[Simon racked his brains, but he didn’t know the answer to the question.]
If you did know, I’d strangle you! Elisa clenched her fist tightly.
[Would you like to provide Simon with guidance and tell him the answer to this question?]
Absolutely not! How could I possibly say something like that!
[The Yellow Door began its countdown… 4, 3, 2…]
Mortified, Elisa tapped the guidance option and gave the answer. “Pale yellow”.
As shameless as the question was, at least it had a definite answer. Who knew what kind of questions it might ask in the future? She had to seize this opportunity.
[Simon completed Question One.]
Losing her dignity didn’t feel nearly as devastating as Elisa had imagined. In fact, she even felt that questions like this were much easier than math problems or chess.
[Question Two: Is Miss Mabel a Transcent?]
[Simon answered: No. Correct.]
You scared me for a second. Elisa patted her chest.
[Question Three: Does Madam Maria know about you and Eve?]
What? What exactly is going on between you and Eve… Oh, right. It means the [Spirit Realm Traversal] ritual they were doing now. Heh, just the two of you, a man and a woman, alone together in the same room.
[Simon obtained an opportunity to ask a question.]
Elisa hesitated for a moment but gave her male servant no instructions.
Her true identity lay at the heart of the conspiracy from fifteen years ago. She couldn’t risk exposing it.
Besides, he could visit the [Little Doors in the Woods] once every week. There was no need to rush. First, she wanted to see how the Yellow Door would answer a question from her male servant.
[Simon asked: What transcendent powers does Miss Elisa possess?]
Heh. Sure enough, he asked about me.
This male servant really has started suspecting me!
Fortunately, I saw this coming.
[The Yellow Door was unable to answer and asked Simon to choose another question.]
No wonder it couldn’t answer. I have a divine artifact on me. Even a Spirit Realm Lord can’t pry into my secrets. At most, it can only see information about me on the surface.
Still, being unable to answer is an answer in itself. It proves there’s something unusual about me. Haaah.
[Simon asked: Who is Miss Eleanor’s teacher?]
[The Yellow Door was unable to answer and asked Simon to choose another question.]
It can’t answer that either? Is Eleanor’s teacher also protected by a divine artifact? No, being unable to answer doesn’t necessarily mean it doesn’t know. It could also mean it fears the person and doesn’t dare reveal anything.
In other words, Eleanor’s teacher must be at least a demigod. Eleanor really is someone worth investing in!
[Simon asked: What is the Mabel family’s most important secret?]
[The Yellow Door was unable to answer and asked Simon to choose another question.]
The Mabel family is hiding a secret involving someone above the demigod level too?
iframe
Elisa suddenly felt a wave of melancholy. Looking around, she realized that everyone around her had a mysterious identity and an ancient background.
Oh, right. So do I. Never mind, then.
The one who should feel sorry for himself is my male servant. He’s the only one with a genuinely ordinary, spotless background.
[Simon asked again: What is the royal family plotting?]
[The Yellow Door fell into a long silence.]
Elisa sighed, feeling sorry for the Yellow Door. Poor Spirit Realm Lord. It ran into my male servant, only to be asked four questions in a row that it couldn’t answer.
If it were me, I’d already be so embarrassed that I’d want to run away.
[After a long while, the Yellow Door told Simon that he could ask three additional questions.]
Elisa was amused. The Yellow Door was bribing her male servant with extra questions, hoping he would stop asking about things it couldn’t talk about and ask something it could actually answer.
Judging by this, if I asked about what happened fifteen years ago, the Yellow Door would probably fall silent too. That incident must have involved several demigods.
[Simon asked three questions: The whereabouts of the remaining finger bones; the traitors within Lighthouse’s intelligence department; and how many factions the royal family was divided into.]
[The Yellow Door gave three answers: One is behind the Green Door, and another is in the Eastern District, but its exact location cannot be revealed. The locations of the other finger bones cannot be spoken of; Lighthouse has the following five traitors…; the members of the royal family are almost entirely acting independently, each pursuing their own goals.]
Elisa nodded.
The three questions my male servant asked were all useful and serious. Given his personality, I thought he might ask something completely shameless.
When it comes to serious matters, though, my male servant is still quite reliable.
One of the [Finger Bones] is behind the Green Door….the very door I just explored. Does that mean I’ll have to start taking chess lessons?
Another one is in the Eastern District. It should be the one William had before, which is most likely in the hands of one of his companions now. But if even Crown Prince Fred can’t find them, my chances of tracking them down are pretty slim too.
Haah. Looks like this finger bone is going to be difficult to collect.
There are five traitors in Lighthouse. That’s hardly surprising. What intelligence organization doesn’t have moles planted by other intelligence organizations?
Still, rooting out the traitors would be a great opportunity. It could also be used to establish his authority. My male servant hasn’t contacted Lighthouse lately, so he’s probably been waiting for an opportunity to do just that.
Everyone in the royal family has their own agenda, and the fact that they’re completely divided is rather unusual. Normally, there should be three factions: the King’s faction, the Crown Prince’s faction, and the neutral faction.
Then again, they’re the family that usurped my family’s throne. It’s only natural that their foundations would be unstable.
[Simon stepped out of the Yellow Door and leaned against the doorframe to rest.]
Why is he suddenly resting?
Could answering those questions also take a toll on him? Is my male servant tired?
[Half an hour later, Simon got up and continued forward. He discovered a Black Door.]
[Without opening the Black Door, Simon followed Eve’s guidance and returned to his body.]
[Exploration complete.]
[Simon could feel that he had already reached the threshold of Rank Two. All he needed was an opportunity to advance.]
Advancing through the lower Ranks doesn’t require any special conditions, but a [Spell Instrument] is indispensable. Upon reaching Rank Two, he’ll gain a new spell, and the [Spell Instrument] serves as the medium for casting it.
I need to prepare a Rank Two instrument for my male servant.
[Simon got up, and Eve took his place, lying with her head on his lap as she began meditating.]
Heh, you sure know how to enjoy yourself.
Ignoring the two of them, Elisa picked up the invitation beside her. It was from Mabel, inviting her to a stage play tomorrow. Eleanor would be there too, along with another important person….Orphina, otherwise known as Princess Ophelia.
It’s only been a few days since my male servant attacked Princess Ophelia, and now I’m about to meet her. Just thinking about it is rather exciting.
Elisa unfolded the newspaper and idly flipped through it, casually skimming the headlines.
[Workplace Injury Fund Established: Aid for Injured Workers and Bereaved Families]
[Red Eyes or Blue Eyes? The Logic Puzzle Sweeping the Royal Capital]
[Governor Ma Reports on the Latest Situation in the Sea of Mist]
Nothing but the same boring stories. I’m impressed they can even bring themselves to finish writing these reports.
Elisa tossed aside the [Searl Daily], took a sip of black tea, and suddenly sensed that something was wrong.
She picked up the newspaper again and stared at one small section. “Red Eyes or Blue Eyes? The Logic Puzzle Sweeping the Royal Capital???”
Isn’t that my puzzle!
She read on. A week ago, at a banquet held to welcome teachers and students from the Southern Continent, Princess Ophelia had posed a logic puzzle that stumped every visiting student and scholar from the Southern Continent.
The scholars dubbed it the “Princess Ophelia Puzzle”, praising the mysteries of logic and sociology hidden within it. The concept of “public information” they claimed, had unveiled an overlooked field of study.
The newspaper slipped from Elisa’s hands. She was utterly devastated.
That’s my puzzle! The puzzle I paid my male servant fifty pounds for!
It should be called the Elisa Puzzle, not the Princess Ophelia Puzzle!
Damn that shameless upper class! They actually stole my work in broad daylight!
Thinking back on it, no wonder Ophelia stopped me from revealing the answer at the gathering. No wonder she asked me for the solution the very next day. She’d been planning this all along!
This puzzle was supposed to make me famous, and now Ophelia has taken all the credit!
Humph. When my male servant ran into Ophelia before, why didn’t he just shoot her dead!
Could I have her assassinated now?
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