Yes.
The woman sitting at the gambling table was Prosecutor Corbin Sears’ wife.
For a moment I was stunned.
But I kept my expression neutral and quickly whispered to him.
“Act like you don’t know her as much as possible. And try not to say a single word if you can.”
“Yes.”
Fortunately our disguises were perfect.
We had deliberately kept our shabby leather helmets on, and Corbin even had a bandage wrapped around his forehead.
At this level even close acquaintances would have trouble recognizing us.
I glanced sideways to check Mrs. Sears’ reaction, but she seemed completely uninterested in our side.
“When does it start?”
She gave the impression of someone pressed for time.
Can’t be helped. She has to get home before her husband gets off work.
Her suspicion of infidelity was most likely fake.
She must have pressured him hard so he wouldn’t suspect her.
That way Corbin Sears wouldn’t stay cooped up at home.
All to prove his innocence.
“I’ll call the staff.”
Viscount Eplin smiled gently and rang the bell on the table.
Ting-a-ling!
A neatly dressed young man immediately entered the room.
“Is anyone else coming?”
“It seems there won’t be for a while.”
“Then it’ll just be us. Give us some cards.”
“Yes, sir.”
Soon the staff brought five decks of cards.
Viscount Eplin tore open one and spread the cards across the table.
It looked like he was showing there was no manipulation.
Mrs. Sears nodded.
“It looks fine. Have you checked the others too?”
I was quietly watching the situation when a sudden question came my way.
Worried Corbin Sears might speak, I answered quickly.
“Of course. As expected of a Perias gambling house—truly gentlemanly. Up in the far north they’re bloodshot-eyed trying to cheat.”
I rambled whatever came to mind to brush it off.
As nonchalantly as possible.
Viscount Eplin took interest in my words.
“Oh? So you’re from the north?”
“I’ve taken requests going back and forth between Nordenark and the northern legions.”
“Excuse the question, but how were the earnings?”
I wondered why this guy was acting like this, but now I understood.
He wants to know how much money I have.
A classic scammer’s question.
He wanted to gauge how tasty the prey was. That way he could time when to pull out. But there was no need to point it out. After all I had come here to play the fool. I started boasting moderately.
“Most northern nomads are basically beggars. The land is barren and they lack the skills to farm. But there are times when those guys get rich.”
“When is that?”
“When they’ve finished plundering and returned.”
“Otot!”
“Originally it’s the villagers’ property, but once it’s been looted what can you do? From that point on the one who takes it becomes the owner.”
It wasn’t completely made up.
In Abel’s memories there were mercenaries who only targeted nomads right after battles.
Ah, what happened to those guys?
Where would northern berserkers show mercy? They all died.
Naturally the villagers reclaimed the plunder.
Abel Carius had no interest in valuables whatsoever.
Of course it wasn’t an intentional good deed.
It just happened naturally while beating Feltron’s subordinates to death.
“Interesting story. So how much did you actually earn?”
“It’s a bit awkward to go into details. But how about you? Can you reveal how much you’ve won here?”
“Ahem! That’s a bit…!”
“Kekeke! Just kidding. I ran into those types every few days. Thanks to that I earned quite a lot, and now I’m thinking of starting my own mercenary company.”
“Haha! So you’re going to be a mercenary captain. This is an honor.”
Viscount Eplin spoke with a beaming smile.
That praise and smile were definitely fake.
A stuck-up noble wouldn’t care about a mere mercenary captain.
Snorting in contempt would be normal.
But this guy was simply delighted because he had judged there was plenty to wring out of me.
Now, how will you move?
I activated Beast’s Heart as subtly as possible.
I couldn’t play the game wrapped in red flames after all.
I only raised it enough to sharpen my senses.
Then Viscount Eplin’s hand movements as he collected the cards became clearly perceptible in every detail.
I focused all my attention right there.
“Let’s begin. Base bet is 5 goldens, no upper limit.”
Asking for five gold coins right from the start—it was definitely a bigger game than the tables near the entrance.
Moreover you could bet as much as you wanted, so it looked quite dangerous.
Mrs. Sears nodded readily, satisfied with the rules.
“Good. It’s been a while since I’ve had a fun game.”
“I agree.”
I pushed in a 5-golden chip as a signal.
Corbin Sears was still spacing out.
It seemed the shock hadn’t worn off yet. He couldn’t act like this after coming all this way.
Sensing my subtle gaze, Corbin finally moved in a fluster.
Soon two cards entered my hand.
5 and 7… Not a bad start?
Heading Ten was a game where the person whose two cards summed closest to 10 won.
Mine added up to 12, so it was a fairly high hand.
I crossed my arms and looked around. Viscount Eplin moved the statue on the table.
“First betting round. Will our mercenary captain go first?”
“Sure.”
I pushed half my chips straight forward.
It amounted to a staggering 200 goldens.
Gasps came from here and there.
First Corbin Sears whispered in surprise.
“Is it okay to bet that much right from the start?”
“What’s the problem? If you’re confident you go for it.”
The average monthly wage for staff in the Midias shopping district was around 2 goldens.
Even that was considered pretty good pay.
Yet I had bet an amount equal to a hundred times that in one go.
It was only natural that not only Corbin but also Viscount Eplin and Mrs. Sears were shocked.
“No upper limit so this is how it goes. I’m out.”
Mrs. Sears flicked her cards forward.
But Viscount Eplin fidgeted with a conflicted expression.
What? From the very first round? This is disappointing.
Using his skill on just 200 goldens?
But that didn’t happen.
Viscount Eplin soon tossed his hand.
“I’m out. You’ve got guts.”
“Me too.”
Soon Corbin Sears also folded, so I took the first round.
We played several more games after that, but the people at the table didn’t seem particularly skilled.
I won several times in a row quite often.
What is this? Do I unexpectedly have a talent for this?
Back when I was preparing for the police exam I had played online poker for fun.
Since I had barely learned the rules, losing was an everyday occurrence then.
But what about now?
It was as if I had become a world-class poker player, racking up victory after victory.
Before long over a thousand goldens’ worth of chips were piled in front of me.
“Haha! Our mercenary captain is really good at games.”
“I’ll make this my last round.”
While Viscount Eplin looked enviously at the chips, Mrs. Sears tidied her spot.
Soon Viscount Eplin, who had won the previous round, dealt the cards.
So far nothing was out of the ordinary.
“Call.”
“Let’s open.”
“Huh?”
“Eh?”
Everyone tilted their heads in confusion.
Mrs. Sears, who had been about to stand, also plopped back down.
“All ten?”
“This is a rare sight.”
All four players’ hands totaled exactly 10.
In this case the players could choose one of two options.
“Will you take it out? Or go for inquire and double?”
The choices were split.
No one seemed willing to back down here.
But Corbin Sears hadn’t come to enjoy gambling.
He hadn’t exchanged that many chips to begin with.
“I’ll sit this one out.”
“Then the remaining three will play a rematch?”
I nodded at Viscount Eplin’s words.
Mrs. Sears, who had said this would be her last round, also expressed her intention to participate.
“I can’t leave on a hand like this. Exchange some more chips for me.”
Soon nearly ten thousand goldens’ worth of chips were piled on the table.
Everyone was taking the final game seriously.
“Here we go.”
Swish!
The cards spun quickly.
I sharpened my senses more than ever.
But even with such an enormous sum on the line I couldn’t spot anything strange.
Don’t tell me this isn’t rigged?
Viscount Eplin’s behavior had raised many questions.
He only visited this place and always walked away with quite a lot of money.
No gambling house would give an outsider such benefits.
If this were a modern casino he would have been banned long ago.
Therefore it was right to view him as a house player operating here.
My hand is 15. Mediocre.
It was a bit low to bet aggressively.
I glanced around. Everyone else’s hands looked poor.
Complicated expressions and a heavy atmosphere.
Soon Mrs. Sears spoke.
“One thousand goldens, all in.”
“Hah!”
Viscount Eplin let out a sigh.
Despite his conflicted face her bet was bold.
But no one seemed ready to back down.
“I’ll take it. I only have 5 goldens left anyway.”
Viscount Eplin was practically all in too.
Short on chips, I called the staff and exchanged more gold coins.
I called exactly one thousand goldens and it was time to open the hands.
“Sixteen.”
Mrs. Sears’ hand was lower than expected.
I flipped my cards immediately, and that was the moment.
Sharak!
Viscount Eplin’s movement caught by Beast’s Heart.
He fidgeted with his fingers while pretending to reveal his hand.
It looked natural at a glance, but not to me.
“Hey. Randy Eplin.”
“Yes? Do you know me?”
“You end up showing your true colors at the last moment after all.”
Crunch!
I didn’t stab his hand with a dagger. I simply grabbed it quickly.
His revealed hand was 14.
In fact Viscount Eplin had been set to win this game.
Before I revealed everything.
“You have a card stuck to your palm. I’ll bet all my money and one of my hands on that. What will you bet?”
“Ugh! W-why are you doing this?”
Using overwhelming strength I yanked roughly. A white something appeared in his palm.
“Mrs. Sears, this is why you lost money.”
Sure enough a card slipped from Viscount Eplin’s hand.
The front showed ten red fruits.
Originally the hand this guy had received was 17.
He had swapped it to 7 to make it look like a razor-thin win.
That way the sucker would come back with more money to challenge again.
“Wait, just a moment. What did you just say?”
Suddenly Mrs. Sears shot up from her seat and asked.
It seemed she no longer cared about the game’s outcome.
She was simply shocked that a mere mercenary knew her identity.
Instead of answering I turned to the seat beside me and spoke.
“It looks like we have enough evidence.”
Corbin Sears stood and removed his leather helmet.
When he unwrapped the bandage his face was fully revealed.
Mrs. Sears’ complexion turned deathly pale in an instant.
“H-honey? What are you…?”
But Corbin didn’t even glance at his wife.
With a businesslike expression he answered mechanically.
“Everything is confirmed, Your Honor.”
“Handle it all.”
“Yes.”
Despite the icy atmosphere Corbin Sears’ eyes burned fiercely.