She is not an investigator.

She felt a little lost.

This is normal, though. Perhaps the city is suffocating her, or perhaps she simply doesn't fit into the atmosphere.

You'll get used to it in no time.

"Go back to our office, or you can go to the pet store first, depending on your mood?"

"Then, I want to eat meat."

———— (Divider)

On September 28th, in late autumn, South Konoval was executed and buried in the cemetery of Molkens.

It was very ordinary. Because of his status, he even had his own tombstone, on which were engraved his last words.

"Here lie the sinners."

That's his epitaph; he must have chosen it himself.

He's really not suited to be a writer; at least, sentences like that don't resonate with anyone. Igris thought so too.

"let's go."

Igris snapped out of her reverie at the tombstone and looked at Olivia, who was holding an umbrella beside her.

It's always rainy in Molkens, and carrying an umbrella when you go out is common sense for everyone living here, but Igris didn't.

So half of Olympia's body was already soaked by the rain, but Belle (Grissom) only just realized that it was raining now.

"Want to go out for dinner? It's on me."

"Okay."

Seeing Olivia's half-exposed body outside the umbrella, Iglesias tactfully moved closer to her.

She won't forget to bring an umbrella next time.

What would you like to eat?

"Meat."

"...I probably asked this question unnecessarily."

……

Iglesias and Olivia went to a restaurant, which served as temporary shelter from the rain.

This place was quite different from the Qishan Lengsiqun that Igris had visited before. It was more luxurious and quieter than she had imagined, with soothing piano music playing in the background.

"I feel like it will be very expensive."

"I have nothing, except money."

Olivia demonstrated to Igris what it means to be a wealthy woman with such ease, casually tossing the menu to Igris and telling her to order whatever she wanted.

At least Igris was already trembling a little when she saw the prices.

She's probably been poor for too long and doesn't understand what it means to be rich.

"That…"

Igris held up the menu and was about to say something when the surrounding sounds suddenly disappeared, and a layer of mist immediately settled over the otherwise brightly lit restaurant.

Opposite her, in the seat that should have been Olivia's, sat a dark-skinned man with white hair, looking at the menu in Igris's hand with great interest.

"Want to eat this?"

"...Why are you here again?"

Igris put down the menu in her hand, frowned slightly, and looked at this ominous presence that seemed to have already entangled her.

"Isn't it a normal procedure for the backstage staff to come out and express their gratitude after a performance?"

The man's fingers tapped lightly on the table as usual, watching Igris with interest.

I am not satisfied with your performance.

"Oh…"

Igris didn't know what to say. After all, she couldn't very well go back and perform again, or dig Nanko out of his grave and resurrect him for another round.

"But I don't dislike it either."

Igris didn't speak, she just stared at him blankly, not understanding what he wanted to do.

"Overall, as a performance, it wasn't exciting or engaging enough, and the story was even a bit disjointed... If I had to rate it, I'd only give it five points. But you weren't the main character this time, and you did do what you were supposed to do, even things I didn't expect, so I quite admire you."

"Thank you."

"...It seems you don't want to waste your time with me? But it's true, if we have too much of this kind of communication, the audience will probably get tired of it. I just wanted to praise you. You did a good job, although I'm not satisfied with it, but you did a good job."

The man tossed her a pocket watch that looked very familiar to Igris and tapped the table again.

"This is your reward. I look forward to your future performances."

"It would be best if they never came again..."

"what?"

Everything left in front of Igris's eyes suddenly disappeared, and the man who had just stood there instantly turned into Igris. He looked at Igris with some confusion.

"The cost of this kind of place is too much for me. It would be best if I could stay away from it again."

Igris pretended nothing had happened and secretly glanced at the pocket watch in her hand.

Whoever that guy is, he doesn't seem like someone Igris could mess with.

"Would you like me to cut your steak?"

"Thank you."

But now, Igris can probably enjoy a life where even meals are taken care of.

It's a pity that the Mirror Demon couldn't bring it out with it in the end.

"Where did this rabbit come from?!"

A sudden commotion erupted in the restaurant. Then, to Igris's somewhat stunned gaze, a white rabbit suddenly leaped onto the table and stopped in front of her, something dangling from its mouth.

"rabbit…"

It twitched its nose, dropped what was in its mouth onto the table, and then, driven away by other staff members, quickly fled the restaurant.

Everything happened so suddenly that Igris was only now realizing what it was that she had placed on the table.

That was a fragment.

A shard of a mirror.

"...Ha, welcome back."

……

[You are the fool who strayed into the spiral, and also the madman who broke it. You observe fate, and you witness fate; you are both an observer and a participant. The cycle of time has not hardened your mind, nor have beautiful illusions made you abandon your destiny. You have won, once again.]

[Title Acquired: Madman Who Shattered the Spiral]

—You will not be affected by most existing mental pollution, except in some very special cases.

Note: You should know what "extremely special cases" refers to.

Title Obtained: Witness of the Castle

—You have witnessed the rise and fall of ancient times, which makes you seem more mysterious.

Note: This is only what it appears to be.

[Title Acquired: Marksmanship Mastery]

—Your shooting feedback rate will increase.

Note: A steady hand leads to more accurate shots.

The Gods' Fool's Play - The Castle's Invitation: The End!

That concludes the content of Volume Two. This volume doesn't feature many intense battles or terrifying monsters, so it's somewhat uneventful.

Some people may wonder what this story is about, but I can't answer that question either. On the surface, it's just a story about a wishing machine that ends with the machine being smashed, but it could also be another story.

Why did the rabbit disappear? And who is the hunter? There are still many unanswered questions in this story, but in this story, those questions may no longer matter.

Just like the theme of fate in the second volume, Nan Ke ultimately lost everything, in exchange for a fate that would be despised by almost everyone, even causing the deaths of everyone and ending the life of his own family.

From any perspective, all of this makes us feel it's not worth it, but in the end, he seems to have gained a lot.

What I want to say is that on the road to fighting against fate, some people will always fail, while others will give their all. There is no such thing as a wish-granting machine in the world, and time will not bring a second chance.

Many plot points in Volume 2 of Zero are not essential. To a certain extent, they merely allude to certain special information and do not have any real practical significance for advancing the main storyline. However, Volume 2 is a transitional volume, so its greatest significance is probably to slightly enhance Igris's combat power to prepare for the tough battles to come.

And, I'd like to mention here that, for me, when I wrote this book, it wasn't simply to describe those terrifying monsters, indescribable gods, or bloody cult rituals. I also don't want you to only experience the insignificance and nihilism of humanity within the Cthulhu pantheon. What's truly important is the people who still strive to fight against this desperate backdrop. That's why the protagonist is a relative altruist, a hero in an abstract sense.

I've been thinking about this for a long time, and I hope everyone will continue to support me. I've already described the theme of the third volume when it was first released, so the theme was decided a long, long time ago.

The Last Knight – you can probably guess a lot about the plot just by looking at the name, so I won't spoil anything.

Finally, see you in Volume 3.

The Gods' Fool - The Last Knight: Chapter One, The Detective Agency of Morkens

In the drizzling rain of Molkens, the streets appeared particularly desolate and lonely. A light drizzle fell slowly from the gray sky, casting a somber hue over everything. Along the streets, the old red-brick buildings appeared even heavier in the wet rain, a thin mist veiling the windows, through which one could see blurred lights and silent shadows within.

On the street, sparse pedestrians hurried by, their umbrellas appearing particularly pale against the gray background. Their footsteps left scattered splashes of water on the damp ground, creating an indescribable sense of loneliness along with the low patter of the rain.

The streetlights cast a weak and feeble glow in the rain, barely illuminating the wet streets ahead. The trees along the roadside swayed in the wind and rain, and the entire city was shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere, as if enveloped by endless rain and dark clouds, devoid of any life or vitality.

September 30th was Igris's third day in the city, and her first day officially settling into her work at the firm.

As a detective's assistant, Igris's daily work is actually quite simple: she sits in the office, greets all the customers who come in, listens to their requests and requests, and decides whether to accept the case.

The person who should have taken on the case was Olivia, but she didn't intend to handle it herself, since there were very few truly groundbreaking cases in the city that would warrant her involvement.

So naturally, Qigelis became her filter for some meaningless tasks, such as searching for lost pets.

They weren't street detectives who were so poor they couldn't afford to eat, so they didn't need these playful commissions to make a living, although Igris sometimes couldn't resist taking on a few commissions to earn some pocket money.

The cost of living in this city was much higher than she had imagined. A regular loaf of black bread cost three copper coins here, not to mention the more expensive white bread.

This is probably the reason for inflation in industrial cities: high incomes also bring higher expenses and more work pressure.