The Gaze of the Silver Crowned Dragon

Hai Na had only just left when James Moriarty returned home carrying a heavy suitcase.

"The Bureau of Supervision people just left?"

Old James asked as soon as he entered the door.

He had apparently met Hai Na at the manor gate and exchanged pleasantries for a while.

James was a polite old gentleman with obvious wrinkles on his face. His gray pupils were somewhat cloudy, his eye sockets were deep, and his hair was white and sparse. However, his skin was well-maintained. His cheeks were thin and his cheekbones were high. Although he looked thin when wearing a coat, one could immediately sense that he was not weak when he took off his coat.

He always spoke softly, with a drawn-out, soft, and retroflex elven accent. It was clear that he had a very good upbringing and his temper was definitely not bad.

He put down the suitcase at the door, took off his double-breasted long trench coat and top hat, and handed them to the personal male servant standing at the door: "They wouldn't have interrogated Iver for several hours, would they...En, thank you, Wade. Remember to send this box to Iver's room later."

"Yes, sir. I'll remember." His personal male servant responded softly, taking the items and retreating.

"Miss Hai Na was late."

The old elf did not choose to hide the situation for her, but directly expressed his dissatisfaction: "She is always like this, thinking about the top hat and forgetting the tie, rash and careless. If she continues like this, she will miss something important sooner or later and be severely reprimanded by her superiors."

"Sooner or later, we'll talk about it when 'sooner or later' happens; if she makes a mistake because of her bad habits, then let her mistake teach her."

The old man just smiled, squinted his eyes, and said gently: "Don't scold her now for the mistakes she might make in the future, Oswald. You are just her instructor, not her superior."

He was very friendly and close to his elven butler named Oswald.

This was also normal, because more than sixty years ago, when he was about the same age as Iver is now, he was also raised by Oswald.

In addition to the old butler, the mansion also employed sixteen other live-in servants—including a female housekeeper, two personal maids, two personal male servants, two maids, five male servants, a cook, two assistant cooks, and a coachman. Iver's eldest brother usually did not come home, and the only masters in the house besides him and Yulia were the old man.

James usually acted in a low-key and steady manner, and was very polite even to the servants. Although he rarely smiled, he never got angry or lost his temper with his subordinates.

—Or more accurately, no one had ever seen him get angry or lose his temper in the past few decades. Even when faced with the most rude guests, the old man always maintained his demeanor in a humble yet dignified manner.

Yes, the old man.

Although James was nominally Iver's adoptive father, he was actually old enough to be Iver's grandfather.

This was also reasonable... He adopted Iver when Iver was only six years old. And now Iver was already eighteen years old.

Iver and Yulia's eldest brother, Edward Moriarty, was adopted by James when he was eight years old. Now he was thirty-five years old.

"...Dad."

Yulia, who was standing next to Iver, greeted him and asked softly.

She was like a well-behaved cat, leaning her head over to be affectionately patted by the old man.

"How are you feeling today, Yulia?"

He asked seriously, "Have you taken your medicine properly?"

"I already took it."

Yulia said softly, her voice giving a dreamlike transparency.

"Rest early, don't read too late. Knowledge can never be fully learned."

The old man carefully instructed, "You can't sleep later than nine o'clock at night, your health isn't good—did you hear that, Yulia?"

Seeing that Yulia's gaze began to drift to the side as he spoke, he raised his voice slightly and emphasized, "Yulia?"

"Yes, I know."

Yulia responded vaguely.

The old man sighed helplessly and emphasized again, "Don't stay up late, you silly girl.

"You don't go out anyway, daytime and nighttime make no difference to you. Then you might as well go to bed early, and read any books during the day. That's better for your eyes."

As he spoke, Yulia fell silent again.

Old James was helpless and could only emphasize, "I'm old now and can't stay up late. I have to sleep at ten o'clock at night, and I won't be able to answer any questions you have. But if you read books during the day, you can come to me anytime if you don't understand something. I don't have any classes tomorrow, and I'll be staying at home for several days this time. You can come and ask me about anything you don't understand, okay?"

"...Okay."

This time, Yulia didn't pretend not to hear. She seriously raised her head, her ruby-like eyes fixed on the old man: "I've been reading books on alchemy recently... discussions from the Equilibrium Path. Does Father know anything about this?"

"Father knows all the books in the house."

The old man said calmly, "Father knows a little about all nine Paths."

His tone was calm, but a sense of confidence arose spontaneously.

"Then I'll definitely go to bed early today."

The girl raised two fingers to the sky near her ear and said seriously, "I swear, I mean what I say—"

"Don't."

But the old man just reached out and gently bent the girl's fingers, retracting them into a fist.

"Don't do that."

James said seriously, "That's a Simple Oath, it's a gesture with spirituality. If you break the oath, you'll really be punished."

"...I just wanted to try."

Yulia said softly, "I just saw it in a book today... Was my gesture just now correct?"

"Correct. So don't do it again next time."

The old man sighed wearily, "Go eat, I have something to say to Iver."

Yulia responded and went to the restaurant with Oswald. Only two people were left in the living room.

James returned to silence and sat opposite Iver.

The old man picked up the cup of tea that Hai Na of the Bureau of Supervision hadn't touched, poured it out, and poured himself another cup of hot tea.

Looking at Iver, who didn't say a word, he squeezed the teacup and asked softly, "How do you feel... in your current state? Is it still stable?"

What he was talking about was the Shadow Demon that Iver had contracted with.

This kind of thing couldn't be hidden from his adoptive father at all.

Since Iver woke up lying at home, it meant that the butler Oswald had probably brought him back in a comatose state. Then James must have already checked his body and performed a simple general seal. At least he didn't let the Shadow Demon take over Iver's body while he was unconscious.

That's very considerate.

In the "future" images, that mad, gloomy, hunched-over James Moriarty looks like a completely different person from the kind old man in front of him, who cares about him!

All he remembers are scenes of James showing him affection—

When Iver was just over ten years old, he once mentioned casually that he missed the special fried cod steaks that Aunt Misu used to make for them at the orphanage during the holidays.

As a result, the next day, Aunt Misu was hired at a high salary to be a part-time cook at home for a while. Not only did she make the special fried cod steaks, but she also taught the family's cooks all the other "commoner dishes" she knew. When they let her go, they gave her an extra reward.

At the time, Iver was so scared that he didn't dare say he wanted or missed anything for at least half a year. He was afraid that as soon as he said it, it would be bought for him immediately.

Even the young Iver, who had not yet recalled his past life memories, had always been very clear about his own understanding—he was not James Moriarty's biological son after all. He didn't deserve to enjoy such preferential treatment as a matter of course.

It was only because Iver was sensible that he didn't become a spoiled brat under such pampering.

So now, when Iver looks at his adoptive father, he always feels complicated. He still has a glimmer of hope.

...Could it be possible that his adoptive father wasn't the mastermind when the plot began? Or, did he fall into evil ways when the Avalon Kingdom fell apart?

It's not impossible.

In the original plot, when the Avalon Kingdom fell apart, Iver followed the protagonist and fled to the Holy Kingdom. From that time on, he and his adoptive father had already separated. When they met again, it was three years later.

Maybe...

Did something happen in these three years? ...But that wouldn't explain Iver infiltrating the "players" as a spy.

"—Iver?"

Seeing Iver fall into deep thought again, the old man called out softly again, "If it's not working, should I ask the Bishop to help you dispel the possessed demon?"

"...Ah, I'm fine, Father. Among the demon knowledge I got from those people, there happens to be a method to seal Shadow Demons."

Iver looked up and said, revealing a comforting smile, "I was thinking about other things just now."

"Then I believe you."

The adoptive father nodded slowly, "The materials you asked me for yesterday, I've already brought them back for you. The rope from the gallows is easy to find... The nails from the head of a person who died by Dismemberment by Chariots are really too hard to find. The Queen abolished Dismemberment by Chariots after she ascended the throne. I found them in a museum.

"I don't know if you'll need them later, I brought back all four that exist. The museum records have also been handled very cleanly, so there's nothing to worry about. Just tell me if you need anything else... Don't trust outsiders so easily again."

...He found them so quickly?

Iver couldn't believe it.

He didn't expect that his adoptive father would actually find them after only one day.

Is this the power that the Moriarty Family can wield when the Avalon Kingdom still exists? "That's great! With them, I can seal the Shadow Demon more stably."

Iver felt a warmth in his heart and said with heartfelt gratitude, "Thank you, Father!"

The two ritual materials he asked for were not actually for sealing the Shadow Demon. Because sitting in a wheelchair is the simplest and most stable sealing method, which is the optimal solution tested by the Demon Scholars of the Stibium Kingdom four years later.

"Then I won't eat dinner tonight!"

He felt a little itchy in his heart and looked a little impatient. Iver was originally such a fanatical enthusiast of occultism, so it wouldn't be strange at all for him to do such a thing now.

"Let me help you."

Watching Iver about to push himself away in his wheelchair, old James quickly stepped forward, held the back of the wheelchair, and pushed Iver towards his room.

On the way, the old man said softly, "Iver, although you might not be happy to hear me say this... but Dad still has to say it.

"During the ritual, never use humans or human corpses as materials and sacrifices. Other than that, Dad will find a way to get you any materials you need... Can you promise Dad?"

Hearing this, Iver, sitting in the wheelchair, widened his eyes slightly in surprise.

It wasn't because he was surprised that his adoptive father, the mastermind, would make such a seemingly moral request...

But because he knew that what the old man said was completely correct.

It wasn't until the "Fallen Angel" descended and the level cap for Demon Scholars was raised that the Demon Scholars of the old era realized that their path was completely wrong.

They all thought that the focus of Demon Scholars was on "demon," but they didn't realize that the focus was on "scholar."

Humans cannot use humans as ritual materials, and elves cannot use elves. If they are transformed undead, they cannot use any animal bones as materials. This is the taboo of the "Heavenly Sin."

Any Demon Scholar who has used sacrifices of the same race and violated the Heavenly Sin's punishment cannot be promoted from this profession to "Great Sin Scholar." Those fifth-level Demon Scholars can only transform themselves into various demons. That can't even be considered an advancement; it's just exchanging their professional level for a stronger race template than humans.

Undoubtedly, such a limit and ability would be much weaker than the hero class "Great Sin Scholar."

And players from the very beginning cannot use the same race as ritual materials, so they cannot meet the conditions for wrong advancement.

Now, James has stated this secret so clearly.

Is it a coincidence, or...

Iver's heart stirred, but he just nodded seriously.

He held up two fingers of his right hand to his ear and said the oath word by word: "I swear, I will not use the lives and corpses of my own race as my ritual materials and sacrifices."

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly saw a phantasm—

In the dark night, on a snowy mountain.

A magnificent dragon, wearing a silver crown and with a body like crystal, like diamond, and like silver, quietly watched him.

The illusion lasted only a very short moment, less than half a second. But when Iver woke up, he was covered in cold sweat.

[You have felt the gaze of 'Authority']

[You have gained the trait: Authority - Silver Scale]

[Authority - Silver Scale: With this mark as a sign, the Silver Crowned Dragon is watching you, and a certain oath you have made cannot be violated. When you attack anyone who violates the oath, gain +1 advantage (Divinity)]

"...I don't know if it's your luck or misfortune, but a 'Simple Oath' made Him notice you. It should be a coincidence..."

The old man behind Iver also seemed to have sensed something and stopped.

He was silent for a long time before continuing to slowly push the wheelchair, and said softly, "But no matter what, the God of Authority has heard your oath, so you can't violate it."

"Of course..."

Iver closed his eyes wearily, feeling his heart beating so violently that it felt somewhat obstructed: "I will never embark on that path of no return to depravity."