11 The Ludex's Speculations

A day after the grand plan of Isaac, Fontaine soon erupted into a buzz.

Everyone was talking about the spreading news that the Dame des Eaux was stolen.

The Steambird, the most popular publication company in Fontaine, was the first to publish in the crack of dawn.

As soon as a Garde insider responded to last night's situation, they quickly reported it to Steambird.

As such, be it young or old, all of the people's discussion is centered around the stolen painting symbolizing their Goddess.

"He disappeared?" On the scene where Isaac was last seen, a tall man with waist-length hair. His elegant and charming voice reverberated around the scene. "Are you sure?"

"That's right, Ludex." A Melusine wearing a Garde replied beside him. Their size difference made them look quite comical. "According to the Gardes that saw the man, he just disappeared in the shadows— leaving no trace."

That's right. The man standing with the Melusine right now is none other than Fontaine's Ludex and the Head of the Marechaussee Phantom, Monsieur Neuvillette.

"And the Marechaussee Phantom hasn't found anything since then?" His voice carried a sense of authority as he spoke.

"We-We apologize, Ludex." The Melusine quickly apologized at the words of Neuvillette. "We will work ourselves to the bone if we must to find the culprit! We swear!"

The Marechaussee Phantom, formerly known as the Marechaussee Hunters, had been in operation for hundreds of years now. And the occasions when they fail or can't find anything about a case rarely happen.

This is because the Marechaussee Phantom is mostly made of the Melusines. They have exceptional perception and senses compared to humans, as such, they excel in espionage and investigation.

However, what just happened last night left them perplexed. This is because they can't find anything!

Neuvillette shook his head at the words of the Melusine. "No, I know you're all doing your best. You need not to push yourselves too hard."

"Th-Thank you, Ludex." The Melusine quickly thanked him for his words.

Neuvillette nodded lightly before looking at the back entrance where Isaac exited and stared in silence. "..."

Just then...

"Captain! We found nothing special about this!" A Melusine carrying a ziplock bag approached them. "Our best forensics already searched it. However, it's just a simple card. There isn't even any trace of fingerprints."

"And this is?" Neuvillette looked at the ziplock bag the Melusine was carrying and saw the card they described.

"It was found right in front of where the painting vanished, Ludex." The Melusine with the rank of Captain replied. "It seems like the culprit intentionally left it there for us."

"..." Neuvillette became silent when he heard this. He then started pondering about something. 'A thief that leaves behind items... Hmm... Odd.'

"Would you let me see it?" Neuvillette extended his hand to the Melusine.

"Yes, of course. Here, Ludex." The Melusone nodded and gave the ziplock bag without any questions.

Neuvillette took it and looked at the card that was inside. On the card, a naked person hovers or dances above the earth holding a staff in each hand, surrounded by a green wreath, being watched by various creatures.

'A tarot card?' Neuvillette, who was familiar with such a thing, thought.

Tarot Cards started becoming famous a few hundred years ago when Alice, a famous witch, and adventurer, claimed that they helped with connecting with interpreting a person's fate.

It became popular in Sumeru due to scholars claiming that it helped them connect to Irminsul. However, only a few of them did connect. The majority went insane because they couldn't properly handle Irminsul's lingering Forbidden Knowledge...

'The World... It represents an ending to a cycle of life, a pause in life before the next big cycle beginning with The Fool.' Neuvillette pondered to himself as he recollected some information about the card. 'It is an indicator of a major and inexorable change, of tectonic breadth.'

'Is the culprit trying to relay a message with this?' Neuvillette speculated. 'Perhaps they're trying to say that this is only the start and there are more to come...'

He then turned the card and saw two letters present.

'J. M...' Neuvillette grasped his chin as he thought of the two letters. ' It's obviously an acronym of someone's name... Is it the culprit's?'

'But why would someone deliberately leave their initials on their crime scene?' He then started looking around and saw someone familiar.

"Ha! Mark my words! I, Focalors, will find that audacious thief and make sure to drag him to the Fortress of Meropide and sentence him to life!" The familiar white-haired Archon declared to a group of reporters.

"You've seen the thief, Lady Furina?" A reporter with a notepad asked.

"So the thief's a man..." Another reporter wrote down the details.

"Lady Furina, do you have any guess on who the thief could be?" Another reporter asked.

Furina listened to her people and nodded with a smirk. "That's right. Last night, I managed to get a glimpse of that thief. He even dared to bow down to me as if ending his performance."

"I say, I think this is a deliberate intimidation." A reporter said as he vigorously wrote down on his notepad. "Perhaps..."

"Lady Furina, is the man deliberately challenging you?" Another reporter asked.

Furina heard this and her ahoge swayed for a bit. With an annoyed smile, she put her hands on her waist and nodded. "That's right. Before the thief left, he even left a message to me. Do you know what he said? He said 'Catch me if you can, Lady Furina', Ha! The pure AUDACITY."

"If he wants me to catch him, then he better be prepared!' She declared with absolute confidence.

Neuvillette, who was listening nearby, slightly widened his eyes as if he had just realized something. 'Catching... Performance... Challenging...'

Connecting these words, a new idea appeared in Neuvillette's mind. He then grasped his chin. 'I see... Although it may not seem like it on the surface...'

'From the surface, it seems like just a robbery. But if you account for what the thief did and said to Furina, then...' Soon, a scene appeared in his vision. It was as if a scene was replaying in his mind. 'The thief is deliberately challenging Furina to chase after him... Leaving clues for her...'

'Is it purely just for his amusement or is there a ploy going on here?' He then crossed his arms while quietly contemplating. 'Regardless...'

A mysterious man who suddenly appeared out of nowhere stole a painting and left clues for the Archon as if he were in a performance... and an Archon who craves delightful and intriguing performances during trials...

His sharp eyes then silently looked at Furina who was not far away. '...It seems like a playmate that suits you has finally arrived, Lady Furina...'

*

*

*

Meanwhile, at Isaac's cafe.

While the whole nation was turned upside-down from the chaos he made, he was surprisingly calm.

As usual, he was cleaning the cafe in the morning and preparing for another day of work.

On the TV, a song was playing while he was cleaning.

[Pain will come with the blade]

[Pain will wake up the despondent] [Crowd in this dormant world somehow]

For someone who just stole one of the most famous paintings in the nation, he was quite laid back.

However, he has a pretty good reason to be. That was because of the reward he received after competing just first S-Rank Mission.

'Isn't this too overpowered for someone like me?' Isaac sat down and drank a glass of water. 'I mean... I get that it fits my laidback style, but still...'

He then looked at the reward he got. The system interface opened and he was introduced to it.

[New System Function.]

[Name: Teleport]

[Description: The host can place up to a maximum of two teleport points in the system map.]

'Isn't this basically the traveler's teleport waypoint?' He thought with a wry smile. However, he soon shook his shoulders. 'But, it is what it is anyway.'

'With this, I don't have to worry about transportation, moreover, it can even help me in other ways.' He nodded to himself.

Picking up his remote, he took a sigh of relief. 'With my first main mission done, I should wait for a while before doing the next one... Main quests are exhausting.'

It was true. To do a main quest, Isaac has to go out of his way and leave the cafe to do them.

'...even more so when THAT'S the next main mission...' He side-eyed the system screen.

[A-Rank Quest]

[Type: Main Quest]

[Title: Godfather]

[Objectives: Help Spina Di Rosula by exposing The Waters from the Primordial Sea.]

'...just thinking of a plan for that makes my head hurt.' Isaac sighed. However, he soon stared at it vacantly for a few seconds before curling a small smile. 'But... It seems fun...'

'It seems like the names Gehrman and Moriarty would float around Fontaine in the near future...' He smiled before standing up to go to the kitchen to brew tea.

'How fun.'