When the plot-skips players into the game world

Chapter 630: Chapter 39: The Telephone Game Chapter 630: Chapter 39: The Telephone Game Everyone gathered around Master Nobel in the living room of Moriarty Manor.

The court alchemist had managed to escape smoothly…

Some rejoiced in their hearts, while others became wary.

Just as the counselor had thought before—

At this moment, Master Nobel’s nationality seemed less than friendly.

He was ultimately born in Star Antimony.

He left Star Antimony because of conflicts with the high-ranking officials of the Royal Alchemy Association at that time.

Today, those officials have long passed away, and the current Star Antimony Royal Alchemy Association holds great respect for Master Nobel and has invited him back several times.

After all, Avalon is not known for its academic atmosphere.

One could say that part of the reason Nobel still stayed in Avalon was due to the old man still holding a grudge over past events, and more importantly, because of the profitable explosive and gunpowder companies he had established in Avalon.

Now, Nobel had become one of Avalon’s top businessmen.

If he left Avalon for Star Antimony, his businesses in Avalon would inevitably be targeted.

In this sense, he actually could not leave.

At least personally, it was quite normal for Nobel to stay in Avalon—even though the lack of an academic atmosphere could pose challenges to advancement, it didn’t really affect his research career much.

After all, the Avalon royal family was very kind to him.

In his early research days, Queen Sofia had provided him with ample funding and facilities.

Now, he could come and go at the Hall of Silver and Tin at will, and had established over thirty factories and several research institutes in various districts of Avalon; his experiments’ paperwork was more or less approved as soon as it was submitted.

“—So, I could not possibly betray Her Majesty the Queen,”

The Stranger frowned tightly, arguing his case: “How many alchemists does Star Antimony have?

And how many does Avalon have?

As ‘Master Nobel,’ I am the undisputed number one in Avalon, but if I return to Star Antimony?

Then I would be just one among countless ‘outstanding alchemists.’ I still know how to choose…”

In fact, under such immense pressure, he had already grown somewhat afraid.

Especially seeing the white light gleaming in Lady Shafiya’s eyes even startled the Stranger.

Even without deep knowledge of the Path of Authority, he knew that high-ranking individuals of the Path of Authority could detect lies.

He could only tell the truth as he saw it in his heart—if he said anything contrary to his beliefs, it would be immediately noticed.@@novelbin@@

…But this was truly a case of undeserved calamity.

The Stranger felt very wronged.

He had seen his own introductory plot and knew that Nobel truly had nothing to do with this matter.

But he couldn’t explain it clearly.

Certainly, after the people from Star Antimony came to Avalon, some had come to see Nobel, hoping he would return to Star Antimony and saying that Valentine VII greatly valued his research.

But Nobel had declined decisively.

But the Stranger had never expected Lady Shafiya to be aware of this—her Inspector had seen this event yesterday and had written a letter to report it.

Now Star Antimony’s actions amounted to a declaration of war against Avalon, and Nobel had actually pursued Isabel…

Hence, the matter suddenly took on a different flavor.

“Please say this, Master Nobel—”

Lady Shafiya spoke with a grave expression: “‘I have absolutely no connection to the assassination attempt against Her Majesty the Queen, I haven’t leaked any confidential intelligence to the people of Star Antimony, nor have I rendered them any form of assistance.'”

So the Stranger repeated Lady Shafiya’s words.

Only then did the intensity around Shafiya weaken a little.

The Stranger sweated with fear.

He also had some regrets—if only he had known, he wouldn’t have come.

But it seemed he had passed the test for now…

However, his demeanor didn’t quite match that of the supposedly strong-willed and indifferent Master Nobel.

The Stranger couldn’t help but speak again, trying to twist his image so as not to give himself away: “Indeed, Star Antimony is my homeland.

To this day, I still hold deep feelings for it, but…”

“—But, you are as loyal to Queen Sofia as I am.

Right?”

Sherlock’s chilly voice interrupted the Stranger’s speech from the side.

Seeing Sherlock had regained his energy, Shafiya’s eyes also lit up; she put the previous conversation aside and turned her head: “Are you alright now, Sherlock?”

“Thank you for your concern, Lady Shafiya.

Archbishop Your Excellency’s treatment is quite exceptional.”

Sherlock nodded respectfully, then turned and scrutinized Master Nobel again.

“It shouldn’t be a big problem,” he said, “but to be safe…

allow me to ask personally.”

“Do you need me to accompany you?”

Lady Shafiya asked kindly.

She obviously trusted Sherlock immensely.

After Sherlock declined, he took Master Nobel back to Aiwass’s bedroom.

A gust of wind arose from his fingertips, an invisible surge of air billowed and spread—a soundproof barrier simulated by spells unfolded in an instant.

The next moment, Sherlock’s gaze turned fierce.

Sherlock’s calm and rational tone suddenly became mocking and bizarre: “Mr.

Lorey, our great genius.

Your actions have been smooth, having quickly found where Isabel is…

But how have you rendered yourself so passive?

Hmm?

Do you enjoy being passive?

“I hear you played the blood slave at someone else’s advancement ceremony last time—is it that you’ve developed some perverse addiction to submissiveness, so you’ve specially learned how to serve others?

What is it, should I extract your soul and put you in a girl’s body?”

“…Teacher.”

The Stranger, upon hearing this familiar voice, immediately realized the identity of the person before him.

His whole demeanor deflated, “Sorry, I only…”

“—What were you planning to do if I hadn’t come out just now?”

“Sherlock” interrupted the Stranger once again.

He squinted his eyes, speaking sternly, “Lord Albert Lorey.

Answer my question.

What were you trying to accomplish with those two additional statements you added at the end?”

“…I just felt that I was too passive before.

It didn’t quite fit with Master Nobel’s character.

If everyone calmed down and started to reflect, they might notice something was off.

So I wanted to twist the image back a bit…”

“—Cart before the horse.”

The Counselor interrupted him yet again with a Primordial idiomatic expression.

He snorted coldly, scoffing, “It’s like saying the wrong thing to the opposite sex and trying to make a foolish recovery.

Little do you realize that the more you try to explain, the more annoying it becomes.

“Our great genius truly lacks experience in social interactions.”

“…Yes, Teacher.”

The Stranger opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to argue some more.

But recalling what the Counselor had just said, he swallowed back the explanation that was on the tip of his tongue and dutifully nodded, admitting his mistake.

“Hmph.”

The Counselor was quite pleased with the Stranger’s conduct.

His attitude toward this youngest son of the Lorey family was complicated.

On one hand, he harbored an uncontrollable envy towards his genius student…

he believed that the Stranger had a chance of reaching the Fifth Power Level before thirty, and there was even a chance of touching the legendary Sixth Power Level.

But on the other hand, he genuinely cared for the Stranger.

The Counselor sincerely wanted to protect him, to guide him earnestly…

because he did not want this talent to vanish into nothingness or to go astray.

And at the same time, his inner jealousy and fear hoped that the Stranger would always respect him.

“Listen well, great genius,” the Counselor said seriously, “that Bishop Mathers you met is very likely ‘The Fox’.”

“…Why?”

“Because in this world, the relationship between Aiwass and Isabel is not that good.

Their relationship has never been made public.

They can’t even be called friends, at best collaborators.”

The Counselor answered without hesitation, “Only those like us, who come from outside, would think Aiwass and Isabel have a lovers’ relationship.

That’s precisely the image they have always performed.”

“I see…

So, should we cooperate with him?”

The Stranger nodded, suddenly realizing, “He is a Priest—we need Priests, don’t we?”

“We could do without…

Did you bring the potion?”

“I did.”

“Then it’s not necessary.

The magic potion you brought is enough for healing, and this ceremony is unlikely to have undead that require a Priest to exorcise.

If we include him, it might increase the chances of us being exposed.”

With that, the Counselor advised, “Also, I’ll share some information with you.

We’ll split our recollections and write them down as soon as we leave the ascension ceremony.

Afterwards, I’ll try to find ‘Olive’, and we might separate soon.

If you see Aurora, remember to pass this information to her.”

Sharing the same piece of information with multiple individuals to record…

This was to minimize the impact of memory blur.

The Stranger understood the Counselor’s intent and nodded.

The ascension ceremonies created by the Pillar God, while the world’s details may vary due to special variables, are fundamentally the same as the real world outside of those variables.

It is essentially a special, one-time simulation environment.

For this reason, whether the script of the ascension ceremony is set in the past or the future, it can provide some valid references—while not necessarily 100% accurate.

These pieces of information are definitely not obtainable through normal channels.

“Firstly, the actual relationship between Aiwass and Isabel is very tense.

They may well be in a romantic relationship, but essentially they are more like a power couple since both of them have strong personalities, which makes it difficult for them to mesh, and this also presents us with opportunities.

“Queen Isabel is indeed adept at performing, and she has a strong hand and is very aggressive.

Aiwass is approachable, and if there’s trouble with Star Antimony, we can try moving the Spirit Summoning Tower within Avalon’s borders.

“Furthermore, the Avalon royal family holds a ceremony called ‘Ceremony of Avalon’s Shadow,’ which is why Queen Sofia has always kept silent about the curse—because silence is a necessary condition for initiating the ceremony.

This ceremony can resurrect Lancelot I of the Sixth Power Level under special conditions, and we need to investigate this ceremony.

Here are the known conditions for the ritual…”

The Counselor earnestly passed on all the information he had gathered to the Stranger.

“Aiwass and Queen Isabel aren’t allies, turn directly to Aiwass if the Spirit Summoning Tower is in danger, and investigate the Ceremony of Avalon’s Shadow thoroughly…”

And the Stranger listened quietly, his lips silently moving, softly speed-reading to reinforce the key points he had summarized.

The Stranger had his unique techniques for memorizing information about the Dream Realm—during his last ascension ceremony, he had managed to pass back the experiences of Valentine I in exactly this way.

In this respect, he was even more adept than his own Counselor.

With so much information, it was difficult to memorize everything, so one must summarize the main points.

Remember the main points first, then the details.

And when compared to just running it through your mind or something you see with your eyes, “saying it yourself” makes the memory clearer.

—Alright, I’ve got these three most important pieces memorized!

The Stranger was resolutely confident.

At least with these crucial pieces of information, the Stranger was sure he would never forget!