I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 437

“No matter how I think about it, it’s too dangerous!”Violet whispered to her colleagues in the hallway outside the reception room.

“Even if he’s a prince and spends lavishly, it’s strange to bet such a huge sum of money all of a sudden!”

“We saw that the man has a habit of bluffing. That must be his style of betting money.”

“But… yesterday, that prince really broke my illusion magic! If this is also a trap…”

“Violet.”

Scarlet, the girl in the red cloak, shook her head.

“The opponent is royalty. And someone who has so much money that they built a casino in this remote place. Would such a person… set up a trap just to play with us gamblers, who are like flies?”

“But…”

“It’s true that the conditions are too good for us. Then we should take advantage of those conditions, not just think about running away, right?”

Scarlet let out a soft sigh at Violet’s hesitation.

“Okay, fine. Let’s say we run away from here. What’s next?”

Scarlet looked back at her other colleagues.

“Can we find a better deal than this?”

“… !”

“We need one last big score. That’s why we gathered here.”

Gambling always requires taking risks.

There is no such thing as a 100 percent safe bet. There are times when you have to take big risks and bet boldly.

Scarlet judged that now was the time, and her other colleagues felt the same way.

But Violet was.

“…”

She kept thinking about Ash’s eyes she had seen yesterday.

At that time, Ash’s eyes were not those of prey being devoured. Rather…

…They were the eyes of an apex predator, devouring them.

“Let’s trust the skills we’ve honed throughout our lives.”

Scarlet gently folded her small fingers.

“Let’s win cleanly and leave.”

The other gamblers nodded. Scarlet smiled faintly under her red hood.

“Let’s go. Let’s go fleece the sucker.”

***

The rules of the game are simple.

A one-on-one match between me and the gamblers. Each of us starts with 100 chips and plays poker. The first to deplete the opponent’s chips wins. This is repeated for a five-round match.

The location and cards are inspected before the game to ensure there is no magical manipulation.

If the gamblers win even once, they win. If they don’t lose even once, I win.

At first glance, it seems ridiculously advantageous for the gamblers—the Gamble Club. However.

‘Actually, I’m the one cheating.’

I’m as relaxed as can be.

That’s because… I already know all the tricks they’re going to use.

It’s like playing poker while seeing the opponent’s hand.

‘The characteristic of cheaters. They’re so focused on the fact that they’re cheating that they don’t think about being cheated in return.’

That’s why they remain cheaters.

If they could think beyond that, they wouldn’t be called cheaters anymore. They’d be called chairman or Your Highness.

Anyway, the match began—the first round.

The location is the reception room. The opponent is a Rank R hero, a middle-aged man named Lime.

This man, with lime-colored eyes like his name, bowed politely to me and sat down in front of me.

He picked up the deck of cards on the table and shuffled them.

Shick! Shick!

Just as he finished shuffling and was about to hand me the cards—

Thud!

I grabbed Lime’s wrist.

“Hold it right there. Are you trying to pull a fast one?”

“Huh, yes?”

“Do I look like a pushover to you, you bastard?”

I recited a very famous movie line from Earth-Korea, but Lime just looked at me, bewildered, with a face that said he didn’t understand.

“I, I don’t know what you mean, Your Highness. I was just about to shuffle the cards and hand them to you…”

“If you admit you were joking, I’ll let you live. I’ll count to three. Three.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! The cards are the ones you gave me, and this place is your mansion!”

“Two.”

“I’m being wronged, Your Highness! Where was there any room for me to cheat—”

“One.”

Thump!

I roughly pulled Lime and slammed him onto the table.

“Lucas! Junior! Come in!”

Amidst the scattered playing cards, I shouted roughly.

Immediately, Lucas and Junior, whom I had called to cast the notarization magic for this match, entered.

I instructed Junior.

“Check the cards.”

Junior, who had picked up and examined the playing cards, frowned.

“…There’s magic on them. It’s a very faint magical power, but it’s detectable.”

“What’s the magic effect?”

“Invisibility… no, it’s clairvoyance.”

This world is a magical civilization.

Naturally, the swindlers who make a living by ripping off others through gambling have come to apply magic and skills in addition to their gambling techniques.

In the case of this man, Lime, it was clairvoyance magic.

The method is to apply magic to the playing cards with his hands. The cards with clairvoyance magic on them appear transparent to his eyes.

When the magic was exposed, Lime trembled.

“H, how did you know…”

“Do you think I haven’t caught a few flies like you in the Imperial Capital?”

Normally, he wouldn’t have been caught.

The playing cards are usually inspected before the game, and even if they are suspected in the middle, it is difficult to detect the extremely small amount of magic that activates the magic.

But on this side, we have information about you, and an SSR-rank magician.

“Junior, good job. Lucas? Take this guy away.”

“Understood.”

Lime, with his head bowed, was dragged away by Lucas.

Receiving a new deck of cards from Eider, I smirked and raised the corners of my mouth.

“Alright, next!”

***

The second round.

The location is the dining room. The opponent is a Rank R hero, a middle-aged woman named Orange.

Thump-.

Orange, like her name, handed me orange tea made with dried oranges.

“This is orange tea that I made myself, Your Highness. It’s already been tested for poison, but would you like to taste it?”

“I’ll gladly drink it. I was thirsty anyway.”

I took the teacup, smelled it without drinking, and placed it next to me. Orange smiled kindly at me.

This orange tea is the first step in activating her ability.

Even if you don’t drink it, just smelling the aroma that spreads out is enough to prepare her ability to activate.

A mind reader, Orange.

With specially processed magic tea, anyone who smells her orange tea will have their ‘thoughts’ read by her. If you drink the tea, it will be read clearly, but if you only smell the aroma, it will transmit a blurry image.

Anyway, the poker game started in that state—and after a few rounds.

“Raise. 50 chips.”

I bet half of my chips.

Orange glanced at me. She was closely observing the image of the hand that appeared in my mind.

Two cards of the same number—one pair.

I was bluffing, betting half of the pot with just one pair.

She looked at her hand. She had two sets of two cards of the same number—two pairs.

Her hand was clearly superior. Orange did not hesitate.

Whirr!

Orange pushed all of her chips forward.

“I’ll go all in, Your Highness.”

Immediately after, she smiled at me.

“How about it, will you fold… back down here?”

A clearly provocative tone.

As if she knew that I, who play poker with an aggressive style, would never back down from such a provocation.

“How could I? All in!”

Of course, I followed, and we revealed our hands.

She had two pairs. And I had…

“…?!”

Five consecutive numbers.

A straight.

My hand was much stronger. I placed the cards on the floor and grinned.

“I won.”

“H, huh…?”

Orange stammered, bewildered, so I spoke her thoughts for her.

“It was clearly one pair, but why did it turn into a straight… is that it?”

“?!”

“It’s simple, Miss Orange. I knew you were using mind reading in advance.”

I tapped my temple with my index finger.

“So, after receiving the cards, I ‘imagined’ that I had received a different hand.”

“That’s… that’s impossible…”

“What you read was not my vision, but the image I created in my mind. If you know in advance that you’re reading my mind, it’s only natural that you can counter it.”

The trap of mind reading.

You thought you read my mind, but I deliberately leaked false information so that you would misread it. It’s a very easy reversal.

As I got up to find my next opponent, Orange shouted with difficulty.

“Then, how did you know my hand and bet…?!”

“There’s no reason to answer that. See ya.”

I waved my hand and left the dining room.

…How did I know? Well.

There was just a small mirror installed behind you.

‘This is my house, after all. I did some prep work.’

Why bother using magic to steal minds and then get tricked by it? Try using a more primitive method. The world will be easier to navigate.

***

The third round.

The location is the courtyard. The opponent is a Rank SR hero, a boy named Cobalt.

Cobalt was an ordinary-looking boy, but the color of his fingernails was unique.

They were dyed cobalt blue, like his name.

“Your nail color is pretty.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Cobalt, who answered awkwardly, began to shuffle the cards diligently with his small hands.

I watched him quietly and then looked around.

There weren’t many people in the courtyard, but there were some citizens outside the fence a little further away.

The sight of children running around and playing outside the fence…

“…It’s peaceful.”

As I muttered, Cobalt carefully handed me the deck of cards. As I received them, I asked.

“How old are you?”

“Huh?”

“I mean your age. How old are you now?”

“Ah… I’m twelve years old.”

I smiled back at Cobalt, who was smiling shyly.

“You’re at an age where you should be running around and playing like those kids outside, but you’re here playing cards. I feel a little bad.”

“Hehe. It’s okay. I think playing cards is the most fun.”

“No. Instead of that, let’s stop the game for a moment and call those kids here to play together.”

No sooner had I finished speaking than the children who had been playing around the fence began to run towards the other side of the city, giggling.

“Ah, they’re leaving…”

Cobalt muttered as if he was disappointed, but I smiled fiercely.

“Didn’t you hear the lord’s words? You can’t leave, you bastards.”

And I took out my staff from my pocket,

“I told you to play here, didn’t I-!”

And shot out a magical blade.

Thwack! Thwack-!

The flying magic blades hit the backs and necks of the children in an instant.

Thump!

The children fell to the ground like dolls with their strings cut.

I calmly put my staff back in my pocket, and Cobalt watched this scene in horror.

Thud- Thud-

After a while, Lucas dragged the fallen children into the courtyard.

…They weren’t people.

They were dolls.

“I’ve never seen children like that in this city. Doll Master Cobalt.”

I growled into Cobalt’s ear as he looked down at his dolls with a pale face.

“In this small city, I know all the faces of the citizens who live around here.”

“Ugh, kkk…”

“Don’t underestimate the lord, you little brat!”

Cobalt is a Rank SR doll master who manipulates dolls with threads of magic emitted from his fingertips.

The dolls reveal their true nature even if they take 10,000 damage, but conversely, if they don’t take damage, they move like ordinary people.

It’s a technique optimized for ripping off gambling dens alone, controlling all the dolls sitting at the table, and specializing in ripping off one sucker.

However, in a one-on-one situation like this, it was difficult to use, so it seemed like he was trying to place them around and have them read my hand, but…

You chose the wrong opponent.

“You’re wasting this good skill on gambling, kid.”

I flicked Cobalt’s forehead with my finger and got up from my seat.

“Let’s settle this today.”

Cobalt, with a tearful face, was grabbed by Lucas and dragged away. I snorted and got up from my seat.

***

Next, the fourth round.

The location is the guest room. And the opponent is.

“…”

As I approached the girl who was waiting for me in the room with a demure posture, I called out the opponent’s name.

“Miss Scarlet.”

Then, the girl in the red cloak met my gaze and smiled faintly.

She must know that me being here means that all of her previous colleagues have been defeated. Yet, she was as relaxed as can be.

A Rank N hero, Scarlet.

‘…This child is the most difficult opponent.’

That’s because this child doesn’t use magic at all—

She’s just a master of hand skills, a traditional swindler.