In the end, the group decided to py the King’s Game.

  “No cheating allowed!”

  Nate’s face was stern as he focused particurly on Cana. “Last time, you all cheated. Don’t think I didn’t notice.”

  “Snder! We absolutely did not cheat.” Cana’s face flushed as she vehemently denied the accusation.

  Oh? Still won’t admit it? Nate thought to himself, already plotting to suspend their accounts if they cheated again.

  The st time they had pyed the King’s Game in the guild tavern, the girls had somehow always guessed his number. At first, Nate couldn’t figure out how they were cheating, but ter Lucy let it slip:

  They had been using the “voice chat” function on the Magic Net!

  How dare they use my own magic against me! Nate fumed. This time, he was determined not to let them get away with it.

  Realizing they were caught, Cana chuckled and promised, “Don’t worry. This time, no cheating—I swear!”

  “Yeah, right,” Nate thought, rolling his eyes.

  Lucy ughed and said, “I’ll head back to my room with Lulu to prepare. Let’s meet in the most luxurious room—the King’s Suite. See you ter!”

  With that, she dragged Future Lucy along as they left. Nate suspected they were off to plot new cheating strategies.

  “I’ll go ahead to the King’s Suite and wait for you all,” he said, then quickly departed. To ensure fairness, he pnned to inspect the room first for any foul py.

  Before long, Nate arrived at the luxurious Room 527 on the top floor. With his Six Eyes, he scanned the room inside and out, ensuring there were no hidden magic tricks or suspicious setups.

  At that moment, Irene entered.

  Seeing her, Nate recalled the system’s new task. “You’re just in time. I may need your help with something.”

  “What is it, Kami-sama?” Irene asked.

  Nate sat on the sofa and opened his Magic Net account. While addressing Irene, he said, “I have a batch of inactive Magic Net rings for you. Please take them back to the Alvarez Empire.”

  Private Message:

  Sigma Male: “Father-in-w, how’s the ring production this month?”

  Jude Heartfilia: “We’ve accumuted one million rings, all stored in the warehouse.”

  Sigma Male: “Don’t sell this batch yet—I have a different purpose for them.”

  The system’s task required spreading the Magic Net to the Western Continent and the Northern Continent, with at least one million users on each. Jude’s batch would be handed over to Irene for distribution across the Western Continent.

  For the Northern Continent, Nate opened another chat window and messaged Alternate World Erza.

  Private Message:

  Sigma Male: “Queen Erza, how many rings do you have in stock right now?”

  Fairy Hunter: “Less than 50,000. Why?”

  Sigma Male: “Don’t sell any new rings for now—I need a million. Let me know as soon as you’ve accumuted enough.”

  Fairy Hunter: “Understood! I’m not sure what you’re pnning, but I’ll prepare them.”

  After organizing the distribution pns with his two colborators, the girls began arriving one after another at the King’s Suite. Everyone sat in a circle around the sofa.

  Unlike their breezy swimsuits from earlier in the day, the girls were now bundled up like dumplings, each wrapped in multiple yers of clothing.

  “Why are you wearing so much?” Nate asked, dumbfounded.

  “Ta-da~!” Cana smugly raised her foot, showing off. “I’m wearing eight pairs of socks and seven yers of clothes!”

  Nate’s eye twitched; he immediately understood her strategy.

  Ultear chuckled behind her hand. “Let’s get started, shall we? Everyone knows the rules, right?”

  “What are the rules?” Mavis asked, her bright eyes sparkling with excitement.

  Pure-hearted First Master… She’s definitely going to be bullied, Nate thought to himself.

  Cana’s face lit up mischievously, clearly already plotting ways to make Nate regret pying.

  “I’ll expin the rules!” Evergreen volunteered. “Let’s see… one, two, three, four… There are fifteen of us in total?”

  “Fifteen people, so we’ll need sixteen cards.”

  The rules were simple: Cards from 1 to 10, plus J, Q, K, represented numbers 1 to 13. The small Joker represented 14, and the big Joker represented 15. In each deck, there was a bnk card, which represented the King.

  Each pyer drew a card to determine their number for that round. The pyer who drew the bnk card became the King and could command at least two numbers to do something. Since it was a social game, the King’s orders were supposed to involve multiple people to avoid singling anyone out. Punishing just one person felt too much like bullying.

  “The King’s command is absolute!” Evergreen decred.

  Cana pced an oak barrel of wine on the table and proudly announced, “If you don’t want to follow the King’s orders, you can drink a gss of wine as punishment!”

  Nate gnced at Mavis. This new rule was obviously to accommodate the so-called Ft Squad—correction, the Ft Quintet: Wendy, Car (in human form), Levy, Mavis, and Meredy.

  “Is it red wine?” Nate asked.

  “Of course!” Cana nodded.

  That’s dangerous, Nate thought. Red wine had a higher alcohol content than beer—far easier to get drunk on.

  “Let’s start the game, then!” Evergreen spread a deck of cards face-down on the table. Nate activated his Six Eyes and checked for traces of magic. Finding none, he confirmed they were just ordinary hotel pying cards.

  Everyone began drawing. Nate drew a Q, which corresponded to 12.

  “Who’s the King?”

  “I am!” Ultear revealed the bnk card. She pretended to deliberate, “Hmm… let me think…”

  She “thought” for a full half-minute. In the background, Nate sensed a telepathic chat among the girls:

  [What numbers are you?]

  [I’m 1.]

  [I’m 7. Car is 10.]

  […]

  [What about Nate? What’s his number?]

  Nate’s brow twitched. Cheating? Again? Right in front of me? He transmitted a message of his own:

  [Cheating is NOT allowed!]

  “Ah?!” The girls jumped, startled.

  Cana gawked in disbelief. “When did you learn to eavesdrop?”

  Lucy’s face flushed. “Nate, didn’t you say your telepathy was at a beginner level?”

  Juvia immediately surrendered. “Nate-sama, Juvia was forced into it!”

  “I knew you’d try something, so I prepared ahead of time,” Nate said with a smirk. Thank goodness he’d set up countermeasures; otherwise, he would’ve been furious.

  The girls regrouped in their telepathy chat, now panicked:

  [What do we do? Nate can hear us!]

  [Damn it, and he’s restricted Magic Net messaging too.]

  [At this point, we’ll just have to rely on luck!]

  Ultear coughed lightly and decred, “Alright, 3 and 4—hug each other!”

  Meredy revealed her card: 3. The other was Car.

  Both complied, hugging awkwardly to avoid having to drink the wine. After their quick embrace, the game continued.

  As the night wore on, the group kept their actions retively tame. Meanwhile, Nate was secretly marking every card he drew. Over fifteen rounds, he managed to leave invisible marks on every card except the King’s Card. Only his Six Eyes could see the marks—no one else would notice.

  Finally, on the sixteenth round, Nate moved with lightning speed and snatched the unmarked King’s Card. Flipping it over, he confirmed the bnk card and couldn’t help but grin.

  “Ew, what’s with that creepy smile?” Car compined.

  Cana gulped nervously. “Don’t tell me you got the King’s Card?”

  Nate, now sporting his infamous crooked smirk, decred, “Now, I am the King.”

  The hunt had begun.

  Bleam