Fontaine's Grand Stage: Come If You Dare! (Genshin Impact)

"Ah, I too believe Monsieur Callas would never have done such a thing," Marcel said.

"If we can clear his name, I'm sure his soul will find peace," he added.

"Miss Navia, please don't hesitate to ask if there's anything I can do to help," Marcel continued.

"I want to help catch the perpetrator of the Serial Young Girl Kidnapping Case too!"

Hearing Marcel's words, a grateful expression appeared on Navia's face.

"Thank you, Uncle Marcel," she said. "If I need anything, I'll definitely reach out."

Seeing that Navia seemed oblivious to anything amiss, the murderous intent in Marcel's heart subsided slightly.

It seems Callas didn't tell his daughter anything before he died.

"Very well, Miss Navia. I wish you the best of luck in catching the real culprit soon," Marcel said with a smile. "I have other matters to attend to, so I must take my leave."

"Goodbye, Uncle Marcel," Navia replied.

As Marcel's figure disappeared from view, Navia frowned slightly.

Was I truly mistaken earlier?

Since her ordeal with Lofan, Navia had grown wary of everyone except a select few, and her perception of malicious intent had become far sharper.

Having learned much from her chess-like interactions, she didn't ignore the fleeting opportunity she had sensed.

However, this only confirmed that Marcel wasn't as simple as he appeared. Without further clues, Navia couldn't discern anything more specific.

"Let's go," she said.

"Yes, Miss Navia," Melus and Silver replied.

Temporarily setting aside her suspicions, Navia led Melus and Silver back to the police station.

"Strange," Vinani murmured as she arrived at the crime scene, the sight before her quite peculiar.

"There's definitely a residual trace of Pyro Element here," she said, examining the spot where Lofan had burned the investigation report. "But otherwise, I can't sense any other elemental presence in the vicinity."

Since Lofan hadn't yet unlocked the Elemental Sight skill, he turned to Vinani for answers. "Miss Vinani, is there a problem?"

"A significant one," Vinani replied gravely, her antennae swaying as she nodded. Lofan felt an urge to reach out and touch them.

Sensing his inappropriate thoughts, Vinani took two steps back before speaking again, her voice confident. "The Pyro Element trace here is highly unusual. Normally, someone with a Vision uses it as a tool to manipulate the ambient elemental energy. When they use Elemental Power, there should be traces of other elements throughout the room. But this isolated mark resembles fire naturally generated within an individual's body."

Lofan nodded, realizing that the System's version of Elemental Mastery must be a modified version.

"I understand now!" Vinani suddenly exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with excitement.

"The perpetrator wasn't human at all—it was a monster!" Vinani declared.

"The scene is so clean, this monster might even be one that can fly."

"Someone tamed this monster and ordered it to destroy evidence at the police station. But the victim stumbled upon them, leading to this tragedy."

"Uh..." Lofan was utterly dumbfounded by Vinani's deduction.

Good grief, this reasoning is so far-fetched it's absurd!

While Lofan admired Vinani's wild imagination, he couldn't believe anyone would take such a ludicrous theory seriously.

"Excellent! Splendid deduction, Miss Vinani!" Captain Elton exclaimed, clapping his hands with genuine excitement. He immediately began issuing orders to the others.

"Did you hear that? Investigate according to Miss Vinani's theory!"

"Yes, Captain Elton!"

The officers turned to Vinani with undisguised admiration.

The Poisson Garrison had been stumped for ages, yet she had arrived on the scene and made this astonishing breakthrough in minutes. It was truly remarkable!

"No wonder she's from the Marechaussee Phantom! Their investigative skills are unmatched!"

The officers showered Vinani with praise.

Lofan watched the spectacle, feeling nauseous.

Seriously? You actually believe this ridiculous theory?!

What the hell is going on here?!

No, he had to regain control of the situation. If they continued their investigation like this, it would take forever to track down the Sinthe trafficker!

"Thank you, everyone," Vinani said, lowering her head shyly in response to the praise.

Just then, she felt someone pat her on the head. The familiar sensation instantly brought a flush of embarrassment and annoyance to her face. Turning around, she found Lofan standing behind her.

"Monsieur Henry, please cease this rude behavior and promise never to repeat it!"

"Ahem... actually, I meant to pat your shoulder..." Lofan trailed off.

"It was just a slip of the hand..."

Lofan gestured at Vinani's height, earning himself an even fiercer glare.

"Ahem... anyway, regarding this case, I have a question for Miss Vinani."

"According to your deduction, the culprit is likely a flying monster capable of using the Pyro Element."

"If that's true, how do you explain the knife wound on the victim's neck?"

Vinani's indignant expression froze at Lofan's question. Her face paled with embarrassment as she stammered, unable to form a coherent response.

How could she have overlooked such a crucial detail? This was mortifying!

If her colleagues at the Marechaussee Phantom found out about this, they'd never let her live it down!

Lofan's words completely froze the smiles on everyone's faces. After a moment, Captain Elton snapped his fingers, pulled a Maison Gardiennage officer aside, and demanded, "Where are the others?"

"Uh... they went out to investigate as you ordered, Captain."

"Then what are you waiting for? Get them all back here immediately!"

"Yes, Captain Elton!"

After dismissing the officer to summon the others, Captain Elton approached Lofan with a forced smile. "Brother Henry, what's your take on this case?"

"I'm just standing here looking at it."

Captain Elton's face crumpled into a scowl at Lofan's deliberately naive reply.

"Just kidding," Lofan said with a shrug, spreading his hands in a gesture of helplessness. "I've only just started looking into this. It's impossible for me to have any brilliant insights yet."

Captain Elton sighed in exasperation. "Well, let me know when you need time to think. I'll assign someone to watch over you."

"Yeah, yeah," Lofan waved dismissively, then pretended to focus intently on searching for clues.

Still curious about something, Lofan turned to Vinani and asked, "Miss Vinani, what exactly is your role here?"

"Miss Vinani, are you absolutely certain about your earlier statement regarding elemental traces?" Lofan asked.

Vinani hesitated before answering. "Well, it's not entirely absolute. If someone's power reaches a certain level, they can indeed erase elemental traces completely."

"But if the perpetrator was strong enough to do that, why would they leave behind such a small patch of traces in that one spot?" she continued. "Besides, the likelihood of the culprit possessing such immense power isn't very high. Otherwise, it wouldn't just be one Maison Gardiennage officer who fell victim—the entire Poisson Garrison would be in danger."

Vinani's words sent a chill through the other Poisson Garrison officers present, cold sweat breaking out on their foreheads. Oblivious to their reaction, Vinani continued, "Also, I've heard that Archons have unique physiology. They can apparently generate Elemental Power directly."

I understand now—the culprit is the Pyro Archon! Wait, didn't I commit suicide? Never mind then!

Lofan pondered for a moment. He realized he couldn't sense any ability to erase elemental traces himself. He'd likely need to exchange for Advanced Elemental Mastery, which meant the required power was far beyond ordinary.

Looks like I need to patch up this inconsistency.

Alright, you're up next—Number Two!

Lofan opened the System interface, exchanged for a body that matched his desired image, and nodded in satisfaction.

"You look like you're thinking about something really "cool"," Vinani remarked, her expression wary.

Lofan chuckled cheerfully. "What do you mean? I'm a police officer, the very light of justice. How could I possibly be thinking about anything improper?"

Vinani scoffed softly, clearly disbelieving every word he said.

Just then, Lofan spoke again. "Miss Vinani, isn't it possible the elemental traces at the scene came from an object?"

"An object..." Vinani murmured, her eyes widening. "You're right. Attributing this to a weapon would make far more sense."

"But if they had such a powerful weapon, why resort to slitting the victim's throat with a sharp blade instead of using it directly?"

"That's the strange part. The method used by the killer is completely disconnected from their capabilities. It's almost as if two different people were involved."

"Could there be a third party involved in this case?"

"But that doesn't quite add up either. When breaking into a police station to destroy evidence, fewer people would usually attract less attention."

"Still, aside from this possibility, I can't think of any other plausible explanations for now."

Lofan nearly burst out laughing at Vinani's bewildered expression.

Of course she can't find anything, he thought. It was suicide. She could investigate for a lifetime and never find a non-existent murderer.

But to maximize the impact of this case, it couldn't simply conclude as a suicide or remain unsolved.

Lofan's original plan was to fabricate a non-existent culprit that aligned with the Maison Gardiennage's current line of reasoning. However, given Vinani's wildly implausible deductions and his own oversight regarding elemental traces, he had to improvise.

This required some preparations, meaning his consciousness would need to temporarily leave his body.

With this in mind, Lofan beckoned Captain Elton over.

Captain Elton's face lit up at the gesture, and he scurried over eagerly.

"What is it, Brother Henry? Have you found something?"

This time, Lofan simply nodded solemnly.

"Almost. But I still need to refine a few details."

Captain Elton grew even more excited, slapping Lofan heartily on the shoulder.

"Just as I expected from my Brother Henry! Hahaha! Entrusting you with this case was the right choice!"

"Now, it's time to use that, isn't it?"

"Indeed."

Captain Elton's booming voice quickly drew the attention of everyone nearby.

"Vice Captain Henry is incredible! He's about to crack the case already!"

"Are we finally going to see that move again? Everyone, I'm so hyped!"

"Vice Captain Henry is absolutely badass!"

The Maison Gardiennage officers who knew Lofan had already launched into their usual flattery routine, while the others looked on in bewilderment.

"Um, excuse me, but what exactly is this 'move' you're all talking about?"

"Ugh, you know, that one!"

"Which one?"

"That one!"

"Are you messing with me?!"

"Sigh, it's hard to explain. Anyway..."

"Whether you understand or not, just watch!"

Vinani stared at Lofan in astonishment. While her own mind was still a tangled mess, he already had a plan?

Moreover, he had been the one to notice her earlier oversight. Only now did Vinani fully grasp what Captain Elton meant when he described Lofan as "exceptionally capable."

Curious about what Lofan would demonstrate next, Vinani couldn't resist asking Captain Elton.

The captain paused briefly, then sighed. "Miss Vinani, you've already seen it."

"Ah? I have?" Vinani's confusion deepened.

Captain Elton patiently explained, "Yes, on the Aquabus. Do you remember, Miss Vinani?"

"The Aquabus... Wait a minute, Monsieur Elton, you don't mean...?"

"Exactly! That's it!"

Meanwhile, Lofan had sprawled comfortably on a plush sofa. After adjusting himself to a perfect position, he detached his consciousness.

Suddenly, everyone noticed a "wise" glint in Lofan's eyes, and his entire demeanor transformed.

"Here comes 'Dumb Henry'!"

"That's because Vice Captain Henry gets so engrossed in his thoughts that he looks like a complete idiot..."

"Idiot! That's the old version. Get with the times!"

"Have you forgotten? Vice Captain Henry has forbidden us from using that nickname in his presence!"

"Right, right. We can only use it in private."

At this, someone couldn't resist asking, "So what do we call him now?"

"Excellent question!"

"Vice Captain Henry said we can call him 'Sleeping Henry'!"

"Speaking of which, when he said that, he rubbed the back of his neck... I wonder if there's some hidden meaning behind that..."