EP.42
Though it was a casino, no one dared to pull off any schemes even in the VIP Room.
It wasn’t a matter of courage; it was a matter of life and death. The people who came here could move massive sums of money with just a flick of their fingers, whether in shadowy dealings or otherwise. Cheating here would, in some sense, be a new form of suicide.
And you wonder if I’m hiding my face with a mask?
Let’s just say that the casino had no real incentive to protect a con artist over its high rollers.
Anyway, the fact that I lost money was entirely on me for playing poorly.
No, that’s just how it was.
“…Look at me.”
Maria pulled at my arm with an exasperated grip as if she could no longer hold back. The people sitting at the gaming table, seemingly accustomed to such incidents, waved and chuckled at us.
Maria dragged me to a spot where no prying eyes could see and poked her finger into my chest, berating me.
“What were you thinking? How could you lose all that money?”
I placed a finger on my lips, whispering softly.
“Can you not speak so casually?”
Maria furrowed her brow deeply. No, she may not have shown it, but I was sure she did.
“Haah.”
Maria pressed her forehead and let out a heavy sigh.
“Is this really the time to be quibbling over that? You just lost a fortune!”
She scolded me in a tone even sharper than before. Of course, that wasn’t going to change my mind.
“It’s all necessary for closing the deal.”
“What?”
Maria abruptly stopped moving and glared at me, her gaze anything but friendly. It was more like she viewed me as one would a pitiful sight.
“You’re taking a job to earn money, but you’re wasting half of it like this?”
But there was still something she hadn’t gotten used to about me. I grinned and replied,
“I keep saying it, but the money isn’t really the issue.”
And I wasn’t the kind of fool who’d throw half the cost of a house in the capital down the drain without a second thought.
“Will you trust me and wait just a little bit longer?”
I’ll prove it with results, after all.
I said this with a smile, but Maria shook her head as she replied.
“Bringing someone to a casino and losing half your money, and you say that with a straight face?”
“…….”
…Honestly, I did look a bit untrustworthy at the moment.
―――
Regardless, Maria was unfamiliar with this kind of situation and went along with my words.
Together with Maria, we returned to the game table, though we headed somewhere different from where we’d been sitting before. While others gathered in groups to enjoy their games, we hung back and ordered drinks from the bartender, taking a seat.
We didn’t touch any alcohol. In a place like this, any hint of intoxication could impair my judgment.
“Could you spare a moment?”
Finally, the ones we had been waiting for arrived.
“What can we do for you?”
“We’re dealing cards, but we’re a bit short on players, so it’s not much fun. We came to see if you’d like to join us.”
The eyes peering through their masks shimmered with desire.
It was obvious what their intention was.
They came looking for a victim.
And these were precisely the kinds of people I was waiting for.
“Sounds good. I have no reason to refuse.”
I stood up happily, and it wasn’t just an act; I was genuinely thrilled.
However, I wasn’t the only one to sense their sinister intent.
“Bill. Those people look like they’re planning to con you. Are you sure it’s safe to follow them?”
I whispered into Maria’s ear, concerned.
“I think they might be connected to the people I’m looking for.”
“What?”
There was no need for a detailed explanation. By the time this was all over, Maria would figure out how everything played out anyway.
Maria and I followed them to the table. They were indeed in the midst of a game, already drawing cards when we arrived.
But it was obvious from the sidelong glances they were shooting me that something was off.
As I mentioned earlier, no one pulled off any tricks in places like this. If you valued your life, you wouldn’t venture into such risky endeavors.
However, the problem wasn’t so much with schemes as it was with wiping out someone who lacked skill. Of course, unless several people decided to gang up on someone, it would be impossible to control the situation entirely.
Skilled players adjusting their pace while keeping an eye on each other could easily make a fool out of someone.
And I guessed that was exactly the role they wanted me to play.
It was a predictable trick, but I decided to go along with it.
To be precise, I played the fool for the first few rounds.
“Ahh, so close! If only the number had been one higher!”
“Ugh… I’m doomed. …Really? I just got beaten by a single pair bluff!”
“Well done! I won!”
“Oh no, I lost again.”
I played the part of the cautious bettor, pretending to win and lose small amounts, given that I had already lost quite a bit. Sure, there were a few hands where I got completely wiped out, but my body, honed as a Knight, allowed me to read their subtle expressions and the movements of their facial muscles.
What’s more, the furious glare from Maria—her eyes blazing with ire proportional to the amount of money I had lost—only added to the atmosphere.
She didn’t really help me in reading their cards or keeping an eye on them.
However, the poise of a Princess, which could not be concealed even with dye and a mask, kept the others at bay when it came to deceitful tactics. The players at the table were sneaking glances at Maria, some of them even declaring their hands despite clearly holding good cards.
But that was where it ended.
One of the players casually suggested in a hushed voice, “Now that we’re all warmed up, how about we raise the stakes and play more seriously?”
“That sounds good.”
“Aren’t we a bit too relaxed with such small bets?”
“Surely, no one here is short on cash. …Right?”
As those words were spoken, all eyes subtly turned to me. Maria tried to dissuade me, but I was a step ahead.
“Alright. Let’s do that.”
With that, I placed a card on the table.
“Gasp.”
Someone gasped. It was the same reaction you’d get from an exchange clerk. Those high denominations of chips were a rarity even among regulars here.
I asked a passing server to exchange it for regular chips, and soon the server returned with a case filled to the brim with chips.
I set it down next to me and smiled.
Although I had been to these places a few times, I still couldn’t consider myself a skilled gambler. When dopamine hits, I tend to struggle with maintaining my poker face.
In battle, where life and death hang in the balance, it’s easier to keep calm, but for just a game like this, I didn’t feel the need to exert such control, hence it didn’t work out well.
However, in frequenting a few gambling houses, I’d come to realize something.
I had never noticed anyone cheating at cards—except for that con artist who had fished people in front of Daesurim. And in fair play, I could at least read my opponent’s expressions.
Of course, I couldn’t discern what hand they had. Even if I wanted to see their eyes reflected in mine, if they bowed their head while wearing a mask, I couldn’t see their gaze.
But psychological warfare? That was possible.
Admittedly, psychological warfare isn’t foolproof. However, the more chips I had, the greater my odds of winning in such a duel.
“Well then, let’s see how far we can go until I’ve emptied these chips.”
It seemed that the rules of wealth disparity applied equally at the gambling tables.
―――
This was just ridiculous.
Absolutely ridiculous.
Jack was now sweating bullets while staring at his dwindled chip stack that was below half.
“Raise.”
“…Call.”
“…All in.”
It all began when a nobleman’s son, who thought he had caught a victim, suddenly threw out an outrageous amount of chips.
“I have a Q, 2 for two pairs, what about you?”
“I have a J, 8 for two pairs.”
The “victim” seemed to completely transform as he pulled out chips with a wild frenzy after having been caught.
Of course, others hadn’t gone all in, so no one won ridiculous amounts at once.
Everyone had started with somewhat significant bets to lure the victim, but nobody felt overly pressured by the stakes.
However, at some point, it became clear that the chips of everyone except that victim were starting to deplete.
“Ugh, you’re not falling for it. I lost; I had a 9 high.”
“Ahh, so close… I had a 7 pair.”
Of course, he wasn’t winning overwhelmingly. From the counts of winning and losing, I figured he was about even.
However, the amounts won and lost varied in each hand.
“Raise!”
“…Call.”
“I’ll call.”
“…Damn it, call!”
For some reason, that guy shouted “raise” every time he had a hand that seemed decent to everyone else. Yet, just because he raised didn’t mean everyone would win, so we couldn’t just recklessly declare “all in” every time he threw out a hefty bet.
As time went on, Jack found himself down to half his chips.
‘This is bad.’
The problem was that these chips didn’t belong to him.
‘If I go back like this, I’m definitely dead…!’
Jack had come up to launder money for a crime syndicate lurking beneath the Holy Kingdom. To be precise, he was a hired hand who accepted jobs from a specific organization and came here to wash the cash.
Naturally, the criminals couldn’t be caught by the Knights of Osodox while roaming around, so he had always done the laundering outside of Osodox.
Given the nature of the money, there wasn’t a designated fee for the service; typically, each person just took their cut, but that didn’t mean he could simply lose half the commission.
He absolutely had to get the money back.
However, as time went on, his chip stack kept dwindling.
And as his chips diminished, he grew increasingly anxious.
Finally, when his chips had shrunk to one-third of their original amount, a golden opportunity presented itself to Jack.
‘A, a flush…!’
He had drawn an exceptionally strong hand, which was quite rare. But revealing his hand too soon in such a setting would be foolish. He took a deep breath and tried to maintain his composure.
Every second felt like an eternity.
As sweat drenched his back, he heard the long-awaited words.
“Raise!”
The victim—or rather, the enemy threatening his life—called out a raise, unaware of his own future. Others matched his shouts of “call” or “fold” as they went around the table.
Finally, it was Jack’s turn.
Without hesitation, he stood up and shouted, “All in!”
That was a mistake he should never have made.
In his eagerness to push all his chips forward, he failed to catch his adversary’s expression.
The opponent had a slight smile creeping onto his face.
“Good heavens.”
With Jack going all in, the pot grew explosively. Those few who still had a stake in the game alongside his enemy called his all-in declaration, causing the amount to balloon to a level that could overturn someone’s entire life.
With a staggering sum of money on the line, all eyes in the VIP area latched onto this game. Even the noble lady who had been consistently showing discomfort and pressure suddenly looked aghast at the stakes involved. But Jack had no capacity to worry about her gaze now.
He simply grinned maliciously and stared at his foe, the victim.
“Well then, let’s see those cards.”
The victim, blissfully unaware of his fate, smiled back and suggested, “How about the one who went all in shows first? After all, it seems the outcome of this game is riding on you.”
Jack didn’t decline; he grabbed his five cards and revealed the treacherous grin he had been holding back.
“Flush…!”
The appearance of such an uncommon hand drew gasps not only from the spectators but also from the players involved.
“Ugh, it wasn’t a bluff….”
The other two players also revealed their hands: a two pair and a straight. They weren’t weak hands, but they fell short against Jack.
However, the victim was still holding onto his cards.
And that’s when Jack finally checked his opponent’s expression. A sudden pang of dread shot through him, as if his heart might just stop from the realization that he could be dead in an instant.
Like Jack, the victim also had a glint in his eye as he looked back at him. The issue was, Jack had already revealed his hand. Even after seeing the flush, the victim’s eyes sparkled with excitement. Though his face was hidden behind a mask, Jack was certain he was grinning from ear to ear.
Then, the victim flipped his cards.
“Four, four of a kind?!”
Someone among the onlookers shouted.
To Jack, that exclamation rang like a death knell signaling his demise.
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