The door swung open roughly. A crowd of people huddled together. In the midst of them, Kyle Galli and a pile of gold coins were placed on the table.
It was a situation that couldn’t be avoided.
“Frederick, what’s going on here?”
“…How did you even find this place?”
“You’ve made some great friends.”
“What? Don’t tell me…!”
Since I had already caught him red-handed, I mixed in a little white lie.
Of course, knowing Frederick’s personality, he would probably glare at the ‘friends’ he had brought back from studying abroad and suspect them.
“…Is that so?”
“…?”
Huh, he’s not reacting much?
Though taken aback by the unexpected response, I maintained a smile and walked up to Frederick.
Unlike what happened during the day, this time I tapped Frederick on the shoulder.
Too bad I can’t give him a bruise like he did to me.
“Are my eyes playing tricks on me? You’re betting money on Kyle Galli… What do you call this? Gambling?”
“…Are you alone?”
“Huh?”
“I asked if you came alone…”
The look in Frederick’s eyes was one that suggested he was about to do something drastic.
So, I responded with a laugh.
“Do I look like I came alone?”
“……”
“And don’t get me wrong. I didn’t come here to rat you out.”
“What…?”
“I came to join in. This gambling table.”
I had come prepared for this.
*Clink.*
I tossed the pouch tied to my waist.
As it hit the floor, the knot came undone, and intricately crafted gold coins spilled out.
“Th-those are gold coins…?”
“And with this amount…?”
“…You, what on earth are you thinking?”
“What do you mean? I’m here to gamble for real. That’s my war fund.”
To be precise, it was all the prize money I had scraped together from winning a chess-like board game.
It was a large sum for an individual, but far from enough to mass-produce board games.
But Frederick and his so-called friends couldn’t take their eyes off the pouch of gold coins.
“You’ll let me join, right? Kyle Galli.”
“……”
Frederick, who had been silently glaring at me and Kyle Galli, finally curled his lips into a smirk.
“Fine, if you want to… I’ll let you.”
“Great.”
“Take a seat. We’ll start right away.”
I know exactly what you’re thinking. You think some easy mark just walked in, right?
You’ve probably played Kyle Galli before, so it’s a natural assumption.
There’s an insurmountable gap between an Aura user and a powerless person.
As I sat down and placed my hands on the table, the ‘friends’ who had been silent began to inch closer.
Not your turn yet.
“Frederick, how about we keep it simple? One-on-one.”
“…What? Are you out of your mind?”
“The rules are just Kyle Galli rules. Betting limit is whatever you have on you. Strictly one-on-one, and Aura is prohibited. If Aura is used, it’s an automatic forfeit. Agreed?”
“Aura… prohibited.”
“Why, you don’t like it?”
“Not at all. A handicap like that is necessary when dealing with a powerless brat.”
Frederick had no reason to refuse. Even without using Aura, an Aura user’s physical abilities are far superior to a powerless person.
I’ve heard that even without active Aura use, the enhanced physical abilities remain as traces.
So, even with the Aura prohibition penalty, he probably scoffed at it.
And more importantly.
‘You’re not the type to not use Aura at all.’
If things get tough, he’ll just use Aura subtly without getting caught. Even the slightest use of Aura would be enough to dominate.
When you think about it, there was nothing in my favor.
But it was fine.
“Shall we start then? This way, we’re on equal footing.”
“Sure.”
Kyle Galli was set up. The ‘friends’ who had been watching Frederick’s mood began shuffling the cards and setting up the bell.
Frederick had only started gambling two days ago, so he must have played Kyle Galli a few times by now.
So, Frederick is currently in that ‘vaguely familiar’ stage with Kyle Galli.
There’s no need to deliberately entertain him like I did with Sally, Charles, Grandpa Butler, Princess Leisha, or Adela.
Just.
*Ding!!!*
“…Huh?”
“Show your cards.”
Just press him with all your might.
Frederick was inwardly cheering.
He thought it was a life-or-death crisis, but his stupid, incompetent brother boldly declared he would join the gambling.
‘What an idiot.’
He tried to knock him out to avoid getting caught by their father or the head butler, but the guy luckily escaped.
Still, how on earth did he find out about the gambling den?
‘One of these bastards must have blabbed.’
The ‘friends’ he met during his studies, the knight, and some servants who were lured into gambling by his persuasion.
It was clear that one of them had approached Kyle.
At first, it was annoying, but he could say he faithfully followed the order to ‘bring in as many people as possible.’
Now that the guy has proven to be a stupid sucker, he even wanted to praise him for doing well.
‘Who knew he had this much money?’
It’s already a done deal to take it all. That amount would be a huge help in paying off debts.
No, more than that, if we use that as war funds, we could really join the big leagues. If we hit it big there, we could make a fortune, forget about debts.
As he was happily looking at the pouch of gold coins that was practically already in his hands.
10 minutes ago.
Ding!!
“Again…?”
“That’s three wins in a row. You’re not going easy on me, are you?”
“…………….”
Kyle Galli, shamelessly named after himself, thought he had mastered this board game after playing it a lot over the past few days.
Originally, he planned to sneak in some dice and play Yacht again, but Frederick, who had mastered Aura, had a clear advantage in Kyle Galli, so they decided on this.
His friends, as well as the family knights and servants, seemed familiar with Kyle Galli, so it was easy.
At first glance, it seemed fair, banning Aura, but secretly using it to ensure victory.
Similarly, there were no issues when gambling with knights who also used Aura.
After all, the ‘friends’ and Frederick were all in cahoots.
Confident that they were all geniuses in Aura, they even planned to cover up if caught, just paying fines.
They smoothly manipulated the outcomes or made the skilled ones seem lucky, even breaking their wrists to force them out.
‘Kyle, this bastard…?’
This guy, his skills are no joke.
Even without using Aura, a body with remnants of Aura should surpass a loser like Kyle.
But Kyle reacted as fast as Frederick, or even faster. No, considering the three losses, he’s definitely more skilled.
‘So, you do have some brains, huh?’
Maybe he was confident because he created the game himself. Well, that part deserves some praise.
However.
‘It’s going to be different now.’
Aura.
A power that only the talented can use, turning people into superhumans.
The overwhelming gap between those with talent and losers like Kyle, and proof of his own genius.
Just a bit of Aura is enough for that guy.
Frederick, who had slightly raised his Aura, smiled at Kyle.
“Not bad. Shall we move on to the next game?”
“Hmm… it’s a bit boring.”
“What?”
“Just betting a few gold coins is too dull. If we’re going to do it───”
Thud.
“──it should be at least a pouch of gold coins.”
“Are you… serious?”
It wasn’t worry.
Frederick was more worried about holding back his laughter.
Yet, his stupid brother nodded coolly.
“You have to bet too. You know it has to be the same amount, right?”
“Of course.”
Kyle brought a lot of gold coins, but considering the money Frederick had won, it was more than enough to bet.
One of his ‘friends’ winked, pulling out a similar pouch of gold coins from under the bed and placing it on the table.
“How much do you have under that bed?”
“An amount you’ll never touch in your lifetime.”
“Really? I’d like to see that…”
Is this guy also getting hooked on gambling? Even better.
We can just suck him dry and pin all the blame on him.
‘But since you’ve gone this far.’
I’ll show you some mercy, big brother.
Instead of toying with you, I’ll end it in one go.
Flip. Flip. Flip.
He flipped the cards. With the stakes so high, the spectators seemed even more tense.
But Frederick had no worries. Since he had pulled up his Aura, there was no way he could lose.
Rather, he was debating whether to lose a few times on purpose to entertain or to completely crush his opponent. Nervousness? What nervousness?
Ding!
“…Huh?”
“I’ll take the first round.”
Just now.
What was that?
‘Sigh, was I too distracted?’
Right. Even if he used Aura, if he didn’t focus on the game itself, he could still lose.
With that in mind, Frederick decided not to let his thoughts wander this time and focused on Kyle’s cards.
‘Right now, that guy has three circles.’
If only my cards have two circles here.
Ding!
“…Are you serious? I haven’t even flipped my card yet.”
Maybe he made a mistake because he was nervous too. Even though Frederick had only slightly lifted his card, Kyle had already rung the bell.
He was about to laugh at that stupid mistake, but…
“Flip it.”
“………”
Kyle’s words, as if nothing was wrong, and that strange confidence.
For a moment, Frederick felt uneasy and slowly flipped his card.
The card was…
“Two… circles…?”
“I’ll take it again.”
“W-what the hell!!”
How on earth?
How could a powerless brat who can’t use Aura or Magic do this?
How could he know the next card without even flipping it?
Frederick’s eyes trembled like crazy, but the bell and cards weren’t prepared by Kyle. They were the same ones Frederick had been using to gamble just moments ago.
Even though he had used Aura…
‘Damn it…!!’
“I rang the bell, so Frederick, you have to flip it.”
“………”
“Frederick?”
“I know! I know, so shut up…!!”
Whatever, it doesn’t matter. No matter what tricks he uses, it doesn’t matter.
As long as I have Aura, it’s fine. I just need to pull it up a bit more.
I’m a genius, unlike that powerless brat. So it’s fine. I’ve only lost a few cards, that’s all.
*Flip. Flip.*
And so, with slightly trembling hands, he flipped the cards again.
Ding!
“Ah…!!”
Lost.
Ding!!
Lost again.
Ding!!!
Lost again.
It wasn’t like Frederick didn’t win at all during that time, but the difference in cards was already overwhelming.
It didn’t take long for all of Frederick’s cards to end up in Kyle’s hands.
“That makes it four wins in a row.”
“What kind of trick did you pull───”
“Then… all in.”
“…What?”
“All in with both bags of gold coins, including the one I just won.”
Thud.
Two heavy bags of gold coins were placed on the table.
Frederick’s money, the money that should have been his.
“Why, don’t like it?”
“…You can’t be serious.”
“Then bring out more money.”
Only then did Frederick feel a hint of unease.
Even if he kept secretly using Aura, would he still fall for that sneaky bastard’s unknown tricks?
But stopping here would be a waste of his hard-earned money. That wasn’t an amount he could just give up on losing.
More importantly, Frederick needed money.
A lot of it.
So, in the end, he…
“…Bring it.”
“F-Frederick, sir…?”
“Bring more!!”
He forced his ‘friend’ to bring out more gold coins.
Now that it had come to this, he had to get his money back no matter what.
No matter what it took.
*
‘I was too nervous.’
I was confident I could win, but even though Frederick could use Aura, I really gave it my all.
Frederick’s Aura was weaker than I thought.
‘Well, it’d be unfair to compare the Aura of knights who train every day to a guy like this.’
Grandpa Charles told me that there’s no power with as much disparity as Aura. The more you train, the stronger you get, but if you rest even for a moment, it weakens quickly.
That’s why the retired Knight Commander trains his Aura every day. On the other hand, how much effort has Frederick put in?
The result is what I’m seeing right now.
Ding!
“Damn it, why…!!”
Even though Frederick wasn’t going all out since he wasn’t openly using his Aura yet.
Even though he was probably using it to the maximum extent without getting caught, I was the one who hit the bell first.
Of course, if we went head-to-head, I’d definitely lose.
I was toying with Frederick using my Hali Gali experience.
‘When flipping a card, you should hold it from the top and flip it, so naturally, the opponent sees the card before you do.’
Of course, it’s not like I instantly recognize what the card is and press it. What I’m looking at is the position of the shapes.
In Hali Gali, the number of shapes—one, two, three, four, or five—each has a different design.
The moment Frederick slightly lifts the card, if the shape isn’t visible, it’s a card with only one shape.
On the other hand, if a shape is visible on one side, it’s a card with two or three shapes. If shapes are visible on both sides, it’s a card with four or five shapes.
Of course, if you only consider this, it’s a 50-50 battle except for the one-shape case.
‘The number of cards is fixed.’
Five cards with one shape, four with two, three with three, two with four, and one with five.
Excluding the shapes that have already appeared, and the cards from the previous round that were taken by anyone are moved to the bottom of the deck, so they can be excluded.
By counting like this, you can guess the card with a surprisingly high probability.
Frederick must be thinking it’s some kind of ghostly trick, right?
‘Whether it’s Aura or whatever, if you press the bell before seeing the card, that’s it.’
Aura doesn’t let you see through cards. No matter how fast you are, you still have to see the card and think.
If Frederick used Aura to flip the cards at an insane speed, this strategy would be impossible.
But there’s a rule in Kyle Galli that says ‘if the card is severely crumpled, there’s a penalty,’ so Frederick flips the cards normally. Even so, it’s still fast, but it’s a speed you’d often see in the real world.
Well, even if he does this, Frederick will eventually catch on to something strange.
Ding!
“Ha, haha! This time you’re late! I don’t know what you’re doing, but if I move the moment you reach out, that’s it…!!”
“Yeah? Then give me the card.”
“I pressed it, what nonsense are you talking about…?”
“So you pressed it wrong, right? It wasn’t five shapes, was it?”
“Huh…?”
I mix in some fakes too. That way, Frederick will get tangled up in all sorts of thoughts.
Hali Gali seems like a game where physical ability is everything. If two players of similar skill face off, that’s usually the case.
But, Hali Gali is also a board game.
When experience, strategy, and tricks come together, even if there’s a big physical difference, a novice can’t beat an expert.
Even if they win once or twice, in the end, the expert will take more cards.
There’s actually one flaw in this method, but I’ve already figured out how to solve it, so no problem.
And so.
I win, win, and win again.
“7 wins in a row.”
“………”
“And again, all-in.”
“………!!”
And I won’t stop.
Until I solve this guy’s gambling problem.
‘I don’t know how to make a gambling addict quit gambling.’
But if there’s really no money or anything to bet, they won’t be able to do it even if they want to.
As expected, board games are the right way to cure gambling.
“………I bet.”
“Huh? Speak up.”
“I said I bet…! Bring everything under the bed………!!”
If it were the beginning, maybe, but Frederick, who has already lost a huge amount of money, has no choice but to comply.
……So, right at this moment.
When all his composure and everything else has disappeared.
This is the moment I’ve been waiting for.
The perfect opportunity to bring Frederick down.
