New Encounter #3

 

“Are you kidding?”

Mitchell laughed out loud.

But Mitchell’s eyes aren’t smiling at all.

“Are you kidding? I’ll be clear. I’m the host of the party, Mitchell.”

“This is embarrassing.”

Mitchell brushed back his messy bangs.

“Kid, are you serious?”

And then he seemed to be reaching for the glass…

hook-

Suddenly a fist appeared before my eyes.

The fist stopped just short of my forehead.

If it had been stretched out to the end, it would have been powerful enough to shatter the head of a weak girl like me.

“You’re stronger than me?”

Mitchell slowly withdrew his fist.

A hard gaze is fixed on me.

Honestly, I’m really nervous…

I met Mitchell’s gaze calmly as if nothing had happened.

“Mitchell, let me ask you something. What does it mean to be strong?”

“what?”

Mitchell frowned at the unexpected question.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden? If you win a fight, you’re strong.”

“Right? Let’s say two people fight, one dies and the other survives. Then the survivor is stronger, right?”

“Of course.”

I continued speaking leisurely.

“If we two fight, you’ll end up dying, Mitchell. I won’t.”

“What⋯?”

For the first time, doubt crept into Mitchell’s eyes.

I’d like to dismiss it as nonsense.

However, my words are sincere.

Having read with such unwavering certainty, Mitchell must be confused now.

What on earth do you believe in to do that? Is there something I don’t know about?

‘Well, I wasn’t completely wrong.’

If Mitchell wanted to, it wouldn’t take five seconds, no, not even three, to beat me to death.

However, I will still be resurrected with the immortal nature after some time.

Mitchell, who doesn’t know the secret of resurrection, must be dumbfounded.

And then, on the contrary, Mitchell dies.

Even if I don’t kill them, other people, whether it’s vigilantes or security guards, will kill them.

There are many enemies who are eagerly waiting to take care of Mitchell.

So in conclusion, Mitchell dies and I live.

From the perspective that the one who survives until the end is strong, that’s why I’m stronger.

I did say this by omitting a lot of the intermediate steps.

“Hey, what does that brat believe in and make such boasts? Oh, really. How interesting.”

Mitchell surprisingly didn’t get angry or throw a tantrum.

Rather, he looks at me closely, with a slight smile on his face as if he finds me interesting.

‘This is the type.’

I have a rough idea of Mitchell’s personality.

A strong competitive spirit and honest personality.

A simple woman who likes what she likes and dislikes what she dislikes.

He teased me and called me a kid, but he was actually more childish.

And finally, an important point.

‘I like people who challenge me fairly.’

I am more interested in people who don’t back down and confront me rather than people who come in bending over and talking on their own.

You should never underestimate this type.

Once perceived as weak, Mitchell will immediately lose interest and adopt a cold, insect-like attitude.

Gulp gulp—

Mitchell emptied the remaining drink in one go and stood up abruptly.

“Kid, that’s enough. Prove it with your skills. Follow me.”

The smell of alcohol hits me hard.

I knew it would turn out like this.

I didn’t get caught up in Mitchell’s pace and leisurely crossed my arms.

“I don’t feel like it.”

“What? Was it just talk?”

“No, I’m still going to win. But if we fight, it’ll all end with you dying. What’s the point? I called you to recruit you as a party member, not to kill you.”

“What? Wow- Seriously-”

Mitchell was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t even respond properly and just beat his chest in frustration.

At this point Flora intervened.

“I don’t think it’s good for colleagues to fight.”

Flora’s shoulders were hunched like a frightened squirrel, but she still managed to say what she wanted to say.

“Estelle and Mitchell—why don’t we end it by making them both strong?”

“That’s not the case. No, I’m not saying we should fight like enemies. Let’s just see who’s stronger—”

Mitchell’s speech was interrupted mid-sentence.

A giant shadow that I am slowly becoming accustomed to.

Before I knew it, Wagner was standing next to me.

“If the two of you fight, I will help Estelle.”

Oh, I didn’t expect you to help.

It’s sturdy.

Am I lucky with my colleagues?

The more I look at the party members I gathered without much thought, the more I like them.

This is difficult.

If you get attached to someone for no reason, it will be difficult to replace them with a better party member later on.

“It’s my duty to protect my comrades. It’s only natural.”

“Hey, Bear, is that all you can say? And, y’know, I’m your comrade too, right? Why do you always take the kid’s side?”

“Estelle is a wizard. She’s someone who needs to be protected first. Am I wrong?”

“The kid is a wizard?”

Mitchell trailed off.

A face that looks at me a little differently.

That’s understandable, wizards are quite rare in the pioneering lands.

It was as if I could see through the glass the calculator in Mitchell’s head was busily working.

I’m sure you’re thinking back on what I said by now.

The more you fight, the stronger you become.

However, you can’t fight while being lenient.

Once you fight, you have no choice but to kill your opponent.

If you’re a wizard, you might be able to come to the conclusion that…

“Ahem.”

Mitchell cleared his throat and sat back down.

“I get it, kid. It may not look like it, but it’s still a good thing, right?”

“Think whatever you want.”

“But still—I don’t understand. It’s like going to the bathroom and not wiping. I need to win something to feel better.”

As expected, he is an elf with a strong competitive spirit.

It seemed like he had lost the intention to fight directly, but it seemed like he wasn’t going to back down easily.

There’s nothing I can do.

I guess I’ll have to break that smart nose sometime.

I took a look around the bar.

Without even looking far, something useful immediately caught my eye.

“Mitchell, how about this?”

Mitchell’s eyes lit up when he saw the deck of cards in my hand.

***

Step by step—

Flora, who was suddenly acting as a dealer, shuffled the cards with clumsy hands.

Five cards were dealt in front of me.

The event we decided to compete in was “Five Card Draw.”

The rules are simple.

You receive five cards, and the game is decided based on the hand’s ranking.

It is the simplest and most intuitive game among hundreds of poker games.

But, there is unexpected depth hidden within that simplicity.

This game cannot be won by luck alone.

“Miss⋯.”

Mitchell was very impressed.

You must be feeling a bit down after losing the entire game.

“Flora, you shuffled the cards right? You’re not just taking their side just because you know them, are you?”

Mitchell complained to the poor Flora for no reason.

Flora, who was very nervous, flinched when someone pointed at her.

“Huh? I just do as I’m told⋯”

“Whoever it is, if they get caught cheating, I won’t let them.”

Mitchell pretended to be embarrassed.

Well, just a moment ago, it was the elf who had caused a stir by exposing fraud.

The statement that he won’t let it go is not just words.

But even so⋯

‘How are you going to catch him?’

I kept a poker face and focused my magic on my gloves.

“clairvoyance”.

My eyes were filled with superhuman vision, and I could clearly see the cards on the covered table.

Let’s see. I’m J-straight.

Mitchell has 9 straight.

After confirming the pattern, I immediately released the clairvoyance.

Since you don’t have enough magic power, you can’t afford to use your abilities throughout the game.

‘As expected, he was just pretending to be in trouble.’

In a five-card draw where you have to play with only the five cards given at the beginning, a 9 straight is a hand worth taking a gamble on.

Mitchell was digging a trap to lure me in.

‘But I got caught right away.’

There is no game in the world easier than this, a one-sided game where I alone get to look at all the cards in my hand.

Okay, let’s start betting.

I counted the gold coins that were piled up on the table and then put them aside.

I can’t even be bothered to count.

“How much money do you have left?”

“⋯Probably around 4,000.”

“I’ll bet as much as I have left.”

Mitchell licked his lower lip, his eyebrows furrowed.

Elf licks his lower lip?

Are you angry?

Or maybe he’s just happy that he suddenly threw a curveball at the moment when he was holding out for so long?

A poker expert would analyze each and every one of these gestures coolly and approach the game.

I don’t really know about that…

They just go in to get money from a game where they have already won.

We each bet money and opened the deck.

“Oh shit, really.”

A foul-mouthed, beautiful elf spat out a string of curses.

bang!

Mitchell slams his fists on the table.

This guy is definitely the type to shoot a shotgun at the keyboard if he’s having trouble playing a game at a PC room.

And so the game ended.

Final score. Me, 11,600 gold.

Mitchell, your entire fortune of 8200 gold is sucked away and you are left with an O-ring.

“I won.”

As Mitchell knew without me having to say anything, I declared victory, enjoying the leisure of a winner.

This is why the Cheonrian Rune is a scam.

In some gambling games, you’re practically invincible.

Besides, this victory is just a taste.

Later, when you go to the city of pleasure, Sodomora, the true value of the Clairvoyance Rune is revealed.

I plan on making a fortune there.

“⋯You cheated.”

Mitchell, who had been silently staring at the table for a while, raised his head and spoke.

“Why, are you flipping the table again?”

“No. I have a feeling it’s happening, but I don’t know what tricks they’re using.”

Mitchell pouts like an octopus and taps his card with an irritated gesture.

“How did you do it, kid?”

“If I tell you, you’ll be angry.”

“Oh, I won’t be mad. It’s not like I’m saying we should nullify it now, I’m just frustrated.”

“Really?”

“Uh. Promise.”

Mitchell seemed genuinely curious, because as soon as I finished speaking, he stuck out his pinky finger.

There is a strangely innocent side to him, like a child.

“Okay. So, what’s the secret?-“

I told Mitchell the secrets of the Imperial Silk Gloves and the Clairvoyance Rune.

Since this is information that we will have to share once we become party mates in the future, I can’t just keep it hidden.

“⋯There’s something like that. There are even runes that look like stars. Ahh-”

Mitchell gritted his teeth and banged his head.

“Yeah, I’m totally screwed. There’s nothing I can do. You win, kid.”

He immediately reaches out his hand to me.

I was on guard, wondering if he would suddenly grab me and throw me to the floor, so I carefully grabbed his hand…

“Our party leader is both clever and quick-witted. Please take good care of him in the future. Is that okay?”

Mitchell shook hands and chuckled.

Flora, relieved by the cheerful atmosphere, placed her hand on top of it.

“Mr. Mitchell, please take good care of me too.”

“Yeah. But I haven’t given up yet. If you ever find yourself feeling uneasy about a kid hosting a party, I’ll always try again. Just remember that.”

“Or so you say.”

“But kid, are you giving me my money back now?”

Mitchell trailed off with an awkward smile.

I already knew what he was going to say, but I pretended not to know and asked back.

“What money?”

“That, that gambling thing earlier… You’re not really going to eat all that money, are you? Hey, no way~ If I do that, I’ll be broke. I don’t even have money to buy food.”

“If you were going to give it back, you wouldn’t have gambled in the first place. What fun would that be?”

Mitchell’s pretty face instantly turned pale.

“No, no more, just half. No, half of half… Huh, kid? The party host? Excuse me? Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me— The party host!”

Oh, I don’t like it.

I won’t give it back to you because you keep calling me a brat.

After the first meeting ended like this.

Even during the subsequent drinking parties, Mitchell would cling to me and beg whenever he had the chance…

I never wavered.

Although my weak body cannot handle alcohol, I have to replace the toast with orange juice.

Still, the party leader’s dignity must be maintained.

The hierarchical reorganization driven by the power of capital was likely to continue for some time.