Thanks for _______ ________ and Nefasturis for becoming as Supporters!
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Lumine, who had been frantic with worry just moments ago, suddenly heard Shao Yun's familiar voice coming from behind her, and her body jolted violently.
After a brief moment of stunned disbelief, she spun around.
When she clearly saw that it was indeed Shao Yun, the expression on Lumine's face instantly shifted from shock to joy—but only for a split second before being overtaken by fury.
Like an enraged little lion, Lumine charged straight at Shao Yun.
Shao Yun, still brimming with delight, thought Lumine was rushing over to give him a passionate hug, so he hurriedly spread his arms wide, his face full of blissful anticipation.
However, to his utter shock, the warm embrace he imagined never arrived.
Instead, after rushing up to him, Lumine suddenly stopped and carefully looked Shao Yun up and down.
Then, without any warning, she swept her leg sideways and kicked Shao Yun hard right in the butt.
Why the butt? Because Lumine was afraid she might actually hurt him if she hit anywhere else…
That said, this kick was absolutely solid, with no mercy whatsoever.
A surge of pain shot through Shao Yun as he let out a miserable scream. "Ah! That hurts!!!"
At that very moment, the blank space in Shao Yun's life of never having been beaten by Lumine was finally filled—being hit by Lumine really hurt.
Sure enough, if you don't get beaten up by Lumine at least once, you can't truly be considered family.
Next, Lumine glared with eyes wide open and grabbed Shao Yun's collar tightly with both hands.
Her originally fair face was flushed red with anger as she shouted loudly, "Where the hell did you disappear to?! I've been looking for you forever! You bastard!"
Before her words even finished, she lifted her leg again and kicked Shao Yun hard in the butt once more!
After that, Lumine started punching and kicking Shao Yun nonstop.
Don't let her petite build fool you—right now, her combat power was nothing to scoff at.
Caught completely off guard by the sudden onslaught, Shao Yun could only take the beating while desperately begging for mercy.
"Wait—hey—stop hitting me! Please!"
But Lumine was in no mood to listen, her fists continuing to rain down on him like a storm.
Thankfully, despite her fury, Lumine still retained some rationality and restraint.
Aside from the first two solid kicks to his butt, the punches that followed didn't use her full strength.
Even so, Shao Yun was struggling to endure it.
After all, being hit continuously like this—no matter how light—was unbearable over time.
So, he pleaded again, "Lumine, I was wrong! Please forgive me—stop hitting me!"
However, Lumine ignored his pleas entirely, continuing to swing her fists while muttering angrily.
"I'm hitting you! I'm hitting you! Running off like that—do you have any idea how worried I was?!"
Shao Yun genuinely hadn't expected such an intense reaction. With an innocent expression, he explained, "No, I just went out for half a day. Is that really worth getting this upset over?"
Unfortunately, that was the worst thing he could have said.
The moment those words left his mouth, Lumine's anger flared up again as she screamed, "Went out?!"
Her shrill voice made Shao Yun shudder from head to toe.
Yet he still hadn't realized how serious the situation was. He even nodded foolishly and said, "Yeah, I'm a grown man—how could I possibly get lost?"
The instant he said that, he felt a razor-sharp glare shoot out from Lumine's eyes, terrifying beyond words.
Hearing this, Lumine leaped up and kicked Shao Yun hard in the butt yet again.
"You idiot! Don't you know you're supposed to leave me a note before going out?! You're an absolute bastard—an irredeemable jerk!"
Before she even finished speaking, Lumine unleashed another barrage of punches, falling on Shao Yun like raindrops.
Meanwhile, Shao Yun endured the beating in utter disarray while trying to explain, "Honey, I told you already—I said I had to go out and take care of something today."
Lumine finally stopped hitting him, planted her hands on her hips, and glared with her bright, watery eyes as she demanded, "Hmph! When did you tell me? Why don't I remember anything at all?!"
Shao Yun scratched his head innocently and replied in an extremely abstract tone, "When you were asleep… I told you right next to your ear…"
Hearing such an absurd answer, Lumine nearly passed out from anger.
She raised her hand and pinched Shao Yun's slightly punchable face hard, gritting her teeth as she yelled, "Oh really? Playing abstract games with me now, are you?! You told me that while I was sleeping?!"
"And you still dare to say other people are crazy—your brain is the most abnormal of all!"
As she spoke, the strength in her fingers increased, and Shao Yun's face quickly turned bruised and blue.
Faced with Lumine's explosive rage, Shao Yun no longer dared to talk back and hurriedly begged for mercy. "Hey, my precious Lumine, it's all my fault! I know I was wrong!"
"I just acted on impulse! I'm sorry—I promise I'll never make the same mistake again!"
Seeing Shao Yun apologize, Lumine finally released him. Still, she refused to let him off verbally, puffing up her cheeks with a fierce yet cute expression as she complained loudly.
"Hmph! Charlotte almost put up a missing-person notice for you on the front page of The Steambird!"
"And Navia was about to call in the Spina di Rosula to look for you!"
"I even thought about begging Lyney and Lynette to help search… What is wrong with you?! How could you just disappear without a word?! You're the worst!"
After saying all that, Lumine's anger flared up again. She clenched her fists and smashed them down on Shao Yun once more.
As Shao Yun took the beating, he kept pleading, "Hey—stop hitting me, stop hitting me! Your hand keeps hitting me—doesn't it hurt?!"
But Lumine, still furious, paid him no attention at all.
Grinding her teeth, she shouted angrily, "Even if it hurts, I'm still hitting you! This is to make sure you remember!"
…
Watching the chaotic scene unfold, Navia and Charlotte exchanged glances before sharing an awkward smile.
Charlotte looked at the scene thoughtfully and murmured softly, "Those two really have an amazing relationship."
Navia nodded in agreement, a hint of envy in her voice. "Tell me about it. I'm actually a little jealous…"
"But still, with Lumine beating up Shao Yun like that, won't she accidentally hurt him?"
Paimon waved her hand casually, speaking with complete confidence. "Relax, relax! You can put your hearts at ease—Lumine always knows her limits."
"And their relationship is super close anyway. In each other's hearts, Shao Yun and Lumine are only second to me!"
Hearing this, Charlotte nodded deeply and said sincerely, "That's true. Paimon, you're really lucky—both Lumine and Shao Yun care about you a great deal."
After being praised like that, Paimon's little face instantly turned red like a ripe apple.
She shyly lowered her head, fiddling with the hem of her clothes as she muttered, "Aww… that's embarrassing…"
Just then, Lumine's punches gradually slowed down before finally coming to a complete stop.
Clearly, after venting like this, most of her anger had dissipated.
Shao Yun quickly reached out and held Lumine's slightly reddened hands, concern written all over his face as he asked, "So, are you feeling better now? But really—does your hand hurt?"
Lumine glanced down at her hands, still warm and flushed from hitting him.
She bit her lip lightly, turned her head aside with a pretend huff of annoyance, let out a small snort, and quickly pulled her hands out of Shao Yun's grasp.
Then, as if giving him a way out, she declared righteously, "Hmph! In that case, Shao Yun, you have to treat all of us to a proper meal today!"
Hearing this, Shao Yun looked puzzled and asked in confusion, "Huh? Why are you suddenly making me treat everyone?"
"Wait—don't I already cover our lodging and daily meals all the time?"
Lumine turned her head and jerked her chin toward Navia and Charlotte behind her.
"I mean treating Navia and Charlotte. They spent the entire morning helping me look for you and didn't even get a chance to eat…"
Hearing that, Shao Yun looked a little embarrassed.
He glanced at the two girls and quickly nodded. "Oh—oh, I see. Got it."
…
And so, the group headed to their usual spot—Hotel Debord.
After heading up to the second floor with practiced ease, everyone took seats at a table near the railing.
…
After eating their fill, Charlotte picked up a bottle of ice-cold Fonta and tipped her head back, downing it in one go.
Letting out a satisfied sigh, she said, "Ah! Even though Fonta doesn't have much nutritional value, that instant when it goes down—especially when it's ice-cold—feels amazing!"
Paimon nodded enthusiastically and gave a big thumbs-up. "Exactly! Great minds think alike!"
To help digest the meal, everyone started chatting.
Just then, Charlotte seemed to recall something and asked with great interest, "Speaking of today's search for Shao Yun, I suddenly remembered something quite interesting."
"Lumine, Paimon, Shao Yun, and Navia—would you be interested in participating in a missing-person event The Steambird is currently hosting?"
Shao Yun asked curiously, "A missing-person event? What kind of strange activity is that?"
Charlotte asked calmly, "Do you know about yesterday's trial?"
Navia, seated nearby, set down her cutlery and carefully wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin.
Then she nodded thoughtfully. "Oh, now that you mention it, I remember."
"Yesterday, Chief Justice Neuvillette presided over the trial of the families of those girls who went missing in the serial abduction case involving Vacher."
"Mm… it seems that all involved were ultimately found guilty and sent to the Fortress of Meropide."
Paimon widened her eyes in shock. "Huh?! All of them were sent to the Fortress of Meropide? Isn't that a bit heartless?!"
"After all, those families only acted out of desperation to avenge their loved ones!"
Hearing this, Navia quickly gave Paimon a reassuring look and waved her hand. "Don't worry, Paimon. Their sentences are actually quite short—three days at minimum, and no more than a month at most."
At this point, Charlotte took over and said loudly, "However, none of that is the real key point!"
"What truly matters is that one of the victims' family members actually revealed the name of that mysterious individual!"
Hearing this, Paimon's curiosity was instantly ignited. "Tell me already! What's his name?!"
Charlotte said solemnly, "His name is Dutch van der Linde."
Hearing this, Lumine scratched her head and muttered in confusion, "That name… I've never heard of it."
Seeing this, Charlotte straightened her expression and explained seriously, "Exactly. People in Fontaine aren't familiar with this name—and that's precisely what makes it interesting. Look here."
Before she finished speaking, Charlotte pulled out a freshly printed copy of The Steambird and pointed at the front-page headline.
Paimon leaned in curiously, staring at the dense Fontaine text and reading it word by word.
"Dutch van der Linde—Is he a righteous hero who upholds justice, or a lawless outlaw driven by greed and fame?"
…
Paimon quickly scanned the front page and soon extracted the most critical information.
Of course, for Paimon, what mattered most was nothing more than Mora and delicious food.
"The Steambird has announced an event! Anyone who provides a valuable lead about Dutch van der Linde can receive a reward of three hundred thousand Mora!"
"And whoever successfully finds him will receive a grand prize of five million Mora!"
When Paimon shouted out "five million Mora," her voice rose several pitches higher than before.
Hearing this, Shao Yun found it utterly boring. I'm only worth five million Mora? That's way too cheap. Converted, that's only a hundred bucks…
"How many people have joined this missing-person event?" Shao Yun asked.
Charlotte narrowed her eyes slightly, recalling the many people she had seen earlier that morning while searching with Lumine and Paimon.
After a moment, she replied, "Quite a lot. The moment the event was published in the paper this morning, plenty of people sprang into action."
Seeing such a large-scale response, Shao Yun continued, "Didn't you consider the possibility that if this Dutch van der Linde treats that money as a bounty, something bad might happen?"
"For example, what if he sneaks over in the middle of the night and burns down The Steambird?"
Faced with Shao Yun's "concern," Charlotte looked completely unfazed.
She crossed her arms, lifted her chin, and struck a fearless pose.
"I'm not scared at all! Back then, I almost got tied up by criminals and thrown into the sea to feed the fish!"
"I've even received threatening letters, but none of that scared me. Why would I be afraid of retaliation?"
After a brief pause, Charlotte added, "Besides, my goal is very simple—I just want to uncover this mysterious person's true identity."
"And if I could interview him personally, that would be even better!"
Hearing that Charlotte wanted to interview "Dutch van der Linde," Shao Yun couldn't help but sigh.
"An interview? Your courage is even bigger than Paimon's belly after a full meal."
Hearing that, Paimon froze for a moment before yelling helplessly, "Hey, hey, hey! What kind of comparison is that supposed to be?!"
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