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

"This is Monsieur Henry's ability?!" Vinani was utterly bewildered, feeling as if she might have gotten out of bed wrong that morning and somehow entered a surreal world.

"Exactly! I told you, Miss Vinani, you've already seen it."

Elton beamed at the empty shell sprawled on the sofa, then continued, "Miss Vinani, you might not fully understand, but Brother Henry has solved several cold cases exactly like this before."

"You can always trust the senile... the slumbering Henry!"

"Exactly, Miss Vinani, we can all vouch for it."

The other Maison Gardiennage officers crowded around, chiming in excitedly.

"Every time Vice Captain Henry enters this state, he cracks the case as soon as he wakes up. It's truly incredible!"

"The slumbering Henry—eternal god!"

Vinani felt like she had stumbled into a bizarre dream, even catching glimpses of cult-like fervor in their eyes.

"Is he really that amazing?"

Despite the overwhelming consensus, Vinani remained skeptical.

"You'll understand when Brother Henry wakes up," Elton said with a knowing look. The others nodded in sympathy, remembering their own initial disbelief before succumbing to Lofan's peculiar methods.

Vinani scratched her head, deciding to wait until Lofan woke up before drawing any conclusions. In the meantime, she would scour the scene for any overlooked clues herself—maybe she could even solve the case before he did.

Vinani found Lofan's state peculiar. He didn't appear deeply focused on his thoughts; instead, he looked as if his soul had been drained from his body.

Shaking her head, Vinani began to meticulously examine the crime scene.

"Don't just stand there! Get over to Brother Henry immediately and make sure no one disturbs his concentration!"

"Yes, Captain Elton!"

Soon, the Five Great Guardians had formed a protective cordon around Lofan's empty shell, their eyes sharp as they scanned the surroundings for potential disruptors.

After some time, Vinani noticed something amiss: the level of disarray at the scene seemed insufficient.

While there were clear signs of a struggle, the positions of various objects suggested they had been overturned in a deliberate sequence, rather than scattered randomly during a fight. It was more akin to someone having meticulously knocked them over.

This observation stemmed from the scene's strangely artistic composition. Typical impromptu homicides were chaotic and haphazard, lacking such a strong visual impact. This crime scene, however, felt carefully staged, as if deliberately arranged.

Could the culprit have been trying to tamper with the crime scene?

What must the original crime scene have looked like?

Just as Vinani was about to explain her findings to Captain Elton, Lofan finally woke up.

He sat up on the sofa and stretched languidly.

This time, his body felt much less stiff. Although he had full control of this body, overly tense muscles could still cause him to trip over nothing. Don't ask how I know; telling that story would just bring tears.

Tripping in a crowded place would be like starting over completely.

Seeing Lofan finally awake, Captain Elton suppressed his excitement and eagerly asked, "Brother Henry, how are you feeling?"

Lofan chuckled softly. "I've figured everything out."

"In fact, I already know who the killer is."

The crowd stared at him with a mix of awe, confusion, and shock. They had expected Lofan to uncover clues, but finding the killer himself was beyond their wildest expectations.

"Moreover, the killer is a member of the Poisson Maison Gardiennage—a Maison Gardiennage officer!"

The room fell silent, then erupted with disbelief.

What? The killer is one of us?!

A cold sweat broke out on the backs of many officers as the realization sank in: they had been working alongside a murderer. Disbelief flooded their faces.

They simply couldn't believe Lofan's accusation.

Vinani was equally stunned; this revelation was far beyond her expectations.

"Who is it?!" Captain Elton's eyes flashed with fury. Like a ferocious predator, his icy gaze swept across the Maison Gardiennage officers, each man flinching under his scrutiny and avoiding eye contact.

Corruption within the Maison Gardiennage was inevitable. But Captain Elton couldn't tolerate a traitor daring to harm his colleagues within the station itself. If he caught the culprit, he would make them regret their actions.

With that thought, Captain Elton signaled to his officers to block the exits. Today, that murderer wouldn't leave the Poisson Maison Gardiennage alive!

Having secured the perimeter, Captain Elton turned back to Lofan. "Brother Henry, speak freely. As long as the killer remains in this station, they won't escape today!"

With Captain Elton's unwavering assurance, Lofan felt emboldened to confidently accuse the murderer.

"The killer is..."

"Him!"

Lofan pointed to a specific spot in the room. Captain Elton, who had been poised to strike, lunged forward like a cheetah the moment Lofan's finger extended.

But after only two steps, Captain Elton abruptly stopped. He glanced perplexedly at the spot Lofan had indicated, then back at Lofan.

"There's no one there?" he asked, puzzled. "Brother Henry, are you sure you're not pointing in the wrong direction?"

In response to Captain Elton's skepticism, Lofan simply offered a mysterious smile before declaring with unwavering conviction, "I haven't made a mistake, Captain Elton. There is someone there—or rather, there was someone there."

Captain Elton was completely dumbfounded. How could there have been someone there when the spot was clearly empty? "Brother Henry, this isn't the time for jokes..."

Before Elton could finish, Vinani interrupted urgently, "Wait, Monsieur Henry! Are you saying the victim himself is the murderer?!"

"Congratulations, Miss Vinani. You're absolutely right."

"Too bad I don't have a gold star to give you. I'd definitely pin one on you if I did."

Lofan gave Vinani a thumbs-up. He had originally planned to tease everyone a bit, but Vinani had figured it out so quickly. It seemed she had either uncovered some clues herself or simply had a very sharp mind.

Their exchange left everyone dumbfounded. What was going on? How could the victim suddenly be the murderer?!

Captain Elton slapped his forehead. No wonder Lofan had mentioned someone being in the direction he'd pointed. Now it made sense—the spot Lofan had indicated was exactly where the body had been lying.

With the body now removed, it was obvious someone had been there.

But as Captain Elton pieced together who Lofan was accusing, a new question arose in his mind:

How could the victim possibly be the murderer?

"So, are you saying the victim committed suicide?"

"Yes and no."

"Is it suicide or not?"

"Well, it's like this... wait, wait, wait, Captain Elton, why are you getting so agitated?"

Seeing Captain Elton roll up his sleeves, Lofan immediately sobered up.

"Actually, here's what really happened..."

"The current consensus is that the victim discovered someone was trying to destroy the Sinthe investigation report and was killed during a confrontation with the perpetrator."

"If we follow that line of reasoning, where did the killer go?"

"If the culprit were highly skilled, there wouldn't have been such a commotion, alerting others to the scene."

"But if the perpetrator was weak, how could they have vanished without a trace through the Maison Gardiennage's tight cordon?"

The Maison Gardiennage officers from Poisson nodded in agreement with Lofan's words.

"Indeed, as Monsieur Henry pointed out, we immediately sealed off the entire area after this heinous crime, yet we found no sign of the killer."

Lofan chuckled softly at their response before continuing, "If the killer never left the Poisson Maison Gardiennage in the first place, of course you wouldn't find them."

"Let's take it a step further and hypothesize that the killer is one of your own Maison Gardiennage officers."

"In that case, the culprit simply needed to break a window and wait for the right moment to blend back into the ranks."

"This would have allowed them to easily bypass your cordon."

"By considering this angle, we might uncover many new leads."

Hearing this, many began to see the logic, though they remained reluctant to believe that the killer could be one of their own.

"Brother Henry," Captain Elton said to Lofan, voicing the unspoken doubts of most Maison Gardiennage officers present, "even if the crime scene was meticulously staged, that only proves the perpetrator was a member of the Maison Gardiennage. It doesn't prove the deceased was the culprit."

Suddenly, Vinani interjected, addressing Lofan directly. "Because the crime scene was carefully staged, wasn't it, Monsieur Henry?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Lofan's face before he nodded. "Miss Vinani is correct. The scene wasn't solely the result of a struggle."

"Otherwise, how could such a commotion have gone unnoticed? Why wait until the very last moment to shatter the glass and draw attention to the crime scene?"

"The crime scene was deliberately staged."

"Now, here's the question: if the perpetrator had the composure to stage the scene, why would they panic and flee through the window, drawing attention to themselves?"

"And if the culprit was indeed a Maison Gardiennage officer, why not simply leave the scene discreetly and reappear elsewhere, acting as if nothing had happened? Why the desperate rush?"

"If we rule out a third party, then the person who staged the scene and the one who fled through the window must be different."

"I believe the deceased himself orchestrated the scene."

"My guess is that the victim was the one who wanted to destroy Sinthe's investigation results. But directly destroying them would have made him an immediate suspect, possibly even leading to criminal charges."

"So he devised a plan: find a scapegoat, kill that person, and bury the truth completely. He might even have taken credit for solving the case."

"But he never anticipated that the random scapegoat he chose would turn the tables and kill him instead."

"His entire plan crumbled, costing him his life."

"Meanwhile, the scapegoat, realizing he had accidentally killed someone, panicked and fled the scene in disarray."

"That's the full sequence of events."

After hearing Lofan's deduction, the others snapped out of their daze, utterly impressed by his remarkable analytical skills. Most of them would never have suspected that the deceased was the mastermind behind the entire scheme, believing instead that something had gone wrong during its execution.

Suddenly, a Maison Gardiennage officer spoke up, addressing Lofan.

"But Monsieur Henry, didn't you say earlier that the deceased was the murderer? According to this reasoning, wouldn't the real killer be someone else entirely?"

Hearing this, Lofan couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Seriously? The guy was clearly the victim, only acting in self-defense at the end. At worst, it's justifiable self-defense."

"How can you call him a murderer? Have you no decency?"

Lofan's retort made the other man's expression turn sheepish.

Captain Elton quickly chimed in. "Indeed, if he was originally the victim, calling him the murderer isn't quite right."

"But Brother Henry, isn't there something you're not telling us?"

"What about the real victim?"

Though Captain Elton was furious that the Maison Gardiennage had harbored such a rotten apple—someone they had nearly glorified as a hero—his immediate priority was to solve the case. With the real victim still missing, he naturally focused on that first.

Lofan simply smiled faintly, deliberately adopting a mysterious tone as he addressed Captain Elton.

"Captain Elton, besides us Maison Gardiennage officers, who else do you think might be in this police station?"

"Who else? Janitors, maybe?" Elton scratched his head. "But Poisson must have already vetted those types of personnel, right?"

He glanced at the Maison Gardiennage officers from Poisson, who nodded in confirmation.

"Sigh, Captain Elton, there's one group you've forgotten," Lofan sighed exasperatedly, astonished that even after his pointed hint, Elton still hadn't grasped the crucial point.

Seeing someone like Captain Elton reassured Lofan. He was confident his subsequent plans wouldn't face much resistance.

With that thought, Lofan decided to stop playing coy.

"A criminal, then."

"There must be a criminal who was recently detained here but hasn't yet been brought to trial."