Chapter 439

Chapter 439

Swish-

Delicate fingers shuffle the cards.

The girl in front of me, N-grade hero Scarlet, is a con artist.

Unlike the other members of the Gambler's Club, she doesn't use magic in her technique.

Pure skill.

She has been holding cards since she was born in a circus troupe.

Every subtle gesture and movement is a fake designed to bewilder the opponent. Her fingers are trained to the extreme, coupled with overwhelming psychological warfare.

While other gamblers rely on one cheat skill each, she is a monster among monsters, fighting solely with her pure skill.

In games, she would normally be a less interesting opponent, but now.

'She's the worst opponent to face.'

Watching her finish shuffling and dealing the cards, I broke into a cold sweat.

This girl doesn't cheat. Because if the victim doesn't realize they're being cheated, it's not considered cheating. Her skill is that cunning.

She doesn't even need to use a technique. With her innate poker skill alone, she could easily crush me.

Since she doesn't use magic, I can't flip the game by catching her cheat as I did with the previous gamblers.

And if we just play 1-on-1 poker, my defeat is as clear as day.

Now.

How will I bring down this girl?

"What are you thinking so deeply about, your highness?"

Scarlet, dealing the cards, smiled with her eyes.

"Don't do that, please focus on the game with me. Even though I look young, many people at my previous place considered playing cards with me as a lifetime wish."

"An idol, were you?"

"Hehe. It's a somewhat embarrassing nickname. The flower of the underground poker room, the mascot of the house... everyone adored me."

Snap-

After dealing our cards, Scarlet whispered softly.

"Then, they all got eaten by me."

Without any pretense, she radiated the aura of a true gambler.

Picking up the cards she gave me, I grinned.

"Well then... let's see if I can eat you."

***

I got completely fleeced.

"...You're too good at this."

I mumbled in disbelief, but Scarlet just smiled with her eyes and quietly shuffled the cards.

She was crushing me with a mere difference in skill, not using any con artist techniques.

After what happened to her colleagues, she must have decided to play it safe and go for a straightforward win.

A very accurate decision.

I had asked Damien to observe this round from the next room.

If he saw her using any sleight of hand to win, he would immediately intervene.

But Damien detected nothing from her. In other words, she's just playing poker normally.

And yet she's overwhelmingly beating me.

"..."

I was left with only 10 chips, having lost 90 to her.

Scarlet glanced at the chips piled on her table and licked her lips playfully. I laughed helplessly.

The poker in this world is similar to Earth's Texas Hold'em.

Two hole cards and five community cards are used to make the strongest five-card hand.

However, not all five community cards are revealed at the start.

Initially, three are opened, then one more each time, deciding whether to continue the game or give up and hand over the stakes to the opponent.

The crux of the skill lies here.

You need to read your hand, calculate the odds, and if it seems disadvantageous, you shouldn't hesitate to give up the stakes.

That's how you win the overall game.

In essence, 'it's a game where you win by losing well.'

I was inexperienced in this aspect. I overused bluffing even with a decent hand and was utterly crushed by Scarlet's sharp calculations.

As a result, I was left with only 10 chips.

Swish-

With incredibly smooth movements, she shuffled the cards. I casually asked her.

"Why did you choose to live as a gambler?"

"It wasn't my choice."

Scarlet replied nonchalantly as she finished shuffling.

"A commoner girl born in a circus troupe doesn't have the luxury of choice. I had to do whatever it took to make a living."

Sitting anxiously at the table placed in the training ground, Violet jumped up upon seeing me.

I sat down in front of her with a relaxed gesture.

With a pale face, Violet stuttered.

"My colleagues...?"

"They've turned into chips."

I said casually and winked.

"They all underestimated me too much. Right?"

"..."

"Playing tricks in front of royalty. Didnt they cherish their lives? Or were they that confident in their skills?"

Violet bit her lip hard. I chuckled.

"So, Miss Violet. How are you planning to challenge me? Your trick has already been thwarted by me."

"Ugh..."

"It's okay to tuck your tail and run. Want to give up? Fold if you want. Then, at least your life will be spared."

As I taunted her, Violet gritted her teeth.

"Don't joke..."

"Hmm?"

"Dont joke with me, you prince! How could I fold after coming this far?!"

Violet slammed her trilby hat on the ground, spitting out her words fiercely.

"Shit! I've rolled enough in all kinds of dirty back alleys! I've been at gunpoint, stabbed in the stomach! I've played poker while bleeding like a stuck pig and won my way here!"

Finally, I heard her true tone.

The formal tones she had been using, all awkward and ill-fitting, were gone.

Backed into a real corner, Violet finally let go of her pretenses and revealed her true colors.

"It's do or die now! If I cant pull off a big score here, Im as good as dead in the cold streets!"

Her coarse, cheap dialect clashed with her artificially dyed purple hair, meant to look noble.

"Ive survived all kinds of hellish shit! Mafia bosses, arena champions, serial killers! I've beaten them all and crawled my way here to survive!"

I liked that.

"Think you can take down a prince-?!"

Screech!

Her violet eyes sparkled as she deployed her illusion field - [Violet Zone].

Smartly learning from our encounter yesterday.

Whoosh!

Her illusion field deployed around me but didnt touch me, surrounding the entire lords mansion, but carefully controlled to avoid affecting my immediate area.

"Ho."

I genuinely admired her.

"Not bad at all, Violet."

"...My magic doesnt work on you, but it works outside!"

[Unyielding Commander] has a limited range of effectiveness.

Outside of its range, I can't provide immunity to mental status effects for allies.

By now, the lord's mansion must be under the sway of Violet's illusions.

Visibly strained by the effort to maintain such a large area, Violet gasped for breath.

"While I hold you here, Ill use my illusions to free my colleagues... and steal your gold bars! Then escape!"

"Right, right. You should have used it like this from the start."

I nodded.

"Your skills are too precious to waste just on gambling."

"What...?"

"Above all, I see clearly now, Violet."

I clicked my tongue briefly and snapped my fingers. Snap!

"Folding when you should, yet you hold a losing hand and challenge again. And even in such a situation, trying to save your colleagues..."

As I snapped my fingers,

Fwip-

Pop!

A rubber bullet, fired from the direction of the lord's mansion, struck Violet right on the forehead.

It was shot by Damien.

Damien's [Far-Sight] is not deceived by illusions like Violet's. I had already instructed him to prepare rubber bullet sniping in case of an emergency.

Violet crumpled to the ground without even a scream, knocked out cold, and her illusion field dissipated and dissolved.

Looking down at Violet, who fell foaming at the mouth, I clicked my tongue.

"You really don't suit being a gambler."

So, Ill find a more useful way to employ you.