### Chapter 15: The Real Lone Wolf Gameplay
“Promise me, Leon, don’t get knifed by someone else before I make my move.”
“Hmph, don’t get ahead of yourself. Next, I’m coming for you—and you won’t make it to the next meeting.”
“Oh really? I wonder who it was that missed the first meeting of the game. Why didn’t you show up, Leon? Didn’t want to?”
“That was just me being careless and falling for your tricks. Pure role advantage, it doesn’t reflect my skills.”
“Alright, then I’m looking forward to your next performance.”
“Enough chit-chat. Stay away from me and don’t get in the way of my clue-hunting.”
“Who’s getting away? You were clearly the one who scooted over here!”
“Sounds like I’m thrilled to be near you.”
The couple echoed, “Hmph!”
Just as they were about to strut down their respective paths, both their Shadow Stones suddenly chimed with the NPC’s alert tone:
“Attention: [King’s Old Friend] and [Royal Chef], please take note. You are under the effect of the item card [Bond Stronger than Gold’s Seven Day Lock]. For the next six hours, you must act together, and cannot be more than five meters apart.”
They both froze.
Wh-what is this Bond Stronger than Gold Seven Day Lock?
What a nauseating name!
After a brief moment of shock, Leon and Roswiser turned to look at each other.
“Did you use this item card?” Leon asked.
“Do you think I’m crazy enough to use that on us?”
“Then who has such a twisted sense of humor?”
“Whoever it is, they clearly think this game isn’t chaotic enough.”
Roswiser shook her head. There was no point in dwelling on who did this to them. They needed to focus on the current situation.
“Alright, from now on, we’re spending the next six hours together. Sigh~”
Leon raised an eyebrow. “What’s with that sigh? Being with me is a blessing. Just watch and learn.”
Roswiser nearly rolled her eyes to the ceiling.
“Just thinking about being tied to you, this narcissistic dog man, for six hours makes me feel uncomfortable all over!”
Leon (confidently): “You’re lying.”
Roswiser: “Nope, telling the truth.”
Leon: “Lying.”
Roswiser: “True!”
Leon: “Lying.”
Roswiser: “Truth!”
Leon: “It’s the truth!”
Roswiser: “It’s a lie!”
Slap—
Leon clapped his hands. “See? You just admitted you’re lying. It means deep down, you really want to be with me!”
“……”
Even dragons are left speechless!
Roswiser stomped her foot and flicked her tail. “I can’t be bothered with you.”
With that, the queen strutted off down the corridor.
Leon saw how much that annoyed the Mother Dragon and decided to add fuel to the fire, following right behind.
“Hey, hey, don’t wander too far, wife! Remember, our distance can’t exceed five meters!”
……
However, neither Leon nor Roswiser anticipated that being tied together wasn’t the worst part. The real torture was—
Being seen by others while strapped together!
“Little Luo, brother-in-law, your acting skills are impressive!”
They both silently facepalmed, bracing for the countless beatings from their eldest daughter.
The Red Dragon Queen crossed her arms, wearing a mischievous grin. “Bickering across the conference table, and who knew you’d be doing the same in private? Sigh, I’m just trying to play a game, and instead, I’m drowning in dog food. Tsk, tsk, such a tragedy~”
If you’re really feeling tragic, stop tormenting us, big sis!
Why not go do your own tasks?
“Sister, we’re actually—”
“Whoa~ It’s fine if you’re all lovey-dovey, but do you really have to use ‘Bond Stronger than Gold’ to describe yourselves? You two have been married for five years, cut the mushy stuff~”
“Let’s stab her.”
“Agreed.”
“Hey, hey, wait, I was just joking!”
Isar instantly cut the teasing.
She knew well that although her sister and brother-in-law seemed to bicker endlessly, if they teamed up, they’d probably breeze through this game.
Even someone as clever as Isar would only have a fifty-fifty chance against Leon, and if Roswiser joined in, no one among the other six would stand a chance.
Unfortunately, the only reason they were together right now was due to some nasty item card trickery.
Unless absolutely necessary, these two lovebirds were not going to cooperate.
“Have you found any useful clues?” Isar shifted the topic.
The couple shook their heads.
“Hmm… I haven’t found anything either. I’ll be off then, you two enjoy your little romantic getaway.”
With that, Isar waved goodbye and left.
Once her footsteps faded, Leon casually asked, “You think being a [Doctor] gives her no advantage at all?”
“What do you mean?”
“Look, your [Chef] identity can use in-game items to prevent players from attending meetings, and I bet there are other items with different abilities. But what about our big sister? As a [Doctor], she should be way more operational than a [Chef].”
Roswiser nodded thoughtfully, “That’s true. Plus, my sister keeps saying she hasn’t found any clues. Since the game started, everyone should have completed some tasks and gathered intel or items. How could she have nothing at all?”
Leon blinked, piecing things together, and said, “Your sister… wouldn’t be a lone wolf player, would she?”
“A lone wolf?”
“Yep, she’s not in anyone’s camp and just needs to survive to win.”
Fake lone wolf gameplay: eliminate everyone.
Real lone wolf gameplay: slander everyone.
General Leon, high five!
“Hmm… the way you say it does sound plausible.”
Seeing the Mother Dragon starting to buy into his bait, Leon was about to push his luck and smear more dirt on their big sister when Roswiser interrupted, “But really, it’s early in the game; no one can be trusted. Even if we’re tied together, I’d still have my doubts about you.”
Great.
Trying to rope Roswiser in with a few sentences was clearly a no-go.
Leon shrugged. “Whatever, let’s get back to the tasks.”
The couple set off again.
About half an hour later, they completed a task.
But the reward turned out to be a [Chef] exclusive bonus.
In other words, Leon had been working hard all this time, making Roswiser her bridal gown.
The queen smugly waved the card in her hand. “Watch and learn.”
“You just got lucky.”
“Pfft.”
Roswiser didn’t say much more and opened the intel card, reading:
【Recipe】
【Dish Name: Mint Tea】
【Effect: When consumed, it can remove any negative effects for the duration of the game.】
【Note: Can only be used once.】
Roswiser’s pupils dilated. “Remove any negative effects… So that means, if we make the mint tea, we can get rid of this Bond Stronger than Gold Seven Day Lock.”
Hearing this, Leon’s eyes lit up. “Then we need to get to the kitchen fast.”
“Right!”
Immediately, the couple dashed to the kitchen.
But upon arriving, they found someone had already beaten them to it.
It was Noia and Helena.
Princess and Guard.
“Mom and Dad? What are you doing together?”
“Uh, we… came to do a task.”
As Leon spoke, he couldn’t help but glance at the water tank under the kitchen sink, where the key item ‘Black Holy Stone’ for this game was hidden.
Since Leon’s main task as a lone wolf was to keep the Black Holy Stone safe until the end of the game to win;
It was easy to deduce that Noia, as a princess, needed to find the Black Holy Stone to win.
And right now, the key to victory was less than two meters away from the eldest daughter.
Leon retracted his gaze and didn’t show any signs of panic.
“What about you guys? Are you here to do your tasks too?” Roswiser asked.
“Oh no, we’re just browsing around, seeing if there are any tasks to do,” Helena replied.
“Oh, I see…”
“Yeah, so you guys can keep doing your tasks. We’ll be heading off now,” Noia said as she and Helena prepared to go their separate ways.
Just then, they all suddenly heard Noia’s Shadow Stone chime in:
“Attention: [Princess] and [Friend A], please take note. You are under the effect of the item card [Bond Stronger than Gold Seven Day Lock]. For the next six hours, you must act together and cannot be more than five meters apart.”
Noia was bewildered. “Wh-what’s this Bond Stronger than Gold Seven Day Lock…”
“Friend A? Is that one of the group members from Moon and Little Light?” Helena asked.
When drawing task cards, the sister group did indeed draw [Princess’ Friends].
To differentiate, they were labeled as [Friend A] and [Friend B].
“Big sister! Big sister!”
Before Noia could wrap her head around it, Moon’s voice rang from the kitchen door.
Little Moon hurried to Noia’s side, clutching her Shadow Stone, her big eyes sparkling. “Sister, we… we seem to have been hit by a bad guy’s item!”
“Ah, I just found out too, about that Bond Stronger than Gold thing…”
“Yep!”
Moon nodded vigorously. “For the next six hours, I can only act with my sister. I won’t be a burden, right?”
“Of course not.” Noia pinched her little sister’s cheek affectionately.
“Yay~ you’re the best, sister~”
“Do you know who used this item card on us?”
“I don’t know! I don’t know anything!”
“Oh… Okay, then let’s go do some tasks together.”
“Mmhm!”
Before they left, Little Moon remembered to say goodbye to their parents.
“Goodbye, Daddy and Mommy~”
The couple waved back with smiles.
Once they were gone, Leon instantly poked at their second daughter’s little scheme.
“She definitely used that Bond Stronger than Gold item card on herself! Absolutely!”
Roswiser chuckled helplessly. “It’s a game, it’s supposed to be fun!”
Upon hearing this, Leon seemed to have a lightbulb moment.
He scratched his nose, adopting a nonchalant tone, “So after we make the mint tea… do we still need to remove this item effect?”
Roswiser raised a well-groomed eyebrow, clearly understanding the meaning behind Leon’s words.
But she still wanted to tease this idiot a bit.
“Of course we’ll remove it, why wouldn’t we?” Roswiser replied with a beaming smile.
Leon suddenly panicked, rubbing his hands, while continuing his nonchalant act, “Because… you see, this Bond Stronger than Gold is not that big of a negative effect. If we just whip up the mint tea to get rid of it now, what if we run into a card with a stronger negative effect later? That tea can only be used once, right?”
Oh boy, he’s really on a roll.
But all those words could be boiled down to one thing:
I want to stay tied to you a little longer.
“Hmm… you do have a point.”
Roswiser also secretly wished to spend more time with her captive since, after all, this was a family team-building game. She thought it’d be a shame not to interact more while they had the chance.
Their true thoughts didn’t even need much guessing.
They were just waiting for a moment when they wouldn’t have to “keep up the bravado.”
Once resolved, Roswiser followed the recipe and made the mint tea, then handed it over to Leon.
“Is this for me?” Leon was startled.
“Of course, you roam around so much. If you accidentally trigger some negative item card, this mint tea might just save your life.”
“Wow, Your Majesty, protective of your husband, huh?”
“Stop being cheesy. Just take it back.”
“Absolutely not!”
Roswiser shot him a playful glare. “Alright, let’s get to the next task.”
“Yeah, let’s go, let’s go!”
