But, there’s one thing that Angel is very puzzled about. Why do Adanis and the man with the kind voice focus on him?
He’s clearly an outsider, supposed to be an audience member watching from the sidelines. Why does the spotlight shine on him, making the stage seem to gravitate toward his feet?
It must be an illusion, after all, Adanis specifically targeted the Noah descendants... Plus, that man’s voice might not have contacted only him; maybe the Black Earl received information earlier?
Thinking of this, Angel temporarily suppressed his doubts.
He turned back to the Gray Merchant; the mirror needs to be resolved.
The situation previously described by the Gray Merchant was very detailed, without hiding any details. Everyone now understands why the reactions of the Wicked Woman and others are so strong, and why the Gray Merchant values the mirror so highly.
The blame for everything falls on the Mirror Bearer. Because she sealed the Gray Merchant’s most crucial memory in the mirror.
Why this memory is important, the Gray Merchant did not explain, but from the reactions of the Wicked Woman and others, it is clear that this memory might be related to the Gray Merchant’s secret, or even secrets of the Merchant Organization.
Thus, the Gray Merchant has no reason not to retrieve the mirror, and the Wicked Woman’s forceful snatching is based on this.
The reason the Gray Merchant suddenly chose to yield now, achieving his goal through negotiation and even being willing to give it up, is actually not difficult to understand. From the Gray Merchant’s clear attitude of fear toward the Black Earl, he has surely recognized the Black Earl’s identity.
People from the Wizards’ Realm are mostly aware of current affairs, and the Gray Merchant is no exception.
"This mirror..." Angel just started to speak, then paused to ponder. This made the Gray Merchant’s heart rise high, unable to settle.
Angel wasn’t pausing deliberately; he was genuinely thinking about how to handle this mirror.
He took the mirror for research purposes, while the Gray Merchant wanted his sealed memories.
Thinking closely, their aims do not conflict; they can reach a consensus.
And to reach a consensus, they only need to solve one problem: liberating the Gray Merchant’s memories sealed in the mirror by Adanis.
As long as the Gray Merchant’s memory can be unsealed, the mirror has no value for him. When Angel takes it, there will be no dispute. But the question now is... how should the unsealing happen?
While Angel pondered, the Gray Merchant’s mood grew increasingly restless. Until now, he couldn’t fathom the thoughts of the Red-haired, golden-eyed Wizard opposite him.
If he doesn’t want to trade, he can simply refuse. But he hasn’t outright rejected it, seemingly inclined to trade; yet why say half the words and then remain silent?
Is he considering what to trade, or is he still pondering whether to trade?
After a while, even Dox couldn’t help but wave a hand in front of Angel to test if he was still lost in thought. Angel finally raised his eyes.
Angel seemed to have regained his senses, but instead of picking up where he left off, he controlled his spirit tentacle to envelop the broken mirror and lifted it from his palm.
The levitating mirror allowed everyone to see the image on it more clearly.
The red light remained, and the silhouette in the mirror carved out in the crimson hue was increasingly distinct. From the outline, it’s apparent the Gray Merchant didn’t lie; the figure inside is indeed identical to him.
As the Gray Merchant looked complexly at the figure in the mirror, Angel’s subsequent actions stunned the group.
Angel raised his hand, reaching toward the broken mirror. According to conventional thinking, his hand should be stopped by the mirror.
In reality, Angel’s hand encountered no obstacle, directly penetrating the mirror.
Angel seemed to reach into the mirror, but that’s not the case. The broken mirror itself isn’t large enough, not even as big as his hand.
It’s merely a medium; realistically, Angel’s hand caused space ripples before touching the mirror. His hand didn’t physically touch the mirror yet delved into its interior.
This operation from Angel seemed normal to the Black Earl and others, since Angel previously showcased his hand probe into the painting in the Hanging Jail Stairway to them.
But to the Gray Merchant and his group, it was startling.
After the Mirror Bearer sealed the Gray Merchant’s memory, they tried various ways to test the mirror with no result. In their eyes, it’s a common broken and fragile mirror.
Too much force might shatter it.
So, after repeated failures, they chose to admit defeat and give up.
Because of their attempts, they understand the mirror’s fragility and commonplace nature, making Angel’s success in doing what they couldn’t so astonishing.
...
Though Angel’s hand-reaching move was abrupt, people present weren’t foolish. A bit of thinking combined with the Gray Merchant’s prior explanations, most could guess Angel intended to try unsealing the mirror.
After their initial shock, the Gray Merchant and others realized this.
They forgot their prior conflicts, gazing at Angel with hopeful eyes. Even the Wicked Woman changed her expression, intently staring at the hand reaching into the mirror.
From the slight movements of Angel’s arm, they could tell his hand was searching back and forth inside the mirror.
Whether he found anything, only Angel knew.
Moments later, Angel withdrew his hand, empty-handed. The silhouette remained unchanged on the mirror.
The Gray Merchant and others looked slightly disappointed but didn’t lose all hope. Since Angel could reach inside, the memory unsealing is possible.
Perhaps it’s just out of reach, unable to access the Gray Merchant’s sealed memory.
Or maybe Angel already touched the Gray Merchant’s memory, just preparing to negotiate terms before unsealing?
They gazed eagerly at Angel, wishing for an explanation, but they were too embarrassed to ask.
The only one unconcerned with stance or occasion, yelling without restraint, is Pink Mo. And Pink Mo... was hushed by the Gray Merchant.
While they debated whether to secretly loosen Pink Mo’s constraint to stir some atmosphere, someone spoke first and asked what loomed in their minds.
"Is there anything good in the mirror?"
The questioning style revealed the speaker was undoubtedly Dox.