"You bastards actually tampered with me."
"No wonder I felt something was off. I'm not one to act without certainty."
"And that's why my head has been aching! It was you all along!"
With the truth exposed, the Dottore segments could no longer maintain their charade.
"Heh, so what if it's true?" Dottore No. 1 sneered dismissively at Dottore No. N. "You're utterly useless as a collaborator anyway."
"Consider yourself lucky we didn't do worse to you."
Meanwhile, Neuvillette never could have imagined that the Dottore segments would resort to performing open-skull surgery on Dottore No. N just to prove their point.
Seeing the Dottores' dismissive, nonchalant attitude—as if the matter were utterly insignificant—Neuvillette completely lost his patience.
Although the subsequent plans were crucial, if the other party was an extremely unstable factor, Neuvillette would rather take the extra effort.
"Monsieur Neuvillette, please don't misunderstand," Dottore No. 3 said, attempting to downplay the situation. "These were merely precautionary measures."
"Enough. I already know the truth." Neuvillette shook his head, unwilling to listen to any further excuses.
Though Dottore No. N was the victim, their willingness to inflict such cruelty upon themselves convinced Neuvillette that they would never treat others with any genuine consideration.
He then turned to Dottore No. 6 and asked, "If you were to complete this positioning alone, approximately how much time would it take?"
Hearing this, the Dottores' hearts sank.
They knew Neuvillette was no longer willing to cooperate with them, forfeiting their chance to prove themselves and essentially eliminating any hope of accessing Fontaine Technology through legitimate means.
"Approximately two days," Dottore No. 6 replied after a long moment of deliberation.
Hearing this timeframe, Neuvillette spoke with some surprise:
"Two days?"
"If Monsieur Neuvillette finds that too slow, I can expedite the process and complete it in a day and a half."
Good heavens, he's offering a faster turnaround!
Neuvillette wasn't concerned about the pace being too slow; on the contrary, he found it astonishingly fast, far exceeding his expectations.
Neuvillette had originally prepared for this to take over a month, which was why he'd reluctantly involved the other Dottores in the operation despite his distrust.
If this individual could locate the Dottore No. 2 "Segment" alone in such a short time, Neuvillette wouldn't have needed to hesitate about involving the others at all.
"No need to rush. I'll give you three days," Neuvillette said slowly, shaking his head at Dottore No. 6. "After three days, I expect you to fulfill your promise."
He gave the other party more time to prevent any oversights that might arise from rushing. Although Neuvillette was eager to confront the Dottore No. 2 "Segment" immediately, his reason ultimately prevailed.
"No problem, Monsieur Neuvillette," Dottore No. 6 replied. He shot a mocking glance at the other Dottores, who seethed with silent fury, before continuing, "That's more than enough time."
At that moment, the other Dottores wished they could tear Dottore No. 6 limb from limb on the spot. What kind of abomination is this thing? Utterly disgusting!
Dottore No. 6's astonishing efficiency had instantly rendered them useless. From this point on, Neuvillette would no longer have a shred of hesitation.
The only thing the other Dottores couldn't understand was how Dottore No. 6 dared to make such a promise to Neuvillette.
They were fundamentally identical; logically, their abilities shouldn't be that different. If they had attempted the task themselves, it was uncertain whether they could even succeed in locating the target.
Dammit, why does it feel like he's not even in the same league as us?!
At that moment, Neuvillette noticed the hostile glares from the other Dottores. After a moment of thought, he said to Dottore No. 6, "Come with me. I'll take you to a new residence."
Neuvillette considered that relying solely on the protective array still left Dottore No. 6 vulnerable. To be safe, it was better to move him to a more secure environment where he could focus on his research.
"Furthermore," Neuvillette added, "if you truly deliver on your promise, I will consider leniency in your 'Judgment.'"
"Should you wish to join Fontaine and become a Fontaine citizen, I will grant you that opportunity."
"Fontaine treats all its citizens equally. You will be free to pursue your own interests, and I will no longer restrict your movements."
The other Dottores practically drooled with envy at the grand offer Neuvillette laid out. They were consumed with regret, wishing they had been as shameless as Dottore No. 6.
"Heh, I must thank Monsieur Neuvillette for giving me this opportunity."
"Please rest assured, Monsieur Neuvillette. As I said before, I had no choice in the past. But now, I just want to be a good person."
"After atoning for my past sins, I wish to become a Fontaine citizen and start a new life."
"I'm already starting to look forward to such a life."
Hearing this, the other Dottores nearly threw up.
Disgusting! Utterly disgusting!
His shamelessness seemed to have transcended all limits.
Neuvillette nodded, relatively satisfied with Dottore No. 6's words. The Segment hadn't ignored his past crimes and was willing to take responsibility.
This even made Neuvillette start to believe that Dottore No. 6 might genuinely want to repent.
If only the other Dottore Segments could be this cooperative...
Neuvillette shook his head and led Dottore No. 6 away.
He would gradually grant him more freedom to further verify the sincerity of his repentance.
After Neuvillette and Dottore No. 6 left, the remaining Dottores stared at each other, their moods hitting rock bottom.
"What do we do now?"
"Hmph, what else can we do? Go home and sleep."
Dottore No. 1 snapped this out and turned to leave.
But before he left, his gaze suddenly fell on Dottore No. N, who had been watching the whole show with a mocking, amused expression.
CLANG!
Dottore No. 1 lowered the iron pipe, feeling much better. He figured he'd sleep well tonight.
Dottore No. N was stunned by the blow, his head splitting with pain. A large lump swelled up on his forehead.
After a long moment, Dottore No. N finally came to his senses. Just as he was about to unleash a torrent of curses at Dottore No. 1—that disrespectful brat who didn't know how to respect his elders—he was swarmed by the other Dottores and brutally beaten.
After venting their frustration, the other Dottores felt much better too.
Dottore No. N was knocked unconscious again. The only reason he was left breathing was that none of them wanted to add to their prison sentences.
Though they had once scoffed at such rules, now, under Neuvillette's absolute power, they had no choice but to use those same rules—which constrained Neuvillette as well—to protect themselves as much as possible.
-
After settling matters, Neuvillette hurried back to Fontaine.
Immediately upon his return, a Melusine reported the latest situation to him.
First, there was the issue of casualties. According to a letter from an informant, while it wasn't true that no one was injured at all—as Dark Furina had claimed—the number of casualties was only in the double digits.
This was both good news and bad news.
Neuvillette was relieved for those who had survived, but the increasingly dire situation in Fontaine weighed heavily on his mind.
The other major issue concerned his current handling of Rene and Jacob. Although Jacob had proactively saved many people—a scene secretly photographed by Charlotte from a distance and published in The Steam Bird—both he and Rene had non-human forms, which had earned them a poor reputation among the Fontaine citizens.
Many people opposed Neuvillette's decision to temporarily place the two in the Fontaine Research Institute to contribute their talents. They had even organized protests and surrounded Maison Gardiennage Headquarters across the region, demanding he reverse his decision.
Neuvillette didn't quite understand. He had agreed to Rene and Jacob's request because they wanted to help combat the Prophecy crisis, and the ultimate beneficiaries would be the citizens of Fontaine. Yet, it was the Fontainians themselves who were the first to oppose it.
Why did humans harbor such immense hostility toward races other than their own? This was a question Neuvillette hadn't been able to comprehend for centuries.
He shook his head and cautiously resumed his duties.
The situation had already escalated to protests and demonstrations. While it was likely instigated by malicious actors, now was not the time to hunt for the culprits. Any misstep could drive more people into Dark Furina's camp.
Neuvillette gazed at the list of over twenty towns that had already seceded from Fontaine's official rule, his eyes filled with deep worry.
If this continued, he feared something unpredictable might happen to the Hydro Archon Focalors.
But since she had decided to handle it alone, all he could do was trust her.
For now, his only course of action was to do everything in his power to prevent or slow the shift in the people's faith.
The remaining news was mostly trivial: another town had declared its secession from Fontaine's official control; Furina had a poor appetite today and took five minutes longer than usual to finish a limited-edition cake from Hotel Debord; Dark Furina was performing divine miracles across Fontaine to attract more followers...
Wait a moment.
Neuvillette suddenly realized Dark Furina's route wasn't random. She was spiraling inward, starting from the outermost towns and circling closer and closer, with the Opera Epiclese at the very center.
A premonition struck him: that was where she intended to stage the final battle.
Time is running out...
Neuvillette sighed, pushing the thought aside to avoid needless worry.
Charlotte had already published a detailed report on the events at the Opera Epiclese, but it had done little to change public opinion of Furina. More and more people were turning to Dark Furina instead.
At this point, it seemed he had no choice but to unveil some of the Fontaine Research Institute's recent achievements to reassure the public.
After a moment's hesitation, Neuvillette decided to hold a military exercise.
It would also serve as a clear warning to the Snezhnayan diplomats who had been causing trouble over the Tartaglia incident.
Neuvillette quickly set the date for the exercise: two days from now, in the outskirts near Fontaine. He then ordered the news to be widely publicized to prevent the situation from deteriorating further.
He didn't plan to showcase the latest weaponry; even the decommissioned models, he believed, would be enough to shock onlookers.
With these urgent matters handled, Neuvillette plunged back into his work, resuming his relentless 24/7 schedule.
That evening, Rene returned to his room at the Academy, dazed and silent for a long time.
Jacob watched him with concern. Just as he was about to speak, Rene suddenly looked at him and said softly, "Jacob, I have something to ask you."
"Go ahead, Rene," Jacob replied without hesitation, leaning closer.
"Do you think... I have no talent at all?"
"Do you think I'm just... stupid?"
Hearing Rene's words, Jacob understood at once: he was still reeling from the intellectual demolition Alva had dealt him earlier that day.
"How can you say that, Rene?" Jacob exclaimed. "The Rene I know is a genius who surpasses almost all his contemporaries! How can you doubt yourself like this?"
"But Jacob... he's so fast," Rene said slowly, repeating himself as if afraid Jacob wouldn't grasp the depth of his shock. "Just so fast..."
Rene couldn't help but recall what had happened at the end of the workday. A research project in his own familiar field of biology—one he'd pondered for an entire day without making any headway—had been solved by Alva in just half an hour.
The blow had left Rene utterly shattered, even ashamed. Just yesterday, he had considered Alva a genius on his own level.
To make matters worse, after finishing, Alva had muttered, "What a waste of time." The comment had instantly left Rene speechless, unsure how to react.
And that had led to this moment.
Logically, Rene couldn't believe anyone could complete a research project in such a short time.
Yet he'd witnessed it firsthand, and he couldn't deny what he'd seen.
Yesterday was one thing, but today marked the first time he had been so decisively defeated in his own area of expertise. He had to admit, it was a truly bizarre feeling.
"Perhaps the times really are changing, Jacob..." Rene murmured, gazing out the window at the star-filled sky.