When Rover returned to room 2705, the moment the door opened, nearly every gaze in the room fell on him.

Nanoe was still sitting on the sofa, her eyes slowly opening. The strand of energy used to connect with him had retracted, but her expression looked nothing like someone who had just expended mental energy to maintain a projection in the fog. She was still gentle, still calm, even with a very faint smile on her lips, as if everything that had just happened fell within the range of what she could accept.

Nanami sat beside her and the moment she saw Rover she immediately breathed out a sigh of relief.

Monica also stood up, her hands placed before her chest, her face clearly showing worry. Selina was much more direct, her gaze sweeping Rover from head to toe, only loosening her hand from the sword hilt after confirming he wasn’t injured.

Rilia sat to one side, her wrists still wrapped in Elith’s spider silk, but her posture was no longer as rigid as before. She looked at Rover, her azure blue eyes slightly narrowing, clearly assessing the man who had just walked out of the fog and returned intact.

Sunako stood behind the sofa in her backup maid outfit. The moment she saw Rover return, her expression immediately lit up like a drowning person spotting a floating log.

"Great Lord Rover, you’ve finally come back!"

Rover glanced at her.

"You say that as if I’d been gone three years."

Sunako seriously answered: "For a weak and pitiful backup maid living in a room with far too many frightening powerful people, every minute without Great Lord Rover feels as long as a year."

Thunder Dragon, lying on the chair beside them, glanced at her.

Krit.

Sunako immediately added: "Of course, under the noble protection of Great Lord Thunder Dragon, I still feel completely safe."

Thunder Dragon closed its eyes in satisfaction.

Rover pressed his hand to his forehead.

For some reason, he had the feeling that as long as he left the room for a little while, Sunako could develop a few more bizarre survival skills on her own.

Nanoe stood up and walked to stand before Rover. She didn’t immediately ask what John had said, didn’t ask whether he had been in any danger, only very naturally straightened his slightly crooked collar, then softly said:

"You’re not injured."

"Mm."

"John didn’t do anything to you?"

"If looking at it seriously, he only gave me a headache."

Nanoe smiled.

"That’s also a kind of harm."

Rover laughed, then sat down on the sofa.

Everyone naturally grew quiet again.

Even Sunako immediately shut her mouth and stopped performing the role of loyal handmaiden. The atmosphere in the room changed very clearly. Before, there had been some liveliness from Nanami just coming back to life, Sunako appointing herself to a position, Rilia just being brought into room 2705. But when Rover sat down, when Nanoe stood beside him, everyone understood the conversation that followed would not be light.

Rover leaned back against the sofa, fingers lightly tapping the armrest.

"The good news is that John doesn’t want to kill me right now."

Monica let out a very small breath of relief.

Rover continued: "The bad news is that it seems far too many people are betting on my life."

Sunako stiffened.

Nanami blinked.

Selina frowned: "Betting?"

Rover nodded.

Then he recounted the most important parts of his meeting with John. He didn’t say every single word, but he didn’t hide the necessary points either. Lamp-Bearers. The dead zone. Level 6 being the ceiling of the cage. Only after level 5 would one be qualified to leave this place. The more Lamp-Bearers who bet on a Survivor, the higher the difficulty surrounding that Survivor would become. Currently, three Lamp-Bearers had already bet on him. If John also joined, he would become the fourth.

The room was quiet for a very long time.

Monica softly said: "In other words... our rounds are harder than normal because someone has already bet on Master?"

"Very likely."

Selina coldly said: "Then just kill those Lamp-Bearers."

Sunako immediately sucked in a sharp breath.

Sister, could you not open your mouth and immediately want to cut down existences that already sound this frightening?

Rilia glanced at Selina, then looked at Rover again. A further glint of understanding appeared in her eyes. Before, she had only known room 2705 was very strong, that Rover was the center of this room, but had never thought about how many eyes watched from behind Rover. Those Lamp-Bearers were like factions standing behind the fog, each with their own purpose.

A man being bet on by so many of them, was it ultimately fortune or misfortune?

Rilia didn’t yet know.

But she knew the path of room 2705 would certainly not be peaceful.

Nanami sat beside Nanoe, her expression slightly dazed. She had barely come back to life, didn’t yet fully understand what the Endless Game even was, and now was hearing about Lamp-Bearers, the dead zone, level 5, betting, and rounds being distorted. Her head was spinning slightly.

But she didn’t ask random questions.

Because Nanoe was very calm.

As long as her older sister was still composed, Nanami felt everything hadn’t yet reached the point of being unmanageable.

Nanoe looked around at everyone, then softly said: "The most frightening thing isn’t being bet on."

Sunako raised her head to look at her.

Nanoe continued: "The most frightening thing is being bet on without knowing anything. Before, we didn’t understand why the rounds were abnormally difficult, didn’t understand why things like soul monsters, Dokai, the Ice Wolf General, and the existence behind him appeared so early. But now, at least we know the reason."

She paused slightly.

"If we already know, then we can prepare."

Her voice was very gentle.

But that sentence made the atmosphere in the room stabilize very quickly.

That was Nanoe.

She didn’t make others feel reassured with empty comforting words. She made others feel reassured because when things became worse, she could immediately find the point of control within that situation.

Rover glanced at Nanoe, internally feeling once again that John’s envy wasn’t unreasonable.

Having a woman like this beside him, truly was something worth envying.

Right at this moment, Morie stepped forward.

She was no longer sitting in a wheelchair.

Her legs stood firmly on the floor, her small figure straight and upright. Platinum hair fell onto her shoulders. Her jade green eyes were calmer than anyone else in the room. If Nanoe was the person who stabilized the situation through sharp intelligence and dangerously gentle demeanor, then Morie right now resembled a heavy stone that had just been placed in the center of the room.

Not noisy.

Not ostentatious.

But making everything carry more weight.

Morie placed her hand on the table surface.

A faint strand of energy spread from her fingertips. Very quickly, a simple diagram of room 2705 appeared on the table surface: the corridor outside, the position of the main door, defense towers, areas where Elith had previously deployed spider silk, and also several blind spots that could be exploited by enemies.

Rover looked at the diagram and slightly raised an eyebrow.

"You prepared in advance?"

Morie nodded.

"From the moment Nanoe transmitted back the information about what John said, I already began thinking about the worst case scenario."

"Very good."

Morie didn’t flush or become flustered from Rover’s praise as she would have before. She only calmly continued: "If you have to participate in the level 5 trial, room 2705 cannot become your weak point. Even if you haven’t decided whether to accept John’s card, we still need to prepare for the worst case."

Selina crossed her arms.

"You mean Rover will leave the room?"

"Possibly."

"Then I’ll go with him."

Morie looked at Selina.

If it had been before, faced with Selina’s spirit, Morie might have slowed down and used a softer approach to explain. But now, she only stood there, her gaze calm, her voice not wavering at all.

"Not certain you can go."

Selina frowned.

Morie pointed to the diagram on the table.

"If Rover leaves the room, enemies may seize the opportunity to act. Amed still hasn’t died. The high-level Survivors in the apartment complex may not truly be afraid enough of us to not try. If the fourth round produces a ranking board like John warned, Survivors’ greed will be pulled to its highest level."

She looked at Selina.

"If all the strongest combat forces follow Rover, room 2705 will become a weak point. And once the room is breached, even if Rover survives the trial, he will have lost his base, resources, Tenants, and foundation."

Selina didn’t like hearing it.

But couldn’t rebut it.

Morie was right.

Rover looked at Morie, the corner of his mouth slightly curving. He really liked this kind of feeling. Not needing to think through everything himself, because there were people beside him who would fill in the parts he didn’t want to deal with.

Before it had been Nanoe.

Now Morie was also beginning to truly step up.

This was very good.

Rover liked the feeling of being an Owner.

Of course, best of all was being an Owner who could enjoy himself while others voluntarily handled the trouble.

Morie continued pointing to the diagram.

"Selina is the mobile blade. If Rover brings people into the trial, you’re the suitable choice, but only when the room still has enough defensive strength. Rilia can serve as the frontline in the corridor. Elith controls the area using spiders and silk. Thunder Dragon is responsible for suppressing high-speed targets or energy-type enemies. Monica prepares curses and sensing for cursed objects. Nanoe manages the overall situation. Sunako and Nanami handle logistics support, and should not act on their own."

Sunako immediately raised her hand.

"I can provide emotional support."

Morie looked at her.

"You keeping quiet at the right moment is also emotional support."

Sunako: "..."

Thunder Dragon was very satisfied.

Krit.

Nanami couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

The atmosphere relaxed slightly, but only slightly.

Rilia spoke up at this point: "You want me to serve as the frontline?"

Morie looked at her.

"Yes."

"You trust me?"

"No."