Chapter 31
A Fair and Square
Match
Following the thug-like guy, I ended up entering the basement of a
splendid building. In this large, inorganic building, I couldn't really feel
the presence of people.
Is this really okay? Maybe I should go home after all.
「Ah, by the
way, how much tanesen (seed money) do you have? I invited you out of
nowhere, so if you don't have any capital, I can lend you some on credit.
You're aniki's buddy, after all, so we'll treat you as a VIP.」
Tanesen? From the flow of the conversation, he seems to be
asking how much cash I have. As an adult woman, and a future great millionaire,
I shall answer proudly here.
「Well, what I
have on hand is just a little bit, but I've got 500,000 for now.」
「Seriously?
You're totally ready to play, aren't you. You're pretty young, customer, but do
you always play big like this?」
「Haha, well
yeah!」
Because a future where I play big like crazy is waiting for me. It
shouldn't be a lie. In fact, it's correct.
「As expected
of aniki's customer. We're opening the shop now, so please wait in that
room over there for a bit.」
「Okey-dokey.」
I don't really understand what's what, but let's ride this big wave. I
parted ways with the guy, and when I opened the door I was told to, oh, how
mysterious.
A space like a hotel lobby spread out before me, and a considerable
number of people—probably about fifty scruffy ossans and young women
with a mistress-like vibe—were sitting silently. There are a ton of them.
Somehow, no matter how I think about it, I feel completely out of place.
It's a bit late for this, but what exactly is this place? It wasn't an
atmosphere where I could casually ask this and that, so I reluctantly decided
to wait for this "opening" or whatever. Well, it's definitely not a
restaurant.
After letting a few minutes of uncomfortable time pass, the back area,
separate from the door I entered through, was thrown wide open with a bam.
Strange. That side shouldn't have been a door, just a normal wall. A hidden
door kind of feel? Whew, I'm getting kinda excited!
「Sorry for
the wait. Please come in.」
A scary-looking ossan in a crisp black suit invited us into the
back room with an overly polite attitude. Since the ossans who were
waiting started moving, I have no choice but to match them. There's no point in
weirdly standing still here. Screw it, I'll go as far as I can go!
「Hey you,
whose introduction do you have?」
「Eh, me?」
When I tried to enter normally, I was stopped by the black-suited ossan.
「Ah~, I was
guided by Takashi...」
「Takashi?
That bastard... Ah, hey Takashi!」
Takashi, the thug-like guy who happened to come nearby just then. Please
explain my situation well, okay?
「What is the
meaning of this, Takashi. Whose permission did you get to bring a brat like
this here?」
「You've got
it wrong, she's Tanimura's aniki's customer. Right?」
「Umm, that's
right. If there's some kind of problem, I'll go home, though.」
If things are going to get complicated, I'll just go home. I'm curious
about what this shop is, but not to the extent that I absolutely have to know.
「T-Tanimura's
aniki's? I deeply apologize. Please, take your time and enjoy playing.
Takashi, show her the way.」
I don't really get it, but he seemed convinced. If that's how it is,
shall I go in without holding back? Following Takashi's lead, we went a little
bit further in, turned right down the hallway, and there was another door. When
the man standing in front of the door like a guard nodded at Takashi, he opened
the door as if escorting me. A manual automatic door.
And then. An unbelievable sight spread out beyond it. This was nothing
but a casino. There were several tables for Western-style card and dice games,
and over to the side, tatami mats were laid out, offering a Japanese-style
gambling space that made me think of a historical drama.
Here and there, customers were already engrossed in gambling. Amazing!
What is this place.
「For now,
which one will you play?」
Ooh, even if you say that so suddenly. I don't quite know the etiquette.
Perhaps thinking I was dazzled from looking all over the place, Takashi
continued talking in a good mood.
「Are you
gonna go with the bon-goza (gambling mat) after all? Our tsubofuri
(dice dealer) is highly skilled, so it's worth it just to watch.」
「Heh~, then
maybe I'll go with that.」
I have absolutely no idea. I have absolutely no idea what he's talking
about.
Surrendering myself to the flow and following Takashi, it seems to be
one of the Japanese-style gambling games. Something like a large board with a
white cloth spread over it was placed on the tatami mats, and on the edge of
the board were panels written with "Cho" (Even) and "Han"
(Odd), with a black line drawn across the middle. In short, it seems to
represent the "Cho" area and the "Han" area.
This is that, the so-called Cho-Han gambling!
Numerous wooden tags were placed in both the Cho and Han areas. More
than ten ossans were already playing, and I could hear unique phrases
coming from there.
「Covering the
cup—」
「Come on,
place your bets, place your bets!」
「Place your
bets, place your bets!」
「Any bets for
Han, Han!」
「Any bets for
Cho, Cho!」
「Match 'em
up, match 'em up!」
「Match 'em
up, match 'em up!」
「Match 'em
up, match 'em up!」
「Light on
Cho, need more on Cho!」
「Any takers,
any takers, any takers for Cho!」
「Alright, all
bets are down.」
「Showdown!」
「...Four and
Six, Cho (Even)!」
Ooh~, amazing. It's like the stuff I've seen in some dramas or movies. I
have absolutely no idea what they're saying, though. Even so, there's a
mysterious sense of tension.
「What will
you do, customer? If you're going to play, we need you to buy wooden tags
first. I'll go buy them for you.」
「Then buy
some. Here, the money.」
When I generously handed over the 500,000 yen, Takashi went over to an ossan
sitting at the edge of the floor and got the wooden tags. These must be like
the chips you often see in casinos. Since it's 500,000 yen worth, it's quite
bulky and hard to hold.
Anyway. With this, preparations are complete. Shall I give it a try? I'm
gonna earn like crazy.
Gambler Nagakura Aoi, heading into my debut match at a mysterious casino!
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