Derek Walker 5: Pachinko Hell and the Dwarf ATM Plan
One day, the bar Jae Bar that sprang up in the Dwarf Village quickly became the talk of the town. The row of pachinko machines lining one side of the bar never lacked for players. The manager at Jae Bar shoved the dining tables aside and transformed it into a gambling den. It was all part of the plan.
Play pachinko at the gambling den, and you'd get unlimited free beer. Dwarves who used to guzzle beer like it was air soon stopped touching the stuff altogether, completely absorbed in the pachinko instead. Most of them were dwarf wives whose husbands had left for the mines. No one was there to pull the brakes for them. Even if their husbands had been around, they probably would've tumbled into hell's pit together anyway.
By now, most of the dwarves at Jae Bar had blown through their family fortunes. Plenty had pawned their husbands' wages. They'd sold their homes, taken out shady loans, and plunged into the abyss of life—but in the eyes of these dwarves chasing the jackpot, the spark of hope hadn't died out yet. Their heads knew it was a fool's hope, but their hearts kept screaming to pull that lever one more time.
"Hoo... Please, just let the jackpot hit today."
Mislim muttered to herself with a miserable look on her face as she sat down in front of a pachinko machine. She'd just about burned through her savings. If her husband came back now, she wouldn't be able to face him. She had to win back the lost money, and fast.
"Kyahahat! Pachinko first thing in the morning, just like always. We really do get along, huh?"
"Pokuri. Didn't you say you'd already blown all your savings?"
Pokuri plopped down next to her, face flushed red in the middle of the day, clutching a mug brimming with dark beer. Mislim and Pokuri had become slaves to pachinko from the very first day they tried it. The way they fell in was eerily identical.
Their first game had been a big win. Playing for free, they'd walked away with 2 silver. They were over the moon that day. With easy money in hand, greed naturally reared its ugly head. If we won that much for free, what if we put in a little cash? The very next day, they started punching the clock at Jae Bar.
And the rest was history. In just two weeks, they'd blown every coin they'd scrimped and saved. Yet they couldn't escape pachinko's hell because they were hooked on that insane rush from the occasional win. For the two of them—who'd squandered the hard-earned savings they'd built with their husbands—pachinko was the only way to claw back what they'd lost.
It wasn't just them. All the other dwarves were in the same boat.
"Kyahat! I found a great way to make some real cash. Pays way better than that boring ore-sorting gig."
"What is it? Spill if it's that good. This is my last stash, you know."
"Kyahahat! If we get totally cleaned out, I'll tell ya. It's a night job anyway. If we lose today, come with me."
"Huh? Anything I need to prep?"
"Just bring your body~!"
The two fed coins into the slot. As the pachinko started up, a heavy silence fell between them. At first, they'd been dazzled by the flashy animations spilling from the machines, but now their eyes were locked solely on the spinning slots. Mislim's hands—once steady enough for fine metalwork—trembled like she had the shakes. Staring at the numbers whirling on the screen with hollow eyes, she yanked the lever.
A few jackpots, and I can make up for all my mistakes.
"Now!"
Of course, they burned through every coin they'd brought.
*-*-*
The Dwarf ATM Plan was proceeding smoothly. This was just one of the many schemes I'd cooked up back when I started reforming Coolong Territory. To be precise, it was a twisted version of my plan for a new tourist city centered around the gambling industry.
Gambling was a solid form of entertainment in the Solary World. In a world short on fun, it was one of the few games ordinary folks could jump into easily. But Solary World's gambling was mostly basic stuff—cards, coins, dice. I planned to fuse that with modern pachinko to kickstart a casino boom. Create a special tourism district in the territory.
Originally, this was meant to roll out gradually over three years. But the dwarves' cheeky attitudes forced me to tweak and accelerate it: the Dwarf ATM Plan.
The gist was simple. Use pachinko to addict the wives of dwarves working the mines, then suck up their assets through the gambling den. Eventually, I'd seize the dwarves' wages from the mithril mine too. Not only would I recoup the costs of hiring them, I'd chain them in debt forever. The dwarves would soon become my economic slaves.
This was Derek Walker-style creative economics.
"Just as expected, the pachinko craze is insane. At this rate, we'll recover the initial investment in half a year—with plenty to spare."
Lienna reported this week's earnings from Jae Bar. The income report she handed me exceeded projections by double. I'd figured it'd take 3-4 months for pachinko to take root, but the dwarves' reckless nature meant they dove in headfirst. Come to think of it, dwarves were supposed to love gambling in the lore. They sure had the faces for booze and bets.
"We'll expand the pachinko parlors starting from the Dwarf Village and designate this as a tourism special zone."
My ultimate goal was to turn Coolong's Dwarf Village into a casino city. Gambling had endless demand, no matter the era. Even Greia, who ran my merchant guild, had made her fortune scamming at gambling dens. Big cities like Coolong were lousy with them, but I planned to concentrate them here in the Dwarf Village. And pachinko parlors were the vanguard.
Making the machines wasn't as tough as I'd thought. I dumped a heap of cash into the magic tower for a custom order. I even considered hauling real-world ones over, but maintenance issues made local production smarter. The magic tower's magitech was more advanced than I'd expected, and they nailed the pachinko machines.
I'd envisioned something primitive like a pinball machine at first, but the results were surprisingly slick. They embedded video playback crystals to mimic real pachinko visuals. I fed in animations I'd filmed with my surveillance eye and transferred via crystal—made the whole process a breeze.
Gambling dens were basically money printers. Especially machine-based games—the turnover rate was brutal compared to people-games. In the real world, roulette addiction was a one-way ticket to rock bottom.
Boosting tourism and tax revenue through gambling was always part of the plan for Coolong Territory. But I had no intention of turning my citizens into addicts. Originally, I'd ban locals from the casinos, like Gangwon Land back home. Lienna and I hadn't tied the knot yet, but I was the lord of Coolong Territory.
Every gambling addict was like losing a dutiful taxpayer from the lord's perspective. Once they dumped their fortunes into the pits, recovery odds were zilch.
The Dwarf ATM Plan only kicked off because the dwarf bastards got greedy. Their own damn fault. Now they'd become addicts. A good chunk of the dwarf wives—husbands off at the mines—had already turned into Jae Bar regulars. We'd cleared out the dining tables for more machines, and they were still in short supply. They'd become my personal ATMs.
My Walker Merchant Guild loaned money to these wives using their husbands' mine wages as collateral. Compound interest at 10% annually. That debt snowballs into something no gambler could repay. In the end, the husbands would slave away in the mithril mine and see not a single copper.
This is all because of that lunatic guild master from the Blue Flame Guild. 4 silver? I'd sooner give you a single copper, you prick.
Mogul's wife had become a fixture at Jae Bar too. Her husband slaved as a shift foreman in the mithril mine, choking on dust and breaking his bones, while she blew 10 gold in just four days. After becoming a top customer, she'd smashed up a machine in a drunken rage but got subdued quick. Armeda was running the place now.
Pachinko was notoriously addictive even in the real world. Especially at our Jae Bar—we had a special customer management system. First-timers always got free games. And those games always hit the jackpot. Quit after one taste? You'd need saint-level willpower.
Nine times out of ten, they came back. That's when hell began. Their cash melted away like snow. Sure, after three total wipeouts, we'd let 'em hit a big one. That one payout kept the addict hooked forever. Sucked dry for eternity.
When the mine workers get back, they'll all turn into addicts too. Then I'll make 'em grind underground till their bones crumble—forever.
This was just the beginning of my plan.
*-*-*
"Kyahahat! We got totally cleaned out!"
"Hic...! I must be crazy...!"
Mislim stumbled out of the shop with a dazed expression. This was the most pathetic day of her life. Only after emptying her pouch down to the last copper did she realize what she'd done. She'd mocked men's dice games, only to dive into gambling herself and lose everything.
What cruel irony from fate? It all started because she'd thought of it as just a "game," not gambling.
"Kyahat! Chin up! We'll win big tomorrow for sure!"
"Tomorrow, my ass—I don't even have dinner money now! Hic! If I touch pachinko one more time, I'm a lunatic! Hell, I already am! What have I done?"
"Eh, we're lightweights compared to some. Didn't you see Teragula today? Bastard smashed a machine in a rage. Overheard the black-clad guys dragging him off—said he'd spend his life in the underground quarry paying repair fees~! Kyahat! Suits a dwarf, but no more pachinko forever? Poor guy~!"
"I don't think that's the point..."
"And Nezlang last time, trying to stuff wood chips in instead of coins? Dog's on permanent staff at my new gig now. Kinda better, though—they let you play pachinko once a week."
"Permanent staff? Now that you mention it, that ghost on machine 4 hasn't been around lately... Wait, where the hell are we going?"
"We pinky-swore this morning. If we got wiped, you'd work with me at my spot."
The two headed into a dingy alley in Coolong's bustling district. Trash piled up everywhere, reeking foul. Even among human slums, this place was nasty. Dangerous for anyone, even a dwarf wife stronger than most men. Mislim felt a bad vibe.
"Uh... This the kinda place I think it is?"
"Kyahahat! Only way for gals like us to make quick cash. You know~"
Pokuri made a crude gesture—ring with one hand, poking her finger through with the other.
"W-W-Wait! I'm married! How do I face Hegrig if I step into a dump like this?!"
"Kyahahat! Blowing your savings wasn't embarrassing? Quit the priss act till you rebuild your fortune. We keep our mouths shut, and it's like it never happened."
"B-But...!"
Mislim got dragged by Pokuri's arm into a small shop deep in the alley. Faded sign read Moonlight and Traveler. It looked like an inn at a glance, but it was a brothel. The entrance stank of cheap perfume and worse.
"Pokuri. Back again today, I see."
The door opened to reveal a middle-aged madam in a white negligee, looking bored.
"Yeah, Madam. Brought a friend. Cool?"
"Of course. We're always short on holes. Oho, pretty face. She get hooked on that pachinko too?"
"How'd you know, Madam?"
"Every dwarf applying lately's the same story. Never had 'em flooding in like this. Driving hole prices down."
Mislim bowed her head, cheeks burning. I'm not the type for this place, she thought, but she had no choice. She needed money now.
"Oh, right—we've got a VVIP coming today. Impress him, and you could make bank. Scouting for castle staff, so nail it and maybe turn your life around? Chance like this won't come twice for bottom-dwellers like you."
"Wait, castle? You don't mean..."
"Derek Walker himself. Word is he's marrying Lienna soon—basically Coolong's new lord. Asked me to send over any good dwarves."
"Wha—Madam! Me! Pick me! Pokuri's right here! Our friendship's solid, right?"
"Dunno if Walker'd go for a gambler like you. Told him I'd show off all my dwarf workers, so it's up to your skills. He's due in 30, so scrub up."
"Gimme some coin. Lost it all today—no bath money."
"Tch, high-maintenance. Fine, you've been reliable. Here."
"While you're at it, my friend too. Call it charity."
"Tsk tsk. Sad seeing prime girls like you go to ruin. Not that I should talk."
"Hmph~! We'll bounce back with pachinko!? A few jackpots, and we're made. Money just multiplies. Kyahat!"
"Seen plenty of gamblers in my day. Ones talking like that? All ended up hanging from inn rafters."
"Tch. Loose hole like you mouthing off! Anyway, bath time. One of Pokuri's specialties is melting men's hearts. Snagged Dunbero with it. Giggle! That Derek Walker won't stand a chance."
"......Your poor husband. Mithril mine, right? Wonder what he'd say seeing this."
The madam clucked her tongue at the two fallen dwarves.