『 Aventurine did not answer, merely staring at Sunday with a smile on his face.
Seeing this, Sunday closed his eyes. When he opened them again and spoke, his ethereal voice echoed throughout the room.
"Oh, Triple-Faced Soul, please sear his tongue and palms with a hot iron, so that he will not be able to fabricate lies and make false vows." 』
『 ....』
〘March 7th〙: What is he doing?
〘Robin〙: The Harmony's attunement. It allows one to see through lies.
〘Stelle〙: Isn't this just a human lie detector?
〘Herta〙: Interesting. What happens if he lies?
〘Robin〙: The Harmony will mete out punishment.
〘Hanabi〙: Simply put, he's been cursed~
....
『 "What did you do?" Aventurine asked, his expression darkening.
"Under the light of the Harmony, all sins have nowhere to hide. I beseech Her to cast down Her radiance, and I shall pose questions to you in Her stead. Now… you have 113 seconds to prove your innocence and earn my trust."
"And if I refuse to answer?"
Sunday lowered his eyes, wearing a smile of certain victory. "Then try it—and see if the Harmony will refuse you."
Aventurine's expression darkened further. Watching the sullen Aventurine, Sunday let out a cold snort, and then his stern, ethereal voice rang out once more as he began his interrogation.
"I ask you: Do you possess your Cornerstone?"
"Yes." Aventurine spat out the word.
"A concise answer. You understand that the more one says, the more one risks." Sunday smiled, then continued.
"Did you surrender your Cornerstone to the Family upon entry?"
"Yes."
"Does the Cornerstone you surrendered to the Family belong to you?"
"Yes."
"At this moment, is your Cornerstone in this room?"
"Yes."
"Have your memories remained free from any form of tampering or deletion, including but not limited to the techniques of the Garden of Recollection?"
"Yes."
"Do you hail from the Avgin Clan of Sigonia?"
"Yes. You even know that?" Aventurine raised an eyebrow and sneered.
"Do the Avgins have any ability to read, tamper with, or manipulate one's own or another's mind?"
"None. Does that matter?"
As Sunday began to inquire about the Avgin matters, Aventurine's expression darkened once again.
"Do you love your family more than yourself?"
Upon hearing this question, Aventurine froze for a moment before firmly stating, "Yes."
"All the Avgins perished in a massacre, did they not?"
"No."
"Are you the sole survivor of your clan?"
Aventurine's lips trembled slightly. His eyes held an endless sorrow and confusion, as if he had to summon all his strength to squeeze out these words.
"…Perhaps."
Sunday did not give Aventurine time to recover, immediately striking with the next, sharper question.
"Do you hate this world, and do you wish to destroy it with your own hands?"
After hearing this, Aventurine was silent for a moment, then shook his head and whispered, "I don't know."
"Interesting. Then, the final question…" Sunday's gaze locked onto the person before him, as if trying to pierce through his eyes to see the truth buried deep within his heart.
"Can you swear that, at this very moment, the Aventurine Stone is lying safely inside this box?" Sunday emphasized the words Aventurine Stone heavily, his tone carrying a hint of provocation.
Aventurine fell into a long silence. His eyes flickered, seemingly deep in thought, while the Professor, watching the scene from the side, could not help but let out a cold snort.
"…Of course." This time, Aventurine's reply lacked his previous decisiveness; his conviction seemed slightly lacking.
Sunday sneered upon hearing this and deactivated his ability. "It seems we have our answer."
"Open it, Mr. Aventurine… This is your final chance to defend your reputation." His words were filled with sarcasm and disdain; he seemed certain that Aventurine had lied.
As he finished, the box containing the Cornerstone slid in front of Aventurine. Sunday then sat in his chair, crossed his legs, and watched him with an amused smile. 』
『 ....』
〘Herta〙: Looks like the Aventurine Stone isn't in the box, or perhaps there's nothing in the box at all.
〘Aventurine〙: The first scenario is part of my plan, and the second… well, that would mean he set a trap for me. Heh, that final question was the trump card, because I had no choice but to lie.
....
『 Aventurine stared at the box for a long time, while the Professor, to the side, turned her head away.
"Please," Sunday said, smiling and gesturing with his hand.
Click—with a crisp sound, the box was slowly opened, but the sight inside left Aventurine stunned.
The box that should have contained the Cornerstone was completely empty!
"Are these… what you were looking for?" Sunday removed the cloth that had been covering items on the conference table.
Hidden underneath were a stone emitting a ghostly green light and another stone with a yellowish-brown hue. 』
『 ....』
〘Topaz〙: I have to say, this plan of yours is still too risky. Handing over your own Cornerstone is a pure venture-capital risk.
〘Jade〙: But he won the bet, didn't he?
〘Sushang〙: I don't get it. Why are there two Cornerstones?
〘Jing Yuan〙: A classic misdirection. A brilliant scheme, truly brilliant.
〘Aventurine〙: Oh? General Jing Yuan, you saw through it that quickly? Truly worthy of the legendary "General who closes his eyes."
〘Stelle〙: What kind of riddles are you all speaking in?
....
—✦In Between✦—
—✦Honkai Star Rail World✦—
In the Seat of Divine Foresight, Yanqing looked at Jing Yuan, who wore an expression of knowing everything, and asked in confusion,
"General, both of Mr. Aventurine's Cornerstones have been discovered by Mr. Sunday. How is this still a brilliant scheme?"
"Haha, Yanqing, people are always prone to preconceived notions. Who said that the ghostly green stone on the table was the Aventurine Stone? Do you know what color Jade is?"
Jing Yuan looked at the Jade Stone on the light screen and couldn't help but shake his head in admiration.
"To enter the game for Penacony with three Cornerstones… he really is a gambler in every sense of the word."
After searching for the color of jade on his terminal, Yanqing remained bewildered. He looked at Jing Yuan and asked,
"But General, where exactly is the Aventurine Stone? Seeing Mr. Aventurine's confidence earlier, the stone must be in this room, yet I cannot deduce its location."
"Here is a hint: Aventurine kept trying to emphasize something insignificant, at least as far as Sunday was concerned."
Yanqing pondered this, then slapped his palm in excitement.
"That bag of gift money!"
Jing Yuan nodded, showing an expression of 'he is teachable.'
"No matter what Sunday thinks, he likely never imagined that hidden within that bag of gift money—the one he looked down upon the most—was a Cornerstone. No, perhaps not just one. To evade the Family's scrutiny, a whole Cornerstone certainly couldn't appear in the gift money."
After finishing his words, Jing Yuan fell into thought again. Having realized everything, he looked at Aventurine on the screen and sighed.
"You truly are a gambler. A gambler who plays with his life."
—