Casino Wizard

The first time I remembered my past life was shortly after I joined the Hero Party.

“I’m in the city of Manila, meeting a client… Oh, I got in the wrong cab and got shot.”

I was disoriented for a while by the rush of past-life information, but fortunately, I regained my sense of reality before I was labeled mentally ill.

I wasn’t Lee Hyun-woo who was shot and killed in the Philippines, I was the wizard of the Hero Party.

I belonged to the party of Pierrot the Hero.

Of the four hero parties, each representing a different country, it was the only one that caused concern.

It was because it was so colorful.

Pierrot was a middle-aged hero who was chosen by the goddess while raising pigs in the countryside.

Theodora, a saintly woman who treated her companions as waste from the first moment she met them.

Jerome, a shield knight of the highest caliber who has a phobia of blood.

Lucy, an archer who was chosen because the elves refused to send anyone else.

And me, the wizard Heidin. …nicknamed “Mantova’s illegitimate son.

If only I had realized my past life sooner.

Just a few moments ago, I had naively thought that I would somehow rise to prominence. Suddenly, reality began to set in.

I was stunned to see the face of a simple-looking middle-aged hero.

“Wizard… Wizard, why are you looking at me like that?”

“Nothing, hero. I’m just trying to help you.”

“Okay…!”

Too late to take it back anyway.

The overly vivid past life made it a little difficult, but I did my best.

But the results were disastrous.

– Those scum are a disgrace to our kingdom of Alvenia…!

– A disgrace to the kingdom? Ha! That’s an honest statement. Whenever I come face-to-face with nobles from the Empire, the Dragon Kingdom, or the City Federation, I’m too embarrassed to recognize them!

– You can’t even capture a wyvern and call for backup… Are you really a party of heroes?

In our two years of existence, we’ve been nothing but a disgrace.

The other Heroic Parties have done their job, slaying monsters and competitively eliminating the Demon Lord’s top brass, the Six demon General.

But we had nothing to show for it.

Our only role was to silently endure the ridicule of the people.

As if that weren’t bad enough, our lowly status has been reduced to a mere shadow of its former self at the crucial moment.

– We’ll slay the demon among ourselves. I think you should be going anyway, Jim… Phew. I stand corrected. I want Pierrot’s party to stay on the continent, just in case, in case the demon army tries to take advantage of our vacuum and strike from the rear.

We’ve been left out in the cold at this historic moment in our infiltration of the Demon Realm.

One of the four hero parties was supposed to be protecting the continent, but it seems they decided we were a distraction.

The miserable thing is, it was true, and we couldn’t refute it.

Fortunately, the assassination of the Demon King was successful without us.

The victorious heroes of the Empire, the Dragon Kingdom, and the City Federation returned home as heroes of humanity.

The continent is in a festive mood.

When I was forced to participate in the festivities to celebrate the end of the war, it was almost unbearable.

A little kid came up to me and asked, “Did you ride a dragon into the demon temple? What does a demon look like?” I felt like crying when he innocently asked me.

As I picked at the grilled chicken, I thought to myself.

I’m going to be quiet for the rest of my life.

I’ve done nothing of note, so don’t expect any favors.

We’ll just go about our business in the kingdom and live a simple life.

“The party is disbanded as of today.”

The middle-aged hero announced with a grim expression.

The archer’s shoulders shook and she sobbed, and the shield knight dropped his head in despair. The Saint has long since fled to the Holy Land.

I accepted the party’s disbandment without a word.

No more adventures. I never wanted to do it again.

****

It’s been five years since the party disbanded.

After being called a disgrace to the kingdom, we were doing surprisingly well.

We were. Not me, we.

Actually, I was working with my coworkers. At first, I thought I’d do it alone, but with a little help, I eventually found a familiar face.

A business that utilized some of my knowledge from my previous life.

It was a casino.

“It’s noisy. Nothing to get excited about. This one.”

“Ah! Must you play with such a loud voice, Baron?”

“If it bothers you, you can be dismissed. …Card one!”

“I’m giving out cards.”

The casino had humble beginnings in a rented tavern.

It was shabby then, but five years later, it was raking in the capital’s money.

I had never been an active gambler in my previous life. I’d gone a few times for fun.

Instead, I had worked for a casino operator as a business partner.

she used to work as a dealer in Macao and then opened a private casino bar in Namdong. I picked up a lot of things while working for her.

Anyway, gambling was popular even before I started working in the industry.

Roulette was played in banquet halls by the aristocracy.

Dice and card games were widespread, regardless of status.

Even a little bit of dogfighting and jousting.

It was crude, but you could feel the passion for gambling.

That’s how I came up with the idea of a casino.

If I designed it well, I could do business without causing too much trouble. I thought I could make a decent living.

The result… I’m seeing it now.

“Oh, why is it going down now? I was on a roll…!”

“Don’t get excited.”

“How can I get excited when I’ve been losing yesterday and today… No, I’ll just play. I need to recover!”

The most popular game is baccarat.

A game where you try to guess whether the player or the banker has a card total closer to 9.

It’s simple, but no other game drives people as crazy as that one.

“Uh… um… that number? Can I put it on top?”

“Haha, lady. If you bet on the number, you only have a 1 in 36 chance.”

“But what if I bet on the color? Is it 50/50?”

“Yep. About 50/50, but it’s no fun.”

There were also roulette and big wheel, which were more accessible to beginners.

“Huh. Don’t you have a seat at the baccarat table?”

“Uh-oh. Are you bored playing with me?”

“Huh? No, of course not, I’m here to see my little Miss Marie.”

“Open cards.”

Other than that, the casino has a full lineup of casino games, including casino war and blackjack.

Not a single table was empty.

In the case of baccarat, there were several people watching while waiting for their turn.

It was an undeniable success.

‘I made the right choice.

I took a seat on the second floor overlooking the main gaming floor.

There was something to be done to ensure customer satisfaction.

As I was scribbling away, I heard a voice next to me.

“Hyden. What’s up?”

“Ah, my lord hero.”

It was Pierrot, a middle-aged warrior.

To all appearances, he was still just a serf.

End-stage M-shaped baldness, a pitiful face that reminded me of an old, sickly pug.

Still a hero in title, but now he was the head of security at my casino.

“Can I ask what you’re doing? That’s a lot of numbers…a lot of numbers.”

“I’m trying to figure out a reimbursement rate issue.”

“Reimbursement, rate?”

“It’s down to 94 percent as of last month. Baccarat has a lot to do with it. We’ve been getting a lot of side bets lately.”

The middle-aged man frowned, as if he didn’t understand.

Those wrinkles… I already have enough of them.

Lower reimbursement rates mean more money for us to eat. He seemed to wonder why we’d want to touch something we love.

I wasn’t wrong, but I had to adjust.

“We shouldn’t be ripping off our customers.”

“Huh…?”

“Well, lower reimbursement rates mean more customers going home angry because they’ve lost money, and while that’s inevitable, we need to keep that number in check.”

“That… I see.”

“In other words, let’s go long and lean.”

The middle-aged hero smiles as if he finally understands.

His face hadn’t been as bright as it is now during the hero’s party.

He’s been through a lot in his life, from the exploits of the other heroes who were younger than him, to the nobles of the kingdom who picked on him for his age, status, appearance, and skill, to the conflicts with the saint who often insulted him.

He was a gentle man, so he didn’t show it, but he must have been rotting inside.

I’m ashamed to admit that I once looked down on this middle-aged hero.

But that’s all in the past.

Now he was my colleague in charge of security at my casino.

“Sir.”

“Hmm?”

“I’m sorry to hear of your troubles, but I still find it a bit… odd that a hero who represents the kingdom is working in a gambling house.”

“No. I’m fine with this, and maybe this is too much.”

Pierrot laughs at my topic.

The middle-aged warrior wasn’t the only one working at the casino.

Lucy, the archer, was the youngest of the party.

She was now the dealer at the baccarat table.

Not just any dealer, but the head of operations who manages all the dealers in our casino. She also doubled as a scout, so she had good hands.

Clap!

The customers clapped as she performed a dazzling one-handed shuffle.

Lucy wasn’t just fast with her hands.

She had a strong mind and a healthy spine, probably due to being ignored as a half-elf archer.

Though unfairly devalued due to her work as an elf, she was also beautiful. Blonde hair, brown skin, and a cute face. Many customers came to see her.

“Oh, Hydin, Jerome says he’s coming again tomorrow.”

“I’ll have to give him some pocket money.”

“I think he’d prefer red wine.”

“That asshole is afraid of blood, I can see why…”

Finally, the Shield Knight. This man also frequented the casino.

He was one of the regimental commanders of the city guards responsible for the security of the capital.

His blood phobia made him less effective in combat, but he was the strongest in the kingdom in the arena, so he was given the least consideration.

Thankfully, his position allowed him to take advantage of us. In the grand scheme of things, he was an ally.

“’Saint, she has gone her separate way.

She was the only one I used to play with.

It wasn’t just that we were distant, but that we were cut off.

It was ridiculous to hang out with her when she didn’t even want to see our faces.

“We’re closing in 10 minutes-!”

“No!!!”

A shout erupts from the crowd as the female archer cries out.

I even laughed out loud when I heard the voice of a middle-aged hero pleading with me, “Sir, please extend the deadline!”

“Back when I was just a wizard in a trash-tier hero party and i only ever got yelled at, to be honest, it was pretty miserable.”

But the scars are fading now.

My business was booming, and my life was prosperous.

“Bang it 30! Let’s finish it off clean and cool at the end!”

“I, I’m at minimum on the play.”

“If you go timidly, you’re an jerk…!”

The voices of the customers, motivated until the end, made me happy.