The Absolute Godspeed of Infinite Worlds

Chapter 563 - 563

"Iris, where's your necklace?"During their private moment, Eiji's gaze drifted to Iris's neck—smooth, fair, and delicate, tempting one to leave marks. However, the sapphire necklace she had worn before was missing.

"Necklace?"

Following his gaze, Iris touched her neck and seemed to recall something, shrinking slightly as a faint blush colored her cheeks.

"I heard it was a tribute from some noble to the royal family?"

"Mhm, it was originally meant for my elder brother, but he thought it suited me better, so he gave it to me as a gift," Iris replied softly, her voice tinged with shyness. "But it's not with me right now."

"Not with you? Where is it?"

Eiji's expression sharpened.

There were no unusual signs on Iris—no indication of a personality shift—so the plan shouldn't have succeeded.

Then why was the necklace missing now?

"Last night, Rein told me her father wanted her to return home for an arranged meeting with some noble's son. But her family is quite poor and doesn't have any decent accessories, so she borrowed the necklace from me. She promised to return it after the meeting."

Unlike Claire, Rein came from a small town on the kingdom's border, where her father held a noble title.

Even so, their family was barely holding on, maintaining only the noble name while struggling financially. Rein often blended into the background because her attire was far plainer compared to other nobles. Rumor had it the most valuable thing she owned was her mage robe, which she treasured dearly—even her staff was of poor quality.

It made sense she'd borrow a necklace from Iris if she lacked proper accessories.

"Rein, could you give me the necklace you borrowed from Iris last night?"

So Eiji sought out Rein and made his request.

"Necklace? What necklace?"

But Rein looked utterly confused.

"Didn't you borrow a necklace from Iris because you didn't have any decent accessories for your arranged meeting?"

Eiji paused—something felt off.

"I don't have any arranged meeting!"

Rein stared at him incredulously.

"Who started this rumor? Do you know how bad this is for my reputation? And no matter how poor I am, I'd never dare to borrow anything from Lady Iris!"

Unlike Claire, Rein truly served Iris as her master. What servant would ever borrow from their master?

"Wait, what were you doing last night?"

Eiji's brows furrowed deeply—he seemed to have stumbled upon something sensitive.

"I was exhausted last night and went to bed as soon as it got dark."

Still irritated, Rein answered honestly.

"Come with me!"

Eiji brought Rein back to the castle's highest floor, where they met Iris again.

So, why was it that princesses and queens throughout history often ended up entangled with their guards?

As a guard, staying close to one's charge was only natural, right?

When the two compared their accounts, they were shocked by the discrepancies.

According to Iris, Rein had approached her last night and borrowed the sapphire necklace.

But Rein insisted she had gone to bed early and never visited Iris at all.

Both sides were completely thrown into chaos.

"Let's calm down and verify the timeline."

After pondering for a moment, Eiji asked Rein, "Rein, what time did you go to bed last night?"

"Around seven o'clock," Rein replied thoughtfully.

This world lacked entertainment. After nightfall, apart from engaging in intimate activities, there was basically nothing to do but sleep.

"Iris, what time did Rein come to see you?"

"Around nine o'clock."

Iris and Rein stared at each other wide-eyed.

In an instant, both of them felt a deep sense of confusion, with Rein experiencing an inexplicable chill down her spine.

"By the way, when did the intruder disguised as the Demon King appear?"

"Why are you so sure it was a disguise... Around ten o'clock."

Iris gave Eiji a puzzled look before answering after some thought.

"Judging by the timeline, it happened right after, but is there any connection between these two incidents?"

"Rein, I remember you told me this before, right? The fake Demon King suddenly appeared brazenly in the castle and then vanished just as quickly?"

Instead of answering Iris's question, Eiji turned to Rein.

"That's right, but the guards generally believed it was probably some kind of teleportation magic... Wait, why are you so certain it was a fake Demon King?"

Rein looked utterly baffled, completely unable to follow his train of thought.

"Hmm... Speaking of which, does transformation magic exist in this world?"

"There's no such magic. Aren't you a grand mage?"

"You can't expect a black-haired adventurer to know too much, even though I'm undeniably a grand mage capable of casting the advanced spell Light of Saber."

Facing Rein's skeptical gaze, Eiji remained unfazed.

"Let me rephrase the question. Are there any divine artifacts, magical tools, or racial abilities that allow someone to take on another person's appearance?"

"Never heard of them."

Rein rubbed her not-so-big head, indicating she couldn't help.

"I've heard of it!"

Just then, the little princess suddenly raised her hand.

"I remember my teacher once mentioned that among the demon races, there's one called Doppelgangers. Their true form is an insubstantial shadow, and as long as they know what someone looks like, they can perfectly mimic them!"

"Could it be...?"

Rein shuddered with disgust.

"That must be it! The culprit is definitely a Doppelganger!"

After a brief consideration, Eiji pieced together the entire sequence of events.

"Judging by the timeline, after infiltrating the palace, it first took on Rein's form to trick Iris into handing over the necklace, then transformed into the Demon King and boldly declared its intention to kidnap the princess."

Unlike Iris and the others, who believed the intruder last night was the real Demon King, Eiji had been certain from the start that someone was impersonating him, which was why he came to investigate, already aware that the culprit had a disguise ability.

"But why steal the necklace?"

Iris still looked utterly confused.

"That brings us to a certain unscrupulous goddess..."

Eiji sighed in frustration.

...

Night gradually fell.

The sky darkened, with two full moons hanging high—a clear sign that this was a world entirely different from Earth.

"Hmm, this one won't do!"

It observed the people in the palace from the shadows.

When its gaze swept over a soldier, it scrutinized him with a critical eye, pushed at its empty nose bridge, then shook its head in disdain.

"None of these will do. They're all just burly, rough men. Aren't there any super hunks or beauties around?"

The shapeshifter had no concept of gender—it was merely a mass of pure shadow—yet it harbored peculiar preferences, only willing to mimic handsome men or beautiful women.

Countless soldiers passed before its eyes, yet it couldn't find a single one to its liking.