Deception

When Igola finally came out for breakfast, he gave Yaxiu a subtle wink, and Yaxiu understood at once. Once breakfast was over, Yaxiu took a detour and headed to Igola's room, where the swindler was already waiting for him. Not standing on ceremony in the slightest, Yaxiu plopped straight onto his bed. "What kind of mission did you and Annan go on last night?" "Now that's a long story." Igola sat in a cushioned armchair, picking up a bottle to pour a splash of sky-blue liquor into a glass. Only then did Yaxiu notice that Igola actually had a liquor cabinet in his room. When it came to material comforts, Annan was extraordinarily generous to them. Practically all they had to do was say the word to Banjie, and the butler would order takeout to deliver whatever they desired. Of course, there was another possibility—Gospel Country was a nation of vastly developed productive forces. Staples like meat, eggs, milk, and wine were practically treated as basic public welfare supplies. No matter how much Yaxiu and the others consumed, it wasn't considered wasteful; if anything, it helped stimulate the internal economic cycle of Gospel Country. The most fundamental indicator of any developed society was food. In the Blood Moon Country, even bottom-tier ogres could eat their fill of meat every single day, so there was no reason Gospel Country couldn't achieve the same. If the commoners at the very bottom here rinsed their mouths with red wine, ate steak as their daily staple, bathed in pasteurized milk, and had an average BMI well over thirty across the entire population, Yaxiu wouldn't be the least bit surprised. "Where's mine?" Yaxiu asked. Igola thought about it, took out another glass, picked up a pitcher, and poured Yaxiu a glass of water. "Better than nothing." Yaxiu rolled his eyes at him, took the glass, and downed it in one gulp. Then Igola remarked, "That guy last night drank the poison I prepared just like that, too." *Pfft!* Yaxiu spat out a mouthful of water. Fully prepared, Igola waved a hand gently. A sudden gust of wind stirred in the room, blowing the spray right back into Yaxiu's face. "Last night, Annan took me to a sky manor in the second-layer city." Igola gazed out at the inverted city outside and said, "Perhaps you think Annan's place is already quite nice? But if you saw that manor, you'd think this place was fit only for paupers. "The ceiling was a heat-insulating glass canopy—basking in brilliance by day, gazing at the sea of stars by night. The courtyard featured a garden in perennial bloom. The manor's master seemed rather fascinated by alchemical creatures, even carving out a dedicated mini-zoo packed entirely with chimera alchemical beasts. "Every surface exposed to the air—the walls, the floors—was made of the most expensive miracle construction materials, powered on a daily basis by solar energy. It maintained a perpetual 'Cleanse' miracle automatically. Not a speck of dust existed indoors, and every area was a sterile zone. The only two servants were a pair of alchemical maids that looked almost identical to real humans—one tall and sexy with long, straight black hair, the other a petite, delicate loli with pink hair. If mind sorcery spirits weren't useless against them, I never would have realized they were alchemical creations. "Yet inside that immense, lavish manor lived only one person—Count Russell. Although the aristocratic system of Gospel Country has declined, remnants of the old era like him still persist. Or rather, the wealthy elite of the new era all yearn to be relics of the old. "He looked remarkably young, with fair, tender skin, dressed in a silk nightrobe. But the decrepit decay in his voice and the undisguised, revolting lust in his eyes when he looked at Annan were more than enough to prove he was an old bastard who should have been buried in the dirt long ago. He had merely preserved his quality of life using power and influence. "Curiously enough, his interest in me seemed even more burning," Igola said with an open-handed shrug. "Perhaps that was why Miss Annan brought me along. I won't bore you with the details in between; all you need to know is that we put the master of the manor to sleep." "To sleep?" "Yes, to sleep." Igola turned the ring on his finger. "Given his physical constitution and the life-support setup we arranged for him, he should slumber for about five months—after which he'll become Harvey's favorite kind of petri dish for white maggots. As a prominent figure, his corpse will certainly attract the Red Hats for a visit in five months, but if Annan doesn't care, I naturally don't mind either. By then, our contract will have expired anyway. "And as our fee for helping him drift off, Annan and I chopped off his little hands and gouged out his little eyes to pass the manor's fingerprint and retinal scans, gaining entry into the secret chamber inside. What followed, of course, was a zero-dollar shopping spree. Most of the loot was taken by Annan, though, since the vast majority consisted of contract deeds and bank certificates, which I couldn't liquidate even if I took them. "The only thing I grabbed was this." Igola walked over to the suitcase he had brought back and pulled out a black velvet box, handing it to Yaxiu. Yaxiu opened the box to find a light-red gradient mask. It felt nearly as smooth as silk yet remarkably sturdy. Putting it over his head, it proved exceptionally breathable, feeling as if he wasn't wearing anything at all. Moreover, the mask seemed to have an auto-adjusting function; within three seconds of putting it on, it conformed snugly to the contours of Yaxiu's nose and mouth. He turned to look in the mirror. Paired with the dark red trench coat Lisi had gifted him, Yaxiu now exuded an air of mystery and asceticism—resembling the kind of villain in television dramas who could make audiences throw their moral compass out the window. Yaxiu was extremely satisfied with this look as well—his personal assessment was that he was 'so handsome it made a person wish he never had to take a shit.' "Supposedly, this was the final masterpiece of a Sanctuary alchemist. Although it shows no ripples of sorcery power, wearing it allows one to ward off the vast majority of mental prying while substantially boosting one's personal charisma. It's known as the 'Mind Mask.'" Igola took a sip of his blue liquor and said, "If you like it, it's yours." "Are you for real?" "It's not as though a mind sorcerer like me needs an item to conceal his face; my expressions are my weapons." Igola seemed genuinely indifferent. "To be frank, there weren't many treasures in that secret vault that caught my eye. I only brought it back because I remembered you needed a mask." Yaxiu blinked, took off the mask, and said, "So you picked this out specifically as a gift for me?" "If you wish to look at it that way, I won't object," Igola replied casually, swirling his glass of blue liquor. *A gift picked out specifically for me?* *A gift that only I get?* Igola watched Yaxiu's expression shift from confusion to touched, then to a hint of embarrassment, before finally settling back into suspicion. The cult leader pondered for a moment, then abruptly turned his head toward the suitcase sitting in the corner of the room. Igola's brows twitched. He stood up and said, "All right, you should get going. I still have things to—" Yaxiu dashed straight over and threw open the suitcase, only to find it packed to the brim with black velvet boxes—identical to the one Igola had just handed him. He turned to Igola, pointed at the suitcase, and said: "(＃￣～￣＃) What are these?" "...If I said I bought them to stuff under the bed, would you believe me?" "So that manor was fake? Count Russell was fake too?" Yaxiu said, holding up the 'Mind Mask.' "You just bought this mask randomly for me, and to inflate its value and fool me into thinking you specially bought it just for me—a one-of-a-kind gift—you fabricated this looooong story?" Igola shook his head, wearing a disappointed 'you are hopeless' expression. "A gift is a gift—the object is secondary, the thought is what counts. If I hadn't attached so much meaning to this gift, would you have been so delighted just a moment ago? "Without a story behind it, a gift is merely a cold piece of handiwork. The essence of being a mind sorcerer is to bestow thrilling meaning upon mundane things. "Have you ever watched a magic trick? What you're doing right now is like a child being a smart-ass during a stage performance, loudly blurting out the secret behind the trick. That doesn't just ruin the performer's mood; it robs you of the joy of watching the show." Igola lectured earnestly, "Fortunately, I don't hold a grudge. But don't do this next time, Yaxiu. People will think you're utterly incapable of reading the room." "Why are you talking like this is my fault? I'm the victim who was almost swindled by you!" Yaxiu retorted, exasperated. "So how many times were you planning to tell that story?" "Do I look that lazy to you?" Igola said. "Naturally, I would tailor an exclusive story for each client. A chaotic good type like you, Yaxiu, would definitely relish a satisfying tale about 'a filthy aristocrat getting robbed by fellow scoundrels.' But for a chaotic neutral necromancer like Harvey, I planned to spin a yarn about 'discovering a torture device soaked in the blood of victims while wiping out a gang.' As for Lisi, her story would naturally be different..." "Igola, you are such a manipulative little bitch." "Don't sell me out, now," Igola cautioned. "I'm just trying to win them over with gifts. When you leave, don't go telling anyone that I gave you that mask. 'I only got a gift for you, no one else' is a crucial bonus point for building affection." "I couldn't care less about getting involved in your little games," Yaxiu huffed. "And here I was thinking... you named names and provided so many vivid details that I almost bought it." "To be honest, the fact that you actually saw through the ruse makes me feel like I need to do some self-reflection," Igola mused. "If I couldn't even fool you, I really do need to optimize the pacing of my storytelling... Out with you, out with you. I need to wait for my next guest." Yaxiu snorted and took his mask to leave. Just before pushing the door open, however, he paused and said, "Be that as it may, I really like this mask. Thanks." "Please! When you get back! Record this in your diary immediately!" Igola called out. "Remember to work like a beast of burden in the future to repay the boundless kindness of Mr. Bogin!" Watching Yaxiu leave the room, Igola walked over, closed the suitcase neatly, and shoved it beneath the bed. He went into the bathroom to draw the water for his morning bath routine—it wasn't just a habit; he had been busy all night and was sticky all over. Soaking in the toasty warm water instantly felt like ascending to heaven. After finishing his bath, Igola brushed his teeth. Subconsciously, he resonated with 'Revelation,' only to see white foam leave a line of text upon the mirror— *Don't let anyone know you're happy.* Looking at the upturned corners of his mouth in the mirror, Igola froze for a brief moment, then chuckled and let out a light snort.