This somewhat peculiar conversation caused both of them to pause, then they simultaneously looked at each other and laughed.
Yuto smiled and sat down in his office chair, looking at Little Sanhua lying on its back in the center of the desk, his smile growing wider.
He reached out and gently rubbed Little Sanhua's belly, and it comfortably narrowed its eyes, purring contentedly.
Meanwhile, Furina rested her chin on one hand, staring intently at Yuto and Little Sanhua, and eventually... her gaze settled on Yuto's face.
Looking at Yuto, whose expression was as gentle as ever, Furina found it difficult to reconcile him with the somewhat annoyed Yuto from the afternoon.
It was as if... they were completely different people.
After a long silence, Furina slightly raised her head to look at the man before her, then gently asked:
"Yuto, what... did you do this afternoon?"
Hearing this, Yuto's hand paused slightly, then he looked up, smiling at the young girl, and softly said:
"Nothing much. I just remembered that among the evidence lists the Shadowy Court previously submitted to me, there was something that could prove Tartaglia's guilt, so I went to Steambird Newspaper to issue a statement."
"As a machine personally created by Hydro Archon Focalors, who represents justice... the Judgment conclusion of the Oratrice Mecanique D'analyse Cardinale will absolutely not be wrong."
"Those pieces of evidence just happen to prove that Tartaglia has some connection to this case, but... he still can't escape imprisonment."
Yuto shrugged slightly as he spoke, then continued to stroke the kitten's belly, as if he wasn't the one who had shattered the floor tiles in Charles's office.
Hearing Yuto's words, Furina's expression faltered slightly, then she lowered her head, seemingly deep in thought.
By the time Furina finished her brief contemplation and looked up again, a hint of light had returned to her beautiful heterochromatic eyes.
"Then... Yuto, why did you choose Steambird Newspaper instead of having the Melusines of the Shadowy Court publicize this during their patrols?"
Hearing this, Yuto smiled mysteriously, made a shushing gesture, and then continued to play with the kitten in front of him.
He still wanted to see Furina's reaction tomorrow morning when she saw the content published in Steambird Newspaper herself.
After all, if she knew about this beforehand... it would lose its fun.
Furina, however, gave him a slightly displeased look, seemingly quite annoyed by Yuto's habit of keeping her in suspense.
Although she could guess most of it from Yuto's previous words, this kind of thing...
She still wanted to hear him say it himself.
Despite that, Furina wouldn't get angry just because Yuto chose not to tell her for now.
After all...
He was the Assistant Administrator who would always stand by her side~
...
Time always passed quickly while playing with the kitten; in just a blink, the sky outside had already turned dark.
Yuto and Furina, whose mood had gradually eased, also returned to their respective rooms to rest, both looking forward to the arrival of tomorrow.
Yuto slightly raised his head, looking at the pure white ceiling above, feeling a bit dazed for a moment.
To be honest, today's workload was busier than any other time before.
First, early in the morning, he accepted Navia's request to be the emcee at Cares's memorial service.
Then, he returned at noon and even met with Lyney, approved a few documents, and then entered the popularity point consumption phase.
After that was... the afternoon tea appointment with Furina, and the slight tear stains in the corner of the young girl's eyes.
Finally, Yuto, upon discovering that the unscrupulous reporters from Steambird Newspaper had bullied Furina, finally couldn't bear it and chose to strike back with full force.
"What a busy day indeed..."
Yuto sighed softly, shaking his head, as if he had some complaints about this day that was so full it was almost overflowing.
"Forget it, thinking so much is useless. Tomorrow, normal work starts again. It really is... not a moment's rest..."
Yuto sighed once more, then closed his eyes, falling into a dream with unimaginable speed.
...
The next day, Furina uncharacteristically woke up early.
She urgently wanted to confirm some of her conjectures about Yuto's motives.
Furina was not a little airhead; she could understand the meaning hidden in Yuto's words.
Clearly, Yuto must have found out something yesterday afternoon and also noticed that her mood was off, so he went directly to Steambird Newspaper.
But as for what Yuto did, and whether he truly just went to issue a statement, Furina was unsure.
It was precisely this "uncertainty" that made Furina so eager to know what Yuto had done.
"Good morning, Lady Furina, are you awake so early today?"
A somewhat cute voice rang in Furina's ear. She slightly raised her head, looking at the Melusine skipping towards her, and couldn't help but smile.
"Um... Sedna, has today's Steambird Newspaper been delivered?"
Hearing this, Sedna surprisingly covered her mouth with her small hand, then said with a hint of surprise:
"Hmm? It has been delivered... but why would Lady Furina come to get it so early? I remember... aren't you not interested in those things?"
Sedna's words made Furina pause slightly. She shook her head, cleared her throat, and continued:
"Ahem, as a God, one must occasionally pay attention to public opinion among the populace to facilitate future work improvements."
"Ah~ I see. Then please wait a moment, I'll go get my copy for you now~"
Sedna then skipped away, smiling.
Before long, Sedna returned with a rather thick newspaper and handed it to Furina.
"Here, Lady Furina~ This is today's Steambird Newspaper~"
Sedna paused slightly after saying this, then turned her gaze to a Fontaine resident who had just entered the Momang Hall.
"Hmm? Hey! Mr. over there, what business do you need to conduct?"
While greeting the Fontaine resident who had just entered, Sedna said to Furina beside her:
"Lady Furina, my official working hours have started~ So I'll go to work now~"
With that, Sedna skipped away.
Furina shrugged at the sight, then walked while looking at Steambird Newspaper in her hand.
On the cover of today's newspaper... there were uncharacteristically two large headlines.
"Momang Hall Spokesperson Yuto: Mr. Tartaglia Suspected of Providing Financial Support to the Kabrie Commercial Guild, Declared Guilty by the Oratrice Mecanique D'analyse Cardinale"
For Furina, this headline was not the main point.
At this moment, her gaze was entirely on the second headline.
"Steambird Newspaper's Apology Statement for Previous False Reports Regarding Lady Furina"
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