The wheel slowed. Then stopped.

The ball settled on the number nine.

Forn’s eyes widened violently.

"I-impossible..."

He immediately turned toward the wheeler whose face had gone completely pale. The man stared at the roulette like he couldn’t understand what he was seeing.

Just what the hell was happening?

"I win."

Zephyrion calmly pulled the massive pile of gold toward himself.

By now, the men seated around the table had all risen to their feet, slowly surrounding the area. The atmosphere had turned heavy, filled with hostility as cold stares settled onto Zephyrion from every direction.

Yet Zephyrion acted as though none of it existed, calmly gathering his winnings without even sparing them a glance.

Bang!

Forn slammed his fist onto the table hard enough to rattle it.

"Friend..." Forn’s smile twitched at the corners. "Surely you’re not trying to leave already? Come on now, one last round. Let’s settle this properly. Winner takes all."

Zephyrion tilted his head.

"You don’t have anything valuable left."

Forn’s expression darkened. It was true. That last round had emptied nearly everything he had. However, a single word echoed in his mind.

"Valuable..."

Slowly, his eyes widened. That’s right.

He pushed himself to his feet, the sudden movement making his heavy frame wobble slightly.

"Stand up, slave!"

The boy he had been using as a chair, Tobias, shakily rose to his feet. His head remained lowered, his posture completely submissive. Zephyrion observed him quietly for a moment before casually looking away.

Forn dragged over another chair and dropped himself into it before gesturing toward Tobias with a grin.

"This here?" Forn grabbed Tobias by the shoulder with a grin. "My personal slave. Eats when I say eat, breathes when I say breathe." He patted Tobias like he was showing off prized property. "And he’s a mark three too. You know how expensive those are? I’ll wager him for everything on this table. What do you say?"

"..."

The silence lingered, thickening the tension around the table. Then Zephyrion nodded.

"Alright."

He pushed the mountain of gold toward the center of the table.

"Hahaha! Good!" Forn slapped the table excitedly before glancing toward Buck. "Looks like old man over there suddenly caught a fever. Buck, get over here."

Buck moved quickly to replace the wheeler, who stepped away without protest.

"Don’t worry, friend." Forn grinned broadly. "Buck’s hands are blessed by the gambling gods themselves."

Zephyrion looked toward Buck, who flashed a grin full of yellowed teeth before giving a confident nod.

"Okay."

The next moment, Buck leaned over the roulette wheel as though wiping it down. A faint hum rippled through the air, subtle enough that no one else would notice it.

But Zephyrion did.

As Buck pulled his hand away, Zephyrion’s eyes briefly landed on the ball. Earlier, it had been brown. Now it was dark.

Metal.

Whether they simply didn’t care enough to hide their cheating or believed nobody here could expose them remained to be seen. Either way, things had unfolded almost exactly as Zephyrion expected.

Humans were naturally greedy creatures. Give them two or three easy victories and they would start believing fortune itself revolved around them. Forn had fallen into the same trap that swallowed most gamblers.

Still, now that the ball had been switched to metal, their intentions were obvious.

Up until now, Zephyrion had been subtly manipulating the ball with the air element.

Now, with direct control over the ball, them controlling where it landed wasn’t difficult.

But Forn and his men had made one very unfortunate mistake.

Who, within the Ferran Empire at the Vessel rank, could possibly surpass him when it came to controlling metal?

The wheel rolled once more.

Again, Zephyrion calmly spoke.

"Ten."

Forn glanced toward Buck, who subtly gestured a number with his fingers. Only then did Forn turn back toward Zephyrion, his expression finally growing serious.

"Sixty."

As the wheel gradually slowed, Buck’s expression darkened. No matter how much he tried to influence the ball, it refused to respond.

His eyes flicked toward Zephyrion in shock.

But Zephyrion wasn’t even looking at him. Nor could Buck sense the faint hum that usually accompanied elemental manipulation.

’Then who...?’

The wheel finally stopped. The ball settled directly on ten.

"This..."

Bang!

"What is this bullshit?!" Forn roared, slamming his fist onto the table hard enough to crack it. "How are we still losing?!"

His mind struggled to process it. Even after openly cheating, they had still lost.

"Oi, you little shi—"

"Stop."

The man instantly froze beneath Forn’s icy glare before slowly stepping back.

Forn briefly glanced around the gambling den. By now, nearly everyone present was staring at the scene unfolding around the table. Only then did he turn back toward Zephyrion, forcing a strained smile onto his face.

"Hah... looks like luck’s in love with you tonight." His eye twitched faintly. "Good game. Real good game. So... you heading out now?"

"Yes," Zephyrion answered calmly, as though the cold and threatening stares around him didn’t exist. Then he spoke again.

"Come with me. Now."

Tobias glanced toward Forn as though asking for permission. Once the man gave a stiff nod, Tobias quietly approached Zephyrion with his head lowered.

"My lord."

Zephyrion ignored him.

He simply produced a large bag and calmly packed away his winnings before turning around and walking out without another word, the hostile gazes of the men following him the entire way out.

...

As they wandered through the streets, Tobias trailing a few steps behind, the boy repeatedly stole hesitant glances toward Zephyrion before clenching his fists as though struggling with something internally.

Eventually, he exhaled heavily, finally making up his mind.

"M-my lord... I know you won me fairly, but Forn isn’t the kind of person who lets things like this go, especially after losing that much money." Tobias lowered his voice anxiously.

"He only held back in there because he has a reputation to protect. If people start thinking winners leave his den with broken legs, or don’t leave at all, his business is finished. But now that we’re outside... he’s definitely coming after you."

"..."

Zephyrion gave no response. He simply continued walking at the same steady pace.

Tobias gritted his teeth, his expression gradually turning resolute.

"Pl-please... you need to run. Just leave me behind and get out of the slums. Once you leave this area, they won’t dare chase you anymore."

"..."

"My lord... are you even listening to m—"

Without warning, Zephyrion turned and entered a narrow alleyway.

At the far end stood nothing but a dead wall.

Tobias’ eyes widened.

"This..." Panic instantly seeped into Tobias’ voice as Zephyrion entered the alleyway. "W-we shouldn’t be here. They’re already following us. If they corner us in a place like thi—"

"Ahh... there you are."

Both of them turned toward the mouth of the alleyway.

There stood Forn alongside five other large men, their massive frames almost completely blocking the exit.

Slowly, Forn’s grin stretched wider.

"The little thief finally stopped running."