A heads-up: the content of the previous chapter was posted incorrectly. Nonomi's guess about Yuto's identity in the last paragraph should have been the Dragon King, not the Water God.
(Whispering: I clearly changed it, so why did it revert?)
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After sending off Lumine and Paimon, Yuto gently closed the reception room door and then turned to look at Furina.
Almost the instant he turned around, the standard polite smile on his face was instantly replaced by a serious expression.
His sea-blue eyes quietly gazed at Furina, as if he had something to say but didn't know where to begin.
Furina felt a chill from Yuto's stare and stammered, "Cha-Yuto...? What's wrong?"
Seeing the somewhat nervous Furina, Yuto's breath hitched. The words he was about to say hovered and gathered at his lips, ultimately becoming a sigh.
"Sigh... It's nothing, Furina. I just hope that next time you go somewhere outside Fontaine... you remember to notify me in advance."
"Compared to any harm to me, your safety is more important for all of Fontaine."
"In this era, which is already starting to become chaotic, only the presence of God can bring a sense of stability."
"Of course, only you can resolve The Prophecy. If anything were to go wrong with you at this critical juncture, I'm afraid..."
Yuto gently shook his head, not continuing. He believed Furina would understand his meaning.
Furina, on the other hand, nodded quite obediently, gave a muffled "Mm," and then fell into a semi-withdrawn state.
Looking at the somewhat dejected Furina, Yuto sighed again and then placed his hand in front of the young girl.
"?"
Furina looked up, puzzled. She looked at Yuto's hand, then at Yuto, seemingly unsure of what he wanted to say.
"Let's go, my God. It's time for afternoon tea."
...
After enjoying the rare afternoon tea time, Yuto's life returned to peace.
His daily routine was as usual: waking up early, reviewing documents, feeding the kittens lunch, having afternoon tea with Furina, then continuing to review documents, and resting.
But Yuto himself knew very well that such a life... could not last too long.
Neither the upcoming main story nor the current event story would easily let him off the hook.
So he only regarded these five days of peaceful life as the calm before the storm. What he was about to face... would certainly be a more violent tempest.
On the morning of the sixth day, Yuto, as always, waited for Sedna to bring the documents he needed to review today.
However... Sedna not only brought the documents he needed to review today, but also a box three times her height.
"Mr. Yuto, Miss Chiori from Chiori Tailor Shop said these are the clothes you ordered and asked me to deliver them to you as well—"
Sedna said, struggling to walk from the office door to Yuto's desk.
Perhaps because the documents and the gift box containing the clothes blocked Sedna's view, she had to focus completely on her steps—
If I were to trip in front of Lord Yuto, my life in Fontaine would probably end right here, she thought.
However, before Sedna could take another step, she suddenly felt her hands lighten, and the documents and the gift box instantly disappeared from her grasp.
"Eh?!"
She looked up slightly and saw Yuto smiling at her, holding the documents and the gift box.
"You've worked hard, Sedna. Be careful not to trip. Work is work, but safety is the most important thing."
Yuto said, reaching out to ruffle her little head, then walked to his desk on his own.
Sedna, meanwhile, stared blankly at the tall figure, her hand unconsciously covering her mouth, a hint of reverence in her eyes.
"Thank you, Lord Yuto!"
Sedna said loudly, then skipped out of Yuto's office, looking to be in a very good mood.
...
However, before Yuto could open the gift box Chiori gave him to see what kind of clothes she had designed for him... a clear knock on the door sounded behind him.
"Eh? Was the door not closed? Is Lord Yuto not here... Ah! Lord Yuto, may I come in now? There's something I'd like to discuss with you."
Claude looked at Yuto, who was facing away from the door and looking down, seemingly doing something, and asked with a slight hint of excitement.
Hearing the voice, Yuto subconsciously turned his head and saw Claude with an excited smile on his face.
"Ah, it's Claude. Is the Fontaine Opera script finished?"
Looking at the excitedly smiling Claude, Yuto returned the smile and asked.
"Yes! It was just revised two hours ago, including the musical score and corresponding lyrics, all ready!"
Yuto nodded knowingly at the words, then took the script from Claude's hand and began to read it carefully.
—Although Yuto didn't think Claude would sneak in any personal content, it was still a necessary process.
If he were to make things convenient for Claude, and those playwrights who had been sent back by Yuto because of personal content in their scripts found out...
Both he and Claude would probably get into some trouble.
As time passed little by little, the expression on Claude's face grew increasingly nervous.
This feeling was like those scholars from Sumeru Akademiya who had prepared for four years for their graduation defense, and today they were ready to receive their advisor's evaluation.
As Yuto read the last word, he gently closed the script, handed it to Claude, and said,
"No problem, Mr. Claude. Have you found your cast? If you have, I can book a venue for you now."
Hearing this, an embarrassed expression appeared on Claude's face, and he said somewhat sheepishly,
"Um... Lord Yuto, forgive my presumptuousness, but could I trouble you to sing this song during the final curtain call?"
As if afraid Yuto would refuse, Claude quickly added,
"Lord Yuto! I know this might be unreasonable, but from an artistic performance perspective... you are the best candidate."
"You have personally witnessed Boethius's story, even becoming him in those stories, and you have a deep understanding of Fontaine's Fontaine Opera, so..."
Claude said, handing the script in his hand to Yuto, without continuing.
Just as Yuto was thinking about how to handle this matter... a light screen appeared before his eyes.
"Claude has invited you to play Boethius. How will you choose?"
"[Agree/Refuse]"
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