Inside the House of the Hearth, Arlecchino returned to the living room to find the children sprawled across the floor, napping.
For some reason, they preferred sleeping on the floor to their beds, lying in disarray. Perhaps they had simply fallen asleep after playing together.
In the past, Luna would have always found excuses to sleep with her head in Arlecchino's lap during these times.
"Father," a soft voice called.
Arlecchino turned to see Lyney and Lynette standing in the doorway.
"Come with me," Arlecchino said, heading toward her office. Lyney and Lynette followed closely behind.
She closed the door to avoid disturbing the children napping inside. Only then did Arlecchino ask, "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine," Lyney replied. "I didn't expect simply getting close to the Oratrice's core would expose me to so much Indemnitium..." He flexed his hand.
Lynette twitched her cat ears. "And if it weren't for 'Father,' we wouldn't have even noticed."
Arlecchino sat down, pressing her fingertips together on her lap.
"Good to hear you're alright. But this raises a new problem: the massive amount of Indemnitium the Oratrice has converted over the past five centuries clearly exceeds demand."
Even if Fontaine were entirely covered in devices, they likely wouldn't need that much energy.
So what purpose could such a vast reserve of Indemnitium serve?
Arlecchino dismissed the idea of mere "energy hoarding paranoia." Combined with the voice within the Oratrice... She pondered for a moment before Lynette's report interrupted her thoughts.
"There's also..."
"Hmm?"
"Lulu has kidnapped Furina."
Arlecchino: "..."
They exchanged glances, rarely seeing Arlecchino remain silent for so long.
Even "Father" seemed astonished by Luna's actions. Lyney shrugged.
Lynette shook her head.
Kidnapping a God... No one could have predicted such a thing. She was deeply concerned about what Luna was doing with Furina now.
"...'Father,' what do you think Lulu's motive is?"
She couldn't believe Luna would act without reason.
"Could it be that she's also searching for the truth behind the Prophecy...?"
Just like with the Serial Disappearance Case of the young girls.
Arlecchino glanced at Lynette's tail, which was twitching incessantly, clearly betraying her agitation.
"Perhaps. But since childhood, she's only ever followed her own will and ideas, never allowing external influences to sway her course."
"So even if she is seeking the truth of the Prophecy, the choices she makes will be different."
"Different from ours?" Lyney couldn't help but ask.
Arlecchino didn't answer. Instead, she stood up and walked to the window.
"That's why she can never become 'King'," Arlecchino murmured softly.
-
Furina crossed her arms, puffed out her chest, and tried to meet Luna's gaze head-on.
I can't lose in terms of presence!
Luna chuckled softly. "Is there anything you'd like to do, Miss Furina?"
Furina couldn't help but react.
"Huh?"
You're asking me?
Didn't you practically kidnap me? Furina grumbled inwardly.
But as Focalors, she couldn't possibly admit to being kidnapped.
Leaning her cheek on her hand, Furina smiled faintly. "Rather than asking me, why don't you guess? Didn't you call this a 'date'?"
Her cheeks flushed slightly as she said the word.
She crossed her legs. "I'm the guest you've been longing for. You should pull out all the stops to please me..."
"Please? Like..." Luna tugged at her collar, "this?"
Furina's face turned crimson. "N-no! How did you even come up with that?!"
Is that all she thinks about? This... this... yuri stuff?!
"Because your reactions are so amusing, Miss Furina," Luna said with a radiant smile.
Ugh, that infuriating smile.
Realizing Luna was just teasing her, Furina felt a mix of humiliation and indignation. But she couldn't do anything about it.
She was too weak to fight back, so she could only seethe in anger... and then seethe some more.
The kind are bullied by dogs, the weak by cats. How true.
Furina pondered, rubbing her stomach.
Performing on stage, singing and dancing after only breakfast, her stomach was already starting to grumble.
"Hungry?"
Furina flinched slightly and cleared her throat. "Well, I suppose so! After all, radiating such dazzling brilliance on stage inevitably takes a toll on one's stamina."
Is she going to conjure up another box of pastries?
The thought sparked a flicker of anticipation in Furina's eyes.
But Phantom Thieves never cater to expectations, and this time was no different.
"I regret to inform you that I didn't bring any snacks."
What?!
"However, I can prepare lunch for Miss Furina."
"Hmm?"
Furina tilted her head, as if asking, How exactly do you plan to do that?
Luna snapped her fingers and produced two fishing rods from her storage space.
"Here."
"...I don't quite understand what you mean by 'here.'"
"This."
Furina couldn't help but retort, "I wasn't asking for synonyms! I'm asking why you're giving me a fishing rod!"
"To fish."
Fish? Furina stared at the rod in her hand, never imagining that the first thing she'd do after being whisked away by a Phantom Thief would be... fishing.
Luna reached out and tugged at the stray strand of hair sticking up on Furina's head.
It was surprisingly springy.
"Since neither of us has any food on hand, we'll have to catch our own."
"Aren't you a cat? Do you really need a fishing rod to catch fish?"
Luna shook her index finger. "Of course not."
"I'll crouch by the sea, hold my breath, and pounce the moment a fish shadow approaches."
Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around Furina's waist, pressing her body close.
"Whoa!" Furina shivered.
"I'll pin it down with my claws." Furina felt a slight weight on her shoulders.
Then Luna's warm, damp breath tickled her neck. "And sink my fangs into its flesh."
Furina ducked her head. I'm not exactly appetizing...
"Then I'll drag it aside, find a way to knock it unconscious so it stops struggling, and turn it into my meal—"
Luna's cheeks flushed slightly. "Miss Furina, would you like to try?"
"No, no, no! That's far too barbaric! Utterly lacking in elegance! Focalors can't bear such sights!" Furina shook her head vigorously.
"Just kidding. I usually use a simpler method."
Luna pulled out a handgun.
Furina's expression was dubious. "With that?"
"With this."
"...Let's stick to the fishing rod."
She really didn't want to eat fish riddled with bullet holes.
After baiting her hook, Furina stole a glance at Luna to observe her fishing technique. She mimicked Luna's casting motion, trying to appear casual and composed.
Of course, she knew how to fish, but it had been a long time since she'd last done it.
After so many years without regular practice, she'd naturally forgotten the finer points of the craft.
Yet, if someone had told her in the past that she'd be fishing with a Phantom Thief...
And the one who kidnapped me, no less, Furina thought with a sigh.
The thought left her feeling strangely conflicted.
What exactly was happening here?
As her mind wandered, a sudden force yanked her fishing rod.
A bite!
Furina's focus sharpened. She lifted the rod sharply, knowing exactly what to do: exhaust the fish's stamina before reeling it in.
But to her surprise, the fish didn't tire. Instead, her feet began sliding forward, inch by inch.
"What tremendous strength!"
"Miss Furina, your stance isn't very stable. Here, let me help." Luna set down her own rod, moved behind Furina, and grasped her arms.
"One, two, three—pull!"
Luna's breath near her ear made Furina's heart flutter, but she refused to let this hard-won fish escape.
After a brief struggle, the shadow of the fish drew closer.
Seizing the moment, Furina yanked with all her might! A plump fish was suddenly hauled out of the water and sent tumbling through the air.
Furina hastily raised her hands, moving them from side to side.
Slap! A cold, wet sensation landed in her palm. Furina stared down at her catch.
"Wow, look how big this fish is! Wait, don't move... it's going to jump out!"
Luna gripped her dagger and slammed the hilt against the fish's head with a thud.
The thrashing creature stilled, its eyes gleaming with an eerie light.
"That startled me! I thought it was going to leap back into the sea," Furina sighed in relief.
She hefted the fish a few times.
"Is this the biggest fish around here?"
"Quite possibly. It seems Miss Furina is very lucky," Luna said with a smile.
Furina's face flushed with pleasure at the compliment.
Keep them coming.
But when she realized the compliment came from Phantom Thief White Cat, she quickly suppressed her smile and cleared her throat.
"Of course! After all, I am the Hydro Archon! My abundant Hydro energy must have attracted this behemoth. Ah, both people and animals adore me."
She thrust the fish forward.
"Here, you handle it."
Surely she doesn't expect me to cook this, does she?
Furina could only make pasta; she knew nothing else.
"Please wait a moment. Before we proceed, allow me to take a photo of you, Miss Furina."
"A photo?"
Luna pulled a Kamera from her storage space.
She really can pull anything out of there... Furina was speechless.
Wait a minute—did she really not bring any food or drinks?
Sensing Furina's suspicious gaze, Luna remained unfazed and simply adjusted the Kamera.
"Please hold the fish and stand over there."
"Hold the fish? Uh, alright..." Furina stood awkwardly by the rock.
The contrast between the rock and the fish's size was perfect.
"Smile!"
Smiling? That was her specialty. Furina flashed a radiant smile.
Click! The shutter snapped, freezing the scene onto the film.
"Excellent! Now you can show this to the members of the Fishing Association later. I guarantee they'll make quite the interesting expressions."
"Really? What kind of expressions?" Furina asked curiously.
"The 'You bought that fish at the market, didn't you?!' kind of spectacular expression."
"Haha, that's nothing."
Luna handed Furina the fish and the sketch card at the same time.
Furina took it and looked at it, finding the person in the sketch strangely unfamiliar.
Why...?
Her smile just moments ago had been a mere flexing of muscles, devoid of genuine emotion. Yet now, it seemed remarkably real.
"How peculiar," Furina muttered.