"It's too risky no matter how you think about it!"
In the corridor outside the parlor.
Violet whispered to her colleagues.
"It's strange that a prince, even one known for big spending, would suddenly wager such a large amount!"
"You saw his habit of bluffing. That must be his style of betting his money."
"But... the prince really did break my illusion yesterday! What if this is also a trap..."
"Violet."
Scarlet, the girl in the red cloak, shook her head.
"He's royalty. And a human so rich that he's building a casino in such a remote southern area. Would such a person really bother setting a trap for us, mere flies like us?"
"But..."
"It's true that the conditions are overly favorable for us. Shouldn't we use that to our advantage instead of thinking of running away?"
Scarlet sighed lightly at Violet's hesitation.
"Fine. Let's say we run away now. What then?"
Scarlet looked around at the other colleagues.
"Do you think we'll get a chance like this again?"
"..."
"We need one last big score. That's why we gathered, isn't it?"
Gambling always involves risks.
There is no such thing as a 100% safe bet. Sometimes you have to embrace big risks and bet boldly.
Scarlet judged that now was such a time, and the other colleagues agreed.
But Violet...
"..."
She kept thinking about the gaze she had encountered with Ash the day before.
Ash's eyes then were not those of a prey being hunted. Rather...
...they were the eyes of a top predator, preying on them.
"Trust the skills we've honed all our lives."
Scarlet gently folded her little finger.
"Let's win cleanly and leave."
The other gamblers nodded. Scarlet smiled faintly under her red hood.
"Let's go. Time to fleece a sucker."
***
The rules of the game were simple.
A 1-on-1 duel between me and a gambler. Each with 100 chips for poker, the first to exhaust the opponent's chips wins. This is repeated in a 5-round series.
The location and cards would be checked for magical tampering before the game.
If the gamblers win even once, they win. If they don't win a single time, I win.
At first glance, it seems the gamblers - Gambler's Club - have an unfair advantage. But...
'Actually, the one cheating is me.'
I was completely relaxed.
After all... I already knew every trick they had up their sleeves.
It was like playing poker while seeing the opponent's hand.
'Characteristic of con artists. So preoccupied with their own deceit, they rarely consider being deceived in return.'
That's why they remain mere con artists.
If they could think beyond that, they wouldn't be called con artists anymore. They would be in a much high position in life.
Anyway, the game began - the first round.
The location was the parlor. The opponent, an R-grade hero, a middle-aged man, Lime.
Lime, with eyes the color of his name, respectfully bowed before sitting opposite me.
He picked up the pack of cards on the table and began to shuffle.
Snap! Snap!
Just as he finished shuffling and was about to hand me the cards -
Thump!
I grabbed Lime's wrist.
"Stop right there. Are you bottom dealing?"
"What, what?"
"Do I look like a gullible fool to you, bastard?"
I recited a famous line from a movie from Earth-Korea, but Lime just looked baffled, not understanding what I meant.
"I don't understand what you mean, your highness. I was just about to hand you the shuffled cards..."
"Admit it now if you were playing a trick and I might spare you. I'll count to three. Three."
"I can't understand what you're saying at all! The cards were provided by your highness, and this place is your mansion, isn't it!"
"Two."
"I'm innocent, your highness! Where was there even a chance for me to cheat-"
"One."
Crash!
I roughly pulled Lime towards me and slammed him down on the table.
"Lucas! Junior! Come in!"
Amidst the scattering playing cards, I yelled harshly.
Lucas entered immediately with Junior, whom I had called to cast the notarization magic for this duel.
I instructed Junior.
"Check the cards."
Junior, examining the playing cards, frowned.
"...There's magic on these. Very faint, but detectable."
"What's the effect?"
"Invisibility... no, it's X-ray vision."
In this world of magical civilization.
Naturally, con artists who stripped others through gambling also incorporated magic and skills into their gambler's techniques.
In Lime's case, it was X-ray magic.
A method of applying magic to the playing cards by hand. The cards with X-ray magic cast on them appeared transparent to his eyes.
As the magic was exposed, Lime trembled.
"How, how did you know..."
"Did you think I haven't caught a fly or two like you in the Imperial Capital?"
Normally, it would not have been detected.
The cards are usually inspected before the game, and the magic, operating on an extremely low level of magical power, would not be easily exposed even if suspected during the game.
But on this side, there's information about you, and an SSR-grade magician.
"Thanks, Junior. Lucas? Take this guy away."
"As you command."
With his head bowed low, Lime was dragged away by Lucas.
Receiving a new pack of cards from Aider, I twisted my lips into a grin.
"Good, next!"
***
Second round.
The location is the dining room. The opponent, R-grade hero, a middle-aged woman, Orange.
Thump-.
Orange, true to her name, offered me tea brewed with dried oranges.
"It's orange tea I brewed myself, your highness. It's already been tested for poison, how about you try it for its taste?"
"I'll gladly drink it. My throat is quite dry."
I took the tea cup, smelled it without drinking, and set it aside. Orange laughed amiably, watching me.
This orange tea was the first step where her abilities were activated.
Even without drinking, just smelling the diffused aroma activates her ability.
Orange, the mind reader.
With specially processed magical tea, anyone who smells her orange tea's scent allows her to read 'their thoughts'.
If you drink the tea, she can read thoughts clearly, but even just smelling it transmits vague images.
Anyway, the poker game began in that state - and not many rounds later.
"Raise. 50 chips."
I wagered half of my chips.
Orange glanced at me. She was closely observing the image of the hand that appeared in my mind.
A pair of the same number - one pair.
I was bluffing, wagering half the stakes on just one pair.
She checked her hand. She had two sets of two cards of the same number - two pair.
Her hand was clearly superior. Orange didn't hesitate.
Shuffle!
Orange pushed all her chips forward.
"I'm all in, your highness."
Immediately after, she smiled at me.
"What will you do, fold... back down here?"
Clearly a provocative tone.
Knowing my aggressive style in poker, she was confident I wouldn't back down from such a challenge.
"How could I, all in!"
Naturally, I followed suit, and we revealed our hands.
She had two pair. And me...
"...?!"
A consecutive sequence of five numbers.
It was a straight.
My hand was far stronger. I placed the cards on the table and grinned smugly.
"I won."
"What, what...?"
Confused, Orange stuttered, and I spoke her thoughts for her.
"You were sure it was a one pair, but why did it change to a straight... right?"
"?!"
"Simple, Miss Orange. I knew beforehand that you use mind-reading."
I tapped my temple with my index finger.
"So, after receiving the cards, I deliberately 'imagined' receiving a different hand."
"That's nonsense... Impossible..."
"What you read wasn't my sight, but the image I conjured in my mind. If I know you can read my mind, naturally I can counter it."
It's the trap of mind-reading.
You thought you read my mind, but I intentionally fed you false information, leading you to misread. An easy game of turning the tables.
As I got up to find the next opponent, Orange called out laboriously.
"Then, how did you know my hand to bet...?!"
"I see no reason to answer that. Farewell."
I waved my hand and left the dining room.
...How did I know? Well.
There was a small mirror placed behind you.
'It's my house, after all. I did some preparations in advance.'
Why bother using magic to stealthily steal thoughts and then be deceived by it? Try something more primitive. Life might be simpler.
***
Third round.
The location is the courtyard. The opponent, SR-grade hero, a boy, Cobalt.
Cobalt looked like any ordinary boy, but his fingernails were distinctively colored.
They were dyed cobalt blue, just like his name.
"Nice nail color."
"Thank you."
Cobalt replied awkwardly and started shuffling the cards with his small hands.
I watched for a while and then looked around the courtyard.
There weren't many people in the courtyard, but a little further away, beyond the fence, I could see some citizens.
Children playing outside the fence...
"...So peaceful."
As I murmured, Cobalt cautiously handed me the cards. Taking them, I asked.
"How old are you?"
"What?"
"Your age. How old are you now?"
"Oh... twelve."
Cobalt smiled shyly, and I smiled back.
"At your age, you should be playing like those kids outside, not playing cards here. It's a bit sad."
"Hehe. It's okay. I find playing cards the most fun."
"No. Let's pause the game, call those kids over here, and play with them for a while."
As soon as my words fell, the children playing around the fence started running away towards the other side of the city, laughing.
"Ah, they're leaving..."
Cobalt murmured with disappointment, but I laughed menacingly.
"Didn't you hear the lord's command? You shouldn't run away, you little bastards."
Then, I pulled out a wand from my cloak,
"I said to play here, didn't I-!"
and launched blades of magic.
Whoosh! Whack-!
The magical blades struck the children on their backs and necks in an instant.
Thud!
The children fell to the ground like puppets with their strings cut.
I calmly put the wand back into my cloak, while Cobalt looked on in horror.
Squeak- squeak-
A moment later, Lucas dragged the fallen children into the courtyard.
...They weren't human.
They were puppets.
"I've never seen such children in this city. Puppeteer Cobalt."
The children outside were all puppets manipulated by Cobalt.
I growled into Cobalt's ear, looking at his pale face as he gazed down at his puppets.
"In this small city, I know the faces of the citizens around here."
"Uh, ah..."
"Don't underestimate a lord, you little brat!"
Cobalt, an SR-grade puppeteer, manipulated his puppets with threads of magical energy emitted from his fingertips.
The puppets could move like normal people as long as they didn't receive damage exceeding 10,000, revealing their true nature. Conversely, if they didn't take damage, they moved just like ordinary humans.
Optimized for solo raiding gambling houses, his skill specialized in controlling a table full of puppets, ensnaring and fleecing a single mark.
However, in a 1-on-1 situation like this, it was awkward to use, probably intending to place them around to read my hand...
But he picked the wrong opponent.
"Are you wasting such a great skill on gambling, kid?"
After flicking Cobalt's forehead, I stood up.
"Let's call it quits today."
Cobalt, with a dejected face, was dragged away by Lucas. I snorted and stood up.
***
Next, the fourth round.
The location is the guest room. And the opponent.
"..."
Approaching the girl waiting demurely in the room, I called out her name.
"Miss Scarlet."
Then, the girl in the red cloak met my gaze and smiled faintly.
Despite knowing that her colleagues had all been defeated by my arrival, she maintained an incredibly composed demeanor.
N-grade hero, Scarlet.
'...This girl is the toughest opponent.'
And for good reason, this girl doesn't use magic at all-
She's just a traditional con artist with insane sleight of hand skills.
--TL Notes--
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