When the plot-skips players into the game world

Those arrogant assassins, those shadows seemingly impossible to eradicate beneath the Iris Flower flag, melted away like snow with the coming of the Sun.

And these masters of assassination became the first members of the "Watchers" organization.

The meaning of this name is "those who monitor and protect this nation in the Darkness." Therefore, they used the animal "Owl," the "nocturnal mouse hunter," as their totem and symbol.

The newly formed Watchers are responsible for collecting criminal evidence of big figures or, in extreme cases where someone attempts to cause disruption publicly, for secretly eliminating hidden dangers. They are also responsible for counter-espionage, hiding in the shadows and monitoring their dark world colleagues.

Because they are Watchers, they only observe from afar — meaning they do not interact with people's daily lives. Their status is roughly equivalent to the former Avalon's Supervisory Court, only they are more covert, more hidden in the shadows, without any identity or location in the sunlight. The only person who can contact and command them is the Chairman.

They not only are responsible for capturing all the assassins but also strive to destroy all evidence of the Hawkeye Organization's existence — now that the reputation of Hawkeye is thoroughly ruined, they must completely sever any evidence connecting "Watchers" with "Hawkeye."

... Frankly, this process is quite troublesome.

Whether it's destroying evidence or capturing fugitive assassins.

If Aiwass were to handle this personally, he'd probably be overwhelmed.

After all, if these assassins decide not to come out, hiding in residential areas or underground, catching them all might not even be half finished by August. But if their own people handle it, the situation is much better.

This is also why Aiwass accepted Chairman Pierre's allegiance.

On one hand, because Chairman Pierre is indeed a smart person. He accepted all of Aiwass's demands without any excuses or resistance, or any bargaining. This made Aiwass realize he has some capabilities. At least more reliable and credible than those zealous Hawkeye Assassins.

He can see the situation clearly and knows how to choose. If a person understands the basic relationship between strength and weakness, they won't foolishly start a rebellion without reason — such situations usually aren't because a person is evil but because they're too foolish.

From a pure Irisflower perspective, this might be considered traitorous — yet in reality, with Irisflower's internal extremists repeatedly trying to start a full-scale war with an utterly unbeatable foe... he can only be considered to be cleaning up the mess.

On the other hand, Aiwass also needs Chairman Pierre to govern Irisflower for him... or rather, for Yulia.

After all, Irisflower's political landscape is completely different from Avalon and Star Antimony.

Although they share the same culture, the "Thirteen Uprisings" aren't purely a joke... though Irisflower's rebellions haven't actually solved fundamental problems; they merely switched rulers over Irisflower. However, successive rebellions have at least made them willing to seek a solution to societal issues — the problem lies in their failure to find one yet.

Aiwass fully respects their political habits and doesn't intend to change them. So he plans to leave someone who truly understands Irisflower to govern their country and, in an appropriate way, integrate Irisflower into the New Heras Empire.

After all, the New Heras Empire built by Yulia is essentially a technocratic nation. It inevitably faces issues of lacking democratic participation and inadequate self-correction, and Aiwass plans to leave these issues to Irisflower, which "doesn't fully belong to New Heras," to solve.

Though this might lead to territorial disputes and internal conflicts in the future — but future problems are solved in the future.

"Entering, there is no law and staff, exiting, no enemy foreign danger; the nation always perishes."

With Irisflower also merging into New Heras's governance, humanity west of the desert has basically achieved unification. Basically, New Heras will inevitably transform into a stable continental nation. And in such circumstances, leaving some disputes isn't necessarily bad.

Leaving more "backup plans" and "evidence of self-judgment" is also part of an anti-Void strategy.

One can only say Aiwass increasingly understands the Serpent Celestial Marshal.

As for the city needed by the Fog Demon... such matters are instead the easiest to solve.

Now, the initial leader of the Watchers, Chairman Pierre, and the first Queen of the Fog Demons, Lucia, are both Aiwass's people, at most can only be considered two departments of a company. Their internal exchange of opinions is highly efficient, and their common point is both hold dictatorial power within their departments.

How they plan to negotiate is left to them to decide. Aiwass's task of bridging has been completed; these matters are all temporarily unrelated to Aiwass now... after all, he can't personally decide every small matter.

Thus, during the great cleanup in Irisflower, Aiwass had already returned to the empire with Sherlock and Isabel. Arsene stayed in Irisflower — this Phantom Thief finally revitalized and joined the Watchers. He decided to truly use his extraordinary power to protect this country and judge those sins, rather than just being a "thief who steals from the rich to give to the poor."

That was the "morality" and "order" he disdained most.

Yet now, these have become his peaceful haven.

Aiwass made a long-awaited return to Avalon — this land he knows best. He plans to accompany Isabel to tour the nation and remember their current state... so years later, they can return and see how they have changed.

But Aiwass didn't expect an unexpected guest to find them.

"... Are you the Sine Mage?"

Aiwass looked at the old mage with the long white beard, quite surprised.

He still remembers this temporary teammate who explored the Tower of Heaven with him.

Sine was not an Avalonian, and even Aiwass and Isabel themselves did not know their destination on this trip—they were just casually strolling around to pass the time while waiting for Zhu Tang.

In this situation, it was indeed not easy for Sine to find them.

"Yes, Cardinal..."

The old mage looked somewhat nervous and uneasy.

He appeared just like a child who had done something wrong.

"Oh, I remember now."

Aiwass recalled that he had previously given Sine a task.

He had handed the Geometric Celestial Marshal's [Water's Regular Dodecahedron] to Sine, hoping he could help exchange it for the [Fire Tetrahedron] held by Sandro Tower Master.

Sandro Tower Master, whom Aiwass had seen during the promotion ceremony, was the "Pelican" Archmage. The magic wand embedded with a Celestial Marshal shard in his possession made Aiwass very envious. If Sine could help Aiwass acquire it, the [Water's Regular Dodecahedron] would be Sine's reward.

Although the fragment of the Geometric Celestial Marshal was only one-fifth of a complete Celestial Marshal shard, it was still a Celestial Marshal shard that could induce the evolution of a Great Sin Beast.

Although Aiwass was unsure if a Great Sin Beast in this world could de-evolve back to install another Celestial Marshal shard after evolution, the power of the [Fire Tetrahedron] could entirely serve as a "substitute shard" for Little Butterfly Liya.

If the descended Celestial Marshal turned out to be Candle Celestial Marshal, instead of Flame Celestial Marshal or Dawn Celestial Marshal, this shard could also serve as an alternative, a lower replacement. After all, the healing fire of the Candle Celestial Marshal was really unsuitable for Liya... Actually, the Dawn Celestial Marshal could only be said to be half-suitable.

If Liya were to equip the Dawn Celestial Marshal's shard, she would indeed have to start with self-detonation.

... It's not impossible, but it's certainly not the best option.

—But looking at the situation now, Sine probably didn't manage to obtain it.

"This...is for you."

Sine, with great reluctance and conflict, hesitantly handed the [Water's Regular Dodecahedron] sealed in the magic wand to Aiwass.

When Aiwass grasped the magic wand, he finally let out a long breath and relaxed, appearing much more aged.

It was as if a burden had been lifted, yet a dream had been lost.

"What happened?"

Aiwass curiously asked, "Couldn't get it?"

"... Yes."

Sine was clearly a bit ashamed.

"Aren't you the Chief Archmage?"

"The one who took the fragment is not stronger than me, my lord!"

Sine's voice rose a bit: "He was a student of Old Sandro... He devised a trick that led us all to believe the [Fire Tetrahedron] was still in the tower. But in fact, he had already stolen the shard long ago. It was only recently that I finally acquired the wand, an artifact of Old Sandro... and then realized, to my shock, that it was actually a counterfeit!

"There were eight of us, all deceived by him! It was only after noticing that the wand was a fake that I determined who stole the shard..."

"Who is it?"

Aiwass asked, "Where did he go?"

"His name is Hassan, known as 'Flame Fist Hassan.' He's missing a left arm, which is a magic wand prosthetic, allowing his left arm to cast flames."

Sine immediately replied, "He's a dark-skinned Serpent mage. He disappeared as early as last month, and no one knows where he is... I believe he might have gone to the Parthian Ancient Country, because he was born a slave, and the new Water Source War is about to begin.

"My lord, I'm not unwilling to go to the Taboo Desert to pursue Hassan. But I felt it necessary to first inform you of the truth of this matter, rather than let you believe I violated our agreement and absconded with the treasure..."

The old mage said, staring at the magic wand inlaid with azure jewels, somewhat sadly saying, "I truly did not complete your task. So I chose to safely return the pre-paid reward. I've been waiting here for a long time, and finally, I have met you.

"I have disappointed you, my lord. I'm sorry."