The Heavenly Demon Plunders the Gambling Tables
When I wandered the world in my previous life, I had tried nearly everything worth trying. At first I trained under duress, then lived solely for revenge, and right after that I became the leader of the Divine Cult and remained trapped in that role. Once I finally broke free of every chain and burden, I made certain to experience every last thing I had ever wanted to do.
I roamed in search of the world’s greatest delicacies only to learn that true gourmet food simply didn’t exist in the martial world. I tried to lose myself in drink, only to discover that my absolute immunity to poison ruined even that pleasure. In the midst of it all I also drifted through countless gambling dens.
Back then I spent money like it was water. Whenever my funds ran low I would drop by a gambling house to replenish my travel purse. Naturally I never relied on pure luck. My fortune was lower than average, never better. If I had gambled trusting only in myself, I would have ended up penniless in no time.
In those days I mastered every trick of the trade and used them to earn what I needed.
“Oh! Looks like I got lucky this time!”
“Indeed. Let us move straight to the next round.”
“Yes!”
I had not known any gambling tricks in the beginning. My first visit to a gambling den had been pure curiosity. At the time I was the classic rich fool—though a fool who possessed strength worthy of being called the strongest under heaven.
Was that truly a fool? Hmm. Still, it was true that I knew nothing of the world, so perhaps the label fits.
While I wandered about openly displaying my country-bumpkin ways, I became the perfect target for the men who made their living there. I knew no techniques, but I had eyes. I spotted the gang of cheaters running their sleight-of-hand scams. At first I pointed it out politely. I had come to experience gambling, after all; I did not want to ruin the mood right away. I intended to settle things with words.
Yet even after realizing I had seen through them, the men responded with righteous indignation. They were mere street thugs without the slightest martial training. Judging by my appearance, they assumed I was an ignorant young lady. They thought a little pressure would make me shrink back.
They were wrong. By then I was already a warrior who had pacified the world. Subduing them did not even require lifting a finger. It took very little time for them to be sprawled across the floor, begging for their lives.
“Winning by a single point!”
“Haha. I was lucky.”
“Shall we go to the next round?”
“Why even ask? Of course we should.”
I could have taken their lives at any moment had I wished, but I refrained. Instead I demanded they surrender every technique they possessed. If they did, I would consider sparing them. Fearing for their lives, they offered up everything. What they gave me, however, was nothing impressive—simple sleight of hand and cheap gadgets.
After that I continued my travels, visiting gambling house after gambling house. In the modern world with its laws and regulations the situation might differ, but in the martial world—where the victim is simply called an idiot—gambling dens were nests of scammers.
To them I always looked like an easy mark: a seemingly frail woman. Through that process I acquired countless techniques. Eventually I learned how to toy with the very scammers who targeted me and then strip them clean.
“Let’s begin the next game!”
The most important thing when cleaning out a scammer is to pretend to be a clueless fool at the start. Even if you notice their tricks, you must never reveal it. Instead you observe, memorize, and find a way to play with them. You win, then lose, then win again. There is no need to fear losing money. Skilled scammers never empty their mark immediately. They let the victim taste victory and defeat in turns to build excitement, then strike big at the decisive moment and leave them with nothing.
I believe I have now figured out how to toy with this fellow. Shall we begin?
“Your luck today is truly incredible! At this rate we might be the ones going out of business.”
“Nonsense. After winning and losing as much as I have, I barely have anything left.”
“Haha. Still, you have more than when you started, don’t you?”
By repeatedly winning and losing I now held roughly fifty gold coins. A decent sum. To be exact, I had deliberately allowed him to earn money. He had chosen to lose on purpose in order to raise my spirits.
“How much will you bet this time?”
“Forty pieces.”
“Forty?!”
“One must ride the flow in games like this.”
The man’s lax eyes sharpened slightly. He would use his technique now. He would make me lose, then slowly feed me back a little at a time. That was his pattern.
He dropped the dice into the cup and shook it. I had visited countless gambling dens and tried every game imaginable. Dice games were among them. The fact that I had played such games meant I had met a cheater who used them and taken his techniques for myself.
I can state with absolute confidence that I can perfectly control the numbers on the dice inside my own cup. At the same time, I can listen to the sound of the dice moving inside my opponent’s cup and predict exactly what will come out.
“Ohh. It seems luck is on my side this time.”
After the shake, the man revealed a total of thirty-one. One of the best possible combinations in this game. If betting were allowed after seeing the numbers, it would be perfectly reasonable to wager an entire fortune. The man smiled, certain of his victory. Knowing he had just used sleight of hand to manufacture that total, the statement was utterly detestable.
“Now, please reveal your dice.”
Following the man’s words, I lifted the cup. His face had been relaxed, certain of victory, but as each of my dice was revealed his expression gradually soured.
Six. Six. Four. Five. Six. Six. Total: thirty-three. One of the few numbers that could beat his thirty-one.
“Didn’t I tell you? I am riding the flow.”
His mind must be a mess right now. Maybe he should have aimed for a higher number. Maybe the opponent simply got lucky. Or perhaps he is wondering if I used some technique. He is trying to hide it behind a stiff smile, but I can see every thought clearly.
Come now. What are you hesitating for? You must continue. You never intended to end things with your own loss, did you? There is no need to worry about losing. You have the techniques you are so proud of, don’t you? If you use them, you are certain to win. Throw the dice into the cup. Bring more money to the table. Come. Hurry. What gambler stops gambling?
“Let us move to the next round.”
“Why! Why the hell is that a five?! It clearly stopped at ten! Stop scamming me, you trash game!”
After raging in front of the roulette wheel, Enri finally returned to cold reality and let out a long sigh. She had not been spinning the wheel for very long, yet she had already gone completely broke. Maybe she really had no talent for gambling after all.
Slumped on the ground, Enri lifted her head at the sound of the new donation. That’s right. She could not stop now. She was in the middle of digging a diamond mine and had merely broken her pickaxe. If she gave up here, she would have lost the pickaxe for nothing. But if she found a new one and kept digging, she would eventually reach the diamonds! She only needed a new pickaxe. Then she could succeed!
“Shut up! Just tell me if any of our teammates is winning big right now!”
That way she could borrow money from them and keep spinning! Most of the viewers laughed at Enri’s shout, but a few kindly informed her of the current situation. Pipi had already lost everything long ago and was simply enjoying the sight of the little dogs racing. As for Ara, Enri’s other teammate…
“…You’re saying she has more than two hundred gold coins right now?”
Hearing the news, Enri naturally turned her steps toward the dice gambling table. The pickaxe that would lead her to the diamonds was right there!
When Enri opened the door to the dice room with high hopes, the scene that greeted her was a dealer sweating coldly while staring at the dice and Ara leisurely stroking a huge pile of gold coins on the table.
“Enri. You came at just the right time. I was wondering exactly how much I should earn.”
“…Just how much have you won?”
“It should be around four hundred and something by now.”
At Ara’s declaration that she could earn as much as needed, Enri could only let out a hollow laugh. The confidence in her voice made it clear she wasn’t simply riding a lucky streak. She was definitely using some kind of technique. So Ara was capable of something like this too. Come to think of it, Ara’s drawings had been surprisingly good as well. It seemed that if it involved using her hands, she was good at everything.
“…You.”
While Enri was staring at the mountain of gold in admiration, the dealer spoke in a low voice.
“You’re using techniques, aren’t you?”
“Are you not doing the same? Did you think I simply failed to notice and let it slide?”
In the midst of the sharp standoff, Ara smiled while the dealer bit his lip.
“If you are a scammer, then compete like one. Even if you give it your all, you will still be unable to defeat me.”
“…Fine. Let’s give it a proper try.”