Night fell.
Inside a bright and warm room, Furina was dressed in loose, comfortable sleepwear, lying on her big soft bed in a messy way, not looking elegant at all.
At this moment, her face looked very tired.
That afternoon, a group of explorers she had helped before brought back a report. The results were still disappointing; it showed there was no way to break the prophecy.
This long act... she felt truly lonely and sad.
She really wanted to pour her heart out to someone, but she feared she was just all alone...
Suddenly, Furina thought of Rei's gentle face.
If it were him, perhaps she could confide a little; after all, he had always been so loyal to her.
However, as soon as this thought appeared, she quickly dismissed it.
Furina sighed, raised her hand to wipe away the tears that had slid down her cheeks at some unknown point, and slowly closed her eyes, intending to take a good rest.
Just then, the crisp sound of the doorbell rang out at the door.
Hearing this, Furina reluctantly sat up from the bed, put on her pair of cute plush slippers, and walked toward the door.
She opened the door and was surprised to see that the visitor was not her assistant Sedene, but Rei.
She was surprised and looked up. She saw that Rei's expression looked a little strange; he was staring right at her with bright eyes.
Furina followed his gaze and looked down. She realized her loose sleepwear showed a lot of her pale skin.
She instantly let out a soft cry and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.
Immediately after, she fled back to her bed and covered herself strictly with her small blanket, as if she could hide from everything this way.
Outside the door, Rei's mind kept replaying that flash of spring scenery that had just entered his eyes.
He hadn't expected Furina to be so open with him. He also realized that what looked flat was not actually flat.
After an unknown amount of time, the door finally opened again.
Now, Furina was wearing a nice formal dress and her hat, looking very dignified and elegant.
There was still a blush on her face that hadn't faded, making her look even more charming.
Rei bowed and said with a big smile, "Lady Furina, you are the greatest god in the world, the brightest star in the night sky! My admiration for you..."
After listening, Furina crossed her arms over her chest. "My loyal subject, come in first. This Goddess shall listen to your plea."
"Many thanks for your generosity!" Rei expressed his gratitude sincerely, then walked into the room.
The two understood each other well; neither talked about what had just happened, acting like it never took place.
After that, Furina made a cup of hot coffee for Rei and brought it to him.
Rei took the cup and had a small sip. The familiar taste filled his mouth—just like before, it was way too sweet.
Even so, he still pretended to really enjoy it and praised her loudly.
"Rei, it's so late. Do you have business with me?" Furina tilted her head slightly and asked in confusion.
Rei put down the coffee cup in his hand and raised his head to look at Furina, but his gaze uncontrollably drifted downward.
He quickly stopped himself and said seriously, "Lady Furina, I heard that something big is about to happen in Flora's case. But right now, I can't help with the investigation, so I came to ask for your help."
"What change?" A trace of surprise flashed through Furina's eyes.
Rei shook his head. "I have to go to the Marechaussee Phantom and look at all the records before I can tell you."
Hearing this, Furina crossed her arms and hummed dissatisfiedly. "Actually, even if you don't say it, this Goddess has already guessed it."
Rei smiled a little and said, "Lady Furina, you are very smart. Of course you could guess it."
"At least you have good judgment!" Furina was very satisfied with Rei's answer and waved her hand gently.
With that, the two walked together toward the Marechaussee Phantom.
It was already 10 PM. The Marechaussee Phantom was still brightly lit, and many agents were working late to handle different cases.
They worked for Neuvillette, so working late was normal for them.
The Gardes, on the other hand, usually did not work late because the Gardemeks helped them.
Just as they stepped into the Marechaussee Phantom, Rei's "acquaintance," Ske, walked up.
He first bowed respectfully to Furina, then turned his gaze to Rei and said with an unkind tone, "Rei, you are about to be dismissed immediately. This is not a place you can come to."
These words made Furina unhappy. She frowned and said, "Ske, watch your language. Vice Captain Rei is only suspended temporarily."
Ske hesitated for a moment but still spoke up and said, "Lady Furina, even if it is just a suspension, according to the rules of the Marechaussee Phantom, this is still not a place he can come to."
Hearing this, Furina puffed up her cheeks in anger, but unfortunately, she couldn't find a suitable reason to refute him.
Just then, Rei spoke unhurriedly. "Agent Ske, I am now a Temporary Consultant hired by Lady Furina, specifically to assist her in investigating the case. I imagine the regulations of the Marechaussee Phantom wouldn't go so far as to block a god's consultant, right?"
As soon as his voice fell, Furina hurriedly chimed in from the side, "That's right, that's right! Rei is the consultant I hired temporarily."
Ske opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but in the end, he didn't dare to block them again.
Even if he were bolder, he wouldn't dare to thoroughly enrage a god.
After that, Rei and Furina went into the Marechaussee Phantom together and asked a staff member to bring all the files about Flora's case.
Soon, the staff member came over quickly, carrying a pile of papers almost as tall as a person.
Rei and Furina started looking through these papers in a quiet office.
Since this case was treated as a criminal case, the agents had done a huge amount of research.
However, for some reason, they had all avoided looking into one area and instead focused on a boy named Malo.
Because he could not provide a perfect alibi.
In addition to that, in one written statement, he even admitted that he liked Flora very much and even had fantasies about her.
When Rei read this part, he was speechless and furious.
It was clear that this written statement was made on purpose to trick Malo, who did not have much life experience, into a trap.
At this point, he had completely guessed the plan of Olev's faction.
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