Chapter 196: France's resolve
Although the investigation into the Demon Mirror incident had failed to yield a satisfactory result, the mirror had been taken away by members of the Dawn Association, who presumably had more experience handling it than the Super-Research Department. So while the anomaly could not be considered fully resolved, what the department and the Paris Police were doing now was little different from cleaning up the aftermath.
Everyone who had lost an extraordinary amount of weight was taken to the Research Medical Center for treatment, with the government covering all medical expenses.
Those whose cases were less serious-for instance, people who had merely viewed Mrs. Ruby's social media feed once and lost a few kilograms-were simply kept in the dark. At most, the police visited them once to investigate and ordered them to undergo a comprehensive medical examination, claiming that someone had anonymously reported suspected drug use based on their weight loss and mental state.
Since the police insisted and were willing to pay for the examinations, most people cooperated.
There was one minor twist: one of them really was using drugs. After the tests revealed it, the police searched his home, found drugs, and detained him.
Three days later, peripheral investigations into the Demon Mirror incident were still ongoing, but the attention of France's senior military and political leadership had shifted to an important meeting.
The meeting itself was no longer the decisive factor in determining the outcome. Two days before it convened, information about the major decisions had already circulated among senior officials, and several smaller rounds of deliberation and debate had taken place.
By the time the incumbent president agreed to convene the meeting, its outcome was essentially settled. Meetings of this kind served more to establish a shared understanding and fill in