The rules of the Magic Empire were both liberal and strict.
Serious criminal offense were met with severe punishments, but otherwise, a considerable amount of freedom was allowed.
This was to efficiently control the rough mages, and in that sense, gambling was not illegal in the Magic Empire.
In fact, it was encouraged.
Rather than having mages unable to restrain their bloodlust and harming each other, it was better to channel that energy into wholesome pastimes like gambling.
Historically, card games had been a form of entertainment enjoyed by people of all ages.
Legal gambling dens existed in every major city, and gambling was a leisure activity enjoyed regardless of status or age.
“This is a gambling den? Such a place exists in the world.”
[Ohoho… what an astonishing place.]
Christian, Theren, and Banshee, new to the dazzling scene of the gambling den, looked around wide-eyed like country bumpkins in the city for the first time.
Seeing Theren (Banshee was invisible), the people in the gambling den chuckled.
It was a rule here to wear masks and remain anonymous while enjoying the competition, but despite his masked face, everyone could tell Theren was a newcomer to the gambling den.
“Well, it’s a good place to enjoy lightly. Now that you’re here, how about it, Theren? Want to make a bet with me?”
Christian smiled broadly.
“Let’s bet on who can win more money.”
“You and me?”
“Right. Didn’t you say you’d try to beat me? Since the rules of gambling and card games are the same, you won’t be at a disadvantage even if it’s your first time.”
Betting money on a card game made it gambling.
“……”
Yet, when it came to the actual contest, Theren hesitated.
Christian laid out a tempting bait for Theren.
“If you win, I’ll treat you as my older brother for a month.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I swear on my deceased mother’s name.”
Since it wasn’t his own mother, swearing on her name held no real risk for him.
“But if you lose, you must call me ‘Respected King Emperor Majesty Brother’ for the same period.”
“……”
“Well, if you’re scared, forget it.”
Theren faltered, prompting Christian to taunt him further, and Theren took the bait, flaring up.
“Keep that promise, please.”
Christian grinned.
The contest began, and a crowd gathered.
Among them, Theren.
People recognizing Theren as an easy mark swarmed to exploit him.
‘There are quite a few professional con artists here.’
Christian watched Theren, winning and losing alternately, calculating his moves.
Like a cliché, Theren initially won some money.
Gaining confidence from repeated victories, Theren made bold bets.
Then, he lost a substantial amount.
“Oh, no?!”
Theren’s face showed the look of a man who had lost a nation.
During a brief break, Christian approached Theren and whispered mockingly.
“Thought you’d show them how it’s done, but you’re not up to much, huh?”
“!!”
“Why not go home and play card games there?”
Theren’s face flushed.
“Aren’t you losing too?!”
“I’m better off than you. I’ve only lost 500 coins.”
“I’ve only lost 1,000 coins!”
“So, will you play more?”
“I will continue! Give me more money!”
The same scene repeated itself.
Christian kept egging Theren on to lose more money.
Cleverly provoking him so that Theren couldn’t walk away, professional swindlers gleefully continued to take advantage of him.
The con artists were so overt in their deceit that they did things even professional swindlers shouldn’t.
Theren, and even Christian, who had accompanied him, were seen as easy targets.
‘Bingo.’
Christian watched the scam unfold with a sly smile.
He got caught.
Just then, Banshee secretly approached him.
[Master… I’ve found the ones you mentioned.]
“Good job.”
[Did I do well…?]
“Yes, well done.”
Banshee grinned broadly.
Christian quietly stood up.
And left Theren, who had lost a staggering amount of 10,000 coins and was out of his wits, to fend for himself at the gambling hall.
‘He’s not a child. He’ll manage somehow, make up for it with his body.’
He deliberately didn’t give Theren money to pay off the gambling debts.
Why?
Because the place he was heading to was meant to be visited alone.
Having Theren there would be a hindrance, so he intentionally left him behind.
‘Theren owes 10,000 coins now; he won’t be able to get out easily. Given his nature, he’s too ashamed of his gambling debt to easily reveal his identity.’
Theren, only thirteen and mostly confined to a mansion, was not widely recognized by face.
Even without a mask, people wouldn’t recognize him unless he revealed his identity himself.
Christian chuckled, seeing Theren’s pale, bewildered face in trouble.
[Here we are, Master.]
The two arrived at a mansion in a bustling area.
“Okay, open the door.”
[At your command.]
Click.
Banshee used his abilities to unlock the door.
The soldiers inside were startled and stood on guard.
“Who goes there?!”
Christian removed his mask.
“Surely you know who I am?”
“!!”
The faces of the mansion’s people turned pale.
“We meet, young master!!”
Unlike Theren, who hardly left the mansion and was unrecognized, Christian’s face was very famous in the castle.
“What brings you here?”
“Call your master.”
“What? Oh, yes! Yes!!”
The soldiers hurriedly fetched a person.
Banshee spoke in a disheartened tone.
‘Banshee making a cute face, really?’ Christian thought, while displaying a look of disgust.
Despite her feelings, her genuinely upset expression made Christian awkwardly clear his throat.
“You are not allowed to show yourself in front of regular people.”
[Master…?]
“And absolutely no emitting of spirit energy and cause poltergeist phenomena. Understand?”
[Thank you…! Truly, Master… you are wonderful!]
Banshee, clearly delighted, joyfully flew around in the air.
Apparently, she had been longing for an outing.
‘How many years has she been in the mansion? I heard it’s been at least several decades.’
Indeed, after that long, one would crave the outside.
“Anyway, let’s go now… Why are you here?”
The man who appeared was middle-aged with a portly figure, his chubby cheeks giving him the look of a teddy bear.
“What brings you to our trading company, young master?”
“Master Gruntel.”
Christian crossed his arms and called the man by his name.
A man who had become wealthy through various illegal means.
“Could we have a quiet word?”
“Why?”
“If you’d rather not, we can talk here. But that might make things very difficult for you.”
Gruntel, the greedy-faced head of the trading company, his expression hardened.
He led Christian to a quiet spot.
“What is this about?”
“Do you want to die?”
“…What?”
Gruntel’s eyes widened.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“You don’t know why?”
“I have absolutely no idea.”
Christian smiled quietly.
“Daring to cheat in gambling against my dear brother, the heir of the Kazar Count’s family… and you say you don’t know?”
“!!”
Gruntel’s eyes widened further.
“That, that… That can’t be! Surely, that hapless man with the tiger mask at the casino was…?!”
“Yes, that’s Theren, the heir of the Kazar family.”
Indeed.
The chubby merchant before him was the owner of the casino they had visited.
The swindlers who had cheated Theren were underlings of this very merchant.
“Do I need to spell out every trick your men used?”
“But…! I just run the casino, the things those men did are not my concern…!”
Gruntel tried to deny it, but his excuses were futile.
[Ohoho… I saw everything, they were all in it together, talking about it. He’s lying, he’s lying.]
The ghostly voice in Gruntel’s ear made his face turn pale.
Banshee brought her face close to Gruntel’s, her eyes fiercely glaring.
[Do you want to die?]
“AAAAHHHH!!”
Gruntel threw himself to the ground in a panic, begging.
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! If I had known it was Lord Theren and Lord Christian, I would never have allowed it! Please show mercy!”
Christian crossed his arms.
“What about compensation?”
“You’re not planning to talk your way out of this, are you?”
Gruntel flinched.
Christian knew what he was after.
‘He came to extort money, suspecting that hiding identities at the casino was a setup to facilitate scamming?’
For a moment, he doubted, but shook his head, thinking that even a notorious wastrel like the one before him couldn’t be that malicious.
“Absolutely not! I will provide compensation! How much…?”
“I’ll generously let you off with 1,000,000 coins.”
“…What?”
“1,000,000 coins. Didn’t you hear?”
Gruntel’s face hardened.
“That, that’s… too excessive…”
Paying 1,000,000 coins would ruin his trading company.
That was a considerable amount.
“If you commit a crime, you must be punished. You do know the laws regarding fraudulent gambling?”
The Magic Empire doesn’t prohibit gambling.
However, fraudulent gambling is banned, and the punishments are severe.
“It’s stipulated that wrists should be cut off. Reattaching them with healing magic is also prohibited. Let’s see, from what I’ve gathered, you’d owe more than five counts… Should we cut off both wrists, both legs, and perhaps something in the middle?”
Gruntel trembled like a leaf.
“But… I really don’t have the money. Even if I scraped everything together, it wouldn’t be enough.”
“Then let’s do this. 200,000 coins.”
“!!”
“Surely, you can’t say you don’t have that much?”
Gruntel swallowed hard.
As if premeditated, it was precisely the amount he could afford.
“And one more thing.”
“What, what is it?”
Christian then spoke his real purpose for coming here.
“Hand over the Grunade.”
“!!”
Christian declared.
“It’s a treasure too valuable for someone like you to possess.”
Grunade.
The name of a broken holy sword once wielded by a fallen hero from a distant past.
—
“Here, this is the Grunade.”
The Grunade was a old, rusty sword.
Even the blade was broken, more than half missing.
Completely useless as a weapon.
“Excuse me, but why are you seeking such an antique?”
Instead of responding, Christian simply stared intently at the merchant, who quickly lowered his head as if realizing he had spoken out of turn.
“I apologize for daring to question your intentions, great one. Here is 200,000 coins in cash and immediately available cheques, which you can withdraw from the bank right away.”
Gruntel inwardly swallowed his tears. The 200,000 coins represented the maximum amount of cash his company could mobilize in case of emergency. He had just been cleaned out in an instant. But he had no right to complain. He was the one at fault for the fraudulent gambling, and he was lucky to escape with his life intact.
Christian immediately went to the bank and withdrew the money.
“200,000 coins. That should be sufficient.”
He didn’t head straight back to the count’s estate; instead, he roamed the commercial district and stopped at various shops to buy items that he would need for his duel with Melin. He even bought a gift for Banshee while he was at it.
It wasn’t anything special. He had seen her staring at ornaments all the time, so he decided to buy one for her.
“I always wanted to try this. Becoming a wealthy young lord, lavishly handing out gifts to my subordinates.”
It was a cheap item, but Banshee was quite touched.
[Master.]
“It looks like you’ve got some grievances tied to that ornament, so consider this a gift to help you pass on peacefully.”
