Yes, Furina-sama!

After what had just happened, Furina quickly returned with Richard to Poisson Town. As it turned out, Clorinde had also wrapped up her business, and the two parties coincidentally met at the town's gate.

Seeing the disheveled and defeated Treasure Hoarders trailing behind Richard, Clorinde couldn't help but raise a brow and ask, "What happened here?"

"Just some lunatics who dared attack their god. Under my wise leadership, Richard apprehended them with ease." Furina lifted her chin proudly, like a swan basking in its own elegance.

As if she had done any of the actual work.

She might not be good at fighting, but when it came to claiming credit, she was undefeated.

Unfortunately, her theatrics were completely lost on Clorinde. What she heard might as well have been gibberish: "Blah blah attack god, blah blah Richard caught them."

After assessing the Treasure Hoarders, Clorinde's gaze dropped to the small figure beside Furina, Mademoiselle Crabaletta.

Atop Mademoiselle Crabaletta's head was a crab shell, roughly the same size and shape as her own body. It even seemed to be steaming slightly, with soup inside.

It looked delicious.

But was it… morally questionable for Crabaletta to carry around what was essentially her species' remains.

Noticing Clorinde's stare, Furina hastily clarified, "Mademoiselle Crabaletta isn't a true crab! She just looks like one!"

"Yes, Lady Furina. You… don't need to explain that to me." Clorinde found the unnecessary clarification more unsettling than the crab-shell soup.

Sensing the atmosphere getting awkward, Furina quickly changed the subject: "A serious incident occurred, so the original team-building event has been suspended. But since you were busy earlier, Clorinde, I made sure to bring back Richard's crab soup. We can all try it together…"

She added after a pause, "It's quite tasty."

Clorinde nodded, but her gaze shifted to Richard, clearly wanting to ask something but hesitating.

Richard shook his head and addressed the confused Clorinde calmly, "It's complicated and not something I can explain quickly. First, let's have someone escort these Treasure Hoarders back for questioning. We'll go over everything afterward."

Furina followed up, "To avoid causing public panic, I believe we should keep this matter confidential. Both the investigation and the trials should proceed in secret… Richard, what do you think?"

"You're absolutely right, Lady Furina. Let's do it that way," Richard nodded, agreeing that it was the most cautious approach.

With his support, Furina seemed to gain more confidence.

Interestingly, neither of them noticed how their roles seemed reversed, Richard sounding like the true decision-maker, and Furina like his advising secretary.

But Clorinde didn't find it odd at all.

In fact… it made perfect sense.

Soon, Clorinde arranged for the maison gardiennage to discreetly take the attackers into custody. Meanwhile, the trio returned to the office inside the Palais Memornia.

Unlike usual, a crab-shell pot had been set in the middle of the long meeting table. Bowls, utensils, and side dishes were laid out before them.

"Turned into water?" Clorinde asked, spooning out some seafood soup.

"Exactly. Richard and I were right there when it happened," Furina said as she scooped up some potato and crab meat.

"The incident happened so suddenly that no solid evidence was left behind," Richard added. "Whoever did it was clean and efficient." He dipped a slice of bread into the broth.

"Okay, but… can I ask why we're discussing something this horrifying while eating? It's not exactly table manners," Furina complained. "It's hard to stay hungry when we're talking about things like that!"

"In Liyue, most serious matters are discussed over meals," Richard replied thoughtfully.

Clorinde added, "And weren't you the one who started it, Furina?"

"Oh… was I?" Furina coughed awkwardly. "Well, never mind that, let's just eat first!"

To mask her embarrassment, she devoured two more bowls of seafood soup and a soft piece of white bread.

Apparently, Furina's appetite wasn't affected in the slightest.

"Ah… I haven't eaten this much in ages. I feel stuffed." Furina said, now lounging elegantly on the sofa, gently patting her full belly.

'Oh no… what if I gain weight? Should I do an extra set of exercises tonight…?'

Meanwhile, Clorinde and Richard were free from such worries. Clorinde never restricted her diet, and Richard, ever the self-disciplined one, only ate to 70–80% fullness, no matter how good the food was.

He maintained strict routines: early to bed, early to rise, eight hours of sleep, a warm glass of milk before bed, and zero emotional baggage carried into the next day.

Once the meal ended, they returned to business.

"We still don't have enough information," Richard began. "My suggestion is to wait for the maison gardiennage findings. What do you think, Clorinde?"

"I agree. But I also have some intel you should know," she replied.

"Actually, I had already heard of Luss before this incident. It was connected to why I went to see Navia."

Furina, now sitting upright in her chair, stared directly at Clorinde. "You're saying Luss is connected to Miss Navia of the Spina di Rosula?"

"Yes. But not in the way you think. It's likely that the Spina and Navia are victims in this matter," Clorinde said.

"Victims? Does this have something to do with her father?" Richard recalled, "I remember Navia's father, Callas, was linked to the 'Serial Disappearance Case'… and he died in the dueling arena."

"Yes. And the duel agent who faced Callas… was me," Clorinde confirmed.

In Fontaine, before a suspect is formally tried in court, they are allowed a final opportunity to "defend their honor" by requesting a duel with an official duel representative. If they win, they're exempt from trial. If they lose, the trial proceeds as normal.

Callas died in such a duel.

But how exactly did that connect to what happened today?