Over a dozen family brothers gathered around, chatting as they formed a circle.

“Ah, fine, fine. Let’s just learn, then.“

A group watched as Hua Mi sat down on the sofa and pulled out the paper again from her hand. She merely waved it at the crowd, and a few who tried to memorize it immediately felt dizzy, swaying their bodies as if carsick.

A few hours later.

The entire first floor lobby was a mess of people sprawled out and asleep, snoring rising and falling in waves.

“It must be daylight outside by now.“

Bai Yuan, leaning against the counter, glanced outside the inn.

Xue Qi, had dozed off for less than an hour, was now fully refreshed. She walked over, watching Yang Zicang rub his forehead, and asked, “How’s the studying going, classmate Yang?“

“Kind of want to throw up.“

“Haha.“

“But I’ve already memorized it.“

Ding Ling~

A crisp sound rang out from the reception counter.

The lobby manager, who had just rung the bell, addressed the drowsy group. “Guests of the Lighthouse Tour Group, the occupant of room 204—the last room on the second floor you intend to bid on—has just given their response.“

“So there’s a response now.“

“Great. Finally here.“

The crowd rushed upstairs in a bustling thrum. Yang Zicang didn’t take part in their pact-making; he merely followed them up to observe.

……

Outside the Fey’s Traveler Hotel.

As the group headed upstairs, members of the Weiting Travel Merchant Association’s guard outside the building glowed softly with filament-like model halos at their chests.

“I saw them go upstairs.“

“Now’s our chance—let’s hurry to Miss Pear Blossom and apply for the bid!“

Kim Tae-cheol and the others nervously rushed toward the other end of the hotel but froze at the doorway: She Liqi and several of his men were already seated on the sofa inside.

“You!“

The guards stared in shock at the group sitting within.

“No need to be alarmed,” the fair-skinned young man said as he stood, smiling. “Honorable members of the Weiting Travel Merchant Association… Do you intend to bid for the third floor? If so, please come in.“

The moment those words left his lips, the four men beside She Liqi looked up in astonishment at the young man. Last night, that kid had said something entirely different to Yang Zicang!

She Liqi shot a glance at them, an orange flame flaring from his body.

“Considering everything that happened last night, you should have managed to scrounge up ten radiances by now.“

“This is…!“

“From now on, I’m going by Lynx King. And you lot need to change your names too.“

“What! “

｛Because more than ten people have acknowledged my new alias, from now on, I, the Mysterious Triangle, can be referred to by this new alias, the Lynx King.｝

Here are exactly ten people.

The Lynx King’s sword pointed at a sailor among the few Travelers’ Guild members at the door, a sailor dressed in blue pants and a white round-neck shirt.

“You, establish a travel group. “

That man stared in astonishment at the sword tip pointed at him.

“The morning rain in Weicheng settles the light dust; the inns are green with willow leaves new… I urge you to drink one more cup of wine; West of the Yang Pass, no old friends you’ll find. “

“……？“

The few guards of the Travelers’ Guild were both surprised, delighted, and cautious.

The young man raised his sword and pointed it at a face beside him.

“From now on, your name is Lynx Wei, ” the sword tip moved from the square-faced man to the narrow-faced man, “and you, your name is Lynx City. “

……

Wager stood panting at the door, beside him stood Monica, who had put on slapdash makeup in a hurry.

Perhaps it was because that torpedo boat had seen multiple torpedoes clearly hit, yet without producing the desired effect, and combined with its extremely close proximity to the Grand Duchy’s waters, it had vanished from the sea surface twenty minutes ago.

Having escaped the trouble, Wager and the other person packed up and planned to come, intending to complete the bid for Room 204 that those people had applied for half the night.

“If it weren’t for Wapi, how could we be reduced to this? “

“This is the drawback of having room rights controlled by just a few people. When one has trouble, all those rooms fall empty at once. “

But if one didn’t do that, managing the hotel would be even more troublesome.

Take full control into one’s own hands? No, if that were the case, I wouldn’t still be in this world.

Outside the house, faint yet dense footsteps could be heard.

“So these are those mud-caked riffraff. ” Wager thought furiously; if it weren’t for this group’s support, that Yang Buchen alone wouldn’t amount to much.

In the end, I was too careless.

“This is the last room on this floor. They won’t win the bid, will they? ” Monica said nervously to Wager, who seemed lost in thought.

Wager snorted through his nostrils.

“Relax. No matter what they do, they can’t possibly outdo us with our ‘tutoring experience.’ Heh, you know, we’ve learned quite a lot from each other. “

Click—as Wager turned the door handle, he saw a dense crowd of figures standing at the entrance, a pitch-black sea of people.

Yang Zicang, behind the crowd, narrowed his eyes sharply—the occupant of this room was none other than the president of the Travelers’ Guild!

Seeing these disheveled, grimy-faced people, the president smirked with disdain and casually stepped aside.

“Anyone who wants to challenge our tutoring experience can come in now. “

The lanky man with the side-parting haircut stepped in first.

Wager smiled as he looked at him. At first glance, he seemed nothing to fear.

Next came the round-shouldered, bald-headed man covered in tattoos; the look in this guy’s eyes immediately labeled him a crude thug.

Then came a tall, skinny young man in his twenties, followed by a student-looking kid who subconsciously nodded at him. This guy hadn’t even shed his student aura yet—he must’ve been lucky to find the new Track of Fate…

As for the fifth… Wager’s eye twitched.

The fifth?!

The sixth person followed in—a guy who seemed half-asleep. Then the seventh… What the hell was going on?!

The man frowned in confusion, checking the transparent, soft force field on the door. Had this thing failed?

Monica stood with her mouth half-open, watching the crowd file in—five, ten, twelve, fifteen!

Hua Mi entered the room and glanced around left and right.

“Pretty decent taste. “

“Who the hell are you?! “

Hua Mi turned her head to look, a soft smile gently tugging at the corner of her lips, revealing a dimple. “I’m the teacher. “

“A family tutor—a female one. ” The bald, burly man with tattoos shoved his weathered face close to Wager, tilting his head and raising his fist at the man, thumb pointing backward at the woman behind him. “You two won’t win this. “

Click, clack, clatter.

A chaotic mess of mechanical sounds came twisting along with a ticking rhythm. The nameplate on the small table flipped erratically—stopping at “S ” one moment, then jumping to “X ” the next, as if the system itself had gone haywire.

“She’s the teacher, then what about you guys?! “

Wager double-checked—eighteen people were indeed now standing inside this room!

“And who are you! This room’s trait is about ‘Family Lessons’—what business do you have coming in here! “

“That’s right, we are. ” The lanky man, the bald guy, the student, and the others all chorused.

Wager couldn’t hold back his anger any longer and roared, “You bunch of damn pests! “

“Didn’t your teacher ever teach you any manners? ” Hua Mi said, holding her small handbag with both hands, tilting her head to glare at Wager with a huff.

“I did teach him. ” Monica spoke up. “I also taught him that if you offend someone, you should apologize. “

Monica looked at the man beside her.

Wager glanced at the “204 ” numbers on the wide-open hotel room sign. In any other room, there was no way such a humiliating scene would play out, but here… Fine, it was all just acting anyway…

“I’m sorry. “

Wager clasped his hands together at his sides, bowed sincerely from the waist, and as he straightened up, he thought angrily to himself:Admitting fault is just part of the act; they should get the hint.

“It’s alright. “

Seeing that the merchant guild leader apologized so quickly, the people inside promptly fell into character and responded.

Click!

The card deck, which had been rattling chaotically for a while, abruptly displayed no abbreviated letters at all—just three blank spaces.

Wager turned away coldly. “But I need to know what you’re all really up to. If you think you can slip by on some technicality or twist of words, you’ll lose—and it won’t be pretty. “

“Exactly! ” Monica, frustrated by having her hotel wrecked by these people and then chased all night by an airship, crossed her arms in annoyance.

“We’re sworn brothers! ” the entire group shouted in unison.

“What… WHAT?! “

A dozen people stood hand in hand, arms crossed before them, fingers intertwined tightly, staring at the stunned duo with wide eyes.

“We are a brotherhood of sworn siblings from different families, recognized by heaven and earth! “

“You… “

“This lady is our teacher. She stayed up all night imparting knowledge to us! “

“You people… “

“And now, we’re about to kick off the highlight of this auction—the family dinner session! “

Ding-a-ling-a-ling!

A pack of mice, as messy as balls of yarn, pushed a fully loaded food cart down the hallway.

“Eeek! Eeek! Squeak squeak! “

Decked out in uniforms like cartoon toys, mice of all sizes waved tiny cleaning tools in their paws and jingled little bells.

Monika stared in shock as this dense pile of miniature desserts was wheeled to the door; two or three yarn-ball mice leaped off the cart, shaking items like towels and miniature mops, “squeaking and chattering ” to beckon everyone over for food.

“The outcome of this room? “

Monika instinctively turned to the scoreboard in the room.

As people began taking food, the numbers spun wildly with aclick-clack.

Though the score remained empty, a growing sense of unease churned in Monika’s gut.

“The very first home-visit family dinner… ” she murmured under her breath.

A family composed entirely of students, the teacher visiting their home, and a genuine, history-making first dinner—unfolding right in the room!

They were fitting every single detail of that one little phrase, ‘204,’ perfectly!

No, I must do something, or the travel agency notification announcing the room’s change of owner might sound any second.