Neuvillette shook his head. He failed to see where the amusement lay in such actions.
An ordinary civilian might not mind, but for someone of his exceptional caliber, having someone bypass his sensory perimeter and approach undetected was actually quite jarring. It was like dealing with a sudden, manifesting specter.
Zoran, however, fell completely silent after his arrival, acting as though he had truly been drawn in solely by the allure of the magic performance.
Naturally, Neuvillette could not fathom his reasoning. This was purely a minor, personal piece of wicked fun on Zoran's part. Much like when he had previously materialized right beside Kiritsugu Emiya, he simply found the act itself amusing; there was no deeper, convoluted motive behind it.
Neuvillette, this Hydro Dragon in human guise, was fundamentally incapable of sensing his arrival. When facing Zoran, his power was simply inadequate. Moreover, at roughly a thousand years of age, he was still far too young.
Up on the center stage, Lyney's performance had officially commenced. As a masterful magician, his every movement and gesture perfectly dictated the crowd's excitement.
The act currently unfolding was the thrilling and dangerous underwater escape routine. Assisting him was his sister and stage partner, Lynette, a charming girl possessing a distinctly deadpan, emotionless demeanor.
The performance proceeded for some time, but Neuvillette's focus had drifted entirely away from the stage. He kept casting casual, probing glances at Zoran, seemingly trying to decipher the true identity of this mysteriously manifested stranger.
"You seem exceptionally curious about me," Zoran remarked flatly, his gaze remaining fixed on the stage.
"Correct," Neuvillette nodded. He was a man who despised falsehoods; he spoke with direct precision, occasionally bordering on rigid formality.
Zoran shifted his eyes, glancing past the two empty seats between them toward the young blond youth who was completely absorbed in watching the magic tricks. A subtle smirk played on Zoran's lips as he murmured, "I am merely a traveler."
The youth seemed to catch the words. He turned his head, casting a highly bewildered look in their direction.
"Do not be alarmed. He was not addressing you," Neuvillette clarified smoothly, allowing the youth to return his focus to the stage production.
Seeing that Zoran had no intention of engaging in further conversation, Neuvillette quietly memorized the stranger's features and relapsed into silence.
The current trick was relatively straightforward. Lynette was securely locked inside a sealed water tank, but through the theatrical misdirection of the lead magician, Lyney, she vanished from the enclosure completely. A moment later, amidst a thunderous round of applause, she walked out from the backstage area, bowing politely to the audience.
The opera house erupted into cheers and praise.
However, this was merely the grand master's warm-up act. With the crowd's fervor reaching its absolute peak, ending the show now would be far too abrupt.
Lyney's eyes scanned the auditorium before he spoke in a booming, resonant voice: "Next, I shall invite one lucky audience member to join me on stage and assist in our next grand illusion!"
"Wow! A new magic trick is starting! Who's he gonna pick?!" A high-pitched, childlike voice echoed nearby. It was Paimon, hovering in mid-air and kicking her feet in pure excitement.
"The upcoming performance carries a touch of danger, so I must ask our volunteer to remain brave," Lyney warned with a smile. His style of magic thrived on high stakes and showmanship. As he spoke, his eyes thoroughly swept across the rows of seats. "Now then, which honored guest shall it be?"
"Me! Pick me!" voices shouted from the crowd.
Lyney pressed his hands down to signal for silence, his eyes constantly analyzing the spectators, seemingly evaluating appropriate height and build. Ultimately, he snapped his fingers and pointed directly into the crowd. A brilliant spotlight instantly cascaded downward, illuminating the selected volunteer.
"My foreign friend, would you be willing to assist me, the great magician Lyney, in today's performance?"
Zoran's lips curved upward into a smirk as he looked at the beam of light centering on his head. "Amusing," he murmured, giving a slight, elegant nod.
In an instant, every gaze in the theater converged upon him, studying this entirely unfamiliar individual whose lavish attire stood in stark contrast to the local fashion.
Completely unbothered by the staring eyes, Zoran stepped forward and gracefully ascended the stage. He was perfectly willing to play along with this young man's game.
"Let us welcome our brave volunteer with a massive round of applause!" Lyney shouted, masterfully building the tension. "May I ask your name, sir?"
"Tso Lan."
"Excellent. Mr. Tso Lan, you certainly do not look like a local of Fontaine. As for why I call you a brave soul, that is because..."
Ta-da!
His assistant, Lynette, appeared right on cue, wheeling out a massive circular wooden target from backstage. Affixed to the board were six Sunsettia fruits, roughly outlining the silhouette of a human body. Lynette then presented Lyney with six gleaming throwing knives and a strip of opaque black silk.
A collective gasp rippled through the audience.
"Presenting... the blindfolded knife-throwing showcase," Lynette announced to the crowd, her voice completely devoid of emotion.
"I shall completely bind my eyes, plunging my vision into total darkness. I will then hurl these knives, meticulously avoiding Mr. Tso Lan, to pierce the Sunsettia fruits on the target directly behind him," Lyney explained, taking the silk ribbon before turning to Zoran. "Sir, I must emphasize that this carries genuine risk. Are you prepared?"
Every eye in the house locked onto Zoran. It was undeniable that as a performer, Lyney excelled at manipulating the atmosphere and drawing out the audience's anxiety.
Even high above in the VIP box, Lady Furina, the Hydro Archon, had leaned forward, her anxious yet highly anticipatory gaze locked squarely onto Zoran.
The distance between the target and where Lyney would stand was quite substantial, separating them across opposite sides of the stage by at least twenty meters. At such a range, precisely avoiding a human body to strike small fruits required absolute mastery under normal conditions, let alone while entirely blindfolded.
The atmosphere inside the theater grew immensely taut as everyone stared at Zoran, hanging on his response.
"Of course," Zoran replied, looking at Lyney with a deeply meaningful expression. "This is your debut performance, young man. But as it turns out, it shall be mine as well."
Lyney blinked, scratching his head in brief confusion, unable to fully decipher the underlying meaning behind Zoran's words. It was, however, factually correct that this was his debut performance at the Opera Epiclese.
"In that case, Mr. Tso Lan, please take your position," Lyney requested, pointing to a marked line drawn upon the wooden floorboards in front of the target.
Zoran nodded slightly and stood precisely on the line.
"Wow, he looks so incredibly calm! Are we sure he's not a secret plant?" Paimon whispered loudly into the Traveler's ear. Though she called it a whisper, her voice carried quite clearly. "If that were me, I'd be too terrified to even step onto the stage!"
"Then let us begin!"
Seeing that the crowd's emotional investment had reached its absolute zenith, Lyney smiled with immense satisfaction. He held the black silk ribbon under the spotlight to prove its opacity before tying it securely over his eyes.
He reached out, his fingers brushing against the cold steel as Lynette handed him the first throwing knife.
"He definitely can't see through that," an audience member noted.
"Mr. Tso Lan, are you ready?" Lyney called out loudly from the opposite end of the stage.
"Proceed," Zoran replied flatly.
Under the collective gaze of the audience, Lyney's expression turned incredibly serious as he slowly raised his arm. Twin spotlights illuminated the scene from left and right, the blade reflecting a dangerous, silver gleam under the intense light. Everyone's eyes were glued to the tip of that blade, terrified that it might plunge into Zoran's body in the next heartbeat.
In the next fraction of a second, Lyney made his move. His arm snapped forward, unleashing the knife with blinding speed.
One second passed. Two seconds passed. The entire opera house suddenly plunged into a dead, absolute silence.
Then, a wave of frantic, disbelieving gasps erupted across the rows, accompanied by the chaotic rustle of dozens of spectators leaping out of their seats in sheer shock.
"How is that even possible?!" Paimon shrieked, covering her gaping mouth with both hands.
Up in the supreme VIP box, Furina bolted to her feet, leaning her upper body over the railing to get a closer look, before rapidly forcing herself back into her seat. She let out a small, slightly embarrassed cough, instantly trying to salvage her divine composure.
Is everyone seriously that amazed? Lyney thought, a confident smile gracing his lips. With the silk ribbon securely binding his eyes, he was completely blind. Blindfolded knife-throwing was a staple of his routine; performing it without a single error was second nature to him.
But the audience's reaction felt incredibly disproportionate. Had his psychological build-up really been that effective?
Right at that moment, the quiet voice of his sister and assistant, Lynette, drifted into his ear from nearby. "Brother, something is wrong."
"What's wrong?" Lyney suddenly realized the anomaly. He had not heard the distinctive thud of the knife piercing the wooden target. He quickly whispered back, "Where is the knife?"
Lynette remained silent for a brief moment before her flat voice floated over: "The knife... is hovering directly in front of you."
"What do you mean?" Lyney froze.
Lynette hesitated before clarifying, "Uh... let me rephrase that. The knife... it never actually left your side."
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