2 Chapter 1. Gambling

"Please, nobles, just one piece of gold...…."

Raoul picked up the last card and begged and begged inwardly.

The moment he checked the contents of the card that was turned over, joy crossed his face.

The card he drew was 'King'.

"Whoa-"

Although it wasn't the card I wanted, it blocked the opponent from gathering the 'King'. One is in his hand now, of the five 'King' cards, there are only four remaining.

"Great".

That alone was a huge income. The other four cards Raoul has were all 'Nobles'. The Kingdom game is not that difficult. There are five types of cards, 'King', 'Noble', 'Knights', 'Merchants', and 'People' and you draw five cards according to the number of participants. After receiving, the winner is determined by who has the most cards of the same type among the cards excluding 'People'. If the number of cards collected is the same, victory or defeat is decided according to the rank listed on the card. A peculiar thing is the 'People' card, the number of cards itself has no meaning, but if all five cards are 'People', the game can be negated and the game can be restarted. In other words, the four 'nobles' that Raoul was holding were very high hand. In other words, the opponent wins a prize for four 'King' or five 'Knight' and 'Merchant' cards. Unless you have it all Raoul, there is nothing to lose. Fortunately, 'King' was one card,' Knight' and 'Merchant' two or three were mixed in the dead cards. And another 'King' has came into my hands. Raoul smiled inwardly. I sensed victory. Somehow I got lucky from the the first game today, so this hand is expected to come in from the last game. On the other hand, the opponent looked embarrassed. The opposing player, Tulbo, was the only survivor expect for Raoul, as all the other participants had died. He sweated profusely and picked the remaining cards. Raoul swallowed his saliva. It's and important moment. Now that all cards are allotted, it's your turn to bet and the amount you bet must be decided by looking at your hand and the expression of your opponent. Betting is one of the most exciting times, with the moment they open each other's cards. My throat was dry and the tip of my tongue was burnt. But when you put your drink in your mouth, no that cant be done. That's the same as advertising that you're nervous. Now let's focus. Reading the other person's expression! However, no matter how focused he was, Raoul could not read the expression of the ignorant furry man. Because, in fact he was also embarrassed by his card. So, can Raoul, who is not a professional gambler, read Tulbo's cards just by looking at his face?

"...…."

Raoul scratched his head and then spoke.

"Now, bet slowly...…"

"No, wait."

The furry interrupted Raoul. Tulbo brought back the last card drawn. Raoul frowned.

"Thief...…"

A 'Thief' is a special card with few cards like 'Clown' or 'Priest', and the person who draws a 'Thief' card can play the card and receive one of the opponent's cards. All he had to do was play one card, but the problem was the five cards Raoul was holding. Four 'Nobles' and one 'King'. If the opponent only prevents the gathering of the 'King' it was a hand that I regretted giving to Raoul who became one. If it's hard, the 'King' given by Raoul can be used to make four 'Kings'. However, one of the four 'Nobles' it is impossible to give. You can't set yourself on fire just to catch fleas. Raoul pretended to be troubled and handed over the 'King' card. The furry took the card with an indecipherable smile, and Raoul took on of the cards flipper over.

"Please, this time please...!"

Now that it is impossible for furry to collect all five 'Kings', one 'Noble' can unconditionally win. There are no 'Nobles' among the dead cards yet. There is no guarantee that this card is not 'Noble'.

'Nobility! Nobility!'

Raoul, who had closed his eyes and repeated the world 'Nobility' countless times in his head, narrowed his eyes slightly. Then he let out a low moan.

"A 'Thief' again?"

The furry man also widened his eyes when he saw the card Raoul held out. There are two thief cards in the kingdom game, and both come and go as the last card. At this strange coincidence, not only Raoul and Tulbo, but also the two participants who gave up on the game burst into laughter. The longer the game, the longer it gets boring. It's a different story when it comes to gambling with money. Every time the card moved, the tension was so tense that the blood of Raoul and Tulbo, who were involved, was drying up. The stakes already surpassed the worth of several years of income for the average worker. Raoul's eyes, which had been aimed at the heap of silver coins, shifted to Tulbo. The man was in cold sweat, choosing which card to play. Unlike Raoul, who decided on a card relatively easily, regardless of what it might look like on the outside, Furry sighed deeply and played the last card.

"...…!"

Raoul looked at his card and wanted to scream. I felt like throwing the card I was holding in the face of the furry man and shouting hooray. The card the opponent handed over was the 'King' that Jeolla Wool had give him earlier. In other words, the opponent didn't have a 'King'. No matter what the opponent hand is Raoul couldn't lose. I can't show my feelings yet. Raoul accepted the card with a gloomy expression, the exact opposite of his desire to jump for joy, and the furry took the last remaining card. With this, both Raoul and Tulbo five turns have been completed. The two kept an eye on each other for a while. It was Raoul who spoke first.

"I bet 50 silver."

At the word 50 silver, Tulbo mouth opened his mouth wide.

"50 silver?"

"50?"

Even the other people who enjoyed gambling gathered neared the table when the large sum was announced. But Raoul didn't stop there.

"I set 50 silver as the upper limit, but I only have 50 silver left...… can I add to this?"

Tulbo was more than surprised, he was astonished. Even if the opponent gets scared and lowers his tail, the sum of the stakes so far is 300 silver, or 30 gold, which is an amount that can pay off all of Raoul's debts. It is even better if the furry accepts without knowing that. Even if you pay off all of your debts, with all of that money you can play and eat for several of years. You can get away from this boring life and start anew. Raoul's heart thumped with joy that he had won the game and hoped for the future.

"Okay, I'll play a hundred silver."

The stupid hairy bastard took the bait.

'This is what i wished for you bastard.'

There is a common expression to never put your head in the mouth of a snake. Tulbos head was already in the snake's mouth. The moment the snake shuts its mouth, Tulbo head will fall off and be swallowed into its stoamch. Raoul's lungs hurt from barely holding back the laughter that kept wanting to leak out.

"Oh oh."

"400 silver in one game?"

"400 or so?"

Because Tulbo accepted the terms, the chatter grew louder. After heariing that the money at stake was 400 silver, even thouse with heavy lips gathered one by one, and eventuall everyone in the hall was interested. With this one game, it was clear that someone would fall into a pit that they could not come out of. In the past and even now, there is no such thing as a fun spectacle like the despair of others. Everyone was waiting for the outcome of the game with their eyes wide open. A great feeling of pressure weighed on the surroundings. The sound of swallowing came from everywhere, and some wiped the sweat from heir foreheads nervously as if it were from their own business. However, no one urged the parties as the stakes were high. In he long, thick silence, Raoul burst into laughter first.

"Four Nobles, one King! I'm sorry, but I'll put this money to good use."

"Wow!"

Exclamation poured out from the surroundings at the rare card. By comparing the discared cards with Raoul's hand, it was clear that even a snub-nosed child saw it, Tulbo had no chance of winning. Everyone thought so. Of course, Raoul, who was trying to collect the silver coins, had the same idea. Raoul had a happy thought in his head whetere he should pass a coin those who were watching the match or not. For a moment, it felt like I had the whole world. At least, until hairy hands grabbed Raoul's wrist.

"Wait a moment."

My wrist throbbed at the strong grip from Tulbo. Raoul looked up at Tulbo and their eyes met. Tulbo eyes despite losing a lot of money were still alive. Those eyes made Raoul anxious.

"What?"

When Raoul asked, Tulbo grinned.

"I have nothing to be sorry about, the games not over."

Tulbo plays his card with the hand opposite the one holding Raoul's wrist one by one. Raoul's eyes widend with each passing card. The sound of his heartbeat also increased. Anxiety is slowly turning into fear.

"No way..."

Raoul groaned. There shouldnt be no such thing.

"This..."

Raoul doubted his eyes. But judging bythe expressions on the face of the onlookers, what they are seeing is not in vain. Tulbo's cards were five 'people'. It was a hand tha could nulify the game no matter who had what card. The card that Tulbo collected was not 'King'. Therefore, Raoul, who had four 'Noble' cards, could never lose. However, the opponent still had a way to draw. Raoul, who was so excited about the good hand, overlooked the possibilty. It was a painful mistake.

"The world changes when five angry people gather."

Tulbo giggled as he put the scattered cards together. According to the rules of the Kingdom game, when five people cards are drawn, the game ends without a win or loss, and the remaining survivors must start a new game. There are only two survivors, Raoul and Tulbo. The odds were half-and-half, so it was just a matter of closing one's eyes and winning just one more round, but the problem was that Raoul, who had already bet all his fortune, had no participation fee or stake to start a new game.

"That...is that a lie...?"