Chapter 158: Motives and Methods (Part 1)
"No, you could say you've actually hidden yourself very well. I had Magister Illyrio's intelligence chief investigate you once, but because the investigation wasn't focused enough, he didn't find anything wrong with you.
"And because my greensight didn't warn me that you and Hazan posed a threat, I initially ruled out the possibility that you were a player."
"Greensight?" Celia asked, puzzled.
"Ever since I upgraded the greenseer ability to advanced level, greensight has warned me before I encounter danger." Ian, of course, wouldn't share the optional quest exploit he discovered with Celia, so he attributed this conclusion, which he derived through exploit testing, to magic.
Moreover, this lie about the [Advanced Greenseer] ability could effectively dispel any treacherous thoughts Celia might have. After all, if a prophet is always watching you, who would dare to do anything underhanded?
"How is that possible? You're a knight—how many points can you allocate to mental power? I poured all three of our early-game points into mental power, and only managed to upgrade the Red God's magic to intermediate level!" Celia simply couldn't believe it.
"If you understood my abilities, then it would be my turn to fall into your trap now, wouldn't it?"
"This..."
"So," Ian continued his explanation, "the one who truly exposed your weakness wasn't you, but your 'brother' Hazan." Ian deliberately emphasized the word "brother."
"Is there something wrong with him?" Celia asked, recalling the events.
"Illyrio told me that Hazan had never given up on trying to win him over. So when I first went to Hazan's arena, I painted a rosy picture for him, telling him I was confident I could persuade Magister Illyrio to join his side, but his reaction was... lukewarm." Ian shrugged.
"Perhaps he simply didn't believe you could persuade the Magister." Celia immediately came up with a reason for Hazan's actions.
"That's what I thought too," Ian snapped his fingers, "and the problem arose that very night, when I went to the White Blade Arena for the second time."
"I was there too." Celia continued to recall, but still couldn't find any flaws in her account.
"Yes, at that time, Hazan extended an invitation to me for a marriage alliance, and he expressed his hope that we would wed as soon as possible. He should have known that our union would damage the trust between me and Magister Illyrio.
"His request meant that he had absolutely no hope that I could help him persuade Illyrio, and his very purpose included driving a wedge between me and Illyrio."
"This can still be explained using the previous reasoning—Hazan had no hope of winning over Illyrio. The only ally he wanted was you."
"Yes, so I immediately tested him. I asked Hazan if I could marry you after persuading Magister Illyrio, and he agreed." Seeing the change in Celia's expression, Ian smiled. "Well? Do you understand?"
"If Hazan had no hope that you could persuade Illyrio, agreeing to this request meant that our marriage agreement would never be fulfilled." Celia finally understood Ian's meaning. "This creates a contradiction in Hazan's actions, but what does that prove?"
"Under what circumstances would Hazan be uninterested in winning over Illyrio, and believe that Illyrio wouldn't affect our betrothal? There's only one answer—in Hazan's eyes, Illyrio is about to die, and it will be before I leave Pentos."
"An overly bold deduction," Celia commented.
"I've thought about this for two full hours, filling a table with scraps of parchment, considering countless possibilities. And this is the only explanation for Hazan's behavior. When all other possibilities have been ruled out, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
"And then?" Celia was completely intrigued.
"Then comes a series of questions. From any perspective, it's impossible for Hazan to kill Illyrio under the current circumstances. Therefore, I needed to find a breakthrough."
"For example?"
"The source material." Ian gave a result that Celia hadn't expected.
"These things didn't happen in the source material." Celia shook her head.
"That's the crux of the problem. In the books, Pentos was only shown in a couple of chapters from Daenerys's POV at this point in time. The series of conflicts that occurred within Pentos simply didn't exist.
"If they were just minor incidents, they could be explained as a butterfly effect caused by player activity. But for something as significant as Hazan killing Illyrio, it would require the full force of multiple players to accomplish."
"So you started suspecting that there are players around Prince Hazan?"
"Not suspect—certain. And that player's identity must be very special." Ian paused. "I know players aren't ordinary people. They're good at creating miracles. But at the same time, players aren't gods—they can't create miracles out of nothing.
"At this point in time, even I, who seized all the bounty resources issued by the system, successfully completed the second main quest by exploiting the system's rigid legal judgments, and held the top spot on the leaderboard for two consecutive months, still had to be cautious around Illyrio and Prince Hazan."
"And what makes other players think they can get Hazan to do something so dangerous? No," Ian shook his head, "they don't have the power to control things, unless..."
"A priest." Celia answered quickly.
"That's right," Ian snapped his fingers again. "Magister Illyrio told me that the vast majority of people in this city worship the Lord of Light, and Hazan belongs to the Moharis family, one of the forty oldest families in Pentos, so he's no exception.
"Moreover, at this time when the magical tide hasn't recovered yet, the magical talent displayed by players who have gained magical abilities through the system is more likely to be considered R'hllor's chosen, thus gaining their trust."
"And then you became suspicious of me?"
"That alone isn't enough," Ian shook his head. "As I said, there's also my greensight. Hazan's plan didn't pose a danger to me, which is actually a very strange sign.
"Logically speaking, if a player can use their priestly position to influence Hazan to the point that Hazan goes against Illyrio, then why wouldn't they just eliminate me as well?"
"This..." Celia's eyes darted away.
"Moreover, not only did they not target me, but they actually made me one of the biggest beneficiaries of the whole affair. After Illyrio's death, I'd become the Targaryen siblings' sole protector, and I'd also gain the friendship of Prince Hazan and the Iron Bank. What kind of player would inexplicably become someone else's stepping stone?
"That's impossible. So, if the player behind Hazan wasn't trying to gain something by killing me, then it could only be through other means...
"And that's when the image of a Red Priestess who fell in love with me at first sight and was about to marry me popped into my head."
"If I weren't that unfortunate Red Priestess, I'd practically applaud you," Celia chuckled dryly.
"And with the goal of marrying me, that player's motive for eliminating Illyrio became clear." Ian ignored Celia and continued.
(End of Chapter)
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