The Journey (9)
As the sun began to set, the streets lit up with brilliant lights. Steam rising from the hot spring water that flowed nearby mingled with the glow, and at times the whole scene took on a dreamlike quality.
It was still a little early to call it night, yet the streets were already lively. True to a tourist destination, some shops only appeared — or only opened — in the evening and after dark.
"Let's head to the casino before things get even rowdier."
While my attention was being pulled every which way, the Young Master urged us to make for our destination.
"Can't we look around a little more first?"
I said it while watching a man on the roadside breathing fire. He held a flame in his hand and blew something into it to make the fire surge larger — it looked extremely dangerous. What on earth had he done to his hands to withstand that heat?
Even with mana, enduring that would be hard, wouldn't it?
It wasn't a magical illusion either. If it had been, I would have sensed the shift in mana.
"What he's spitting is probably strong liquor or oil."
Liquor? I knew high-proof alcohol could catch fire… but oil seemed the more likely culprit.
"Then what about his hands?"
I couldn't hold back my curiosity and asked, but—
"That, I'm not entirely sure about either…"
Even the Young Master didn't know everything.
I wanted to watch longer, but under his urging I had no choice but to turn away. Meanwhile the sun kept sinking, and dusk settled over the surroundings.
The casino stood at the northern edge of the territory. Being an entertainment establishment, it made sense that it would be tucked away in a corner.
"It's quite lavish."
The exterior alone was extravagant. Designed to bleed people of their money, perhaps? Ornate decorations surrounded the place, and the entrance blazed with brilliant gold light. Anyone could tell at a glance that a fortune had been poured into this building.
"It's a bit… flashy, isn't it?"
Perhaps because it was a state-sanctioned facility? Even the guards stationed around it were no ordinary men.
"There are knights mixed in among them."
I'd had a sense they were extraordinary… so there were Knight Class warriors among them as well.
Well, there would always be people who lost money and caused a scene, so managing the place would require both strong force and authority. In that sense, having knights on hand was useful.
Especially if they were knights appointed directly by the kingdom — resisting them would itself be a serious crime.
There didn't seem to be any special conditions for entry; they let us in without any checks.
The casino interior was even more lavish than the outside, with a distinctly decadent atmosphere. And that was before we'd even properly entered the gaming floor — the feeling was already strong.
"First, we need to exchange our money."
Exchanging money for chips usable inside the casino was standard procedure, he explained. That much I already knew from my previous life.
"How much will you exchange?"
"Well… I don't know the exchange rate, so…"
We went to the desk and exchanged our money. The fact that the smallest chip was worth ten silver made me a little uneasy. Surely these chips weren't meant to be used one at a time during games.
"A hundred should be plenty."
A hundred chips — that is, ten gold.
"Just a taste, after all."
No need to exchange too much for no reason. But thinking about the money I usually spent buying alchemy materials, those hundred chips suddenly felt like nothing at all.
Just the other day I'd paid twenty gold for twenty bottles of Flash Water. I'd get a refund when I returned the bottles, but even accounting for that, it was effectively twelve gold spent.
Thinking of it that way, those hundred chips couldn't help but feel insignificant…
"Shall we look around the gaming floor first?"
"Yes, let's."
My sister didn't seem particularly interested, quietly trailing behind us.
The casino's games were varied enough, but they differed somewhat from my expectations. In my previous life, casinos meant rows of slot machines — but this was nothing like that. It felt more like… board games?
The floor was divided into sections by game type, each with tables set out.
When it came to gambling games, I knew precious little.
"Let's look around for now."
The first place we visited was a card game area. I watched others play, but without knowing the rules I couldn't tell what was going on. A few cards changed hands, and then the dealer collected the chips as if the game were over…
"It's baccarat."
Baccarat? The name rang a vague, half-familiar bell.
The Young Master offered some explanation, but the rules were so complicated I couldn't understand a thing.
"Shall we try somewhere else?"
"Yes."
I figured I should at least see what games they had. The next table featured a similar game, but with simpler rules — and one I actually remembered. Blackjack.
More to the point, why were this world's gambling games so similar to those of my previous life? Because people were people? Or had some other reincarnator like me spread them around?
Not that it mattered.
On the opposite side of the card tables, a roulette wheel was spinning. A game of spinning the wheel and dropping a ball to land on a number.
You could bet on a color, a single number, a certain line of numbers, and so on — various betting methods, with the payout growing larger the lower the odds.
"This one looks the easiest."
In practice, the player had nothing to think about. Just place your bet, and the dealer handled the rest — all you had to do was watch the result.
We'd looked at everything else, but honestly this seemed the simplest. The card games had rules too complicated for my taste, and this looked like the best option.
"Let's try some roulette."
The card game side had plenty of both players and spectators, while this area was quieter. Not empty, though — a moderate crowd. Moderate.
"I'll give you thirty each."
The Young Master pulled chips from his pouch and handed thirty each to me and my sister.
We waited for a game to finish at a suitable table, and a few people who'd lost all their chips stood up and left. My sister and I took seats at the empty table.
"Would you like an explanation?"
"Yes."
When I asked for a simple explanation, the dealer — or rather, the casino staff — diligently walked us through it. Nothing difficult. Watching from the side, you could roughly figure out how it worked. Still, I asked for the explanation just to be sure.
Once the explanation was done, I started placing small bets. At first I lightly bet on the high-probability options and managed to win some chips. My sister barely bet at all, mostly just watching.
"Hmm, maybe I'll try this one this time."
Slightly lower odds… I currently had thirty-seven chips. Let's put seven on this!
"Twenty-one."
My sister, who had only been watching until now, put all twenty-three of her chips on a single number.
A slight murmur rose from the people around us. It wasn't a huge amount of chips, but single-number bets were rare. And to go all-in on one number right out of the blue… was that bravery or recklessness?
The casino staff quietly spun the roulette wheel, and the ball went rolling. It whirled around with a clattering racket.
I looked at my sister with a touch of unease. I had no idea what she was thinking, putting everything on a single number.
As the spin weakened, the ball gradually began to settle into the wheel.
People nearby were chattering at a noisy volume, but none of it reached my ears now. Where would the ball land… that was all I focused on.
Click, click — the ball's speed died away. And it was heading toward the number twenty-one. Its force had weakened… no, because its force had weakened, the odds of landing there had gone up.
"I-Insane…!"
The ball — the ball landed on twenty-one.
Impossible!
Cheers and gasps of amazement erupted from the surroundings. And a mountain of chips was placed before my sister.
"I won."
My sister made a V-sign with a completely blank expression.
"No way, she actually hit it…"
I'd lost!! I stopped while I was still roughly even and stood up from the table, and my sister rose right after her win.
"Would you like to try some of the other games?"
The Young Master said with a smile.
"Aren't you going to play, Young Master?"
"Well then, shall I?"
The Young Master went over to the card games, took a seat, and showed us how it was done. Honestly, not knowing the rules well, I couldn't tell if it was fun or not… so I looked around at what the other people were doing.
Some people used their chips to buy food and drinks while they watched… and there were also people who'd lost everything and were making a scene.
Those who caused a ruckus were promptly seized by the guards and thrown out, though…
The Young Master enjoyed the game, winning and losing in turns. Unfortunately, he lost quite a lot of chips overall.
"Haha, this is harder than it looks."
Perhaps because of the lost chips, the Young Master looked a little embarrassed. We tried a few other games, bought drinks with our chips, watched other people play, and passed the time that way.
"The night's grown rather late."
"So it has…"
The casino served alcohol among its drinks, and after having a bit, my body felt warm and flushed.
"We've had some drinks — shall we head back?"
I'd expected something more from a casino, but there wasn't really much to it. A few wealthy people flinging money around, but that was about it.
"People are starting to get drunk — it'd be best to leave before things get worse."
That might be true. Once people started getting drunk, they lost their senses and there was no telling what they might do.
"Did you enjoy yourselves, in your own way?"
Well… we'd tried roulette and some simple card games. Of course, the Young Master and I had lost a lot of chips playing, but thanks to my sister's jackpot, we still had chips left over.
Before leaving the casino, we exchanged our remaining chips back. They took a five percent fee, but in the end more money ended up in our hands than the ten gold we'd started with.
"Winning money like this feels strangely odd."
"Beginner's luck. Plenty of people can't stop here and end up addicted to gambling, losing everything."
"Well, we're leaving soon anyway."
So there was nothing to worry about. My sister had won money, sure, but she didn't show much interest in gambling.
The casino had been enjoyable enough in its own way.
Though a few questions had arisen…
"It's still bright out, even at night."
Because it was a tourist spot, perhaps? Even at this late hour, people were still out and about, thoroughly enjoying themselves. Some walked unsteadily from drink, others danced with abandon…
"And so peaceful."
Looking at people who truly seemed free of any worry — it loosened something in my chest, I suppose?
"Yes. We should make our own territory just as peaceful."
The Young Master made a strange resolution. With a foreign invasion expected… I understood, but still…
"If anyone can do it, Young Master, it's you."
The Young Master started to say something, then clenched his fist, shook his head, and stopped himself. What had he been about to say?
I couldn't know — but I was a little curious.