Looking at the bustling crowd before them, everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief, their previously anxious hearts finally able to settle.
For them, the events they had just experienced were, to varying degrees, a bit too dangerous.
Paimon looked at the crowd, took a deep breath, then turned to Yuto and Furina and asked,
"Yuto, Furina, what exactly were those monsters we just encountered? Why did they suddenly appear?"
Hearing Paimon's question, Yuto slightly raised his head, as if pondering the question, and only replied after a long moment.
"Strictly speaking... that armor just now wasn't a monster in the traditional sense. They are also one of the things left behind by Remuria."
"Wh-what?! Does that mean... that big guy just now was also an antique from the Lemuria Dynasty?!"
"You could say that, since the consciousness that should have existed within that stone statue was long eroded by time, gradually replaced by those malevolent thoughts."
"After being replaced by malevolent thoughts... they became monsters in the true sense, no longer Remuria people."
Yuto's words left Paimon in silence, unsure what to say for a moment.
Although they had seen armor with human consciousness before, the Black Serpent Knights they had previously encountered at least had some remnants of will, whereas these guys...
They were pure destruction, monsters in the true sense.
Seemingly sensing the awkward atmosphere, Lumine slightly turned her head to Furina and quietly asked,
"By the way, normally... this matter shouldn't have disturbed you, Furina, right? Why did you suddenly want to get involved?"
Lumine brought up a question that had been in her mind since she first saw Furina.
To this day, every God she had met was not as simple as they appeared.
And she didn't quite believe... that this Hydro Archon would simply come to participate in this matter just because she was worried about her subordinates; she must have some other objective.
Suddenly called out, Furina was momentarily stunned, seemingly thinking about how to answer.
She absolutely could not say, "I want to investigate the history of the Lemuria Dynasty to see if I can find a solution to The Prophecy."
Because once those words were spoken... it would, from another angle, confirm the notion that "the Water God is helpless against The Prophecy."
—If you already have a solution, why would you still need to keep searching?
After a brief moment of thought, Furina turned her gaze to Yuto, then immediately said,
"Ahem, you might not be aware of Yuto's importance, as you've just arrived in Fontaine."
"Ever since Yuto became Assistant Administrator, he has been involved in all matters, big and small, in Fontaine, and this situation has continued for nearly five hundred years."
"If anything were to happen to him, Fontaine's operational system would completely collapse within three days, and it would take at least three months for it to barely recover to its most ideal state."
"As the God whom Yuto serves, and the owner of Fontaine, I naturally cannot allow such a thing to happen in the nation I govern."
Hearing Furina's explanation, Paimon nodded knowingly, then turned her gaze to Yuto, scrutinizing him up and down.
"Whoa... So this is why Yuto has always been working overtime, even on his days off?"
"Oh, right! I've always had a question for Yuto. You yourself promoted the labor law, prohibiting Fontaine citizens from excessive overtime, but why do you work overtime every day?"
"Wouldn't... that be breaking the law?"
Paimon's words instantly piqued Lumine's interest, her golden eyes also curiously observing Yuto, seemingly anticipating his answer.
And Furina also secretly focused her attention on Yuto, as she too wanted to know... how this Assistant Administrator, who knowingly broke the law, would respond to such a question.
Feeling the curious and expectant gazes of everyone, Yuto suddenly felt his face stiffen. After a brief moment of thought, he said,
"To be precise... the labor law doesn't protect me, because I'm not, in the true sense, a... Fontaine person."
"Huh?! Is Yuto really from Ritou?!"
Paimon asked with some surprise.
"Uh... not exactly. I've lived in Fontaine ever since I can remember. The key is... the word 'person' itself."
Yuto scratched his face with his index finger, then continued,
"Under fontaine law, only two races can be defined as Fontaine people: one is human, and the other is Melusine."
"I am neither human nor Melusine, so... I am not protected by fontaine law in terms of identity definition."
Hearing this, Lumine and Paimon's mouths twitched, seemingly at a loss for words regarding Yuto's answer.
"Uh... that's certainly an unexpected answer..."
Paimon scratched her head, muttering softly.
After a brief silence, Yuto slightly raised his head and said,
"In that case, we will return to Palais Mermonia first. We'll then trouble the two of you to bring Claude over, and we can discuss this further in the reception room."
"Mhm! Alright! Thank you for your hard work, Yuto!"
...
Fifteen minutes later, in the meeting room on the second floor of Palais Mermonia.
After listening to the perspective of Boethius, represented by Yuto, and the perspective of Cassiodorus, represented by Lumine, Claude fell into deep thought.
After a moment, Claude nodded slightly, then spoke,
"So... Boethius's overall development path was a process of rising up, from being bullied and satisfied to becoming the Great Tuner."
"Although he was eventually controlled by that thing called phobos, from his personal development trajectory, he was indeed a rare genius."
"As for Cassiodorus... although he was also a genius, his development path was too smooth, so much so that the climax of his personal experiences only occurred after the destruction of the Lemuria Dynasty..."
With that, Claude fell into a long silence, a troubled expression appearing on his face.
"Such basic material... a few years ago, perhaps I would have written an Fontaine Opera with Cassiodorus as the main subject."
"His life contained all the elements of a traditional Fontaine Opera: a stable first half, a soaring middle, and finally, writing his own legend at the end of his life."
"But today's audience no longer likes that approach..."
Claude sighed slightly, then turned his gaze to Yuto, as if at this moment he was looking not at Yuto, but at Boethius.
"Boethius's life... that's what they want to see."
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