Concluding her deductions, Mera looked at Myra, who was still fast asleep on the bed, momentarily unsure of what to do next.

"But, it's fine now, right? Once the resource distribution game ends and Kain returns, we can leave this place."

Mera asked herself inwardly, but as soon as the question surfaced, she felt an unsettling sensation loom over her heart. Magus usually possess strong intuition, especially as they advance in rank; they resonate with various aspects of the world, including those that are abstract and elusive.

Here, Mera felt exactly that—a vague, indescribable premonition that she couldn't quite put into words.

Suddenly, a calm yet powerful voice resonated throughout the central district, reaching every ear. Many members of the ten noble families listened intently.

"The game has concluded. The following are the results of the resource distribution."

"First place: Egretta Family, 17%."

"..."

"Tenth place: Sword Family... 0.6%."

Upon hearing the amount of resources allocated to the Sword Family, even General Cass fell silent for half a second.

This was unprecedented in the history of the game. Never before had a family suffered such a crushing defeat that they failed to secure even 1% of the resources.

This would have been understandable if the Sword Family had been trapped or if their representative were a traitor. However, the fact that neither was the case made this result truly extraordinary.

Of course, the battle of wits within the game had been under the observation of the high-level members of each family. They saw that both the Zento Family representative and Faith had seized the right moment and performed the same action. The only difference was that Faith had been more skillful and reckless—and he had won.

However, the thing he had sacrificed almost everything to seize turned out to be a hollow treasury, a pre-planned trap aimed at predators. This led to the total failure of the Sword Family.

Generally speaking, Faith was at fault, but he certainly wasn't a saboteur. He had given his all; one could only blame the cunning of his opponents.

"Are you all satisfied with these results?"

General Cass's voice rang out. Immediately, ten world-shaking auras rose within the central city. All ten auras converged on the mansion where the game had taken place, proceeding to retrieve the representative of each family.

Eleven figures manifested—each a high-class Magus from a different family, along with General Cass.

Before he could even react, Kain found himself standing in the air next to the high-class Magus of the Egretta Family who had rescued him and Mera previously. This man looked at Kain with a kind and appreciative gaze, not hesitating to offer praise.

"Mr. Kain, thank you for what you've done. On behalf of Jamie and the Egretta Family, I express our gratitude to you."

Although from the outside, Kain's victory might not have seemed particularly "glorious," if it were truly that easy to win, why hadn't the other players done the same? Furthermore, what Kain brought were tangible and massive benefits.

Kain waved his hand and replied modestly, "Just fulfilling our mutual agreement, sir."

The high-class Magus of the Egretta Family was even more pleased. When achieving such a feat, many people only maintain their composure on the surface, while internally they are out of control, waiting to demand more benefits and privileges from the noble family, treating them like a treasury to be drained.

Of course, incredibly wealthy noble families like theirs didn't lack such money, but the important thing was the attitude.

And clearly, Kain's performance suited this high-class Magus perfectly.

A person of great potential indeed, he thought. A young mid-class Magus with impressive strength, and more importantly, a depth of wisdom that is hard to measure. This man named Kain... will surely fly even higher. In just twenty years—no, ten years—he will likely stand on equal footing with me.

It would be wonderful if I could recruit Kain as a son-in-law for the Egretta Family. Unfortunately, he already has someone in his heart. And Jamie would never lower herself to compete with another woman for a man.

The high-class Magus sighed. Jamie was his niece; she was excellent in every way, but the only thing that troubled him was her choice of a partner.

Shaking his head, the Egretta high-class Magus pushed these trifles aside, as there was something more important to attend to.

The attitude of the Sword Family.

Even Kain noticed this.

On the side of the Sword Family, the high-class Magus who stepped forward was Budot—Faith's uncle and the one who had made the deal with him.

Now, although everyone appeared to be minding their own business, as high-class Magus, they could monitor their surroundings at all times even without looking. Budot knew that dozens of eyes were fixed on him, causing his face to darken like the bottom of a charred pot.

Ranking last was one thing, but that 0.6% was like a stinging slap to the dignity of the Sword Family—a blatant insult to their perceived superiority.

Faith, the one who had caused it all, stood silently in place. His face was expressionless; there was no trembling fear, nor any humble begging. This only infuriated Budot further.

"Faith, do you have any idea what you've done?"

Budot growled each word, as if indicting Faith. The terrifying aura of a high-class Magus pressed down, causing Faith's shoulders to slump.

However, Faith still appeared indifferent, speaking coldly.

"The deal was that I would help the Sword Family participate in this game in exchange for three years of freedom for myself and Cecilia."

"But you lost!"

"Lost?"

Faith laughed, but there was no laughter in his eyes—a dry, mocking laugh full of derision.

"This game inherently has no winners or losers. Didn't I still bring back... 0.6% of the resources?"

"Are you toying with me?"

Even though his reason knew the truth—and Budot himself had observed the entire process without seeing where Faith went wrong—he was still driven to murderous intent by Faith's mockery. Budot's hand moved to the hilt of the sword at his hip, seemingly intending to execute him right then and there.