Thinking of this, Furina thoughtfully turned her head and looked at the unpatched spatial rift, a faint smile on her face.
She could finally stop pretending to be an ordinary girl in those warm settings.
The life of "Water God Furina" had ended, replaced by... the life of "Furina."
"But... there are so many things I want to ask him, I wonder what the future will be like...?"
Furina tilted her head slightly, as if thinking about her future life with Yuto.
"What are you thinking about?"
Just as Furina was still contemplating the future, that familiar gentle voice suddenly appeared behind her, interrupting her thoughts.
Furina instinctively shivered, then looked at the man behind her who still wore a familiar smile, feeling a little flustered for a moment.
At this moment, Furina realized a problem...
—Five hundred years of acting had deeply bound her to the image of "Water God Furina."
She no longer knew what identity to use when interacting with Yuto!
Looking at Furina, whose small face was slightly flushed with panic, Yuto gently smiled, as if he had long been prepared for the current situation.
He extended his left hand and gently said to Furina:
"Miss Furina, today... may I, in a private capacity, enjoy afternoon tea with you?"
Hearing this, Furina was first startled, as if considering the feasibility of this action.
After thinking for about two or three seconds, Furina successfully convinced herself.
In a sense... she and Yuto had both contributed a lot to Fontaine, so a short rest today... should be permissible, right?
Thinking of this, Furina nodded gently, her small face flushed.
Looking at the somewhat shy Furina, Yuto gently smiled, then gently took the girl's sleeve and walked towards Palais Mermonia.
However, before they had taken a few steps, Furina suddenly stopped, causing Yuto, who was holding her sleeve, to stop as well.
Yuto looked at Furina, who was bowing her head behind him, with some surprise. Just as he was about to ask if she was feeling unwell... she spoke first:
"Yuto... why have you always believed in me so firmly? Even if... even if you couldn't change those things?"
Hearing this, Yuto was slightly startled, then said with a light chuckle:
"Because I have heard the hymns of all waters, and I have seen the most resilient blue rose."
"So... I will always stand firmly by your side, Furina."
...
Perhaps because of its proximity to the Opera House, this place was not like other places where people loudly shouted things like "The Prophecy is false."
Most of the people here... were those who had just been sitting in the audience, watching the Traveler conduct the Judgment of Furina.
In other words, they were the people who had been pulled into the "Law Enforcement Agency" by Yuto earlier, and thus knew what was behind the resolution of The Prophecy.
After a brief moment of surprise and astonishment, what they were met with... was guilt.
Being foolish and being stupid are fundamentally different, though not by much; the former at least has some brains, while the latter... has none at all.
And the people of Fontaine were foolish, not stupid.
At the very beginning of the Judgment, they still held onto the idea that Furina was the Water God, but under the constant piling on of so-called "evidence," their inner common sense began to waver.
But everything they had just witnessed in that dark Opera House... explained why "Furina had no divine power."
She was a God, but to solve The Prophecy... she resolutely gave up her divine power.
And they actually doubted she wasn't the Water God, doubted she had done nothing, just because she had lost her divine power...
Regardless of whether they should apologize to her, gratitude... should certainly be present.
At least, as the Water God, she allowed them to survive, and she paid a great price for it.
These two points alone were enough for them to thank her.
Thinking of this, a mechanic leaning against a stone pillar nearby gently patted his top hat, then walked step by step towards the main entrance of the Opera House.
However, when the mechanic reached the main entrance of the Opera House... he did not see the blue figure from before.
He paused for a moment, then slowly sighed and left dejectedly.
As the saying goes, if a person does not benefit themselves, heaven and earth will destroy them.
There's no need to think too highly of them, nor too poorly.
Whether they came to apologize or to give thanks... the essence was only one:
—To live a more peaceful life, to more peacefully enjoy the tranquility brought by the sacrifice of a God.
But Yuto wouldn't let them enjoy this tranquility so easily, which is why he took Furina away as soon as they came out.
One reason was to let the situation ferment, so that the subsequent harvest would be more satisfying.
The second was to let them experience the feeling of not being able to sleep.
Of course, the best case scenario would be for them to wake up in the middle of the night, look at the moonlight outside the window, suddenly slap themselves, and furiously curse themselves for being so foolish.
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