Chapter 52

Some translation mistakes:

I used to refer to Count Bayer as one of the Slen Kingdoms

teenage swordmasters

, but that is incorrect. He is actually one of the

ten great swordmasters

. The Korean word they used here is Geumho (), which can literally be translated to sword (geum) + great (ho).

An interesting trivia:

Outboxer009 is a reference to real-life pro gamer BoxeR, Lim Yo-hwan. After he retired from eSports, he became a professional poker player.

Terms used in this chapter:

Side card

also known as kicker, it is a card in a poker hand that does not itself take part in determining the rank of the hand but may be used to break ties between hands of the same rank.

Discard from the family register

South Korea used to have a family register system called Hoju. It has since been abolished since 2008 because it was highly patriarchal and opposed by many groups. Nowadays, it is used by adults as an expression to scold and threaten their children, with an implied meaning that theyll be kicked out of the family, or disowned if they continue to behave badly.

Gal Bayer.

27 years old.

He is the eldest son of Count Bayer, and the next Count of Bayer.

As the successor of Count Bayer, one of the ten great swordmasters, he was a master of the sword who had gained fame since his childhood.

Even though the eldest sons of other counts already had two to three children, there were many reasons why he was still a bachelor. But the truth is, most of those reasons were just a pretext, and there was only one reason why Gal was still unmarried and lived alone.

Adelia Chase.

24 years old.

She is the eldest daughter and the middle child of Count Chase, who had one son and two daughters.

She was a genius wizard who joined the Royal Guard Magic Corps of the Slen Kingdom at the age of 19. And after 5 years, she became one of the heads at the young age of 24.

Its been a long time, Lady Adelia.

Its been a long time too, Lord Bayer.

Gal didnt wear his armor as he wasnt going on a battlefield, but he was wearing a knights usual attire under his coat.

And as for Adelia.

As the sister of Cordelia, she was also an incomparably beautiful woman who resembled their mother and had dark blonde hair.

She was dressed in a wizards combat attire with the emblem of the Royal Guard Magic Corps on it. It was a luxurious and gorgeous outfit with gold thread embroidered on her black clothes that fit her perfectly.

Although the reason weve met like this is not very goodstill, its good to see you in good health.

Me too.

Gal was smiling nicely as always, while Adelia answered him a little brusquely as she made a hmph sound before speaking again.

You may have already heard it roughly, but Ill say it again. The plan is simple. First of all, regardless of night and day, well race towards Count Hrsvelgrs territory until we reach somewhere near the northern border.

Will you use <Tracking> magic after that?

Adelia nodded when Gal asked as he climbed up on the horse.

I have the ring my father gave me, so we can track them down.

How far is the scope of the <Tracking> magic?

Its quite wide, as its about the size of a small manor. If its as large as Count Hrsvelgrs territory, well only be able to search it in parts.

Still, its reassuring. After all, its Lady Adelia.

Hmph, its not something to be praised about though?

Adelia snorted as she gathered her hair and tied it up, before holding and fixing the horses reins.

Anyway, lets go. I will take the lead.

I am more familiar with the nearby geography, so I will take the lead. Everyone! Ill be back!

Despite Adelias sharp attitude, Gal smiled and answered, before greeting those who came to see them off. Afterwards, he made the horse start moving by nudging it with his foot.

Giddyap!

As Gal had great horseback riding skills, he looked impressively cool as he run ahead, but it wasnt for Adelia.

She looked at Gal, who had run ahead, with a displeased face as she made a hmph sound and then looked back at the people sending them off.

Ill be back.

She coldly spoke as she spurred her horse and followed after Gal. Though, if one looked at her momentum, it seemed like she was in a race, rather than being his companion.

As for those left behind, among them was Maja and Dahlia. The two looked at each other naturally and smiled awkwardly.

It willbe fine, right?

Ahmaybe?

Gal Bayer and Adelia Chase.

With a somewhat ominous premonition, Maja and Dahlia looked at the two people who had already gone far.

***

Someone had said.

Do you know what a gambling house and a luxury buffet have in common? It is the fact that the store wins in the end.

It was exactly what he said.

No matter how much one eats in a luxury buffet to get their moneys worth, all theyll have in the end was an upset stomach. And no matter how hard one tries at a gambling house, in the end, the visitors were bound to lose their money.

Of course, thats an average story, and overall, its just the casinos that make money, but there are certainly a minority who make money, whether its small or huge.

Otherwise, no one will go to the gambling house if they didnt make any money.

So youre that minority?

I was always the winning minority. I even had the status of being in the ban list of three Las Vegas casinos.

Before going to the casino, they stopped by a nearby accommodation and were currently in the middle of changing clothes.

At Judes words, Cordelia blinked as she arranged the skirt of her fabulous red dress.

Ban list?

Yes, its kind of a blacklist. If you go there, you will not be allowed to enter.

As Jude talked a little proudly, Cordelia stopped arranging her skirt. She then touched her chin and soon said as she clenched her fist.

As expected! You were a scammer as expected! Humbug! Am I not right? Right?

No, its not? I never cheated, okay? I was just so good at gambling that I was denied entry, okay?

F*ck, who the hell are you then? How can you continuously win if you didnt cheat then?

Its nice to hear you saying f*ck after a long time.

Dont change the subject.

Well, turn around for now.

Have you finished dressing up?

Oh, youre all dressed up.

This personfu-didnt I tell you not to turn around?

I just turned around. Come closer. Ill tighten the straps on your back.

Dahlia used to do it.

Dahlia isnt here right now.

It was as Jude had said, so Cordelia came near Jude and showed her back, and Jude tightened the dress straps one by one as he continued talking.

Do you know about card counting?

I dont know.

its literally counting cards. You remember all the revealed cards and infer which cards havent been revealed yet. And based on that, you calculate the probability for each situation and make the best choice.

Its hard to listen to just that, but if you do that, can you unconditionally win?

No, the win rate is just a little over 50%. In modern casinos, a lot of various techniques have been developed to invalidate card counting so that it isnt effective. Im done tightening it.

When Jude had tightened all the dress straps, Cordelia turned around and looked back and forth on her own body before picking up the necktie.

So, why were you blacklisted? As expected, didnt you cheat by counting? Dont move and stay still.

Card counting is basic, and there are a few other techniques. And basically, the game is played with a dealer, right? Unlike machines, humans display a lot of information even if they are just quietly standing.

And in fact, Judes specialty was in poker games like Texas hold em.

Do you mean, you were a professional poker player then?

I wonder.

In response to Judes shameless answer, Cordelia pouted her lips and deliberately tied up Judes tie tightly.

Gak-! Hey!

Hmph, Ill tie it up again.

The dexterous Cordelia soon nicely tied up his tie again.

I dont know about anything else, but I think youre the best at this.

There are a lot of things that Im good at too, okay?

Despite the fact that she snorted, the corners of Cordelias mouth were raised, and her mood became better at his compliment.

In any case, are you confident about this?

I am confident. Its not even a modern casino that has prepared several preventive measures.

You have a wicked smile.

You will soon love this smile, my lady.

I bet I wont.

Nevertheless, Cordelia was somewhat relieved at his confident appearance.

Well then, shall we go and win some money?

Yes, Daddy. I only trust in Daddy.

Daddy will make our princess rich today.

Im so excited.

Lets do this.

Okay.

The two stopped their conversation, looked at each other, and took a deep breath before they left the accommodation together.

And two hours later.

Blackjack.

The dealer facing Jude turned pale, and Jude had a gentle smile as he looked back at the coins piled up in front of him.

Its about time.

After an hour of observation and an hour of winning and winning again, the time has come for the store to put on the brakes on him.

As expected, its coming.

A giant man dressed in a high-quality suit was approaching him in big strides.

Hell moderately tell Jude to get out of here in a refined language while exaggerating his words and speaking at length.

Well, should I slowly withdraw now?

Even if he exchanged the coins now, it would already have exceeded Red Winds price by 1.5 times.

Okay, this is enough.

Having made up his mind, Jude turned his head towards the giant and brightly smiled.

But without even looking at Judes smile, the giant continued to walk away and stopped at an unexpected place.

What?

Jude unconsciously blinked his eyes before getting up from his seat and looking at the place where the giant stopped.

It was the roulette place, and now that he saw it, nearly half of the casino guests were gathered in addition to the supervisor.

Id like to exchange the coins into money, please. This is a tip.

After handing a coin to the dealer, Jude got up and walked towards the roulette place.

And it was at that moment.

Kyaaa!

Oooooooh!

She got it right again!

Awesome!

Thunderous exclamations of amazement broke out among the audience. They had such enthusiastic reactions that he wondered why he didnt hear of their sounds before.

And in the center of all that enthusiasm was an incomparably beautiful girl with long brown hair, wearing a red dress.

Cordelia?

Jude unintentionally said her real name while she was going kyaa and being happy. Cordelia then looked back at Jude with a bright face and hugged him.

I got it again! Its incredible!

What? What the hell did you get?

And what is this flow?

Jude lightly pushed Cordelia away first before seeing the roulette board. He then saw a mountain of coins piled up in front of Cordelia. At first glance, it seemed to be twice or three times as many as what Jude himself had.

Ohlittle sister?

The two had disguised themselves as brother and sister.

Cordelia came to her senses at Judes words, and said after she widely spread out her shoulders.

Oppa, oppa, Im totally awesome, its awesome.

Jude could read from the flow that Cordelia had hit the jackpot in roulette.

But how the hell did that happen?

Wow, shes such an incredible Miss. Its not a

side card

but just one red and black match, yet shes earned as much as I did.

The man who was watching right beside him laughably said as if it was his business, but the other nearby spectators also added some words.

Ive seen her got it 10 times in a row.

Didnt she get it 12 consecutive times?

Its exactly 17 consecutive times!

17 consecutive?!

The last one was Jude.

Cordelia was perfectly satisfied at Judes totally startled and utterly bewildered face.

Thats right! 17 times in a row!

To win in roulette, the player determines whether the ball stops in the red or black pockets.

The probability is .

The dividend of betting on one is the lowest, but its a different story if its 17 times in a row.

If you bet on only one, the dividend is doubled if you win. But if its the 17

th

win of 2

131,072 times.

T/N: Frankly, I dont understand much about roulette, but this is the best explanation I can give.

In roulette, you can bet on one or several numbers, and if the ball lands on your bets, your payouts/dividends are determined by the number of your bets. Betting on one only means that youre betting on either even or odd numbers, or youre betting on either red or black.

Betting on one only gives you a 50% chance of winning, but the dividend is the lowest, as it only doubles your dividend/payout. Every time you win, your dividend is doubled. So, if you win 17 times in a row, your dividend becomes 131,072 times. Its not 17 times 2, but 2 raised to the 17

th

power, so the formula is

2

17

= 131,072

.

Even if she started with the cheapest coin, which is one copper coin, it would increase to a tremendous amount if it was around 130,000 times, so it was natural that a mountain of coins was piled up in front of Cordelia.

On the other hand, the probability of winning 17 times in a row could also be said to be one in 2 raised to the 17

th

power.

That is, your chances in winning is 1 in 131,072.

Uhhow did you do it?

Since he remembered his past life before he came to Pleiades, or rather, in both his current and past lives, Jude had never been as surprised as he was now.

Cordelia widely smiled at Judes face that seemed to have witnessed the mystery of the universe, and then she spoke in a triumphant tone.

With feeling.

With feeling?

With feeling.

=====<Cordelias flashback>=====

Somehow, I feel that it would stop in red this time.

Black this time.

Black again this time.

Looks like its red this time?

=====<End of flashback>=====

Are you a real animal

I can hear you.

However, Cordelia didnt hit Judes back because of her good mood. She didnt even try to bite him.

A-anyway! Lets finish it at this point.

Why? The more money we have, the better.

Lets end it. Its completely enough now.

At Judes remark, Cordelia pouted her lips, and the onlookers around them began booing him.

But Jude didnt pay them any attention.

Lets go now.

Jude strongly spoke, and Cordelia thought for a moment before nodding her head.

Okay, lets go.

Aah!

Why dont you play another round, Miss?

One more round!

The spectators around them shouted hardly, and the giant, who seemed to be on the casinos side, also tried to do something.

It now seemed to Jude that he didnt want to stop the game, but rather, to somehow keep it going.

Because he wants us to eventually lose.

17 consecutive wins was undeniably a miracle.

Im sorry, but my brother is strict. Hehe.

Cordelia responded with a cute smile to the onlookers , and after exchanging the coins they had, she left the casino with Jude.

Jude was very nervous that they would not be able to exchange their currency or be prevented from leaving, but it ended with a strong request to visit again tomorrow and an invitation to the auction house because the amount of money the two had was not enough for the casino to directly pay.

Theyre telling us to spend some money in any way.

The slave auction house, general auction house, and this casino were all owned by Bern, who was called the king of Lankebuste.

Well, its not bad. Since there is an invitation to the auction house, participating in the auction would look natural.

Jude sighed in relief and drooped his shoulders, while Cordelia looked up at the sky with a cheerful face and said.

Its a beautiful night.

Of course it was.

Even by the standards of the two as children of the 12 families, they had earned a huge amount in just two hours.

Wow, we are rich now. The casino was a fun place. Its a place full of hopes and dreams.

Hey, its funny that Im telling you this now, but the casino is a pandemonium, okay? You should just go with the thought of spending money and having fun, because its usually a place where people ruin themselves from gambling, okay?

Hmph, it was a nice place, so why?

No gambling, no gambling. Gambler is out. Okay? Lets break off our engagement! Break it off!

The positions of the two had reversed now compared to before they entered the casino.

And Cordelia had a similar reaction to that of Jude two hours ago.

Heeyy, cant you trust in noona?

Please.

Okay, okay. Anyway, it was exciting. Red Wind is mine now.

Cordelia had grumbled before that it wasnt good to buy Red Wind with money, but she had completely changed her mind.

Jude suddenly grabbed Cordelias wrist tightly as he spoke again.

Im saying this out of concern for you, but just think that today was a truly miraculous and lucky day. Do you understand? Okay?

It hurts, it hurts, Cordelia wont do it againokay, okay. Ill stop here. I understand. Its not like days like this come often.

HaaJust dont make me say that Ill

discard you from the family register

.

Yes, Daddy.

Cordelia replied like a good child as she took the lead, and Jude followed Cordelia closely while being wary of thieves.

Faintly laughing at Judes worried appearance, Cordelia tied her long hair together and then asked him.

By the way, Jude, when are we going to the auction house?

By chance, it will be opened tomorrow, so we dont have to wait for long.

Are there any good items for sale besides Red Wind? We are rich now.

In the original story, there was no opportunity for Jude and Cordelia to properly participate in the auction house.

Cordelia was busy from being chased by the Devils Hand in the beginning of her scenario. On the other hand, when Judes scenario began in earnest, the entire north was in a mess because of the barbarian invasion.

It goes without saying that Red Wind was locked up at the auction house at that time.

Moreover, it was presently an auction that will happen a month before Red Winds scenario began at the auction house.

In other words, it was an unknown place for both Jude and Cordelia.

Im suddenly looking forward to it.

Youre right. Its like Im looking forward to what would be there? It feels like were entering a new town and visiting a weapons store, right?

What items could be there?

Perhaps it would be possible to get a jackpot item?

Im looking forward to tomorrow. Well meet Red Wind, and also go to the auction house.

Yeah.

Maybe well find items that are really necessary.

And in the next evening.

Seriously, it actually happened.

We have good luck.

Cordelia was in front, and Jude was at the back.

An unexpected meeting was waiting for the two.