"Shogun," Makoto called out, then smiled at Tartaglia. "How can you call that 'teaching them a lesson'? We simply had a friendly discussion with the people here. Now they all think we're very reasonable, so they listen to us."
"Uh..." Tartaglia looked at Makoto and fell silent.
Was that really a convincing explanation?
In any case, the three of them brought him to Wriothesley's office. After knocking and entering, Wriothesley rose from his seat and looked at them in confusion.
"What brings you here?"
On the very first day they arrived, Wriothesley had already realized these three had come to the Fortress of Meropide for a specific purpose and could not be treated like ordinary inmates. Of course, that realization mostly came after the Shogun had beaten most of the prisoners into submission shortly after arriving.
He could also tell that any one of the three was far beyond him in strength. Still, he only assumed they possessed special identities or were carrying out some kind of official mission. The possibility that they were actual gods had never even crossed his mind.
After all, who could possibly imagine three gods being imprisoned in a place like this?
Who could have guessed the people above had literally put gods on trial and sent them down here?
"We brought you someone," Makoto said, motioning for Tartaglia to step forward. "This is Tartaglia, a Fatui Harbinger. The people above sent him down here. Find a place for him."
"A place?" Wriothesley froze for a moment, baffled. But he quickly understood. "Oh... I see. He's here to help you too, right?"
Makoto said nothing more, and Wriothesley asked nothing further.
Both sides understood each other without needing to say it outright, and the arrangements were quickly made.
Once everything on Wriothesley's side was settled, Tartaglia followed the three of them out of the Duke's office.
Makoto said to him, "Rest for today. Tomorrow, we start moving. That whale is getting restless, but it's not time for it to go berserk yet. We still need to keep it suppressed."
"Eh..." Tartaglia nodded, still struggling to process everything.
Was he here to serve a sentence?
Why did it feel more like he had come here as some kind of VIP?
The way the inmates looked at him was nothing like how they looked at an ordinary prisoner. It was more like they were looking at a newly arrived boss.
The people above knew nothing about what was happening inside the Fortress of Meropide, and the Fontainians had no idea that the place they used to exile criminals had effectively become the temporary residence of Inazuma's Electro Archon.
...
Inside the Opera Epiclese, Marcel's trial had already ended.
As the true culprit behind the serial disappearances of young women, Marcel was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Lora called out to Aurelie.
"You're the director of a theater troupe, aren't you, Miss Aurelie?"
Aurelie did not know Lora's identity, but judging from the respect everyone around her showed, she could tell Lora's status was unusual.
She nodded. "I am. May I ask why?"
Lora smiled and shook her head.
"I just heard that you and your troupe are preparing a wonderful opera script. I'm looking forward to it."
Aurelie looked surprised, then quickly thanked her.
"Thank you for your recognition! My troupe and I will do our best to complete the script. When the time comes, I hope you'll share your thoughts with us."
"Of course," Lora replied with a nod.
After Aurelie left, the guard detail prepared to escort Marcel to the Fortress of Meropide. Lora stopped them and said, "Take him to the Fountain of Lucine first. Someone is waiting for him there."
The guards exchanged a glance, then nodded.
Marcel had no idea what she meant. Looking utterly confused, he followed the guards to the Fountain of Lucine.
Lora followed as well.
The Fountain of Lucine was where Fontaine's emotions gathered.
Standing beside Marcel, Lora said slowly, "Your lover is inside. Do you want to see her?"
"My... lover?" Marcel's expression changed immediately. He stared at Lora in shock. "You're telling the truth?"
"What would I gain by lying to you?" Lora looked at him calmly.
Marcel stared at her for several seconds before slowly walking toward the Fountain of Lucine.
The guards worried something might happen and instinctively prepared to intervene, but Lora stopped them.
"No matter what happens next, don't be surprised. And don't interfere."
After hearing that warning, the two guards became even more confused, completely unable to understand what was going on.
They watched Marcel step into the Fountain of Lucine.
At first, he seemed to be speaking with someone, his face full of joy and relief.
But soon, his expression twisted into overwhelming terror, and his entire body began convulsing violently.
The two guards immediately realized something was wrong and tried to rush in and drag him out, but Lora stopped them again.
"I already told you. Don't interfere."
She had lied earlier, though not entirely.
Marcel's lover truly did exist within the Fountain of Lucine.
But what remained there was no longer his lover.
It was the collective consciousness of all the young women Marcel had murdered. A consciousness overflowing with hatred toward Marcel... toward Vacher.
And Lora had gained something from this.
She had avenged her child.
Only after watching Marcel die within the Fountain of Lucine did Lora finally say to the guards, "Drag him out. Don't let him dirty the Fountain of Lucine."
Though the two guards were utterly baffled by everything that had just happened, they understood Lora's status was special and wisely said nothing.
They entered the Fountain of Lucine and dragged Marcel's corpse out.
One of them then said, "Miss Lora, we'll take him away now."
No matter what, a man had died. They still needed to provide an official explanation.
After they left, Zhongyue walked out of the Opera Epiclese and came to Lora's side. She handed her a candied hawthorn skewer from who-knew-where and said, "Here. Eat something sweet. Don't brood over it too much."
"Where did you even get candied hawthorn in Fontaine?" Lora asked in surprise.
Zhongyue clicked her tongue.
"Who do you think I am? With my skills, how could I ever go hungry anywhere? This one's made with one of Fontaine's local specialties. I tried it earlier, and honestly, it's pretty good. Once all this is over, I'm thinking about sourcing ingredients from Fontaine. What do you think? Interested in working together? Let's turn candied hawthorn into a business across all Seven Nations."
"...Not a bad idea. But once this is over, you'll have to discuss it with Neuvillette," Lora replied.
Zhongyue took another bite of the candied hawthorn, smacked her lips happily, then let out a satisfied sigh.
"Ah... now this is the life."