Now It's Okay to Do It
Pestford was in the crisis of a lifetime. 'How much is all that?' He had to recover it no matter what. 'Damn it... I never thought something like this would happen.'
The five Lucky Sevens shared a single communal chip storage vault. It had been designed that way to make collecting the piled-up money easier, but he never imagined it would come back to bite him like this. When a jackpot hit, all the chips in that slot machine's storage vault usually poured out. But because the Lucky Sevens shared the vault, every last coin from all five machines had come spilling out at once.
'I kept telling myself I should empty it soon, I should empty it... and now this mess.' The Lucky Sevens, which the rich used to dispose of their spare change while they played, had accumulated an enormous fortune. Even pocket change adds up when you gather enough of it. Just by roughly estimating the volume of the bag in front of him, Pestford could tell it was about half his total assets.
'Is this really possible with beginner's luck?' He didn't know the exact jackpot probability for Lucky Seven, but it was roughly equivalent to getting struck by lightning eighteen times in a row under a clear sky. For such an absurd miracle to happen multiple times to a noble who had come north to play? It was truly unbelievable.
In truth, if it were up to him, he wanted to search the man's body and interrogate him about what trick he'd used. But he couldn't. He had already heard from Wang Sang-bak just what kind of family the Parse family was and how immense their influence was. When he had only known nobles as arrogant fools, they hadn't seemed that threatening. But after learning the details, his neck had instinctively shrunk like a turtle's.
"Could you give me a moment to think?"
That was why, even as the middle-aged noble in front of him arrogantly propped his legs up on the table and stroked his beard, Pestford couldn't say much. He could only ask for time to think and try to stretch out this moment as long as possible to find a good solution.
But as if he'd noticed those thoughts, the noble tilted his head at an angle and openly displayed his displeasure.
"Since when did it become acceptable to put a noble's proposal on hold like that? I'm simply giving you a good offer out of special consideration."
I hope you keep in mind that I can just take this money and leave whenever I want.
"..."
Every time Lee Seokhyun spoke, Pestford found it harder and harder to keep his composure. Every single word was logically sound, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd been perfectly caught in a trap.
'A trap?' He'd heard that nobles from the north were stricter about rules than anyone else, and that they tied criminals to stakes as bait to lure demonic beasts. No wonder the man had revealed his beast-like aura without trying to hide it. It must have all been behavior honed from experience.
Pestford shuddered as he imagined himself, caught red-handed in his schemes, turned into bait for catching demonic beasts.
The pressure was immense: half the shop's assets right in front of him, and the noble who would stand up and leave immediately if refused. Pestford had been through countless battles in his life, but in the end, he had no choice but to raise the white flag before the power of money.
"...I'll proceed."
"Good. I'll actively help you, so from now on, listen carefully to what I say and follow along."
The phrase 'I asked if that would be alright' had somehow transformed into 'Legalize it unconditionally' and taken complete control of Pestford's mind. All the arrogance he'd built up until now crumbled before a noble with both money and power, replaced by the weakness of a commoner. Without even realizing it, he had become a clown dancing in the palm of someone's hand.
"I'll do everything I can. What should I do first?"
"Don't rush me. I'll take care of everything, yet you're so impatient."
"I'm sorry!"
A perfect hierarchy. Obedience. It was the moment a rigid relationship was established in Pestford's mind.
'This is easy.'
In front of money and power, most logic gets skipped. If you can't uphold upright principles, it's only natural that every procedure shrinks before money and power. Pestford's usual business sense, built on rational inference, lost its light in an instant against the collateral of half the shop's assets.
The complicated procedures for legalization, taxes on profits earned so far, the determination that the site was unsuitable, and so on. Rather than considering such complexities, he revealed his desire to please me first and get the money back.
'I can't keep using the Parse family name from now on. It's too dangerous.' A long tail is easy to catch. It was better to mention the Parse family less, so that these actions would seem perfectly natural. Adding lengthy explanations like 'This is how the Parse family usually does it~' every time he did something would be incredibly stupid. He had to act like a noble by birth. He had to show the speech and behavior of someone raised under the northern influence from the moment he was born.
"First, since that bag will be difficult to carry the money in, I'd like you to buy a simple spatial pocket. Tell that skinny friend next to you to get one."
"A spatial pocket, sir?"
"Yes. One with high-grade inventory magic enchanted on it."
"Ah... understood."
"Just so you know, if you try any funny business with the pocket... well, I'm sure you'll think carefully about the consequences."
He indirectly spat out a refined threat of murder while looking at Pestford. The most important thing in this situation was that only Pestford and he should exist in this place. If anyone else got involved, they might notice through objective judgment that something was off.
'It's better that Sturaight isn't here. There's no one easier to fool than someone who believes they're smart.'
Pestford would probably keep thinking even while frantically carrying out his requests. He'd wonder if this was right, if it made sense. Even in his confusion, he wouldn't let go of his obsession with money and would consider every possible scenario. Since he'd been through worse, he'd believe he could handle this elegantly too, concluding that natural disasters weren't something to fight but to hide from.
"Next, gather what I tell you."
"Yes!"
"Bring the tax report documents, the ledgers, and all the money that's immediately usable, not the funds currently in operation."
"Yes... huh?"
That was how he was slowly being led into the trap.
"What do you mean, 'huh'? Do you have a complaint?"
"N-no, I don't."
Rather than explaining why he needed them, Lee Seokhyun glared at Pestford with eyes that said, 'I'm telling you how to legalize it, so what's the problem?' The arrogant gaze and attitude of someone wondering why the other party wouldn't simply obey when following orders would lead to success.
'Time to add a little seasoning here.'
If Pestford thought he could obediently listen just to get half the shop's money only for the entire business to be ripped away, it would be a failure. So Lee Seokhyun paused for a moment and soothed him with a smile that promised mercy.
"I understand. It must be confusing. But I'm worried that this fun gambling house might disappear soon if it keeps carrying the risk of being illegal."
First, he instilled a sense of crisis that it could vanish at any time. The danger that everything would end if someone had a change of heart and reported them. He reminded Pestford of the worst possibilities that had been too easily ignored because of their successful streak.
"That's why, instead of just taking this money, I want to reinvest it into the shop so we can enjoy Sweet Dessert for a long time."
The second part was a supplementary explanation for why he was going this far. It was a strange situation where Pestford had been the one who called him over to talk, yet Lee Seokhyun was now leading the conversation. He could have just swallowed the money and left, but here he was choosing the difficult path of legalizing the gambling house.
'Because it's fun.'
There was no need to give some grand reason. If a noble who came for entertainment gave too specific a reason for wanting to legalize a gambling house, it would reek of suspicion. It was simply that he wanted to keep enjoying this fun. That it would be such a shame if it disappeared because it was illegal when he came back later. After losing all his money and then hitting the jackpot on the slot machine to win big, it was impossible for him to say it wasn't fun.
"And don't worry about the minor details. Since you'll be going with me, everything will be taken care of anyway. What are you so worried about? Hurry up and tell your subordinates to bring everything."
Finally, with a face that said 'I've explained this much, isn't that enough?', he displayed the typical noble irritability. That was the end of it.
Pestford nodded repeatedly with the expression of someone who had grabbed a golden rope and continued giving orders to his subordinates. Bring this, buy that, prepare a carriage, and so on.
"Everything's ready!"
Having finished all the preparations in the blink of an eye, Pestford hurriedly packed the luggage and urgently guided him outside. They say to strike while the iron is hot. Filled with the hope of legalizing it as quickly as possible, the man moved with him to the tax office.
"I'm here to report an illegal gambling house."
And immediately got hit in the back of the head.
"Eh?"
"What?"
Pestford made a stupid face while the guards, unable to process the sudden situation, stood frozen. How can they do their jobs properly if they're this slow to grasp a situation?
Since they didn't seem to understand, Lee Seokhyun simply pinned both of Pestford's hands behind his back in a light restraint and spoke again.
"I said I'm here to report an illegal gambling house. I happened to discover a criminal while walking down the street and came to report him."
The guard roughly understood the situation and hurriedly opened the door, shouting everywhere as he gathered the other guards.
"Eh?"
To the still-uncomprehending and pitiful Pestford, he added a kind explanation. It was a special service, given that they'd spent some time together.
"Don't trust people so easily."
Look where it got you. He didn't swallow the last part.
Now it's okay to do it.