The Sorcerer's Handbook

Chapter 229: It Might Not Even Be Me!

Everyone could tell that Iger was the only one who would choose No. Likewise, Iger bet on five Yes in the guessing round. Everyone guessed correctly, so the question was immediately nullified.

Iger gritted his teeth in frustration. ”You guys...”

Harvey spread his hands helplessly. ”There’s nothing I can do, Iger. The contract binds me. I have to answer honestly. It’s not that I don’t want to support you. It’s just that my heart won’t allow it. Even in my mind, only a neatly tailored skirt and solemn black stockings suit your corpse.”

Ashe raised his hand. ”Miss! Someone must have lied! How could anyone possibly choose No? Even Iger himself couldn’t choose No. He must have cheated!”

Annan shook her head calmly. ”How do you know it was Iger who chose No? Remember, no digging for the truth.”

Lys frowned, her eyes fixed on the six coins on the table.

Iger, still hosting, drew another slip from the black box, his face betraying surprise. ”Question. Would you give everything for the one you love?”

Ashe shot his hand up. ”Objection!”

Iger snapped. ”I didn’t even object to your previous question. Why object now?”

”Because my loved ones aren’t in this world,” Ashe said proudly. ”The question is too hypothetical! I don’t even know my own feelings. Ask a question more suitable for a single person!”

Annan interjected with a calm smile. ”Just because your loved ones aren’t here doesn’t mean you don’t have someone you love.”

”But they’re gone! How could I give everything for them?”

”Then imagine they are still here. Bring back the dead, call those who left to your side. If they don’t exist, make them exist. The Divine Lord’s wish can make anything you imagine come true.”

Ashe froze, struck by a bizarre thought. ”What if I fall in love with a character from a virtual game? Could I wish for her to appear in reality and be with me?”

Annan shrugged. ”I’d say your wish is far easier than resurrection.”

Ashe blinked. He hadn’t considered that a wish could be used this way. He found himself imagining summoning the Swordswoman or the Witch to his side and embarking on a shamelessly fantastical adventure from morning till night, multiple times each day.[1].

The thought passed quickly. Using a wish just to find a wife was far too embarrassing. Even if he dared, the Swordswoman would probably cut him down so badly that he’d need the Reverse Day spirit to survive. A Divine Lord’s Wish wasn’t meant to be wasted like that, and Ashe couldn’t believe he had ever been so foolish.

Yet Annan’s words still struck him. His loved ones from his past life were gone, but in this world... did he truly have no one he loved?

The game moved on to the guessing round. Ashe considered his options carefully. Pankey and Annan were civilized, reasonable people, so at least one Yes seemed likely. Harvey’s reason for escaping and seeking revenge on Fernandez had been love, so he would probably choose yes.

Iger, on the other hand, seemed unlikely. The idea that he would give everything for someone else was as hard to imagine as Freya practicing abstinence.

Little Lys, at her age, was firmly in a ”mine is mine” mindset. She might have a thoughtful side, but recalling her mischief the night before, she was at most a black-hearted little helper.

So Ashe bet two Silver Coins. Iger and Harvey also bet two, while Pankey bet three. The most shocking were Annan and Lys. Both of them placed four coins.

Ashe couldn’t believe it. Have they truly given up? How could four out of six of us possibly be selfless, love-driven fools?

When the handkerchief was lifted, Ashe froze in disbelief.

There were four Yes and two No!

There was no doubt Ashe had chosen No, which meant that, aside from him, the self-pitying, self-centered singleton, four of the remaining five belonged to the kind, selfless, love-driven camp!?

Iger raised an eyebrow. ”Interesting numbers. In the first question, there were two selfish members of the evil camp. This time, four selfless members of the good camp. That’s exactly the total number of us.”

”Could the ones who answered No this time be the would-be betrayers who answered Yes before?”

Annan shook her head. ”No peeking at others’ answers. The fun of this game lies in guessing.”

If Ashe hadn’t chosen No, he might have agreed with Iger’s theory. But he was just an ordinary person, unwilling to give everything for the one he loved, nor go to any lengths for a Divine Lord’s Wish. Do all you sorcerers have some kind of mental problem? Loving recklessly, doing whatever you want... are you all just beautiful madmen?

Lys clutched Ashe’s arm and acted cute. ”Daddy, you’ll definitely give everything for me, won’t you?”

Ashe recalled how cold and distant she had been just moments ago. Why is she suddenly so clingy? Kids are impossible to understand.

He replied half-heartedly, ”Of course... of course not.”

”Daddy, you won’t even spoil a little girl. I feel sad for my future mother.”

”First of all, how dare you assume you’ll even have a mother? Are there no girls in the world who don’t need spoiling?”

”Daddy, you look so handsome with that confident expression!”

”Ah? Haha, I see... You have good taste.”

”Look, Daddy, even a grown man like you needs spoiling. How can you ask others if they want to be spoiled?”

”The last question,” Iger said calmly as he drew a slip from the black box. ”If there were no contract restrictions, could you cooperate sincerely with the other five?”

The fraudster thought. What a meaningless question. Without a contract, who would dare cooperate sincerely?

Especially since they were foreign escapees. Others wouldn’t trust them, and even among themselves, suspicion ran deep. Annan and Pankey were seasoned in kidnapping and coercion. Among the six of them, there was almost no one orderly. It was like trash colliding with a dung heap. Even without collusion, they were evenly matched adversaries.

They could cooperate, but only while preparing for betrayal, keeping constant watch on their allies. If everything went smoothly, fine. But the moment anything went wrong, they would backstab first, before anyone else had the chance.

Iger knew this all too well. He had five previous partners, two of which had died in the stinking sewers, while the other three were sent to the Blood Moon Prison in Dreamscape City. Without his skill in disguise and his calculated willingness to sacrifice others to draw attention, he would have been caught long ago. One major reason he moved to Caimon City was to avoid these former partners, ensuring that if he was caught, he could start over fresh in prison. True to his speculation, without his partners to manipulate, he ended up being arrested and sent to Shattered Lake Prison.

Annan and Pankey could never trust them, nor could they trust each other. In that case, everyone would answer No, except Lys. She was the only unpredictable variable.

Yet to Iger, Lys clearly seemed sensible. And in this context, sensible was the opposite of naïve.

The answer round ended, and everyone moved on to the guessing phase.

”Zero,” Iger said tersely.

Similarly, Harvey, Annan, and Pankey all bet zero. Just as Iger expected the question to be nullified again, Lys carefully placed a single Silver Coin.

Everyone froze and stared at her. The little girl lifted her head proudly, her smile brighter than the sun.

Even knowing this might be deliberate flattery, Iger was struck by her untainted sincerity. Lys’s single coin could only mean she had answered Yes. With her cleverness, she had surely guessed that everyone else answered No, making her the only Yes.

As a lonely girl with amnesia, she could still trust others. That pure honesty, completely free of deceit, struck the fraudster painfully.

The others seemed to notice it too. The necromancer brought out a Catnip, while the Purple Moth’s eyes brightened, and the young butler’s gaze softened.

As for Ashe... he bet two coins.

At that, everyone froze.

When the handkerchief was lifted, there were four No and two Yes.

All eyes turned to Ashe, including Lys’. Ashe felt a twinge of embarrassment under their gaze. ”What’s the matter? It might not even be me who voted Yes!”

1. Obviously, this isn’t about slaying monsters here. You know exactly what I mean, alright. Adult explicit content alert! ☜