31 Th-This isn't a date! [1/5]

"Ending the case with a performance?" Neuvillette heard Furina and his eyes couldn't help but narrow. "Miss Furina... I do hope that you understand that there had yet never been any other clues that could point to the Masked Clown."

"How are you going to put on such an act if there is no trail to follow?"

"Haha, oh my dear Iudex, there's no need to fret." However, Furina only chuckled at Neuvillette's words. "I have already called back all of my informants across Teyvat."

"The moment they come, they'll quickly search Fontaine upside-down to search for any clues." She was amused at the plan which she concocted. "In the meantime, I, however, would voluntarily act as bait and act as if I had already found traces of the Masked Clown."

"This would, in turn, surely agitate the Masked Clown and won't suspect anything about the real plan." She nodded at herself. She then looked at him with a cheeky smile. "Besides, I also took some personnel from the Marechaussee Phantom to help out."

Hearing that Furina took some of his personnel without his knowledge, Neuvillette caressed his temple. "Lady Furina... The Marechaussee Phantom is under my leadership... Please, don't do this again in the future."

"Hoho, don't worry, my dear Iudex." Furina lightly chortled. "This would be the last time I would such a thing— you have my word!"

"The last time I heard you say that was when you borrowed my eyeliner... Now look at where we are." Neuvillette shook his head with a deep sigh. "Very well. I will approve the dispatch of a FEW Marechaussee Phantom personnel."

"Hehe, thank you, Neuvillette! Toodle~oo!" Furina softly chortled before running out of his room while carrying a piece of paper.

Seeing her leave, Neuvillette shook his head with a solemn face. He then opened his mouth, "I can only extend my sincere sympathy to the poor person that she picked on..."

Of course, he only thought this because...

...Little did he know that the poor lad was not an easy target.

---

'Another great day is done...' Isaac, who was sweeping the floors of the café, thought with a satisfied expression. 'I had a decent amount of customers, and even my steamed milk art skills slightly improved... Albeit still a bit wobbly...'

'I should treat myself sometime. It's been a while since I went out.' As he thought of this, he suddenly remembered the time when he last went out. '...But this time, I'll make sure to see if there are any performances, or else I might encounter HER again...'

Isaac then placed the broom on the corner of the cafe along with the dustpan and sat down on one of the chairs. 'Oh boy... Changing into a pious believer is gonna be hard...'

Looking outside, Isaac saw that the skies were already dark. The gentle and cold serene embrace of the night had already seeped into the world.

'Coffee and the night... I sure do have contrasting tastes...' Isaac softly smiled at this thought as his mind began to wander as he looked out in a daze. 'I love coffee and its rich earthy smell and flavor... Yet I also like the cold tranquility of the night... One that keeps you awake and one that wants you to sleep.'

"Seriously..." Isaac then dispersed his thoughts with a wry smile before standing up. "Le Souffle du Silence is about to close..."

Isaac typically closes at around seven in the evening, as such, he decided to stick by his schedule.

He then started cleaning up the café. He took some things down and lowered the blinders of the windows.

After a dozen minutes, the café already looked ready for tomorrow's new day.

However, Isaac still had other plans. "Now that Le Souffle du Silence is closed..."

He then opened the system inventory and took out a new set of clothes he had bought. They were clothes he had personally bought with Mora in real life, instead of the system store.

"A classic." Putting on the new set of clothes, Isaac smiled lightly. "With this, my other profession as Isaac is now set."

Currently, he was wearing silver-rimmed glasses. As for his clothes, he wore a white long-sleeved white t-shirt and a darkish-brown double-breasted vest on top.

Coupled with it were similarly darkish-brown trousers and a pair of black boots.

"Gotta always look your best in this nation, after all." Seeing his reflection in a mirror, Isaac nodded with a faint smile. "After all, what you wear signifies who you are— and a classic set of clothes such as these that aren't too uncomfortable are a great choice."

Having finished his clothing, Isaac headed to the backdoor located behind the cafe.

He opened the door, and if not for his tight clothes, he would have felt the piercing chill of the night. Slightly shivering, Isaac sighed. "Sheesh... Cold."

He then walked out and took something out from his inventory. It was a small sign. On it, these words appeared:

"L'Énigme des Ombres."

Yes, this was Isaac's other identity. Although he won't actively accept missions nor give any effort in promoting this side of the business, he planned to use this identity to avoid any unwanted suspicion for his knowledge of certain matters.

If one day, he spills out something that he shouldn't, he can just pin the blame on his other profession as a Private Investigator and say that he "investigated" the matter.

Placing the pocket-sized sign on the door, Isaac nodded to himself.

"That settles it." Isaac smiled before going back into the café. Closing the door behind him, he couldn't help but do a few quick stretches. "It's really cold... Is it about you rain again?"

"I might need a coat in the future..." Isaac made a quick mental note before entering the corridor where four other doors were present.

One door leads to the café, one leads to another bathroom, one is another door that can be used to enter the kitchen, and the last one is to a room that Isaac doesn't use.

Isaac walked over to the door nearest to him, which is the room that he doesn't use.

He entered and looked around, before lightly nodding his head. "Yeah... This would do."

Isaac then opened the system shop and bought some items before placing them down in the room.

After a few minutes, the previously empty room now had a lightbulb, a wooden desk, a blackboard, and a mechanical clock. As well as some other miscellaneous items.

"Perfect." Isaac smiled as he saw the overall aesthetics of the room. "Not too far from what I envisioned..."

"From now on, this would be where all my investigation works and whatnots will be." He muttered to himself as he observed the room. "If my identity as an investigator still needs proof, this would prove quite useful."

He then looked at the clock and saw that it was already about to turn eight in the evening.

"She's taking longer than I anticipated..." Isaac grasped his chin with a worried expression. "Did I miscalcu—"

Knock*

Before he could finish his words, two audible knocks suddenly came from the backdoor. '...oh.'

'Is it her or someone else?' Cautious, Isaac took out the revolver he got from the system rewards and placed it on his shoulder holster. 'Being too cautious at night won't hurt, after all.'

He then walked out of the investigation room and went to the backdoor. He prepared himself and cautiously opened it.

It was already raining outside, making it a bit difficult to identify the person.

"Who is it?" With a silvery tone, Isaac opened a small opening in the door as he peeked out.

What then came to his vision was a figure of someone.

Wearing a dark hood and a long trench coat, Isaac wasn't able to fully see the person's face.

However, the protruding grayish-white hair from the hood, coupled with the light skin made Isaac instantly guess who it was.

With his deep amber eyes, he looked at her silently before thinking to himself, '...so she came after all.'

"You must be Isaac Alder, hm?" Soon, the voice of the person spoke. From her voice, it was obvious that it was a woman.

"That is indeed me," Having confirmed who it was, Isaac decided to fully open the door and look at the hooded woman. "And you are?"

"Hehe..." The woman lightly chuckled, with her amused smile visible from under her hood. "To think I'd meet you again..."

The person then looked up, revealing her true identity. "Mr. Rude person."

"...Lady Furina." Seeing who it was, Isaac decided to keep a level-headed manner and not to overreact. He just showed a bit of a surprise in his tone. "What brings you here? And why did you refer to me as someone rude?"

"Haha, don't think that I have forgotten our first meeting." Furina crossed her arms as she looked at him with a light smile. "YOU were constantly berating me in your mind, weren't you?"

She was referring to his constant scoffing at Furina at Hotel Debord.

"I... Ahem, please understand that those were not in my true intentions." Isaac lightly coughed as he remembered the first time they met. "I wasn't there to offend you in any way, really. I was... Investigating another matter."

"Oh, you were also onto Viscount Alexandre at that time?" Furina, however, suddenly showed a perplexed expression.

'Who?' Isaac didn't know who it was. However, he decided to play along. "That... And others too."

"Oh, so you also thought that the nobles present there at that time also had a connection to Viscount Alexandre?" Furina grasped her chin as she looked at Isaac with an amused smile. "I must say, other than me, I believed that no one else knew the connection between those young nobles and how they're connected to Viscount Alexandre who was involved in the Sinthe business."

'Who and what? I was referring to food!' Isaac was lost. However, with what Furina said and piecing yo some ideas, he had a rough idea of what she was saying. 'So the young nobles back then... Were all scheming? What the...'

"It seems like Lady Furina's visit there at that time wasn't also a coincidence?" Isaac fixed this silver-rimmed glasses' position as he said this. He was trying to play along. "As expected of you, Lady Furina."

"Hoho, how sharp you are!" Furina chortled as she listened to Isaac. "Great— with this, you've just proved your worth, and therefore be of great help!"

"I don't deserve such praises, Lady Furina." Isaac looked at her with a gentle smile while being modest. However, inside his mind, it was the opposite. 'Finally! She's about to invite me to be one of her informants—'

"To have a sharp investigator like you as my sidekick, how marvelous it would be!" However, before he could finish his thoughts, Furina cut him off. She then looked at him with a face full of anticipation.

"From now on, you're one of my direct servants!"

"Rejoice in this and revere the position that you have been given." Furina took off her hood, revealing her full face. She then looked at Isaac with a bright expression. "For being given such a position is by no means an easy feat, hehe!"

"...I beg your pardon?" Isaac was stunned. He was now looking at her with a blank expression.

"Now come, let us discuss more!" Without waiting for Isaac to speak, she invited herself in.

Bam!*

And so, the doors close.

Now starts chaos.

* * *

A/N:

The withdrawal symptoms after deleting Genshin Impact are worse than I thought.

Even more so because of the new Archon Quest.

I want to download it again, but it can't fit on my phone anymore. (I tried).

I am now distracting myself with Blue Archive and Honkai Star Rail.

I don't know how long those two would last.