When the plot-skips players into the game world

Aiwass Moriarty was kidnapped and disappeared, which should be the biggest news on Glass Island recently.

Moreover, this news is like a serial drama—first, he made it to the front page headlines several times for continuously thwarting the plots of the Noble Red Society, and was eventually awarded the Holy Sword Medal out of turn for his meritorious deeds.

But before a week had passed, he was captured by the members of the Noble Red Society who stormed into the school.

"Judging from the battle traces, Aiwass put up a very fierce resistance. He even took down several Transcendents far stronger than himself… but alas, he was outnumbered. Hayna, I remember you have a pretty good relationship with Aiwass, right?"

"Huh? Oh…"

Hayna listened to her roommates discussing the recent news, somewhat absent-minded: "Yes."

She was pondering something.

Was Aiwass really in trouble now?

Or rather, was his current disappearance part of Aiwass's plan?

Aiwass had previously mentioned to her that he might have to fake his own death like Sherlock did. But now that he was truly in trouble, Hayna couldn't help but wonder… was the "fake death" Aiwass mentioned this time?

She felt a bit anxious.

What if Aiwass's plan failed?

If the fake death he spoke of wasn't this time but later, what would happen? That is to say, he was really attacked suddenly and really kidnapped, which was also possible, right?

"What does the Noble Red Society specifically want by capturing Aiwass? Do they want to torture him?"

"Indeed, that doesn't make much sense. If it was for revenge, they should have killed Aiwass directly, right? Carrying a live person with them, it's not easy for them to escape either."

"Isn't it to interrogate him? Maybe Aiwass knows some secret, so they had to capture him alive."

"But there's no need to rush into the school to kidnap him, right? Our school is Department Head Meg's territory... Although she's not usually around, she's definitely going to be angry after this incident."

"I think, could it be that they wanted to exchange hostages?"

"That's also a possibility. But the people from the Noble Red Society that were caught, weren't they all hanged?"

"Maybe there are still some alive."

"Impossible, if there were live ones, the newspapers would definitely report it right away to pressure them."

"Then could it be that they want to exchange Aiwass for a list of traitors? That's how it's always written in novels, right?"

Hayna's roommates gathered together, chattering about the matter.

And all thanks to Aiwass.

Originally on Glass Island, many people simply had no comprehension of the Noble Red Society. Perhaps in the rural towns more people knew, but Demon Scholars were rarely seen in big cities—there were too many educated Inspectors and Priests, who could easily spot the traces of rituals and Demons.

But thanks to Aiwass's several front-page headlines, people quickly started paying attention to these Demon Scholars. After the news from the Glass Staircase Daily, other newspapers, in order to chase the trend, would interview some senior Inspectors or Bishops to inquire about the Demon Scholars and the Noble Red, and promptly release them, explaining "what the Noble Red Society has done."

"What do you think, Hayna?"

Suddenly, Hayna felt someone touch her and asked, "Does the Supervisory Bureau have any inside information?"

But this question broke Hayna's contemplation and hesitation.

She decided not to hesitate any longer, got up from the bed, threw on her coat, and rushed out: "I don't know, I'm going out for a bit, you guys chat—"

Watching Hayna leave, the dormitory fell silent for a while.

Her roommate, who often went to the Old Captain Bar to fish for men, sighed: "It seems Hayna really cares a lot about Aiwass."

"She wouldn't have fallen for Aiwass, would she?"

Another person raised a possibility.

"Who wouldn't like Aiwass? He's handsome and gentle, and he's a Moriarty, after all."

The other person countered.

Thus, the few who didn't have class gathered together again to start chatting, this time turning to talk about Hayna.

As for Hayna, she initially wanted to find Department Head Meg. But she didn't know where the other party was, so after running around in circles and finding nothing, she turned to look for Sherlock instead.

With his Wisdom, he would definitely know what Aiwass's situation was like! Read new chapters at empire

She first ran to Mrs. Mina's Fortune Telling Shop, planning to enter through the back door, only to unexpectedly find that they were closed.

Consequently, Hayna's heart skipped a beat.

She ran nervously to the front door and knocked.

The door was opened by Mrs. Mina.

"Oh, it's Hayna."

Mrs. Mina, already acquainted with her, smiled and said, "You're here so early today?"

Because both Bishop Mathers and Mrs. Mina had many secrets and didn't like to use people.

So, they don't like to hire servants on regular days, and they don't even have a housekeeper.

For those who can enter the Round Table Hall, this was already considered eccentric and unsociable. But Mathers was after all a bishop and also a Clergy Councilor. Thus, this instead became a style of an ascetic monk living a life of frugality, which was highly praised by everyone.

After all, Mrs. Mina could handle ordinary household chores by herself at home, and for those that were troublesome and exhausting, they would borrow servants from friends' houses to help.

After Sherlock moved in, whenever Hayna came to deliver messages to Aiwass, she would also lend a hand—after all, at home, she would be the one doing these kinds of tasks.

Eagle Cape Village wasn't like Glass Island. There weren't those social norms of "having to let the servants handle everything else it would seem undignified," or "the guests can't do anything or speak out at the moment, but need to be subtly informed afterwards."

Hayna simply saw there was work to be done and naturally helped out. She didn't have any particular thoughts about it; if anything, she felt a bit too idle and not at all tired—if she were tired, she wouldn't do it and could just plonk herself on the bed and lie down for the whole day.

Luckily, the Mathers couple shared a similar mindset, so they took no offense and instead found Hayna very adorable. She was just relaying messages back and forth between Aiwass and Sherlock, but she became a popular child.

"I'm here to see Mr. Sherlock… has Mr. Sherlock gotten up yet?"

Hayna asked with a hint of nervousness.

The last time she came over, it was nearly ten in the morning and Sherlock was still not awake. She waited in the living room for more than an hour. By the time Sherlock woke up, he still acted groggy and was petulantly irritable for quite a while. When Sherlock wasn't fully awake, his tongue was sharper than usual.

"Um, they have already finished eating and are playing chess now."

Mrs. Mina answered.

…Playing chess?

Mr. Sherlock and Bishop Mathers?

Hayna felt puzzled but thanked Mrs. Mina and followed her upstairs.

Then, reaching the second floor, in front of Sherlock's bedroom,

she suddenly heard a familiar voice from inside, "Checkmate. Aren't you going to change the game? If we switch to bridge, I probably won't win… Ah, Hayna is here, too. We can set up a game for four."

Upon hearing this, Hayna was startled.

But she immediately felt a surge of joy—like a child who craved sweets and got a taste of honey. The whole world seemed sweeter, and The Sun was shining brightly.

She immediately knocked on the door and, without waiting for a response, pushed the door open eagerly.

"You're really alright, Aiwass!"

In the room, Aiwass was seen reclining backward in his seat, legs crossed with the left one swinging. His face was covered with a confident smile.

That demeanor was completely different from the obedient and gentle temperament he had when he was in the wheelchair.

Bathed in the golden sunlight of the morning, red butterflies fluttered around his fingertips.

Only after truly leaving the wheelchair and sitting in a seat just as high as the others did Hayna realize that Aiwass and Sherlock were about the same height. But at this moment, Aiwass seemed even taller.

And Sherlock, across from him, was frowning deeply, his arms propped on his knees and his hands under his chin, as he pondered over the chess game.

Lily sat close to Aiwass, right next to him. She too was smiling, and was the first to look up at Hayna.

Sherlock paid her no attention.

He just focused on the chessboard and murmured softly, "This is tricky. I was in a dominant position at the beginning, but at what point did it turn against me…"

After pondering for a long while, he finally moved a chess piece, "Though I have already lost, I still want to finish the game."

Aiwass then smiled and said, "Because you don't understand a principle, Sherlock. Chess is not purely a game of logic; it's related to psychological warfare. From this angle, a threat is always more powerful than capturing a piece… because I choose not to let you handle the situation I've created, but rather use the anticipated pressure to increase your cognitive load and psychological stress.

"By using a defensive strategy to gradually weaken you, I apply pressure when you become impatient, forcing you to make mistakes. The prouder a person is, the less they can tolerate their own errors... and in repetition, your strategy will gradually warp. Your goal shifts from 'seizing victory' to 'solving the puzzles I pose.'

"From this viewpoint, some plans don't need to be actually implemented. Just making the opponent aware of the possibility is effective enough—the impact it creates is the result."

With that, Aiwass placed the white queen, "Checkmate. I have won three times in a row now, Sherlock. Your urge to attack is too strong, and it blinds you to the threat placed on you."

"That's why I am here."

Sherlock replied, "That's only logical."

Aiwass shook his head with a smile, "Attack doesn't signify an advantage, and relentless assault doesn't signify victory. It was I who gave up my turn to attack, allowing you to launch consecutive offensives… Some people yield because they are indeed weak, but others give up their attack to preserve their agility."

"Like how you choose to stay put here?" Sherlocks retorted.

"Right."

Aiwass picked up the white queen, holding it between the index and middle fingers of his right hand, showing it to Sherlock.

"Once I leap off the chessboard, I'm no longer just a chess piece. Now I can go anywhere, and it makes them anxious. Anxiety leads to mistakes. Mistakes lead to death. And when they die, they desire to drag others down with them."

The young man with platinum-gold hair narrowed his eyes like a fox, "Just watch, Sherlock... just watch.

"They won't last long, I've already applied all the pressure needed. Now, it's their turn to attack."

Sherlock looked towards Aiwass Moriarty in the sunlight.

For the first time, he realized that he might have never truly understood his friend.