Yuto's disappearance not only brought a touch of sadness to Furina but also an endless pile of paperwork to Neuvillette.
Of course, it also brought torrential rain to Fontaine that showed no sign of stopping.
Neuvillette looked at the complicated documents before him and sighed once more.
From dusk yesterday until now, he had been trying to regain his former ability to process documents.
But... the effect was not very good.
He put down his quill, slightly raised his head, looked at the torrential rain outside the window, closed his eyes, and let out a soft sigh.
"I should have thought of it sooner..."
"A seashell thrown out four hundred and eighty-nine years ago... after being battered by the waves for four hundred and eighty-nine years, even if found, it would be shattered."
"Alas..."
Neuvillette sighed faintly, then continued to lower his head and review the documents in his hand.
Just as he had said, four hundred and eighty-nine years ago, he was indeed capable of handling a large volume of paperwork.
Regardless of whether he could smoothly regain that part of his ability now, just the changes in documents caused by the passage of time... were enough to make this Chief Justice's scalp tingle.
Yes, when Furina first took office, most of the paperwork that Palais Mermonia needed to handle consisted of approvals for financial statements and land planning documents.
Of course, there were also many crime reports and entry permits; the rest were negligible.
In contrast, now...
Neuvillette looked at the various documents piled before him; the types of documents he was familiar with had disappeared in the currents of time.
Previous land planning documents had become event proposals, and entry permits and crime reports had become property dispute records and Palais Mermonia's monthly work files.
There was also a series of new documents that arose due to the changes of the era.
Of course, this did not mean that among these mountains of documents there were none that Neuvillette was familiar with, but...
Due to Fontaine's development over the past four hundred and eighty-nine years, the requirements for financial statements gradually increased, and the amount of data to be reviewed and files to be integrated also grew.
Thus, the only type of document Neuvillette was familiar with also became unfamiliar to him due to changes in work procedures and related content.
This is why Fontaine was experiencing torrential rain.
Sometimes... Neuvillette truly admired Yuto.
This admiration came not only from his ability to express his emotions as a "human" more smoothly but also from his ability to handle so many documents.
Thinking of this, Neuvillette sighed quite helplessly and murmured softly:
"...I hope they can find him successfully..."
With that, Neuvillette slowly stood up, picked up the blue staff leaning against the desk, and unhurriedly walked out of his office.
Neuvillette had no concept of skipping work; he only knew one thing...
—At this time, he should be helping Lumine explore the ruins.
...
Just as Neuvillette was rushing towards the ruins, Lumine and Paimon had already entered them first.
Looking at the crumbling walls and ruins before them, Paimon immediately recalled her previous experience exploring the remnants of Remuria.
She quickly flew a circle around Lumine, and after confirming that there were no strange light clusters on her, she slowly breathed a sigh of relief.
Lumine, meanwhile, looked at the strangely acting Paimon and slowly displayed a "?".
The young girl blinked slightly, then asked somewhat oddly:
"Paimon, what's wrong?"
Paimon quickly shook her head, then waved her finger while explaining:
"I just have a slightly bad feeling, after all, the last time we explored the ruins of Remuria... didn't you just pass out directly?"
"After you passed out, a monster suddenly emerged from the wall, looking like it wanted to kill us all."
"If Yuto hadn't woken up in time then, our journey would probably have ended long ago..."
Paimon patted her chest with some fear, seemingly recalling the scene at the time, and then patted her chest again with lingering apprehension, as if she had been startled.
Lumine looked at the somewhat frightened Paimon and shook her head with a smile.
Although her guide was a big eater, had fluctuating emotional intelligence, was greedy for money, and occasionally caused her some trouble...
She was indeed genuinely concerned for her safety.
Thinking of this, Lumine gently said:
"Alright, Paimon, no need to be so flustered. Nothing scary has happened yet, has it? Don't scare yourself."
"These ruins this time aren't from the Remurian era, so... no need to worry so much!"
Hearing Lumine say this, Paimon gently nodded her small head, the worry on her face slightly easing, but still not completely gone.
"Then... if we feel anything is wrong, we'll leave immediately! We'll make arrangements after Neuvillette arrives!"
Paimon put her hands on her hips and stated her plan.
Lumine smiled and nodded, then carefully led Paimon forward to explore.
...
Perhaps because the ruins had existed for a very long time, the floor here was extremely unreliable.
What looked like a very sturdy floor would begin to collapse in that area with just a single pebble placed on it.
However, this was not a danger for Lumine and Paimon.
Lumine had a Wind Glider, and this height was not difficult for her, and Paimon's feet never touched the ground, so there was no danger of falling at all.
As the two gradually delved deeper, they finally arrived before a downward staircase.
Looking at the water emitting a strange glow, Paimon clapped her chest with a moment of relief and said:
"Good thing Navia didn't come. We've only gone this short distance and already seen so much Seawater. If we go any deeper..."
Seemingly imagining Navia being surrounded by Seawater, Paimon quickly shook her head, quickly shaking off the thought that made her feel panicked.
Lumine also understood what Paimon wanted to say, and she nodded in approval; this was consistent with her exploration philosophy.
The first priority in exploring ruins is not exploration, but self-preservation. If one cannot even guarantee their own life... it is better not to explore ruins.
However, just as Lumine and Paimon were feeling relieved about their own and Navia's personal choices... a wolf-like howl came from behind them.
"Whoa! Lumine! Look out!"
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thank you so much for your support!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"