Chapter 37: Natural Change #3

Chapter 37: Natural Change #3

“From now on, I’m going to teach you about the adult world.”

Kyahaha-

Mitchell laughed, baring her teeth.

No matter how many times I see it, it’s a vulgar laugh unbecoming of an elf.

We wandered the streets of Garden for a while before entering a secluded alley.

“I never dreamed there would be a place like this in a frontier town.”

“Wow- it’s like a secret hideout.”

A hidden underground shopping area that outsiders couldn’t even guess existed.

The goods sold were suspicious, and the gazes of the passersby were also grim.

Unlike the bustling streets, there was no soliciting here.

Silent glances, and the exchange of money and goods were all there was.

‘I knew she’d bring us here.’

Garden’s black market.

I had visited this place occasionally in the game too.

However, Flora’s purpose here is likely not for black market trading, but something else.

“Welcome, our beautiful ladies, to the night’s banquet.”

Mitchell gestured towards the entrance of a shop with exaggerated movements.

A black curtain hung, making it impossible to see what was inside, a shop that was undeniably suspicious.

Of course, as expected, it was a gambling den.

“Night banquet, my foot. The sun is shining brightly outside.”

When I chided her, Mitchell narrowed her brows.

“Come on, don’t be so literal about everything, okay? Let’s just go in.”

Pushed by Mitchell, we entered the gambling den.

“You said you’d pay for everything.”

First, I made sure to get confirmation.

I had planned to visit a gambling den at least once anyway.

There’s no reason to refuse when I can play with other people’s money to my heart’s content.

“Don’t worry. Since I brought you here, I’m naturally responsible for the funds. Now, what should we do first-“

Mitchell rubbed her hands together and looked around the gambling den.

Her eyes, already brimming with dopamine even before placing any bets.

It’s the look of a complete gambling addict.

I could easily predict the outcome she would face soon.

Mitchell would likely leave this gambling den only after becoming penniless.

Well, Mitchell’s situation is none of my business.

I need to secure my own gains. I have no intention of willingly handing over money to the gambling den.

Cards, dice, roulette- what will bring me the biggest profit?

“It seems this is your first time. As a welcome, I’ll offer you ladies a drink.”

A crow, serving in the gambling den, approached and offered us drinks.

“How much is it?”

“Ah, it’s all free. Please enjoy yourselves to your heart’s content. Drinks and snacks are provided without limit while you stay at our establishment.”

Flora’s eyes widened.

Although this gambling den was far inferior to the magnificent casinos in the big cities, it seemed to adhere to the basic principles.

The first of those fundamental principles. Hook the suckers.

They will inevitably end up emptying their pockets.

Free drinks and snacks are merely bait for this purpose.

“Wow- This drink is sweet, Estel. Try a glass.”

“I’m good.”

“It’s delicious-“

Flora took a sip of the fruit wine and smiled broadly.

‘She needs to experience the world at least once.’

Flora will learn a valuable lesson here.

That there is no such thing as a free favor in this world.

That gambling is a shortcut to ruin.

Of course, it’s Mitchell’s money that will be lost. Otherwise, I would never have brought her to a gambling den.

“Then let’s play for about two hours and meet up again. You two shouldn’t lose everything before then, okay?”

Mitchell, whose spending increased upon arriving at the gambling den, distributed money.

“If you have any questions, call me. I’ll be playing over there.”

Impatient, Mitchell hurried off to play card games as soon as she finished speaking.

Flora and I explored the gambling den as we pleased.

Flora seemed fixated on the snail races, her eyes glued to the race track.

“Senior, is it fun?”

“I’m not sure if it’s fun- but when I watch, I find myself cheering them on blankly.”

Flora crouched in front of the snail race track, watching the snails crawl slowly.

‘Since the flow of the game is slow, she probably won’t lose money quickly.’

Looking closely, Flora wasn’t betting much per round. At most, five hundred gold, a thousand gold.

It’s a stingy bet. Gambling purely for fun.

She’s enjoying herself in a relatively healthy way, so I don’t think I need to interfere.

‘Then, shall I play my own game?’

I headed to the dice gambling area first.

“Come on, everyone, bet as much as you want. If you don’t know the rules, I’ll explain them easily. Even a complete idiot can understand them in just one minute.”

Click, click-

The crow cheerfully shook the dice in the cup, hyping up the crowd.

As the crow said, this gamble is simple.

It’s a game of comparing poker hands formed by rolling three dice.

There’s no need to pay attention to other gamblers; you just need to beat the crow’s hand.

And I have a way to manipulate the dice without anyone noticing.

‘I guess there are no crows who are knowledgeable about magic.’

I quietly shook the cup and infused mana into it.

「Telekinesis」.

A secret technique of a mage to manipulate dice inside a cup without touching them.

This scam works even in the large gambling dens of big cities.

In a backwater town like Garden, no one can stop me.

“Ooh- You’re lucky. You’re quite a formidable opponent.”

“Yahoo!”

As the dice landed showing three 1s in a row, the gamblers’ gazes all converged on me.

1, 1, 1. The strongest hand in dice games.

The crow slightly furrowed its brows, wary of the lucky guy.

“Hmm, I won against this person, and here too I won…”

The crow quickly collected and paid out gold coins with swift movements.

“I lost to the young lady, I see.”

Twelve hundred gold coins were returned to me.

My hand was 4, 5, 6.

It’s a strong hand, but not the strongest.

‘This much is good.’

The key to cheating at gambling isn’t just making strong hands.

‘I must not arouse suspicion.’

I win moderately, and I lose moderately.

You can’t win too much. The gambling establishment is always watching its customers with hawk eyes.

If you end up on the blacklist, in the worst-case scenario, you’ll be beaten and kicked out.

So, I directed the strong hands to another gambler next to me.

It’s a form of aggro distribution.

“What’s with today? The dice are going wild!”

The lucky guy laughed brightly.

However, while he was losing his mind from the continuous streak of good luck, a sinister shadow fell upon the crow’s eyes.

The crow’s gaze was fixed solely on the lucky guy’s hands.

“You’re amazing, sir.”

The crow, having lost repeatedly to the lucky guy, seemed to be getting annoyed and paid no attention to me.

It’s going according to plan.

I played for about thirty minutes and then finished the dice gambling.

The final score was +6200 gold.

Controlling my profits discreetly without arousing suspicion was harder than winning.

Next is card gambling.

This time, I used Thousand-Mile Sight to see the opponent’s hand and managed the game.

+5200 gold.

Then another card game.

This time, I lost a bit to avoid suspicion.

-2300 gold.

Next is ladder climbing. I lost a bit more, about a thousand gold.

Finally, at roulette, I manipulated the ball with Telekinesis and won quite a bit.

+21500 gold.

“Woooooah!”

“It stopped right there.”

“See, I told you every time, bet on 7!”

For the final roulette bet, I manipulated it so the ball would stop on number 7, the number where many people bet, the lucky number 7.

Since many others also won big, they wouldn’t suspect anything.

“It’s a lucky day today! Bet, bet.”

“Let’s make it ten times.”

The excited people reinvested their winnings.

Do they believe that the goddess of fortune is smiling benevolently upon them today?

Ultimately, there is no happy ending in gambling. It’s a bottomless pit that only ends when every last drop is sucked out.

‘Then, shall I make my exit?’

I quietly slipped away from the cheering crowd.

Time had flown by, and two hours had passed.

I had my fun, and I earned a decent amount of money without drawing the gambling den’s suspicion.

Now, after reuniting with my party members, I just need to grab the rare items available here, and my objectives will be complete.

“Ah, damn…”

When I met Mitchell again, she had a very dejected expression.

I could guess the outcome just by looking at her face, without even asking.

“If only the spade had come out at the end, I would have won it all. This is driving me crazy- Kid, how about you?”

“Me? Just broke even.”

“I figured.”

Mitchell smiled wryly.

“What about Flora?”

“She was watching the snail races earlier.”

“Is that fun? Ugh, it’s so slow, it’s frustrating just watching.”

We moved to the snail race track.

Flora was sitting demurely, unmoving, in the midst of the gambling den’s fervor.

Her serene gaze was impressive.

She had the face of a transcendent immortal, detached from the world of money, desire, and competition.

“Is it going well?”

Mitchell tapped her shoulder, and Flora finally snapped back to reality and looked back.

“Ah- I’m sorry. I was so engrossed in watching the snails that I didn’t even realize you were here.”

“We lost everything. You too, Flora, right?”

“I won a little.”

Flora smiled brightly.

Flora took out her wallet.

‘What’s with the size?’

Her wallet was bulging, as if it were about to burst. It looked heavy at first glance.

“Senior, how much did you win?”

“Uh- I haven’t counted it all yet, but- roughly fifty thousand?”

“F-fifty thousand?”

Mitchell’s jaw dropped.

“At first, I bet 200, then later 1000, and when I got a strong feeling- I bet 5000, 10000, and somehow I won this much.”

She won fifty thousand gold in two hours. And she’s a beginner who’s never gambled before.

Suddenly, a scenario formed in my mind.

‘The magic of Weighting.’

An enchantment magic that makes the weight of an object heavier.

It’s the last magic Flora learned from the Principles of Magic.

Just as I was constantly cheating with Telekinesis and Thousand-Mile Sight, did Flora also use magic?

If she magically slowed down all the snails except the one she bet on…

“What? Magic? No? I just cheered them on? ‘Go snails, don’t give up- You don’t have to be first, just finish,’ like that.”

When asked, Flora shook her head with an innocent face.

Well, she can’t lie. And the idea of using magic to cheat a gambling den is probably too much for her.

This means that winning such a large sum honestly through luck is true.

‘Scary child…!’

Mitchell and I exchanged glances in silence.