There was a long moment of silence in the bedroom.


    "I am Taiki Iekami." The man finally said.


    "Your surname is Taiki?" Kaito asked with obvious disbelief.


    "Martial Ind is an independent state with numerous families from diverse origins with differing creeds, climes and beliefs. We have established a few rules to ensure the standardisation of information. One of these rules is the use of the given name before the surname." Taiki exined.


    Kaito felt like he had fallen into the proverbial rabbit hole. The way the man spoke was like Martial Ind was not part of the normal world. However, he refused to be drawn into the curiosity about the politics of thend.


    "And how did you know my mother?"


    "Before she became Takahashi Hime, she was Hime Iekami." The sorrow in Taiki''s eyes could not be hidden.


    "Please don''t tell me you are my secret father, and my mother was running away from you." Kaitoughed without humour.


    The older face before him darkened. "Hime was my older sister."


    Kaito did not feel better after finding out that the man who had captured him was his uncle. He did not have a good track record with blood rtives. And the streak was continuing with this maternal uncle, who thought that killing him would be more convenient.


    He had struck the jackpot with his dirty bloodline. It seemed like it was inevitable he would be an assassin or some other type of viin, considering the contributing gene pools. This thought came with some bitter amusement at his situation.


    "How nice! Now, I have two murderous uncles." His voice was chilly, even though he wore a smile.


    "Do not put me in the same category as that man!" Taiki disyed his temper, and his schooled face lost its usualposure.


    Kaito''s eyes became sharper. He could sense genuine anger and dislike from this new uncle. It seemed like he could not stand Senzo. But if that was the case, why did he continue to coborate with that poor excuse of a human?


    "I don''t see a difference between you two. Both of you want to use me to aplish your goals. How do I know that you will not also discard me without care if I do not meet your expectations? He did not waste time disposing of me once he discovered I was not as useful as he hoped." Kaito responded harshly.


    "The cooperation with Takahashi Senzo involves the life and death of countless people. He has eliminated everyone else who could provide the pharmaceutical ingredients needed on Martial Ind." Taiki sighed. "If I were to eliminate him without a viable alternative solution, the lives of those people would be on my hands."


    Kaito did not understand the intricacies of the exnation, but he got the general picture of the situation on Martial Ind. The ind was isted and required special medical resources, and their only source was his uncle.


    However, when he thought of his uncle tantly killing his rtives for the opportunity and seeding, he felt a little sick in the stomach. The more important question was the reward given to make him so desperate to monopolise this chance.


    This issue pricked his brain. It could not be money because he had looked at his uncle''s financial records. Even though everyone loved money, Senzo did not seem to care much about it. He was generous with his children, and all his employees were handsomely rewarded.


    There had to be something else at y.


    But for now, he did not care about the personal interests of his evil uncle. Or his new possibly evil uncle. He had only one interest: returning to Akira''s side and making a grand proposal. His heart warmed a little before he quenched all emotions again.


    "What do I have to do to get out of Martial Ind? I have a life." He said.


    Taiki looked troubled as he looked to the open ocean. He did not want to tell his nephew that leaving Martial Ind was almost impossible once one stepped onto the sacrednd. Instead, he chose to focus on the minuscule chance that he could.


    If he was dealing with the Kaito on paper, he might have assumed that the boy could not aplish the difficult task ahead of him. But after meeting him, he held some hope towards Kaito. He could be a force to be reckoned with in Martial Ind.


    Once he became a power, leaving would no longer be difficult.


    "Leaving Martial Ind is based on merit," Taiki said. "The members of Martial Ind have to prove that they are trustworthy enough to travel without betraying the secrets of this ce. Of course, this principle applies to the weak people in our poption."


    Kaito frowned, but he did not interrupt.


    "The alternative is to be strong enough to stand at the top. True strength is never questioned on Martial Ind. As long as a person is strong enough to not be prey in the outside world, they can leave as they wish. The greatest fear of our denizens is being exposed." Taiki finished.


    Kaito''s frown became deeper. "A weak individual can leave the ind because you trust them, and a strong person can leave because they can. Only a fool would believe that kind of nonsensical exnation. Let me guess."


    "Weak people are necessary cogs in the interaction between the outside world and the ind. For instance, they are needed in the transportation of goods to Martial Ind. I would assume that there is some sort of guarantee of their loyalty."


    "For example, their family members like children are on the ind, so they would never betray the secrets of this reclusive ce. As for the strong, they would never expose the secrets of their little kingdom because it is their haven."


    "I would assume that this structure means that the majority of the people of medium or ordinary strength would be unable or unwilling to leave the ind. It is an exceptional system." Kaito could not deny the effectiveness of such a structure.


    Taiki was even more impressed with his nephew.


    His original exnation was simplistic and did not capture the nuances of the real situation. In reality, the merit system was based on risk assessment. The possibility of a person leaving the ind was based on the affordable risk.


    The strong were low-risk individuals because they did not have any reason to betray Martial Ind. The weak individuals might be tempted to sell the secrets of Martial Ind, but they had a lot to lose. Even those without family as a guarantee were too afraid because they could be killed with a wave of the hand.


    The highest risk of betrayal came from those of medium strength. They were not strong enough to be unquestionably loyal to Martial Ind, and they had enough ability to hide and fight back. These factors improved their chances of seeding in selling secrets and escaping punishment. Therefore, they could not be allowed to leave freely.


    "You are indeed as sharp as your mother." Taiki smiled a little in approval.


    "Now that I have yed your little games, tell me. How do I leave the Ind?" Kaito asked.