"Skill, Smoke and Mirrors, activate!"
Charlie activated his Smoke and Mirrors skill.
Then, taking advantage of the moment, he pulled the Mask of Deception off Harriet's face.
His movement was fast.
Combined with Smoke and Mirrors, he believed Ethan definitely wouldn't notice.
But, in reality, this was what Ethan saw.
The exclamation mark for the Mask of Deception moved from Harriet to Charlie.
Ethan couldn't see how it happened, nor did he understand the reason.
Anyway, Charlie had stolen Harriet's Mask of Deception.
'Heh! So among this group...'
'The least ordinary one was actually Charlie.'
'You really couldn't tell.'
"Lord!"
After putting on the Mask of Deception, Charlie immediately dropped to his knees and said, "Everything that happened before was ordered by Harriet. I tried to persuade her many times, but she wouldn't listen."
"So I've decided to put justice before personal ties. This is my apology, and also proof that I sincerely want to join you!"
"Really?"
Ethan narrowed his eyes at the man in front of him.
But how could he believe someone who had just killed his own teammate and stolen that teammate's Mask of Deception?
"Yes!", Charlie said with a sincere look, "Everyone admires strength. I've never liked fighting and killing. But my current Lord keeps sending me on missions, and that really disappointed me."
"I've wanted to follow a different Lord for a long time. And along the way, I've seen how powerful you are, Lord."
"So I hope I can follow you!"
"You're willing to become one of my residents?", Ethan looked at Charlie with amusement, wanting to see what he was really up to.
But to his surprise... Charlie agreed without any hesitation.
"I'm willing! Even becoming a resident under a great Lord would be my honor."
After saying that, Charlie immediately used his Magic Book to send Ethan a private message along with a [resident Application].
However... what Ethan actually saw behind this clumsy act was...
[System Notice: The other party is using a deception skill on you!]
'Heh!'
Unless someone has no other choice, who would willingly become a walking corpse with no will of their own?
Even under a powerful Lord, they would still only be a slave.
Swish!
Ethan didn't waste any words.
He reached out and pulled the mask off Charlie's face.
"Using the Mask of Deception on me? Is this how you show your loyalty?"
"Lo...", Charlie's eyes went wide, his face filled with shock, "How did you know I was using the Mask of Deception?"
"Not just the Mask of Deception. There's nothing you've done that I don't know," Ethan waved a hand, "Now I'll give you a choice. Die, or become one of my residents."
The reason Ethan hadn't killed Charlie right away was because of his prophecy ability.
Although his residents all had different classes... none of them had prophecy abilities.
Other than Nostradamus, who wasn't reliable, there was no one else with that talent.
As for the Prophetic Statue, Ethan wasn't ready to rely on it yet.
After all, until it gave him an accurate prophecy, he wouldn't easily trust an item like that.
Of course, having it predict where its remaining fragments were didn't count.
Anyway... even if Charlie became a resident, with his original talent... as long as Ethan used a Troop Upgrade Voucher on him, he would most likely awaken prophecy abilities again.
That was the main reason Ethan was keeping him alive.
"Lord, deceiving you was my fault," Hearing that, Charlie immediately dropped to one knee again, "But I only did it to make you even stronger!"
"What? You lied to me to make me stronger?"
Ethan almost laughed at Charlie's strange way of thinking.
But what he hadn't expected was that Charlie actually came up with an explanation.
"Yes! Because I can not only make predictions, but I also know about the Lord of Area B. Area A and Area B will soon go to war. In fact, it's the war between the twenty-six regions."
"And if I choose to become your resident, Lord, I'll lose my memories, including the predictions and calculations I've already made."
"Wouldn't that be your loss?"
"That actually makes some sense," Ethan waved his hand, "Search him. Take everything he's carrying, tie him up, and when we get back, send him to the Scarecrow so it can train him."
"Yes, Lord."
Bird One and the others immediately stepped forward and took Charlie's backpack and Magic Book.
Then Bird Two took out a vine from the backpack to tie him up.
Ethan took out a bundle of Water Ghost Hair and tossed it to Bird Two.
"Use this. Vines break too easily. This won't."
"Yes, Lord."
Bird One and Bird Two tied Charlie's hands behind his back.
They left his legs free so he could walk on his own.
But Ethan still didn't fully trust the man.
So he directly instructed Daji.
"Daji, keep an eye on him. If he makes any suspicious move, don't report it. Kill him on the spot."