Chapter 176 A child's cries of sorrow, the first light of the hearth illuminates...

"What is this long-haired woman saying?? Where did this lunatic come from?"

It wasn't just the immortals who were surprised.

"I'm speechless. Please, just scream and run out to call the police. Even behaving normally is better than behaving outrageously!"

"Put our wise prince down! Aaaaaaah!"

"Could it be that the birth of the 'Lynx' was influenced by this woman?" Screams continued to ring out. Klorinde tried to analyze, "Brainwashed into being addicted to killing, but because of the goodness in her heart, she only goes after bad people...?"

Clarinde pondered, peering at the cat-eared youth.

Her ears drooped slightly, her face was thin, and her sleeping expression was peaceful and harmless.

Would a bloodthirsty person really torment themselves like this?

Clarin looked to the side and saw that the usually arrogant Fryna was visibly nervous, her fists clenched as she stared at the image. The Supreme Judge's face remained serious and reserved, but his vertical pupils frequently swept over Mainkun, his gaze as gentle as a bird drooping its wings. As for Leosley, needless to say, his hand remained on Mainkun the entire time.

But the hand would occasionally change its rhythm as the video played, sometimes a comforting pat, sometimes a long silence.

How can a bloodthirsty person be cared for by so many good people?

Something's not right.

"Meow wow wow!"

What interrupted her thoughts was a loud cry from a child.

"?!"

It was little Mainkuhn, who was crying and slapping Kujavina's face with his little paws.

"Your brother is dead! Your brother is dead! Waaaaah!"

Claurind: "..."

You mean, this doll didn't cry when it was bullied by its 'older siblings,' didn't cry when it was forcibly taken away, and didn't cry when it was held down and abused by the buyer, but instead burst into tears when a stranger casually said, "Your brother is dead"?

"Um?"

Leosley didn't know why she was confused, but he felt a mix of sadness and a strange pride.

"Isn't this how all good brothers are? Mainkun loves me very much, so it's only right that he protects me."

Clarinde was inexplicably taken aback by the display of affection. "...I really don't understand you brothers."

"I don't think I've ever cried like this for you before. It seems our relationship isn't good enough?"

Kaiya, who was in the distance, didn't want to see the child crying, so he turned his face to his sworn brother.

Diluc happened to be looking at him too. "I can make you cry right now, Kaeya."

"Do you want to be tied up with me face-to-face and forced to make up again, Diluc?"

"..."

The average viewer hadn't quite figured out what was going on, so they were able to sit still to some extent and barely withstand the memory of the child's piercing cries.

They watched calmly as Kujavina forced a smile to coax the kitten.

"You can't hit your mother, okay? I'll forgive you this time since it's your first offense..."

You deserve to be beaten to death, you insane woman spouting nonsense!

They watched calmly as Kujavina failed to coax the child, then pretended to be deaf and expressionlessly washed the blood off the child with water elemental.

You should wash him when he stops crying!

They watched in horror as Kujavina carried the wailing child out, kicking the head off a guard who tried to stop her.

"No? This can't be right! How could she really kill someone?"

With a kick and sweep, the cape billowed, revealing the familiar wheel-shaped logo embroidered on the inside of the fabric—a recognizable sight to anyone with a keen eye.

"We're doomed! It's the Fatui! This woman is a Fatui member!"

"What? The utterly foolish masses??"

Furina's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly ordered her guards, "Clorind, go and cover little Maine's mouth! Make him stop crying!"

"Lady Furina, I know you're afraid his cries will anger the Fools and bring about your death, but..."

"You know that, so hurry up and go! I'm going to dock your pay!"

"..." Clorind stood up expressionlessly and covered the young man Mainkun's face with her hand.

"!!"

Fu Ningna snapped out of her daze, realizing that history was irreversible, and her eyes began to well up with tears.

It's over! The ruthless Fools!

She looked nervously in the direction of her servant, Arecino.

The Fools show no mercy when they beat cats! Little May is completely finished!

Kujavina stepped onto the boat, carrying a cat on her feet, and the yacht sped through what was then a very deep sea, getting further and further away from Fontaine.

"Waaah—"

Xiao Mei kept struggling and crying in her arms, and it never stopped.

Help! Someone please help! Quick, help me, gods or whatever... wait, I am a god!

Helpless, she could only watch anxiously as Kujavina walked into the magnificent building, from which came the sounds of children's...laughter?

It was indeed laughter, clear and crisp, that lingered in my memory, only to be drowned out by the kitten's shrill cries.

Am I deaf?

Paimon scratched his ear along with her, "Didn't they say that the Fireplace House where Mainkuen used to live might be terrifying? Why does it feel different from what I imagined? Or have they not shown the memories of the Fireplace House yet?"

“No, we’ve indeed arrived at the House of Hearths, Paimon. Look over there.” The traveler reached out.

A little girl with black and white hair is looking at the sea from the window, while her pink-haired companion laughs and plays beside her.

"Let's go to the beach together sometime, okay?"

"These two children... they look kind of familiar?"

Uncertain, let's see Paimon float up and see.

"Especially those eyes..."

"Ahhh!"

"Wow! Funina, why did you suddenly scream?! You scared me to death!"

There was no time to apologize to Paimon. Furness clutched her chest, staring intently at the audience below as if she were having a heart attack, her gaze fixed on Arecino and Clementine.

"..."

Arecino, bathed in the glow of the spotlight, keenly looked up and expressionlessly returned the gaze.

"snort."

"!??"

Furness shrank back in fright, glancing between the child in the image and the servant in reality.

How could it be you, you horrible creature?!

"It really is you guys!"

Paimon waved to Clementine without realizing it.

"That makes sense, after all, I heard they were Mainkuen's childhood friends, so they'll definitely be showing their memories of the House of Hearths next..."

"It's time to play a video about my childhood."

Claire looked nostalgically at her friends and herself in the video, and at the whimpering kitten.

"How pathetic, that's how Little May looked when she first arrived."

"When is he not in a sorry state?"

Ever since Kujavina appeared, Peruvieri had been subtly agitated, and this agitation reached its peak after her own frail appearance.

Tsk.

Arecino appeared calm, but inwardly she was already critically evaluating her six-year-old self.

My arms are too thin, my legs are weak, and my gaze isn't firm enough. Sigh, I need to work harder.

And look at six-year-old Clay, well, she's absolutely perfect.

As for Mainkuhn, who keeps crying and making a fuss... it's already good that he's healthy in body and mind, so don't ask for too much.

As she was commenting on each item, she heard a soft gasp from behind her. Looking up, she saw Linni Sanzi staring wide-eyed at her younger self.

"That's... Father?"

"Really...?"

Why such amazement?

Arecino spoke coldly, trying to salvage her dignified image.

"What? Surprised that I had a childhood? What a shame, I wasn't born an adult."

Wow! So cute!

Linnie exclaimed in surprise, presumptuously interrupting her, "I don't mean to say Ms. Clay isn't cute, but look at this... those adorable bunny eyes—that innocent little face—"

"Compared to my current father, who is majestic, powerful, domineering, and reliable..."

Lynette leisurely raised her tail and wagged it happily from side to side.

"It's an unexpectedly cute contrast, it's amazing."

"Um…"

Even the shyest child covered his face with the penguin and secretly looked at Arecino's face, trying to find her innocent features.

"Suddenly, I feel... Father... seems even more approachable."

"..."

The executive officer's eyes remained bloodthirsty and terrifying, and no one noticed that beneath her cold exterior, she had been stunned for a moment, like a spider bewildered by an unexpected gain, stopping its web-weaving.

"Right, right!"

Clementine excitedly rushed over and hugged her neck, "I told you before that Pepe was super cute when she was little! She was just as cute as Mainkun, and you guys didn't believe me!"

"Hiss... It's really hard to compare! After all, we've only just started!"

"Nonsense."

After stripping Clementine off her body and warning the children with her eyes to be careful what they said, Arecino looked at her vulnerable self again and found herself much calmer.

Even the whispers around her that "the Fools should get out of the opera house" couldn't stir the slightest ripple in her heart.

It's strange, there's no fire in the stove, yet there's still a faint warmth.

"Don't worry, Pepe."

My dearest friend, with whom I've walked hand in hand for over twenty years, leaned her head close, her hair radiating the warmth of the sun.

"We will be here, always with you."

"Of course, we're family."

The judge responded naturally and then looked towards the defendant's dock from a distance.

"And those overly wild house cats, it's time to bring them back from the wild to keep the kids company."

"Hmm... I feel like there will be a lot of competitors."

After a brief period of commotion, Nasita once again channeled her divine power.

"This time, I will speed up the footage by four hours."

The Lord of the World Tree has been editing the fragments and progression of memories, discarding scenes that lack sufficient information, and making them suitable for human viewing.

"I refuse."

But this time, the Water Dragon King did not approve her application as he had done before.

“Mainkuhn’s arrival in the territory of the Fools and his observation of the first reactions of the people inside will help us understand his situation.”

"Don't worry, Your Honor, that reaction didn't occur in the past four hours."

Nasita watched sadly as Kujavina tossed the crying cat to the two little girls and ran away.

“Apart from Clévy and Peruvian, the defendant did not have contact with anyone else during those four hours.”

“Ms. Nasita, what is he doing?”

Navelette observed the building from her memory and noticed many childish graffiti on the walls.

"There were quite a few children, and given Mr. Mainkuen's still outgoing personality at the time, it was impossible for him not to try to make friends with some children of similar age."

“She’s crying, Mr. Judge.”

"What?"

"Perhaps the repeated frights and mistreatment broke down his last psychological defenses, or perhaps the verbal provocation made it difficult for him to maintain a stable state of mind. Sir, the child in front of you just sat there, letting his emotions overflow for hours, without doing anything during that time."

"Don't cry, don't cry! It's no use!"

Little Clementine, acting on her helpful instincts, began to comfort him, while Peruvieri waited quietly by her side for her friend to settle the newlyweds down before they went out to play together.

They had no idea that this was just the beginning.

"Do you want to play crying for four hours straight, Mr. Judge?"

"..."

Navelette listened intently to the weeping.

A child's crying should be sometimes high-pitched and sharp, sometimes low and choked, accompanied by fluctuations in strength and emotion, and occasionally containing a little bit of probing and pleading.

But Little May-Kuhn was different. He screamed desperately, howling with all his might, screaming until he was heartbroken and on the verge of death, determined to vent all the grievances in his heart, leaving nothing unsaid.

That's how babies cry—the most primal and purest form of expression.

“I don’t quite agree with your decision. It’s getting dark, and we should spend our time on more informative segments.”

“Skip that, Ms. Nasita.”

Navilette eventually agreed to her request.

"But please allow me to deny one aspect of your view."

"What?"

"This is not a piece of information without value."

The Water Dragon King reached out to the image, but could not catch the tears that had flowed from afar.

"Children cannot accurately describe their pain and can only use wailing instead, so pediatricians are often jokingly called veterinarians because they can only infer the internal trauma from the appearance."

“The current Mainkuhn will not describe the pain to me at that time, but fortunately the world has presented it to me. I will regard all four hours of crying as ‘testimony’ explaining the experience of pain and incorporate it into the final judgment.”

Few objected, so Violet sat down quietly and watched the video speed up. The two girls' reactions changed from calm to panic and then to terror. Countless attempts were made over in a few seconds, and finally, the crying stopped during the discussion about "brother".

Are you... are you alright?

Clementine reached out and, with lingering fear, touched the purple spots on the child's face with the back of her hand; those were capillaries that had burst from crying.

"Um!"

Xiaomei happily hugged her kitten plush toy, pinching the yarn on its ears and playing with it, looking like she had been coaxed.

Thank you for the gifts!

"I am Mainkun, a human! And you?"

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Author's note: Hmm, I feel I'd rather write about plots you haven't seen before.

I don't think I'm very good at writing about movie reviews or similar topics.