"So... you choosing to approach me and join my clan," I said as I looked toward Caius, "was that because your ability told you the outcome would be favorable?"

Caius shook his head.

"Not necessarily."

That immediately made me narrow my eyes slightly.

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Seeing the look on my face, Caius continued before I could ask again.

"With you, the outcome was unclear."

"...Meaning?"

"There was no positive or negative result," he explained calmly. "Just... nothing."

That only made me frown harder.

No outcome?

That sounded far more unsettling than a bad one.

Most future-reading abilities at least showed some form of direction, even if vague. But according to Caius, when it came to me, there had simply been a blank.

"So why choose me then?" I asked.

Caius turned toward me as we continued walking through the corridor.

"Because the other outcomes were negative."

I furrowed my brow slightly at that answer.

"And you just assumed mine would eventually become positive?"

"No," Caius replied calmly. "I gambled."

That answer genuinely caught me off guard.

I froze for a brief second before looking back at him.

"I didn't take you for a gambler, Caius."

"I'm not," he responded almost immediately. "But what I experienced during our fight was enough to convince me that choosing you carried the highest chance of survival. So I trusted my instincts."

I slowly turned my gaze forward again as we continued walking.

What exactly did he see?

No, more importantly...

What exactly did he experience during that fight that convinced him this much?

Was it the fact that I adapted to his domain restrictions mid-battle?

The fact that I manifested a domain of my own?

My SSS-rank innate skill?

Or maybe my ability to share skills with others?

Honestly, I didn't know.

But whatever it was, it had clearly impacted him deeply enough that he abandoned any intention of remaining independent and willingly lowered his head to someone younger than himself.

That wasn't a small decision.

Especially not for someone like Caius, who had once ruled an entire clan himself.

And the more I thought about it, the stranger it became.

Because Caius didn't strike me as the type to submit easily out of fear alone.

Eventually, we reached the central area of the clan where the others had already gathered.

And the moment my goblins spotted Caius and the rest walking behind me, the atmosphere immediately shifted.

Expressions hardened.

Hands moved toward weapons almost instinctively.

A few goblins outright stepped forward defensively, clearly wondering whether the prisoners had somehow escaped and taken me hostage on the way here.

Narg quickly raised a hand, signaling for everyone to calm down and assuring them through gesture alone that the situation was under control.

Still, the tension didn't disappear.

Not even close.

Open hostility lingered in the air as many of them glared directly at Caius and his group without bothering to hide their distrust. Others whispered quietly among themselves, confusion spreading throughout the gathered crowd as they tried to understand why I had summoned everyone here.

Honestly, I couldn't blame them.

The last time these goblins had seen Caius, he had arrived as a direct threat.

I stepped forward slightly, drawing everyone's attention toward me before the situation could spiral into unnecessary chaos.

Then I spoke.

"Listen carefully, all of you," I said, my voice carrying across the settlement. "From today onward, these goblins standing behind me are officially members of the Emerald Midget Clan."

The reaction was immediate.

Shock spread across several faces almost instantly, while others looked outright confused by what they had just heard. Some, however, weren't confused at all.

They were hostile.

Dribb's expression hardened immediately, his grip tightening around his weapon, while Narg maintained a calmer appearance though the caution in his eyes remained obvious. A few others looked deeply uneasy, their gazes shifting between me and Caius' group as they tried to understand how things had escalated to this point.

I noticed every reaction.

And honestly, none of them surprised me.

This was exactly what I expected.

So, I ignored the growing murmurs and continued speaking before the tension could spiral further.

"I'm sure many of you are worried," I said calmly. "Worried that this unruly bunch will bring danger to the clan."

"Unruly?" Kharos muttered under his breath in visible displeasure.

I ignored him completely.

"But they have all sworn binding oaths under the name of Lord Drugar," I continued. "That means betrayal of this clan will lead to their deaths. They will not harm you, act against the clan, reveal its secrets, or sabotage its growth."

The clan grew noticeably calmer after hearing that.

The tension still existed, of course. I could still see the distrust lingering in their expressions and the cautious way many of them watched Caius and the others.

But it was nowhere near as bad as when they had first appeared.

That was simply the effect the name Lord Drugar carried.

And honestly, as irritating as it was for someone like me—someone who wanted as little involvement with that god as possible—I couldn't deny the sheer authority attached to his name.

A divine oath sworn under Lord Drugar wasn't something goblins took lightly.

Which only made my situation more complicated, because that same authority I held so much power on my goblins was my greatest foe.

The thought alone gave me a headache.

Still, I pushed it aside for now and continued speaking.

"You don't have to trust them," I said bluntly, without trying to soften the truth. "Honestly, I don't fully trust them either."

That caused another wave of murmuring to spread through the crowd, though this time it wasn't nearly as tense.

"But they're useful," I continued calmly. "And right now, usefulness is what matters most."

I didn't bother dressing the words up into something prettier than they were.

There was no point.

"The King's Game is drawing closer," I continued. "I'm sure all of you have heard about it by now. And if we want to survive it, then this clan needs to become stronger as quickly as possible."

My gaze shifted toward Caius and the others standing behind me.

"And these goblins..." I said while gesturing toward them, "I believe they can help us achieve that."

I turned toward Caius' group, intending...