"It seems you truly haven't disappointed , Kain."
However, Faith wasn't the only one who secretly observed Kain's behavior.
"That player representing the Egretta clan... Kain, right?"
"Why is he relaxing? In this situation?"
Cyrus thought to himself, his eyes uncontrollably drilling deeper into Kain. Of course, to stay safe, he continued using his familiar broad observation thod, which perfectly fit the "clueless and shifty" persona he had constructed.
Truth be told, Cyrus didn't think he was the only one who could discover the existence of the Zento alliance. Even though the Raymon representative had changed two details in the pattern—the number of auctioned gold coins being 20 instead of 18, and not hiding the act of depositing gold into the treasury—by turn 5, when the four patterns from the Zento, Flad, Raymon, and Don mbers converged, understanding their alliance beca much easier.
In fact, Cyrus suspected that the only person who had discovered his calculations in turn 1 and continued to disrupt them in turn 2—Faith—had long since seen through that so-called alliance.
And now, there was another "suspect": Kain.
"No, that's not right. Concluding that Kain has discovered the alliance based solely on this behavior isn't logical."
"After all, on the surface, that alliance still holds the upper hand. Kain is still in a dangerous position; how could he relax? Unless..."
"That alliance can no longer threaten him!"
An "absurd" conclusion popped into Cyrus's head. It almost had to be dismissed imdiately because it seed to have no correlation, yet Cyrus did not abandon this line of thought. A more terrifying assumption had erged, perfectly connecting the data points.
"Think again, Cyrus!"
"That's right, you have to think again, Cyrus. This ga was never simple to begin with, let alone..."
Cyrus might look down on the heirs of the various clans, but he absolutely did not underestimate Faith.
And now, he slled an even greater danger.
Cyrus almost lost control and let out a sharp exhale. For the first ti in ten years, his mind was forced to operate at its absolute peak.
Before this, whether it was setting hidden traps before the ga began or arranging the situation in turn 1 to lead to a winning strategy, Cyrus had always placed himself in the superior position—the hunter. But now, he had to be serious. Truly serious.
Because he wasn't the only hunter anymore.
Cyrus began to re-simulate the ga.
"From turn 1, that young man Faith blocked my calculations, and he did it again in turn 2."
"At that ti, I wasn't sure if Faith grasped my entire plan, but I had to assu he could, and that he did. Though I don't know how."
"Based on this premise, I can further assu that even though I was careful enough with the performance before the ga started, Faith still saw through the disguise and put in his crosshairs."
"Setting that assumption aside for a mont, this boy Faith... according to information from the Bethel clan's sources, he was originally just a mber with no reputation at all. It's even said his family was involved in so past scandal that the Sword Clan kept hidden."
"Why would soone like that suddenly be pushed forward as the Sword Clan's representative for a resource distribution ga?"
"One could assu Faith is a secret pawn trained by the Sword Clan—soone obedient to them. However, would that terrifying clan really let soone who doesn't even wear a sword represent them?"
As his thoughts raced, many details and pieces of information that had been lying dormant in Cyrus's mind began to surface and assemble themselves.
"In that case, the deduction can be reversed: Faith is not loyal to the Sword Clan. It's just that both sides reached so kind of agreent that allowed Faith to temporarily take this position. This wasn't sothing preditated by the Sword Clan, but a sudden developnt. If it weren't, the Sword Clan heir wouldn't be so uncomfortable. Faith's appearance is a variable he didn't expect, which makes him worry about his own status. If this were a plan the Sword Clan had made in advance, a core mber wouldn't fear soone without even a sword becoming the successor."
"So, why would a mber with no loyalty to the Sword Clan, and no chance of gaining status even if he succeeds, enter this ga?"
"The answer is likely: family."
"The Sword Clan is an extrely ruthless and harsh organization. I've heard that many clan mbers are trained by their own elders to be death soldiers, killing machines serving the clan. It's very possible Faith wants himself, or his family, to avoid this fate, which is why he proposed to handle this intellectual ga himself."
"At this point, the reasoning seems solid, but if combined with the first assumption..."
"Right at the party, Faith discovered my existence. Coupled with the events of that night, it wouldn't be hard for him to deduce that I am the one behind the scenes."
"In this case, with the mindset of soone who needs to win, Faith should have stayed in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to set a trap. Because if he already knew my true identity, the trap in turn 1 wasn't actually that hard to spot."
"Yet, Faith exposed himself just like that, right in front of , knowing full well I knew the depth of his calculations without any hesitation."
"This is not how soone who wants to win would act."
"If that's the case, I can make a third assumption: that the second assumption was just sothing Faith used to deceive the Sword Clan."
"He doesn't want to win; he wants to lose!"
Thinking this, even Cyrus himself felt a bit skeptical. Although his simulated assumption was logical based on the clues and filtered information, would Faith really want to commit suicide and even drag his whole family down with him?
Cyrus didn't believe Faith was unaware of the consequences of angering the Sword Clan.
"Unless..."
"Faith's way of losing will be a logical one, where no one can find fault with the details."
"Could that be why... he needs a scapegoat?"
Cyrus was startled; his breath even slowed for a beat.
He realized how Faith had utilized his own turn 1 trap.
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