After seeing Navia off, Yuto didn't immediately start reviewing documents. Instead, he took out a neatly cut slip of paper from his drawer.
Three large characters were written on the slip
—Leave Request.
Although Yuto and Furina had a very good relationship, the necessary procedures still had to be followed.
After all, this was Palais Mermonia. If he, an Assistant Administrator, were caught using connections to get special treatment... then things would become troublesome.
Ever since he took on the role of Assistant Administrator, Yuto's mindset had always been centered on the principle of "better to do more than less."
—He'd rather go through a little more trouble and do more than do less and leave himself open to criticism.
After briefly writing down the reason for his two-day leave, Yuto naturally walked out of his office with the leave request and headed to the first floor of Palais Mermonia, which was where the Momang Hall was located.
Seeing Sedna pacing back and forth near the main entrance, Yuto smiled, then quickly walked over to her side and softly called her name.
"Sedna?"
"Huh? Oh! It's Lord Yuto, why are you down here?"
Sedna instinctively spoke loudly, then immediately put her hand over her mouth, like a child who had said something wrong.
Seeing Sedna's adorable reaction, Yuto smiled and shook his head, then said softly:
"It's just the start of the workday, and there aren't many people in Palais Mermonia yet, so there's no need to be so jumpy."
Yuto handed her the leave request while comforting Sedna, and said softly:
"Here, this is my leave request. Please give it to Ms. Furina later."
"Also... I won't be in the office much these two days. Just put any documents that need reviewing on my desk. Thank you for your hard work."
Hearing Yuto's words, Sedna blinked slightly, then took Yuto's leave request and said:
"Okay! But Lady Furina seems to be in a meeting right now. I'll give it to her once she comes out~"
"Alright, thank you for your trouble~"
"Hehe~ As long as I can help you~"
After a brief farewell to Sedna, Yuto left Palais Mermonia.
Shortly after he left, Clorinde came down from the second floor, a mix of three parts doubt and seven parts shock on her face.
As a Shadow Hunter, Clorinde's hearing was naturally excellent.
Moreover, there weren't many people in the Momang Hall at the moment, so she easily overheard Yuto and Sedna's conversation.
"Yuto is... taking leave? Could something have happened somewhere?"
Clorinde couldn't help but think this.
She had heard from her master that Auxiliary Officer Chang Ming had never taken leave; even his days off were reduced versions of public holidays.
Furthermore, in all her years as a Duel Proxy... she had almost never seen Yuto rest, while she herself had full public holidays.
—Although those days were spent by Furina's side, being within Palais Mermonia was essentially no different from a vacation.
This made it hard for her to imagine how significant the matter must be to make Yuto put down his work and choose to take a day off to deal with it.
Better safe than sorry. If Fontaine truly encountered something difficult to resolve, she, Clorinde, as the Water God's guard and the strongest Duel Proxy, could still offer some help.
Thinking this, Clorinde nodded slightly, then followed Yuto out.
...
As a Shadow Hunter, Clorinde's greatest strengths were tracking and investigation, which were fundamental skills for every Shadow Hunter.
This meant that under normal circumstances, Yuto was essentially unable to detect Clorinde, who was following him like a ghost.
This was the fundamental difference between civil and military officials.
Even if a civil official possessed great power and suddenly mastered powerful swordsmanship, their combat awareness and subconscious, akin to a sixth sense, would still differ greatly from a true military official.
Clorinde continued to follow Yuto, watching him... enter the Chiori Tailor Shop.
This action left Clorinde utterly bewildered, and she then murmured in disbelief:
"So... Yuto takes breaks too...?"
In Clorinde's mind, there had always been two role models: one was the master who taught her all her skills, and the other was Fontaine's model worker—Yuto.
The former established her way of life and her ability to survive, while the latter was a perfect guidepost.
Whenever Clorinde felt exhausted... she would think of Yuto's work to motivate herself to keep busy.
Over time, Clorinde also became accustomed to working long hours.
It was as if, apart from a few high-ranking officials in Fontaine... everyone else respected the labor law.
However, for Clorinde... taking two days off to rest wouldn't damage Yuto's image in her mind.
After all, this person had worked for nearly five hundred years, and the total days he had rested amounted to barely a year.
What's wrong with resting more? He deserved it!
Thinking this, Clorinde nodded gently, successfully convincing herself, and then walked confidently towards the Chiori Tailor Shop.
Originally, she had intended to return to Palais Mermonia quickly, but then she suddenly remembered... she had previously asked Chiori to alter a piece of clothing, and it was due for pickup today, which was why she was heading towards the Chiori Tailor Shop.
At this moment, inside the Chiori Tailor Shop, Chiori looked at the rare, century-level client before her, feeling a bit puzzled.
"So... you want a formal suit for diplomatic occasions, right?"
Chiori asked, measuring Yuto up and down with a soft tape measure in her hand.
"Something like that... In terms of style, I want it to be a bit more aligned with Fontaine. The color scheme should preferably be blue and purple, so my hair and Vision won't look out of place."
"I understand that, but a formal suit for diplomatic occasions, and it needs to be different from your current one..."
Chiori's beautiful brows furrowed slightly, as if she couldn't come up with a clothing design style that would perfectly suit Yuto.
Seemingly noticing Chiori's hesitation, Yuto chuckled softly and snapped his fingers. A stream of purplish-black light instantly enveloped him, and the Law Enforcement Agency uniform reappeared on his body.
"If you're struggling with the design... then just design it based on this~"
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