Inside a remote palace of Sodela Palace, after Josena, the avatar of the "Saintess of Purple," finished reporting the events of the night to King George III, she said solemnly:
"I didn't expect that behind Trissy there would be a high-sequence Beyonder of the Marauder pathway… I wonder whether Mr. 'Pride,' after chasing after her, managed to confirm the other party's identity…"
George III shook his head and said, "Hvin has already come. He said that the one 'parasitizing' Trissy is an Angel, so he had no choice but to retreat."
"An Angel… what evidence is there?" Josena asked, frowning her beautiful brows.
"It's actually easy to judge… since the 'Saintess of White' could be 'stolen' from '0-37' by the other party, they must have used power at the Angel level." At this point, George III added meaningfully, "There is also an Angel behind Hvin, so he shouldn't be mistaken."
"An Angel of the Marauder pathway… I'm afraid that can only be that Son of God, Amon… and He indeed has the motive!" Saying this, Josena glanced at the king seated high upon the throne, clearly aware of George III's plans as well as the requirements for Amon's apotheosis ritual.
"In fact, our ally, Zaratul of the Secret Order, and I have long had plans to deal with Amon… Heh, if you want to join as well, you can go speak with Zaratul's agent, Mr. 'Lust.' I believe he would be very willing to communicate with you."
George III first joked with a smile, then his expression suddenly turned serious as he said solemnly, "But before that, we must first confirm whether the enemy is truly Amon, lest we be used by certain people!"
Hearing this, Josena asked thoughtfully, "You want to use the 'Door of Truth' again? But last time, in order to obtain the answer about 'Ebner and Alvin's relationship,' not only were many treasures sacrificed, even Katerina was lost as well…
"This time, do you intend to sacrifice me to it too?
"Although that wouldn't be a loss for you—working for the 'Door of Truth' is equivalent to working for you."
"How could that be? How could I bear to?" George III shook his head and continued, "In fact, the reason the cost was so great last time was because the answer required was too detailed… If we only need the 'Door of Truth' to make a 'yes' or 'no' judgment, it doesn't require much 'value.'"
As he spoke, a door engraved with a lion's head on its surface had already been delivered into the palace.
George III stood up, removed a ring from his finger, and handed it to the guard carrying the door. The latter respectfully received it, then turned and threw the ring into the door.
—With the guard acting as an intermediary, even if the ring's value was insufficient, what the "Door of Truth" would take would instead be items from the guard.
"Honored 'Truth,' I wish to know whether the Son of God Amon appeared tonight in Warehouse No. 11 on Kerr Street in the docks district."
After George III made his inquiry, the door trembled for about a dozen seconds. Then the lion head on its surface opened its mouth and spat out a word in ancient Feysac:
"Yes!"
As expected… the one parasitizing Trissy is indeed Amon's avatar! Upon hearing the answer of the "Door of Truth," both George III and Josena thought at the same time.
…
At the same time, within the Mirror World shrouded in fog, Ebner, who had been keeping the "Omniscient Eye" open, vaguely sensed George III's request for an answer. However, its location lay behind the illusory "Sun," making it impossible not only to touch, but even to observe.
That position seemed even farther than the imprint of the 'God of Luck'… could it be another 'Uniqueness' or characteristic that a previous 'me' obtained?
Hmm… judging from the affinity my later self has with the 'Collector' and 'Gourmet' pathways… could it be that, aside from the 'High-Dimensional Overseer,' some even earlier 'me' snatched authority from the 'Primordial Hunger'?
Tsk, and together with the inevitably existing 'Indefinite Fog'… among the Outer Deities beyond the barrier, at least two or three are targeting me!
Thinking of this, Ebner rubbed his forehead, then reined in his wandering thoughts and turned to consider the present situation:
I could, with all my strength, interfere with the answer George III is seeking… but there's no need. The question he asked would have received a "yes" answer anyway…
That king has probably already identified Amon as his enemy.
Heh, with Amon's personality, even if He noticed something, He wouldn't tell Augustus. He might even enjoy this game…
After all, for Him, digging a pit to "bury" Pallez is the primary task; everything else is just entertainment.
He has probably never taken Zaratul or Augustus seriously…
So, our game has only just begun, Amon.
With thoughts racing, Ebner closed the "Omniscient Eye," then bid farewell to Princess Vera beside him and "teleported" back to the villa at 28 Kingster Street.
In the living room, after listening to Xio recount what had just happened, Ebner pointed at the still somewhat listless young girl, Sherman, and said to Xio, "So, you want me to find a safe place to settle her?"
"Yes… because Viscount Stratford has been killed. Although the Loen royal family knows I did it, the intelligence personnel below who don't know the truth will definitely focus their attention on her… so she is no longer suitable to remain in Loen." At this point, Xio lightly patted Sherman.
The pat made Sherman stagger, and her tears nearly spilled out, but she understood Xio's intention and still said in a soft voice, "Viscount Bryan, I… I want to atone for my past mistakes… I hope you can give me a chance."
Atone for what? As far as I know, Trissy actually treated you quite well. During the Assassin stage, the targets she arranged weren't all people who deserved to die, but at least they weren't innocent… and the targets of a Provoker's "instigation" were all unlawful merchants.
Although this inevitably caused some family tragedies, even Mr. Fool couldn't avoid such things, so it can't be considered a major wrongdoing… If you really want to make up for it, just donate money to charity!
"However, before 'atoning,' you'd better learn some basic knowledge about Beyonders. Trissy probably didn't teach you much about that," Ebner said.
"Basic knowledge… where can I learn it?" Sherman pursed her lips and asked.
"I happen to know a pretty good place. I believe you'll live a very fulfilling life there." Ebner stroked his chin, and before Sherman could ask further, he directly grabbed her and "teleported" away.
More than three hours later, when dawn was approaching, Ebner finally returned to the living room, where Xio was still waiting.
"You took Sherman to Vice Admiral Iceberg's ship?" Seeing Ebner return, Xio took a sip of coffee and asked, trying to stay alert.
"Right… the reason this young lady was so easily deceived is that she lacks too much 'knowledge.' Receiving education under Edwina and enriching her empty mind is a very good choice," Ebner replied with a smile.
Xio glanced at him and suddenly asked, "Then why did you take so long?"
(End of chapter)