Chapter 157: Motives and Techniques (Part 1)
"No, I should say that you actually hid yourself very well. I even had Governor Illyrio's intelligence chief, the man they call the Rat, investigate you once. But because his search wasn't targeted enough, he found nothing out of the ordinary."
"And because my Green Vision never warned me that you or Hazan posed a threat to me, I had, for a time, ruled out the possibility that you were a player."
"Green Vision?" Celia asked, a doubtful frown on her face.
"Ever since I upgraded my Green Seer ability to a high level, the Green Vision warns me anytime I encounter danger." Of course, Ian couldn't share the truth of the optional mission exploit he'd discovered. Instead, he attributed the conclusion he'd reached through testing that bug to the realm of magic.
Besides, the lie about an advanced Green Seer ability could effectively dispel any treacherous thoughts Celia might be entertaining. After all, who would dare attempt any petty tricks if they believed a cheat-like power was watching their every move?
"How is that possible?" Celia said, unable to believe it. "You are a knight. How many points could you possibly have allocated to mental power? The three of us spent all our early points on our minds, and even then, we only managed to get our Red God magic to the intermediate level!"
"If you could understand what I'm capable of, then it would be my head on the chopping block, not yours, wouldn't it?"
"That's…"
"So," Ian continued, "it was not you who gave the game away. The one who truly exposed your flaws was your 'brother,' Hazan." Ian deliberately emphasized the word "brother."
"What did he do wrong?" Celia asked, her mind racing back through recent events.
"Illyrio once told me that Hazan had never given up trying to win him over. So, when I first went to Hazan's arena, I painted him a grand picture, telling him I was certain I could convince the Governor to join his camp. His reaction? He wasn't interested." Ian spread his hands.
"Perhaps he simply didn't believe you could convince the governor," Celia immediately countered, finding a reason for Hazan's behavior.
"That's what I thought at the time," Ian said with a snap of his fingers. "The problem arose that night, when I went to the White Blade Arena for the second time."
"I was there," Celia recalled, but she couldn't remember any flaws in their performance.
"Yes. At that time, Hazan extended an invitation of marriage to me, expressing his hope that we would be wed as soon as possible. He had to have known that our union would destroy any trust between myself and Governor Illyrio."
"The fact that he made such a request meant that he never expected me to help him convince the Governor at all. In fact, his purpose likely included driving a wedge between me and Illyrio."
"That can still be explained by the same logic," Celia argued. "Hazan had lost hope of winning over Illyrio. The only ally he wanted was you."
"Yes, which is why I immediately ran a test. I told Hazan I would marry you, but only *after* I had convinced Governor Illyrio. And he agreed." Seeing the change in Celia's expression, Ian smiled. "Well? Do you understand now?"
"If Hazan had absolutely no hope of you convincing Illyrio, then agreeing to your request meant that our engagement would never actually happen," Celia said, finally grasping Ian's meaning. "His behavior was a complete contradiction. But what does it prove?"
"Under what circumstances would Hazan be uninterested in winning over Illyrio, while also believing that Illyrio would not affect our engagement? There is only one answer: in Hazan's eyes, Illyrio was already a dead man. One who would die before I ever left Pentos."
"An excessively bold inference," Celia commented.
"I thought about this for two full hours. My entire table was covered with papyrus as I speculated on countless possibilities. And this was the only one that could explain Hazan's behavior. When you have eliminated all other possibilities, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."
"Then what?" Celia was completely hooked now.
"Then I was faced with a series of questions. By any conventional measure, it was impossible for Hazan to kill Illyrio in this situation. So, I needed to find a breakthrough."
"For example?"
"The original work," Ian gave an answer Celia didn't expect.
"None of this happened in the original work," she said, shaking her head.
"And that is precisely the problem. In the books, Pentos was only shown for a few chapters through Daenerys's POV at this point in time. This entire series of conflicts didn't exist at all. If it were a small matter, it could be explained away as the butterfly effect caused by player activities. But for something as significant as Hazan planning to assassinate Illyrio, it could only be achieved with the full backing of a player."
"So you began to suspect there were players around Prince Hazan?"
"It wasn't suspicion; it was conviction. And I knew the player's identity had to be very special." Ian paused. "I know players are not ordinary people. We are good at creating miracles. But we are not gods. We cannot create miracles from nothing."
"At this point in time, I had already grabbed all the bounty resources the system released, successfully completed the second main quest, and held first place in the standings for two consecutive months. And yet, I still have to act with humility in front of men like Prince Oruo and Hazan."
"So why could another player convince Hazan to do something so dangerous? No," Ian shook his head, "they wouldn't be qualified to be the master of such a plot, unless…"
"The priesthood," Celia replied quickly.
"Exactly," Ian snapped his fingers again. "Governor Illyrio told me that most people in this city believe in the Red God. Hazan's family, the Mohalis, are one of the forty old families of Pentos. He would naturally be no exception. Moreover, at a time when the tide of magic has not yet returned, the abilities displayed by a player who gained their power through the system would easily be seen as a gift from R'hllor. They would be hailed as the darlings of their god, earning the absolute trust of these people."
"And then you suspected me?"
"That alone wasn't enough," Ian shook his head. "As I told you, there was also my Green Vision. Hazan's plan posed no danger to me, which was, in itself, a very strange signal. Logically, if a player could use their religious influence to make Hazan deal with Illyrio, then why wouldn't they simply take care of me at the same time?"
"That's…" Celia's eyes darted away.
"Not only did this player not deal with me, they arranged things so that I would become one of the biggest beneficiaries of the entire incident. After Illyrio's death, I would become the sole protector of the Targaryen siblings, and I would also gain the friendship of Prince Hazan and the Iron Bank. What kind of player does all the hard work just to set another player up for success?"
"It's impossible. So, if the player behind Hazan didn't want to gain something by killing me, they had to be using another method…"
"And that is when a certain woman in a red robe, one who supposedly fell in love with me at first sight and was eager to marry me, appeared in my mind."
"If it weren't for the fact that I am that unlucky woman in red, I would almost want to applaud you," Celia said with a sneer.
"And once I accounted for the goal of marrying me," Ian continued, ignoring her, "the player's motivation for removing Illyrio finally surfaced."
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