When the plot-skips players into the game world

Did Aiwass really need to use a ritual to determine the suspect?

In fact, he did not.

When he heard Captain Camus suggest "copying a duplicate of the documents," he had actually already determined the suspect in his mind.

The logic was very simple.

Because the document that was handed over to Captain Camus was not the "top-secret diplomatic letter" whose content was unknown to everyone, but rather the "substantive evidence" whose content was already known—it was the letter that they had initially intercepted from a spy.

In other words, this was "the core evidence that locked down Miss Aleister's identity," and nearly everyone was aware of this fact.

Under the circumstances where Her Majesty the Queen had already warned that this matter should not be publicized any further, the Chief Secretary to the Minister of the Navy nevertheless requested Captain Camus to make a copy...

This, in itself, had already exposed the attitude of the Minister of the Navy.

Simply put, the attitude that Her Majesty the Queen showed to the Round Table Hall was inclined towards letting this matter slide by. Therefore, there was a high likelihood that the letter would "accidentally disappear" or undergo "content replacement." The disappearance or nullification of the letter was the direction desired by the royal family.

Under such circumstances, proceeding with due process and taking precautions... it was obvious whom it was meant to trouble, and there was no need to say more.

Moreover, Captain Camus had inadvertently mentioned that he was a "Hunter."

This was another crucial detail.

If this matter escalated and continued to ferment, what eventually would happen?

Undoubtedly, Captain Camus would be held as the sole person responsible and be called to account.

He would certainly argue with reason, explaining that he indeed did not see anyone—he would keep reiterating that as a "Hunter," he hadn't seen anyone pass by on the staircase throughout the entire process.

That meant either the thief had entered through a window silently, taken the items, and left, or he had managed to sneak past the acute perception of a third Energy LeveI Hunter, forcefully entered his home, and stolen important items.

But in the end, the items were lost. Lost was lost.

No matter how he explained it, it would only lead to two outcomes in public opinion—

First, these new-generation Transcendents of "Paths other than the Path of Authority" lack the necessary obedience and discipline, unfit to hold important positions.

Second, even Hunters who have reached the third Energy Level are still not of much use, unable to notice when their belongings are stolen. These Transcendents encouraged under "Sofia's Policy," outside the paths of "Authority, Dedication, Balance," do not possess the necessary strengths worth encouraging and nurturing.

As a result, the Minister authorized by Queen Sofia who was in charge of the Department of Care of Magical Creatures would face the new generation of officers born out of "Sofia's Policy." If Aiwass did not take action, it meant he would have to silently swallow the bitter pill; if Aiwass did retaliate, they could lead this matter back to the "Sofia Policy" legacy of Queen Sofia's path reform.

By reversing from the direction of the beneficiaries, it was natural to know who was manipulating things from behind.

—It was definitely those knights of the Path of Authority.

Was there still a need to track down the identity of the thief through a ritual, then slowly investigate along the clues?

There was absolutely no need.

It was only necessary to know who the mastermind was behind the scenes; who exactly took action was not important at all.

Although Aiwass didn't usually like reasoning very much, it didn't mean he didn't have the ability. He just preferred to solve problems in a more direct manner.

Aiwass was recognized as one of the rare friends by Sherlock not only because he knew some trivial knowledge that was temporarily unnecessary... after all, erudition and intelligence are two different things.

But conversely, Aiwass needed others to know that he had used a ritual.

However, the locating ritual was bound to fail.

The thief who stole the items would surely have taken preventative measures against divination, or they were already sold off. Once the item changed hands too many times, tainted by too many individuals' scents, the locating ritual would struggle to find the lost item.

Aiwass had no interest in being led around the city like a dog by possibly false clues, becoming a laughingstock to others.

—Since the clues were likely erased.

It was better to simply create the evidence himself.

Aiwass took out the ritual materials from his carry-on bag and started to prepare for the ritual in front of Captain Camus.

A bottle of Parthia Tree Essential Oil, a bottle of Clary Sage Essential Oil, a sample of the fine down from a kitten's paws, Snake Skin Paste, the scales of a moth. There was also the Snake Venom Ointment concocted by Yulia, which Lily hadn't used up in the battle, and Aiwass's blood infused with Lily's mana.

All of these were materials that Aiwass had collected, purchased, or made the night before.

The essential oils were freshly bought from the "King". Moth scales are common ritual ingredients… but finding kitten fur to snip is quite difficult.

As for the snake skin paste, it's a typical treatment ointment made by the Path of Adaptation.

It requires the scales to be removed from the snake skin and slowly roasted over gentle heat, while also adding some hemostatic and healing herbs, eventually boiling down to a bowl of sticky black broth. Then it is cooled and air-dried in a cool place, ground into powder, and mixed with fragrant oil and honey to form a paste, which can be stored for a long time.

Such ointments can be used to stop bleeding and heal wounds… Of course, it definitely doesn't work as well as alchemical elixirs and witches' magic potions. Only Transcendents on the Path of Adaptation can fully benefit from it. Adventurers and archaeologists traveling in remote areas far from towns all carry some with them.

Aiwass, under the watchful eye of Captain Camus, dropped the blood filled with Lily's mana into the moth's phosphor powder and gently shook it to mix. Then soaked the cat's fluff in Parthia tree essential oil, and mixed the snake skin paste with snake venom, adding in half of the clary sage essential oil to dissolve it.

And so Aiwass had three tubes of liquid with different colors.

Dark brown, dark red, moss green.

Aiwass infused his Dark Attribute Mana into them respectively, and then poured the three bottles of liquid in front of him, letting them flow into three pools that gradually began to blend together.

He believed that Captain Camus surely couldn't understand this ritual and the materials.

Because what Aiwass was about to do wasn't a divination ritual at all.

Aiwass's lips moved slightly as he silently chanted, "I humbly invite the Grey Celestial Marshal…"

"The Celestial Marshal of neither truth nor falsehood, the Silent Celestial Marshal—

"Make me light as a cat, elusive as a moth, venomous as a snake…

"Grant me the Blur and silent lies of stillness!"

With Aiwass's silent incantation, the three pools of liquid in front of him slowly evaporated, mixing together right before his eyes.

Three different colors of smoke gathered together, but eventually turned into a mundane grayish white.

Aiwass took a deep breath of the smoke, then seemed to fall into a sort of trance, staring ahead as if lost in illusion. His pupils were covered with a layer of gray mist.

But in reality, Aiwass hadn't fallen into any delusion.

This ritual was called "The Centipede's Gait," a ritual recorded in the Codex Book that belonged to Lily. The most crucial ingredient was "the breath of lies," which could be the blood of Lily, or her mana, or the illusory spider silk she created.

Its effect was simple yet effective, hiding Aiwass from the dimensions of prophecy and divination.

Aiwass was momentarily lost in thought because he now needed to carefully weave his "false whereabouts".

During the duration of this ritual, divination and prophecy of the fourth Energy Level and below would be disrupted.

If someone used a ritual to probe Aiwass during its duration, they would see the "false actions" he had woven. The more irrational the false actions and the greater the gap from real logic, the shorter the duration would be.

From the moment Aiwass arrived in Captain Camus's study, his real whereabouts would be hidden. Experience new stories on My Virtual Library Empire

And the "lie" that Aiwass wove was very simple—that after looking through the information, he left on his own and went home.

Before he got home, he was ambushed and severely wounded by an "Aleister" lurking in the shadows and then kidnapped.

In front of Captain Camus, Aiwass completed his ritual.

"How is it?"

Seeing Aiwass open his eyes, the Captain asked anxiously and expectantly, "Did you find it?"

"I found it."

Aiwass sighed and said softly.

"What is it?"

The Captain was a bit nervous. "Any trouble?"

He had witnessed Aiwass's "divination" and could testify that Aiwass's intelligence was obtained through divination—he certainly hadn't lied because that's what he truly believed. No lie detector could discern otherwise.

"It's the Minister of the Navy."

Aiwass's mood was somber, as if feeling betrayed, and he answered in a low voice, "The letter is with him. And he seems to be quite acquainted with Miss Aleister."