The scene continued.
On the screen.
After saying all this, Furina watched the crowd's reaction with satisfaction.
Then she turned to Neuvillette. "All right, now please tell me... who is my accuser?"
Neuvillette said, "Will the accuser please step forward..."
Lumine took a deep breath and walked up to Furina.
A flicker of disbelief crossed Furina's eyes at Lumine's movement, but she soon returned to her usual self. "What a coincidence... Still, both a witness and an accuser-only you are worthy of being my destined opponent!"
Lumine and Furina stood face-to-face, their gazes meeting in midair. Every eye in the opera house was on the two of them.
Lumine felt some regret. They had been so close. Furina had almost told her what was going on, yet things had still come to this. What a shame...
Lumine quickly shook all the tangled thoughts from her mind. With the plan this far along, she could no longer afford to let her thoughts wander.
Next, as long as she could produce enough evidence to shatter Furina's mask, she could still uncover her secret.
The two exchanged another look, then walked to their positions on opposite sides.
[Lyney: Wow, the show has officially begun!]
[Nilou: Seeing this suddenly makes me feel a little sad. Furina must have trusted the Traveler a lot before, right? But it was all a deception!]
[Barbara: Yes. Someone she had wanted to confide in became her accuser in the blink of an eye. That kind of contrast is just...]
[Lynette: That's drama for you!]
[Kaeya: The Traveler must be hurting inside too. After all, she had no choice. I don't think any of them wanted things to reach this point.]
[Ganyu: Furina must feel even lonelier now!]
The scene shifted.
Lumine and Furina were both in position, and the atmosphere began to grow tense.
With a gesture from Neuvillette, the trial officially began.
Furina said, "Before the trial begins, I have one more question..."
"Just how much work did you put in behind the scenes to make sure I couldn't refuse this trial?"
Paimon said, "Well... how should I put it? After we made that decision that day, we really did make a lot of preparations and consider all sorts of situations..."
Navia said, "I'll go first. My task was the easiest, and there wasn't anything in particular I needed to think through!"
Furina said, "You're... Navia..."
Navia said, "First, I owe you an apology. Most of the people who accused you at the opera house this morning were our subordinates."
"They all thought-I think you understand by now. They disguised themselves as ordinary citizens to put pressure on you."
"Under the pressure of the prophecy's imminent fulfillment, the people's dissatisfaction with you was a pile of explosives. All we had to do was set it off!"
"And based on your past behavior and our experience, we deduced that when something like this happened, you would most likely choose to flee alone to Poisson!"
"So a second group was already lying in wait there..."
Furina said, "I see. I was wondering why anyone would think of going somewhere like that..."
After Navia finished, Lyney was the second to step forward. "Their task was to create a tense atmosphere so you wouldn't have time to carefully assess the situation... and would enter the magic box we'd prepared, completing the most breathtaking magic show in Fontaine's history."
Lynette said, "The room you and the Traveler were in was the magic box!"
Lyney said, "I got the inspiration from the very first performance I took part in. This was a super, ultimate upgrade of that show..."
"The magic box was dozens of times larger, the transfer route became Poisson to Erinnyes Island, and the subject changed from a human... to a god."
With that, Lyney bowed again. "Thank you, Furina. Without you, the most incredible magic trick in Fontaine's history could never have been completed."
Lyney's sudden gratitude left Furina completely at a loss.
Furina said, "Uh... you're welcome!"
Lyney continued, "Of course, there was absolutely no way to pull off this performance with just an idea from me. After Father heard my idea, she gave us a great deal of support..."
"After all, choosing the location, building that magic box, and connecting Poisson to this place... it was an enormous undertaking!"
[Hu Tao: Hahahaha! Furina is so polite! That expression at the end was adorable too!]
[Barbara: Maybe that's simply how gods are. They maintain their elegance and nobility no matter the situation. Lord Barbatos must be like that too!]
[Venti: Diluc, another glass of wine! Your strongest!]
[Diluc: ...]
[Barbara: Anyway, he definitely wouldn't be like that. I imagine the opposite would be about right!]
[Ningguang: A project that large must have cost quite a lot, right? The House of the Hearth certainly has money!]
[Yelan: No, you should say the Fatui have money!]
[Jean: They're very efficient too. Looking at the map, the distance from Poisson to the opera house is considerable. To plan it out and open up a route in such a short time-impressive!]
[Arlecchino: As I've said before, a powerful organization's ability to act remains the same no matter what it does! As for the Mora, you'll have to ask another of our Harbingers!]
[Pantalone: Just a few little tricks.]
[Hu Tao: Consultant Zhongli, I want money too! Can you conjure up some Mora for me?]
[Zhongli: I don't have that ability at present!]
In the video.
Furina suddenly asked, "In that case, the shaking of the magic box while I was being transported had nothing to do with an earthquake."
Paimon nodded. "That's right. It was just caused by the magic box being moved. It had nothing to do with a disaster!"
Hearing Paimon's answer, Furina let out an imperceptible sigh of relief. Her somewhat tense expression relaxed as well.
She silently said to herself, Thank goodness. The number of casualties among the people won't increase any further!
Lumine also said apologetically, "I'm very sorry, Furina, for deceiving you back then!"
Furina gave a haughty "Hmph," then said, "In that case, you don't need to explain Neuvillette's and Clorinde's parts yourselves."
"Gathering everyone at the opera house and setting the stage for this, while Clorinde, as a Champion Duelist, stood ready at any moment..."
"Everything was done to create a situation in which I absolutely couldn't refuse this trial, correct?"
Neuvillette nodded. "That's correct!"
Clorinde said nothing, but the expression on her face said it all.
Furina said, "Clorinde, your performance is worthy of my praise. Even facing me, you still dared to draw your sword. Just as I would expect of you."
Clorinde said, "Thank you for your praise!"
Furina turned to Lumine and Paimon. "As for you... your role was to find me in Poisson, bring me into that room, and lower my guard while the magic box was on its way here!"
"Then, at this moment, you would act as my accuser and bring charges against me..."
But upon hearing this, Lumine suddenly shook her head. "No, you've guessed wrong about that."
Furina said, "Hmm?"
Lumine said, "My task was... to question you one last time. To see whether I could get any information from you before the trial began."
Furina's expression shifted slightly, then returned to normal. She gave a self-deprecating smile. "Hehe, so it seems I missed my last chance..."
Furina sighed and said as though she didn't care, "Still, it doesn't matter. Since things have already come this far..."
Furina's voice gradually rose as she pointed at the Traveler. "The trial I cannot refuse has already begun, so there is no reason to stop it, no reason not to see it through to the end!"
Lumine agreed inwardly. This truly was their last resort: putting the Hydro Archon on trial. But Furina had almost spoken back then. Just what had she been about to say...?
The atmosphere between the Traveler and Furina grew increasingly tense.