Casino Wizard

It was time to make the loan shark couple face reality.

“Sit down.”

“You drag us here and demand payment out of nowhere? What kind of nonsense is this?”

“I’ll explain now. Just sit down.”

“Who do you think you are to talk down to me?”

Paolo snapped, showing some temper.

He was Miriam’s boyfriend and handled her protection and debt collection. Though retired from active work now, he had been a silver-ranked adventurer until recently.

In outlying territories, a silver rank meant a decent level of recognition. Copper ranks were practically disposable, and anyone with enough years of experience could reach iron rank. But silver required proving oneself through skill and achievement.

However, no one here was afraid of a mere silver-ranked adventurer.

“I was a mage in the hero’s party representing the Kingdom of Albinia.”

“You lot were trash.”

“That may be true, but I’m not someone who can be compared to a backwater adventurer who hunts goblins. If I joined the Adventurers’ Guild now, I’d be granted gold rank without any tests. Mages capable of top-tier spells are rare.”

Paolo hesitated, seemingly realizing I wasn’t someone he could deal with through brute force. His eyes darted to the two comrades standing by my side.

Jerome, the stern-faced shield knight, stood with his arms crossed, while Lucy, the archer, loosened her tie with a tired expression after wearing it for 12 hours. They, too, had suffered indignities due to being part of the hero’s party, but both were highly skilled in their own right.

Jerome was one of the best in the kingdom, as long as blood wasn’t involved, and Lucy had been a gold-ranked adventurer even before joining the party.

Paolo’s face grew more uneasy.

“The mage told you to sit.”

“Uh…!”

The shield knight pressed down on Paolo’s shoulder with one hand, forcing him to kneel. Paolo found himself seated next to his girlfriend, Miriam, who looked dazed and gasping for air.

I tossed a promissory note signed by Miriam onto the table in front of him.

“Miriam borrowed 50 gold coins from me.”

“What’s that got to do with me—actually, no, hold on.”

“The due date was midnight. The terms were that if the debt was repaid by then, only the principal would be owed. But midnight has passed. From now on, I’ll apply a monthly compound interest rate of 20%. The detailed conditions are written there; feel free to read.”

Paolo frowned as he scanned the document, while Miriam started to giggle aimlessly, as if she had lost her grip on reality.

I knew the terms were harsh.

If they had the means to pay immediately, it wouldn’t have been such a problem. But these two had already been cleaned out.

Paolo glanced at Miriam, then, with trembling hands, grabbed her by the hair.

“You… wretched woman!”

“Pa—Paolo, stop.”

“What the hell did you do?”

“I’m sorry…”

“Sorry? Sorry?! You lost all 520 gold we painstakingly saved and went into debt on top of it? I’m too furious to even speak! You promised you’d land a big score, so why the hell are we in this mess?”

Miriam didn’t resist as her boyfriend held her by the hair. She only let out the occasional whimper.

Before it escalated further, I decided to intervene.

“Just to remind you, this isn’t a place for you two to fight.”

“Right, right! Miriam’s not dumb enough to get scammed like this. The casino must’ve set her up—used tricks to cheat her or something.”

“Tricks?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Choose your words carefully. There were 29 other VIPs who played baccarat with your girlfriend. If you want, I can give you the list. You can ask any of them how your girlfriend squandered all that money.”

Miriam had been the star of the VIP room on its opening night. She started strong but then crashed spectacularly, serving as a cautionary tale for other customers. In some ways, watching her fall was more entertaining than the game itself.

Paolo was speechless, staring at me with an expression of disbelief. He had long since let go of Miriam’s hair.

Had he come to his senses?

No, it seemed Paolo simply realized something.

His beloved girlfriend, whom he had once cherished for her ability to bring in money, had become a liability.

“Now, tell me. How are you going to repay the debt?”

The emphasis on you repay caused Paolo’s eyes to twitch.

When I extended my hand with a smile, he quickly returned the note. For an adventurer, he wasn’t bad at understanding nuance.

“I asked, how are you going to repay your girlfriend’s debt?”

“Did she really borrow 50 gold?”

“She did. You two were running a business together, so it seems you were pretty close. Of course, Miriam burned through all your retirement savings, and now she’s so well-known that she can’t even gamble at casinos anymore.”

“Oh…”

“But if you love her, you could help her pay it back.”

Paolo hesitated, clearly unwilling. Miriam, sensing the urgency, clung to his arm with a desperate expression.

“Let go.”

Paolo shoved her hand away coldly.

“Darling…?”

“You’re not expecting me to help, are you?”

“I—I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“If it was just a mistake, you should’ve stopped after losing the money you had. Do you have any idea how humiliating this is for me? Honestly, I came here intending to kill you. Do you know what kind of money you threw away on baccarat?”

It was clear he had no intention of paying her debt or continuing their relationship.

Miriam’s face grew darker at Paolo’s rejection.

Yeah, that’s the normal reaction.

A woman in her mid-twenties who had once worked as an innkeeper, and a man in his forties who had made a decent living as an adventurer. Their partnership had been purely circumstantial.

From what I could see, their connection ended here.

“Paolo. Please.”

“Handle your debt yourself. I’m going back home to resume adventuring… somehow. Hah. At this age, what a mess. Anyway, I’m done.”

With a look of pent-up anger, Paolo bid Miriam farewell and left, his shoulders slumping.

I didn’t bother stopping him.

Instead, I gave the shield knight a signal to follow him discreetly. The plan was to give the now-destitute adventurer a small sum to get him back on his feet and send him home. Whether he liked it or not.

If he refused, the knight would ensure he understood the situation.

****

Now, only Miriam remained.

She swayed back and forth, groaning softly, resembling a broken doll. Her despair was palpable; Paolo had been her last lifeline.

First, I needed to bring her to her senses.

Raising my hand to shoulder height, I channeled a small amount of magic. With a short chant, I cast Water Creation.

SPLASH! A small amount of water poured onto Miriam’s head.

Startled by the cold splash, she gasped, her shoulders trembling.

“Enough with the act, Miriam. I know you’re in shock, but you’re not so out of it that you don’t understand your situation. You knew exactly how bad things were when you let your boyfriend leave without protest.”

“…”

“So, tell me. How are you going to repay my money?”

Miriam looked at me with her makeup running, revealing scratches under her eyes and on her ears, likely from being hit while wearing earrings. Her life had clearly been a rough one. Most commoners lived harsh lives without talent or connections.

After a long pause, she finally spoke.

“Just… kill me.”

“So you have no intention of repaying me.”

“It’s not that… I just can’t. Even if I sold my body, it wouldn’t fetch 50 gold. I have a few unpaid invoices and some collateral, but… sigh. I was going to collect them today.”

“So you’d rather die?”

“Yes…”

Miriam answered weakly and closed her eyes.

It didn’t seem like an act. Her response was also unexpected. I had assumed she’d make up an excuse to escape and rely on someone else later.

Looking back, that was a lazy assumption based on my past life’s knowledge.

“Right. The circumstances are quite different.”

Unlike Korean gamblers who squander their fortunes and end up burdening their families, friends, and colleagues, Miriam was truly alone.

Family? Most common households couldn’t afford to look after a grown, independent daughter. It was considered decent enough if they didn’t sell her off as a concubine to someone for money.

A world with no safety nets.

If someone else had to be sent here in the future, this aspect would need careful consideration. The fact that a method works doesn’t mean the outcome will always be the same.

For now, it seemed the priority was helping her reclaim her will to live.

“Miriam, I’m imposing a lifetime casino ban on you. We can’t let in someone who refuses to pay their debts.”

The solution was a permanent ban.

A flicker of dismay crossed Miriam’s previously stoic face.

A moment ago, she’d seemed ready to accept death without flinching. And yet, the mention of a ban visibly unsettled her—what was so devastating about that?

“No baccarat…?”

“Not just baccarat—you won’t be able to bet on any games. And naturally, you’re also barred from loan sharking.”

“Ah…”

For someone who was both a loan shark and a gambler, it was essentially a death sentence—perhaps even harsher.

Eventually, Miriam sank to the floor and began quietly sobbing. But no one in the room felt sympathy for her.

“Find a way to pay it off. If you want to set foot in the casino again, that is.”

At least for now, they intended to let her live.

Money was one thing, but binding her with debt might make her useful in the future.