This is unacceptable!
Stelle hurriedly left the Astral Express in a rush.
The camera cut.
Stelle had already arrived at the Forge Division.
Not only was Yunli there, but even General Huaiyan was present.
It made sense—after all, it was his granddaughter. When something like this happened, the guardian naturally had to be there.
Seeing everyone assembled, the great office spoke. "Good, everyone's here. Time for questioning."
Huaiyan looked at Yunli with a stern expression. "Yunli, you must already understand why the Commissioner called you here."
Yunli's expression was equally solemn. "I know. I didn't steal the sword."
"I can vouch for her," Stelle said from the side.
"Sigh, now isn't the time to abuse your good reputation." Huaiyan sighed. "Guyun's theft is a breach of trust within the Luofu and a betrayal of the delegation externally. Commissioner, please uncover the truth by all means."
Seeing this, the great office began a professional analysis. "Regarding the theft of Guyun, while all those in the know have varying degrees of suspicion, Miss Yunli is the prime suspect in this case.
First, Miss Yunli openly expressed her motive to steal Guyun at the sword-gifting ceremony itself—she repeatedly said she would take the sword. Then she broke into the Forge Division, destroyed golden automatons, and attempted to seize it. Am I wrong?"
Yunli replied calmly, "No, you're not."
"The Seat of Divine Foresight inspected the armory where Guyun was stored. There are no signs of forced entry on doors or windows. Aside from the narrow ventilation slits barely a few hand-widths wide, there are no passages for a thief to enter or exit."
Hearing this, a certain someone's figure inexplicably appeared in Stelle's mind. "If March 7th were here, her cursed mouth would definitely point out exactly who the thief is..."
[Hahaha, because March 7th's mouth has been blessed!]
[March 7th has always been the prophet.]
[I told you Elio is basically Little March.]
[March 7th really guesses right every time.]
——
After the great office's deductions, Argenti was the first to be cleared of suspicion.
After all, he was the one who identified the sword and escorted it all the way back. If he really wanted it, why wait until now?
The delegation and the artisans were also cleared along the way.
So now the only suspect left was Yunli.
"No, that's not all possibilities," Stelle countered.
The great office waved a hand. "To refute me, bring solid evidence."
Trusting in Yunli, Stelle believed the real culprit was someone else.
The people and objects at the scene could provide key evidence—not only to clear Yunli's name but perhaps even reveal the true thief...
Thus.
Stelle's IQ suddenly took over. She set aside her usual absurdity and launched a proper investigation.
[Sorry, not used to such serious Stelle.]
[Serious Stelle is actually pretty cool.]
[Mainly because her usual antics are so absurd—sudden seriousness feels like a complete art style shift.]
——
After collecting statements from everyone present.
Paavo's reaction was the strongest among them.
After all, Yunli kept calling it a demonic sword, but to Paavo it was a hero's sword.
After the exchange, Stelle approached the sword case and examined it closely. The lock was intact, not forcibly broken, and there were rose petals inside.
[It really is Argenti?]
[With petals, it's basically confirmed to be Argenti, right?]
[But do you think Argenti would steal something?]
[No way.]
——
Stelle confidently approached the great office—she had already grasped the entire truth.
"Then, there's only one truth!"
Stelle submitted Master Gongshu's testimony, stating that at least when they left, the sword was still inside the case.
The sword case lock was undamaged, so only the person who delivered the sword to the Forge Division would know best.
And rose petals had been left inside.
"I know—the pure and beautiful knight who escorted the treasured sword always leaves a trail of rose petals wherever he goes that are impossible to clean up completely."
After Stelle's pointers, the great office seemed to piece things together.
"My mind's a mess—let me think...
The sword case wasn't locked, so obviously only the person who delivered it could have done that. And the rose petals belong to that pure and beautiful knight.
But how exactly did he remove the sword from the Forge Division? And why steal it after returning it? And why leave those petals in the case?"
Stelle spread her hands. "How would I know?"
"I know," Yunli answered from the side. "Guyun escaped the sword case on its own. All the pure and beautiful knight did was unlock it to help it escape."
Paavo was incredulous. "Don't joke around—how could a sword escape by itself?"
"What, you've never seen a flying sword before?"
[Yanqing: Yeah yeah yeah.]
[Yanqing says: I refuse to take the blame for this.]
"I-I've only heard in legends that 'Mika Chivasha' can fly... But even granting that, why would the pure and beautiful knight do this?"
Yunli shook her head. "I told you already—it's a demonic sword forged with a Stellaron. It must have controlled Argenti! Maybe he was under its control even before arriving at the Luofu."
[Impossible, absolutely impossible!]
[Argenti's conviction is so firm—it can't be him.]
[I think Argenti actually suppressed the demonic sword.]
[That's possible. But what exactly does Argenti want?]
——
"Commissioner, where is the knight?" Huaiyan asked from the side.
"Uh, let me check... the docking position of Argenti's registered starship, 'Rare in the World'..."
Hearing this, Yunli immediately grabbed Stelle's hand. "Let's go! Before that sword completely seizes Argenti's mind, we have to find him quickly!"
The camera cut.
At a corner of the Star Ferry Dock, Yunli and Stelle found the knight in silver armor.
Or rather, he found them.
Yunli walked over, paused with a sigh, then continued walking.
15th of some month, 4:04 PM.
At that moment, Argenti was sitting on a wooden chair. He slowly stood up. "Everyone, I've been waiting here for quite some time."
[Hahaha, Big Sick Zone delivering stable performance.]
[Lol, I can't—hahaha.]
[A burst of meaningless drumbeat!]
[Days etched into DNA.]
[Why not a non-biodegradable white chair?]
[Meaningless sigh.]
[God-metal!]
[Yunli's pause has so much soul.]
[There's actually a chair here!]
[Everything matches up.]
[Now I finally understand everything.]
[Hey Vergil, give me back my Enma no Ken!]
[You know the rules—if you want it, come take it yourself.]
[This scene is impossible to hold back!]
Yunli put her hands on her hips. "Pure and beautiful knight—you're the one who stole Guyun, right? Leave it here! You have no idea how dangerous that demonic sword is."
Argenti gave a slight smile. "Dangerous? In my humble opinion, what is truly dangerous is always the hand that wields the weapon."
——