The Vortex of Coincidence

"I guess Blood Diamond Lady rewarded you with a potion that could extend your lifespan... right?"

Iver asked with a smile, "But you didn't use it. You're lucky."

"... Yes, an amber-colored potion that can extend life by three years and grant the user the First Level Path of Twilight rank."

Drost nodded with a grim expression. "Luckily, I hesitated for a moment..."

It wasn't hesitation—the trembling of the Truth Fire made Drost immediately change his tune. "To be precise, it was because I had already embarked on the Path of Twilight and felt that I could extend my life through my own power. Moreover, I didn't trust the efficacy of the medicine they told me about, so I presented it to Her Majesty the Queen as a 'birthday gift purchased from overseas'..."

No wonder...

Iver suddenly realized.

Therefore, in Iver's timeline, Queen Sophia's relationship with Drost doesn't seem to be that close; but in the entrance CG of this Promotion Ritual, her trust and intimacy with Drost are even comparable to Iver in the main world—it's an absolute trust that regards Drost as "unique."

Because without that medicine, the Queen would have died of natural causes in the winter of 1898.

Sofia knew her own body, which was why she trusted Drost so much. Her body was already too weak to withstand the strain and there was no way she could live to see the autumn of 1899.

Drost's tribute was like the guilt one feels after having an affair.

He knew he had committed treason, and therefore, perhaps intentionally or subconsciously, he wanted to make amends in some way...

... From this perspective, Drost's thoughtless actions almost completely disrupted everyone's plans.

From Star Antimony to Avalon, their plans were all thrown into chaos. Before this, the prophets of Star Antimony may have already sensed the Queen's impending death, and they only needed to deceive the weak and naive Isabel and control her through Drost and Lloyd's's.

That's why they set up Lloyd's's – if their initial plan was to assassinate Queen Sophia, then their plans with Lloyd's's would have been completely meaningless.

However, because Drost gave a bottle of longevity potion that he had given to Queen Sophia, the Stibnite Person's plans were directly disrupted—their economic problems were already very serious in 1898, and the situation that the "King" mentioned, where alchemists squeezed out the living space of botanists, happened in the spring of 1898.

As a result, it dragged on until 1899, and Queen Sophia was still alive.

She might even have reached the Path of Twilight level, possessing the ability to extend her lifespan and live for many more years... From the Imported CG, her physical and mental condition is clearly much stronger than it was "one year ago" in the Iver timeline. She can walk without assistance and doesn't even get out of breath when she talks.

That's why she didn't train Isabel's abilities, nor did she plan to find an assassin to kill her and activate the Shadow of Avalon Ritual.

In Iver's timeline, she had already entrusted Isabel with political affairs when she was on her deathbed.

Because Sofia felt her health had improved, she wanted to go back to doing it herself.

As a result, the Stibnite Person were forced to come up with a new plan—to assassinate Sofia and replace Isabel.

Avalon is recovering, but Star Antimony can no longer hold on.

... In terms of the outcome alone, because of Drost's unconscious actions, it was delayed for an extra year, which resulted in Star Antimony taking over Avalon, but Star Antimony still split up in the end.

All of this is because during those years of economic downturn, the conflicts in various regions of Xingti had accumulated to an excessive degree.

Thinking about this, Iver couldn't help but feel a little ridiculous.

It turns out that the fall of Avalon and the split of Star Antimony were all due to a strange action by Drost...

A seemingly insignificant person... though not insignificant, whose unintentional act directly changed the entire world situation.

It's simply a coincidental vortex. Or you could say it's the root of all evil.

It was precisely because of his unconscious actions that all the coincidences spread, leading to misfortune for everyone involved...

It was because Iver killed him beforehand that none of this happened.

"... That's really interesting."

Iver sighed and shook his head slightly.

The question that had been bothering me for so long has finally been answered.

He looked up, smiled slightly at Drost, and said very tolerantly, "Very well, I now allow you to ask me a question."

"But let me make this clear beforehand... if I don't want to answer the whole question, I won't say anything at all. Then your question will have been wasted."

... Drost felt that "this gentleman" was becoming less and less pretentious.

Your tone now sounds nothing like "Iver," doesn't it? "Hurry up," Iver said coldly, "Your time is running out."

"One question..."

Drost immediately began to think.

"Are you Iver Moriarty?" "No, definitely not. That's a stupid question, a complete waste of time..."

So...

—When did your noble will descend upon this body? No, this still won't do...

Drost thought quickly and finally settled on one question, "Who exactly are you?"

Iver's lips curled up slightly.

He laughed happily, as if he had finally been relieved.

"Some people call me Iver Moriarty."

Iver said slowly, "However, some people on Star Antimony call me..."

" —Aleister Crowley."

The candlelight did not flicker at all.

That's the truth.

Drost blurted out, "The Crowley Family, to which Earl Crowley belongs?!"

"Yes, that's Crowley."

Although it was already the second question, Iver still nodded in tolerant response.

The candlelight remained still.

—So it's the family of Earl Crowley!

Drost felt a sudden sense of clarity.

The Crowley Family is an extremely powerful family of Demon Scholar, arguably one of the leading families within the "Demon Scholar" faction. With the Royal Family representing alchemists, the Red Phase representing witches and the Child of the Moon, and the Black Phase representing prophets and necromancers, the Crowley family and several other demon families collectively represent Demon Scholar.

Although they lack world-class powerhouses like the Red and Black Phases, each family possesses Fifth Level transcendent being. By uniting, they can contend with other forces.

The Karl Family, to which General Leo Karl belongs, is one of the several demon families that came this time.

They weren't entirely subservient to the royal family, nor were they particularly close to the Red and Black Chancellors. That's why he came to our side to gather information, that's why he didn't fully understand the whole picture, and that's why he opposed them...

The slight doubts that arose before because "Iver" asked too many detailed questions have now been completely dispelled.

As for how "Aleister" entered Iver's body... Drost didn't know, but he dared not ask. Perhaps it was some Crowley Family secret... Anyway, he was definitely related to Earl Crowley! "Mr. Crowley!"

Minister Drost immediately knelt down. "Please save me! I'm willing to sign a contract with you!"

"Can."

Iver answered very readily.

His gaze was deep. "I can protect you, as long as I'm in charge... I can also ensure that Blood Diamond never touches a hair on your head again. You can still go to Star Antimony, to your Drost Manor, to be your Drost Droste. I will not stop you."

"But that depends on your sincerity—what you gave before wasn't enough."

What would you like?

"Drost asked cautiously."

This time, Iver didn't say anything like "I don't need anything".

He gave a very clear price—

"I want Diomedes."

Iver tapped his fingers on the armrest and said calmly, "Now. I need him for something."

"... But that's what protects the Drost Family..."

"Guardian spirits can also be transferred. As long as you adopt me and voluntarily give up the Drost surname and transfer the position of head of the family to me, you can transfer your guardian spirit without dying, as long as you give up the Drost surname."

Iver's lips curled up slightly as he coaxed, "Anyway, you can't take the guardian elf that the Theocracy gave to Avalon to Star Antimony, can you? That's only a matter of a few months... You're safe here, aren't you? As for giving up your surname... I'm not going to give it to the newspapers, and no one else will know, right?"

Seeing that Drost's gaze was filled with confusion and hesitation, Iver gave him no room to think.

He lazily closed his eyes and casually ordered, "Alright, go get the ceremony paper. I'll tell you, you write it down."

"... Yes, Mr. Crowley."

Drost finally made up his mind.

—Let's sell Diomedes to him.

I don't know what he'll do with Diomedes... but if it's an order that threatens the life of the guardian spirit or restricts its freedom, the guardian contract will automatically be dissolved. This was something Drost had personally warned Diomedes about when he was a child.

... Perhaps "Aleister" will be killed by the backlash because of this. Drost thought darkly.

Even if he doesn't need Diomedes after arriving at Star Antimony, and might even have to find a way to get rid of Diomedes... the fact that such a valuable thing was forcibly taken from him still makes his heart bleed.

"Not Mr. Crowley, but Miss Crowley."

Iver squinted and said leisurely, "' Aleister Crowley ' is a woman. Don't write it wrong, or the contract won't be valid."

"Yes, beautiful lady."

Minister Drost replied respectfully, "I'll be right back."

"What's with the arrogance, you wretched woman!" Minister Drost thought bitterly to himself, seeing that he seemed to be out of danger but had suffered heavy losses.

Iver simply smiled silently and looked quietly at Drost.

That gaze sent a chill down his spine—she couldn't possibly read minds, could she? Watching Drost leave the Queen's chambers somewhat disheveled, Iver slowly walked to the full-length mirror.

He stroked the mirror, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"We have gained another powerful combatant."

Iver muttered to himself, "Is this what it feels like to speedrun through the Second Loop playthrough with a walkthrough guide...?"

I have to say, it was pretty cool.

Soon, his soft palm turned into a fist and gently slammed it onto the mirror.

Guardian Spirit, Diomedes.

He didn't need to defeat or kill him at all.

—Because he is the highest-level resource that can be obtained from the NPC "Minister Drost" during the Promotion Ritual!

Update complete!