Mera, although initially attacking the place as part of the plan, felt her indignation rise when she saw what they were doing. She truly unleashed her full power, engaging in a prolonged battle with the mid-class Magus, while Kain cleared out the other henchmen.

"Damn it! Who are you?!" The mid-class Magus roared in fury, feeling an ineffable bitterness as Mera, now in her strongest state, relentlessly pressed him. He struggled to resist, but Mera was no longer the novice mid-class Magus she once was.

The inevitable outcome was Mera's victory, and his death.

Afterward, she continued with Kain's plan, expending all her energy until she fainted, caught by Kain's steady embrace.

"You did great." Kain gently brushed Mera's hair aside. He waited, not using [Regeneration] on Mera until five minutes had passed.

This much time should be sufficient.

Mera recovered, and seeing Kain's peaceful face beside her, she suddenly just wanted to be lazy and snuggle into his arms.

"Alright, we still have a few more steps to go." Kain smiled, his somewhat rough hand gently stroking Mera's hair. She stirred, clearly comfortable.

Then, Mera alone, loosely cloaked, appeared, rescuing the imprisoned girls. These girls would be living witnesses to confirm the existence of "a mysterious woman," who was Mera's mother.

And because they didn't know what magic system Mera's mother belonged to, Kain, after Mera had released all the women, burned everything—including the magic-infused environment and the corpses—with fire. The goal was to prevent the organization from accurately determining the true cause of their deaths; otherwise, if it didn't align with Mera's mother's actual magic, the ruse would be exposed immediately.

Afterward, Kain and Mera quickly took a boat back to Adia. By this time, the first decoy carriage was already waiting there, precisely as per Kain's plan. He, Mera, and two body doubles would pose as merchants on this carriage and travel back to Whesling.

It was now the fifth day since "Mera set up the decoy plan but remained hidden in the mansion."

Ron was waiting for news when he suddenly received a notification from the organization that the whereabouts of the "seed" had been discovered. It was in a chaotic, distant city, ideal for hiding. Ron was ordered to lead his team there immediately for investigation and encirclement, with informants in other cities coordinating to tighten the net and prevent the "seed" from escaping again.

"This..." Receiving this news, Ron's initial reaction was that of a cunning individual: suspicion.

But the information from the organization was confirmed, and it was an order, so he didn't dare to question it. Even the matter of Mera was dismissed; compared to the "seed," Mera was nothing. The only reason he had bothered to scheme and pursue her before was to dig up a few more clues about the "seed."

But now that more concrete information was available, whether Mera was relevant or not didn't matter.

Ron thought this. But from the deepest part of his being, to the extent that even Ron himself didn't realize it, a vague sensation enveloped him. Still, this slight ambiguity couldn't change the ironclad evidence laid before his eyes.

Meanwhile, Kain and Mera, after returning to Whesling, Mera, according to his plan, disguised herself as one of the maidservants returning to the mansion from outside.

Kain understood the mentality of the spies. Because of his previous arrangements, Ron must have instructed them to pay attention to anyone or any vehicle leaving the mansion, as Mera might be inside.

This was precisely the situation Kain had intentionally manipulated beforehand, allowing Mera to slip back into the mansion undetected by the spies.

Next, Mera would "reveal the truth"—her "real" escape after the second decoy layer. This was indeed discovered by the spies, and they reported it back to Ron.

And just as Kain predicted, Ron showed no enthusiasm, partly because he was about to depart Whesling to pursue the "seed," and partly because Mera's plan unfolded exactly as Ron had imagined: two layers of decoys and a real escape route. However, by now, Ron no longer cared.

"Let her be." That was Ron's command.

Currently, he only had three mid-class Magus under his command. Whether it was for short-term reasons, like Mera not being easy to catch, or long-term, as they were about to participate in a large operation, Ron letting Mera go was the most rational decision.

And that was how Kain's fourth layer of decoy, his entire plan, was completed.

…

Ultimately, the plan to travel to the eastern part of the Akazac Empire didn't come to fruition.

Both Kain and Mera knew their recent plan had succeeded, and now it was time to return to Kanzax Academy to seek the protection of the principal and the academy's influence.

No matter how powerful that organization might be, Kain didn't believe they would dare to directly infiltrate the heart of Kanzax province, especially with the principal possibly being a genuine Grand-class Magus.

"This is so boring..." Mera grumbled from inside the carriage, sprawling out lazily. Not being able to see the ocean or eat giant crabs was truly dull for her. But more than that, she felt sorry for Kain, who also had to abandon his intention of visiting his village to avoid revealing anything at this time.

Since they hadn't hired a coachman, Kain was focused on holding the reins and guiding the horses. After tossing and turning for a while, Mera suddenly spoke.

"Hey, Kain..."

"Huh?" Kain replied. Mera hesitated for a moment, then continued, "Later, when we take a break, can you teach me some kind of game? Something really... intellectual."

"Intellectual, huh?" Kain turned his head in doubt, seeing Mera nodding vigorously at him, seemingly becoming more excited.

"Yeah, a mind-training game... something like that. I've realized I need to get smarter too, otherwise..."

At this point, Mera couldn't help but feel a slight sense of loss. Her decision wasn't merely a fleeting one to relieve boredom. Through working step-by-step with Kain on the recent decoy plan, Mera had profoundly experienced just how terrifying intellect could be.

In the battle between Kain and Faith, Mera had mostly participated on the surface level, primarily fighting. She wasn't entirely clear on the intricacies of the process, so she hadn't fully grasped it. But in this decoy plan, Kain had even guided her through each step, explaining why each move should be placed there, which truly opened Mera's eyes.

With things that seemed very ordinary, in Kain's hands, they could easily transform into a strategy to resolve a tricky situation without even using much power.