◈ 438. [Side Story] Gamble Club (2)
“No matter how you think about it, it’s too dangerous!”
Hallway outside the drawing room.
Violet whispered to her colleagues.
“Even though he spends a lot because he’s a prince, it’s strange to bet that much money right away!”
“You saw that guy’s habit of bluffing. That must be his style of betting money.”
“but… It was real that the prince broke my magic yesterday! If this is a trap… … .”
“Violet.”
Scarlett, the girl in the red cloak, shook her head.
“The opponent is the royal family. A person who is full of rotten money enough to build a casino in such a southern remote area. such a person… … Are you going to dig a trap to play with our gamblers who are like flying flies?”
“but… .”
“It is true that conditions are too good for us. Then, should I use that condition or just think about running away?”
Scarlett let out a light sigh at the hesitant Violet.
“What good. Let’s say you ran away from here. After that?”
Scarlett looked back at her other colleagues.
“Can I ask for a number that goes beyond this?”
“… !”
“We need one last bite. That’s why we gathered like this.”
Gambling always involves taking risks.
There is no such thing as a 100% safe game. There are times when you have to take big risks and bet boldly.
Scarlett judged that now was the time, and so did the other colleagues.
But Violet.
“… .”
I kept thinking about the look in Ash’s eyes I saw yesterday.
At that time, Ash’s eyes were not those of prey being eaten by them. rather… .
… It was the eye of a top predator that ate this one.
“We believe in the skills we have honed our entire lives.”
Scarlett gently folded her little fingers.
“Let’s win cleanly and leave.”
The other gamblers nodded. Scarlett smiled faintly under her red hood.
“let’s go. To rob Hogu.”
***
The rules of the match are simple.
A one-on-one match between me and the gambler. Each player plays poker with 100 chips, and the player who runs out of their opponent’s chips first wins. Repeat this 5 years ago.
Places and cards are checked for magical manipulation before the game.
If the gamblers win even once, the gamblers win. If I never lose, I win.
At first glance, ridiculously gamblers – gamble clubs have an advantage. however.
‘Actually, I’m not cheating.’
I’m not too relaxed
That would be too… … Because I already know what kind of moves they use.
It’s like playing poker while looking at your opponent’s hand.
‘Characteristics of scammers. He is so preoccupied with the fact that he is fraudulent that he is not good at thinking that he will be adversely affected.’
That’s why they end up being scammers.
If you can think more than that, you won’t be called a cheater anymore. You must be hearing something like the Chairman or His Highness.
Anyway, that’s how the game started- the first round.
The place is the drawing room. The opponent is R-rank hero Rhyme, a middle-aged man.
As the name suggests, this man with lime-colored eyes bowed respectfully to me and sat down in front of me.
He shuffled the pack of cards lying on the table in his hand.
good! good!
Eventually, after the shuffle was over, he was about to hand me his card –
Tup!
I grabbed Lime’s wrist.
“Stop moving. Do you want to take off the bottom?”
“Yes yes?”
“Do I look like ice-leg hot pants? is this kid?”
I recited a line from a very famous movie in Earth-Korea, but Rhyme just looked at me with a puzzled look on his face.
“I don’t know what you mean, Your Highness. I was just trying to shuffle the cards… … .”
“If you admit that you were joking, I will spare you. count to three three.”
“I have no idea what you mean! I also wrote the card given to me by Your Highness, and this place is also Your Highness’ mansion!”
“two.”
“It’s unfortunate, Your Highness! That there was room for me to cheat-”
“One.”
Courage!
I roughly pulled a lime and hung it on the table.
“Lucas! Junior! come in!”
Amidst the trump cards scattering in all directions, I shouted harshly.
Immediately, Junior, whom Lucas had called to cast a notarized contract magic for this match, came in.
I instructed Junior.
“Look at the card.”
Junior looked at the trump card and frowned.
“… There’s magic. It’s a very small amount of magic, but it’s detectable.”
“What is the magic effect?”
“Transparency… No, this is clairvoyance.”
This world is a magical civilization.
Naturally, tajja who strip others of their gambling came to apply magic and skills in addition to their skills as gamblers.
In the case of this man Rhyme, clairvoyance magic.
It is a method of putting magic on a gambling card with your hand. A deck of cards enchanted with see-through magic appears transparent to his eyes.
Rhyme trembled when the magic was discovered.
“Oh how not… .”
“Did you think I caught one or two of you in the ecliptic?”
Normally it wouldn’t take.
It was a magic that worked with a very small amount of mana, which was usually inspected before the game, and even if suspected during the game, it was not easy to detect.
But this side has information about you and an SSR level wizard.
“Good job Junior. Lucas? Take this child with you.”
“Johnny.”
Lime lowered her head and disappeared, dragged by Lucas.
Receiving a new pack of cards from Ader, I sighed and smiled.
“Okay next!”
***
Second round.
The place is a restaurant. The opponent is R-rank hero Orange, a middle-aged woman.
widely-.
Orange handed me orange tea soaked in dried oranges, just like my name.
“This is the orange tea I brewed myself, Your Highness. I’ve already been tested for poison, how would you like to taste it?”
“Thank you for drinking. I was still thirsty.”
I took the teacup, didn’t drink it, just smelled it, and set it aside. Seeing me like that, Orange smiled kindly.
This orange car is the first step to unlocking her powers.
Even if she doesn’t drink it and just smells the spreading scent, her ability is ready to activate.
Mind Reader Orange.
The specially processed magic tea, who smells her orange tea, reads ‘what she thinks’ to her as it is.
If you drink tea, you can read it perfectly clearly, but if you only smell the scent, the image is blurry.
Anyway, poker started in that state- within a few rounds.
“Raise. 50.”
I bet half of my chips.
Orange glanced at me. She was closely observing the image of the plaque that popped into my head.
Two cards of the same number – one pair.
I only bluffed half the stake with one pair.
She checked her hand. For her, two sets of two cards of the same number – two pairs.
Her hand has a clear advantage. Orange didn’t hesitate.
Charleuk!
Orange put all his chips forward.
“I will go all-in, Your Highness.”
Right after that, she looked at me and smiled.
“How can I fold here… Would you like to step down?”
A clearly provocative tone.
It seemed that he knew very well that if he was a poker player with a warlike style, he would not back down from such a provocation.
“I can’t do that, all-in!”
Naturally I caught up and we revealed our cards.
She’s two pair. And I… … .
“… ?!”
Five consecutive numbers.
It was straight.
My hand is much stronger. I put the card on the floor and grinned.
“I won.”
“Uh uh… ?”
Orange stuttered, puzzled, but I gave her thoughts instead.
“Obviously it was one pair, but why did it turn into a straight… is this?”
“?!”
“Simple, Miss Orange. I knew beforehand that you used mind reading.”
I tapped my temple with my index finger.
“So after receiving the cards, I deliberately ‘imagined’ that I was given a different hand.”
“What is that… does not make sense… .”
“What you read was not my vision, but the image I had in my head. If I know in advance that you are reading my mind, of course I can deal with it.”
This is the pitfall of mind reading.
You thought you read my mind, but I deliberately leaked disinformation so you misread it. It’s a very easy bout to overthrow.
I got up and went to look for the next opponent, but Orange shouted with difficulty.
“Then how did you know my hand and bet on it… ?!”
“There is no reason to answer that. then.”
I left the restaurant waving my hands.
… how did you know That’s it.
There was just a small mirror installed behind you.
‘This is my house. I put some work in advance.’
Why do you use hard magic to steal your heart and be deceived because of it? Try some more primitive tricks. The world would be easy to solve.
***
Third round.
The place is the courtyard. The opponent is the SR rank hero boy Cobalt.
Cobalt was a boy with an ordinary appearance, as you would see anywhere, but the color of his nails was unusual.
Her fingernails were dyed the same cobalt color as her name.
“Your fingernails are pretty.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
Cobalt answered shyly and started shuffling the cards with his small hands.
After watching it, I looked around.
There weren’t many people in the courtyard, but I could see some citizens outside the fence a little away.
The image of children running outside the fence and playing… … .
“… It is peaceful.”
As I muttered, Cobalt carefully handed me a deck of cards. Receiving it, I asked.
“How old are you?”
“yes?”
“I mean age. How old are you now?”
“ah… I am twelve years old.”
I smiled at Cobalt, who seemed shy.
“To think he was playing cards in a place like this when he was at an age where he was in full swing like those kids outside. You feel a little bad.”
“lol. are you okay. Playing cards is the most fun for me.”
“no. Don’t do that, let’s stop the game for a while and call those kids here to play together.”
As soon as my words fell, the children who had been playing around the fence started running across the city, clattering.
“Ah go away… .”
Cobalt muttered something regretful, but I laughed fiercely.
“Can’t you hear my lord? You can’t go, you bastards.”
Then I took out my cane from my bosom and
said, “I told you to play here, I-!”
He fired a magic blade.
hooked! Pooh-!
The flying magic blade hit the children’s back and neck at once.
Courage!
The children were pinned to the floor like puppets with broken strings.
I calmly put the staff back into my bosom, and Cobalt watched the scene in contemplation.
Jiik- Jiik-
Moments later, Lucas dragged the fallen children into the courtyard.
… was not a person
It was a doll.
“I’ve never seen kids like this in this city. Puppeteer Cobalt.”
The children outside were all dolls manipulated by Cobalt.
I growled in Cobalt’s ear as he looked down at his doll with a pale face.
“In this small city, I know the faces of the citizens living around me.”
“Uh uh… .”
“Don’t underestimate the lord, you little boy!”
Cobalt is an SR-class puppeteer who manipulates puppets with magical threads emitted from her fingertips.
Even if the dolls receive only 1 damage, their identities are revealed, but on the contrary, if they do not take damage, they move like normal people.
With a technique optimized for robbing a gambling hall alone, it specialized in catching and eating a single hukou while controlling all the dolls sitting at the table.
However, there was a corner that was difficult to use in a 1v1 situation like this time, so it seemed like he was trying to make it read even my hand… … .
The opponent was bad.
“You’re wasting this good skill on gambling, kid.”
I flicked my finger across Cobalt’s forehead and stood up.
“Let’s settle it today.”
The tear-stained Cobalt was grabbed by Lucas’ arms and dragged away. I snorted and got up from my seat.
***
Next fourth round.
The place is the guest room. and the opponent.
“… .”
I called out her name as I approached the girl who was waiting for me in the room.
“Miss Scarlett.”
Then the girl in the red cloak met my gaze and smiled vaguely.
Even though I knew that coming this far meant that all of my comrades in front of me had been defeated.
N-rank hero Scarlett.
‘… This child is the most difficult.’
That’s also true, because this kid doesn’t use magic at all –
he’s just an orthodox tatari with crazy skills.
