Mr. Zhongli, we can't slack off anymore!

"I?"

Linni raised his hand, his long, slender fingers gently touching his chest. His voice held no anger, no panic, not even a deliberate attempt to explain; it was simply a pure, unexpected, yet rather amusing, sense of bewilderment. His eyes widened slightly, his eyelashes trembled, and there was even a hint of innocent confusion.

What?

what?

How are you?

Why you?

How old are you?

Why is it always you?!

(This is not formal English; children should not learn it.)

The traveler stood to one side, feeling her face even stiffer than when it was covered by a hood. Her lips twitched involuntarily.

This plot...doesn't it look familiar?

I've definitely seen it!

That feeling of "the traveler quietly observing the NPCs' passionate deductions, only to find the results riddled with flaws"...

She glanced at Funina, who stood with her hands on her hips, her expression as resolute as if she were reading a verdict, and then looked at the great magician opposite her, who was accused of being the murderer but still maintained his elegance. For a moment, she didn't know who to sympathize with.

Should we interrupt her?

The thought had barely crossed her mind when she suppressed it.

Oh well... I should have some faith in her!

The traveler silently cheered himself on, and also on the former water goddess who was immersed in the role of "Detective Frynn".

Maybe...maybe she really does have evidence? Although the starting point and ending point of this reasoning are...uh, a bit of a jump, but what if...what if she has information I don't know?

Let's wait a little longer.

Furnessa was completely absorbed in her own world of reasoning, oblivious to everything else. She took a step forward, her heels clicking crisply on the marble floor, as if she were treating this makeshift interrogation area as the most magnificent stage of the Opikley Opera House.

“That’s right.” Her voice was clear and bright, like a line from a script, falling precisely on the right beat: “Only a very few core actors in the troupe and you know that there are several secret passages hidden beneath the Opiclie Opera House.”

"These secret passages were originally designed to allow performers to enter quickly without disturbing the audience, especially in large-scale magic shows that require 'appearing out of thin air' or 'disappearing suddenly.' For many years, this secret was passed down by word of mouth within a very small circle. After all, the charm of magic lies in the fact that the audience can never guess what is hidden behind the curtain."

"The reason why Blanchard 'suddenly disappeared' in your magic trick was not a miracle of instant teleportation at all, but that she left the stage on her own through a secret passage."

“That prop you call the ‘magic cloth’,” Furna continued, her pace quickening, “actually has a pre-set, foldable, lightweight iron frame inside. From the audience’s perspective, the area covered by the cloth always maintains a complete human silhouette, giving the illusion that there is always someone inside.”

"But in reality, the moment the black cloth fell and obscured the view, the real person had already left through the secret passage."

"You, too, dressed Lu Ren in the clothes of an 'executioner' the moment the same black cloth fell down."

"The 'executioner' is dressed very simply, with only a large black robe and a hood that exposes her eyes, without any complicated accessories. The moment the black cloth is placed over her head, you only need to slip the pre-prepared black robe onto her body, and the entire 'person-changing' process can be completed in just two or three seconds."

"The Lu people's sense of touch will be completely deceived by the feeling of 'cloth brushing against their body', and they will only think that magic cloth is covering their skin. They will not realize that they have become 'executioners'."

"As members of the Fools, I suspect you've already investigated everything beforehand: Lu Ren's personality, Blanchard's situation, the mother who's desperately trying to raise money to save her son, and... given Lu Ren's personality, once she learns all this, she'll almost certainly choose to take his place in the competition."

“You calculated that.”

"While Lu Ren, under her code name, was giving her all in the ring for that prize money... you, in some unknown corner of this theater, murdered the real Blanchard."

“And the accomplice who helped you carry out all of this—Berlanges—you also silenced him afterwards.”

She pointed to the two black body bags lying quietly not far away.

"As for why Béranger's body appears to have been dead for more than 24 hours—that's naturally a trick of your magicians."

"Your goal is to create an alibi by making his time of death contradict your claim of the 'last meeting'."

"pity……"

Furnessa suddenly raised her voice, like the final accent before the climax of a play:

“Berlanger knew he would be silenced. Before he died, he left clues and deliberately hid the body in a hidden compartment of your large magic box, so that the entire Fontainebleau would witness the murder.”

Then, she raised her head: "Although I am no longer the goddess of Fontaine… "but those who disrupted my meticulously crafted special performance, using my bodyguard selection event as cover for your dirty assassinations—"

Her voice suddenly rose: "I absolutely cannot allow it!"

The lingering sound echoed in the room for a long time.

……

The silence lasted for a full three seconds.

Her explanation wasn't entirely illogical; many details seemed to connect.

Just ...

Then, Linni spoke:

"But...why should we do this?"

The problem is... there's absolutely no motive, and the entire reasoning is like a castle in the air.

Funina's momentum visibly... weakened for a moment.

"Ahem..." She cleared her throat, trying to maintain her "everything is under control" aura: "That's...that's something that happens within your Fatui...."

She herself seemed a little unsure of herself when she said that.

“Then…” Linni asked in a humble tone, “Why did we choose to carry out the assassination in full view of everyone, using such a complicated method that is so easy to leave loopholes? Shouldn’t assassination missions be carried out in sparsely populated locations where it is easy to escape?”

Fu Ningna pursed her lips.

“Of course…of course it’s because…” Her speech slowed down: “In crowded places, Blanchard won’t be on guard…who would expect someone to suddenly attack in broad daylight, in full view of everyone…and you Fools can also put pressure on Fontaine and increase your bargaining power in diplomatic negotiations…”

Her voice grew softer and more uncertain.

Linnie maintained her polite listening posture, even patiently waiting when Linnie hesitated, making sure she had nothing more to say, before gently posing her final question:

"Well then, I have one last question. How can I be so sure that both Ms. Blancci and Ms. Lu will participate in my magic trick?"

Funina opened her mouth.

"Of course it's because...you investigated her beforehand..." Her voice had lost its initial certainty, the last syllable rising slightly: "You must know...her personality, her past...so you planned in advance...a process that she couldn't refuse..."

After all, she had no direct evidence for any of these things.

The traveler listened quietly from the side.

Hey……

She sighed softly.

I'll do it.

Next up is the performance of "Detective Traveler".

“Mr. Linni, deliberately performing magic above the entrance to the secret passage—this choice can hardly be considered entirely a coincidence, can it?”

The traveler looked at Linni, his gaze calm.

"Whether Blanchard's death is ultimately determined to be accidental or murder, and regardless of why Béranger's body exhibits those characteristics of the time of death, you did indeed use the secret passage, and you did indeed switch my identity with Blanchard's without my knowledge."

"These are objective facts."

Linni stared at her. His face seemed more serious than before.

“I don’t want to accuse you of anything,” the traveler continued. “I just feel that with such a big incident at the opera house, two murders, several witnesses, suspects giving conflicting accounts, the times of death not matching up, and the motive not being found… just staying here like this isn’t a solution.”

“So,” the traveler’s voice softened, as if in casual conversation, “why don’t we both…be more honest?”

There was no coercion or calculation in her tone, only a worldly wisdom gained through experience:

"I believe the authorities in Fontainebleau take this case very seriously, and the investigation will likely extend beyond just the murder. Perhaps... being honest about some things might actually help you?"