She is not an investigator.

"?"

"?" Erjiu was angry and Liu Jiu also stopped.

Igris and Rag looked at the Mirror Demon at the same time, and the Mirror Demon, somewhat embarrassed, took two steps back and simply crawled into the mirror in Igris's hand.

"I'm sorry, but all I know is that he came here about two weeks ago, and the person who called him here was Nan Ke."

"It seems its usefulness isn't that great?"

Rag's expression turned somewhat strange as he looked at Igris with uncertainty.

"...Never mind, it would be unreasonable if things were that simple."

Although our expectations were dashed, at least we ruled out a useless answer, didn't we?

The Gods' Fool - The Castle's Invitation: Chapter Twenty-Nine, The Truth Hidden in the Past

"It seems that's all for today's progress."

Rag stretched his body and shook his head.

"Let's talk about it tomorrow. I need to go and rest."

"I don't need to return the crowbar, right?"

Rag hesitated for a moment, then nodded helplessly when he saw that Igris had no intention of letting go.

"Keep it, it's useless to me."

It's not that it's useless, since his profession is mechanical engineer and having a crowbar would definitely make things easier in some tasks. But the problem is that he doesn't need to do those tasks anymore.

Thank you for the gift.

This was one of the few times Iglesias expressed genuine gratitude, after all, no one knew just how important a crowbar was to her.

"Alright, let's talk about it tomorrow..."

Rag waved his hand and left on his own. Igris didn't know where he was going. Just like in the last cycle, Igris hardly saw him. She only noticed him when he showed up on his own.

However, it is indeed not early now. After all, Igris needs to rest, not to mention that her body is not so robust right now.

After watching Rag leave, Igris quietly returned to her room.

The rabbit remained quietly lying in its cage, seemingly asleep. Igris then climbed onto the bed, preparing for her next nap.

Although we still don't have much of a clue, we can investigate Olivia's affairs more carefully tomorrow and maybe we can find some clues.

Thinking this, Igris slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep.

……

The noise woke Igris from her sleep, and when she opened her eyes, she found herself back in a familiar place.

"No way... Do I have to come here every time I go to sleep?"

This was undoubtedly the main hall of the castle, surrounded by many artifacts. The man standing at the front was Raymond, the one Igris had kept seeing even though he was in the hospital.

She's starting to suspect that someone has tampered with her bed.

However, she soon noticed some minor differences from before.

For example, the hall wasn't crowded as usual. Besides Igris, there was only one other person sitting quietly in the seat—a white-haired man who looked even more familiar to her—watching Raymond not far away.

Raymond didn't introduce the collection here; instead, he paced back and forth anxiously, occasionally examining something in his hands.

The earlier commotion had not spread to the hall; everything here was unusually quiet and peaceful, which made Igris feel somewhat uneasy.

Igris hesitated for a moment, but still walked over to the white-haired man in the suit and sat down opposite him under his gaze.

"...Who are you? I've seen you many times already."

The man in the suit casually wiggled his fingers, then extended his palm toward Igrispin.

Igris paused, not understanding what he meant, but he was getting a little impatient.

"Give me the pocket watch."

"…Why?"

Knowing the watch's abilities, Igris would never simply hand it over to him. If she lost even that, she would have no hope of escaping this cycle.

"There's no reason to take back what's been given away. This watch is broken. I thought you could try to fix it yourself, but it seems I was overthinking it."

The man tapped on the table and said impatiently.

“Give it to me, then sit here quietly and pray that no one will wake you up in your dreams.”

Igris eventually handed the pocket watch to him, after all, it was originally given to Igris by him, and judging from the pocket watch on Rag, it seemed that he had given it to more than just Igris.

"You really disappoint me, you know? Your ability to cause trouble has really decreased a lot compared to before."

As the man adjusted his pocket watch, he muttered something to himself, causing Igris to frown.

"You know me?"

"Who doesn't know you? That's hilarious."

The man tossed the adjusted pocket watch to Igris, then turned to look at Raymond in front of him.

"You're not finding any clues, are you? Then take a good look and see what he's up to, and see how everything he's done relates to your current situation."

As his voice fell, Raymond finally stopped dancing, and a figure slowly walked into the hall.

Igris had seen her, but the scene was probably not very pleasant.

Raymond's only wife slowly approached him.

What did you find?

She looked at Raymond with some concern, her voice reaching Igris's ears clearly, but they seemed not to see Igris, continuing their conversation as if they couldn't see her.

"The curse of the Noval family...the inevitable decline and demise."

When faced with his wife's questions, Raymond seemed to drop all his defenses in an instant, becoming exceptionally weak and powerless.

He loves his wife very much, and that's why he can let down his tough exterior and open his heart to her.

"But that's just a legend? You can't attribute the mistakes of our predecessors to some curse. Don't worry too much, we'll be fine."

Raymond shook his head and continued.

"But I still need to find another way... like our ancestors did, to make a deal with the supreme god in exchange for any hope..."

"Are you crazy?! Didn't I tell you not to look at those ancient books anymore?! Those are heretical texts, and if you're caught, you'll be arrested and jailed!"

Raymond hugged his wife tightly and burst into tears.

"But I can't... I can see it all, you'll leave me... you'll die right in front of me, no matter what I do, everything seems predetermined. There must be another way, there must be..."

The two embraced, Raymond's sobs faded into the distance, and their figures quickly darkened and disappeared into the shadows.

"What did you figure out?"

The man in the suit tapped on the table, drawing Igris's attention back, much like a director asking about his post-viewing experience.

"Raymond and his wife are very much in love, but he seems to foresee a bad outcome for his wife, so he is trying to change everything, even at the cost of breaking taboos?"

The man snapped his fingers and nodded in satisfaction.

"It seems you're not so foolish as to not notice the answer when it's laid out before you. Raymond did indeed do it, but he wasn't the first. His ancestors had already succeeded once, and this castle is their result."

"Is there really something wrong with this castle itself?"

"Shhh."

The man put his fingers to his lips, making a shushing gesture, and gestured for Igris to continue looking ahead.

As Igris's gaze followed, a gem shimmering with blue light came into view.

That is…

"Tears of the Ocean".

The Gods' Fool's Play - The Castle's Invitation: Chapter Thirty, Quiz with Prizes

"Tears of the Ocean..."

The gem's very presence has been diminished by this cycle, to the point that Igris has almost forgotten what was the most suspicious thing in the first place.

Before her, Raymond was also carefully holding the Tear of the Ocean, as if he were holding the most precious treasure of time.

"With it... as long as we have it, there is still a chance."

Behind him, his wife placed her hand on his shoulder and looked curiously at the gemstone.

"So beautiful... but it's just a gemstone."

"No, no...it's more than just a gemstone."

Raymond raised the Tear of the Ocean in his hand with fervor and whispered.

"It represents harvest, it represents reward, it represents hope, and it also represents... cost."

The fervor on his face suddenly faded considerably, and he stared blankly at the Tear of the Ocean in his hand, his expression suddenly becoming extremely heavy and sorrowful.

"Yes... what price do I have to pay?"

Raymond's wife stood quietly behind him, gently supporting his increasingly frail body, and sighed sadly.

"How long has it been since you had a proper rest? If this continues, you'll probably die before me."

"I don't have time to rest... For you, for our child, I have to do this..."

Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, his dull eyes became unusually excited and full of energy.

"I've got it! I've got it! The solution to everything is without any cost, none of us have to pay a price!"

He happily hugged his wife and laughed, but his wife's expression became increasingly uneasy.

He really needs to rest, for his own sake and for the sake of his family.

……

The screen slowly dimmed, and Igris turned to look at the man in the suit beside her.

"What did you figure out this time?"

The man in the suit looked at Igris with interest, and Igris, as expected, gave her a reply.