When Yuto brought the last three small cakes from the kitchen to the reception room, he saw Furina, who seemed to have been waiting for him.
Looking at the heterochromatic eyes staring at him, Yuto's mouth twitched slightly, and he asked, somewhat at a loss:
"Furina, what is this…?"
Furina, whose name was called, gently shook her head, then fixed her gaze on the tray in Yuto's hand.
"Nothing, I was just thinking about something."
Yuto nodded knowingly at the words, then placed all the small cakes in his hand in front of Furina, naturally sitting opposite her.
"Then, Lady Furina, have you found your own answer? If not… why not tell me? Perhaps I can answer it."
Furina did not speak, but gently picked up a plate of small cakes in front of her and placed it in front of Yuto, then subtly glanced at Yuto, smiling as always:
"As the God of Fontaine, of course I can find the answer. It's not difficult for me."
Yuto looked at the small cake Furina had personally placed in front of him, and then at Furina, who had a faint smile on her face, finally letting out a sigh of relief.
"It seems my words were effective; she listened, her emotions are stabilizing, and there seems to be a trend of improvement."
"Not only that, she's still the same as usual, not telling me about Focalors just because our relationship is intimate, and even accepting my nonsense…"
"Overall, this 'operation' was very effective, but… I don't want another so-called 'operation' like this."
Thinking of this, a smile also appeared on Yuto's face.
After he added some tea to his and Furina's teacups, the two officially began their afternoon tea time.
Although it was a bit late, to be honest, as long as they wanted, every minute and every second could be defined as afternoon tea.
Yuto did not have the habit of afternoon tea; as long as Furina was present, it was afternoon tea time.
And Furina had also grown accustomed to afternoon tea with Yuto; if he wasn't there… she would rather meet with the public who had already made appointments.
To put it in a not-so-accurate way… the afternoon tea for these two was not really about the time, nor about what kind of pastries and tea were on the table.
The key was… whether the person they cared about was sitting opposite them.
Time slowly flowed by amidst the clinking of knives, forks, and dinnerware.
At dusk, the two finally concluded their belated "afternoon tea time."
Furina elegantly wiped the corner of her mouth with a dark blue handkerchief, then gazed intently at Yuto before her, softly calling out:
"Yuto…"
"What's wrong? I'm here."
"Nothing, I just wanted to call your name."
Furina smiled gently, then slowly stood up and walked briskly towards the door of the reception room.
And just as she was about to leave, she turned her head slightly, looking at Yuto, who seemed a little surprised by her recent remark, and smiled gently.
"See you tomorrow, my Assistant Officer."
With that, the young lady stepped out of the reception room with light steps, disappearing from Yuto's sight in a blink of an eye.
Yuto, however, looked at the door and shook his head with a light smile.
"This is more like you, Furina…"
...
The next morning, in Lord Neuvillette's office.
Yuto stood quietly in front of the bookshelf in the office, occasionally flipping through past case files.
Compared to Yuto's usual work state, this situation seemed more like he was passing the time.
Lord Neuvillette, on the other hand, was reviewing the case files related to the Judgment he was to preside over this afternoon, preparing himself for it.
After this atmosphere continued for a short while, Lord Neuvillette's office door was finally knocked upon.
"Lord Neuvillette, I am Isa Do. I have brought the Golden-haired Traveler and… the somewhat noisy little fairy."
"The somewhat noisy little fairy…"
Yuto's hand, holding a silver goblet, involuntarily trembled the moment he heard these words, as if he had heard something amusing.
As the subject who uttered this description, Lord Neuvillette naturally did not find it… amusing.
He merely shifted his gaze from the case files and said softly:
"Hmm, bring them in."
As soon as he finished speaking, the auditor from Palais Mermonia pushed open the door, brought in the two individuals Lord Neuvillette had specifically asked for, and then exited the office.
"Lord Neuvillette! We're here, what do you need us for? Eh?! Yuto is here too? How unexpected…"
Paimon looked at Yuto, who was standing in front of the bookshelf smiling at them, and was momentarily surprised.
Yuto himself was constantly refreshing Paimon's perception of him.
According to the people of Fontaine, Yuto rarely left Palais Mermonia because he was genuinely busy.
But now… why did Yuto keep appearing before her from time to time?
"Could it be that our arrival actually reduces some of Yuto's workload?"
Paimon couldn't help but wonder.
However, before Paimon could even ask, Lord Neuvillette, standing by the desk, spoke first:
"Yes, Mr. Yuto and I asked someone to invite you two. As for the specific matter… I'll ask Mr. Yuto to explain it."
Suddenly called upon, Yuto slowly stood up from the floor, looked at everyone in front of him, and softly began:
"Now, Lord Neuvillette and I, on behalf of Palais Mermonia, are issuing a… task to you two. I wonder if you two—"
Before Yuto could finish speaking, Paimon tilted her head and asked:
"Hmm… is this a commission from Palais Mermonia?"
"Of course, but I personally suggest… that you two first understand the specific content of the task before deciding whether or not to accept this commission."
At this point, Yuto paused slightly, then recounted to the two in front of him the meeting he and Furina had with Arlecchino yesterday.
"…So, the situation is roughly like this: both sides need someone we can trust, and who also has some connection to Tartaglia, to do this."
"Clearly, we cannot compare people from our respective nations, so… I would like to ask you to complete this matter."
Hearing Yuto's words, the Traveler and Paimon exchanged glances, then asked:
"We can accept this commission, but… I have another question."
"Since Meropide is not directly governed by Fontaine and you have no right to interfere, how are we supposed to get in? Are we going to sneak in?"
Paimon's confusion did not perplex Yuto; on the contrary, a very relaxed smile appeared on his face.
"My relationship with the person in charge of Meropide is quite good, so you don't need to worry about that."
"Of course, to ensure everything is legitimate, Lord Neuvillette and I have jointly signed a 'Crime Confirmation Document'."
"The crime is neither light nor heavy, so whether it's morally or in any other aspect, you don't have to worry about anyone coming to bother you."
Yuto said, a confident smile on his face.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thank you so much for your support!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"