Casino Wizard

At first, I didn’t want to believe it.

I thought the shield knight had heard some ridiculous rumors, and I figured he was just making a fuss for no reason.

But that was just my wishful thinking.

“I heard it from a friend in the Royal Guard.”

“Is this a trustworthy friend?”

“He’s someone who never mocked me even during our days in the Hero Party, a close friend.”

“……”

“He was involved in the practical negotiations for the delegation from the Holy Kingdom, and while they were discussing the security and protocol, the name of the delegate’s head came up… It hasn’t been officially announced yet, but it’s confirmed.”

The source of this information was from the Royal Guard, a unit responsible not only for the protection of the royal family but also for foreign dignitaries.

The one who received this information was the captain of the city guards.

Honestly, the information seemed credible.

‘After all, he wouldn’t lie about something like this.’

A delegation from the Holy Kingdom bringing a letter of blessing from the Pope as part of a religious event?

It seemed likely that it was just a messenger.

Maybe we were the ones overreacting. It didn’t matter whether the delegation came or not, as long as they stayed in the casino.

But given who the messenger was, I couldn’t just let it go calmly.

“Hyden, I really hope I’m wrong about this.”

“No, I believe it.”

“…Alright.”

The shield knight nodded quietly and closed his eyes.

Meanwhile, the casino was still bustling with activity.

With an hour to go before closing time, the atmosphere was growing even more intense.

“Perfect Pair—red! Middle!”

“Oh?”

“I heard if you stare at their chest before betting, the accuracy goes up…!”

A cheer rang out from one of the tables.

One customer, dancing happily, even threw a tip to the dealer.

Other tables joined in, creating a temporary ruckus, but I couldn’t bring myself to laugh. Normally, I would have smirked, but I was too focused on the news the shield knight had brought.

It was still business hours, so I didn’t want to disturb the busy female archer or the middle-aged Hero.

“We’re closing in an hour.”

“Hyden?”

“Sorry, but just wait and pass the time at the gaming tables… Play roulette, drink some wine like usual. After closing time, we can talk properly. You can tell Lucy and the others then.”

“…Alright.”

The shield knight took my request and walked slowly toward the roulette tables.

I had bought myself some time.

I glanced at the other two companions.

First, the middle-aged Hero.

Maybe because of his age, he seemed to be struggling a bit.

Even though he was a hero, he didn’t handle being surrounded by people well. He seemed particularly exhausted in the hot atmosphere of the casino.

Normally, I would have sent him home by now, but today I couldn’t do that.

“I’m just as worried about her as I am about the hero.”

The female archer, wearing a short skirt for once, was now overseeing the dealers at the main gaming area, side rooms, and VIP lounge instead of directly dealing.

She seemed to be in a surprisingly good mood today.

She wasn’t wearing her usual customer service smile but actually looked cheerful. I wasn’t sure what kind of reaction she’d have later, but for now, she didn’t seem to be hiding anything.

“Closing time in 30 minutes!”

“Aaaaah…!”

The customers groaned as the female archer announced it.

“After closing, gather all My colleagues.”

“Understood, boss.”

The time to share the bad news was drawing near.

****

By midnight, my party members had gathered in my office.

I wished it was just a bonus distribution or something simple.

I immediately got to the point as I looked at the party members, who seemed puzzled.

“The Saintess is coming.”

A cold silence fell.

I pretended not to notice the stillness and added more details.

“Saint Aniceto’s Feast Day. …You all know, but Aniceto is a saint from this kingdom. It’s just an ordinary feast day for the Church, but here, it’s treated with great importance. That’s why the Papacy always sends a delegation.”

“Hyden. Wait!”

“Yes, Hero.”

“Did you just say Saintess…?”

“Yes. The Saintess has been appointed as a delegate.”

Ah.

The middle-aged Hero let out a short gasp and then froze.

Could it be that he still had some hope?

“S-Saintess, even so…”

“There are four Saintesses. But the one coming is Theodora. She was in our party…”

“That one?”

“Yes. That one.”

The hero seemed stunned, mumbling to himself before dropping his head.

He didn’t seem ready to talk, so I turned to the female archer instead.

Unlike the hero, she maintained her composure.

But if you looked closely, you could tell she wasn’t entirely calm.

Her hands, resting on her solid thighs, were shaking noticeably. Then she clenched her fists tightly to hide the tremor…

It was clear that even the idea of meeting the Saintess was uncomfortable for her.

‘Maybe I should give them some time to calm down.’

No. If I kept silent too, they might think I was just as shaken and end up more unsettled.

I wasn’t happy about the Saintess’s visit either, but I had to stay calm. My goal was to reassure them.

“Hyden Oppa?”

“Hm?”

“Actually, I knew a day like this would come.”

I didn’t expect it to be today, though.

The female archer murmured with a bitter expression, then quietly left the room.

She returned about ten minutes later, holding a letter.

“I got this from the Saintess two years ago, Oppa.”

“The Saintess sent you a letter?”

“Yes.”

She rustled the paper as if about to read it but then gave up and handed it to me.

I skimmed through the letter.

[Lucy, you said you were from the Chiompi Orphanage, right? I happened to learn about a friend from the same orphanage as you, a woman named Margarita. She works in a job that matches her nature and intelligence. I thought you might have been close with her, so I’m sending you this information. If you’re curious, go find her.]

Two years ago, the Saintess unexpectedly reached out to Lucy about an old friend from the orphanage.

It wasn’t done out of kindness.

From what the female archer explained, it wasn’t a helpful gesture at all.

“I found out she was working as a prostitute,” the female archer continued.

“….”

“And when I hired an adventurer to track her down, she had become too frail to even do that. Of course, the Saintess might have shared this because she felt pity for Margarita’s situation, but…”

“Forget it. That wasn’t her intention.”

“Yes.”

The Saintess just seemed to want to torment Lucy.

The female archer, who had come from the orphanage, knew exactly how hard life could be for those who grew up there.

If you didn’t have any special talents, your future was more or less decided. Most girls from orphanages ended up as servants or prostitutes.

The female archer had escaped that fate by becoming an adventurer, but she knew how grim the future was for her old friends.

The Saintess, however, had chosen to remind Lucy of this tragic past by sending her the miserable news about her former friend.

This was the type of behavior I had come to expect from the Saintess.

The problem was that this event had happened recently.

“It was just two years ago.”

“Yes. I didn’t think it was something you needed to know, so I never told you.”

Before the party disbanded, the Saintess had secretly run off to the Holy Kingdom.

We hadn’t heard from her in five years, and I hadn’t bothered to find out her whereabouts, not wanting to know anything about her.

But now, the Saintess seemed to have been keeping an eye on us.

She’d somehow found out about Margarita, an orphanage friend of Lucy’s, and shared it with her malicious intent.

And I didn’t think this was the only case. The middle-aged Hero spoke up again.

“When we lost to the Demon General Bartholomeo, there were innocent civilians who died, right? Last year, some of their relatives came to confront me. They said I was living comfortably without any guilt, and they said some pretty harsh things… I think they even mentioned that they would have never known the truth if it wasn’t for the Saintess.”

“Just once last year?”

“It happened a couple of times.”

So, this had happened to him too.

This was the Saintess’s way of dealing with people.

She attacked the middle-aged Hero directly, disguised her attacks on the female archer as teaching moments, and subtly insulted the shield knight.

I, on the other hand, had avoided confrontation early on.

The middle-aged Hero was weak, but the Saintess’s actions were excessive.

However, the way she was still acting now was just insane. It was disturbing enough to suggest mental illness.

“I’m sorry for hiding it from you, Oppa.”

“You didn’t need to hide it. It’s not your fault.”

The female archer didn’t owe me an apology. It wasn’t her fault she had been targeted by that madwoman.

Of course, it would have been better if I had known earlier.

I never imagined the Saintess, whom I thought I had cut ties with, was still watching us.

Now she was coming to the kingdom.

She wasn’t coming just to see our faces; there was a reason, and it wasn’t likely a friendly one.

“What does she want…?”

The middle-aged Hero sighed, almost to the point of crying.

The other two companions seemed equally downcast.

I closed my eyes as I looked at them.

The face of the Saintess, Theodora, appeared in my mind.

She was beautiful, but not just in a pretty way. Her beauty was undeniable, and when she spoke, all her charm faded away.

I hadn’t wanted to get involved with her, but the thought of causing friction within our group was terrifying.

I had never cursed her when we parted ways.

I had purposely distanced myself from her and thought I’d never cross paths with her again.

‘But now, here she is, coming back.’

There was no way to stop a visit from an official papal envoy.

But one thing was for sure.

“If the Saintess attacks us, we’ll retaliate immediately.”

“Hyden oppa?”

“That’s right. You’re thinking the same thing, right, Hero?”

My stance was clear.

If she touches us, we strike back.

The female archer nodded without hesitation, and the shield knight agreed with a solemn expression.

The middle-aged Hero hesitated for a moment, his face twisted with emotion, but he eventually nodded too.

How this reunion would unfold depended entirely on the Saintess.