Toby learned how to gamble properly from his father, not by cheating.

In this world where countless strong individuals lurk, cheating is bound to be discovered eventually, but pure skill offers victory without risk.

‘Listen carefully. Gambling does have skill. However, for skill to exist, certain prerequisites must be met.’

Toby’s father said that gambling becomes fair if one can establish fair conditions and a long-term contest rather than a single match.

One might get lucky once.

It’s also possible to get lucky twice or three times.

However, if that happens ten, a hundred, or a thousand times, the skilled party will ultimately win.

This is also the secret to how casinos make money.

A customer might win once or twice, but in the end, the casino wins.

‘What if there’s someone who can maintain their luck until the very end? Isn’t that skill?’

His father said such a thing would never happen, and it’s better to worry about one’s own bad luck, but Toby learned that there were exceptions to his father’s words.

A girl who had never lost since sitting at the gambling table was the exception itself.

“…What is this?”

“What do you mean? It’s proof that you’re an idiot.”

Lucy, chuckling and sweeping away the pot, looked at the trembling man with bloodshot eyes and then casually tossed a coin in front of him.

“Here~ You gave me a lot, so I’ll give you a little back~ Ahaha. I’m really kind, aren’t I?”

Her companion restrained her as she lunged forward, losing all reason.

The woman struggling as if to fight to the death with an all-or-nothing attitude truly fit the description of a ghoul, but Lucy merely smiled playfully even after seeing it.

Unable to control her anger at that sight, the woman pointed at the dealer.

“Hey! This is cheating!”

“It absolutely is not. Madam.”

“If it’s not cheating, there’s no way this hand would come out!”

Toby understood why the woman was furious. Young Lady Alrun didn’t just get good hands.

She received the exact hand needed at that moment.

He still remembers the scene: the man throwing his chips around in anger, and Young Lady Alrun, with a questioning tilt of her head, not backing down until the end.

By the end, the man was sweating profusely.

It was evident he had bet everything on a false calculation.

So, when a pair of 8s came from the man’s hand, Toby wasn’t greatly surprised. It was predictable.

However, when a pair of 9s came from Young Lady Alrun’s hand, Toby was stunned.

He could understand the man going all in.

Perhaps he was controlled by emotion from being repeatedly beaten by Young Lady Alrun.

It’s common in gambling for someone whose eyes are spinning to commit unreasonable acts.

But the opposite is different.

Why did Young Lady Alrun go all in with a pair of 9s?

It was only a difference of one. She won because her number was higher.

Usually, it’s a losing hand. But how could someone who wasn’t sure if the opponent was bluffing take on all of the opponent’s madness?

It was a situation that couldn’t be explained unless someone told her.

Since the same situation repeated soon after, suspicion only grew.

If this were a mercenary group, someone’s wrist would surely have been cut off.

But this was a casino.

“Our dealers can never cheat at a casino. We took an oath to that effect.”

Casino dealers adhere to honesty through oaths.

The moment they break their sworn oath, they are branded as trash who can’t even roll around in the back alleys, so dealers never cheat.

If their lives were threatened, the story would be different, but the very person suspected of cheating was someone who would never do such a thing.

How could the Paladin Lucy Alrun, the hero who saved the continent from the evil god and the daughter of the Main God, commit such an evil act?

“Then what is it! Is that luck!?”

“It may be hard to believe, but it appears so to me.”

“That’s what she said. Auntie. Stop making a scene like a loser and get out.”

“You filthy bitch! Tell the truth! What did you do!?”

The woman who lost everything screamed at Lucy, her shoulders trembling.

She couldn’t accept that her opponent simply had good luck.

This must be cheating.

Only then would she have a way to get her lost money back.

“I apologize, Young Lady Alrun. We will escort her out…”

“No, there’s no need.”

Lucy, who had waved her hand and stood up, walked steadily towards the woman and grabbed her chin.

The woman tried to shake off Lucy’s hand as if disgusted, but it was impossible for an ordinary woman to shake off the strength of a knight.

“You want me to tell the truth?”

“Y-Yes! That’s right! It doesn’t make sense!”

“Then why don’t you tell the truth? All this fuss is because of money, isn’t it?”

“Of course, it’s about money! You cheated, so I lost my money!”

“You want it back? If you speak honestly, I might tell you a way.”

“W-What is it?”

“Bow your head to the ground and beg. Say you’re sorry for being suspicious. Say it’s your fault for being stupid. So please, give me my money back. Then I’ll give you half back.”

“…Really?”

“Swear it on the Main God?”

As soon as the Apostle of the Main God mentioned the Main God, the woman bowed her head to the ground.

“I’m sorry! I lost my money because I was stupid! Despite that, I shamelessly tried to accuse you of cheating! I confess all my sins, so please forgive me! Please, please give me my money back.”

Seeing the utterly ignoble display, Toby thought Lucy would scoff, but instead of sneering, she patted the woman’s head.

“Remember this. This is the only time I can save you. There won’t be a next time.”

Toby, Avery, other customers, and even the casino officials caught in between foresaw the end of this place as they witnessed a scene like a god saving a human.

The place today was not a gathering for the desires of madmen.

It was a place prepared by God to save the madmen.

*

The gambling hall after the storm named Lucy had passed. Avery stared blankly at the chips in front of him.

The chips Lucy handed over, saying she was getting tired of it, were an immeasurable sum even to Avery.

He knew she could earn any amount of money if she wanted to.

He also knew she would be receiving an immeasurable sum from the Art Cult.

But doesn’t one get greedy at this level?

Is it okay to just casually throw it away as if she has no interest in money?

“Young Lady Rumley.”

“To. To. To. Toby. Wh-What should we do?”

He didn’t know what Lucy Alrun would demand later.

She always toyed with him like she was playing with a toy. What would she do after giving him such a huge debt?

Ugh. Just the thought makes him shiver.

“Let’s look ahead for now.”

“…Ahead?”

Avery, raising his head cautiously, clasped his hands respectfully and discovered the casino manager and his subordinates, causing him to flinch.

“You are the one in charge now.”

Ah. Right. Not only customers but also casino employees were sitting at the table.

Their role was originally to extort money from foolish customers, but today was different. They had lost their minds due to Lucy Alrun’s sneer.

That means there’s a lot of the casino’s money in my hands right now.

Realizing his advantage, Avery’s expression immediately changed.

“You know what my demands are, right?”

Damn it. Since it’s come to this, there’s no other way. “I will get back Rumley’s treasure.”

Lucy Alrun. No. Young Lady Alrun. If she tells me to be a dog, I have no choice but to be one.

*

“Hyaaaam.”

I calmly left the casino after hearing the casino manager’s plea to leave.

If I had just entered the VIP room, I would have insisted on staying, but I had already done what I needed to do.

Why else would I think it was a good thing?

It’s really strange. Was gambling this boring?

I used to be so happy just playing on my phone, clicking away.

I guess winning without competition isn’t fun.

Thanks to that, my plan to visit various gambling dens is canceled.

Of course, if I had gone around as originally planned, I would have been greatly resented.

Look at those idiots who rushed at me without thinking about the consequences. If I had gone around stomping on them with my authority, I would have received assassination requests.

My reputation would have surely dropped in many ways by then.

But what does it matter? It’s not fun.

For me, gambling is manual labor. Manual labor.

Rather than repeating something boring and mentally uncomfortable, I’d rather greet people every morning.

“Mmm. I still think it’s a waste.”

As I thought about going home to sleep, Joy muttered to herself.

“Waste what?”

“The money I got from the casino. For a noble family, that sum is quite substantial.”

“So what? I’m not short of money.”

Even though I spoke as if it were nothing important, my heart ached. The more money you have, the better, right?

I regret it too! But I couldn’t help but feel guilty trying to take it all!

No, seriously, it was too much money!

If I had won a moderate amount, I could have taken it with a song on my lips, but when it crosses the line, you start to get self-conscious!

It was even more so after seeing people driven mad by gambling!

I couldn’t quite steel my heart and act shamelessly at that level!

I screamed inwardly, but I tried to maintain a composed facade.

“And I thought it would be fun to leave behind some debt.”

“Young Lady Rumley? Is there anything that would be considered fun?”

“Forbidden love between a commoner and a noble. Is that not fun? Really?”

It’s confirmed that Avery is interested in Toby.

Toby, that blunt guy, unexpectedly offered to help, and subtly came to my side to talk about Avery’s situation, so he clearly has a favorable impression.

Since I’ve confirmed their favor, the next issue is the difference in their social status.

Heh heh.

With the excuse of getting back Rumley’s treasure, it should be enough to overcome it.

Even in the worst-case scenario, I can intervene.

As I recalled the ticklish atmosphere, Joy blinked and exclaimed.

“…Were they in a romantic mood!?”

“You didn’t know?”

“No. How could that be? Huh? Come to think of it, wasn’t there a subtle vibe?”

Ah, ah. My way of thinking is too noble, so my romance brain didn’t activate.

“Now that I’ve incurred debt from both of them, I can subtly intervene and watch the show.”

Joy, who now realized the subtle vibe, snorted and nodded.

She’s too honest, which makes me want to tease her.

“Of course, if you’re not interested, you can pretend you didn’t hear me.”

“How could I not! I love that kind of thing! What’s more interesting than forbidden relationships!”

“No wonder you keep clinging to me for that reason.”

“Huh? …Huh!? Wh-Why did that suddenly come up!?”

Joy, who exclaimed in surprise, was clearly flustered, her face blushing in real-time.

Seeing that, I chuckled and subtly moved closer to Joy.

“What is it? Huh? Huh? What did I say?”

“No, th-that’s…”

“I wonder what novel you’ve read. I’m curious. Can you tell me about it?”

“I-I can’t!”

“So you’ve read something similar?”

“…Ack. Ugh. Eee.”

“Pffft. Kuhahah.”

Seeing the clueless person flustered and unable to compose herself, laughter naturally spilled out.

Ah~ There are few people as fun to tease as a clueless person.