["This lady, tell me — what exactly did you do the last time you saw that puppet?"]
["…Running errands for Herta?" Stelle tried to recall.]
["Don't play dumb. Think carefully." Ratio looked at her seriously.]
[Stelle tried hard to remember. She vaguely recalled that a few system hours before helping Ruan Mei, Herta had indeed come to find her.]
[Herta had lost a very important Curio and asked Stelle to help find it. Stelle couldn't remember the specific name, only that Herta had strongly emphasized the Curio's characteristics: it had no physical form but possessed life. If she wanted help, Stelle could go to Asta.]
[Through Asta, Stelle carried out a series of visits and investigations, eventually piecing together a fuzzy memory from fragmented recollections.]
[Ever since the space station was attacked, many people had developed a crisis of trust in the station's security system. Unfortunately, to make matters worse, there had recently been four secret disappearances of crew members.]
[From Arlan and Adler, she learned that around the time of the disappearances, the station's automatic fire suppression system had briefly activated. That Curio seemed somewhat similar to the Xianzhou's Ambrosial Arbor, and every victim was accompanied by bizarre spontaneous combustion phenomena.]
[After relaying this to Ratio, he pondered for a moment before countering: "So, can anyone prove what you just said?"]
[Screwllum suggested they could ask Herta for confirmation, but Ratio simply shook his head calmly. "Right now, if you start running, you might catch up to the company's docking starship in four system hours — at present, there is no third party who can testify for her."]
[Screwllum: "Mr. Ratio, your way of questioning always carries a preconceived tendency."]
["Pardon me, it's a bad habit of mine. People engaged in academic research tend to find it very difficult to believe something. On the contrary, doubting it is much easier."]
——
Akame ga Kill!
Imperial Capital, Hunter Squad.
Wave stared at the scene on the Celestial Screen where Professor Ratio was pressing Stelle step by step, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter. He slapped his thigh hard and said indignantly, "What the hell is wrong with that plaster-head professor? It's obvious Stelle was just accidentally involved, yet she's being interrogated like a criminal!"
"This man's way of speaking… is also suffocating."
Akame narrowed her eyes slightly, her fingers unconsciously stroking the hilt of Murasame as if recalling a similar oppressive feeling. When Esdeath interrogated those revolutionaries, the atmosphere was exactly this cold and suffocating.
But Esdeath achieved it through killing intent and cruel methods, while Mr. Ratio managed it with just his questions, like a dangerous species closing in step by step — one careless answer and the other party would be devoured.
"And this Miss Asta… why is she just watching from the side? She should know the truth too!?" Wave grew angrier the more he thought about it.
Ran crossed his hands, recalling the memory bubble segments on the Celestial Screen thoughtfully, and sighed softly. "Wave, Miss Asta isn't unwilling to help — she can't."
"Huh? Why?" Wave turned to him in confusion.
"Do you remember in Stelle's recollection, when Miss Asta mentioned the disappearances on the space station to her… the expression on her face?" Ran asked.
"As the station's head, she is responsible for the safety of all crew members. But first there was the Antimatter Legion attack on the space station, and after months of reconstruction, inexplicable disappearances occurred again, along with the growing trust crisis inside the station… Her anxiety and unease were almost written all over her face."
"But isn't it fine to just say something like that openly?"
Ran smiled and shook his head. "Of course not. If even the station head herself shows unease, wouldn't that prove the space station really has security issues she can't control?"
"…The reason it's a trust crisis is because as station head, she must make the crew believe they are protected by the Security Department. If that trust develops even a crack — even if the source is just a trace of fear she inadvertently showed — it could lead to collapse."
Ran's voice was calm and steady, carrying the patience from his time as a teacher. "Take General Esdeath as an example… If even she showed a serious expression on the battlefield, we as subordinates could roughly guess the situation was unfavorable even without fighting. And what about the soldiers below? …Rumors would keep spreading in the barracks, eventually leading to mutiny and deserters."
"Asta trusts both Screwllum and Stelle very much. But Mr. Ratio is the biggest variable — without sufficient understanding of him, Asta definitely won't speak up."
——
[Screwllum looked toward Asta, who nodded in understanding.]
["If she is truly innocent, then clear your suspicion by answering." Ratio looked down at Stelle from above and questioned: "According to your statement, the reason you met with Herta was that you received a designated commission, yet the content of the commission was a Curio whose name you barely even knew."]
["Herta's collection is as numerous as the stars. It's hard to imagine she would value an ordinary Curio so highly."]
[Stelle: "That's right, but only if it's an [ordinary] Curio."]
[Ratio frowned slightly. "Feel free to speak directly."]
["The Curio itself isn't the focus. It's just that because it's related to the Genius Society, Herta took it especially seriously."]
[Screwllum beside her added: "Presumably that Curio is the creation of some Genius. Logic: it holds extraordinary significance."]
[Ratio accepted this reason, but he immediately asked about Stelle seeking help from Asta. On this point, Asta chose to remain silent. Ratio keenly noticed this and wondered whether Stelle was lying or Asta was hiding something.]
["Mr. Ratio, that's because…"]
[Asta hurriedly tried to explain, but Ratio mercilessly interrupted her. He glanced at the pink-haired girl beside him. "I am questioning her, Miss Asta. From the moment you showed an ambiguous attitude, your testimony is no longer credible."]
——
Teyvat.
Inside the Palais Mermonia, Neuvillette stood quietly by the window with his hands clasped, observing the scene on the Celestial Screen. He felt the oppressive pressure brought by every word from Professor Ratio. As Fontaine's Chief Justice and the symbol of "justice" in Fontaine, "interrogating others" had always been his authority. This was the first time he had watched such a high-pressure interrogation from the perspective of a mere spectator.
…This feeling was quite novel to him.