Just as Navia was puzzling over why the mysterious faction had made only a single, tentative move, deploying just one operative, news of an attack on the Poisson Garrison spread like wildfire across Fontaine. Five officers had died, all the others were wounded, one officer was missing, and a Melusine had vanished.
The news sent shockwaves through every faction in Fontaine.
This wasn't merely a provocation against the Maison Gardiennage and the Marechaussee Phantom—the attackers had also targeted a Melusine, striking at Neuvillette's most sensitive nerve.
Those familiar with Neuvillette's methods knew that Fontaine's skies were about to darken.
Sure enough, an unrelenting downpour began that very day, persisting for three days and three nights without stopping.
Neuvillette had personally led the Marechaussee Phantom to completely seal off the area around Poisson.
Navia was furious, as the missing individuals were her friends, Henry and Vinani. Without hesitation, she rallied the Spina di Rosula and returned to Poisson.
After a thorough investigation, they could only gather vague descriptions of the culprits and the general direction they had fled. The only certainty was that the perpetrators likely hadn't ventured far from Poisson.
In addition to these leads, the investigation inadvertently uncovered Vacher's entire gang, who were promptly brought before the opera house for Judgment.
Yet the mood remained somber. Beyond Vacher's network, they couldn't uncover any other suspicious individuals. The fact that this shadowy organization could remain so well-hidden despite Fontaine's official resources left everyone deeply uneasy.
Lyney was stunned by the news. He had initially believed this was a simple case of apprehending a criminal, but it had unexpectedly spiraled into a prophecy and a deeply concealed, mysterious power.
Lyney immediately sensed a connection between this organization and the leads he was currently investigating. Their research into Primordial Sea Water had likely been ongoing for some time, so he promptly took Lynette to Poisson.
Although Poisson had been completely sealed off, this posed no challenge to Lyney and Lynette. Neuvillette might have sensed their intrusion, but considering various factors and concluding they weren't the culprits, he tacitly permitted their entry.
Charlotte, however, had no such luck. Despite her attempts to communicate with the Marechaussee Phantom, they refused to grant her access.
Left with no choice, Charlotte abandoned her hopes of scooping a major story and returned to Fontaine.
Meanwhile, Furina made an agonizing decision.
"Clorinde, you should go," she said. "Neuvillette needs you more."
Yes, Furina had resolved to personally send away her safe harbor.
Waaah... From today onward, I won't be getting any good sleep for a while!
"Lady Furina, allow me to stay and protect you," Clorinde insisted. "There are already plenty of people in Poisson. I doubt my presence would make much difference. Protecting you from harm is my true duty."
Perfect! Furina nearly blurted out the word, but she caught herself just in time.
Her face twisted with conflicting emotions, her heart torn.
Finally, Furina spoke.
"No need. As the Hydro Archon, my power can protect me perfectly well."
"But, Lady Furina..."
Seeing Clorinde still trying to persuade her, Furina glared at her, visibly annoyed.
Does she even realize how much resolve it took me to make this decision?
Clorinde is practically as dear to me as my favorite cake—something I can't bear to part with!
Sending Clorinde away myself is practically suicide.
"Alright, alright, just go already."
"If you truly want to protect me, then catch the culprit as quickly as possible."
Hearing these words, Clorinde hesitated briefly before nodding.
"Yes, Lady Furina."
Watching Clorinde's retreating figure, Furina nearly burst into tears.
Damn it! Why didn't you try to persuade me more? I'm starting to regret it!
But calling Clorinde back now would be too embarrassing. Furina could only watch helplessly as Clorinde's figure gradually vanished into the depths of the corridor.
Immediately afterward, Furina slammed the door shut, leaped onto the sofa, and curled up into a ball.
She had made up her mind: until Clorinde returned, she wouldn't take a single step out of this room!
-
After an indeterminate amount of time, Vinani slowly regained consciousness.
For a fleeting moment, her mind was completely blank.
It took her a while to recall the events that had led to her current predicament.
Vinani tried to call out Lofan's name, but she quickly realized her mouth was gagged.
Not only that, but the room was pitch-black, and her hands and feet were bound to a pillar.
As a Melusine, Vinani possessed far superior night vision compared to humans. However, perhaps her captors had anticipated this, ensuring not a single ray of light penetrated the room.
After a few futile attempts to move, she gave up struggling.
Has Monsieur Henry been captured too? How is he? Will his injuries worsen now?
Originally, Vinani had stormed off in anger after Lofan's dismissive response to her kindness.
But after walking a short distance, her anger gradually subsided. After some reflection, she turned back, intending to deliver the letter of recommendation to Lofan before leaving.
To Vinani's surprise, as she approached the Maison Gardiennage Headquarters, she heard a series of alarmed cries and piercing sirens. Immediately realizing something was wrong, she rushed toward the scene.
Through a gaping hole in the headquarters wall, Vinani saw Captain Elton lying on the ground, along with other Maison Gardiennage officers. But the intruder was nowhere to be seen. Instantly, Vinani understood: the target was Lofan. Without hesitation, she raced to Lofan's room, arriving just in time to witness the final moments of the confrontation.
By now, Vinani understood that Lofan wasn't the only target—the intruder was after both of them. Clearly, this was connected to the Serial Young Girl Kidnapping Case.
With this realization, Vinani suddenly understood all of Lofan's earlier strange behavior.
First, despite the case seemingly being closed and his injuries, he had still entered that state.
Then, he had urged her to leave with such urgency, his tone even turning cold.
Initially, Vinani had assumed that Lofan's harsh words were simply his way of avoiding revealing his secrets. But now, she realized he must have sensed something was amiss and was trying to drive her away before disaster struck.
I understand now. I understand everything!
So this was Lofan's true intention all along—he was sacrificing himself to ensure her safety.
Vinani now understood that Lofan must have suffered a setback during operations on Navia's side and had turned his attention to them instead. Given their recent joint operations with Navia, he would naturally be aware of their connection.
They were likely being used as bargaining chips against Navia—a chip that required only one of them to be effective. It was this realization that had driven Lofan to treat her with such coldness.
The moment Vinani grasped her misunderstanding of Lofan, a wave of overwhelming regret and self-reproach washed over her, her eyes misting with tears.
At that moment, Vinani was consumed with worry for Lofan's safety, silently praying, "Monsieur Henry, you must come out of this unscathed!"
Meanwhile, Lofan was enjoying a sumptuous meal in the body of No. 2, having eaten Vinani's heartfelt bento boxes for several days straight. Though his sense of taste was suppressed, he felt that this body had become unusable.
I really need to eat normal food, he thought. The Melusine race is terrifying. I can't even tell if they're taking this opportunity to exact revenge.
Yet when he thought of Vinani, Lofan felt a pang of helplessness.
He had originally planned to spare Vinani, changing his plan to only take Henry, the Maison Gardiennage officer. But she had foolishly rushed in at the last moment.
There's nothing I can do now, he reasoned. From this body's perspective, I had to take Vinani with me.
It seemed the plan wouldn't need revising after all. Lofan wasn't sure if this was a good thing.
Whatever, he shrugged. It's already happened. There's no point dwelling on it now.
After savoring his meal, Lofan carefully arranged the utensils on the table and glanced around the room.
This was the original laboratory, but after recent expansions, the space had grown considerably. Lofan had also specially exchanged for the ability to set up arrays, slightly concealing the area.
Hmm, even if the Artificial Idiot tried its hardest to act suspiciously, it would be nearly impossible for anyone to discover this place.
After all, Lofan was also busy elsewhere and couldn't personally oversee the laboratory's expansion, so he had to find alternative methods.
Meanwhile, similar laboratories were being hastily constructed across Fontaine, and they were nearly complete.
Lofan had only realized later that the Sinthe case was connected to the Serial Disappearance Case involving young girls, so these arrangements had only begun at that point, making the timeline somewhat tight.
Now that the initial investment of Points was nearly complete, the harvest season was about to begin.
Although the Serial Disappearance Case had already garnered significant attention, Lofan believed it wasn't enough. He intended to amplify its impact severalfold.
First, we need to increase the number of missing girls at least a hundredfold to make it truly spectacular...
After entering Poisson, Lyney and Lynette didn't meet up with Navia but instead began investigating independently.
Despite numerous factions simultaneously scouring every inch of the small town, not a single anomaly was found.
Some even suspected that the targets had already secretly evacuated Poisson.
The rain continued to fall, mirroring Neuvillette's mood—or rather, it was a reflection of his emotions.
Neuvillette knew the rain would complicate the search, but he couldn't fully control his emotions, especially when the matter involved the Melusines.
"Still no leads?"
"U-um, Lord Neuvillette, we've already searched this area thoroughly twice."
"We investigated several suspicious locations, but apart from finding a few wanted fugitives, we found no trace of Miss Vinani or Monsieur Henry."
Hearing this, Neuvillette nodded, acknowledging the information.
He had heard similar reports repeatedly in recent days, as if the missing persons had vanished into thin air.
Initially, Clorinde's arrival had reassured Neuvillette, but after days without any sign of her, it was clear she hadn't made much progress either.
With each passing day, Vinani and Henry faced greater peril.
Neuvillette waited, anticipating the moment their captors would reveal themselves to negotiate.
Since they had merely abducted the pair, it seemed highly likely they intended to use them as leverage in negotiations.
Yet as time wore on, Neuvillette's confidence began to erode.
I wonder if Wriothesley's intelligence network has uncovered any leads...
Neuvillette knew Wriothesley's intelligence network spanned all of Fontaine, making him arguably the most well-informed person in the nation.
Yet if they had discovered anything, they would have sent a messenger rather than maintaining this unnerving silence.
It was puzzling. The larger and more powerful a faction, the harder it was to conceal its movements, so why hadn't he received any such intelligence beforehand?
And then there was the matter of their ability to wield Elemental Power without a Vision. What secret schemes were they plotting in the shadows?
The more Neuvillette pondered, the more the mysteries deepened.
Recent changes in Fontaine had left him feeling disoriented, as if viewing the familiar nation through a curtain of water, blurring its once clear outlines.
Neuvillette yearned to act, but beyond his immense power, he possessed nothing else.
"Lord Neuvillette!"
Just then, a small figure came running from the distance—another Melusine.
Seeing her approach, Neuvillette slightly softened his imposing aura, careful not to frighten her. In his eyes, Melusines were the most beautiful race in the world; only the most depraved individuals would ever harm such a people.
However, the anxious expression on the Melusine's face made Neuvillette wonder if she had found a clue in their investigation.
"Lord Neuvillette, it's terrible news!" she exclaimed. "Another young girl has gone missing in Fontaine!"
Neuvillette paused, his gaze filled with a complex mix of emotions.
Suddenly, the rain began to fall even harder.
"Huh?"
Though puzzled by the sudden downpour, the Melusine quickly summarized the information she had gathered for Neuvillette.
"Not only that, but the culprit seems to have sent a announcement letter to the Maison Gardiennage beforehand."
"At first, the Maison Gardiennage dismissed it as a prank, since the culprit behind the Serial Disappearance Case had already been apprehended, so they paid it no heed."
"But when the time specified in the letter arrived, the girl vanished exactly as predicted!"
"A-and... moreover..."
"The young girl's only grandfather couldn't bear the shock and passed away from illness as well..."
After listening to the account, Neuvillette remained silent for a long time, finally letting out a soft sigh.
A wave of helplessness washed over him...