She is not an investigator.

"The mirror will break."

Nothing else will happen because it is essentially a mirror image, an entity projected by the mirror, not the mirror itself.

It seems this guy's research has come to an end. Igris can't think of any other help he can provide. However, she is still hesitant about whether to shoot him directly. After all, his willingness to die makes Igris wonder if something bad will happen after he dies.

Igorlis had never seen such an anomaly before, so this should be considered the first case, and she should be careful to deal with it.

"If I cover the mirror, will I be unable to see you?"

Since it calls itself a mirror image, how can a mirror image appear if it cannot be reflected by a mirror?

"You got it right, so hurry up, I'm getting a little annoyed with you."

It seemed unusual for it to talk so much with other people, and it wasn't really a chatterbox. So, when faced with Igris's constant questioning and probing, it showed unprecedented fatigue and irritability.

Although they are all portrayed in the form of Igris, Igris still doesn't look very pleasing to the eye.

"Do you know where the fire escape is?"

"Fire escape? I don't know. There's nothing here except you and me."

Iglesias received one or two unexpected answers from her father, but she did not find any possible escape routes in the basement. Perhaps she was looking in the wrong way, or perhaps they were hidden.

"Is there anything else you want to ask? I want to rest now..."

How well do you know me?

It blinked, rolled over on the ground, got up, and dusted itself off.

"Igris, eighteen years old, female, birthday September 4th, just over two weeks ago, 1.7 meters tall, full name Igris Selena, born in Graystone Town, measurements are..."

"That goes without saying."

It's clear that it really knows Igris well, at least a little better than Igris herself.

"Then do you know what I was doing five days ago?"

Five days ago, Igor was still lying in the hospital.

Five days ago?

It frowned, as if recalling something, and then quickly showed an expression of sudden realization.

"You arrived here by car with a detective."

"I was asking about five days ago."

“I was referring to five days ago.”

Seeing the other person's confident tone, Igris couldn't help but frown.

The familiar sense of disorientation returned at this moment.

The Gods' Fool - The Castle's Invitation: Chapter Eighteen, The Mirror's Favor

On the other side, in front of the secret vault gate.

"Actually, to be honest, this thing isn't as valuable as you might think. It's just that even though my father is in his current state, he still keeps thinking about it. I'm happy to keep it in this secret vault for the sake of his memory. Otherwise, it wouldn't be so troublesome."

Buze took out his key, inserted it directly into the lock of the main gate of the secret vault, and turned it gently.

“When the police returned this item, I was the one who handled it. I didn’t see anything particularly wrong with it, and I didn’t really understand its value. To me, it was probably just a slightly more valuable stone.”

Nan Ke remained silent, inserted his own key, and gently turned the door to the secret vault.

"If it were in the past, people would probably come here just to see this so-called Tear of the Ocean, but not anymore. This kind of thing is just a formality. All the guests at this banquet are my close friends. They are here to celebrate Nan Ke's birthday in a sincere way. In their eyes, Nan Ke is like their own younger brother. This is completely different from the flattery in the world of fame and fortune."

Buze seemed very talkative, but he was actually explaining everything to Nan II Qi Yi Shan Liu Suo Ke, including his attitude towards the gem itself.

Just as he had emphasized countless times, but Nanko could never understand, Buze never cared about the so-called family. The only person he truly cared about was Nanko, his only younger brother. Everything he did was just to help Nanko grow up and become someone who could stand on his own.

Nanko's plan was doomed from the start, because even if he did lose the gem and show the fake to everyone at the banquet, they wouldn't say much, let alone rush to kick Nanko off the stage.

They always need an opportunity to get to know each other and communicate properly to prove their feelings and thoughts to each other, instead of each doing what they think they are fighting for, only to end up making the relationship very strained.

Igris had actually reminded Nanko many times, and although he was still not very willing to face his brother, at least he was finally able to listen to what she said.

Olivia was not a good person to persuade him. In terms of interpersonal relationships, Olivia was even worse than Nanko, so no matter what she said, it would not have any effect. In addition, she was too lazy to persuade Nanko.

She always felt that since it was someone else's family matter, how could she meddle in it?

"Instead of all that, we can chat later, right? The lock's already open, aren't you going to open the door?"

"...Haha, you're right."

Buze smiled, looked at the silent Nanke to the side, and at the same time pushed open the heavy door of the church, exposing the crystal display stand inside to everyone's eyes.

Then, they both froze on the spot.

"really…"

"how is this possible?"

No one else can get in here.

The display stand in front of the three people, where the Ocean Tear gem should have been placed, was completely empty; there was nothing there.

Ignoring the two who were both stunned, Olivia went straight into the room. She looked around but found nothing suspicious, so she began to search for something in the crystal display case.

Just as she had expected, she found a hidden compartment that perfectly matched everything in the story.

As she pressed the hidden compartment, the crystal display stand slowly rose, revealing the part hidden under the floor and showing it to everyone.

"really…"

Olivia slowly stepped aside, revealing the hidden compartment in the display case to everyone.

"Just as I expected..."

Before them, neither directly above the display case nor in the hidden compartment, was there any trace of the Tear of the Ocean.

Regardless of how it was done, there is no doubt that someone stole the gem, in a completely sealed place with no exit whatsoever, from a hidden compartment.

"...I'm going to call the police."

Buze left without hesitation, while Nanke was slightly stunned, looking at the empty display stand and then at the key in his hand.

"Southern Science and Technology".

Olivia's call made him raise his head and look at Olivia, whose face was solemn.

"Gather everyone together and don't let them leave here."

"OK…"

……

When Igris came to her senses, she found herself leaning against another version of herself.

Or rather, it was the very thing that kindly helped Igris up, preventing her from falling directly to the ground.

However, if Igris really fell to the ground, she would probably wake up immediately.

"You're quite helpful."

"Your hands move faster than your brain. I don't know why, but I feel like you're quite approachable."

Unfortunately, it was just a mirror image; otherwise, Igris would have thought the scene was quite heartwarming. As for its description of intimacy, it was probably due to Igris's title.

The familiar feeling she had just experienced did not provide Igris with any further clues. Unlike most of the previous flashbacks, this time she only felt a little dizzy, and the images that flashed before her eyes remained unchanged, showing her in the sea of ​​fire.

"Are you going to keep spacing out here? Actually, I don't mind if you stay here with me a little longer. You know, I don't have anyone to talk to in a place like this, which is why I seem so talkative. But I'm not that annoying, am I? At least you don't seem like the kind of person who would mind talking to me. Can I introduce myself? My name is Mirror Image, that's my name. Actually, you can call me by other names, like Mirror Demon, Mirror Nightmare, whatever you like, I won't mind."

"Shut up!"

Igris finally couldn't take it anymore and snapped at the incessantly muttering mirror image, silencing it completely.

"...What, you were just complaining about me, but now you're starting to chat with me on your own initiative?"

"After all, you seemed like the kind of terrorist who only knew how to use violence before, but just now you showed some vulnerability, which makes me feel a little safer. So I would rather communicate with you like this than with someone who only knows how to use violence."

"You talk too much... I'm leaving now."

"You're leaving already? Why don't you take me with you? It's too dark here, and there's no one to talk to. You must be looking for company, right? Look, I can become anything you want. Please take me with you! Please! Take me with you!"

Is this title really that powerful? In the blink of an eye, this guy went from looking at her with complete dislike to acting like a pet begging to be adopted.

"I can't take you with me, this mirror is too big."

"Break it, just break it. It's okay to carry a shard with you, right? I understand, you don't trust me."

It suddenly turned around and punched the mirror, cracking the surface but not breaking it.

"...Ha, it hurts a little, but it doesn't seem like enough."

It chuckled awkwardly, then punched the mirror again, shattering it instantly. Countless fragments scattered across the ground, and a wound appeared on its fist, from which bright red blood flowed.

"You used to bleed?"

"The only difference between you and me is the way we address each other. I can do everything you can think of."

The mirror image picked out the most pleasing-looking fragment and handed it to Igris, who hesitated for a moment before finally accepting it.

The next instant, the mirror image standing in front of her vanished, and the basement returned to silence.

But at that moment, a mechanical voice that hadn't been heard for a long time rang in her mind.

The Gods' Fool - The Castle's Invitation: Chapter Nineteen, The New Title

You met another version of yourself, even if it was worthless in your eyes, (but at least it) looked a lot like you.

Title obtained: Mirror.

—You can use the mirror to summon a mirror image. While the mirror image is present, you are not easily detected until it breaks. Each use cannot be repeated for half an hour. The mirror image will mimic your usual actions and habits and will break when hit by any attack.

Note: What is sculpted is ultimately just a shadow; a gust of wind and it vanishes.

A new title! Igris hadn't seen a new title in a while, and this one was much more powerful than she'd expected.

Whether it's using a mirror image to draw fire and launch a sneak attack during battle, using a mirror image to attract attention during infiltration to make the main body safer, or simply creating a mirror image while listening to someone nagging, you can just go and daydream.

Most importantly, this thing doesn't require any cost; all you need is a mirror and a half-hour interval between uses.

That's enough anyway, but Igris still wants to experiment with it now.

After all, strictly speaking, this should be considered the first active skill that her title gave her? So how to create a mirror image is also something she needs to consider.

And coincidentally, she happened to have a shard of mirror in her hand, which she could perhaps use to experiment.