"Ronald, this is the most confidential thing in Entrod, you can't..."

Seeing Ronald about to touch the mirror, Carter naturally spoke up from behind to stop him.

Unfortunately, the one he wanted to stop was no longer in the mood to argue.

Hearing the commotion behind him.

Ronald simply turned his head and gave Carter an indifferent and undeniable look:

"So... you want me to take a different approach—like perhaps, help the maid in my house recover her rightful inheritance, while avenging her family and country destroyed by some heinous blood feud?"

"..."

Seeing the expression on Ronald's face now.

Carter instantly chose to shut up.

The head of the spies was very clear about Ronald's current strength, and although the two were in the heart of Entrod, once a fight started, he wasn't entirely sure he could escape from the man in front of him.

Carter had also been present during the battle in Springs.

Even though he had been held up by the problems with Xie Sita, he was still aware of the strength Ronald displayed in battle. If he were to assess it according to that standard...

To put it briefly.

While Carter worked for Entrod, he wasn't ready to die for the country.

"..."

"The mirror... that one called Torrex, what did you do to finally cause him to be sucked in?" Seeing Carter no longer objecting, Ronald naturally stared again at the mirror in front of him.

This object showed no signs of Magic Fluctuation. The grey swirl seemed to possess a life of its own as it turned, but beyond that, there was no other movement. It was as if everything was just a painting reflected on the mirror's surface.

Behind Ronald, Carter reflected on earlier events.

His gaze somewhat dimmed:

"The gate to this place was only opened tonight. After Torrex and I came in, we saw the Dreaming Mirror. Before we could do anything, he just touched the surface of the mirror, and then this vortex appeared, directly pulling him in."

Ronald frowned and continued to ask:

"Is there any other information besides this?"

"The rest is just some records of the Entrod royal family." Owing to concerns for Torrex's safety, Carter was forthcoming with what he knew, "The royal family of Entrod has always had the habit of hiding the treasures they collected, and among these are even a few enigmatic originals explicitly mentioned."

Hearing this much, Ronald was clear about what had happened:

"So this basement and the Dreaming Mirror are the place where the Entrod royal family hid their treasures? The reason I was invited here was to enter this place and retrieve the originals left by the former royal family?"

This time Carter didn't hold back:

"It's not just the originals, actually. Entrod's national finances have been in some trouble recently, and the wealth left by the former royal family is also one of the country's current needs for assistance."

"There are no personal desires involved here?" Ronald inserted with a teasing tone.

Carter only revealed an expression that said 'you and I both understand.'

The head of the spies felt no embarrassment over such inquiries and continued along the previous topic:

"This place has always been managed only by the King of Entrod and is given to the successor only during the transition of power. With the old King already dead, there wouldn't be any additional news sources."

"Alright..."

Ronald nodded slightly and turned to gaze at the mirror in front of him again.

This information was not entirely useless, but it did nothing to solve the problem at hand.

"Carter, 'The Silver Key'."

"Huh?"

Ronald suddenly spoke up, and it seemed Carter hadn't caught on.

He stood there thinking for a few seconds, then asked with a peculiar expression:

"This original is just used to unlock doors and seems unrelated to the Dreaming Mirror."

Ronald replied with a subtle look:

"Do you know how many originals were written about the life of Randolph Carter?"

"And since your original text is related to those creatures from the Cthulhu series, you should understand that there's a common thread among these things. The Entrode royal family used to use the 'Silver Key' as a tool to open doors. Do you really think there's no connection between the two?"

R'lyeh looked at Ronald as if beholding an enigma beyond her comprehension:

"You shouldn't know this, it's impossible."

Ronald replied in an even tone:

"You might want to consider why I can talk to you so openly about these things."

...

The reason was all too simple.

With R'lyeh's Wisdom, such a question hardly required thought.

Ronald would not be speaking to her like this unless he was confident in his own strength and his assessment of the current crisis.

After all, if he were plotting to obtain the 'Silver Key' text, Ronald would have had far better opportunities before.

Finally, R'lyeh sighed:

"This is the first time I've doubted whether there is a problem with my decision-making."

As she spoke, the head of the Entrode's spies took out the original text of the 'Silver Key' and handed it to Ronald.

"Don't worry, I don't want to take it from you."

Ronald took the 'Silver Key' and then raised his head to look at the Mirror of Dreams before him.

During the whole process, the grey vortex on the mirror remained unchanged.

Nothing in the underground chamber affected it.

If that was the case... then it was worth a try.

Ronald was not planning to let certain things get out of hand tonight anyway; he reached out his hand toward the mirror's surface.

"Ronald?!"

"Don't worry, I'm just trying it out."

Seeing this, R'lyeh naturally wanted to stop him immediately.

But Ronald halted the spy leader's movements with a smile.

Swoosh—

The instant his fingers touched the mirror surface.

It seemed as if Ronald's body reacted to the Mirror of Dreams before him.

Centered on this unique mirror, his body twisted into curved lines of light, quickly merging into the grey vortex.

...

In a few short seconds, the underground chamber returned to silence.

The subtle expression on R'lyeh's face also settled back to calm in those seconds.

At that moment, R'lyeh took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his fingers.

The man faced everything around him with an indifferent look, and after scanning the chamber to confirm there wasn't anything else particularly notable, R'lyeh walked onto the ground without looking back.

His utterly indifferent attitude made it impossible to imagine the range of emotions he had just shown.

As if... none of what just happened had anything to do with him.

He was just performing his logical duties.

Bang—

The sound of the door closing could be heard soon after he left.

The entrance to the underground chamber that had finally been opened tonight was sealed shut by R'lyeh once more.

It wasn't until he was on his way back to the office

that R'lyeh contemplated:

"It seems..."

"I should figure out how to deal with that 'Madam' maid."

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