Casino Wizard

(Tl Note :- Chapter 33 is fixed i had uploaded chapter 34 two times … sryy :3)

Four dice rolling on an old table.

It wasn’t a game of dice gambling to be taken lightly.

Even before I set up the casino, there were plenty of people who ruined their lives by rolling dice without a care.

But the game the Saint and I were playing right now wasn’t a money-based gamble.

Just a trivial game.

The penalty was simply for the loser to answer the winner’s question honestly.

Rattle—

“I won this time,” she said.

“Yeah.”

Saintess wins.

“How much do you make at the casino?”

“Decently.”

“Is that your answer?”

In the end, it’s about money. But even in these exchanges, I could extract some information.

“At first, I rented a tavern and started with two tables.”

“Ah.”

“But now, I’m using the old Duke’s mansion. You’ve probably been keeping an eye on the Sacred Kingdom, so you must know about it.”

“Now, about keeping an eye on…”

Ignoring that, I shot again.

Saintess rolled 5 and 5. I got 3 and 6.

“I lost with a zero,” she said.

This was useful too.

Rolling 5 and 5 indicated she knew the basic rule that a sum of zero is considered. This showed that the Saintess had either played dice baccarat before or had at least seen it frequently.

‘Seems like it’s more popular than I thought.’

It was highly probable that gambling was flourishing in the Sacred Kingdom as well. This was useful information.

I intended to use my question for provocation.

“Watching the other saints, I guess it wasn’t comforting, was it? Am I right?”

“Is that even a question?”

“I must not be too bright if this is the best question I can come up with. Please understand with some leniency.”

“……”

“Theodora?”

The Saint glared at me for a moment, then finally smiled.

“It wouldn’t be a lie if I said it wasn’t fun. Especially Wilhelmina, that piece of work.”

“Ah, the one from the Empire?”

“She had her third child recently. Five years into marriage, and she already has three kids. A Saintess who doesn’t have any grace and is constantly pregnant.”

“Are you jealous?”

“We agreed on one question, remember?”

She was still smiling, but the sound of dice rattling in her hand was audible.

Other hero parties were the natural trigger for Theodora’s anxiety.

Leandro the Dragonian hero from the Dragon Kingdom, Claire the female hero from the City Alliance, and Oscar the hero from the Empire.

Heroes who were not only skilled and of noble character but also lived in the public’s admiration, garnering envy due to their high status.

For Theodora, they were reminders of what she lacked.

Time had passed, and it seemed that her sense of inadequacy had deepened.

“Erica and Wilhelmina both married heroes, and the other one is still single, but she lives well because her uncle became a bishop. She essentially gets to live like a noble lady.”

“Hyden. We agreed on one question.”

“I’m just speaking my mind.”

“…Roll the dice.”

The Saint rolled 8, and I rolled 8. Draw.

Taking advantage of the tie, I dug deeper.

“It’s quite amazing.”

“Amazing? What is?”

“Even though the Saintess is a clergyman, no one questions her when she marries a hero. Rather than criticism, it’s all blessings.”

“……”

“Honestly, for saints, marriage might actually be better. Living in contemplation and solitude forever in silence is a lot less appealing.”

The Saintess remained silent as she rolled the dice again.

The pace picked up, and the questions became more frivolous.

Eventually, questions about our party members came up.

“Does Lucy still smile at every man she meets?”

“As the reception staff, she does smile a lot. But it’s definitely not the kind of smile you think.”

“Seems like she found her calling. That’s something to congratulate her for!”

“Considering her salary, it might be worth congratulating her. It’s twice as much as the bishop’s stipend.”

The female archer.

“Don’t you care about the hero’s situation?”

“Why would I care about that person?”

“You kept suggesting to him to quit being a hero and return to being a peasant. Saying he’d be better off herding pigs, eating oat porridge, and sleeping on the dirt floor at night. You even gave him the nickname ‘Agricultural Hero’.”

“That guy does fit with the dirt.”

“The hero’s been living well with his maid at home.”

The hero.

“Does Jerome still panic when he sees blood?”

“Yeah.”

“Was it 6 years ago? You had a panic attack at the church when you smelled chicken blood. I really felt sorry for you back then.”

“Theodora, that was the trap you set.”

Even the shield knight.

In the childish exchange, only the Saintess was accumulating damage.

‘Actually, everyone is doing well now.’

With the casino thriving, every member of the hero party, except for the Saintess, was living a prosperous life.

They wouldn’t have had this success if they’d kept hunting monsters ambiguously while maintaining the party.

The Saintess, who had cut us off, didn’t come back after 5 years for no reason.

The comrades who were barely surviving were now doing well. While they may not be objects of envy like other hero parties, they were living more comfortably than before, which definitely made the Saintess jealous.

“Dice.”

“Are you going to roll again?”

“……”

“I’m not stopping you. It feels like we’re playing childhood games again, doesn’t it? Not sure if you feel the same way.”

The Saintess’s hand stopped holding the dice mid-air.

There was no point in rolling. It would only benefit the Saint.

If she suddenly got clever and said, “Let’s make it so that if it’s a perfect pair, I get ten questions,” and bet on a perfect pair, then even if she won with a miraculous 3333, it would still be the same. The longer the conversation went on, the more miserable the Saintess would become.

“Not yet.”

“Not yet? What?”

Is she trying to find a way to hurt me even a little?

This was the Saintess’s biggest flaw.

She was overly obsessed with winning the psychological battle every moment.

‘What does it even mean to win a verbal battle? What the hell?’

Let’s say I end up getting dragged into an argument with the Saintess and retreat.

It would make me feel bad, but there would be no real damage. I’d just go back to the casino and check the books, and the wounds would heal quickly.

Of course, the Saintess didn’t come just to roll dice.

What she wanted in the end was money. Or perhaps to vent her anger on us.

“That’s enough. Theodora, you’re not that stupid.”

“……”

“Put the dice down quietly.”

Despite my attempt to stop her, the Saintess hesitated for a moment but eventually rolled the dice.

4, 6. A total of 0.

If it had been real baccarat with cards, she could have shouted “One more!” and taken the third card, but with dice baccarat, that wasn’t possible. If the Saint pulled out another die, it would just look ridiculous.

I also rolled the dice for the last time.

1, 3. Another win for me.

Only then did the Saintess give up.

“I lost… I did.”

The childish dice baccarat was over.

The Saintess looked dejected as she stared at the dice on the table. She had the expression of someone who regretted doing something pointless.

‘I should show her an exit soon.’

I had won the game, so now it was time to offer a modest transportation fee.

I didn’t really expect her to accept it.

I just wanted to maintain my usual work pattern.

Both in my past life and this one. It was better to give a little money and soothe someone rather than make them feel like a fool. For an ordinary person, just a bit of transportation money would suffice. For someone with strange intentions, I added a bit more.

After all, in this line of work, there are no eternal friends or eternal enemies, so this was the right way.

‘She probably came for money. It’s too much to donate to the Vatican… but giving it to the Saintess’s family is possible. She probably doesn’t expect the amount she’s hoping for.’

The Saintess had calmed down, so now was the right time.

I was waiting for the right moment when the Saintess suddenly smiled dejectedly.

“It’s not going to work, after all.”

“Theodora?”

“I can’t deal with you, Hyden.”

What’s this about?

This wasn’t the Saintess I knew.

Even during the hero party days, I had dealt with her like this. Ignoring her ineffective attacks (like calling me a bastard) and then striking back to silence her. But even back then, she would avoid me subtly, but she never surrendered.

I was genuinely curious about what she was trying to do.

But it seemed like the Saintess had no intention of continuing our conversation.

“I enjoyed the chat, Hyden.”

“Is this really why you called me?”

“It’s not just for this. After all, I got the information I needed.”

Her demeanor was too calm for it to be a bluff. I tried to recall our previous conversation as we played dice, but nothing came to mind for now.

“Oh, but Hyden. One more thing. Do you remember?”

“What?”

“You didn’t exactly respect Pierrot, did you? …Whenever that guy would grovel in front of others, or say something stupid, I could feel your subtle disdain. Just be honest with me. Did you secretly look down on him?”

“……”

“And now you’re treating him like a person. Looks like you’re giving him a good salary.”

The Saintess brought up the hero again at the end.

I didn’t answer.

Then, the Saintess gestured to dismiss me, saying she had to prepare to enter the palace. Her attendants also snarled, telling me to get lost.

In the end, I decided to cancel the ‘kiss’.

“Fine. Do what you want.”

“Thanks, Hyden.”

I left the old inn, leaving the Saint behind.

On my way back to the casino, riding a horse.

As I held the reins and galloped, I was busy piecing together the clues the Saintess had thrown at me… ‘You really can’t deal with me, you’ve gotten what you needed, now you’re treating the middle-aged hero like a person, you have to enter the palace.’

It was easy to guess the Saintess’s intentions.

Could she really have gone that far…?

That thought crossed my mind, but if it was the Saintess, she was certainly capable of doing it.

****

That evening.

The princess, who had met with the Saintess and the king, sent me a messenger.

“…After the Saintess delivered the Pope’s letter, she mentioned the name of Hero Pierrot. The Commander of the Holy Order is expected to ask for his support. It’s a long-term mission scouting the outskirts of the Demon Realm, and Hero Leandro or Hero Claire have already participated.”

The Saintess’s target was, after all, the middle-aged hero.

Although the party had disbanded, he was doomed to live as a hero until the end of his days, whether he wanted it or not. Hero Pierrot.

It seemed the Saintess saw him as a weak link in the casino.

‘I didn’t expect her to involve the Commander of the Holy Order too.’

Telling the casino staff to go to the Demon Realm.

The Saintess probably didn’t expect the middle-aged hero to accept this offer. Ultimately, she probably wanted to hold him hostage and demand donations. She might have thought I would spend money to take care of him.

A clear preemptive strike by the Saintess.

It seemed like it would be difficult to send her back to the Holy Kingdom safely now.