Clearly, asking Virgil for help with bandaging was an extremely unwise decision. It wasn't that his skills were poor. Although his profession wasn't exactly respectable, and as a leader, he rarely did things himself, a certain level of medical knowledge was essential for navigating ruins.
Unfortunately—Mr. Virgil wasn't a benevolent saint.
Helping his underlings was one thing, but Marcel… heh, Virgil loathed these glamorous types. He would gladly eliminate them all and take their treasures.
Stopping the bleeding was necessary to avoid suspicion, but his methods were a bit… rough.
"Ah, sorry, sorry!" Hearing Marcel's cries of pain, Virgil felt a surge of pleasure, but maintained a panicked and apologetic expression. "It's been a while since I've done this, my skills are a bit rusty! Mr. Marcel, are you alright?"
"Cough… cough… I'm fine… Alright, I can do it myself…" Marcel said weakly, forcing a smile despite his trembling voice. Of course, even so, he couldn't hide the murderous glint in his eyes.
"How can that be!" Virgil said seriously, "You're injured! Since this was my fault, I can't just leave it like this!"
If you continue, I'll really die!
Marcel roared inwardly, but couldn't curse due to his image, only trying to pull his hand away from this bastard who seemed to be deliberately tormenting him.
"Let go."
"No!"
"Let go."
As the two "kind-hearted" gentlemen struggled, Navia couldn't stand it anymore and said with feigned concern, "Uncle Marcel, if you really can't continue, you should go back. Lumine and I can continue on our own."
"That won't do! x2" Marcel and Virgil said simultaneously.
The opportunity to eliminate these nuisances/The secret of Pneuma's production was right in front of them. How could they give up halfway?
*Forget it, I'll deal with this damned bastard later/Forget it, I'll spare this old man for now.
After exchanging glances, the two, with different thoughts in mind, smiled.
"Ahem, we've already agreed. How can we give up halfway just because of a small injury?! To bring the mastermind who framed Mr. Callas to justice, these old bones can still hold on!"
"It's fine, it's fine, Miss Navia. I can quickly treat his injuries."
"…Alright then." After Navia nodded, Marcel gritted his teeth, his face pale, enduring Virgil's "exquisite medical skills" and "recovered." Fairy Ely, with her pure blue eyes sparkling, looked at the pool of blood on the ground, slightly uncertain.
"Haha, alright, this injury is nothing now." Marcel, with a bandage on his shoulder, stood up, feigning composure. "See?"
To prove that he was fine, he even swung his arm, the pain contorting his face, but he endured it, pretending to be unaffected.
"He recovered so quickly?"
Lumine was surprised, and Fairy Ely echoed her sentiment.
Marcel smiled unnaturally, "Mmm, this is all thanks to Mr. Virgil's excellent medical skills."
He would never forget this experience!
With a strained smile, he glared at Virgil.
Undoubtedly, in Mr. Marcel's eyes, the kind-hearted Virgil was now as hateful as Callas and his daughter, and those Gardes.
"Then let's continue."
"Say, we haven't seen any of the mastermind's accomplices." As they continued exploring the ruins, marveling at the numerous mechanisms and devices, Fairy Ely, acting as Lumine's spokesperson, voiced her thoughts—as for why Lumine didn't speak herself, it was simply more convenient.
"I guess they're probably hiding for now. After all, the… Gardes have been investigating very thoroughly recently, and this place is so close to the Palais Mermonia. Even if it's just to be safe, they need to lay low."
"But the more likely reason is that the guy hiding here is a lone wolf, keeping all the profits to himself. A business as profitable… as unconscionable as Pneuma, the mastermind must be using it to amass wealth. If I were him, I definitely wouldn't let anyone else participate, and would keep this secret to myself, preferably only I know about it!" Virgil said, occasionally mocking and cursing the Pneuma dealer.
"Mmm, mmm, that makes sense. Virgil seems quite experienced too."
Fairy Ely's words made Virgil slightly uneasy. He laughed and said, "Ah… haha, I just heard about it. You know, aren't all bad guys the same? The opera house often stages all sorts of crime dramas."
"Is that so? Then you're quite talented. I bet you would be a great villain, maybe even win some 'Best Villain of the Year' award."
This little thing is so annoying.
Virgil was irritated, but he still had to maintain his smile, "Really? I didn't even realize I had such talent. Hmm, I'll consider it. But compared to being a bad guy, I still prefer being a good person."
"Don't be so impatient. This place is clearly an ancient ruin, there must be many hidden treasures and data. It would be a shame to miss them." He tried to persuade them—just like Marcel, Mr. Virgil, who wanted to be a good person, clearly didn't intend for this exploration to be so simple.
After all, if these people left alive, the secret of Pneuma might be leaked, and he would be in trouble.
Therefore, he needed something to get rid of these fools.
His unfamiliarity with this ruin troubled Virgil somewhat. If it were a place he knew well, he could think of dozens of ways.
But even so, it didn't matter. He had some special talents.
Virgil was quite experienced in exploring ruins, and he also had some knowledge of mechanical engineering. This allowed him to quickly grasp the general layout of even unknown ruins.
And then, with his excellent mechanical engineering skills, he could manipulate the potential defense mechanisms within the ruins to eliminate those foolish adventurers.
In fact, Marcel's earlier mishap was his doing.
He had briefly repaired and activated an abandoned trap, successfully injuring Marcel—it was a pity that although it was just a test, it had nearly killed the old man… He was surprisingly resilient!
But it didn't matter. The discovery of the abandoned trap proved the existence of defense mechanisms within this ruin. As long as he utilized the remaining traps, it would be enough to send this old man and those two blonde girls with the pink floating companion to heaven.
Virgil was quite confident in this—after all, he had already scammed countless foolish adventurers to their deaths.
Of course, it was possible that the traps within this ruin wouldn't be enough to deal with these fools. But even so, it didn't matter. Virgil glanced at his toolbox, a sinister smile appearing on his face.
When the time came, it would be its turn to shine.
Virgil's suggestion was indeed adopted, but not because of any treasures. Navia wasn't interested in such things. She was currently focused on bringing the culprit beside her to justice. As for Lumine… well, she was slightly tempted, but perhaps because a certain greedy companion wasn't present, with Fairy Ely as her substitute, compared to treasures, she was more interested in watching the "farce" between these two. Mmm, it was quite entertaining.
It wasn't for treasure, but simply to "leave no stone unturned"—since they were gathering evidence and clues, they naturally couldn't miss a single corner. After all, this was the lair of the mastermind behind the serial disappearances.
During this process, Virgil did discover several deactivated traps, as expected.
But unfortunately, even though most of them were targeted at the old man, perhaps because of the previous attack, Marcel had become completely alert.
"Damn it…" Marcel was incredibly disheveled, his clothes tattered, and he glared at a nearby copper bolt, gritting his teeth—if it weren't for his reawakened adventurer's instincts, that one shot would have finished him off!
He was furious. This was his lair; he had known this place like the back of his hand for the past twenty years. And yet, these damned obstacles were fine, while he was the one covered in injuries.
Looking at the small security automatons that had been easily destroyed by Navia and Lumine, Marcel gritted his teeth—Useless things!
He had spent a fortune buying these secondhand junk from those greedy old nobles!
Fortunately, the main force of his security automatons was still stored in the back area, and there was also some primordial water of the Primordial Sea there. Thinking of this, Marcel had an idea.
No matter how powerful Navia, a Vision holder, might be, as a Fontaine citizen, she would dissolve upon contact with the primordial waters of the Primordial Sea.
Then, as long as he ambushed her and splashed the primordial water on this annoying brat—he could eliminate the strongest combatant present. As for the other blonde girl, who wasn't a Fontaine citizen and wouldn't dissolve, Marcel didn't care.
Once Navia, the Vision holder, was eliminated, what was there to be afraid of from a little girl with a pink floating companion? The security automatons he had stored in the core area would be enough to deal with her and that useless pink floating thing…
"Ugh—!" Marcel's expression suddenly changed, contorting like he was constipated, as he looked behind him. There, a weapon from a security automaton had pierced him, right in a… sensitive spot.
"Uncle Marcel, are you alright?!" Navia, noticing his strange behavior, asked with concern and slight "apology"—because she hadn't controlled her power well, her overly powerful elemental blast had sent the attacking automaton flying, and a part of it, infused with elemental energy, had hit the distracted Marcel. This was indeed a "mistake."
"I… I'm fine." His teeth clenched, Marcel quickly turned sideways to hide his injury, then pulled out the weapon with his hand behind his back, forcing a smile.
Endure, endure!!!
Perseverance is victory, Marcel, for Venier, you can do it!
Mr. Marcel, tearfully, displayed astonishing willpower, suppressing the pain, although the blood was practically soaking his lower body.
The massive blood loss made Marcel's consciousness gradually fade as he followed Navia and the others, staring blankly at the entrance to the core area.
… Just reach that place, just reach that place…!
The clouds will part, and the moon will shine—
After much anticipation, Marcel finally saw the light.
"Eh, the water is flowing upwards!" Fairy Ely exclaimed, looking at the strange spring. "What magical water."
Curious, she flew to the spring, dipped her finger in the floating water, and tentatively licked it.
"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey, so salty!" she complained, her face scrunched up. "This water is just like seawater, bitter, salty, and… ew."
"..."
Lumine also approached curiously, dipped her finger in the water, and brought it to her lips… then her face contorted like a bitter melon.
"So salty." Although she now had vocal cords, her words were still concise, but her disgust said it all.
"Really? Let me try." Navia said.
These words made Marcel, who was about to activate the security automatons in the surrounding area and approach Navia with a bottle of primordial water of the Primordial Sea, freeze.
He was surprised, but also delighted—Huh? Such good fortune?
She didn't even need him to do anything; she was seeking death herself!
Well, Marcel could understand. After all, he and Venier had been affected by the primordial waters of the Primordial Sea in a similar way. Navia's actions even reminded him of Venier.
Of course—this was just nostalgia. He felt nothing for Navia, that old dog Callas's nuisance, only the desire to eliminate her.
Out of his longing for Venier, Marcel silently hid the primordial water behind his back and looked at Navia expectantly.
Touch it! Go on, touch it! Then you'll turn into water! Just like Venier!
And I can continue my experiments without worry, and one day, bring Venier back to my side!
However, just as Marcel was excitedly watching Navia approach the primordial spring, Fairy Ely suddenly said, "Eh, there's a box here, and a book…"
"Oh?" Navia, about to touch the spring, immediately turned around, intrigued.
And this made Marcel's expectant expression freeze.
Touch it! Why aren't you touching it?!
Damn it, why not touch it?!
Looking at Navia and the others gathered around his workbench, a shadow fell over Marcel's previously bright eyes.
There were Jacob's records, and his own experimental notes. Once they read them, they would definitely understand the properties of the primordial waters of the Primordial Sea, which meant that the nuisance would definitely not touch it.
In that case, he couldn't be blamed.
Not touching it, right? Fine, then don't even think about leaving alive!
Let's do this!
"Vacher… I think I've heard that name somewhere before." Lumine's sweet voice made Marcel, who was about to reveal his true colors, freeze.
He looked at Lumine, who was reading his records, his expression uncertain.
It wasn't surprising that she knew about Vacher from here. Even though he had destroyed all traces of his past, out of his longing for Venier, he had still kept some mementos of her.
But—if she knew the name "Vacher" from somewhere else…
Marcel, suppressing his pain, asked urgently, "I've been doing business in Fontaine for a long time, and I consider myself quite knowledgeable. I've never heard of such a person, such a name. Where did you hear it?"
His concern made him forget to be cautious, his question almost a direct interrogation.
"Probably from Furina."
"She said that the Ile d'Eros is where all waters converge, and water can carry emotions. As the Hydro Archon, being able to perceive the emotions in the water shouldn't be surprising, right?"
"Speaking of which, the people of Fontaine can actually be dissolved into water by the primordial waters of the Primordial Sea… Fairy Ely, I remember Furina saying that Fontaine's origins were related to the previous Hydro Archon… Could this characteristic also be bestowed by the previous Hydro Archon? Although terrifying, it also seems quite magical."
Fairy Ely nodded in agreement, then asked curiously, "Indeed, it's just like magic. Speaking of which… since the previous Hydro Archon could do this, there's no reason the current Hydro Archon can't, right? After all, Furina seems very powerful." Fairy Ely tilted her head.
"Even if she can't turn people into water, if she could turn people who have merged with water back into humans, that would be a good thing, right?"
Crack.
At this moment, a sound like glass shattering echoed in the air.