How lewd

"..."

Isaac and Furina looked at each other in a momentary silence. One was on the ground while the other was looking at him from above.

"..."

At that moment, it was as if the world had stopped for the two of them. In that fraction of a second, it was as if they had looked at each other for an eternity. As he laid there on the ground, Isaac stared at his God that wore a complicated expression not far from him.

In that short amount of silence, Isaac's mind raced, trying to come up with a way to placate Furina. After all, he had just run away from her.

But before he could do so, the person beside her moved and immediately went over to his side.

"Mister Isaac! You... What happened to you?"

The Captain of the Special Security, Chevreuse, asked as she helped him up. She then added, "Did you get thrown out of that window?"

Leaning on Chevreuse for support, Isaac released a dry chuckle, as if he too didn't know what happened.

"No, not really. I was just... making a grand exit, yeah." With her help, Isaac managed to get up pretty quickly. "I was performing a magic trick for a friend... And for my last trick, I disappeared!"

Through a window, that is.

Fortunately, his fall wasn't that hard. He did, however, get bruised. But besides that, he handled the fall from the second floor pretty well.

Was it stupid? Very much so.

But in the face of what Arlecchino was planning to make him do, he had very little choices and had to make use of what was available to him. He could have teleported back to his cafe, yes, but that would just raise more questions regarding his abilities. For the time being, he wanted to limit how much Arlecchino knew about him.

Meanwhile, Furina watched as Isaac stood back up before speaking with a somewhat sarcastic voice.

"A magic trick, huh?"

"So how was it? Did the taste of the hard ground marble floor feel good, my dear Isaac? Or did you perhaps need to taste it more to understand the deeper flavor profile?"

She was trying to make fun of his goofiness— but the subtle irritated tone was present in her voice. It was obvious that she was not at all happy.

He flinched when he heard her say this. Shifting his gaze to her, he smiled wryly, looking apologetic.

"It's uhh... Indeed, I liked it. Though, I very much prefer smooth lacquered tiles compared to this unpolished stone."

She smiled.

"What a coincidence. Palais Mermonia just happened to have those exact same types of tiles located at the deeper layers beneath."

Hearing this, Chevreuse shot an eyebrow and looked at her, as if trying to confirm something.

"Lady Furina... Is that not where the Maison Gardiennage usually tortu—"

However, she was suddenly cut off.

"Hush, my dear Captain. I was just merely recommending it. Well, if our dear Isaac here wants to, then I'm more than happy to guide him there."

Isaac, who had been listening to them this whole time, shivered. Looking at Furina, she without a doubt still looked the same— confident, flamboyant, and an amiable personality.

However, hidden beneath that façade was a threatening beast that was breathing down on his neck. A monstrous creature that he had, unfortunately, angered.

'...I'm doomed.' Isaac felt cold sweats just looking at Furina's seemingly harmless smile.

He had truly pissed her off today. Of course, she managed to hide it pretty well. In fact, if Isaac wasn't good at observation, he wouldn't have even guessed the hidden meaning behind her words.

The way she said it was just too innocent, after all.

'I need to make peace with her...'

Feeling as if something bad was going to happen, Isaac immediately tried to make up with her.

Approaching Furina, he stood beside her before looking at Chevreuse. With a casual tone, he spoke to her succinctly.

"I'm sorry, miss... Chevreuse, yes? But I'll have to accompany Lady Furina from here on out. Thank you for accompanying her thus far."

The Special Security Captain looked at him with dubious eyes. Crossing her arms, she shot him a look.

"Really? Just like that? After you left our Archon and made us go through a wild goose chase... You just want to end things like that?"

Indeed, what Isaac had done today was nothing short of rude behavior. He had not only unceremoniously left Furina, but he also gave trouble to a few people. Truly, what a selfish sly bastard he was.

Hearing this, Isaac mentally smacked himself and quickly responded to her with an apologetic look.

"I'm truly sorry, Miss Chevreuse. It's my fault— I admit that. But rest assured that I won't ever dare to do something so... Rude... again in the foreseeable future."

"Also..."

He then glanced at Furina beside him and, in a daringly bold move, grabbed her hand in front of the Captain without any hint of shame in his face.

It was a daring gamble that he hoped would work. It would either help him in this situation or make things worse— a true gamble with no reason.

Then, with a proud face, his deep amber eyes looked at her. He conjured up a faint smile and spoke with a hint of pride.

"I promised Lady Furina to be her assistant again today, after all. Please, trust me when I say that I'll do anything she wishes and won't cause trouble again... today."

'?!'

Meanwhile, Furina's eyes widened as she looked at their intertwined hands. With a reluctant and flustered face, she looked at Isaac with disbelief— her face filled with questions.

Although she didn't say anything, Isaac managed to understand what she was conveying through her eyes.

It was all too easily understandable.

'WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!' was what she was saying with those heterochromatic eyes of hers. He knows that what he was doing was dangerous, however, he was well-prepared for situations like this so he didn't worry that much.

Furina, meanwhile, was struggling whether to release her hand from his. Feeling the large, warm hand fully envelope her petite pristine ivory hand, a complicated expression formed on her face.

A moment had only passed, yet it was as if an eternity had passed in her mind. Staring at their hands, she paused and pursed her lips, the red hue on her face now slightly prominent.

'Its... oddly comfortable.' she thought before hesitantly enclosing her fingers and embracing his hand. She first looked at his hand then to his forearm, her eyes alternating. 'So... warm... and big...'

Isaac was not muscular, that was a fact. But he does workout everyday during his free time to not only expand his stamina, but also to release stress and build up physical strength.

And it just so happens that pull ups and curl ups were one of his favorite past time calisthenic workouts. As such, his upper body was relatively decently-shaped. He didn't want to have a gym bro body— just a decently toned one.

As for Furina, she had never been a fan of any bulky build either. However, Isaac was different. He wasn't that muscular, but she felt that he could fully envelope her with ease, given their difference in size.

And that...

She shivered at the thought that came after.

Oblivious to what she was thinking, however, Isaac paused for a moment before genuinely smiling brightly. It seems that his gamble worked for the first phase.

'Good, she's playing along.'

Chevreuse, on the other hand, looked at what Isaac had done and tilted her head, slightly confused about what he was doing.

"Well... considering your achievements thus far as a private investigator, I won't deny that you have competent capabilities..."

She lingered for a bit before sighing.

"Fine then. But do make sure to never disappoint Lady Furina again, alright? You're lucky she tolerated you today. If not, then you would have fallen for one of the laws of Fontaine that prohibits the disappointment of the Archon."

'...there's a law like that?' For a moment, Isaac forgot that he was living in Fontaine where the law, as strict and cold as they are, could still be manipulated. 'Hm... I'm not even surprised. Just in disbelief.'

His gaze then shifted to Furina. She was looking down on the floor, as if thinking of something while still holding his hand. Her grayish-white hair fell over her face, preventing Isaac to see the expression she was making, unfortunately.

He would have loved the kind of expression she was making right now. 'Is she flustered by this tease?'

Of course, he would have never known what complicated expression she was actually using.

Turning his head back to Chevreuse, he chuckled wryly. "I'll keep it in mind. Thank you, Captain Chevreuse."

She nodded then paused for a bit as if remembering something. "It's funny. Just this morning I was trying to find you— I didn't think this would be our first meeting."

He entertained her words and replied with a small chuckle. "Haha, fate really is funny, isn't it? Well, if you have the time, why not drop by my cafe sometimes? That way, we can get to know each other more."

Chevreuse lingered for a bit before smiling lightly. "I'll keep it in mind."

"Farewell, Lady Furina. Mister Isaac." With that said, she turned around and left while waving her hand in the air.

Watching the musket captain take her leave, Isaac heaved a soft sigh. With a slightly tired expression, he thought to himself, 'What an exhausting day... I want to go back to my cafe...'

He longed to rest in his silent sanctuary.

Looking back at Furina, he saw her still holding his hand. Seeing this, he smirked and leaned closer. This calls for a teasing.

"How is it?" Whispering into her ears, Isaac's silvery voice flowed in. "Want to keep holding hands?"

Shuddering at Isaac's whisper, Furina jumped a bit and looked at him with a flushed look. Her face was slightly red, and Isaac could swear he saw white fumes coming off her head. Their hands then separated as she tried to cover her ear that he whispered to.

"You! Wh-why would you suddenly whisper to me like that?!"

"You seemed to be enjoying yourself a bit too much." Replying to her, Isaac laughed. "I just couldn't help myself. You're too adorable when you're flustered."

"Don't say such things out here in the open..." She scowled slightly, however, her beet-red face betrayed her expression.

Isaac shrugged.

"If you say so."

"So then— where would you like to go now? We have the whole day for ourselves, after all."

He lingered for a moment then quickly added.

"And yes... I promise I won't run away again."

"So... Where should we go next, my dear Archon? Poisson? The Opera House? Erinnyes? Just say the word— this loyal assistant of yours shall accompany you."

This time, Isaac truly has no ulterior motives. He truly just wanted to accompany her where she wants today.

As for Furina, she listened to his words and pondered deeply for a moment. There were so many places she wanted to go to today, but now, she suddenly lost the motivation to go to any of them.

She originally planned for the two of them to get a manicure, have their hair fixed in a salon, get a massage, and many more than would freshen their body up for the upcoming ball.

With a dubious expression, she turned to Isaac and asked him, "How about you? Do you have anywhere to recommend?"

Faced with this question, he grimaced slightly.

"Not... Really. Sorry, I'm really not that well-informed of this aspect..."

Hearing this, Furina paused before smiling lightly, as if amused by his answer. "Really? I would have never guessed..."

She then walked forward to him, and, just like he did, she suddenly took his hand and held it. Her delicate fingers closed up, instantly enveloping Isaac's hand firmly.

Afterwards, she turned to look at his face directly and smiled mischievously, with a hint of playfulness hidden behind that smile. But overall, it was a bright and joyous smile.

"Then let's go... wherever. We have a day for ourselves, don't we?"

Isaac looked at her for a moment, surprised that she took on the lead. However, this act didn't deter him one bit, and instead only made him chuckle.

As the distant ring of a mechanical ring, the day had just reached past noon. Indeed, they still have a day for themselves.

'This is... gonna be a fun day.' With this thought, he nodded at her.

"After you, my lady."

"Hehe, all right. Let's go!"

For the rest of this day, Isaac plans to relax. He wouldn't think about any other matter other than what was in front of him. He just wanted to focus solely on Furina...

Just Furina.