When the plot-skips players into the game world

Aiwass returned to the second floor with the old Inspector and the journalist.

Up until now, he still hadn't fully believed that the old Inspector was Pure White. But whether he was played by Pure White, Living Silver, or someone else didn't really matter.

Because he could neither be the Detective nor Lulu, and certainly not Merlin. Thus, the general stance of the other party could be determined—they were all in it together, and Aiwass didn't need to distinguish them specifically.

He had confirmed that the "journalist" was definitely Merlin, and could not possibly be Sherlock.

The real Sherlock didn't have such a strong desire to climb the ranks—his primary goal was to help Isabel advance, yet at the same time, he didn't have much expectation of Isabel.

Because his loyalty wasn't to Isabel, but to the heir chosen by Queen Sofia.

In the end, his loyalty was to Queen Sofia, who had broken the traditions of Avalon, who still firmly saved her father when evidence of the prince's assassination was conclusive, and who re-employed his elder brother.

How many Monarchs in the history of Avalon had such character?

...As for Isabel, Sherlock had always found her unreliable. He was quite venomous with his words towards her when he didn't know that Lulu was Isabel. Even now, his dealings with Isabel still required Aiwass to act as a mediator for them to get along smoothly.

—And another loophole was that he descended too quickly.

A true Detective, upon discovering a poisoned corpse, would first open the windows to ventilate, cautiously investigate the surroundings for remains, and seek a great deal of assistance to investigate together. They would not rashly jump to examine the body.

Sherlock was not that kind of rash Detective. He could maintain his composure almost at all times.

If the journalist truly were Sherlock, then he would certainly prioritize gathering information from each floor.

If it were just one suicide, that would be fine... The first death was guaranteed to be safe. The journalist indeed claimed to have already conducted an initial investigation.

But the real problem lay in why, after knowing the "teacher" was Fox, he didn't share information with Aiwass or investigate the second round together?

Although Sherlock was aggressively offensive towards Aiwass, Aiwass knew... Sherlock's trust in him was probably on the same level as Isabel's. Continue reading at empire

If Isabel's trust was based on sentimentality, then Sherlock's was based on rationality. Knowing that on that floor, there were only Aiwass and himself, with no ears behind walls, Sherlock still didn't conduct a thorough investigation or share any information but hastily pulled Aiwass into the next floor.

—What if the floor he met Aiwass on was floor zero?

His previous level could very well have been the first floor, and "Aiwass" could very well have been played by Merlin. Would Sherlock undergo successive suicides without any investigation?

Moreover, before confirming that Aiwass was "Fox," he directly mentioned that the flow of time or the entry points differed. Such information could be realized by Aiwass after just one death.

But he said he had only seen Jacaranda once, which meant he hadn't seen any other "resurrected" companions. How could he be sure his situation wasn't exceptional?

—Only Merlin.

Merlin knew Aiwass could not be Merlin, and Merlin also knew that Aiwass had indeed just appeared. His words were the most efficient, the most persuasive to Aiwass, and also the most effective... but it was precisely because he pursued efficiency in his words that he exposed his erroneous perspective.

But Aiwass had no intention of publicizing this.

Because he suspected that Merlin had intentionally left this flaw exposed.

"Disclosure" seems to be a measure to counter Merlin, but it is actually a trap.

— That's right, if he directly revealed Merlin, then Merlin would indeed be trapped on this level. But as long as this isn't the zero level, they will ultimately have to leave this level.

Whether Merlin is killed on this level, or they leave the level themselves, it would result in Merlin being freed. The means of departure is death, and after death, Merlin naturally can't be locked up anymore.

So, in fact, when he exposed Merlin's identity, it was nothing more than confining Merlin to this level. Moreover, the price paid was that he himself was also trapped on this level at the same time.

If this is a higher level, lacking one person's intelligence could lead to errors in the others' reasoning, and this kind of misleading is completely constituted by facts and is very deadly; whereas if this is a lower level, Merlin would still be squeezed out when the real actors arrive. In other words, disclosing identities is only effective when everyone is on one level or a lower level like the zero level.

So, what if Merlin's identity is not disclosed?

As an Angel Envoy of the Great Sage, Merlin should take the Great Sage's ceremony seriously.

Although this time the ceremony is only missing one person, according to the rules Merlin can't be too serious, he must go easy...

But when he chatted with him before, Aiwass had vaguely felt that there was a bit of unscrupulousness in Merlin.

This unscrupulous old Fox would surely only go easy at the very end—definitely after having his fun with everyone, then he would reveal his flaw. He certainly wouldn't miss the chance to mock and laugh, being that kind of maligned, jovial character.

Aiwass didn't actually dislike such people. Besides not being as capricious, lively, and unscrupulous himself, essentially he and Merlin were the same kind of person. But because they were the same kind of person, Aiwass could guess Merlin's logic and thoughts.

Regardless, Merlin's arrangements must have come into effect only after Aiwass had uncovered him.

But Aiwass intended to pretend he hadn't seen it.

Since Aiwass had not exposed his identity, it wouldn't be good for Merlin to just jump out and stop acting. That would not only be too ugly but also losing face.

Merlin himself had said that the ceremony now has the Nine Pillar Gods watching, giving it a different nature. It's now like a public class with leadership oversight, Merlin can lose, but he can't dredge, and definitely can't be a sore loser. That's why he could only attack that front desk guy and couldn't actively attack anyone else.

For Merlin to win would be too easy, as he himself is the host. He knows all the answers to the mystery.

But for that very reason, if Merlin chose to win without shame, he would probably infuriate the Nine Pillar Gods. Judging by Merlin's slickness, he was clearly very respectful and wary of the Nine Pillar Gods.

In the end, Merlin is just an examiner and an actor, not even a director or screenwriter. And at this moment, he was already in the play.

He could not transcend the rules of the ceremony, and was likewise involuntary.

Merlin now had to follow Aiwass and genuinely help as a detective. Unless Aiwass stopped acting, or the real master of this body arrived, Merlin would have to keep playing along—

Until they made their way to level zero or level one.

— It would only be at that time that the real contest would begin.

Aiwass knew this, and naturally, Merlin knew it too.

The "reporter" just smiled wryly, following behind Aiwass.

But his gaze towards Aiwass's back was full of profound meaning... it could even be said that he was eager to see a good show unfold.