Q: What's the benefit of being bound to a 【Chef】?

A: You get to enjoy a more lavish lunch compared to others!

Using her advantage as a chef, Roswitha managed to gather quite a lot of ingredients, and the couple resolved their lunch in the communal kitchen together.

After their meal, the couple began sorting through the clues and item cards they had gathered.

First, there were various fragmented clue cards:

【Two friends were once beneficiaries of the princess's kindness, and the three of them have been close friends since childhood.】

【While the Queen deeply loves the princess, she seems to have ulterior motives.】

【Among the eight players, there are at least two lone wolf players. They are isolated but possess unique advantages.】

【There are special scenes within the castle that, when tasks within them are completed, can trigger 'Fate for All.'】

"So... Muen and Aurora's 'friends group' should be confirmed as steadfast members of the good faction," Leon said as his gaze slowly shifted to the clue card about the 【Queen】.

"But this card here states that Claudia, the one playing as the 【Queen】, has another agenda. If the main task for all players in the good faction is to protect the princess and find the Black Sacred Stone, then what exactly is the Queen's ulterior motive?"

Roswitha shook her head. "Claudia hasn't shown any obvious signs so far. She barely speaks during meetings, so it's hard to analyze her main objective."

What Roswitha said was indeed true. From the start of the game until now, more than ten hours had passed, yet Claudia neither collaborated closely with others nor actively participated in discussions at the meeting table.

There was too little information about her, making it impossible to deduce her intentions.

"That's okay. The game has just begun. The more clues we gather, the more clearly the picture will come together."

"Mm."

They then moved on to the next clue card regarding 【Lone Wolves】.

This was also the card that caught Leon's attention the most.

Before obtaining this task card, Leon had no idea that there was another lone wolf present in the game besides himself.

So, who might this lone wolf be...?

Could it be Roswitha, the partner he was currently bound to?

Or could it be Claudia, who seemingly has an ulterior motive as the 【Queen】?

Leon’s thoughts wandered endlessly, and he couldn’t settle on a conclusion.

"So, there really are lone wolf players—and not just one, but at least two," Roswitha remarked, smiling faintly as she looked at Leon. "Who do you think it might be?"

General Leon instantly replied, "Of course, Claudia! It couldn’t possibly be me, could it?"

A crucial skill for any seasoned lone wolf player: throwing suspicion on others without hesitation!

The Queen raised her eyebrows and continued to probe, "But earlier, didn’t you say my sister might be a lone wolf?"

"Your sister might be, and so could Claudia. The card does say 'at least two,' after all."

"Mm... and you could be one too."

"Your Majesty, please have mercy on me. I'm truly a part of the good faction!"

Roswitha chuckled lightly, resting her cheek on her hand as her beautiful eyes gazed playfully at Leon. She slowly said,

"But I... like bad boys."

"Alright, fine—I admit it: I’m a lone wolf, Your Majesty."

Roswitha playfully punched his arm. "What are you even saying? That’s ridiculous."

General Leon’s inner monologue: You all saw that, right? I told her the truth, but she refused to believe me!

The couple exchanged amused glances before turning their focus back to the final clue card.

"'Special scenes can trigger 'Fate for All'? I don’t really get it. This isn’t a rule we’ve seen in the family werewolf games we’ve played before," Roswitha noted.

"Well, from the phrasing, it looks like if a player completes a certain task, its effects would apply to everyone. Wouldn’t you say that’s the gist of it?"

Roswitha nodded. "Makes sense."

They didn’t pay too much attention to this particular clue card, and soon began sorting through the item cards they had gathered throughout the morning.

They had a total of three:

【Super Influence】

【Effect: After using this item card, your vote count becomes '5.'】

【Note: Can only be used once.】

...

【Detective】

【Effect: Use this to check whether any player has 'eliminated' other players within the past six hours.】

【Note: Can only be used once. No distance limitation.】

...

【Avenger】

【Effect: If you witness an 'elimination,' you gain the ability to 'eliminate'. This ability lasts for fifteen minutes.】

【Note: Without an elimination-related item card, you cannot eliminate other players barehanded.】

Compared to the riddle-like clue cards, item cards had more tangible effects and were much rarer. Consequently, their morning efforts had resulted in only these three cards.

Counting the 【Mint Tea】 card from earlier, that made four in total.

"This is everything we have," Roswitha noted as she glanced at the kitchen clock on the wall and calculated their remaining time. "The bond between us is about to expire, so let’s divide up these things."

Leon blinked. "Why does this feel like we’re splitting assets in a divorce...?"

Roswitha rolled her eyes and jabbed her finger against his chest.

"Dream on if you think you’re divorcing me. I’m, going, to, torment, you, for, the, rest, of, your, life."

With each pause, she jabbed him once more, almost leaving poor General Leon full of metaphorical holes.

"Alright, let’s divide them," she said finally, eyeing the pile of cards on the table. She handed the 【Mint Tea】, 【Super Influence】, and 【Avenger】 cards to Leon, keeping only the 【Detective】 card for herself.

"The tea was promised to you earlier. As for the Avenger card, well, the reason remains the same—you like wandering around, so the probability of you witnessing an 'elimination' is higher than mine. Hence, it suits you better." Roswitha calmly explained the reasoning behind her distribution.

"What about the Super Influence card? Wouldn’t it be better for you to hold on to it?"

"No, you take it."

Leon blinked in surprise, a wave of emotion rising in his heart.

Even though we bicker incessantly, she cares about me!

Leon opened his mouth to express his gratitude. "Thank—"

"If I kept it, I’d definitely use all five votes to eliminate you at our next meeting. Five votes! Instant knockout!"

"..."

His heartfelt gratitude had gone in an instant.

Just like the morning meeting at the table, their earlier moment of tenderness didn’t stop them from confronting each other head-on.

Now was no different.

Even though they had worked together for six hours, gathering and analyzing a wealth of information, it didn’t mean the Queen would hesitate to vote against Leon at the next meeting.

While others like lone wolves or the Queen might have in-game missions to fulfill, Roswitha had a different agenda altogether:

Her lifetime mission was to single-handedly defeat Leon Casmode in any and every game or competition!

After tidying up the cards, Roswitha stood and lightly patted Leon on the shoulder.

"We’ll be acting separately this afternoon. As I said before, don’t you dare die before I find an elimination card, okay?"

With that, the Queen clicked away in her heels.

Leon watched her tall, graceful figure retreat before smiling softly. Lowering his eyes, he gathered up his item cards, stood, and left the kitchen as well.

The game continued.

As more clues emerged, everyone became further immersed in this surging tide of competition.

Yet, only one-third of the game had elapsed.

The upcoming phases... would be even more unpredictable and perilous.

---

After dinner, Leon planned to return to his room to rest and prepare for activities at night. He intended to relocate the Dark Sacred Stone, which he had hidden in the communal kitchen.

But just then, the Recording Stone in his pocket crackled with the voice of an NPC:

"Someone has opened the castle’s alchemy room, releasing a contagious illness. Please head to the 【Doctor’s 】room within an hour to obtain the antidote."

"Failure to do so within the time limit will result in elimination."

Leon furrowed his brows. "The alchemy room... contagious disease..."

He suddenly recalled the clue card he and Roswitha had found earlier about “special scenes triggering Fate for All.”

Could this alchemy room be that special scene?

And was the contagious disease related to 'Fate for All'?

With these questions in mind, Leon headed toward his elder sister Isa’s room.

When he arrived, Muen and Aurora were just stepping out.

"Daddy, you got sick too?" Muen asked.

"Yeah, I need to get the antidote from Aunt Isa."

"The antidote is sweet, Daddy. You must try it!"

Leon chuckled to himself. Hah, Daddy already tried it in the first round.

And do you know why Daddy’s sick again?

It’s all thanks to your mom.

"Alright, Daddy will give it a try. By the way, did you two find any useful clue this afternoon?"

"Oh, we found—"

Muen started to reply, only to pause midsentence before hurriedly changing course. "Nope! Muen and Aurora didn’t find anything at all!"

Although her face screamed "I’m lying," Leon was considerate enough to play along.

"Alright then. Be sure to head back early after taking the antidote, and don’t stay up late, okay?"

"Yes, Daddy!"

Hand in hand, the two girls left.

Leon then pushed the door open and entered.

"You’re the last one to come looking for the antidote," Isa said, seated at the wooden table. On it rested the final dose of the antidote.

From the color, it seemed to be orange-flavored again.

Leon walked up to the table and glanced down at the lone candy. He didn’t immediately pick it up but instead asked,

"Big Sis, you’ve seen the Recording Stone’s message too, haven’t you? Someone opened the alchemy room, which caused all of us to get sick."

Isa nodded with a touch of exasperation. "What an idiot! What possessed that person to open the alchemy room? Now I’m swamped."

"Do you have any idea who might have opened it?"

Leon thought his astute elder sister might provide some leads.

However, Isa shook her head. "I have no clue. Everyone has been coming to me for the antidote, even I, the 【Doctor】, must take it to avoid elimination. So as for who opened the alchemy room... I really couldn’t tell."

Leon appeared thoughtful. After a brief pause, he said, "So, if we can figure out who opened the alchemy lab, we can find one of the [Wolves], right?"

"Yes, I think so too. Do you have any clues or intel about the [Wolves]?"

Leon pondered for a moment before replying, "I do have some information related to the [Queen]. It says that although she deeply loves the [Princess], she has ulterior motives. So I suspect Claudia is part of the [Wolf] faction."

"That makes sense... We'll interrogate her properly during the next meeting."

"Alright."

"Okay, take the antidote now. Don’t let the time limit pass." Isa gestured toward the candy next to Leon with a nod of her chin.

Leon picked up the candy, hesitated for a moment, and then put it in his mouth.

"The meeting's at 8 PM tonight, don’t forget," Isa reminded him.

Leon nodded and then turned around, leaving Isa's place.

As soon as he closed the door, Leon quickly rushed back to his room.

Once inside, he dashed into the bathroom and spat the candy out.

Rinsing his mouth, Leon then pulled out the [Mint Herbal Tea] that Roswitha had given to him.

He opened the bottle cap and drank it all in one go.