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["Extra, extra! The new card game Genius Invokation TCG is taking the world by storm—adventurers everywhere are obsessed with dueling! The Adventurers' Guild has finally had enough and is taking decisive action. What fate awaits Genius Invokation TCG? If you want to know what happens next, stay tuned to the 'Steamdog Press'!"]
Criminals, judges, duel proxies, actors, spectators—an endlessly mixed crowd surged past the entrance of the Opera Epiclese in a constant flow, while newspaper hawkers eager to squeeze out a few more Mora shouted with particular enthusiasm during the intermission between two performances.
Charlotte curled her lips and muttered quietly, "It's just the Adventurers' Guild–sponsored 'Invokation King Grand Prix.' You can tell just from the name—this so-called 'Steambird Press' only knows how to fool uninformed readers with flashy headlines."
["An In-Depth Analysis of Lady Furina's One Hundred and Fifty-Eighth Feature: Just what kind of personal charm could inspire a single letter to make Master Dust willingly work ten days and ten nights without sleep, pouring heart and soul into writing? The untold stories behind The Miser and King Lear—all revealed in New Fontaine!"]
Victor Wang froze.
Two days ago, he really had agreed to let Euphrasie "clarify" the situation—but this was how they planned to do it?
"Whoa, my friend! That outfit of yours is the most faithful recreation I've ever seen—it must've taken a lot of effort! I can practically feel your deep love for Master Dust! And what a coincidence—this issue has exclusive secrets about Master Dust. Care to buy a copy?"
Victor Wang froze again.
Thinking it over carefully, he realized he had never shown his full face. His most recognizable traits were the fox mask and black cloak. People had already copied that look back when he was selling milk tea in Inazuma. It really wouldn't be easy for an ordinary person to tell the real one from an imitator.
He waved his hand in refusal, only for someone beside him to shout, "I'll take one!"
Perhaps aware that her attitude toward this paper was far more tolerant than toward the previous one, Charlotte explained after taking the paper, "New Fontaine is the most famous among Fontaine's second-tier tabloids. They specialize in odd stories and gossip, especially digging into public figures. But since it's sniffing out rumors rather than inventing them from nothing, there are occasionally real clues mixed in—so I never miss an issue!"
While the crowd queued to enter, she skimmed through the paper and commented, "Like this issue—they deduced that you and Lady Furina are very close just from those two books. Honestly, I don't even want to bring it up anymore. Who leaked that… and they even wrote me into it."
"..."
"By the way, the next performance at the opera house is Hamlet, which you wrote. Lady Furina will be attending as well. After the performance ends, that's when my private interview with her is scheduled."
"She doesn't know I'm coming, right?"
"Don't worry. Didn't you say you wanted to give her a surprise? I didn't tell her a thing."
"Good."
The crowd finally poured through the opera house doors. After ticket checks and finding their seats, Victor Wang and Charlotte settled comfortably into the opulent hall.
The stage ahead was the very stage upon which Furina had performed for five hundred years. Above it stood the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale, which housed Focalors' consciousness. Victor Wang's gaze swept across the scene—the seat of the Iudex above the Oratrice was empty. Neuvillette wasn't present. Nor was Furina anywhere in sight. If she truly had come, she was likely seated in the VIP box above the audience.
As he pondered this, the curtain rose and the performance began.
…
"'To be, or not to be—that is the question…' This tragedy is so complex. Every time it ends, the audience can't stop debating it…"
Still immersed in the play that had just concluded, Charlotte sighed for a while before straightening up. "Let's go wait at the agreed spot. Lady Furina should be coming down soon."
With Charlotte leading the way, Victor Wang took a turn through the opera house corridors, passed the stationed guards, and entered Furina's office within the Opera Epiclese.
Not long after, footsteps sounded outside—then the guards' greetings—then the door opening—followed by the sharp intake of breath as Furina's heart nearly stopped… —gasp—
In what had been a perfectly pleasant mood, Furina pushed open the office door—only to find, in the small space visible at a glance, a terrifying figure straight out of her recent nightmares: a fox mask, a black cloak, standing there in reality.
The moment the door opened, Furina froze completely.
That fear was plainly visible to both Victor Wang and Charlotte—and even more so to the guard at Furina's side.
Neuvillette was busy managing state affairs and naturally couldn't act as Furina's escort, but that didn't mean she lacked protection. In fact, given her timid nature, going out without a guard would have been strange. And that guard was none other than Fontaine's strongest Duelist Champion, undefeated throughout her entire career—Clorinde.
In an instant, Clorinde's hand was already on her sword hilt. The atmosphere tightened to its breaking point; vigilance mixed with killing intent surging toward the most mysterious and unsettling stranger present—Victor Wang.
At that critical moment, a thought flashed through Victor Wang's mind: Look how badly I scared the kid.
Furina's reaction was a bit more dramatic than he had expected.
With a light sigh, he introduced himself to Clorinde. "I am Dust, the author of the play that just concluded. My real name is Victor Wang. Lady Furina and I are very close pen pals. If it's a battle of words on paper, I'd be happy to oblige—but in reality, there's no need to draw swords, is there?"
Clorinde didn't relax in the slightest, merely glancing sideways at Furina. Victor Wang also turned his gaze to the Hydro Archon, who was still stiff as a statue. "Isn't that right, Lady Furina?"
"Ah—y-yes… that's right…" Furina stammered. "There's no enemy here, Clorinde. Look how startled you are."
"Is that so…"
"Mr. Victor is a very close pen pal of mine. We simply never had the chance to meet in person before. Running into him so suddenly just now—I got a little too excited! That's what you call emotions overflowing, right? Well? My acting was great, wasn't it?"
There was clearly more to this than she was saying, but seeing that Furina wasn't in a position to explain, Clorinde returned her sword to its sheath, remaining silently vigilant as she offered a stiff compliment. "Very impressive."
Gradually regaining her professional composure as an actress, Furina imagined how a "proper" Hydro Archon would respond and turned to Charlotte. "Charlotte too—this is such a big matter. Why didn't you say something earlier? A friend comes from afar, and I had nothing prepared at all."
Charlotte chuckled. "Victor said he wanted to give you a surprise, so I didn't mention it. Looks like it really was surprising."
Hearing the name "Victor," Furina's heterochromatic pupils contracted slightly before she continued, "All right, all right. Next time, you mustn't do this again. When a friend travels such a long way, proper hospitality is a must."
Only now did she finally, unavoidably, meet Victor Wang's gaze for the first time. "So then, Mr. Victor, what brings you here this time? Are you hoping to exchange thoughts on theater with me? If it's your work… hmph, it certainly would be worth my setting aside time just for that."
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