The Bet

Roque, the heir to the Krahel County, was losing to Luna one after another, contrary to his spirited entrance. After suffering five straight losses, Roque scratched his head with a good-natured, innocent smile.

,I’ve been completely had… I thought you were using magic or some kind of trick, but it turns out you just have incredibly good eyes… I cleanly admit defeat.”

Apparently, Roque thought Luna was cheating and intended to use an artifact he carried to expose the trick. But Luna didn’t use any tricks or magic. She just had naturally good eyes.

In fact, Roque also had amazing sleight of hand skills that even the surrounding onlookers would be amazed by. I don’t know why the family heir became such a master of the shell game, but his hand movements were several times faster than the existing dealers.

He even used magic to make fake sounds as if there were beads in other cups to confuse people. From the middle on, I gave up trying to follow and was busy watching Roque’s flashy hand movements.

But in front of our Luna, magic or sleight of hand were all useless. Luna, who earned the title of the first customer to reach 15 consecutive wins in the shell game since the casino opened, was able to win a huge amount of money.

I felt so regretful that I had only bet one chip with a light heart, as the winnings snowballed thanks to the consecutive win multiplier.

Roque, handing Luna the gold chips, said to me and Luna.

“We’re giving the first customer to reach 15 consecutive wins the right to enter the casino’s special area. Of course, your boyfriend next to you can also enter.”

Roque handed over a thin card with a green jewel embedded in it from his pocket, left a message to be sure to visit, and left.

“What should we do?”

I shrugged at Luna’s cute question while touching the card.

“Do whatever Luna wants to do. I’m all for it.”

Luna, smiling pleasantly at my words, asked a nearby employee for the location of the special area and took my hand.

“Then let’s go take a look for a bit.”

“Okay.”

I headed to the special area with Luna. When Luna showed the employee the card she had, the employee, after checking something with magic, returned the card with the words, “Thank you for waiting,” and opened the door.

Befitting the name “special area,” the atmosphere had completely changed. If the casino felt like a theme park packed with amazing and interesting things, the special area used little lighting and unified the design with simple gray and white tones, creating an atmosphere where you could naturally concentrate.

As I entered, I saw a long hallway. An employee wearing a dress that showed off her cleavage approached and guided us. Is this about 0.5 Rosalins? I felt Luna glancing at me, so I naturally looked as far away from the employee as possible.

“You can enjoy games in the special area as well. You can freely enter any room using the card and get enough rest. Then, I hope you have a good time.”

The employee, finishing the guide with a smile, opened a black door with a gold border. As the name “special area” suggested, there were only a few people inside. At first glance, there were far more employees than customers.

While Luna and I were looking around at the games in the special area, Roque appeared from somewhere.

“I didn’t expect you to come so soon, but thanks for coming.”

Roque’s gaze towards Luna felt somewhat lecherous. When I glared at him with a sharp look, Roque, feeling my gaze, shrugged and gave a bitter smile.

“Oh, don’t misunderstand. Even if she’s a beautiful woman, I don’t touch other people’s women. I just have a proposal for a capable young lady.”

Luna tilted her head and asked.

“What kind of proposal?”

“I had to make a bet with someone against my will. It’s a situation where I can’t lose, so I wanted you to participate in the game on my behalf.”

“That’s…”

When Luna made a troubled expression at Roque’s proposal, I immediately jumped into the conversation.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think that will work.”

At my refusal, Roque looked at me with narrowed eyes.

“…I’ll promise you sufficient compensation.”

“No, we just came to have some fun.”

“Okay, if there’s anything you want, I’ll grant it. Even if it’s not money, I’ll grant anything possible.”

Roque was relentless, as if he thought I was negotiating. Luna didn’t really have a desire to earn money, and she couldn’t do other things in the current situation where she had the goal of becoming an undead.

I confirmed Luna’s intentions and said firmly to Roque.

“Excessive greed brings disaster. We’re satisfied with what we’ve gained this time. I’m sorry, but I’ll decline your offer.”

When I got up from my seat with Luna, Roque jumped up from his seat. I thought he was trying to stop us, but Roque apologized with a bitter smile.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t invite you here to do this. I crossed the line without realizing it because I was in a hurry. I won’t bother you anymore, so please enjoy yourselves.”

Luna, watching Roque’s back as he left, genuinely apologetic, said quietly.

“I don’t think he’s a bad person.”

“Really?”

If Luna says so, then it is so. Roque is not a bad person by nature. I should remember it that way from now on.

I watched the games being played in the special area and drank cocktails with Luna. While sharing unfamiliar fruits that only exist in this world and watching the goblin race, I noticed Roque walking over from a distance, talking to someone.

Blue hair that was clearly visible even from a distance. I could tell at a glance who the man next to Roque was with his swaggering posture.

The 7th of Confession, whom I had killed once in another world. Cormo of the showdown.

Unlike then, I don’t have the Spear of Destruction, and I can’t freely use space magic. But thanks to gaining the talent of creation through quantum jump, I was confident that I could beat Cormo again in a battlefield fight in other ways.

It’s not that I’m underestimating the opponent. Confession is a special unit directly under the cult leader, created to hunt those who have reached the realm of transcendence. The reason why I, who have not yet reached the realm of transcendence, can beat Cormo is simply because I have an overwhelmingly advantageous compatibility using space magic.

I didn’t intend to fight Cormo right away just because I could win. Reducing the power of the cult is a good thing, but I should avoid actions that would attract the attention of the undead, which is the goal of my plan right now. Besides, since Luna is by my side, it was right to avoid dangerous things if possible.

I didn’t know exactly why Cormo was in the City of Pleasure. I don’t know if it’s simply for sightseeing or if he has other plans. Cormo doesn’t appear in many scenes in the novel. Above all, the fact that Cormo was next to Roque, of all people, caught my attention.

With questions in my mind, I subtly shifted my gaze so that the other party wouldn’t notice and secretly observed Roque and Cormo sitting at a nearby table. Unlike Roque, who had a troubled expression, Cormo maintained a sly expression.

“It’s time for the game now. I can’t wait any longer.”

“If you give me a little more time, you’ll be able to enjoy a more fun game… Wouldn’t that be a shame?”

Cormo scoffed at Roque’s question.

“I like this city. I like the women, and the games are fun. I’m never bored. But my boss is a bit picky, so he gets very angry if I break promises.”

Saying that, Cormo snapped his fingers with a spiteful expression and called an employee. Cormo whispered something inaudibly, and the employee nodded and left for a moment before returning with a box containing cards.

Cormo took out cards from the box he received from the employee and placed them one by one on the table, saying.

“The game should be simple. How about matching cards?”

“…I don’t care. Either way, it’s a bet that’s advantageous for you, a transcendent.”

“Hehe, the person who wins two games is the winner of the bet.”

Cormo, who had laid out the cards one by one on the table, took out an hourglass from his pocket and placed it on the table.

“There are a total of 30 cards. The game starts the moment you flip the hourglass. A simple rule where you succeed if you match all the pairs of cards before all the sand falls. If there’s a tie, we’ll rematch until a winner is decided.”

“I’ll yield to the guest first, so go ahead.”

Cormo smiled and nodded at Roque’s suggestion.

“Yielding, what a great attitude. You’re a kind-hearted friend.”

Cormo flipped the hourglass and began flipping the cards in an instant. Rather than trying to match the pairs from the beginning, he seemed to be planning to check all the pictures on the flipped cards and then match them all at once.

I thought it was a method that required excellent memory, so I doubted its success, but Cormo matched all the pairs of cards before half of the hourglass had fallen.

“This is easy. Thanks for yielding your turn!”

Cormo tapped Roque on the shoulder with a sly expression, and Roque frowned unhappily. Cormo shuffled the cards, then gestured after laying out the flipped cards on the table again.

“Turn the hourglass when you’re ready.”

“…Okay.”

Roque, who had been taking deep breaths for a while, reached out to the hourglass. He thought it was impossible to check all the pictures on the cards like Cormo and match them with his amazing memory, so Roque proceeded with the game by carefully checking the pictures on the cards one by one and matching them.

But time was running out. With 6 cards left, the sand in the hourglass completely fell. He increased the speed by flipping two almost simultaneously towards the end, but a few mistakes ate up time and he failed.

“That’s too bad. You would have succeeded if you had made fewer mistakes.”

Instead of answering, Roque silently shuffled the cards and laid them out again. Cormo, who let out a low laugh, waited for the game to be ready and flipped the hourglass, quickly matching the pairs again in the same way. Cormo smiled and said to Roque, who was groaning.

“Good, success. You know that if you fail this turn, I’m the winner of the bet, right? Try harder.”

At the sight of Roque roughly wiping his face as if he was burning inside, I turned my head to Luna. Luna, who had been watching the two people’s game following my gaze, met my eyes and said.

“I guess that bet Roque-ssi asked for earlier is that one.”

“Yeah. There seems to be a reason why he asked.”

“Should I help him now?”

At Luna’s question, I stroked my chin for a moment and thought. Would it be better to intervene, or would it be more beneficial to watch Roque’s defeat as it is?

After finishing my 고민, I asked Luna.

“Can you do it?”

“Yeah. I used to do it often with my older brothers.”

At Luna’s confident answer, I immediately got up from my seat and grabbed Roque’s shoulder, who was reaching out to the hourglass. Roque, who turned his head and checked my face over his shoulder, relaxed the muscles in his stiff face and said.

“You…”

“Is the offer you made earlier still valid?”

When I pointed my thumb towards Luna, Roque smiled, revealing his pearly white teeth.

“Of course, I can even double it.”