When the plot-skips players into the game world

Arsene sighed, "Mainly because I have no emotions left..."

He originally wanted to say, "It's all the fault of the Playful Sky Department."

But after all, he wasn't Aiwass, he didn't have the nerve to speak ill of the Celestial Marshal to their face.

However, Aiwass was undaunted and directly explained, "Because we encountered a fake Playful Sky Department impersonating you earlier..."

Aiwass explained the events they experienced earlier to Sherlock.

Arsene pointed to the Playful Sky Department beside him, "They were just... huh, where did they go?"

At this moment, they realized that the Playful Sky Department by their side had disappeared without a trace.

Clearly, at the very beginning, they were standing quietly beside them—

Sherlock listened to this and glanced at the empty space with contemplation.

He scrutinized Aiwass and Arsene and fell into serious thought.

Seeing this, Aiwass also squinted slightly.

"...I say,"

Suddenly, Sherlock spoke slowly, "Could it be that you are both transformed by the Playful Sky Department?"

"Huh?"

Arsene was a bit upset, "How could that be!"

"...No, it's not impossible,"

Aiwass suddenly spoke, "I also thought of this possibility just now...

"You wouldn't be... transformed by the Playful Sky Department too, would you?"

"How could that be!"

Arsene repeated his words, stating confidently, "This is definitely Sherlock! Those secrets, the Playful Sky Department couldn't possibly know... Their domain is scripting and acting, not secrets and mind!"

But Aiwass just locked eyes with Sherlock.

Sherlock spoke, "Let's compare our notes."

Aiwass asked, "Who was the first to speak?"

"It was me—how about on your side?" Sherlock countered.

"...It was the Playful Sky Department," Arsene said.

Aiwass pressed on, "Then, before I mentioned 'we encountered the Playful Sky Department,' did you hear us mention the Playful Sky Department?"

"—No."

Sherlock confidently stated, "Trust in my powers of observation and memory."

At this point, Aiwass and Sherlock exchanged a glance and laughed simultaneously.

Arsene still seemed to be lagging behind, "What? What are you two... talking about?"

"Our Mr. Strange Thief is best at making a getaway."

Sherlock sarcastically added, "Can't even solve such a simple puzzle? No wonder the Duke wanted me to handle this instead of his beloved—or maybe not so beloved—son-in-law."

"It's actually quite simple."

Aiwass replied, "If I'm not mistaken... this 'Sherlock' should still be played by the Playful Sky Department.

"—And at some distance away, on another side, the Sherlock there should be seeing the Playful Sky Department impersonating you and me."

It's like opening a master-level AI chess software and imitating the moves of the elderly chess player across the table, then synchronizing every response given by the AI onto the chessboard. Even the most experienced chess-playing elder would be dumbfounded.

It appears to be a game with a person, but in reality, the opponent is a Divine Descent container using "Advanced Divine Art - Master Level AI."

The strategy taken by the Playful Sky Department was similar.

They perfectly and almost synchronously replicated all the words, expressions, and glances of the two sides... and then synced them to the other side. So even for as familiar with each other as Aiwass and Sherlock are, they initially couldn't realize the issue.

"Seems I still have much to learn."

"Sherlock" laughed heartily, and once again changed back.

Wearing red clothes, with a mask, a gender-indistinguishable deity!

The dreamland twisted for a moment—

—The next moment, the two worlds completely merged.

Aiwass' side now had an additional Sherlock, while Sherlock's side had an extra Aiwass and Arsene.

"This time it's truly real."

With a smile mask, the Playful Sky Department bowed to the three, "Apologies, everyone. I just have one question... how did you find me out?"

Because apart from the barely perceptible delay, both sides were almost indistinguishable from the real person. Theoretically, merely transmitting messages, the Playful Sky Department couldn't simultaneously be discovered to be fake by both sides. Even if one side found out individually, they could cover it up with genuine reactions from the other side.

"It's really hard to distinguish."

Aiwass explained.

It wasn't until he mentioned the matter of the Playful Sky Department and saw Sherlock's reaction that he realized something was amiss.

—Because their first words when they met were really spoken by the Playful Sky Department.

Then, the first thing Aiwass said to Sherlock was also "Thanks to the Playful Sky Department's guidance." But Sherlock responded to everything Aiwass said except for that half-sentence, as if he hadn't heard it at all.

It wasn't until Aiwass directly said, "We encountered a fake Playful Sky Department impersonating you" that Sherlock seemed to finally hear about the Playful Sky Department's existence.

—Clearly, the Playful Sky Department deliberately left out this sentence when transmitting messages.

"Hmm, no need to apologize. This puzzle was quite interesting."

Sherlock also spoke, chuckling as he nodded, "I always felt something was off since I'm very familiar with Arsene. His reactions were visibly abnormal... so I kept observing him.

"And Arsene's position, his line of sight, and the direction he pointed to without hesitation all confirmed—there was a fourth person here all along. Previously, Aiwass also nodded toward the empty space, further validating my theory. But I was sure I couldn't have missed any detail... there were only two possibilities: either the Playful Sky Department didn't want me to see them, but then they wouldn't have appeared on Arsene's side; or, there was something wrong with what I was seeing. Aiwass' reaction confirmed it; something might be wrong with what he was seeing too."

"So you immediately discovered the truth—remarkable."

The Playful Sky Department applauded with praise, "I've just been too bored lately, so I came up with this little game, no malice, and hope you'll forgive me... However, you've passed my test. By my rules, I should reward you with something precious..."

"Give it to Sherlock, or even to Arsene. I don't need it."

Aiwass refused without hesitation, "I was just a bit curious, Lord Celestial Marshal...

"If you hadn't come the first time, and just came the second time... Sherlock and I wouldn't have recognized it. It was because of the loophole from the first time that we caught the clue in the second."

"—If I hadn't made you aware of my presence, this game wouldn't be fair from the start. It would have just been malicious deception!"

The Playful Sky Department laughed freely, stating without hesitation, "I just wanted to perform for you all—wanted to see if you could find the problem, and how long it would take for you to realize that I've always been with you. However, to my surprise, just as the performance began, even before the first scene could transition, you unveiled the truth all at once..."

"Because I heard a phrase from Isabel."

Aiwass spoke softly, "It was her summary of the Puppet-Face Manual... 'The original face of the riddle actually is the answer to the riddle itself.' When I first encountered you and learned you were the Playful Sky Department... I immediately thought of this phrase."

"Hahaha, so that's it!"

The Playful Sky Department laughed joyously, as if a spectator laughing heartily at a comedy.

They exclaimed, "But you still missed a layer—I haven't just met you!"

...What?

Aiwass was startled for a moment.

Arsene blurted out, "It was that Yue Lu! You've been following us since the Shadowy Celestial Marshal!"

"Exactly!! Now it's a full score!!!"

The Playful Sky Department snapped their fingers and finally laughed heartily, disappearing.

Where they disappeared, a crimson mask was left behind.

Aiwass glanced at it and recognized—it was the reward left for them.