"Alester-senpai?" Sylvia reacted in surprise. "Wait, does that mean you know this person, Miles?""Isn't that obvious? I'm a student of Fusion Academy. At Fusion Academy, who doesn't know Alester?"
"So you know Miles too. I mistakenly took you for a lackey of the Empire's church… my apologies."
A lackey of the Empire's church depended on how one defined it. If the scope of "lackey" was broadened a bit, then theoretically, Alester wasn't wrong. A nun was also a lackey of the church.
Alester added, "As for Miles and me, this is our first time meeting in this form."
This form, of course, referred to the first successful meeting between Miles and Alester after Miles had obtained a body of his own.
The former scumbag-and-pervert duo had reunited in this manner.
"So it really is the genuine Alester."
Although Sylvia had been overwhelmed, if the one who defeated her was truly the publicly acknowledged genius, Alester, then it didn't feel quite so hard to accept.
"There's just one thing I don't understand," Miles voiced his doubt. "Why were you two fighting here?"
"..."
When the key question was raised, Alester and Sylvia suddenly formed a mysterious tacit understanding and exchanged a glance.
Sylvia said, "We just happened to run into each other while passing by."
Alester said, "I saw this woman sneak into your room, so I followed her in."
Tacit understanding simply did not exist.
The moment Sylvia lied, she was immediately sold out by the scumbag.
"Miles, you have to believe me. This guy also snuck in! I can swear to the gods!"
And so it devolved into the two of them exposing each other's faults.
As for whether the two of them had sneaked into his room, Miles honestly didn't care that much.
He wasn't some delicate young maiden. Even if someone snuck into his room, what could they possibly force him to do?
"What I really want to know is your purpose for coming to see me in the middle of the night." That was the key point of Miles' question.
It couldn't be that they had really come to ambush him at night, right?
Wasn't staying alive a good thing? With Miles' current physical strength, anyone attempting a night assault would probably be mercilessly counter-killed.
Alester answered first. "Does the reunion of old friends require a special reason?"
"No old friends reunite by sneaking into someone's room at midnight," Miles retorted. "Besides, are our relationships really that good?"
If Miles remembered correctly, his interaction with Alester was limited to that Graduation Duel, where he had won using Irena's body.
Although in certain respects, Miles himself was rather grateful to Alester.
For example, introducing him to Viel's Magic Workshop and using his own reputation to offset most of the D-Wheel's cost.
Including later, when Alester informed the Seth family of Miles' need for a large number of gold coins, allowing Miles to earn money and complete his body's transmutation as fast as possible.
"True friends don't care about the length of time they've known each other."
It was simply because, during that Graduation Duel, Alester had seen the possibility of Miles opening the Gate of Truth.
At the same time, that was also what Alester Crowley had pursued his entire life.
"I just happened to pass through the Varian Empire, and coincidentally learned that you were here as well. So I dropped by for a visit."
"As I said, no one pays a visit at midnight," Miles suddenly realized something. "Could it be that you also received an invitation from the Empire, Alester-senpai?"
The Emperor's annual birthday banquet invited renowned Duelists from across the continent. As for Alester, he certainly qualified to be invited.
"Although I received an invitation, I don't intend to attend. The current situation in the Empire is very complicated. I originally had no intention of getting involved. But if it concerns you and Aisha Carlos, then I may need to reconsider."
Even Alester was aware of how complicated the Empire's situation was.
As for Miles, aside from the mutual opposition between the divine authority and the royal family, he hadn't sensed anything particularly complicated.
"If you continue staying in the Empire, I think at the earliest tomorrow, at the latest the day after, you'll come to understand what truly makes the Empire's situation complicated. Isn't that right, Miss Nun?"
After finishing his side, Alester tossed the topic to Sylvia beside him.
Alester could easily judge that serving as a nun in the grand cathedral of the imperial capital meant her identity was definitely not simple; it was impossible for her not to understand the Empire's current situation.
"Right, Sylvia, you…"
If Alester sneaking into his room at midnight could barely be explained by an old friend's reunion or a passing visit; then as for Sylvia Diane, whom he had only met today, appearing in his room in the middle of the night… Miles truly had no clue.
What exactly was inside this nun's head?
"Born scumbag!" Even before the reason was clarified, Dark Aisha's complaint arrived right on time.
"Let me say this first—I did not attempt a night assault!"
"I didn't say you did. Why did you expose yourself?"
"I have very important intel to tell you. The premise is that you can trust me, Miles."
Sylvia's expression looked more serious than ever before, even more serious than when she had summoned a demon yesterday and driven Miles out of the cathedral.
But to make Miles trust her before even hearing the intel… the two of them weren't that familiar.
"Sorry, I can't guarantee that," Miles refused decisively. "Only after hearing your so-called intel will I choose to trust my own judgment."
"Then let me ask you first, Miles… can you believe that I can see through the hidden sins within a person's heart?"
"That, I believe."
After all, Miles had carefully eavesdropped on Sylvia's performance inside the confessional.
"Since you believe that, then it's easier to explain what comes next. At tonight's banquet, among your group, I saw a serious and unknown dark sin."
"A dark sin among our group?"
Based on Miles' understanding, if he had to guess who on his side was most likely to commit a crime—
"Has Irena finally walked down that path of no return?"
It would surely be that trashy witch capable of eavesdropping, peeping, and even stealing people.
"Not her."
"Then, this…"
Once Irena was eliminated as the answer, Miles could no longer continue guessing.
(Irena: "Just how trashy do you think I am in your heart?")
Until Miles heard that name from Sylvia's mouth…
"Alice Carlos."
"That's impossible."
He denied it instinctively. If, after excluding Irena, Miles subconsciously ranked the candidates most likely to be involved in a Shadow Game-related crime, then Alice would definitely be at the very bottom.
The reason was simple. Among the people of Livorden, Alice was the only one who wasn't even a Duelist. It was impossible for her to have anything to do with a Shadow Game at all.
"Using the power of the Millennium Ring to seize other Duelists' Spirit Eyes… that's probably Alice Carlos' method of fighting."
"The Millennium Ring?!"
Another term that left Miles utterly shocked.
Ever since the Luca incident in the royal capital, Miles hadn't heard anyone mention that troublemaking Ring for a long time.
So much so that he had nearly forgotten the fact that the genuine Millennium Ring—not a replica—had been missing all along.
"You're saying Sister Alice is holding the Millennium Ring?"
"That should be correct."
Continuing her explanation, Sylvia did her best to recall and recount to Miles the sins she had glimpsed from Alice tonight.
Killing Reigun Seth, taking the Millennium Rod and the Millennium Eye, using Shadow Games to eliminate troublesome nobles, and attacking the Duelists of the Carlos family.
Those crimes, which should have been absolutely impossible to associate with Alice, somehow didn't seem entirely unreasonable.
"So do you believe me?" Sylvia asked for confirmation.
"No," Miles replied.
After all, he and Sylvia had only known each other for a single day. To be serious about it, she was still an "outsider."
And Alice Carlos was Aisha's biological older sister.
If Miles had to choose between the two of them, he would undoubtedly choose to believe Alice.
It was only because Sylvia's words sounded so reasonable and because she had no apparent motive to frame Alice that Miles felt shaken.
"For something like this, unless I see evidence with my own eyes, I can't fully believe it based on your account alone."
"I doubt that Alice Carlos would easily expose any evidence," Sylvia said.
From tonight's banquet alone, it was clear that Alice was exceedingly meticulous. If someone like her deliberately tried to conceal something, it would certainly be difficult to find flaws.
Still, Sylvia's reminder tonight had put Miles on guard. Perhaps in future interactions, he might notice something unusual about Alice.
Of course, deep down, Miles was still more inclined to believe that Alice wasn't the person Sylvia described.
For just a fleeting moment, Miles had indeed sensed the shadow of his own former sister in Alice.
And he had another doubt as well.
"If Alice really is as you say, Sylvia, why didn't you inform the Diane family first, instead of coming to me?"
Using Shadow Games to harm nobles and other Duelists? No matter where on the Spirit Continent this occurred, it would be considered a grave crime.
As long as evidence could be produced, even within the Empire, the hammer of justice would still fall.
"Ah, well…" Sylvia looked troubled.
Alester answered in her stead. "Because the Diane family no longer has the spare capacity to concern themselves with other matters. So the only option was to inform someone who seemed more reliable—you, Miles."
"That's true," Sylvia admitted reluctantly.
The current level of chaos within the Empire had indeed left the Diane family, one of the two great families, unable to intervene in certain matters.
Especially matters concerning other nations—they had even less energy to spare.
"I think continuing to struggle with this tonight won't produce an answer," Alester suggested.
"As for whether Alice Carlos is black or white, given your personality, Miles, you'll have to see the answer with your own eyes before you can convince yourself."
It had to be said: the scumbag understood him far too well.
Even if Sylvia talked until the sky fell, Miles would never immediately label Alice a great sinner.
"So instead of standing here in the cold wind, overthinking it, it's better to go back and get some proper rest. The truth only has meaning if you uncover it yourself, Miles."
Following Alester's advice, rather than dwelling on it here, Miles decided that starting tomorrow, he would observe Alice Carlos more carefully.
As for Sylvia, informing Miles of this matter meant that half of her goal for tonight had been accomplished. The other half had already been ruined by Alester's sudden appearance.
Before parting, Alester stopped Miles once more and placed a strange ornament into his hand.
"What is this?"
"Viel asked me to bring it to you. It seems to be a tool related to amplifying the soul energy within the Millennium Puzzle."
"Boss Viel is still researching these things, huh."
What a classic tsundere loli. She complained endlessly about how exhausting it was to deal with work involving the Millennium Items, yet behind the scenes, after Miles left, she had continued researching in secret.
Putting the ornament away, on the way back to the inn, Miles couldn't help but ask Dark Aisha within the Soul Room what she thought about Alice Carlos.
If he remembered correctly, due to the interference of the Millennium Key, a nonexistent false timeline had once been simulated.
In that timeline, Dark Aisha had seemed rather afraid of Alice.
"Big Sister can be scary when she's strict, but I don't think she would do something like that."
Even in that false timeline, after withdrawing from Fusion Academy and being looked down upon by Alice, Aisha still chose to trust her sister.
"I hope you're right."
Carrying heavy thoughts, Miles lay back down on the bed.
Before falling asleep, he also took a moment to examine the ornament Viel had given him.
Golden in appearance, shaped like an arrowhead. If it was meant to amplify the Millennium Puzzle, perhaps it would be more suitable to place it on Aisha instead?
Burdened with worries, Miles didn't even know when he fell asleep.
When he woke up, he only felt that there was something extra in his blanket… something soft, warm, fragrant, and squirming.
"Hm?"
Forcing his eyes open, a white head suddenly appeared in his line of sight from within the blanket.
That head looked far too familiar—like a bowl of tofu pudding.
"Aisha? Why are you sleeping here?"
Miles shook Aisha, who seemed not yet fully awake inside the blanket.
"Huh? Did I fall asleep?"
Rubbing her eyes drowsily, Aisha looked utterly confused.
"It feels like I haven't truly slept in a long time. By the way, why are you here, Miles? Did we return to the Soul Room again?"
"What Soul Room? This is the consulate's room… wait, you just called me Miles!"
An Aisha who mentioned the Soul Room and directly called him by name.
Could it be that the one in his blanket was Dark Aisha?
"Aisha, this isn't the Millennium Soul Room! How did you come out?"
"(||?Д?)!!"
As if waking from a dream, Dark Aisha carefully looked around and finally realized what had happened.
At that moment, Miles also noticed that the ornament he had received from Alester yesterday was hanging on Dark Aisha's chest, flickering.
So it was that bratty loli Viel's doing again?
She called it a tool to amplify the Millennium Puzzle's soul energy… this had directly amplified the soul inside the Puzzle itself!
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Chapter 535: 535: DSMW [535]
11 min read