Chapter 230
Found you, Merlin
Eivass returned to the second floor with the Old Supervisor and the Reporter.
He still didn’t fully believe the Old Supervisor was Pure White. But whether it was Pure White playing the role, or Quicks, or someone else, it didn’t matter.
Because it couldn’t be the Detective or Lulu, nor could it be Merlin. This settled the opponent’s general stance—those four were a group, Eivass didn’t need to differentiate them.
He had confirmed that the “Reporter” was 100% Merlin, and not Sherlock.
The real Sherlock wasn’t that strongly driven by the desire for Ascension—his primary goal was to help Isabel advance, and simultaneously, he didn’t place too much hope on Isabel.
Because he was not loyal to Isabel, but to the successor chosen by Queen Sophia.
Ultimately, his loyalty pointed towards Queen Sophia, who broke Avalon’s tradition, steadfastly protected his father and promoted his brother even when the evidence of assassinating the Crown Prince was undeniable.
Among the monarchs of Avalon throughout history, how many possessed such magnanimity?
…As for Isabel, Sherlock always felt she was unreliable. Before he knew Lulu was Isabel, he was quite harsh with her. Even now, he still needed Eivass to mediate for him and Isabel, otherwise, they struggled to get along.
—And another loophole was that he went too fast.
It was like when a victim died of poison; a real detective should first open windows for ventilation, cautiously investigate the surroundings for clues, and find many assistants to cooperate in the investigation. Not to immediately start the autopsy.
Sherlock was not that kind of reckless detective. He could remain calm at almost any moment.
If the Reporter were truly Sherlock, he would definitely prioritize gathering information from each floor.
If he committed suicide once, it would be understandable… The first death must have been safe. The Reporter did claim he had already investigated once.
But the real problem was, after knowing that the “Teacher” was the Fox, why didn’t he share the information with Eivass, nor investigate the second round with Eivass?
Although Sherlock was very aggressive towards Eivass, Eivass knew… Sherlock’s trust in him was probably on the same level as Isabel’s.
If Isabel’s trust was based on emotion, then Sherlock’s was based on reason. Knowing that only Eivass and he were on that floor with no one else listening, Sherlock did not conduct a thorough investigation, nor share any information, but hastily pulled Eivass into the next layer.
—What if the floor he saw Eivass on was Floor Zero?
His previous floor could very well have been the First Floor, and “Eivass” could very possibly have been played by Merlin. Would Sherlock commit suicide multiple times without investigation?
Moreover, before confirming that Eivass was the “Fox,” he directly mentioned that the time flow or the nodes of entry were different. Such information could be realized with just one death for Eivass.
But he said he had only met Wisteria once, meaning he had not yet met any of his other companions after “resurrecting.” How could he be sure that his situation wasn’t an exception?
—Only Merlin.
Merlin knew Eivass couldn’t be Merlin, and Merlin knew Eivass had indeed just appeared. His words were the most efficient, the most convincing to Eivass, and the most effective… But precisely because he pursued efficiency in his words, he exposed his flawed vision.
However, Eivass did not intend to reveal this.
Because he suspected that Merlin had deliberately left this flaw.
“Revealing” seemed like a countermeasure against Merlin, but it was actually a trap.
—Indeed, if he directly exposed Merlin, Merlin would be locked on this floor. But as long as this wasn’t Floor Zero, they would eventually have to leave this floor.
Whether they killed Merlin on this floor or left it themselves, Merlin would escape. The means of leaving was death, and after death, Merlin would naturally not be locked down.
So, revealing Merlin’s identity would only confine Merlin to this floor. And the price would be Eivass being confined to this floor as well.
If this were a higher floor, missing information from one person could lead to errors in others’ reasoning, and this misdirection would be entirely factual and extremely fatal; if this were a lower floor, then when the real Actor descended, Merlin would still be squeezed out. In other words, revealing the identity would only be effective if everyone was on the same floor, or on a low floor like Floor Zero.
So, what if Merlin’s identity wasn’t revealed?
As a Disciple of the Great Philosopher, Merlin presiding over the Great Philosopher’s Ritual should not be so careless.
Although only one person was missing from their ritual this time, according to the rules, Merlin couldn’t be too serious and had to hold back a little…
But when Eivass chatted with him before, he vaguely felt that Merlin was somewhat mischievous.
This mischievous old fox, even if he held back, would definitely do it at the end—he would definitely reveal a flaw after toying with everyone. He would never miss an opportunity to mock and laugh; that was the kind of person he was, malicious and cheerful.
Eivass didn’t dislike people like that. Apart from not being as unrestrained, lively, and mischievous as himself, he and Merlin were essentially the same kind of people. But precisely because they were the same kind of people, Eivass could guess Merlin’s logic and thoughts.
Regardless, Merlin’s arrangements should only take effect after Eivass exposed him.
But Eivass intended to pretend not to see it.
Since Eivass didn’t expose his identity, Merlin couldn’t directly jump out and stop acting. It would be too ugly and embarrassing.
Merlin himself had said that this ritual was being watched by the Nine Pillar Gods, and its nature had changed. It was like a public class with leaders observing. Merlin could lose, but he couldn’t cheat, and he certainly couldn’t afford to lose unfairly. That’s why he could only attack the front desk boy and not proactively attack anyone else except himself.
It would be too easy for Merlin to win because he was the Host. He knew all the mysteries of this.
But precisely because of this, if Merlin were to lose his face to win, it would likely anger the Nine Pillar Gods. Judging by Merlin’s slyness, he clearly had great respect and fear for the Nine Pillar Gods.
Merlin was ultimately just an examiner and an actor, not even the director or screenwriter. And at this moment, he was already in the play.
He couldn’t transcend the rules of the ritual and was also a victim of circumstance.
Merlin now had to follow Eivass and genuinely act as a detective to help. Unless Eivass stopped acting, or the true owner of this body descended upon him, Merlin had to continue acting—
Until they descended to Floor Zero or the First Floor.
—At that time, it would be the true beginning of the game.
Eivass knew this, and Merlin naturally knew it too.
The “Reporter” could only give a wry smile and follow behind Eivass.
But the look in his eyes as he glanced at Eivass’s back was full of deep meaning… it could even be said to be like he couldn’t wait to watch a good show unfold.
Chapter two will be sent before 2 o’clock~
If you’re looking to binge-read, remember to set automatic subscriptions, my brothers, and don’t let the cat die (said with great sincerity).
