Casino Wizard

Miriam, who had been coming to the ‘Hyden Casino’ every day for the past five months.

She had quite a charming appearance.

Her green hair, tied messily, her body with a nice curve, and a silk dress that, though simple in design, suited her well.

In fact, she wasn’t a striking beauty.

She was the kind of woman who, though not overly attractive, had enough charm that men could approach her without hesitation—someone who could easily be treated to a glass of wine.

When she hung around the casino, many men would try to talk to her.

But Miriam wasn’t coming to the casino to find men.

‘Today was a success too.’

Late in the evening, Miriam returned to her hideout with a satisfied expression.

Her boyfriend and bodyguard, Paolo, greeted her.

“Miriam, how many did you catch today?”

“One. But he paid up right away. It happens sometimes.”

“Ah, damn.”

“Don’t be so hard on me, darling.”

Her boyfriend had become more demanding lately.

Miriam smiled at him and sat on the main seat.

Her life wasn’t always easy, though.

The casino opened at noon and closed at midnight.

Her routine involved visiting the casino in the early afternoon, looking for prey, and subtly convincing them to take out loans.

If successful, she would move them to a secluded spot, get them to sign a note, and lend them money.

You might ask how she could trust these gamblers to repay the loan.

The truth was, she didn’t trust them. She was just confident in her ability to collect.

“Ah, Miriam, remember that guild master from the weaving guild? After a few slaps in front of his wife and kids, he immediately coughed up the money.”

“Good job, darling.”

She had Paolo, a trustworthy partner, at her side.

Once a silver-ranked adventurer and now in his 40s and aging, Paolo was still skilled enough in combat to knock out a few thugs without trouble.

Miriam knew not to target difficult prey.

Her approach was to go after people who looked small and weak, those who seemed easy to manipulate.

Of course, she didn’t always succeed, and sometimes the debtor would flee in the dead of night or die.

But she didn’t mind.

Sometimes there were failures, but the profits were huge.

A one-week loan with a 10% interest rate.

If the deadline was missed, overdue charges were added per day.

If repayment seemed impossible, a friendly ‘debt party’ would be arranged at the right time.

This was the business model that had already earned Miriam over 500 gold.

It was also thanks to this success that Paolo retired from his dangerous adventurer life.

“Thinking about those days hunting goblins…”

“Now it’s so much better, right?”

“It’s not just better! I should’ve started this earlier…!”

“Did you really think I’d be this successful?”

Miriam laughed and leaned back, nudging her boyfriend to massage her swollen calves.

“Thanks, darling.”

“Why should you thank me?”

She started this business with the simple goal of helping her old boyfriend with potion costs.

Back then, her thoughts were simple.

“There’s a casino, so some people must be losing money, right? If I lend them money, I could make a little profit off the interest.”

But after just a few days, Miriam realized something.

This was a new world.

It was the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity she had long been waiting for.

‘I can’t stop here.’

Her dreams were grand.

Living in a luxurious mansion with a grand banquet hall and garden, surrounded by cultured servants.

Was it too much of a goal?

If the casino stayed open, it was definitely possible.

Maybe even sooner than expected.

“Oh, right. Darling?”

“Yes?”

Miriam called her boyfriend with a meaningful smile.

She had some good news to share.

“Hyden, the casino owner, made an official announcement. Tomorrow, the VIP room opens. 3 gold per bet.”

“3 gold? That’s nothing. Considering how much we make…”

“No, no. They said a table with a 3-gold betting limit is opening. Let me explain it simply. Right now, the most expensive table is the 30-silver one. But this is ten times that. Can you imagine how big that is?”

“Oh!?”

Her somewhat slow boyfriend finally grasped the significance.

He seemed to be imagining how much more they could make with ten times the stakes.

Miriam decided not to shatter his fantasy.

There was no need to make a fuss, but it was possible that it would be just like that.

“But darling, to operate there, we need something.”

“What is it? Anything!”

“Money. A lot of it.”

“Huh?”

“Now that the stakes are higher, we can’t just play small like we used to. If a customer wants 400 gold, and I don’t have that much, what will we do?”

Upon hearing this, Paolo closed his mouth, nodding seriously.

He seemed to understand. The small-scale games they had been playing were now about to turn into something much larger.

To play at that scale, they would need a lot of capital.

Fortunately, the casino was safe, so there was no need to risk their lives—just money was enough.

“Alright, Miriam. I’ll gather what I can. Should we pawn our loan contracts and collateral for some quick cash?”

“Good. Let’s turn everything into cash for now.”

The loan shark couple scraped together every last bit of money.

They gathered almost all their wealth, except for a small amount in overdue debts.

This was the capital they would bring to Hyden’s casino tomorrow.

****

I had set up the VIP room on the second floor, in a lounge reserved for distinguished guests.

It had a patterned carpet, and there were sofas and tea tables for customers to comfortably relax.

In the center of the room, I set up one baccarat and one blackjack table.

The only difference from the general floor on the first floor was that the maximum bet here was 3 gold.

3 gold.

That might not be a significant amount for the nobles, but considering that a baccarat round only took about 2 minutes, it was a lot of money. If they weren’t careful, they could lose their entire fortune in an hour.

Such a VIP room couldn’t be open to just anyone.

Just before the room opened, I stepped forward to address the customers.

“Ladies and gentlemen, only those who have sufficient funds will be allowed to enter.”

“Hyden, don’t worry! I always carry 300 gold with me…!”

“I’m sorry, but please remain quiet for a moment, Baron Barbo.”

“…”

“In order to ensure a smooth game, we will only allow a maximum of 30 people. Also, to guarantee proper game management, our head host, Lucy, will personally oversee the dealers.”

With a soft step forward, Lucy, the bow-wielding lady, moved ahead and greeted the customers formally.

A fitting ceremony for the historic opening of the VIP room.

The expressions of the customers became more serious.

Some were taking deep breaths, others were nervously holding their purses with family crests, while some were even muttering prayers and fiddling with the crosses hanging around their necks…

The atmosphere was like preparing for a battle.

“Hyden, hurry up…!”

“Yes.”

I maintained a serious expression and opened the door to the VIP room.

The customers were now able to see the baccarat table set up inside.

I politely addressed them.

“I will call each of you by name. If I allowed free entry, the nobles would monopolize the opportunity. Please understand.”

After a moment of hesitation, the customers nodded.

I slowly scanned the room and began calling out the most important guests first.

Even though I was the owner, these individuals couldn’t be ignored.

“Marquis Tripolia, welcome.”

“Ah, Haidin.”

A powerful noble who had once held the position of chancellor.

“I ran here after reading the note my familiar brought this morning. Word is already spreading in the Mage Tower.”

“Lord Duke, how is my teacher faring?”

“That bastard… did he die or something? Alright, I’ll go in.”

A former second-in-command of the Mage Tower, where I had once been affiliated.

“I hear you’re the head of the Baking Guild in the capital. Pleasure to meet you.”

“Did I bring a lot of money?”

“I know you have plenty of money. There’s no need to open your pouch.”

A figure representing all the bakers in the capital city.

I made sure to acknowledge these dignitaries first, giving them the respect they deserved.

In fact, some of these individuals had avoided my casino in the past, criticizing the low betting limits. But it seemed they had finally found a playground that matched their status.

‘These are people Miriam can’t even dream of touching.’

But how could I only let in the most important people?

I also mixed in a few individuals who were relatively easier to handle.

They had some money, but if they weren’t careful in the VIP room, they could be cleaned out in a couple of hours. These were likely the kinds of people Miriam was targeting.

The VIP room slowly began to fill.

Now there was only one person left.

“Hyden, please, let me in…!”

“Ah, be quiet and wait.”

“Ugh, this is killing me! How long have I been waiting for this moment?”

The struggle to catch my attention became more intense.

Even though it was obvious they were unlikely to win, many were desperate to get in, thinking they could pull off a victory.

Their desperation was understandable, but I couldn’t let them in.

There was already someone chosen.

The last person waiting was none other than Miriam, the loan shark.

‘She’s getting anxious.’

At that moment, Miriam was biting her lips with an excited expression, looking for ways to grab my attention. Occasionally, she exaggeratedly fanned herself or scratched her chest to make herself more noticeable.

If she were a seasoned loan shark, she would have avoided doing such obvious things to catch the host’s eye.

Thankfully, there was no such thing as a seasoned “kongji boss” (loan shark) in this world.

“Excuse me, miss?”

“M-Me?”

“Yes. May I ask your name?”

“Miriam! It’s Miriam!”

” Ms. Miriam, please enter.”

“Yes!”

Miriam answered quickly and rushed into the VIP room.

You could hear the clinking sound of gold as she walked, indicating how much she had brought with her.

She was eager to find someone to prey on.

However, the only one who would be taken advantage of in that room would be her.

I had set things up that way.