Three days had passed since the morning Furina and Neuvillette had their direct confrontation.
During these three days, Furina's daily life was not significantly different from previous days.
Including the rumors circulating in the Opera House.
Those people had not an ounce of respect for Furina, who sat in the highest seat in the Opera House; one could even say...
They simply did not believe she was their God.
Many times, humans only see what they want to see.
When they cannot achieve their goals through certain rhetoric... they selectively ignore many things.
They did not see that Yuto, at Furina's behest, saved the lives of all residents of Beryl Region; they only saw the result of the plan's executor being swept away by Seawater.
Or rather...
They were not unable to see; they were unwilling to see.
Furina's public behavior these past few days had completely eroded their confidence in "directly obtaining a plan to counter The Prophecy from the Water God's mouth," so... they resorted to some underhanded methods.
That was public opinion.
They wanted to use public opinion to pressure Furina, forcing her to reveal her plan under duress, thereby putting their inner anxieties to rest.
History is a cycle; human progress is never learned from "mistakes," but rather from the "pain" caused by "mistakes."
Unfortunately... the "Cares incident" and the "intelligent security robot incident" did not inflict "pain" upon them, so they would make the same mistakes.
Now, they still chose to use so-called "public will" and "public opinion" to coerce others into submission, but because this time their target was the Water God, they had not succeeded.
But contradictions escalate, and public opinion spreads.
In just three days, this matter continuously expanded, and even some rational voices were swallowed by the public's curses.
And today... this contradiction completely erupted.
Furina, as always, sat in the highest seat in the Opera House, idly twirling her cane, waiting for the intermission to pass.
The crowd today was quiet, without the usual chatter, but the gazes that made her uncomfortable were still present, even more so than usual.
Because of this, Furina hesitated slightly, but ultimately decided to stay and quietly watch the Fontaine Opera until the end.
She wanted to use this opportunity to explain why she had left during the intermission a few days ago.
After all... the reasons "couldn't stand the gossip" and "found the Fontaine Opera boring" would have completely different effects on the public.
However, just as Furina was calmly waiting for the second half of the Fontaine Opera to begin... a man wearing a black top hat and a black suit suddenly stood up from his seat.
He turned to look at Furina, his golden eyes filled with anger and bewilderment, and he shouted loudly:
"Lady Furina! Why are you unwilling to reveal your plan?! Why do you just watch your people fall into panic?!"
"It's been five days since Lord Yuto disappeared! Five whole days! That Lord has not appeared again! Even the Momang Hall, which usually works with extreme efficiency, is almost at a standstill! What exactly are you doing?!"
"Even if you're playing a grand game, you should at least tell us why?!"
Hearing this, Furina frowned slightly, then slowly stood up and said, as always:
"I have said that you will know the contents of the plan sooner or later, but not now!"
"As people under my jurisdiction, what you should do is obey my commands and my arrangements, not be so rude to me!"
In the past, such rhetoric would have worked, but today... at this moment when public opinion had been specially fermented, everything was no longer familiar to Furina.
The man did not calm down temporarily because of Furina's words; instead, he continued to roar:
"Obey your plan? Heh heh... do you want us to disappear into Seawater one by one like Mr. Yuto, just as you wish?!"
"You saved the people of Beryl Region, but why wasn't it you, the Water God, who executed this plan, but Assistant Administrator Yuto?!"
"Oh noble Hydro Archon, God of Justice! Why couldn't you save that Assistant Administrator who was so loyal to you?!"
"Where is your divine power? Where is your strength? Are these things not enough to save Assistant Administrator?!"
"Even Assistant Administrator can be sacrificed for your plan, so what about us?! Can we also be sacrificed arbitrarily by your plan?!"
The man's words precisely hit Furina's sore spot.
The young girl's hand, gripping her cane, trembled slightly, her fair little hand gradually reddening, indicating that her emotions were suppressed to the extreme at this moment.
—Like a bomb about to explode.
Yuto saved so many people, why couldn't they see it?
Why could they only see that Yuto had disappeared?
Why did everyone suddenly seem like a different person?
Why... was all of this happening?
Furina lowered her head slightly, beginning to ponder the main reason for everyone's change.
However, before Furina could continue thinking, accusations rose one after another in the Opera House.
"That's right! Will we also become the sacrificed part of the so-called plan?!"
"You keep saying you have a plan for The Prophecy, but ever since Lord Yuto left... you haven't made any moves. Do you really have the ability to counter The Prophecy?"
"Lady Furina... regardless of whether you have the ability to resist The Prophecy, the work efficiency of the Momang Hall this week... is truly not something to be praised."
"Lady Furina, we hope you can give us an explanation, at least to put our minds at ease."
The man who started it all was like a spark, igniting the dissatisfaction of most of the people present.
Their dissatisfaction stemmed partly from the Momang Hall's reduced work efficiency due to Yuto's disappearance, and partly from their inner unease about The Prophecy.
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