Chapter 32
Time for a Lesson in
the Real World
I wonder how much time has passed since I started playing Cho-Han. I was
getting completely carried away.
「Fuhahaha,
I'm on a lucky streak today!」
Starting with my initial 500,000 yen, I steadily increased it, and now
my wooden tags have multiplied to the point where I can't hold them all in my
hands. I don't even know exactly how much I've made. But I think it's probably
at least around 2 million yen.
Honestly, I wanted to do something like slam it all down on a single
bet! But apparently, they adjust it so the wooden tags bet by the customers on
Cho (Even) and Han (Odd) balance out nicely. Because of that, every time I'm
told to bet more on the side with fewer bets, and if there's unavoidably too
much on one side, I'm told to reduce my bet. Once the bets are nicely divided
and the outcome is decided, the wooden tags from the losing side are
distributed to the winning side.
The house takes a few wooden tags as a commission every single time, so
that's how they make their profit. Since no one is complaining, it seems they
collect it at a fixed rate. With this system, the house never loses money,
which probably makes it harder for cheating to occur. Probably.
Now then, Cho-Han was surprisingly fun, but as expected, I want to slam
all my bets down at once and make a massive profit in one go. That's the
romance of it!
「You're on a
roll, customer. As expected of Tanimura's aniki's buddy.」
Behind me, Takashi, the thug-like guy, has been sticking with me
this whole time. It seems he intends to escort me all day today. Since I'm
misunderstood as being a buddy of that ossan Tanimura, I'm
getting special treatment, huh. I wonder if it's also because a young girl like
me being alone might get tangled up with weirdos.
「Well, yeah!
But I kinda want to play something else now. Can we move?」
「Of course.
So, what would you like?」
I walked a bit with my shoes on and found my target.
「That. I want
to play roulette.」
「Understood,
I'll show you the way. The tables over there require chips instead of wooden
tags. Which do you want to exchange, cash or your wooden tags?」
「Then I'll
swap all my wooden tags.」
「Please wait
here.」
It's a breeze thanks to having an attendant. While I waited, Takashi
brought back some colorful chips. The amount is smaller than I thought, but it
seems the value per chip is high. But yes, this, these chips are exactly
what gives off that casino vibe.
「Alright,
alright, I'm gonna bet it all!」
「Customer,
don't tell me you're gonna bet everything at once?」
「You betcha!
Hitting the jackpot like that is where the romance is! A single bet, I'm
putting it all on one bet!」
「As expected
of Tanimura's aniki's buddy. In that case, instead of a single
bet on either red or black, are you aiming for a Straight Up?」
Huh? Straight Up? Umm, I was planning to bet on red or black, but is he
saying something else is where the true romance lies? Could it be?
「Ah, umm, by
the way, what's the multiplier for a... Straight Up?」
「That part's
no different from a normal casino. If you bet on a single number and it hits,
it pays out 36 times.」
There's something like that? Are you kidding me.
「Oho. By the
way, how much are my chips worth now?」
「Your chips
amount to 2,380,000 yen, customer. If you bet it all and hit that, our business
would be ruined. Haha.」
「If I hit it,
about how much would it be?」
「Let's see...
it'd be a little over 80 million yen, I guess.」
Fuooo, that's way too hot. I'm on a lucky streak today. I can win, I can
definitely win this! If I win, that tower mansion gets closer in one fell
swoop!
It seems the number of customers increased while I was playing Cho-Han,
and the population of this mysterious casino had grown even more. Slipping
through the bustling crowd, I joined the roulette table. Just looking at it for
a second, I mostly understood the rules. You just have to place your chips on
top of the numbers written on the table. It's easy.
「……Whew, here
I go.」
With a clattering sound, a small ball was spinning around the outer rim
of the roulette wheel. With a clear mind and a solemn feeling, I placed my
chips. Naturally, I went all-in.
The number of destiny is 17. No particular reason. Just a hunch.
Having reached this point, my heart is as clear and bright as a
cloudless autumn sky. A state of serene clarity, exactly like a polished mirror
and still water. Completely unrelated to dark, muddy desires—I don't even need
money. I simply want to win the game, to conquer destiny.
Now, let the match begin!
The momentum of the ball spinning around the roulette wheel gradually
drops. Soon, it rolls down from the outer groove and begins to bounce across
the numbered layout. This is it.
It moves from pocket to pocket, red to black, changing the number it
might settle on. There is no need to panic. My heart remains tranquil, simply
entrusting myself to fate. And I believe. That it will absolutely, without a
doubt, roll into 17.
Eventually, it loses its rolling momentum, and the white ball teasingly
bounces between the black and red pockets, heading toward the number of
destiny—.
「Uooooo! Come
on, come on, come on!」
Before I knew it, my tension had skyrocketed, and my voice came out on
its own. As if drawn in by my maxed-out voltage, the ossans and obasans
around me were also getting fired up on their own.
Th-This is it! Is it here, is it really going to land there!? Right now,
right into the 17 pocket!?
Just as I thought that, the lights went out, pitching everything into
pitch blackness. What's going on? A sudden blackout? As I was startled, small
lights—perhaps for emergencies—flickered on.
「Boss, it's a
raid!」 「You idiot,
keep your voice down!」
Ueeh? Seriously, what is going on?
I could tell the noisy but fun atmosphere had morphed into bewilderment
due to the blackout, and then completely froze over in an instant at the ossan's
voice. The ossans who were yelling at each other now moved to a corner
and whispered amongst themselves. Finishing quickly, they turned back toward us
confused customers.
「Customers,
it is alright. It should take a little time for the cops to sniff out this
room. If we move now, there will be no problems. We will guide you, so please
remain calm.」
Wait, hold on a second. Cops means the police, right? Eh, this is really
bad.
「I-Is it
really going to be okay?」
「Never mind
that, let's move quickly.」
「I absolutely
refuse to get arrested!」
「It's fine,
it's fine, so please calm down. Hey, open the back door!」
「Yes, sir!」 「Takashi, sorry, but
I'm counting on you for that.」
Eh, Takashi? What are you gonna do?
「I know. Even
if they find me, I'll somehow smooth things over.」
「You can't
exactly smooth this over, and you won't get off scot-free. Sorry, Takashi.」
「It was
already decided that if push comes to shove, I'd be the one to do the time.
Please don't worry about it, aniki. In exchange, when I get released,
celebrate it grandly for me.」
「Yeah, I'll
let you party until you're sick of it.」
What is this, what's with this all of a sudden. What are you talking
about? Noticing me watching from the side, Takashi gave a bow in my
direction for some reason.
「Customer,
I'm sorry things ended up like this. If you see Tanimura's aniki,
tell him I said hi.」
「O-Oh.」
Just as I gave a stammering reply even by my own standards, I was rushed
into moving. I walked through a dim underground passage in a half-daze. Along
the way, the herd of customers dispersed and split up, passing through several
doors. Where we ended up was inside some commercial building tenant space.
The other customers who had moved with me, perhaps anticipating this
situation or just used to it, each left with an innocent look on their faces.
Once I was alone, I felt like I had been having some kind of daydream.
It didn't even look like there was a blackout around here. Standing around
spacing out won't do any good. I should go home too.
「Ah, my
money...」
Looking back on it, far from making a profit, my initial 500,000 yen had
completely vanished! Anger boiled up inside me.
Aaaaaaaaah, don't screw with meeeee!
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