Chapter 263: To Move Forward (3)
[THE BLACK]
It was an espionage novel from before the Regression. Published in Highland under the label of a ‘true story’, it had become a bestseller across the entire continent.
The novel itself was structured as an anthology, so I had read a few of the episodes myself, and the only one set in the Empire took place here: 「Rodenbach Chaos」.
But the course of events could change in any number of ways, so I couldn’t rely on my memories.
─Tap. Tap.
Disguised as an old man, I walked along with the aid of a cane.
The Rodenbach VVIP Floor. This private annex of the casino was somewhat familiar to me. I’d been here several times in the past.
Back then, I was in my mid-twenties and utterly devoted to pleasure and luxury.
“Hmm…….”
The scene was colorful. Whiskey and cigar smoke, low strings playing beneath it all, nobles of the Empire and newly rich tycoons, high-ranking members of the Imperial Guard, shipowners from Canilan, nobles from Zerpha, businessmen from Prozen, chief executives from Highland, or simply wealthy men and women…….
Their nationalities and languages were all different, but every one of them was someone who was unquestionably treated as ‘important’ in their own country.
And from among them, the presence of Ezenheim came wafting toward me.
It wasn’t just one or two.
─Tap. Tap.
I reached the betting floor. An enormous panel covered nearly an entire wall.
──[Player Rankings]──
１. Count : Rutger
２. Crescent Moon : Selim
３. Goliath : Bruno
４. Tailor…….
28. Rookie : Anne
[Today’s match results will be reflected in the ‘Aggregate Odds’.]
─────
A list of poker players. The VVIPs could bet chips on any one of them to win.
To borrow the expression used in [THE BLACK], it was a Gamble Colosseum where gambling gladiators fought.
The final lines on the board were the ones that suited that nickname best.
[ VVIPs may bet on the victory of a specific poker player. ]
[ Poker players may wager their ‘everything’. ]
“Sir?”
A voice called to me from behind. When I turned, a man strode abruptly toward me.
Gewalt Palz. The owner of this casino, accompanied by numerous bodyguards.
“A pleasure to meet you. I heard we had an esteemed guest, so I came to welcome you personally.”
“Esteemed? Me?”
I answered in the old man’s voice I’d worked rather hard to perfect.
Gewalt gave me an oily smile.
“I heard you are a close friend of Sir Maximilian’s…… Are you not?”
“Ah, you mean this?”
I handed him the document, and Gewalt ran his eyes over it before asking.
“Yes. That’s correct. May I ask your name?”
“Wilhelm Fran.”
“Hmm~ I do not mean to doubt you, sir, but there have been so many cases of forgery lately…….”
As he spoke, Agent Black passed behind Gewalt’s shoulder.
“Verify it however you like. If you wish, I can even put you in direct contact with Max.”
At the name Max, Gewalt’s eyes shifted ever so slightly.
“We shall contact the Sentinel Knight Order ourselves and inquire.”
“Do so.”
“Then I shall take my leave. I hope you enjoy your day……”
“Ah, one moment.”
I stopped him as he turned to leave.
“I didn’t bring any money with me today, you see. So, perhaps.”
Gewalt kept his gaze fixed on me, his smile unchanged, merely tilting his head slightly.
“Could you give me some money?”
Not lend me some. Give me some.
The choice of words was deliberate.
I’d forgotten the single most important thing I needed.
***
At the upper-floor railing of the Rodenbach VVIP Floor.
“……It’s real?”
“Yes.”
Gewalt had quickly received a reply from the Sentinel Knight Order.
“A reply came directly from Maximilian’s office at the Sentinel…….”
──[ Sentinel Knight Order : Maximilian Secretariat ]──
We have verified the authenticity of the document held by Lord Wilhelm Fran, regarding whom your establishment submitted an inquiry. The document in question was issued personally by Sir Maximilian of this Secretariat, and we confirm that its contents are true.
As Lord Fran is a person with particularly close ties to Sir Maximilian’s office, we request your cooperation in ensuring that he is afforded due courtesy and convenience throughout his stay…….
──────
Gewalt set the reply down and snorted with amusement.
“So in the end, that bastard’s no different from the rest.”
Obsessed with money, clinging to other people’s prestige, and allowing others to trade on his own.
Maximilian was no different in the end. Dig deep enough, and there was no way he didn’t have something rotten hidden away somewhere. Integrity was nothing more than perfume worn by the bigger thief.
“Hand him about a million dollars.”
“Yes, sir.”
An acquaintance asking for money while trading on Maximilian’s name. What a ridiculous sight.
“Forget that…… Hey, Ilyich. That’s the one.”
Gewalt pointed toward a table on the floor below the railing.
Anne Keller was already seated at one of the VVIP poker tables, receiving her cards.
Ilyich looked down at her and nodded.
“Habits, tells, betting style. How long will it take you to figure out everything?”
“……Three days.”
“That long?”
Ilyich answered without taking his eyes off her.
“She seems pretty damn good.”
“……Looks like she’ll make it to the「Final Nine」. Try to get it over with quickly.”
Gewalt gave Ilyich a few pats on the shoulder before walking away.
“…….”
Ilyich remained leaning against the railing, watching Anne Keller.
Then, a passing waiter slipped a note into his back pocket.
He unfolded it and checked the contents.
[ Base Conversion Progress 93% ]
Base Conversion.
His ‘people’ had already infiltrated Rodenbach. They were members of the organization that Ilyich and his partner had planted among the casino’s security guards, kitchen staff, room attendants, and other workers.
Even at this very moment, they were installing Mana Stones throughout every corner of the casino.
Once the 「Barrier」 was completed, the entire casino would become their stronghold.
Rodenbach would plunge into chaos, the lives of the self-proclaimed ‘important people’ would become uncertain, and the source of the「Barrier」magic would be conclusively pinned on Highland.
The money required to fund this entire operation had come from the bonds he had seized from the Highland Intelligence Bureau.
──Mass slaughter. The Empire’s fury. A diplomatic conflict. A pretext for war brought forward.
Ilyich wanted chaos across the continent.
He wanted the war the Empire intended to wage to break out far sooner and rage far more violently…….
…….
Anne Keller racked up victory after victory.
She had started at twenty-eighth place, but before long she was eighteenth, then tenth…… Her chip stack had grown to nearly twenty million, and at last she was invited to the event known as the「Final Nine」.
“Hmm. Is there really any reason I need to participate in an event like that? I could walk away right now and live comfortably in Highland for the rest of my life.”
At her words, the manager gave a faint smile.
“Under the Empire’s Foreign Exchange Control Act, you may be denied permission to take those funds out of the country. You may even have difficulty leaving the Empire.”
“……What?”
“Such is Imperial law. However.”
Shff. He slid a sheet of paper toward her.
“In this event, you can acquire not only chips, but rights such as these as well.”
Special permission to take foreign currency out of the country—a document drawn up in the name of the Minister of the Interior.
“At the Final Nine table, Ms. Anne, you may wager ‘everything’ you possess, and likewise, you may claim ‘everything’.”
“……Everything.”
“Yes.”
Blake folded her arms, pretending to deliberate for a moment. In her mind, the word ‘everything’ took on another form.
The Bearer Bonds from the Highland Intelligence Bureau that Ilyich had stolen before fleeing.
“……All right.”
“An excellent choice.”
The manager handed her a pen and a sheet of paper.
“You need only sign the application form. Is there a particular player alias you would prefer?”
“Keep it as ‘Rookie’.”
“Certainly.”
Afterward, Blake emerged onto the VVIP Floor late in the evening.
The space was still steeped in fevered breaths, gambling, and indulgence.
“…….”
She quietly surveyed every corner of the corridor.
Certain objects kept catching her eye. Were they Resonance Stones meant to prevent the use of Mana? Or something else disguised to look like them?
“How many fucking hands in a row has it been without a pair…….”
“Will you be betting?”
“Call…… No, raise. Another hundred thousand.”
“Champagne over here! Another bottle for this table!”
“Madam, perhaps it would be best to stop here…….”
She was walking through the place amid the jumble of voices when—
“──Thank you.”
A suddenly distinct voice reached her ears. Blake flinched and looked behind her.
“……Who are you?”
A blind spot in the lighting. The darkness made him difficult to see, but it was an old man leaning on a cane.
“Anne Keller. Thanks to you, I’ve made quite a lot of money.”
“Oh, have you? I’m glad to hear it.”
The old man offered her a glass with ice cubes floating inside.
“Would you care for some Cola?”
“Ah…… So this is that drink they say came out of Highland.”
For a Highlander, it was a rather regrettable invention. A drink created by one of her own countrymen had somehow become the Empire’s property and was now spreading across the continent.
“Indeed.”
“Thank you, but I don’t particularly care for carbonated drinks.”
She declined with a smile.
‘I don’t drink anything someone else hands me. That’s an obvious rule.’
“A pity. Then…… this.”
The old man produced some sort of accessory.
“……What is it?”
“A gift I received from a younger friend of mine. I’m so grateful to you, you see.”
An earring offered from a wrinkled hand.
“No. I’m fine—”
“I heard you were selected for the Final Nine.”
The old man’s voice settled into a calm tone.
“No one knows what might happen in there.”
Blake’s eyebrow twitched upward. Only then did she take another look at the accessory, and realize it was anything but ordinary.
“……It looks like an Artifact. What does it do?”
“Who knows.”
The old man folded both hands atop the head of his cane and shrugged.
“If you find yourself in danger, perhaps a knight of the Empire will come to rescue you.”
“…….”
Blake blinked, then gave a faint smile.
“Well, thank you. But just how much did you make?”
The old man quietly whispered the amount into her ear.
“……Wow.”
‘If he’d made that much betting on me alone, then a gift like this really was reasonable enough.’
“I’m counting on you again, Rookie.”
‘Apparently, he planned to bet on me in this event too.’
“Yes. You can count on it.”
“Aye.”
Heh heh. The old man let out a phlegmy chuckle and disappeared into the crowd.
“Ms. Anne Keller?”
Just then, another employee appeared.
“I’ll escort you to the Final Nine table.”
As she followed him, she slipped the earring onto her right earlobe.
Thud. Thud.
She climbed the stairs and reached the table on the top floor, where eight other players were already waiting.
And the most conspicuous face among them was, of course──the terrorist Ilyich.
Found you.
Blake smiled without a word.
***
「Final Nine」
The Rodenbach Casino’s premier event had just begun.
Ah. For the record, we couldn’t watch the game in person. The VVVIPs had separate seats prepared for them, but everyone else had to remain here on the betting floor.
[ Player 1 ‘Count’, fold. ]
[ Player 3 ‘Crescent Moon’, raise. ]
All we could do was watch the text commentary on the wall panel.
And so everyone was clutching a betting slip in one hand.
I had gone all in on Player 9, ‘Rookie’.
[ Player 8, eliminated ]
Player 8 had just been eliminated.
The game resumed as the 「Final Eight」.
“What happens to the players who get eliminated?”
I asked the man beside me.
“Depends on what they wagered. If they still have enough left to repay their debts, they can try again. But if they’ve been cleaned out so badly they can’t even pay the entry fee…….”
He made a choking sound and mimed slitting his own throat.
“They die, basically.”
[ Player 3, eliminated ]
“Ah, damn it!”
“That fucking bastard!”
At Player 3’s elimination, several people crumpled their betting slips and hurled them away.
I casually surveyed the surroundings.
The suspicious Mana Stones installed throughout the casino. The events that would later unfold as the 「Rodenbach Chaos」.
I vaguely knew all of it, but I had no intention of stopping it right now.
Ezenheim had clearly set this whole thing up. Therefore, I needed to find out exactly ‘what’ they wanted.
[ Player 5, eliminated ]
[ Player 7, eliminated ]
[ Player 2, eliminated ]
And so, after several more players were eliminated over a long stretch of time—
[ Final Two ]
[ Heads-up between Player 1 ‘Count’ and Player 9 ‘Rookie’ ]
At last, only two remained.
“Wow. Rookie made it all the way there?”
“She still won’t beat Count.”
Count’s odds were 3.3.
In a nine-player game, odds like that essentially meant he was the strongest.
[ Count, call ]
[ Cards revealed ]
[ Count two pair, Rookie high card ]
[ Count wins ]
Their heads-up match, in other words, a one-on-one duel, began.
[ Count, call ]
[ Cards revealed ]
[ Count three of a kind, threes, Rookie queen-high flush ]
[ Rookie wins ]
It was a fierce back-and-forth, each side giving ground and taking it back.
[ Rookie, call ]
[ Cards revealed ]
Even watching it only through text was surprisingly tense.
[ Count two pair, queens, Rookie two pair, aces ]
[ Rookie wins ]
“Oh. Rookie’s hanging in there pretty well?”
“Still, they don’t call him Count for nothing…….”
“Nobles always win in the end.”
[ Count pair of eights, Rookie pair of tens ]
[ Rookie wins ]
“Rookie keeps winning?”
“Is Count even a noble?”
[ Count two pair, threes, Rookie three of a kind, queens ]
[ Rookie wins ]
Rookie was tearing through the match with an unstoppable winning streak.
The gamblers had stopped playing at their own tables and become spectators, and even the dealers were watching the text feed instead of running their games.
[ Count, all in ]
Count went all in first.
[ Rookie, all in ]
The instant Rookie answered in kind, the room erupted.
“Whoa!”
“Fuck!”
“Shh! Shh!”
“Everyone, quiet!”
Everyone shut their mouths and swallowed.
[ Cards revealed ]
Now, their hands would be shown.
[ Count ]
Even the panel moved deliberately slowly.
[ Q ]
[ Four of a kind ]
Four of a kind, one of the strongest hands, enough to win almost anything.
Wasn’t it a full house in the novel?
For some reason, I grew uneasy, while those who had bet on Count erupted in cheers.
[ Rookie ]
And Rookie’s hand?
[ Jack ]
[ Straight flush ]
A jack-high straight flush.
It ranked above four of a kind.
“W-What.”
“……Huh?”
“Hah! Would you look at that?”
“No, fuck!”
“That’s insane! How is that possible?!”
“Ahahahaha!”
Cheers and shrieks erupted from everyone watching, and mixed among them came.
──Thud.
A distinctly ominous reverberation.
Most people seemed to think it was merely their own footsteps or the surrounding commotion, and paid it no attention.
──Thud.
But when the impact continued, like an excavator pounding against the ground.
──Thud.
One by one, everyone slowly stopped moving……
──Thud.
Here it comes.
───Craaaaaash!
The floor inside tilted violently, and gunfire erupted.
──Bang! Ratatatatat!
“Aaaaaaah!”
“W-what’s happening!”
“Aaagh!”
“──Don’t move!”
A roar tore straight through the screams.
People who moments earlier had been waiters, cleaners, security guards, or even guests pulled masks over their faces and leveled their guns.
“Move and you’re fucking dead!”
Bang! A bullet punched through a nobleman’s chest. Grrrk. He collapsed, bloody foam spilling from his mouth, and thanks to that, the entire place fell deathly silent.
“……So long as you cooperate.”
A smooth voice flowed through the silence.
“No harm will come to you.”
I looked toward the voice.
Thump—
My heart lurched.
Thump—
A snake-like Ezenheim.
That face, I…….
“I’ll say it again.”
……knew him.
“If you remain still and make no disturbance, you will be allowed to keep your lives.”
That familiar voice overlapped with the past.
─Is there really any reason to keep this filthy noble alive?
He was a member of the radical revolutionary faction and one of the New Cabinet members who had served alongside Edmon.
─If it were me, I’d hang him. Edmon, you let your personal feelings sway you too much. It’s obvious he’ll become a liability to your career later…….
Esid Caven. As I glared at him—
“They’re important people. Cover their eyes first.”
A hood was pulled over my head.
~~~
Join our Discord server: https://discord.gg/cdZPxPVrXW