The goddesses attempted to gain my salvation.

"Since there isn't one, we'll leave first."

After saying that, Ryan pulled Rose to leave, but Mike stopped them.

"What, is something wrong?"

"It's about that 7.5 million... I wonder if you could give me a few more days?"

"Although we have Young Master Bane's support, the Bell family still possesses considerable assets, and selling them will take some time. Most importantly, our casino doesn't have that much cash right now... If you're really in a hurry, I can only try to lower the price. But if the price is too low, we might not be able to raise that much money..."

Ryan looked completely at ease.

"I can give you some more time. However, one week is the final deadline."

"Prepare all 7.5 million gold coins within a week. Also, I don't want cash; it's too inconvenient to carry around. I only accept tickets from the Grudow Merchant Guild, and they must be valid throughout the continent."

Mike wiped the sweat from his face and let out a long sigh.

A week, that was his own estimate. After all, most of the Bell family's assets consisted of mining and smelting industries that the Lance family couldn't swallow, making them relatively easy to sell.

Thank goodness...

"That's it."

"Waiting for your good news."

After respectfully seeing Ryan off, Mike finally slumped into his boss's chair.

"This is really going to kill me!"

Kelly remained silent, her mind racing with ideas on how to latch onto Ryan's coattails.

Rose, who's next to Ryan, is very pretty, but her fashion sense is lacking; she's not sexy enough.

Although I am not as good-looking as her, if I dress up properly, I should be able to have a 50/50 chance.

With that in mind, Kelly had already devised a plan to use her sexy figure and various poses to hook up with a powerful man.

Unfortunately.

If Kelly could see the other women around Ryan, like Orina...

She would be ashamed of her ignorance.

Ryan was someone she could never touch.

------

News of Ryan's assassination of Bell had spread at an extremely rapid pace.

So as soon as he left the casino, he was surrounded by a large crowd of people who had come to see him.

These people only have a morbid fanaticism in their eyes.

They kept pressing Ryan for his winning formula, because they also dreamed of becoming rich overnight like him. Ideally, they'd assassinate a noble young master and amass a fortune they could never spend in several lifetimes.

There's really nothing to say about Ryan to people who crave gambling at heart.

Perhaps their best destination is the black market.

After exchanging a few polite words, he pulled Rose away from the crowd.

Following the deserted path, they headed toward the address Kelly had written down.

The two entered the casino during the day, but left as the sun was about to set.

On the way, Rose kept her head down and didn't say a word.

Ryan spoke first and asked the question.

"We found a clue, so why am I not as happy as before?"

Rose sighed, "Mr. Ryan... you're really stronger than I thought."

"To be able to make a noble young master lose everything at the gambling table and gain so much wealth... I don't know what to say."

Ryan tried to keep his tone as gentle as possible.

"What, are you like those other people, envious after seeing me win money?"

Although Rose did not reply, her expression answered Ryan.

However, Rose's change in mindset was within Ryan's expectations.

After all, winning or losing 7.5 million gold coins in a game is too exciting for anyone, and may even create a kind of illusion.

Casinos are high-risk, but the money can come really fast.

Even magicians are no exception.

Ryan looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh.

“You know what? The reason I dared to walk into the casino, sit at the gambling table, and even confront Bane in front of him was because of my strength.”

"As a dual-attribute mage, and a grand mage with six circuits, I am confident that even if I lose all my money and am burdened with endless debt, I can walk out of it unscathed. No one can stop me."

"Moreover, my light-attribute magic can interfere with observed phenomena. Although I didn't cheat in that card game, I have the confidence to do so. Even if I lost money, I can use magic to cheat and win it back."

"But what about ordinary people? Ordinary people don't have magic, they can't cheat, and they certainly don't know those dazzling cheating tricks. Ordinary people are no match for those tough guys in the casino."

"When ordinary people enter a casino, there is only one outcome awaiting them: they will be squeezed dry of their last penny by the casino's secret bookmakers and dealers."

"Then throw them into the black market, where they'll never see the light of day again."

After saying that, Ryan patted Rose on the shoulder.

"I entered the game precisely because I was confident of winning. And as ordinary people, we must always remember one thing."

"Gambling is the most tragic waste of life."

"What we should really enjoy is the happiness that the game itself brings us. For example, card games."

"If we have time, I'd prefer to be at a tavern, have a few drinks with you, and some beef jerky. Then, as a pastime, we'd play a good game of card games."

Rose stared blankly at Ryan's background.

After a long while, he finally burst out laughing.

This was the first time Ryan had ever seen her smile.

I must say, she's actually quite cute.

“Mr. Ryan, is this an occupational hazard of being a mentor? Why do you always speak with such an educational tone?”

"I am a mentor, so teaching and nurturing people is naturally my job."

"Tch, I'm not your student."

"What, interested in coming to the magic academy? Considering you took the risk at the casino, I'll waive your tuition and teach you for free."

"I don't want it!"

Chapter Ninety-Six: Dick's Travel Report

Before nightfall, the two finally found the prostitute.

The prostitute was unwilling to reveal her name and was very wary. Moreover, judging from her words and actions, she seemed to be intentionally trying to sever ties with Dick.

Fortunately, Rose was also a woman, and a very talkative one at that.

After some conversation, the prostitute finally lowered her guard.

Through communication, Rose learned that she was engaged to a merchant with a little money.

From their first meeting to their engagement, it took only a week.

Ryan couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

That's incredibly fast!

For the prostitute, she never intended to have much contact with Dick from the beginning.

She only went to the casino with Dick because he paid her to do so.

Moreover, since she was originally a prostitute, even if she was eventually sold to a brothel, it would simply be a change of workplace.

For her, this was not a threat.

However, if her fiancé were to hear that she had gone to the casino with Dick, the relationship she had worked so hard to build would be completely ruined.

That's why she showed such strong resistance when she heard it was related to Dick.

"You don't need to be wary of us. We just want to know if Dick has contacted you recently, and if he has said anything to you."

The prostitute scratched her head, leaned against the door, and lit a cigarette for herself.

"Fortunately, Dick didn't contact me during the period around my engagement. However, before that, Dick did say some strange things to me."

"He said he discovered something interesting, and that he could very well become rich because of it."

After listening, Ryan and Rose exchanged glances.

There is a door!

"Did Nadik tell you what he discovered?"

The prostitute shook her head.

"No, although he's usually a big mouth and can't keep anything to himself, he hasn't mentioned a word about what he discovered to me."

At this point, the prostitute hesitated.

After exhaling several puffs of smoke, he finally made a decision.

He went back inside and retrieved a document, which he then handed to Rose.

Rose stared in surprise at the words written on the paper; it was a travel report encrypted with cipher.

How could she have this?!

"Dick knew nothing about this," the prostitute said with a self-deprecating bitter smile.

“When I heard him say he wanted to become a rich man, I secretly rummaged through his room while he was sleeping, thinking I might find the thing he was talking about and sell it to someone who knew its value to make some money.”

"Later I searched his house and this was the only thing that looked worth something. But I copied down the contents and showed it to a friend, who told me it was just a bunch of useless, nonsensical text."

"It has absolutely no value."