Th-This isn't a date! [3/5]

Isaac's business days went on as usual. Occasionally, the invited characters would come and sit down for a drink.

The one who often comes is Yae Miko, who frequently goes to Isaac's manga shelf, while the person who comes the least is Nahida.

Isaac didn't know why Nahida didn't come back, — to be frank, he was a bit concerned. But since he couldn't do anything for the time being, he just patiently waited for her.

The one who often comes, however, is Freminet. Albeit, he was still quite shy and chose to keep to himself most of the time.

Other than that, nothing else major happened.

The time given by Furina was relatively long, so Isaac had some time to prepare and make some plans.

And so, after two days of a relatively peaceful and tranquil moment in Isaac's life, the day of Furina's plan finally came.

---

Boarding down a boat, Isaac adjusted his sleeves for a bit. 'I guess taking a boat here rather than jumping down the Aquabus is generally more accepted... And legal.'

That's right. Right now, he was in Poisson.

Since it was still in the morning, Isaac decided to wear breathable clothes.

Right now, he was just wearing a white dress shirt with a brown waistcoat on top, with beige trousers and black boots. On his shoulder, however, was a holster where his gun, the Quick Shot, was located.

Coupled with his brown hair that bore slight curls, and a pair of silver-framed glasses, Isaac carried a scholarly air around him.

He then took off his glasses and wiped it with a white handkerchief.

'Although having these glasses doesn't actually help me in any practical way...' Isaac thought as he cleaned his glasses. 'Having them on... Really suits me, aesthetically speaking.'

He then returned them to his face and started looking around Poisson, where the boat docked. "Now... Where is Furina...?"

Isaac looked around and still didn't find anyone who looked remotely like Furina. "She must be in Poisson itself..."

Thinking of this, Isaac decided to walk to Poisson. Thankfully, the boat he took wasn't far, and it only took a few moments for him to reach the entrance to Poisson.

Just as Isaac was about to enter, he suddenly saw something in the distance. 'That's... Where I left my package...'

Having remembered the twisted gift he gave to Spina Di Rosula, Isaac smiled wryly. 'Good times.'

Shaking his head, he decided to enter Poisson. He climbed down a ladder before finally seeing the whole area on a platform.

"I should have brought a Kamera." Isaac sighed to himself as he stood on the platform overlooking Poisson. "What a shame..."

Just then, after saying this, a voice suddenly drifted over to his ears. "You've arrived, my dear assistant!"

'That must be Furina.' Turning his head to look at where the sound came from, his gaze landed on a figure.

However, when Isaac saw her, his eyes slowly dilated. 'That...'

Standing not far away from him, Furina's face can be seen. She was wearing a white double-breasted vest, and over it was a navy blue overcoat. Coupled with it was a white skirt that reached above her knee.

Finally, to finish it off, she had her signature dark blue top hat tipped to the left of her head.

"How do you do my dear assistant?" Furina walked over to Isaac with a bright leisurely smile.

"..." Isaac looked at her with a slightly dazed expression before letting out a single word of his mouth. "...beautiful."

"Y-You!" Hearing the word, Furina's face quickly changed. "Are you still clinging to that absurd idea of yours? I told you, th-this is not a date! Enough with your teasing!"

"If you insist, Miss Furina." Hearing her response, Isaac smiled gently as he shrugged. "But I have to correct you... I wasn't teasing."

"I was genuine." Isaac merely had an enigmatic smile as he said this.

"Enough." Soon, a small tinge of red appeared on Furina's face. She then quickly changed the subject. "I do hope you're prepared for today's events. For all we know, we might encounter any traces of the Masked Clown here."

"Oh? What makes you think that we'll find anything related to the Masked Clown here?" Isaac stood beside her and asked with a curious expression.

"Hehe, regarding this, it was but a simple move," Furina raised her chin in pride. She then spoke with a bravado. "With my utmost highly-capable intelligence network, I was able to obtain information that the Masked Clown was seen here."

'Highly-capable Intelligence network? Must be the Marechaussee Phantom.' Isaac thought, but he never dared to voice his thoughts.

Without interrupting her, Isaac continued to listen.

"Rumor has it that even Spina Di Rosula's boss had met with the Masked Clown."

"Additionally..." Furina then turned her head over to Isaac. "The possibility of an accomplice in your letter fits well with this information."

"Hoh? So I speculated correctly? The Masked Clown and the mysterious Moriarty in Poisson are connected?" Isaac faked a slightly surprised expression as he said this.

Furina nodded. "Yes. You have once again proven your excellent observational skills. As expected of my assistant— I knew I wasn't wrong in my judgment when I picked you."

'I bet you picked me randomly... But who cares? Sasuga, Furina-sama.' Isaac lampooned to himself. He then changed the subject. "Now then, shall we start?"

"Very well." Furina nodded her head. She then looked at Poisson. With Isaac, she started walking down the platforms to Poisson.

While walking, Isaac suddenly had a thought. He then turned his head over to Furina. "Now that I've thought about it... Do you not require security, Lady Furina?"

"Since we're doing this with just the two of us, there's a possibility that... We'll get into some sort of trouble." He said as he fixed his glasses' position. "Doesn't having one or two people protecting you more sensible?"

'Continue doing this, and you'll one day encounter Arlecchino attacking you...' Isaac, remembering the events in the game, internally sighed. 'You were attacked while playing with a cat, without any security around. Seriously...'

Hearing Isaac's words, Furina hummed to herself as she pondered for a moment.

"That's something I've thought of too..." Furina crossed her arms. "However, I want this play to be just the two of us."

"It's a classic novel, Isaac," Furina smirked as she slightly tilted her head. "A detective that is the star of the show solves the case— while you, the assistant, shall help and protect me."

"That gun on your holster proves this point." She pointed at Isaac's gun as she said this. She then pointed at herself, "Besides, who would even dare to harm me? I am the God of Justice! Whoever tries to harm me shall face divine retribution! So who has the guts?"

'The Fatui.' Isaac thought but kept this thought to himself.

After hearing her reasoning, Isaac grasped his chin and made a face as if he was enlightened. "I see! It's a great plan, Miss Furina."

"In that case... Then..." Muttering to himself, Isaac spoke with a solemn tone. "I just have to watch over you. Protect you— and never let you out of my sights."

"I'll always be by your side."

'If this nation's Archon gets hurt, then it will without a doubt cause public concern.' Isaac thought to himself. 'There's already the looming danger of the prophecy making people worry... There's no need to add more fuel to the fire.'

Isaac had genuinely good intentions.

However, Furina seems to have misunderstood it.

Hearing what Isaac said, her face froze for a moment before looking at him. With a bit of red hue on her face, she stuttered for a bit. "Ah— Y-Yes, do work well and umm... Protect me, hehe."

"What a... Pious servant, you are." She added with a light smile as she placed her hands behind her.

"?" Isaac turned his head and looked at her, and saw that she was fidgeting with her hands behind her back. 'Is she nervous?'

'Or perhaps...' Thinking of something, a slightly surprised expression soon appeared on Isaac's face.

'Oh my.'

---

Isaac and Furina went according to their plan. They first asked some questions to some people regarding the Masked Clown.

They went around from the entrance of Poisson to the commercial area.

Walking beside Furina, Isaac held a notepad coupled with a pencil. "Nothing's working. Everyone's keeping their mouth shut."

"You're right," Furina nodded her head as she also held a notepad. "Spina Di Rosula might be limiting the amount of people from knowing about their encounter with the Masked Clown."

"Well, it's understandable," Isaac shrugged. "From their perspective, having a connection to a highly-sought criminal would just be staining their name."

"Like the Unfaithful Callas wasn't enough," Furina scoffed as she threw a passing comment.

"..." Isaac became silent when he heard this. He waited for a few moments before opening his mouth, "...Did you actually believe that Sir Callas was unfaithful, Lady Furina?"

"Hm?" Hearing this, Furina curiously turned her head. She then replied with a nonchalant tone, "Of course. All evidence was laid out in front of him, and he even willingly challenged a Champion Duelist to try and regain his innocence."

"Although his case was entertaining, the Oratrice had made its final judgment." She shrugged. "If the Oratrice Mechanique d'Analyse Cardinal says he's guilty, then he's guilty."

"..." Isaac listened to her silently before sighing. He decided to not speak further.

"Why were you—"

Just then, before Furina could continue her sentence, someone suddenly took notice of them.

"Huh? Lady Furina?" A voice of a woman drifted over to them.

"Looks like another fan..." Before Isaac could finish his words, he suddenly recognized whose voice those words came from. 'Wait...'

He then turned around and saw who it was. 'It really is her!'

'Navia!'

"Hm?" Furina heard someone call for her and turned her head, to which she saw the familiar blonde-haired boss of Spina Di Rosula.

"It really is you!" Navia saw Furina clearly and walked over to her. Behind her were Silver and Melus.

Navia then turned her head and looked at the person beside Furina. "Oh— aren't you that barista?"

"We meet again, Demoiselle." Isaac lightly smiled at her. "Though, right now, I'm an investigator. Not a barista."

"So you're the new president of Spina Di Rosula?" Furina, beside Isaac, looked at Navia.

"That is indeed me," Navia nodded. "What are you doing here, Lady Furina?"

"We are currently investigating something here in Poisson," Furina answered as she crossed her arms. "It's something related to..."

She then looked at Navia with sharp eyes. "The Masked Clown."

"I believe that you know something about this matter?"

"I see." Hearing Furina's purpose, Navia's face quickly turned solemn. "If Lady Furina wishes for Spina Di Rosula to help, then we will extend our assistance. However, right now, we are busy dealing with some other matters..."

"So please, Lady Furina. If you can, please leave." Navia said as politely as possible.

Isaac watched on the sidelines with a blank expression. 'Is Navia perhaps thinking of...'

Just then, while thinking, another person joined the conversation. "Navia, we still don't know if we can trust if the letter came from the Masked Clown. It's better to—"

'There you are.' Seeing who it was, Isaac's forehead vein started throbbing. He almost wanted to smile but stopped himself. 'The leader of Confrerie of Cabriere, and the one who distributes Sinthe all over Poisson...'

'Marcel— no.'

'Vacher!'

How badly Isaac wanted to draw his gun right now.

* * *

A/N:

Furina is literally Aqua.