The private pier outside the Opera Epiclese was currently packed with people.
A dense, swarming crowd.
It stretched from the front of the pier all the way to the streets behind, and even up the distant hillsides.
A dark mass of people filled every inch of open space in the harbor district.
The sea breeze gusted, but it could not disperse the almost Burning excitement in the air.
"Lord King! Show Inazuma what for!"
"Let them know that Fontaine's laws are not to be desecrated! That justice is not to be provoked!"
"Lord Guardian! We await your triumphant return!"
"Punish Inazuma! Uphold our nation's prestige!"
"Show Inazuma who the strongest nation truly is!"
"Long live Lord King! Long live Lord Furina!"
Roars, cheers, and excited shouts merged into a deafening wave of sound, crashing against the stone walls of the pier.
Countless Fontaine citizens had gathered here of their own accord.
They waved their fists and held up crude, makeshift banners—
On them were drawn the scales symbolizing justice.
Or King's profile, simplified into nothing but a fierce gaze and cold lines.
Their fury had long since been ignited.
Inazuma's arrogant and implicitly threatening response had spread through Fontaine like wildfire via a special edition of The Steambird.
In the face of crime, there was no remorse, no apology, but instead the intimidation of "military force"?
After rooting out a demon like Marcel and just witnessing a grand proclamation of justice, this attitude was like pouring boiling oil onto the fire of pride and unity that had just been lit within the people of Fontaine.
King stood on the deck of the justice, which bore the emblem of the Opera Epiclese.
Wearing the blue trench coat Furina had given him, he stood with his hands in his pockets, looking down expressionlessly at the boiling sea of people below.
The sea breeze ruffled his black hair, revealing his deep, calm eyes.
In the eyes of the thousands, this calmness was a mountain-like steadiness, the ultimate suppression before a storm, and the wordless confidence brought by absolute power!
[...There are way too many people.]
King looked at the dark, endless sea of heads below and listened to the deafening clamor, feeling his eardrums and temples throb in protest.
He just wanted to go to Inazuma to "reason" with them, and incidentally see if he could "persuade" the country girl to keep his subordinates in check.
Why did it feel like he was about to start a national war?
These Fontaine people... weren't they being a bit too enthusiastic?
He even saw people in the crowd holding signs with exaggerated artistic fonts that read "Lord King, punch the Fox Guuji to bits!" and "Capture the Raiden Shogun alive, put Inazuma on trial!".
"Thump."
A dull heartbeat, overpowering the noise of the pier and all the clamor, reached the ears of the crowd.
In an instant, the cheers faltered, only to erupt into an even more fanatical wave!
"Did you hear that? It's the emperor engine!"
"Lord King's fighting spirit is boiling over!"
"Inazuma is finished! They have no idea what kind of being they've provoked!"
The people grew even more excited, and many were even moved to tears.
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