Fontaine's Grand Stage: Come If You Dare! (Genshin Impact)

"The case is solved?!"

Navia was stunned when she arrived at the police station with Melus and Silver and learned that the case had already been solved.

When did the Maison Gardiennage in Fontaine become so competent? she wondered.

It wasn't that Navia looked down on them, but if those officers had even a shred of competence, they wouldn't be so utterly useless.

Navia shook her head. While she was surprised the case had been solved so quickly, she reminded herself that she was there to deliver investigative leads about Sinthe. She couldn't lose sight of her purpose.

After explaining their business, the officers let them through.

However, before Navia and her companions could reach Captain Elton, they bumped into Lofan as he emerged from the restroom.

Lofan visibly froze when he saw Navia, but quickly regained his composure.

Of course, Lofan knew why Navia had come to the station, but his current role meant he couldn't acknowledge that knowledge.

Pretending not to recognize her, Lofan tried to slip past Navia.

But as Navia looked at the man before her, she felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. She couldn't help but call out to him.

"Wait a minute."

Lofan was surprised when Navia called out to him. He paused briefly before turning around.

"Is there something I can help you with, Miss?" he asked, a faint smile playing on his lips that put people at ease.

Hearing his question, Navia suddenly found herself at a loss for words. Should she ask directly if they had met before? Such an approach might be misconstrued. After a moment's thought, she said, "I'm here to provide investigative leads regarding Sinthe. Do you know who's in charge of this case?"

Lofan chuckled. "Then you've come to the right person, Miss. That would be me."

Navia initially didn't believe him. He looked too young, barely in his early twenties. But then she guessed that he might be a noble using the Maison Gardiennage as a stepping stone, and her demeanor instantly cooled.

Having already spoken, she couldn't simply walk away. Instead, she asked to see his official identification.

Having interacted with Navia for some time, Lofan was well aware of her current unfriendly attitude. But that was precisely what he wanted.

This incident had little to do with Navia, so there was no need to involve her. Lofan decided to let her take a break.

He readily showed Navia his identification. However, he was still officially just a Maison Gardiennage officer; his promotion to Deputy Captain was merely a temporary appointment by Captain Elton as a precaution. When Navia saw Lofan's badge, her gaze turned even colder.

"Didn't you say you could handle this?" she asked, her tone sharp.

Faced with Navia's pointed question, Lofan calmly explained, "I'm the Deputy Captain now. Our Captain is likely busy persuading the higher-ups, so I'm still in charge for the time being."

This investigation required a thorough examination of every member of the Poisson Garrison. Captain Elton's authority wasn't sufficient for such a sweeping inquiry, so he had no choice but to request expanded powers from his superiors.

However, Poisson was a somewhat peculiar place. Lofan suspected that the higher-ups wouldn't make a decision quickly, leaving Captain Elton unable to handle matters here for the time being.

Of course, as far as Captain Elton was concerned, the case was already solved. All that remained was gathering evidence, leaving little need for his direct involvement. That's why he felt confident enough to contact his superiors.

Seeing Navia's skepticism, Lofan noticed Vinani approaching in the distance, likely sent to check on him after his prolonged absence.

His face lit up, and he eagerly pulled Vinani over. "Envoy Vinani can vouch for me!"

"Monsieur Henry, aren't you being a bit rough with a lady?" Vinani protested, her eyes flashing with irritation. "Just because you solved the case first doesn't mean you should let it go to your head."

Vinani had been waiting for Lofan for ages, only to be dragged over unceremoniously the moment he reappeared. Her exasperation was clear as she glared at him and spoke with utmost seriousness.

"Ahem, let's focus on the matter at hand," Lofan said, covering his embarrassment with a cough. He leaned in close to Vinani's ear and whispered, "This woman claims she can provide us with leads on Sinthe."

Vinani's expression immediately turned serious. Though the case was solved, their mission was far from over.

"You solved the case?" Navia asked in surprise, not expecting the young man called Henry to be the one who had cracked it. Recalling her earlier assumption that he was merely using the Maison Gardiennage as a stepping stone, Navia felt a pang of shame. His abilities clearly justified his position.

Seeing Henry's seemingly amicable relationship with the Melusine, Navia began to believe about seventy to eighty percent of what he had said earlier.

"Esteemed lady and gentlemen," Vinani said, "do you truly possess investigative leads regarding Sinthe?"

"Please, just call me Navia."

Navia nodded. "I am the current President of the Spina di Rosula. Our organization has also been monitoring Sinthe for some time."

"However, Sinthe's distribution network is limited, and the person producing and selling it has remained exceptionally elusive. As a result, we haven't made much progress."

"We never imagined they would be so brazen as to target the Maison Gardiennage itself."

"I regret the loss of your comrade. To help you apprehend Sinthe's creator as quickly as possible, I offer the Spina di Rosula's full cooperation in sharing our current investigation leads with the Maison Gardiennage free of charge."

A hint of gratitude appeared on Vinani's face. "Thank you very much, Miss Navia."

Due to the significant implications of the case, everyone needed to keep the truth confidential until the higher-ups finalized the disciplinary measures. Therefore, Vinani didn't correct Navia's statement.

"It's nothing," Vinani replied. "It's my duty."

"Those of you on the front lines deserve far greater respect," Navia added.

"Melus, please hand the documents to Monsieur Henry," Navia instructed.

"Yes, Miss Navia."

Hearing Navia's words, Melus handed the thick stack of investigation reports to Lofan. Feeling the weight in his hands, Lofan realized the Spina di Rosula had taken their investigation of Sinthe quite seriously.

After receiving the reports, Lofan and Vinani immediately began reviewing them meticulously.

Navia had originally intended to leave after handing over the documents, but she changed her mind. Partly, she sensed a strangely familiar aura emanating from Lofan, and partly, she was curious about his investigative skills. If he proved to be truly capable, she might be able to collaborate with him on the Serial Disappearance Case.

Shortly after Lofan and Vinani finished reviewing the investigation reports, Lofan stroked his chin thoughtfully before turning to Navia.

"Miss Navia, according to this intelligence, Sinthe's transactions had already ceased by the time your forces arrived at each location."

"So, you must also suspect that there's a leak within the Spina di Rosula, right?"

Navia nodded in agreement. She had skimmed the Sinthe investigation report before coming here and had reached the same conclusion as Lofan. In fact, she even suspected that some Maison Gardiennage officers might have been bribed, let alone members of her own organization.

"This is very strange," Lofan remarked. "As far as I know, while the Spina di Rosula wields considerable influence, it lacks sufficient military might. The funds Sinthe has amassed are now substantial enough to hire an entire elite armed force."

"I can understand why they might want to avoid direct confrontation with the Maison Gardiennage—they might not want to directly oppose Fontaine's official power. But there's no logical reason for them to hold back against the Spina di Rosula."

A thoughtful expression crossed Vinani's face as she listened to Lofan's explanation.

Unlike Navia, who was unaware of the case's details, Vinani knew everything.

This case had made it even clearer to her that the organization selling Sinthe wasn't the type to back down easily.

Although Lofan's perspective had influenced her somewhat, it wasn't a major concern.

It was indeed strange that they would choose to retreat when confronted by the Spina di Rosula.

Unless there was a specific reason, the logical course of action would have been to issue a warning to the Spina di Rosula.

After all, the Spina di Rosula's entire operation was an open book to them, while the Spina di Rosula remained completely ignorant of their adversary.

"Let me share my hypotheses," Lofan said.

"The first possibility is that the Sinthe manufacturer lacks the aggression to escalate conflicts, hence their repeated retreats."

"But this is unlikely. Someone with such a moderate disposition wouldn't be selling Sinthe in the first place."

"The second possibility is that they're acquainted with the Spina di Rosula, or even have connections to them."

"As for the third possibility, they could actually be a member of the Spina di Rosula themselves."

After hearing Lofan's reasoning, a peculiar expression surfaced on Vinani's face.

"Why were you thinking so normally this time?"

"Come on, I can't just snap into that state whenever I want," Lofan said, shrugging helplessly.

Navia had no idea what mysterious topic they were discussing, but it didn't really matter.

After hearing Lofan's deduction, Navia's mood turned slightly somber. She never imagined that the breakthrough in the Sinthe case would come from the Spina di Rosula.

"I can guarantee that my people are clean," Navia said slowly after a moment's thought. "Monsieur Henry and Miss Vinani can investigate from another angle."

Lofan nodded in agreement and patted the brim of Vinani's hat. "Miss Vinani, we've got work to do. According to the reports, there are several nearby locations where transactions used to take place. We can start there and use your special vision to look for clues."

Vinani pursed her lips, slightly annoyed, and readjusted her hat, but said nothing. Whether it was out of habit or some other reason, she seemed used to it.

"Miss Navia, would you like to join us?"

Lofan then invited Navia to join them. After a moment's consideration, she nodded in agreement.

"Since this matter might involve the Spina di Rosula, as its President, I can't remain uninvolved," she declared.

The group left the police station and headed to the crime scene to conduct an on-site investigation. After a thorough search, they found nothing due to the passage of time. Weary and empty-handed, they stopped at a roadside snack stall for a brief rest.

Lofan stroked his chin thoughtfully. The fruitless outcome had been entirely expected; he had approached this with only a tentative mindset. His primary objective had been to gather the group, especially Vinani.

Just as Lofan was about to excuse himself again with his usual "bathroom break" ploy, a commotion erupted in the crowd nearby. Unsure of what was happening, the group moved closer to the source of the disturbance.

Before they reached the crowd, Lofan faintly heard heart-wrenching cries of anguish, stirring an ominous premonition within him. The others shared his unease, their faces growing grave.

As they drew nearer, the situation became clear: the daughter of a wealthy local merchant had vanished—from her own home!

Lofan hadn't expected this. He had temporarily set aside the Serial Young Girl Kidnapping Case, yet now the case seemed to have found him instead.

Inside the police station, Captain Elton directed the Maison Gardiennage officers as they organized clues and evidence, all while glumly working on his report.

Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he turned to the officer beside him. "That's strange... where's that kid Henry? I haven't seen him around for a while."

The officer looked equally puzzled and exchanged glances with the others before shaking his head. "Captain Elton, we haven't seen him either."

"That's odd..." Elton scratched his head in frustration. "That little rascal... could he have heard I was going to make him write this report and run off early?"

Hearing this, the officers nodded in unison, silently taking mental notes. When we become captains, we'll do the same thing!

"What are you looking at? I'm training him! You wouldn't understand!"

Hearing Captain Elton's words, the officers nodded vigorously.

Just keep talking. We'll see if we believe you.

"Sigh, if only half of you had Henry's capabilities, I wouldn't be struggling to find someone to mentor."

Captain Elton sighed resignedly and reluctantly resumed writing his report.

But just then, someone burst into the room, shouting frantically, "Something terrible has happened!"

"Captain Elton, a major incident!"

Seeing the man's panicked state, Elton's expression turned grave. "What is it?" he demanded.

"Another young girl has gone missing!" the officer gasped, catching his breath.

The news sent a chill through not only Captain Elton but every Maison Gardiennage officer in the room.

Oh no, this means overtime for everyone!