Chapter 178 Intermission: This Cat Isn't Yours...
Have you already been king once...?
The words of the Brilliant School of Thought slightly eased the increasingly somber atmosphere in the opera house.
"It's amazing that you thought of that."
The fox tail, which had been taut with tension, instantly went limp, and Tinari shook it helplessly.
"I must say you're a true artist, aren't you? You can even find a glimmer of light in such a desperate scene. Unlike me, all I can think about right now is keeping this little wise prince on the bed to recover properly and not moving him around."
"You really shouldn't have moved! Your leg is still bruised, and children are so sensitive; it must hurt so much to walk like that..."
“Little Mei…”
Kavi's words only made things worse, as they made Funina feel so sorry for her that she wanted to cry and quickly took off her hat to cover her face.
"How could you be so stupid... not even considering the difference in strength, making yourself look like this, which is so pathetic..."
"Perhaps he's not stupid."
Leosley looked at his brother beside him. Mainkuen had grown from a child into a young man, but his frail appearance was still heartbreaking.
"I think he just can't do it."
"I cannot be patient, I cannot remain silent, I cannot... stand idly by."
It was like this when I was a child, and it is like this now.
“Peruvéli, Clementine.”
The child in my memory had a stern, innocent face, but his eyes held a terrifying glint of ferocity.
"Lend me your reason and calmness, lend me your sensitivity and gentleness."
"Lend me all your good points, and then I'm going to completely destroy this hateful, disgusting place!!"
"Ah, a lynx..."
The audience looked at the child's beastly vertical pupils and his sharp black claws, yet strangely, they could no longer feel any aversion.
"Is this child really that criminal, the lynx? I really don't want to admit it."
"It's not lending, it's giving."
The girl in my memory had a soft voice, and they reached out and fearlessly grasped their brother's hand.
"We will move together toward a hopeful future."
!This is--
"A united resistance??" The stragglers' voices were filled with astonishment. "Such young individuals, such a harsh environment, a flock of fledglings whose wings have not yet fully grown, how could they possibly have thoughts other than obedience?"
Click, the video pauses here.
"Let's stop for a while," Nasita said.
"Wait...don't pause!"
It was the usually shy Fimini who first voiced his protest.
"What happened next? What happened next? Father, Ms. Clementine!"
He looked at the adults with an unusually anxious expression, "What happened after you and Brother En joined forces? How are the children of the Hearth House doing?"
"Yes, tell us!" Linni pleaded loudly, "You can't keep fooling us! We've become stronger, and we've passed the psychological test!"
"No."
Arecino didn't want to say anything; she was busy standing in front of Clementine, glaring back at everyone's strange looks.
"What are you looking for? Sorry, there's only one dangerous executive here."
Funina wiped her eyes and whispered, "You weren't like this when you were little. Although you didn't smile much, you were always very gentle. Why are you like this now..."
"Um?"
"Um, I was just talking nonsense!"
With a single glance from Arecino, no one dared to utter another word; they all turned their pleading gazes to the little deity.
"Please continue playing, Lord Grass God!"
"We all want to know as soon as possible what the children have been through!"
"no."
"Why?!"
"Because it was already very dark and there was a lot of standing water outside, it would be difficult for you to get home safely if it got any later."
"That's true."
Navelette agreed, and he made the decision.
"Court adjourned. The hearing of Mr. Mainkuhn's case will continue tomorrow."
"!"
The audience members then suddenly realized what was happening and pulled out their mechanical watches. "It's already this late? We didn't even realize it!"
"Hurry, hurry and catch the last patrol boat!"
They ran out of the opera house and splashed their feet in the water.
"Holy crap, Fontainebleau is flooded?!"
"I didn't hear about any heavy rain today?"
Hearing the commotion, Leosley sighed and looked at Navelette. "You must be tired from crying. Do you want to get some water?"
Navelette: "...You're joking, aren't you?"
"Finding joy in hardship is a good habit, and I sincerely hope you can have it too."
After offering some consolation to his friend in his own way, Leosley turned all his attention to Mainkuhn.
"Duke, please move him to the opera house's infirmary. It has a full range of medical facilities."
"Okay, head nurse."
Although there was a full set of medical equipment, Leosley knew that it would be of little use to Mainkun.
Unexplained coma, unstoppable bleeding skin, and a heart rate that remained unchanged regardless of medication administered—all symptoms matched the prosecution's description. His body seemed to be teetering on the brink of death, struggling in limbo.
This makes it even stranger.
Leosley carried Maine and walked down the stairs step by step.
Nasita and the others clearly had no ill intentions towards Mainkuen, so why did they insist on putting him in the dock? Surely they didn't think his innocence was more important than proper treatment?
"Huh?"
Meilushin, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped and listened intently.
Something's not right.
"What's wrong, Siegwen?"
“Someone…is crying? Very loudly, it’s so sad, I’m going to check on the Duke!” She suddenly ran out of the opera house.
"Wait, wait, I don't have the infirmary access card! ...It does sound like someone is crying?"
Leosley quickly picked her up and followed, only to see her running incredibly fast. In no time, she had run out of the square and arrived at a strange device called the 'teleportation anchor'.
"Ughhhhh!"
Indeed, someone... possibly a human being, was crying. A white-haired man with red horns was surrounded by a crowd, pounding the ground and sobbing uncontrollably.
"Brother Maine, Brother Maine, you are truly admirable! Despite your physical disability, you have a strong will. Go and lead your human followers, Brother Maine!"
"Boss, you used the wrong idiom!"
"Wow."
Hisewen stopped in surprise. "I thought he was crying so hard because he was injured, but it turns out he was just crying because of the knife."
"Waaaaah! I, I didn't cry!"
Leosley: ...
That's real crying, Violet, you're still too refined.
“Okay, okay, Mr. Inatsuma, you’re not crying… wait.”
Leosley frowned, suddenly realizing something was wrong.
"You weren't watching the opera at the theater before, so how do you know about Mainkuhn's story?"
"I, I'm watching a live broadcast!" Arataki Kazuto cried, pointing his finger. "The Traveler has already put broadcast devices at all the anchor points he's visited! It plays automatically as soon as someone gets close!"
"?"
Leosley looked closely and saw a green phantom above the blue anchor point, the image of which was paused at the moment when three children were holding hands.
Few people among the crowd surrounding Araki Ichito cried or made a fuss; most were quietly wiping away tears, muttering about their brother's name.
! ? ?
For a moment he was stunned, he immediately asked the green-haired girl who seemed the most reliable.
How many anchor points did the traveler set?
"Hmm... He's already traveled to four countries: Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, and Fontaine. I heard he's opened all of them. He always opens the anchor points first."
My God! Leosley's vision blurred, but he couldn't help feeling a bit of relief. "At least I still have a few countries left..."
"What? You don't want Mainkun's deeds to spread too widely?" Hisaki looked at him in confusion. "I'm afraid that won't work."
"How so?"
"Because the Grass God also did it in Sumeru, she even went to Nata to set up a broadcasting line using a void terminal."
"..."
So the people of all six kingdoms witnessed Mainkun's trial? Did Villette know about this?
"At least, at least there's still winter..."
"Winter Solstice? Speaking of Winter Solstice, I heard that the fourth seat of the Fool Clan is responsible for secretly installing the broadcasting device over there. I don't know how it's going, and I haven't seen any reports from the Fool Clan in the group chat."
"..."
"What's wrong, sir? Your eyes look dull and lifeless."
"It's nothing, thank you, kind lady."
What is this doing? What is this doing?
Leosley appeared calm, but inwardly he was terrified.
This could not help but terrify him, for no one knew better than him that the defendant, who was being recognized by the entire nation and its people, and his brother who was sleeping soundly in his arms—was now a socially anxious person!
What are you guys doing, Grass God Travelers? What could be more torturous for socially anxious people than becoming world-famous? Will Mainkun be so scared that he'll hide in Mello-Petersburg for the rest of his life? Wait, well, it's not impossible.
"Are you unhappy? But I'm sorry, this is an important prerequisite for the rescue."
He was still in shock when he heard a light blond-haired boy speak to him.
Abedo squatted on the ground, holding a pen made of silver-white branches in one hand and alchemical blueprints in the other, looking as if he were drawing some kind of formation.
“Anchor points can help us channel our emotions and desires into the earth’s veins, and what I need to do is to channel this massive flow of information through the earth’s veins into the opera house, where Mainkun will achieve a miracle of rebirth amidst the expectations of millions.”
Excuse me, what are you saying?
"No need to worry, Mainkun itself should have feedback from the ley lines, the success rate of the plan is as high as 97%...?" Abedo suddenly looked up, "You still don't know anything?"
"What should we know?"
Leosley held the cat, utterly bewildered.
"All we know is that the Sumerians inexplicably turned against each other and insisted on judging the wise king they originally supported. The Mondstadt people, who know they've had a few drinks, fabricated some outrageous charges to watch the show. As for Inazuma's seclusion, let's leave that aside for now. The most absurd one is Liyue. With so many guardian deities protecting the country, do you really think Mainkun could interfere with Liyue's ley lines for so long? He's not the master of the Sky Isles... What should we know?"
As Leosley was speaking, Abedo's pen rolled to the ground.
"Hold on."
He usually devotes himself to the study of alchemy and rarely makes friends, but he finally opened the group member list of "This Cat Is My Home" and scrolled up and down.
"What are you doing, sir Mondstadt? Is this yet another of the Grass God's wondrous tools?"
There wasn't a single person from Fontainebleau in the huge group chat.
Wait—what about this group name—
Appearing behind Leosley, Abedo patted him on the shoulder with a rare show of sympathy.
"Just bear with it. It's normal for the person in question to be the target of your anger."
"When Keli saw other people's kittens that were thin and skinny, she also had the idea of stealing them and bringing them back to me."
"Whom did you steal from? Wait, I want a clear and concise explanation..."
He was about to grab Aberdo and interrogate him properly, but he had been there for too long and was holding someone very conspicuous, so the onlookers finally noticed something was amiss.
"Wait, that person is holding Mainkuhn!"
"What!?"
Araki Ichito rolled over and grabbed Leosley's ankle.
"Put him down quickly, I want to become sworn brothers with him!"
"Boss!!!"
"Let me pet it! Let me pet the cat!"
"Xiaomei, we like you—"
...Help! The crowd surged forward. Leosley, outwardly calm but inwardly panicked, broke free from Yidou, hoisted his brother onto his back, and then grabbed the ever-laughing Melusin, before fleeing in disarray!
"Duke? Why are you in such a panic? Who's behind you??? Waaah!"
Pushing Frynn aside as an obstacle, using Siegwen to open the infirmary door, Leosley grabbed Maine and flipped onto the bed, squeezing under the covers.
"Duke? The caregiver has his own bed, you know?"
"It's safer to sleep together."
Leosley looked completely serious, making it impossible to tell if he was joking.
"I can also knock someone down in time if they come to steal my cat in the middle of the night."
"Okay."
Siegwen gave him that loving look she'd seen when she saw cats and dogs, but Leosley didn't have time for her. He slept half the night with Mainkuen in his arms, and went to stop Navelette early the next morning.
"Did the Grass God say anything to you? I saw you two had a conversation last night."
"Um."
The Water Dragon King wore a smile.
"She voluntarily donated a large number of causal imaging machines to Fontaine, allowing us to use them in court for free. How wonderful! The memory of the earth's veins is the most reliable testimony and evidence in the world."
Didn't she tell you anything about the plans or anything like that?
"No, she just asked me for diplomatic immunity so that she could avoid arrest, trial, and prosecution after breaking the law."
"Did you give it to me?" Leosley's voice trembled.
“Of course, I think she’s gentle and upright, and Funina doesn’t have any objections…”
Oh no! She can steal cats! Leosley sat back down in a daze, and when he looked up, he saw Narcida smiling at him.
"The memories are about to start playing again, Mr. Leosley."
Leosley gasped, managing to discern a hint of malice in that smiling face. He turned and hugged Mainkuen tightly. "God of Wisdom, how terrifying!"
Nasita, who was just laughing: ?
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Author's Note: I'm overwhelmed with writing. Just send me a Crimson King arc to knock me out before the story ends!
Replenish:
Diplomatic immunity is a pretty amazing thing. I'm not a law student, so I won't try to explain it. If you're interested, just search for it yourself.
Anyway, if you have that right, you can break any law and not be tried locally, but how you'll be dealt with after you return to your home country is another matter.
However, Nasita didn't want this right to steal cats.
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