To Charlotte and Lumine's shocked gazes, Paimon devoured a whole food cart's worth of food in just fifteen minutes.
Charlotte looked at Lumine with a hint of pity, sighing softly as she said,
"You've truly suffered..."
Lumine nodded gravely, then sighed helplessly.
"Normally, a month's food expenses are 300,000 mora... sigh..."
"How much?! 300,000 mora?! A month?!"
Watching Paimon eat so much, Charlotte had expected her food expenses to be high, but... wasn't this a bit too much?
"Lumine... after a month of commissions... how much mora do you have left in the end?"
"Around 100,000..."
Lumine replied while eating "Orange Duck Breast."
"Uh... well, it seems adventurers earn quite a lot. When you come out of Meropide, would you mind if I did an exclusive interview?"
"Of course."
Over the next fifteen minutes, Lumine and Charlotte chatted idly about their future plans, as the food on the cart gradually diminished.
Ultimately, Lumine and Paimon lived up to expectations, clearing all the ordered food, and not adding another entry to their already bizarre "list of crimes."
As for the bill... Lumine had actually considered whether it would be better not to put the bill on Palais Mermonia's tab, but this thought was instantly shattered by Paimon.
"If we do that, wouldn't we be letting Yuto's good intentions go to waste?"
And so, the two of them, living up to the trust of Yuto, who was already waiting for them on Iliyas Island, emulated Master Zhong from Ritou and declared:
"Boss! Put it on Palais Mermonia's tab!"
...
By the time Lumine and Paimon arrived at Meropide as promised, Yuto and Neuvillette had already been waiting for a long time.
Watching the two figures approaching from afar, Yuto slightly stretched his stiff neck, then said:
"Don't you have a Judgment this afternoon? I'll just take them in."
"Yes, thank you."
"We've worked together for nearly five hundred years, why are you still so polite?"
"It is proper etiquette."
"You fellow..."
Yuto glanced at Neuvillette, somewhat speechless, then turned to the slightly out-of-breath Lumine and Paimon and said:
"Ladies, how prepared are you?"
Perhaps because Yuto had paid their bill, Paimon nodded gleefully and said:
"Yes! We're ready! She and I ate so many delicious things, oh! And the macarons you made, they were really good!"
"Speaking of which... I remember Navia also makes macarons, did you teach her that too?"
Hearing this, Yuto smiled and nodded, not denying it.
"As long as you like them. But Navia's pastry skills weren't taught by me; she figured them out herself."
"I see..."
Paimon said, then began looking around, seemingly searching for an entrance to Meropide.
"Uh...? Yuto, Neuvillette, is the entrance to Meropide really here? I don't see anything."
Neuvillette nodded, just about to say something when... Paimon heard the loud sound of gears grinding.
Accompanied by a huge roar, the platform above the steps gradually separated, revealing a long spiral staircase and an underwater elevator before them.
"Wow... so Meropide is underwater?"
"Relying on water and people's instinctive fear of the deep sea, Meropide is naturally suited for housing and guarding criminals."
"Don't worry, it's not a very scary place in there."
With that, Neuvillette paused slightly, seemingly choosing his words carefully.
"Words alone are not enough; please go down and see for yourselves."
Hearing Neuvillette's description, Paimon blinked slightly, muttering softly:
"Charlotte said that too, so it seems... it's not a very eerie or terrifying place after all."
At this moment, Neuvillette's gaze fell on Yuto.
"Because Mr. Yuto and I are tied up with official duties, we won't be accompanying you two into Meropide."
"I've already arranged for the appropriate personnel to guide you through the corresponding procedures, and of course, there will be a little... surprise."
Yuto smiled as he looked at the two in front of him, seemingly already imagining the expressions on their faces when they learned of their crimes.
However, the simple-minded Paimon had no idea she had been thoroughly schemed against, and instead asked excitedly:
"Wow! Is this the benefit of working for the Assistant Administrator and Palais Mermonia?! Is it some kind of special privilege?"
"That's no laughing matter. Although I have a good personal relationship with the Duke, it's not to the extent where I can grant special privileges to "criminals" related to me."
"Oh, right. Although you are going to investigate at Palais Mermonia's request, I hope you two don't have any conflicts with the Duke's people, otherwise it will be very difficult for me to handle."
Seeing Yuto's rather serious expression, Lumine and Paimon nodded repeatedly like pecking chicks, seemingly conveying their understanding to Yuto.
Yuto also nodded in satisfaction, then opened his mouth to instruct:
"Madeleine."
No sooner had he spoken than a woman in a Fontaine Guard uniform ran out of the underwater elevator.
She first saluted Yuto and Lord Neuvillette, then looked at Lumine and Paimon and said:
"I'm here, Lord Neuvillette, Lord Yuto, these two are the new prisoners, right? Please rest assured, I will not let them escape."
Perhaps because of Yuto's earlier admonition, Paimon, who had wanted to retort, merely pouted unhappily and ultimately said nothing.
"Please follow me, both of you. I will guide you through the procedures to enter Meropide."
...
Under Madeleine's guidance, Lumine and Paimon quickly arrived before Maretti, the Meropide Receptionist.
Seeing Madeleine bring two unfamiliar faces, Maretti, who had been half-asleep on the metal counter, slowly stood up and yawned:
"...It's Madeleine. Why did you have to come down today?"
"Lord Yuto and Lord Neuvillette specifically asked me to escort these two prisoners. Perhaps they don't trust others with them?"
Hearing those two names, Maretti raised an eyebrow in surprise, then sized up Lumine and Paimon, seemingly taken aback.
"Hiss... to be taken care of by these two Lords... could it be that you did something to offend Lady Furina?"
As Maretti spoke, she began to flip through the documents at hand, then read:
"It's Lumine and Paimon, right? Your crime is..."
Looking at the long string of sentences, Maretti fell silent, seemingly hesitating whether to speak it aloud.
—She had been a receptionist in Meropide for nearly ten years, and this was the first time she had seen such a bizarre crime.
Madeleine's curiosity was piqued by her silence, and the Miss Guard slightly leaned forward, trying to read the sentences in the booklet in Maretti's hand.
Seemingly noticing this, Maretti cleared her throat, then spoke:
"Ahem, your crime is..."
"'Without God's permission, ate the pastries meticulously prepared by the Assistant Administrator for God, and misappropriated the Assistant Administrator's deposits to be placed on account, causing Fontaine's political core to enter a prolonged silence,' sentence: forty-two days...?"
-------------------------------
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