Compass
by Afuhfuihgs
Card matching games are basically decided by speed. Because the first step is to check what the picture is on the face-down cards. So, Roq used both hands to flip over two cards almost simultaneously to check them. Rather than relying on perfect memory, he used the quick sleight of hand he’d shown in the shell game.
Even so, Roq lost to Cormo. The speed was fast, but failing to match pairs created a time difference. In that situation, Roq put forward Luna, who had a disadvantage in the card matching game, as his proxy.
Luna, who was still awkward using her left hand, had to face Cormo with only one hand. It was obvious that she would be at a disadvantage in terms of speed. However, Luna, who had lived most of her days using only one hand, could flip the cards at a speed similar to Roq using both hands.
Cormo, who lost the second game with Luna as his proxy, silently shuffled the cards and continued to the next game. Perhaps he thought he had been careless, because this time it was clear that he was going all out. But his opponent was Luna.
Luna, who matched the cards a little faster than Cormo without a single mistake, gave me a victorious smile. Her face was full of pride, and I unconsciously stroked her head as if praising her. I was confident that I had learned a lot about Luna, but somehow I keep realizing new things about her every time. The metaphor of an onion is endlessly insufficient.
Roq, who lost the bet, checked the hourglass and let out a hollow laugh.
“…Roq didn’t put forward a proxy for nothing. To beat me with only one hand. Hehe, it’s humiliating.”
Cormo distorted his face in humiliation, thinking that Luna had deliberately used only one hand to insult him. After touching his chin for a moment to control his emotions, Cormo sighed and got up from his chair.
“…I’m going to get so much shit when I get back. He’s been really sensitive lately.”
Cormo, who sighed deeply, changed his expression and offered Luna a handshake.
“Well, it was a good game anyway.”
Luna, who got up from her seat at Cormo’s cool admission of defeat, shook his hand and replied.
“It was a fun game. Thank you for your hard work.”
Cormo, who finished the handshake with a bitter expression, said to Roq nonchalantly.
“…Do you have any intention of selling it? I can pay enough.”
“If I was going to do that, I wouldn’t have made a bet.”
As if he had already expected Roq’s refusal, Cormo shrugged and left the special zone. Roq, who was watching Cormo leave, smiled kindly and put his hands on my and Luna’s shoulders.
“Haha. I met some very good friends today. Thanks to you, I was able to win the bet. I will definitely keep my promise.”
I was curious about what Cormo was after, seeing Roq gesturing to an employee to order whatever we wanted. While sharing the drinks and fruit I ordered with the employee with Luna and chatting about Roq and Ludwig, I asked nonchalantly.
“By the way, what kind of bet did you make?”
At my question, Roq chuckled and leaned his upper body towards me, whispering softly.
“There’s an old compass that’s been kept in our family’s warehouse. I don’t know how he knew, but that’s what he wanted.”
“A compass…?”
I thought about it, but settings or items related to compasses did not appear in the novel. Anyway, if it’s an item that the Order is after, it’s definitely not an ordinary item. Especially if it was in the Immortal’s warehouse.
Seeing my interested face in the compass, Roq said with a smile.
“Actually, there was another reason why I had to win the bet. I couldn’t give him the compass.”
Understanding Roq’s words, I made a dumbfounded expression. If Roq lost the bet with Cormo and the fact that he couldn’t give him the compass was revealed, Roq would have been killed by the angry Cormo. So Roq hired a proxy to save his life. To scam the Confraternity, Roq is no ordinary man.
“…Isn’t that a scam?”
“Hey, I bet my life. Just yesterday, I couldn’t even sleep because I was worried about how to persuade him. And I didn’t even want to make the bet.”
“Then…?”
If it’s the Order, there was a possibility that they threatened or intimidated him. Even the Mad Jamie kidnapped Portal and killed innocent people just because they were with me.
Is the Order reaching out to gain influence in the South? Roq said to me, who swallowed hard.
“I did it because of alcohol. I regretted it so much when I woke up the next day.”
“…”
“But I met you guys and things worked out, didn’t they? That’s what makes life fun!”
I sent a look to Luna asking if he was really not a bad person, but Luna subtly avoided my gaze. She seemed to have nothing to say at Roq’s appearance. I rubbed my forehead and said to confirm.
“You’re not saying that the promise was also a lie, are you?”
“Hey, I don’t lie.”
“…I don’t trust the words of someone who made a bet with a compass that doesn’t even exist.”
At my words, Roq burst into an awkward laugh. And he said as if making an excuse.
“Of course I have the compass. I told you. I couldn’t give it to him.”
“…?”
As Luna and I looked at him with puzzled faces, Roq scratched his cheek and said.
“When I was young, I secretly went into the warehouse and played with the compass, and accidentally put it in Murkym’s jewelry box.”
“Jewelry box? Then you can just take the compass out again, right?”
“I wish it were that easy. But I don’t know how to open it.”
I tilted my head at Roq’s confident answer. If his life was at stake, he should have taken out the compass, even if it meant breaking the jewelry box. But Roq chose to hire a proxy instead of breaking the jewelry box. That means.
“You can’t break the jewelry box, can you?”
“No, it’ll break if you step on it? It’s made of wood.”
I staggered for a moment. I never thought my prediction would be wrong in such an absurd direction.
“Then why….”
“You’re asking why I didn’t break the jewelry box?”
Roq, who stole my words, smiled and gestured to the employee. The employee who received the signal came over and handed Roq a small box. It was a rough design box that was more suitable for the name wooden box than jewelry box.
“You don’t seem to know even after hearing the name Murkym, so let me explain a little. Some people often think that they would rather break their things than have them taken away. The magic scholar Murkym was one of those people.”
Roq, who put the box on the table, pointed to the surface of the box with his hand and explained.
“There’s no separate key, so you have to turn the 12 dials here to match the numbers to open it. Even the order of the dials is not fixed. If you try to match it by randomly turning it, you’ll have to try for 3,000 years without taking a break. It’s designed so that if you try to force the box open with magic or force, the box will break the contents inside.”
“…You don’t know how to open the jewelry box, do you?”
“Of course I don’t. It’s been stored in an open state since before. Fortunately, no one has noticed that the compass is gone. I’m in charge of warehouse management.”
“…”
Now I completely understood. Roq really couldn’t give the compass. The compass was in the jewelry box, but he couldn’t break or open the jewelry box. He must have entrusted the jewelry box to the employee because he was planning to reveal this fact to Cormo after the bet and somehow persuade him to save his life.
Just in case, I picked up the jewelry box, brought it close to my ear, and shook it. It made a rattling sound, so it seemed like there was a compass inside. Luna showed interest, so I handed her the jewelry box and said to Roq.
“Was there something special about the compass?”
“No. It looks like a common compass that you can see anywhere. There was nothing special about it. That’s why even I, as a child, played with it without any burden. I once asked my father about it in passing, but he didn’t even seem to remember that there was such a thing in the warehouse.”
There must be a reason why the Order is interested in the compass. But according to Roq’s explanation, opening the jewelry box was close to impossible. It’s a waste of time to be greedy for something you can’t have. Anyway, the Order won’t be able to get the compass either. I gave up neatly and brought up the topic of compensation.
“Well, I understand. Then about the compensation….”
Ttal-kkak.
At that sound, my and Roq’s heads turned to Luna at the same time. No, to the compass held in Luna’s hand.
“…”
Luna, who was looking at the compass, felt our gaze and raised her head. And then, as if making an excuse, she showed us the jewelry box with the lid open and said.
“…It just opened by accident.”
I turned my head to Roq, who was blankly opening his mouth, and asked quietly.
“You said 3,000 years.”
Roq, who was blinking and staring at Luna, turned his head to me and gave a kind smile.
“Lucky you.”
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