It was known that there were two factions within the restaurant, the Conspiracy Faction and the Reckless Faction, with the ever-present elevator chime acting as a sort of secret code for the former. Wherever there was the sound of an elevator, the Conspiracy Faction was surely present.
The chefs and waitstaff in the restaurant were not on the same side, and the waitstaff being summoned by the elevator chime indicated that the restaurant itself was part of the Conspiracy Faction, while the nerves above and the chef might belong to the opposing Reckless Faction.
The Jerome now sitting in front of him claimed that he had not died during the many days of recursions but had told Shiller that there might be someone in the kitchen who could communicate, someone who controlled the nerves—indicating he was from the Reckless Faction.
If Shiller was not mistaken, this person might provide some information, but all of it sounded like a conspiracy of the 19th floor, equally silvery in speech and hiding traps in the most desperate places, forcing people to believe and rely on them.
If an ordinary person who had somehow survived in this hellish restaurant was sitting here, he would know that leaving the restaurant would be a death sentence. The feeling struck during the elevator descent, and now it seemed the entire hotel was filled with monsters; leaving the restaurant would likely lead to death elsewhere.
Hearing that there was a rational and communicable person in the kitchen naturally stirred interest. Perhaps Jerome was not lying, but he had not told the whole truth, leaving the majority unable to discern the reality.
Shiller could also confirm that what had been said so far was true, including the part about the rational person, though it held unknown traps within.
First, the rationality of the person in the kitchen was in question, just as James Gordon could be considered rational—yet even James didn't know he was part of a conspiracy. Otherwise, Shiller wouldn't need to guess but could see it directly.
If the person in the kitchen was as rational as James Gordon, then going there would be pointless. And if he were as aware as Shiller himself, what was the explanation for the blood vessels on the roof?
The kitchen now seemed like a black box; no one could predict the dangers inside until they entered, and asking Jerome to go with him was pointless because if Jerome were a puppet, he wouldn't care about his own life, and Shiller's threats might play right into his hands.
The Bishop thought he had too little information at hand, and during this rare quiet moment, he must investigate within the restaurant to gather more information before making a decision.
But the Bishop was not a detective, and he had missed many relevant clues when investigating on the 19th floor, almost entirely speculating based on his experience with various anomalies.
Shiller glanced at his briefcase, although the red candle had been mostly used up, the white candle had not been utilized yet. He had intended to use it several times to investigate, but the situation had not deteriorated to that extent, so it had not been used yet.
Now might be the opportunity. Shiller looked around, this restaurant was not like the 19th floor; there was too much here, and with just him, it would be difficult to investigate thoroughly in a short time. To start investigating key points, the Bishop had indeed missed anything significant previously while occupied with eating.
The Bishop thought for a moment, then took out a match. Jerome looked up at his actions, and the Bishop kindly warned, "I'm just a devout follower, not some psychologist, but I must invite a professional here, only..."
The Bishop hesitated, Jerome encouraged him to speak plainly with his eyes. Shiller sighed and said, "You know professionals can be quite temperamental, and he's been in a bad mood lately, just don't provoke him later."
Jerome had a "let's see your performance" expression.
Shiller knew he didn't believe it, as summoning himself indeed sounded absurd, but anyway, he had issued his disclaimer, so it wouldn't be his fault if something happened later.
Shiller lit the white candle.
Shiller initially bowed his head, but soon he lifted his head, seemingly still adjusting to the new body, and after waiting a while, a look of realization dawned on his face.
He had just received all memories about the restaurant from the Bishop and then shook his head.
The Bishop's method of solving the problem had been circuitous. While using gluttony was a solution, there were clearly more straightforward methods, especially since the Bishop had already recognized the cycle and the symbolism represented by self-consumption.
Jerome carefully observed this new Shiller.
But before he could complete his observation, Shiller's attention turned to him, and Jerome immediately felt as if he were being X-rayed. A chill ran down his spine, and the words he was about to say got stuck, forcing him to lift his glass and pretend to drink instead.
Shiller spoke first.
"You look like a resentful wife, why is that?"
Jerome spat out his drink.
He thought he had fully understood the bad temperament Shiller mentioned before, but it seemed his understanding was still too superficial. How did he resemble a resentful wife?
"The resentment is almost seeping out of you." Shiller pushed up his glasses and said, "Did you just break up with your girlfriend? No, wrong, boyfriend?"
Just as Jerome was about to speak, Shiller interrupted, "No need to explain. I don't discriminate against any sexual orientation. But you don't seem like someone who has experienced a passionate romance. Your desires are abnormal, making it difficult for you to have normal relationships with normal people."
"Let me guess," Shiller paused briefly, then continued, "you know someone, an exceptional person, practically the perfect embodiment of your ideals. You've been scheming to get close to him, not to be his friend, but to make him notice you in a... less than normal way. Let me be blunt—you want to teach him a painful lesson to ensure he never forgets you."
"But no, you didn't manage it. He never considered you his best friend, adding to your resentment is that you aren't his greatest enemy either; you aren't first in either respect or opposition."
Shiller paused again, as if to think. He said, "That's not right either. It's not enough to cause such deep resentment. Let me guess again, one day he encountered a huge problem, a matter of life and death. Obviously, he would mobilize all the help he could get to extricate himself. But he didn't come to you."
"Hmm... that doesn't seem quite right either." Shiller reconsidered, "Your anger over being ignored is far greater than the heartbreak of a friend's betrayal. This proves his neglect towards you is much more severe than I imagined. Could there be a third person involved?"
"That must be it." Shiller confirmed his own guess. He said, "This third person doesn't get along well with you, or rather, you've never respected him, although you don't respect most people. But he's especially unacceptable to you."
"When the person you care about most was in a life-threatening crisis, you rushed to the battlefield like his most loyal dog, but he rejected you. It seems less about distrust and more about him simply not being familiar with you."
"However, when this third person arrived, he was welcomed warmly right away, even shown the most vulnerable weaknesses, an unconditional trust."
A cracking sound came from where Jerome was dining, but it wasn't utensils falling; instead, he had furiously stabbed his plate into fragments with a fork.
But Shiller took another sharp turn, "No no no, this reaction is all wrong. It's not just plain hatred. Otherwise, you would have jumped up to bite me by now. It seems you hold a bit of embarrassed shame, like if you robustly argued back, it might reveal some things you'd least like disclosed."
"Is it a secret of this restaurant? No, it shouldn't be related. Then there's only one possibility left, could it be that the conspiracy that pushed your beloved into this crisis was orchestrated by you?"
Shiller revealed a smile and said, "Wanting to play the hero, yet ending up just another character in an adult drama—how does that feel?"
Jerome suddenly leaped over the table, pressing the shards of the ceramic plate against Shiller's neck, as if one more word from Shiller would make him sever Shiller's throat."
Shiller didn't step back, only looking a bit bored, "Don't worry, your story isn't that thrilling, and it's somewhat cliched. I have no interest in sharing it with others. A psychologist keeps too many secrets, and yours is just one of the least significant."
"Ah, how could I forget." Shiller said as though it just came to him, "Walls have ears."
Jerome's expression suddenly froze, and he sharply turned his head to look toward the kitchen entrance.
In Shiller's eyes, a glint flickered—Jerome was genuine, and so were others in the kitchen; moreover, they were likely acquainted.
Shiller casually walked past Jerome, pulled out a chair next to the table, and sat down, then said, "This candle burns much slower than I thought; the quality is quite good. If you were a bit nicer, I might even teach you how to win back your ex."
"He's not my ex!"
"Are you saying he is your current one? I fear he wouldn't think so," Shiller stated as if he'd completely misunderstood the relationship, "Even if he's not an ex now, once he survives with someone else's help, he'll definitely become one."
Jerome held his breath due to forgetting to breathe, almost suffocating himself, his face turning from red to blue to pale.
It wasn't that he didn't want to argue back; Shiller simply didn't leave him any room to speak. Every time he tried to speak, Shiller would cut him off, and years of training to maintain polite pretenses made him unconsciously shut up when others were speaking, hence completely unable to counter.
But Jerome had every reason to suspect that if he had interrupted, it might not be him holding the shard of porcelain here.
Jerome could really be seen as enjoying a hotpot and singing away, then suddenly getting hijacked.
Normally, he and Shiller had a relationship of natural allies—if one is lost, the other will follow, and someone always had to venture into the kitchen. Shiller understood this; if Jerome was fake and ventured into the kitchen never to return, Shiller would eventually have to follow. If Jerome were real, he didn't have the capacity to explore the kitchen, and directing him would mean wastefully losing a teammate who hasn't yet been fully utilized for information.
So, from a perspective of profit and loss, it would definitely be Shiller who would end up exploring. That's what Jerome had thought originally.
But now, this newcomer snapped his upper and lower lips and rattled on, revealing all Jerome's vulnerabilities.
On the surface, it seems like there are only two people here, but as Shiller said, Jerome looked up at the ceiling and thought, "Indeed, walls have ears."