Chapter 157
Chapter 157
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: Chapter 4. The Nation of Revelry and Culture, Urun.
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The dealer at the table looked at Judah and Roxin, then gave a troubled smile. These two had become quite famous recently at the casino Avalon. Normally, the dealer should have been raking in more money, but a boy who seemed to be visiting for the first time had posted enormous profits, and by teaming up with a guy who kept losing money, they had won a massive sum again.
The incident from that single day had become so notorious that no dealer in the place was unaware of them. How lucky could they be? The dealer was feeling a pointless surge of competitive spirit.
It wasn't just the dealer who recognized Judah and Roxin—the Count Seronic, who was seated at that very table, did too. He was the type who only came to the casino once a week to relieve stress, but he remembered seeing them last time.
He wasn't usually one to remember events at the casino all that well, but amusingly, the sight of Roxin diving into the casino chips like he was swimming and tossing them into the air had left a deep impression. That was why it stuck with him.
"Hey, dealer."
"Yes, Count."
The count, who had been sitting quietly, called out to the dealer to confirm. The dealer bowed his head politely and responded courteously.
"These are the guys who fulfilled their dreams last time, right?"
"Yes, that's them."
Judah, who had been listening silently, turned his gaze to the count. The count smiled and extended his hand. It was clear from his eyes—previously bored in the casino—that he was now intrigued.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Count Seronic. The dream fulfillers."
"Dream fulfillers?"
Judah echoed the count's words as if asking what that meant, then slowly nodded with a smile as understanding dawned.
"I suppose so. From other people's perspectives, it could look like we've achieved our dreams."
"Why? That sounds like you didn't actually fulfill them."
"Well, it's not that we didn't. We could say it's one accomplishment in life."
For example, something like '[Gambler's Dream] Achievement Unlocked! Obtained 500% profit at the casino!' That kind of thing. The count seemed intrigued by Judah's words and let out an amused chuckle. His distinctive laugh went, "Hohoho."
"You're an interesting fellow. Young and full of spirit, it seems."
There weren't many who spoke to him so casually, given he was a count. Yet here was Judah, talking to him as if they were equals or as if Judah held no status at all. The boredom that had been settling into his body seemed to wash away.
"One accomplishment, huh. So you must have a real dream separate from that?"
"That's right. The one who fulfilled their dream is the person next to me."
As he glanced at Roxin and spoke, Roxin received the look, bowed his head to the count, then lifted it again. Watching this, Judah continued.
"And my dream isn't about winning a ton of money gambling. It's to visit every kingdom and empire in the world."
"A world tour! I see. So that's your dream? Then Urun is just one stop on the journey. Right."
"As expected of a count. Exactly. Gambling and revelry here are part of Urun's culture, so we came to enjoy them."
"Haha. A man who enjoys it beats those who are desperate for it. Well then, how about we play a game together?"
Judah smiled as if delighted.
"No hard feelings."
"I'll do my best. So go easy on me a bit."
Who knew if that would go as planned? Instead of saying that, Judah smiled and joined the game. But his luck was markedly inferior to Judah's. The result? Needless to say, victory for Judah and Roxin. Of course, the count had tried to lose in a way that wouldn't sour his mood too much, but suddenly, Judah sensed a flow of mana. Looking toward the count in suspicion, he spotted a faint ripple from the cards. It was just an instant, but Judah caught it. And from then on, strangely enough, they started losing the games.
'We're losing way too consistently.'
They only won in cases where victory was inevitable. And as the number of games increased, there were far more instances of the same numbers appearing or winning by tiny margins. Of course, Judah won more games and larger amounts overall, but it was still an unsatisfying outcome.
'He's cheating.'
Thanks to his high magic resistance and Valentine, he could detect even the faintest mana—otherwise, he wouldn't have noticed. He didn't know how he was fooling the casino's artifacts, but it was undeniable that magic was in play. The more rounds they played, the more certain Judah became.
He'd seemed like a decent fellow at first, but losing seemed to irritate him, leading to this cowardly tactic. Judah wanted to humiliate him properly, but lacking any talent in magic, he couldn't pin it down. Moreover, as a count of Urun, the man likely had influence over the casino, so Judah couldn't act rashly. Deciding to end the session at this table, Judah stood after the final hand. The count had won.
"Not playing more?"
The count said with a smile.
"Your hands are faster than my eyes. I'll try other games."
"!"
"But it was fun, so let's meet again sometime."
Seeing the count's furrowed brow as he grasped the meaning, Judah grinned shamelessly and pulled Roxin to his feet. And as if luck itself was telling him the count had used magic to beat him, they proceeded to win big at various games on other tables. Around 3 a.m., spotting that Count Seronic was still in the casino, Judah and Roxin cashed in their chips for gold coins and stepped outside.
"Man, how much did we make? Seriously."
Roxin muttered, his mouth grinning from ear to ear. The amount of gold slung over his shoulder was immense. Even after splitting some with Judah, it was peanuts compared to what he'd lost before, but he was thrilled at the fact that he'd won money this time.
"That's enough, right?"
"Of course. More than enough. I'll actively help you out while you're in Urun, so don't worry too much."
When Judah asked while watching him smile, Roxin replied energetically, his voice belying the fact that he'd gone until dawn without tiring.
"More importantly, anything you wanna eat? We had something at the casino restaurant, but that probably didn't fill you up."
Lots of places open till 5 a.m., he said, trying to coax Judah into getting food. But Judah shook his head and refused.
"I'm good. A full stomach would just make me bloated, and right now feels perfect."
"Perfect how?"
Walking together down the quiet night streets, Judah grinned.
"Perfect for infiltrating Count Seronic's mansion. I'm heading straight to the Seronic estate, so stash those gold coins somewhere and wait for me."
"What? Hey, you lunatic. You mean right now? At this hour?"
"That's exactly why. If you keep putting it off saying you can't, the chance won't come. See you later."
Judah lightly kicked off the ground and dashed away, vanishing from Roxin's sight in an instant. Roxin, sack of gold over his shoulder, stood there dumbfounded for a moment, then sighed irritably and kicked a small pebble rolling on the ground. The stone arced cleanly through the air and struck a streetlamp precisely, ringing out. With that sound shattering the silent night, Roxin's body melted smoothly into the shadows.
"Damn guy..."
Using me like dirt.
+ + +
At the grand estate of the Seronic family, security had been tightened throughout due to a thief recently stealing elf slaves. Patrols, previously every 20 minutes, were now every 5, and mages from the Seronic family's magic soldier unit stood constant guard. Even magic spells deemed unnecessary inside the estate had been activated. The moment even a rat slipped in, it would be summarily executed, no questions asked. Patrols even circled outside the estate.
Urun Kingdom guards had been mobilized, some patrolling near noble houses known to hold elf slaves.
Faced with such stringent security, Judah sighed from the shadows.
'This might be tougher than I thought.'
Getting in without being spotted would be difficult.
"Tch, if I'd only become a spirit sword owner, I could've slipped in easily."
"Spirit sword owner? Dream on."
"!?"
Startled, Judah looked beside him to find Roxin there, having arrived unnoticed. In the pitch-black alley with no light, Judah felt his heart pounding.
"Damn, you scared me."
"More importantly, what are you doing not going in? You went ahead all confident, and here I thought you'd just be standing around doing nothing."
Roxin peeked out from beside Judah. There were a lot of guards patrolling outside—at least at a glance. With a noble's estate robbed, they were on high alert. If the exterior was like this, the interior would be even tighter.
"You're just scared."
"...I'm not scared. I just don't have confidence in getting in and out quietly."
"Isn't that the same thing? Anything else to call it?"
"Shut up."
Roxin eyed Judah as if to say, *Huh, he actually thinks things through.* Until now, his actions had suggested a guy who moved first and thought later, but apparently not.
Judah scratched his head, let out a small sigh, and nodded as if giving up, then patted Roxin's shoulder. Emerging onto a quiet street without patrols, the direction Judah headed was back toward Count Jenner's estate.
"Roxin."
"Yeah."
"I'm planning to hit the Seronic count's place this coming Sunday."
"Yeah. Wait, what? Hit?"
Had he chosen the wrong word? It should be infiltration, not hit. As Roxin muttered in confusion, Judah nodded beside him as if confirming it.
"Hit is right. A literal attack. So, one favor."
"What now."
"Nothing big. You know who my companion is?"
"The Blue Spear Knight? Or the priest? Which one? Or both?"
"The priest, Arhil."
He couldn't bring Jeanne. She had to return to the Byron Empire. Feeling a pang of bitterness again, Judah frowned and continued.
"Move her and the elves we're holding to Urun's north gate around... 3 a.m.? That time. Somewhere not easily visible. On Sunday, we'll steal the Seronics' elf and leave Urun. I'll tell Arhil ahead of time, so no worries about getting her out."
"......"
"Anyway, after that, our deal is cleanly done. Like I said before, if the count's family wants my info, take a fat payout and spill it. I don't care."
Count Jenner's estate loomed in the distance. As Roxin stopped and turned to leave, Judah looked back at him and added.
"Oh, and not that I don't trust you, but just in case—if something happens to the elves I entrusted, or... you sell my info too quick, you'd better prepare. I'll swallow all the gold you've pocketed so far and the fruit wine from the elves you promised later."
Life on top of that.
Roxin let out a smirk at Judah's threat-laden words.
"Don't forget to send the fruit wine."
Meaning no worries. Without further ado, Roxin waved once and vanished into the alley.
========== Author's Note ==========
Forced TS, huh.
Fine, I'll leave it all to your imaginations (sigh).