"This... anyone who saw this would think she was making excuses!"
"Exactly! No matter what, there's no way she'd give up all her power. And I've never heard of a god without any power!"
Clang!
The scales tipped once again, and the situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable for Furina.
[Kaveh: Furina really has a knack for switching concepts around, but no matter how well she talks, without facts to back it up, it's all just castles in the air!]
[Hu Tao: No investigation, no right to speak. Am I using that right, Consultant Zhongli?]
[Zhongli: As long as you're happy, Director!]
[Nilou: Is Furina really not the Hydro Archon?]
[Jean: That seems likely. And I'm afraid she's not just not a god, but an ordinary human without even a Vision.]
[Lisa: After Neuvillette said that, any justification she could offer became so feeble!]
[Sucrose: Although I don't know how the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale works, speaking from my own research, if someone asked me about the principles behind it, I would definitely be able to explain them!]
[Childe: Is Neuvillette really that confident, though? If Furina really is a god, can he guarantee he'll be able to stop her if something actually happens?]
[Navia: I feel like my entire worldview has been shattered and rebuilt!]
[Lyney: She's really not the Hydro Archon?]
Paimon spread her hands. "Looks like the audience hasn't accepted Furina's explanation!"
Looking at the people in the audience and listening to their muttering, Furina felt as though she had fallen into a mire. She couldn't breathe. Everything before her was pitch-black, without a single ray of hope in sight, leaving only despair.
Facing the people, Furina was still making one final attempt. "Hey, everyone! Don't look at me with such suspicion..."
"Don't you all like me? I'm still the same Furina, your Hydro Archon! Shouldn't you be on my side? Believe in me?"
Furina felt herself sinking deeper and deeper into that swamp. Her voice grew quieter and quieter, until, in the end, almost only he himself could hear it. "Believe in me..."
Seeing Furina like this only made the people more indignant.
"If what the accuser said is true, then this really is far too serious..."
"And it's not just us. Like Furina said earlier, our ancestors all saw her, too. So all those countless times they boasted about having seen the Hydro Archon and took pride in it-was it all just a lie?"
Much of the audience's reverence for Furina had vanished, and they gradually stopped making any effort to conceal their voices.
"You... stop talking..."
Furina was still doing her best to try. "Fine, even if I'm not the real Hydro Archon, then tell me, where is the real Hydro Archon?"
"Right now, you can't produce any evidence that this so-called real Hydro Archon exists, and nobody has stepped forward claiming to be the Hydro Archon. So if I'm not the Hydro Archon, who is?"
Paimon stamped her feet in midair and said to the Traveler, "How can she even use that kind of logic... Seriously, how are we supposed to refute her? Furina's still putting up a desperate resistance!"
Lumine lowered her head and thought for a while. "Since we can't prove Furina isn't a god, why not approach it the other way around? We just have to prove she's human!"
Lumine took out the documents Charlotte had given them and pointed to an incident recorded there.
Paimon understood at once. "Oh, right! Everyone knows that people from Fontaine dissolve in Primordial Sea Water!"
"But are we really going to do that? Isn't it a bit too..."
Navia, who was sitting below the stage, suddenly interjected as well. "Since you keep saying you're a god, not a human, I happen to have a good idea. Although it can't prove you're a god, it can rule out the possibility that you're from Fontaine!"
Neuvillette said, "Miss Navia, the next time you wish to speak in court, please submit a request first. Even as the Traveler's partner, you must obtain permission before speaking."
Navia chuckled. "Sorry, Monsieur Neuvillette. This will be the last time I overstep!"
"I brought-I brought some seawater from my hometown. Everyone knows about the disaster that just struck Poisson. Many people dissolved in this Primordial Sea Water... including my closest friends. I believe you saw that list of names, too!"
"So, Miss Furina, as a god, do you dare touch the Primordial Sea Water from Poisson?"
"After all, if you really are a god, you should have nothing to fear, right? And you'll win this debate, too!"
"But if not, I believe you understand as well!"
"Tell the truth, Furina. It's your best choice right now!"
[Barbara: Huh? Isn't this method far too extreme? I think, since they dared to put Furina on trial like this, they must already suspect she's an ordinary person, right? Yet they're still doing this. Aren't they afraid Furina might get carried away and touch it?]
[Nilou: Exactly! Earlier in the story, they said people would dissolve the instant they touched the Primordial Sea Water in Poisson!]
[Arataki Itto: Watching this really makes me-argh! Kujou Turtle, come fight me!]
[Cyno: Too reckless!]
[Yelan: This is the most direct method. Next comes the decisive moment. Will Furina dare to spray it or not?]
[Ganyu: It would be better not to touch it. Didn't someone say earlier that even people who aren't from Fontaine shouldn't casually touch Primordial Sea Water?]
[Yoimiya: I think even if Furina really is lying, I still believe she has her reasons!]
[Lyney: Don't worry, everyone. Lady Furina definitely won't try it. Based on what we know of her, she'll just find another excuse to cover it up.]
[Hu Tao: This is a little painful to watch.]
[Zhongli: Human nature.]
On the screen.
The audience also strongly approved of Navia's proposal. "I know her... She's the boss of the Spina di Rosula, the one in charge of Poisson. If it's her, she certainly has the right to say something like that..."
"Exactly. If Lady Furina really is human, she's probably just an ordinary person from Fontaine, the kind without even a Vision. She should admit it now, right?"
Without any hesitation, Furina walked straight down from the defendant's stand, approached the basin, and looked at the Primordial Sea Water placed on the platform.
Seeing that she really seemed about to try it, Neuvillette spoke again. "Lady Furina, this experiment falls outside the scope of the trial. Though it is reasonable, you equally have the right to refuse.
For once, Furina did not speak. She kept her head lowered and said nothing at all...