Chapter 131

Chapter 132. Royal Straight Flush (1)

Ultima, who had lowered his head, looked down at the pizza Keter had personally baked.

“Th-this is…?”

Even without tasting it, his eyes and nose could tell.

The bottom of the crust was crispy. The top was chewy. The sweet and sour aroma of the tomato sauce and the rich flavor of the meat were overwhelming. The perfectly baked cheese would stretch with a single bite.

But something was wrong with this pizza.

“Hey, Keter. What the hell is this?”

For some reason, Ultima, who was angry, stood up abruptly and confronted Keter, who was grinning.

“Why did you put pineapple on the pizza?!”

Pineapple, a specialty of the Adeus Kingdom.

Expensive and rare aside, pineapple is a fruit. Putting fruit on pizza, something meant to be eaten after a meal, was something Ultima couldn’t tolerate.

“This isn’t pizza!”

“Stop overreacting. Just try it. It’s my masterpiece.”

“Why are you even here in the first place?!”

“Well, it just happened?”

“How does a direct descendant of a prestigious family end up baking pizza at a pizza shop?!”

“Last night, I tried this thing called pizza. It was delicious. So, I learned how to make it. Consider it an honor. The pizza you’re eating now is the first one I’ve ever sold.”

Status and circumstances were no constraints for Keter. If he wanted to learn something, he learned it. It didn’t matter if the teacher was a child, an old man, a beast, or a monster.

Ultima already knew Keter was crazy, so he wasn’t particularly impressed. But his trust in pizza dropped even further.

“…I don’t want to eat it anymore.”

“Then I’ll eat it all, no big deal.”

“Hmph. Do you think I’ll change my mind just because of that?”

Keter, who had taken off his apron, grabbed the pineapple pizza he had made and took a bite.

One bite, two bites… In an instant, Keter devoured one slice and then grabbed two more slices at once.

‘Is he stacking the pizza to eat it all at once?’

Ultima watched Keter eat the pizza in a truly destructive manner and unconsciously swallowed his saliva.

‘Ah, no. What am I thinking? Damn it, Keter. You’re eating it way too deliciously.’

Pineapple pizza. The name itself was strange. It was a combination that seemed like it wouldn’t work at all.

‘Should I try just one bite? Let’s pretend I’m being fooled, yeah, let’s pretend I’m being fooled.’

But Ultima’s thoughts took too long. Keter had already finished the entire pizza and was holding the last slice.

“W-wait! Leave me one slice!”

As Ultima urgently spoke, Keter held out his palm.

“2 gold. Pay up.”

Even as his mouth watered at the thought, Ultima was outraged at the mention of 2 gold.

“That’s expensive! Even in the Baen Kingdom, the origin of pizza, the average price is 8 silver. No matter how rare the pineapple is, it’s just a small slice! I’ll give you 1 gold!”

“Who said I needed money?”

As Keter opened his mouth, Ultima hurriedly took out two gold coins from his pocket, placed them on the table, and shouted.

“I paid. Now hand over my pizza!”

“Tsk, if you want it that badly, fine.”

“Ha, haha! Finally, it’s mine!”

Ultima, who had obtained the world’s only pineapple pizza, immediately took a big bite.

Crunch!

“……!”

A festival erupted in Ultima’s mouth.

The rich flavor of the cheese and salami spread throughout his mouth. The chewiness and crispiness gently caressed his tongue.

But that wasn’t all. Ultima’s eyes widened as he was immersed in the intense yet harmonious taste. The sweetness of the pineapple that followed was the reason.

‘The sweetness of the pineapple isn’t overpowering at all and blends perfectly. No, it actually enhances the flavor of the pizza!’

Ultima had thought the strong taste of the pineapple would clash with the pizza, but it didn’t at all.

‘I see. This pineapple has been baked. Baking suppresses the sourness and enhances the sweetness. Those flavors harmoniously blend with the pizza, creating a new dimension of texture and taste!’

Revolution.

Ultima felt a revolution in this pizza.

And the amazement didn’t end there.

“Wh-what is this?!”

Normally, the edge of a pizza is just crust. But Keter’s pineapple pizza was different.

Sluuurp.

The edge, which should have been empty, was filled with cheese.

Ultima couldn’t understand why no one in the Baen Kingdom had ever tried this before.

It was so delicious.

And fun.

“Huh?”

Ultima blankly stared at his empty hand. Why was it empty? Why wasn’t there any pineapple pizza in his hand?

Keter was smiling contentedly.

That’s right. That guy ate it all.

Then couldn’t he just make more?

“Keter! One more pineapple pizza, no, two more!”

Ultima immediately placed 4 gold on the table.

But Keter shook his head.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it, but you didn’t come here just to eat pizza, did you?”

“Well, that’s true. I came here smelling money. But right now, I need to eat pizza first and then think about the plan.”

“Hey, is pizza that important now? Money is what matters.”

“No, wait! I need to eat pizza! I won’t go anywhere until I eat pizza!”

Keter mercilessly struck the back of Ultima’s neck, knocking him out.

Keter, who had hoisted Ultima onto his back, shouted towards the kitchen.

“Master! I learned how to make pizza well. May you prosper!”

In response to Keter’s farewell, a muffled voice came from the kitchen.

“Ugh, ugh!”

The owner, whose limbs and mouth were tied, tried to shout to untie him, but Keter had already left.

* * *

Keter arrived at the fountain in the square with the sturdy Ultima slung over his shoulder.

Splash!

“Gah!”

Ultima, who had been knocked out, flailed and emerged from the fountain.

“Cough, cough! Damn Keter. Acting on your own again!”

“Forgiveness is easier than permission.”

“I’ve never forgiven you once!”

“Petty.”

“……”

Ultima glared at Keter for a moment and then evaporated the water with his aura.

It didn’t seem like a big deal since it was done so easily and quickly, but in terms of aura control, Ultima had already reached the level of a master.

Although he was currently being emotionally dominated by Keter.

“So, how are you going to make money?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll make my own money.”

“That’s not possible. Your money is my money.”

“What are you… sigh…”

Ultima knew. Even in Ruquer, Keter was always like this.

When he was bored, he’d grab anyone and create a problem, then not let go until it was resolved. He’d offer to solve problems without being asked.

In the end, to get rid of Keter, you had to do something.

“I don’t have a plan yet.”

“Incompetent.”

At the innocent, non-malicious criticism, Ultima frowned. Being called incompetent was the second thing Ultima hated most in the world.

“You might not understand since you just smash everything when you’re annoyed, but the world of merchants isn’t one where brute force works. There’s something called market share. Without market share, you can’t sell anything. And I don’t even have 1% of the market share in this territory.”

“Hmm, gambling isn’t restricted by space, right?”

“Gambling is only allowed in casinos. I can’t just open a gambling den as I please.”

“Do casinos do betting predictions? Like who will win first place in the Southern Sword Tournament?”

“I believe they do. Surely, you’re not suggesting I bet my entire fortune on something so simple, are you?”

“Does making money in a complicated way earn you more money? Money is just money. Lead the way. Let’s go to the casino with the biggest stakes.”

“Hmm, the largest casino in terms of scale would be…”

“You don’t know where it is?”

“I know. Very well.”

Ultima looked as uncomfortable as a thief who had to return to the scene of the crime.

Keter grabbed Ultima’s shoulder from behind and pushed him forward.

“Just walk. Explain the story as we go.”

“Sigh…”

Ultima reluctantly started walking.

Keter didn’t rush the explanation. After a moment of silence, Ultima’s mouth opened on its own.

“The casino we’re going to is run by Aleron, a merchant group I’m competing with.”

Aleron Merchant Group.

This group imports and sells accessories like rings and necklaces from other countries, and they are particularly popular among noble ladies and wives.

They seem to have no overlap with Ultima, who deals in various wholesale and retail items, but a merchant group isn’t just about wholesale and retail.

Merchants with money build buildings, hire workers, and run their own businesses. They lease land from nobles to grow expensive crops, and some even own mines.

The Aleron Merchant Group builds mansions, hotels, and casinos targeting nobles.

In contrast, Ultima builds dormitories, inns, and general stores targeting commoners.

“There’s no overlap at all?”

Keter, who had been quietly listening, chimed in appropriately. Encouraged, Ultima continued without pause.

“I thought so too. Until that guy started encroaching on my territory.”

The city has zones.

Zones for commoners and zones for nobles.

And these zones sometimes change. Usually, when the city expands, the commoners’ zones are pushed outward.

When a commoner zone becomes a noble zone, the existing buildings must be demolished.

If the building is owned by the lord, there’s no problem in tearing it down. Even if it’s owned by an individual or organization, it’s not a big deal. They just give appropriate ‘compensation’ and tear it down.

But if the building’s owner is a merchant, they grant the merchant the ‘right’ to build a new building.

“Aleron. That bastard took my rights.”

Though much was left unsaid, Keter roughly pieced it together.

“Your buildings were in a zone that became a noble zone, and you wanted to build, but Aleron interfered and took away your rights. Is that it?”

“I didn’t plan to build, I wanted to sell the rights to Aleron. But that guy used his connections to just take them. Without giving me a single penny! That damn bastard!”

“That’s strange. You have strong backing too, right?”

Ultima had the support of no less than four upper nobles. With their influence, a single merchant group could easily be dismantled.

“Aleron’s backing was no less than mine. I was outnumbered.”

Aleron had the support of over a hundred common nobles and lower nobles. No matter how powerful the upper nobles were, they couldn’t crush that many lower nobles at once.

Moreover, the four upper nobles had no intention of helping Ultima grow.

What they wanted was the downfall of Sephira, not the revival of the Ultima Merchant Group.

“We’re here. That’s the Red Siren, Aleron’s casino, where the biggest money flows in this city.”

The building, visible from a distance, was built on a lake, with waterfalls cascading down its walls. It looked like a castle made of water.

Despite the building’s size, the entrance was small enough for only two people to pass through at a time, and burly men in blue tuxedos controlled access.

Ultima hesitated to enter. He had already fought and lost to Aleron once.

Though Ultima was a ruthless warrior from Ruquer, Aleron wasn’t someone who maintained his position through mere luck and money.

Of course, Keter didn’t care about Ultima’s situation. He walked straight to the entrance.

The guards scrutinized Keter and Ultima. They only checked if the entering guests were beggars or carrying weapons.

Keter, of course, was empty-handed, but Ultima had a sword at his waist.

“You can’t enter the Red Siren with weapons. If you leave them with us, we’ll return them when you leave.”

Ultima sighed and handed over his sword, and the guards opened the door.

“Good luck.”

Ultima had a look of someone who had just bitten into something unpleasant as he entered the enemy’s lair unarmed and without a plan—while Keter, filled with anticipation, raised the corner of his mouth, wondering what would happen here.