From then on, Yuto and Furina both fell silent, neither knowing what to say next.
Although both of them had been quite brave just now—one directly placed his hand on the other's, and the other, sensing something, chose to take the initiative—then...
There was no 'then'.
Yuto silently drank his black tea, appearing as if nothing that had just happened had affected him much, but his slightly trembling hand holding the teacup ultimately betrayed him.
As for Furina, she ate her cake somewhat distractedly, raising her head slightly with each bite to secretly observe Yuto beside her, then lowering her head again to continue eating her small cake.
These somewhat peculiar yet subtly ambiguous small actions between the two made the atmosphere in the room quite strange, as if something was about to happen.
As time passed little by little, the tea in the teapot was almost at the bottom, and only crumbs remained of the cake on the plate.
Furina looked at the cake crumbs, her small face slightly red.
"What should I say now? Or... should I not say anything? No, no, Furina, you must follow your inner voice, be yourself..."
Thinking this, Furina slowly closed her eyes, pondering what she should say at this moment.
After thinking with her eyes closed for about two or three seconds, Furina seemed to have thought of something. She slightly turned her head to look at Yuto beside her and asked with some curiosity:
"So... what does Yuto plan to do next? Will he continue to stay in Palais Mermonia as Assistant Administrator? Or... does he plan to resign?"
"During the time you were missing, Neuvillette handled all the paperwork, but... they still said his work efficiency was too low..."
Furina looked at Yuto before her, tilted her head, and asked.
Hearing this, Yuto slightly raised his head, shifting his gaze from the swirling tea in the teacup before him. After a moment of thought, he spoke:
"I probably won't resign directly, after all... there are still some people in Fontaine that only I can keep in check..."
"The emerging nobles are fine, but the old nobles will take an inch if given an inch at the slightest rumor, then throw Fontaine into chaos."
"Plus there's the matter of the Fatui... even if I were to resign, it would have to wait until I've dealt with The Knave and the god's heart before it can be considered over."
Hearing this, Furina gently nodded, then continued to ask:
"So... you plan to continue staying in Palais Mermonia as Assistant Administrator?"
For Furina, this news was not particularly good news.
Since she wanted to live a normal life, it meant she needed to resign from the position of Water God, which meant... the former three giants would become two.
If Yuto intended to remain in the Assistant Administrator position now... it would mean he would continue to bear the pressure from all of Fontaine and the torment of all that paperwork.
When a country's God leaves or loses power, the external pressure on that country drastically increases.
Whether it's the Fatui, who have always eyed Fontaine covetously, or envoys and trade delegations from other nations, they all want to carve a piece of Fontaine for themselves to bolster their own strength.
Coupled with the internal impact of the God's departure on the nation... Yuto's workload and work pressure would only increase, not decrease, compared to before.
"Will the sudden increase in pressure and workload make Yuto uncomfortable? Will Yuto's spirit slightly collapse under such conditions?"
And the previous torrential rain that lasted for five days and five nights was still vivid in her memory; it was hard to imagine that once the work pressure became even greater... would Yuto also become like Neuvillette...
And the most crucial point was not these things, but that the vast majority of people did not understand them.
Before the Judgment against her officially began today, someone brought up the recent work efficiency of the Momang Hall.
—They clearly knew what had happened recently, but they avoided the core of the problem.
This was the issue Furina was worried about, not trivial matters like meeting times or how many small cakes she could eat.
Looking at those beautiful heterochromatic eyes that showed a hint of worry, Yuto gently smiled, then softly ruffled Furina's small head and said tenderly:
"Don't worry so much. As for those previous matters... as long as I remain in the Assistant Administrator position, they won't do anything unfavorable to me or to Fontaine."
"As for work... I'm already in the process of building a new system or a new department to handle these things."
"The workload will definitely increase in the future. If it all falls on me and Neuvillette, should there ever be a special matter that causes both me and Neuvillette to be absent, Fontaine would come to a standstill."
"Rather than waiting for the worst to happen before looking for solutions, it's better to arrange everything early and do the work that needs to be done."
Furina gently nodded her small head, then, with a flushed face, lowered her head and once again fell silent.
She had understood the arrangements Yuto had just made, and she really wanted to offer some constructive suggestions, but...
His hand was simply too warm; when it rested on her head... it was truly comfortable, with a captivating sense of pleasure.
This special pleasure wasn't like the feeling of finally eating a desired small cake, but rather... an indescribable, special emotion.
"It feels so good to have someone by your side..."
Furina whispered to herself, a smile involuntarily appearing on her face.
For the next half an hour, the two of them simply looked at each other, neither speaking, just smiling at each other.
Unlike couples in the throes of passion, Furina and Yuto didn't need mushy declarations of love or hugs and embraces to strengthen their bond.
What they needed to do... was to continue accompanying each other, just as they had for the past four hundred and eighty-nine years.
That was enough.
...
Perhaps it was because being by Yuto's side made her feel quite at ease, or perhaps it was because she had finally let go of the responsibility she had carried for five hundred years today... Furina suddenly felt a little sleepy.
Looking at the girl whose eyelids were drooping, Yuto chuckled and shook his head, then gently asked:
"Tired?"
"Mm..."
"Then... rest well..."
Yuto's words seemed to possess a certain magic; almost as soon as he finished speaking, Furina nodded her small head and fell asleep.
Looking at her peaceful and serene sleeping face, Yuto smiled gently, then slowly lifted the girl from the chair and placed her on her small bed.
Yuto then quietly sat by the bed, pondering future plans while accompanying his lover.
But he seemed to have overlooked one point: he himself had been pushing through the entire time.
Whether it was facing off against Lumine today or battling the Star-Devouring Whale... he had pushed the capabilities of the Law Enforcement Agency to their limit.
This meant... his physical fatigue had also accumulated to an extreme.
Not long after Furina fell asleep, Yuto also drowsily slumped by the bedside and drifted off to sleep.
As time passed little by little, the twilight sunlight filtered through the window onto the bed, but it very considerately avoided Yuto and Furina's eyes, as if not wanting to wake them.
At the boundary of light and shadow, on the pristine white bedsheet, their hands were unconsciously clasped tightly together, seemingly reflecting their future.
It had been so in the past, and it would be so in the future.
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