Oh, about the sluice gates, it's as the four of us agreed before."
"I'm responsible for monitoring the surface, Clorinde and Lyney are responsible for temporary handling, and you are the last resort."
Hearing this, Neuvillette's figure paused slightly, then he nodded and quickened his steps towards the interior of the Opera House, once again becoming the busy Dragon King.
After seeing Neuvillette off, Yuto also chose to leave the Opera House.
For him, there were several more important matters today.
One was to prepare some flowers and plants from Fontaine for Gan Yu, to show Fontaine's sincerity.
Second was to fulfill his basic responsibility as an NPC for releasing event quests, to deal with the upcoming Lumine and Paimon, and incidentally give them some insignificant rewards—
—although he didn't know where those Experience Books and Primogems came from, well… it was good to have them.
As for the last thing… it was to spend more time with his God.
After all, whether Lumine and her companions were causing trouble underwater, or he was facing Arlecchino head-on and rescuing the residents of Bai Song Town on the surface… he had been quite busy.
Thinking of this, Yuto sighed slightly, and Furina's appearance from yesterday afternoon immediately came to mind. He then quickened his pace back to Palais Mermonia.
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