The Heavenly Demon is Out Having Fun (3)
As expected, it didn't take long for Enry's wallet to run completely dry. The entire process was utterly pathetic, too.
When she first sat down at the table, Enry tried to act cool and composed. She kept repeating that everything was going according to plan every time she won back what she'd lost. But that lasted only a moment.
'This time it's definitely going to be 1! The flow of the game demands a 1!' I had no idea what this so-called 'flow' was supposed to mean, but Enry made her own judgment and slammed down half her money on the number one. She lost it all, of course.
Forgetting I was even standing beside her, the girl flew into a frenzy. After that, she abandoned all reason and began betting wildly. The statistics she'd bragged about earlier were nowhere to be found. She was simply a fool, mesmerized by the spinning wheel before her eyes, flinging her money away like a mindless puppet.
She won a little, lost a lot, won a little, lost a lot—repeating that miserable cycle until her eyes suddenly rolled back in her head. Declaring she would go for one big strike, she bet every last coin on the single lowest-probability, highest-payout spot available.
Had fortune truly favored Enry, that one reckless bet might have won her everything. However—though calling such stupidity a 'bet' feels far too generous—Enry was not someone blessed with that kind of heavenly luck.
Having tried to seize all the glory in a single throw and lost everything instead, she stared at the roulette wheel with hollow, vacant eyes. Had the despair been only half-hearted, she would have thrown her usual tantrum. But the shock of losing the entire fortune she had barely scraped together seemed to hit her hard.
The staggering girl rose from her seat, approached me, and dropped to her knees.
Having wandered through many gambling dens in my time, I had seen plenty of people just like the current Enry. Eyes that had lost their focal point. Hands shaking uncontrollably. A voice demanding hope from others while drowning in despair. Giving money to someone like this only ever led to one conclusion.
They might win at first. They might even ride a winning streak. But these people cannot stop of their own will. Just a little more. Just one more time. Just this once. Just for today. Just one more week. They pile excuse after ridiculous excuse until destruction finally stands before them, and only then do they wonder how things came to this.
Of course, since this was a game, true destruction wouldn't come. At worst she'd simply end up broke. Still, wouldn't it be better to let her suffer a harsh lesson now so she wouldn't touch gambling again later?
"I can give you the money."
It was no difficult thing. I still had several thousand gold coins on me. While she had been throwing her fortune away beside me, I had simply maintained my current holdings.
"However, asking for it without offering anything in return isn't very conscientious, is it?"
"What? What do you want-nya!"
"What do I want, hmm."
Even in the world of Thread, warning her wasn't difficult. If I wished, I could do any number of things. But the other party was Enry. As her acquaintance, I wouldn't feel at ease unless I carved this lesson deep into her heart.
"All right. Will you come to the world of Hwaryong Muin later?"
"Nya? Of course-nya! I've been thinking about trying it after watching you play anyway-nya!"
"Ah. To prevent any misunderstanding, let me be clear. I'm not simply asking you to enjoy the game. I'm asking you to be tormented there."
In the world of Hwaryong Muin, it was possible to ignore many restrictions that applied elsewhere. On top of that, I could enlist the cooperation of Baru, Baekju, and many others. I could guarantee that your time in Hwaryong Muin would become a memory that followed you for the rest of your life—in every possible sense of the word.
"Nya...?"
"Are you hesitating? Then I'll add one more condition. If, after gambling for one hour, you repay 1.5 times the amount I lent you, we'll pretend this penalty never existed."
It was simple. If you made money, there would be no problem. But if you lost it, pain would be waiting for you. How about it? Would you take the bet?
Enry had been hesitating while listening to me, but the moment she realized there would be no consequences as long as she won, she nodded her head desperately.
"Oh? Very well. How much do you want me to lend you?"
"A hundred... No, a hundred might not be enough-nya. Three hundred. No—lend me five hundred-nya!"
"Fine. I'll do as you wish."
Enry let out a cheer when she saw the pile of gold coins in her hands, then dashed off in a hurry to place her bets.
"What exactly is wrong with my face?"
My facial muscles were moving exactly as they always did.
"Don't worry. I received something from Enry, so I wouldn't do anything too terrible."
I was simply going to give her a memory she could never forget. There was no need to worry.
I kindly explained the truth to my viewers, but not a single one of them believed me. It was truly unfair. Of course it was true that I harbored a desire to torment Enry, but that didn't mean I would go overboard.
"Besides, if Enry simply wins money through gambling, everything will be resolved without any problems, won't it?"
"...Hm? What is that supposed to mean?"
Thanks for the points? The bet wasn't even over yet.
"Yes, for the first time in a while the children in the chat are saying the right thing. No matter how terrible Enry is at gambling, there's no way she could have lost every single coin already."
Who did they think they were, spreading such baseless slander about Enry? I asked the alchemist for a moment's pardon, stood up, and walked over to her.
"Enry."
I touched her shoulder, but she couldn't even lift her head.
"I just heard the ridiculous rumor that you lost all your money. Is it true?"
"..."
"Enry?"
Heh. Enry, you always manage to exceed even my expectations.
"Looks like I've been found out."
Not a single person in the chat expected Enry to turn a profit. I felt the same. The Enry I had observed until now was simply not someone capable of making money. Rather than worrying about that, it seemed more worthwhile to wonder whether she could even last a full hour of gambling.
"Hmm. All right. Let's make a bet, shall we? Will Enry go bankrupt within one hour? Or will she manage to avoid it?"
Even I couldn't answer that one. If she gambled with a normal mind, bankruptcy would be impossible. If she was frugal, lasting an hour would be child's play. But could Enry truly maintain a normal state of mind?
The viewers' opinions were split, but most believed that if she buckled down and endured, she could last the hour. The betting ratios reflected that same opinion.
"I hope it turns out the way all of you think."
Now then. Shall we watch what ending Enry ultimately reaches?
Just as I was thinking that and looking for a place to sit, the door opened and the alchemist stepped inside. He glanced around, spotted my face, and walked over. The fact that he had appeared here could only mean...
"Is it finished?"
"I wish it were. Unfortunately, it's not yet."
I had asked with considerable anticipation, but the alchemist merely shook his head. For someone who always spoke with such confidence, the unusual lack of strength in his voice made it clear that a problem had arisen.
"What is the issue?"
"The one who burned the fur was Hwaryong."
According to him, Hwaryong's flames did not simply burn other things and disappear. The magical power contained within the flame remained at the spot it had burned, incinerating any other magic that tried to approach.
"At least the ruler of the forest..."
"Neungneung-i."
"...Right. Neungneung-i's resistance was strong enough that it only ended with the fur being ruined. If it had been an ordinary beast, it would have died from the burns."
"Then if we erase that flame's magical power, will the problem be solved?"
If it was a problem that could be solved so simply, I had the means. The ability to erase all magical power in the world in an instant.
"Just in case, if you're thinking of simply erasing the magic power, stop."
"Why?"
"The softness of Neungneung-i's fur is also due to magic. What do you think will happen if the magic disappears?"
Would Neungneung-i's fur return to its original state? That rough, violent, dirty fur? Of course, I had already removed most of the dirt, so it would be easier than last time, but it would still be an arduous task.
"And besides, we're short on ingredients to make the shampoo again. To create it, we'd have to gather materials from scratch."
Did that mean I would have to go hunting those tedious miscellaneous creatures all over again? The first time had been enjoyable as a new experience, but doing that same chore again sounded tiresome.
"Is there another method?"
"There is. That's why I came to tell you. In the end, the problem is the fire magic, so we just need to bring something with an opposing attribute."
The alchemist advised me to head out to sea. He told me to retrieve the magic stone possessed by the giant octopus lurking in the depths.
"I know it's not an easy request. But if it's you, it should be more than possible."
"Understood. If there's a method, the story becomes simple."
It had been a very long time since I last went out to sea. Most of my life had been spent running across the land or holing up in mountains, so venturing into the ocean was exceedingly rare.
While I was speaking with the alchemist, a sound like a pig being slaughtered rang out. When I turned my head, Enry was clutching her head with both hands. Had she already started losing? As expected, she wasn't deviating from my predictions in the slightest.
The sight was both pitiful and pathetic. As I watched quietly, another donation alert sounded from beside me.
I rose from my seat and approached the girl who was still unable to lift her head.
Enry, you truly never fail to surpass even my wildest expectations.