Chapter 177
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 177
Chapter Title: Chapter 38 - This Wasn't the Intended Use for This Ability (1)
After finishing my meal.
I put down the backpack I had been carrying.
And went back down to the first floor.
The gullible knight was still in his seat.
The bottle of liquor on the table was also untouched.
I glanced at him, then gestured to the innkeeper.
“What now…?”
The coin I tossed him instantly brightened his sullen face.
“I want to test my luck.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Literally what I said.”
Is there a place around here where I can test my luck?
The innkeeper narrowed his eyes and looked me up and down.
“There is a suitable place, but…”
Seeing the innkeeper trail off, I pulled another coin from my coat.
“Not a place where riffraff gather.”
“Well, places like that don’t just let anyone in…”
I tossed him another coin.
*Thud.*
The innkeeper, who had swiftly snatched the silver coin, widened his eyes.
“Gasp. A silver coin.”
His face read, *what a windfall.*
“Oh my. You shouldn’t keep giving me such burdensome things.”
His complete change in attitude made it seem like he would give me his liver and gallbladder if I asked.
It was only natural.
One silver coin was worth one shilling.
That was equivalent to 100 one-persil coppers, or 400 quarter-coins.
The fee for heating bathwater, a task that made one sweat profusely, was a single one-persil copper. This meant the innkeeper had just earned the pay for heating one hundred baths without breaking a single drop of sweat.
It was an amount equivalent to nearly a week’s lodging fees.
For just a few words, it was a very generous payment.
It was a significant expense for me as well.
My hand trembled, but I didn’t let it show.
“As it happens, I have a buddy I’m close with, and what do you know, he works over there. Just mention my name, and they’ll let you pass, no questions asked.”
The effect was tremendous.
The innkeeper bowed repeatedly and, right then and there, told me the location where I could test my luck—that is, an illegal gambling den.
“They open for business…”
“After sunset, I presume.”
“Yes, yes. Oh my. You’re quite knowledgeable about these things. Forgive me for stating the obvious. And I’m telling you this just in case, but if you run into the soldiers on patrol at night, just tell them your destination. Then there’ll be no problem.”
The innkeeper chattered on for some time before disappearing.
Having learned the location of the illegal gambling den, I sat quietly and waited for the sun to set.
As I sat at the table, picking at the low-quality meal the innkeeper had provided as a gesture of goodwill, I overheard the ramblings of some drunkards.
“It’s just a rumor, but it seems the wizards this time were no ordinary folk. I heard even the White Mirror Knights had a tough time.”
“They say they got trapped in some weird fog and ended up fighting amongst themselves.”
“Not only that, but I heard the place was crawling with strange fellows who wouldn’t die even when stabbed or cut with a sword.”
I had no idea where they’d picked up such stories, but my ears perked up on their own.
There was only one group of people who wouldn’t die even when stabbed or cut.
The monsters created by the wizards of the Blue Tower to fight against knights.
They had to be the Chimeras that laid waste to Komlat in the west.
“Ah.”
I realized it belatedly.
The townspeople who had been acting, repeating the same day over and over.
The puppets that had blocked my path when I tried to escape at the last moment—they were the Chimeras.
It was absurd.
How could I not have recognized the Chimeras right in front of me?
At the same time, I was horrified.
It hadn’t even been a year since I last encountered the Chimeras.
The Chimeras I faced in Komlat were quite clumsy, unlike the ones I had experienced in my past life.
“Anyway, some people got hurt, and the Dasmeer family was disgraced… mmmph.”
“You should drink gracefully if you’re going to drink at all. Do you have a death wish?”
And yet, those clumsy, unfinished products had already been improved enough to take on a knight order.
Of course, the sense-blocking fog must have helped them greatly, but it was certain that the Chimeras had become complete enough to inflict damage even on the elites of the Eight Families.
The nightmare of my past life resurfaced.
For a while after, the drunkards continued their conversation on the same topic.
The drunkard, who was surprisingly well-informed, said quite a lot.
But nowhere in his tales was there any mention of the Star-eating Sorcerer.
It seemed she had survived this attack.
“Ugh.”
The fact that the sorcerer, who had been strangely obsessed with me, was safe left a bad taste in my mouth.
I tried my best to shake off the uneasy feeling.
There was no way I would run into such a terrifying sorcerer three times in a row in this vast empire.
Still, it wasn't all bad news.
“This is also a rumor, but the Wizard Hunter too…”
“The Wizard Hunter? You mean Knight Moro?”
“Yes. Moro Dasmeer, that’s the one. I heard he was also injured… mmmph mmmph!”
“This guy, seriously! If you want to die, die alone! Haven’t you ever heard that you won’t live to a ripe old age if you run your mouth? We’re talking about the Dasmeers, of all people! People like us could disappear without a trace, you get it? Huh? Do you or don’t you?”
It was obvious what had happened.
He must have charged into the enemy lines all by himself, thinking he was hot stuff, only to get beaten down by the wizards and Chimeras.
In any case, since I had my own sins, the matter had been weighing on my mind, so this was welcome news.
Knights generally tried not to show any weakness.
Instead of running around with injuries, it was common for them to stay out of sight and focus on recovery.
Naturally, the chances of me running into him would be lower.
“Huh?”
As I was eavesdropping on the drunkards’ conversation, I suddenly remembered something I had forgotten.
Victor Lafayette.
The gullible knight had disappeared at some point.
“The person who was over there, where did he go?”
I called the innkeeper and asked. He told me the man had rushed out as soon as the sun set.
I looked out the window.
Outside, the twilight had already deepened.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem like the sun had set too long ago.
I hurried up to my room and grabbed a money pouch.
I also discreetly tucked a dagger into my coat.
I wanted to take a sword if I could, but unfortunately, Baegya was too conspicuous.
After these rough preparations, I immediately dashed out of the room.
“May the goddess of luck be with you all night long!”
Leaving the innkeeper’s farewell behind, I headed straight for the illegal gambling den.
Finding the location wasn’t difficult.
The innkeeper’s directions were helpful, but illegal gambling dens were usually in predictable places anyway.
Not too far from the area crowded with inns, pubs, and various shops.
Neither in the slums nor the wealthy district, but somewhere on the edge of the city.
*Ssk.*
A man lying on a piece of sackcloth at the entrance of an alley glanced my way before turning his head.
He looked like a common beggar, but he was actually a lookout.
There were several more lookouts inside the alley.
Sometimes disguised as drunkards, sometimes as women of the night.
Indifferent yet sharp gazes swept over me from time to time.
But they didn’t seem particularly wary of me.
Right now, I was just an ordinary kid.
Thanks to that, I reached the deepest part of the alley without any trouble.
*Nod, nod.*
A man was squatting in front of a shabby house, his head bobbing.
At first glance, he looked like a drunkard who had collapsed, unable to support his own body.
Of course, he wasn’t.
“…sent me.”
At my words, the man—the doorman of the gambling den—didn’t even lift his head and just waved his hand dismissively.
It was a gesture to go inside.
Without hesitation, I opened the door and stepped in.
The inside was decorated like a normal house.
*Sniff, sniff.*
But judging by the faint scent lingering in the air, I knew I had come to the right place.
Wrinkling my nose, I went up to the second floor.
The smell of tobacco and alcohol grew stronger.
*Tap.*
As soon as I reached the second floor, a wild scene unfolded.
“Hahahaha! It seems the goddess of luck has decided to sit by my side today!”
“This is ridiculous! I was sure I was winning this hand!”
A young man bursting into laughter as if he had gained the whole world.
A middle-aged man screaming as if his world had come to an end.
“No! This can’t be!”
“Hey! Don’t be a sore loser when the game is over.”
Shouts were exchanged.
“I’ll be taking this one!”
“Ugh. My luck keeps running out.”
Huge sums of money, the kind commoners would never see in their lifetime, were changing hands.
A place where the most primal greed was laid bare.
In the midst of a world where joy and sorrow intersected.
“My luck is good today.”
There he was—the gullible knight, Victor Lafayette.
Just as I was about to head to his table, a giant of a man, his face a mess of scars, blocked my path.
“I need to replace all the lookouts. None of them do their jobs right. Seriously, this is so hard on me.”
The man, grumbling under his breath, waved his hand at me.
“Kid. This isn’t a playground for children. Leave while I’m asking nicely.”
A clear order to get out.
I scoffed.
“What terrible service for your customers.”
“What?”
“I said, what kind of rotten service is this for a customer who came to play cards?”
At my words, the giant’s face turned menacing.
“You little brat who’s still wet behind the ears…”
“You die if the blood on your head dries. I’ve seen it. Someone’s head got smashed open, and they were bleeding like this and that, and then they died right around the time the bleeding stopped.”
“What in the world are you talking about…”
“If you don’t get it, then just move.”
As I spoke, I glanced over at the gullible knight.
His expression wasn’t dark, and there was a decent pile of silver coins on the table in front of him.
It seemed he hadn’t been seriously worked over yet.
*Phew.*
I let out a sigh of relief.
My money was safe.
“The night is short. Are you going to keep blocking my way?”
“This little brat…!”
“Kid this, kid that. Do you play cards with age here instead of money?”
The giant’s mouth fell open, at a loss for words.
But soon his face turned beet red, and he raised his fist.
“Wigo.”
A languid voice was heard.
I turned my head to find the source of the voice.
In a corner, a woman leaning against a sofa and smoking a cigarette exhaled a long plume of smoke.
“*Hooo*. Let him pass.”
“My lady!”
“He’s not wrong, is he? What does age matter in a card game?”
Seeing her give orders to the giant, she seemed to be the manager of this gambling den.
“But…!”
“Our Wigo hasn’t been listening lately. I’m starting to get a little annoyed.”
She must have quite a temper, because as soon as she lowered her voice, the giant immediately shrank back.
“Keep up the good work, Wigo.”
In that moment, I walked past the giant.
“Grrr!”
I could hear him seething with frustration behind me, but I paid him no mind.
I’d leave him to that ‘my lady’ person.
I casually stood by the gullible knight’s table.
“I really can’t seem to win against you.”
“Sir Victor wins again.”
The gamblers muttered as they watched the gullible knight gleefully rake in the pot from the table.
“My goodness. The goddess of luck must really be on your side today!”
“They say a man’s fortune follows his name. Sir Victor truly is the incarnation of victory.”
“This is so frustrating, I might just have to change my name.”
The gullible knight’s lips twitched at the gamblers’ praise.
“Ahem. It’s all luck. Luck.”
“When luck repeats, it becomes skill. You’re truly gifted!”
He, who had been trying to act dignified, finally let out a chuckle.
He was enjoying this. So very much.
It was obvious he was being set up, but he seemed to be the only one who didn’t know.
“I think I’ll call it a night.”
“Already? The night is still young.”
“When the goddess of luck is so blatantly showing favoritism, what’s the point in staying? It’ll just make me feel worse.”
“Ugh. Now that you mention it, you’re right. I’ll get going too.”
“I happen to be out of money as well.”
As if on cue, the gamblers stood up from their seats. Seeing them exchange glances, it was clear they had planned this beforehand.
“I feel so bad about this. But it’s not like I can force my winning streak to end. Heh heh.”
The clueless, gullible knight didn’t realize any of this and just kept grinning from ear to ear.
He looked utterly convinced that, just as the gamblers had said, the goddess of luck was with him.
He was in the perfect state to be worked over.
If it looked that way to me, how much more obvious must it have been to the experts?
“Well now. This table looks interesting.”
“Let’s share some of that luck.”
“I’ll join as well, then.”
New gamblers quickly appeared to fill the empty seats.
The sharps were making their entrance.
“Then, with your permission, I’ll just…”
Just as they were about to slyly take their seats.
*Whoosh.*
I quickly snatched a chair and sat down.
“…?”
The sharp, who had just had his seat stolen, looked at me with a bewildered expression.
“Young friend. How about you give me that seat?”
“Old friend. I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
I rejected his proposal flat out.
“Come on now, why don’t you just give it to me…”
“Why? Is there some special reason you have to sit at this table?”
The sharp, who had been insisting, snapped his mouth shut.
For a split second, his eyes darted around.
It was obvious who he was looking at.
He was undoubtedly seeking instructions from the woman who had admonished the giant earlier.
“If you don’t want to, I guess I can’t force you. It’s not like this is the only game.”
Immediately after, the sharp whose seat I’d taken disappeared as if he had no other choice.
*Prickle, prickle.*
I felt a persistent gaze drilling into the back of my head.
“The nights in this town must be exceptionally long.”
In other words, I was saying I didn’t have time, so they should hurry up and deal the cards.
The dazed employee of the gambling den startled and grabbed the deck.
*Shhffk.*
The cards were shuffled with a dazzling display of handiwork.
The sharps poured their stakes onto the table.
The gullible knight chugged his beer.
And I just…
“Heh.”
I had to laugh.