The Trial Is in Session, Part 1
Conan wore an expression of utter speechlessness. "......"
Seriously. They'd chat away about something that hadn't even happened yet. And he had a hard time believing that Sindora Company could stay out of the fallout after an incident like this. The politicians and business magnates whose children had been caught up in the Noah's Ark threat were not forgiving people. He figured Sindora Company would be in serious trouble before long — whether it could stay in business at all was an open question, never mind keeping the Cocoon game running.
Which meant this was probably the last chance any of them would ever have to play a holographic game.
Focalors continued. "Neuvillette, while I have no idea why they're so confident that Marcelle is the culprit, I have ample evidence that the magician's whereabouts during the magic show were suspicious at best."
With that, she gestured for an attendant to submit the evidence she had uncovered.
What?!
When they saw what Focalors had presented, everyone was taken aback — the magician had turned out to be a spy planted in Fontaine by another nation, gathering intelligence on the country through his performances all this time.
Moreover, Focalors's evidence proved conclusively that the magician had not been at the performance venue during the show. Where he had been instead — and what exactly he had been doing — was suddenly very much in question.
Neuvillette turned to the magician. "Pray tell, where precisely did you go during your performance?"
Left with no way out, the magician reluctantly revealed what he had intended to do that day.
He had planned to seize the rare opportunity of performing at the Opera Epiclese to sneak down and inspect the area around the core beneath the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale.
But to his astonishment, he had heard a voice emanating from within the Oratrice's core — a voice that seemed to be saying, "It hurts... how much longer must I endure this..." Believing that someone else was present, he had aborted his plan in a panic and hurried back to the stage. As a result, he had no idea what had transpired during that stretch of time. The next thing he knew, he was reappearing on stage just as the accident occurred.
The moment the magician finished speaking, a storm of murmurs broke out among the gallery.
Conan grimaced. Great. Who knew that magician had a hidden identity? I was so pleased when we found that magician's assistant's notebook that I never got around to questioning the magician himself for clues.
Haibara caught on to something the magician had said. "He just mentioned a voice coming from the core of the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale. Do you all remember the voice Ayumi's — I mean, the voice Xiaxi-neesan heard in the Lukedew Spring at the very beginning?"
"I remember! Xiaxi-neesan said someone was saying 'So long... so lonely... how much longer...' — wait a second!" Ayumi froze as the realization struck her.
Mitsuhiko caught Haibara's drift too. "That line sounds just like what came from the Oratrice. Don't tell me it was the same person talking?"
"Could be." Moruse agreed, though he raised a theory of his own. "But there are Hydro Eidolons in the Lukedew Spring, aren't there? What if the one saying it there was a Hydro Eidolon too? How would she exist in both the Lukedew Spring and the Oratrice at the same time?"
Genta piled into the discussion as well. "It doesn't have to be a Hydro Eidolon! And I heard that this Oratrice thing was made by the Hydro God herself, right? What if it developed a mind of its own and wants to wipe out humanity? Maybe that's the source of Fontaine's crisis!"
Having recently lived through the Noah's Ark incident, Genta was now letting his imagination run wild, connecting the dots into the most outlandish theory imaginable.
Everyone else: "......"
A dark cloud settled over Conan. Has this guy forgotten that the Fontaine prophecy crisis we all discussed is actually tied to the Primordial Seawater? And does he think this is some kind of Matrix, AI-takes-over-the-world scenario? I mean... okay, it does sound a little like that right now, but still......
Ayumi cleared her throat. "Ahem. I don't think now is the time to be debating the voice in the Oratrice. What matters right now is proving that the culprit isn't the magician — it's Marcelle......" She steered the children's attention back to the missing-girl case itself.
She had a point. At her words, everyone quickly refocused on the courtroom showdown at hand.
True, the leads Focalors had dug up dealt a bit of a blow to the children and Xiaxi, who hadn't prepared anything to counter that angle. But they quickly recovered, armed with the magician's assistant's notebook they'd found earlier, the testimony of the "lucky audience member" girl, and the experimental notes and the vial of original Primordial Seawater they'd discovered afterward at Marcelle's residence — and despite their key witness still being semiconscious, they succeeded in establishing that he was the true mastermind behind the girl's disappearance.
Along the way, Focalors poked several holes in their reasoning. In particular, the moment they stated that Primordial Seawater could dissolve the people of Fontaine, the entire gallery reacted with open disbelief, a buzz of incredulous chatter rippling through the seats.
"You've got to be kidding — a person dissolved by water?!"
"Is that even possible......"
"Hold on... that reminds me of that prophecy that's been going around Fontaine forever. It has to be a coincidence, right?"
A few sharper members of the audience did connect the claim to the prophecy, though they remained hesitant to say it aloud. But the overwhelming majority simply could not bring themselves to believe that a human being could be dissolved by water.
Only when the group produced Marcelle's experimental notes on the Primordial Seawater, along with his list of test subjects — which matched the missing girl perfectly — were the spectators finally forced to accept it.
As Xiaxi and the others piled up more and more evidence in support of their case, Focalors found herself with less and less to say in rebuttal.
At last, Neuvillette turned to her. "Then, Lady Focalors — do you have any further objection to the accusation against Marcelle?"
Focalors's eyes darted about, her voice tight with indecision. "I... I...... um......"
Neuvillette repeated the question. "Kindly answer me, Lady Focalors. And let me note for the record: the trial has not yet concluded, and the accusing party may not leave early."
Focalors whirled around, her body — already half-turned toward the exit — frozen in shock. "How did you know what I was just about to do?!"
Xiaxi's entire group: "......"
Genta muttered under his breath, "Is this Hydro God seriously trying to run away after losing the courtroom showdown?!"
Kikukawa nodded vigorously. "Right?! Right?! It's like she can't take losing at all......"
Ayumi looked genuinely deflated. "I always thought gods were supposed to be all noble and powerful and mysterious. Focalors doesn't fit a single one of my mental boxes for what a god should be."
Conan smiled faintly. "Maybe that's because she was never a god in the first place......"
At those words, Moruse tilted his head and glanced at Conan — and noticed that Xiaxi had shot Conan a look at the same moment. Their eyes met in a silent exchange.
Mitsuhiko, meanwhile, was baffled. "What do you mean, not a god? Everyone in Fontaine knows Focalors is the Hydro God. How could that possibly be fake?"
Conan didn't answer Mitsuhiko's question directly. He only said, "You'll all find out soon enough......"