Episode 221 – Setup (8)

Setup (8)

Fold.

On the screen, Shion folded his hand.

“…fold with a four of a kind?”

Johanna muttered in disbelief.

Of course, sponsors can’t see the players’ cards. This is to prevent any possible manipulation of the game.

But… Johanna knew.

That hand was setup.

“That crazy bastard!”

An expletive burst from her lips as every hair on her body stood on end.

The dealer for this game was Haze.

She was the one who had rigged the game for the scam.

─With player Shion’s fold, player Eva wins.

But the game couldn’t be called off.

Shion Ascal had folded with a four of a kind, and Eva swept the chips piled on the table.

“……”

Johanna looked at the leaderboard.

[Chip Leader: Eva]

[2nd Place: Shion]

The chip leader had changed with that game.

Naturally, from Eva to Shion.

Johanna remained still for a moment.

She couldn’t understand what was happening.

A four of a kind with two Js in the hole.

A game that couldn’t be lost unless one deliberately threw it away…

“I knew this would happen.”

Beckman stood up abruptly. Almost apoplectic, he raged at Johanna, his whole body flushed red with anger.

“As expected, he’s not to be trusted.”

“……”

Johanna turned to look at Beckman.

“I knew it from the first time we met. That guy is definitely hiding something…”

She could barely hear his voice now.

Johanna brushed Beckman’s face away with the edge of her hand and looked back at the screen. At that moment, Eva’s expression was caught.

Eva, Karlos’ player.

Johanna stared at her.

“…Perhaps.”

Suddenly, her intuition twitched subtly.

As someone who had once been a player and still enjoyed gambling with mafia bosses, Johanna could detect the slightest changes in human expression.

The disturbance in Eva’s face now.

The unmistakable panic that couldn’t be hidden.

Johanna found it odd.

You clearly won, so why?

“…Shall we prepare for interrogation immediately!”

Beckman was still babbling on.

Johanna gestured to a chair.

“Sit down.”

“Yes.”

Beckman sat down.

“Don’t speak. No one. Not a single breath.”

Johanna thought quietly.

Think about the hand.

A four of a kind with Js. The odds of losing with that hand are quite low.

The chances of winning are extremely high.

No, since the game was ‘rigged’, the odds of winning are close to 100.

It has to be.

But…

[♠ 4], [♥ J], [♣ J], [♥ 9], [♥ 10]

Among the five community cards, particularly noticeable were,

[♥ 9], [♥ 10], [♥ J]

Sequences of hearts.

Assuming it’s not a rigged game, what are the odds of a four of a kind and a straight flush appearing at the same time?

Extremely low.

Therefore, if both hands appear at one table, the four of a kind will inevitably bust.

Because no one folds holding a four of a kind.

“……Shion folded.”

Johanna’s lips smiled. Beckman smiled as if he had mistaken the term ‘folded’ in the game for actually being ‘killed’. (The term they use for fold is dead, thus makes no sense in this statement)

“……If.”

The four of a kind was certainly a stroke of luck that she had manipulated.

But if another manipulation had been interwoven into that setup.

“If.”

If they had pulled off a Deception once more.

If they had recognized the dealer Johanna had recruited in advance and had laid a ‘strategy’ in return.

─Timeout.

Just then, Eva’s side requested a timeout.

─Player Eva has requested a timeout. The game will resume after a 15-minute break.

Johanna looked at the screen. The dealer had already disappeared, and Eva’s two hole cards were still lying on the table.

“I’m curious about that woman’s hand.”

It was a truly pure curiosity.

* * *

A timeout was called. The dealer was the first to hurry out, and the other players also left for the waiting room.

“Yawn.”

In contrast, player Roho yawned and remained.

He had given up on winning a long time ago.

He had given up early on because the cards just weren’t coming his way.

Still, since the prize money is distributed according to the number of chips, he was now just fighting to hold his ground.

“……What the. Where did the dealer go?”

He got up to grab a snack, but the cards were still laid out on the table. The hands of Shion and Eva, who had just played heads-up, were there.

Is the dealer an amateur?

It was the first time he had seen a dealer run away without collecting the cards.

“Hmm.”

Well, let’s take a look at these guys’ hands. It’s the dealer’s fault for not cleaning up anyway.

Roho pretended to drink water and sneakily opened the cards. He started with Shion Ascal.

[♠ J] [◆ J]

“Pfft!”

Water sprayed out. He flipped the cards over and over again. He looked at them with wide eyes.

It’s a four of a kind.

“What is this guy doing……”

The player named Shion had folded with a four of a kind.

Even more, two hole cards, two on the board. Is he mentally deranged? Or did he think he was going to be eaten alive by his own thoughts?

“Hmm-hmm~”

Roho tiptoed over and this time stood at Eva’s spot.

“Oops.”

He pretended to stumble and slightly revealed the hand.

“……Oh.”

At that moment, Roho’s expression froze. His pupils tightened sharply. His face twitched involuntarily with an unknown spasm.

“……”

He brushed his hair back and set down the cup of water.

With a snicker, a too-natural chuckle escaped.

“He’s going to win. This guy.”

From the start, it was a game he could never win.

It’s not about rigged games or manipulation; the skill gap is just too wide.

The difference is as stark as between a straight flush and four of a kind.

***

After a 15-minute break.

We returned to the table. The final match had already surpassed 24 hours. None of the players had slept, and our only sustenance was the occasional nuts and snacks.

It’s a battle of skill, mental strength, and physical endurance.

The conditions are too favorable for me.

As I’ve said repeatedly, my ‘body,’ enhanced by the chemical mechanisms of Perion, maintains a certain level even in a No-Mana Zone.

Reaction speed, physical strength, muscle power, stamina, and endurance are all top-notch.

Above all, I was once a gambling addict.

There’s no reason to feel tired in such an exciting game.

“Call.”

On the other hand, Eva’s mental state started to significantly waver after that crucial hand I folded.

“Fold.”

Eva seemed to have given up on competing. Although she was still the chip leader, the gap was slowly closing, like a drizzle soaking through clothes.

Her momentum had broken. It was only a matter of time.

Probably, everyone at this table already knew. In ten more games, I would be the winner.

“…Wait. I need to cool my head. Timeout.”

Eva called for another timeout. She had used up both of her timeouts.

“Ah, just play. No fun.”

I taunted Eva as I stood up, and she quickly retreated to her private room. I trudged down the corridor.

“……”

[Shion Ascal]’s waiting room.

I paused in front of the door. A small piece of paper was wedged in the door seam.

I had placed it there before leaving the room.

But its ‘position’ had changed.

It meant someone had broken in. A mere cleaner wouldn’t bother to reinsert the paper.

“……Hmm.”

I opened the door anyway.

The atmosphere was foreign.

The air was noticeably heavier.

I scanned the ceiling, floor, and walls, but nothing was amiss.

“……”

I sat down on the sofa, cracking open some nuts and glanced sideways.

The curtain.

Something about the curtain was off. It seemed unnaturally bulky.

As I pondered, suddenly—

─!

A small noise came from behind the curtain. A silent spark erupted, and a sharp bullet rushed towards me, striking me directly in the collarbone, and I collapsed to the floor.

Whoosh—

The curtain was drawn back.

A man in a suit and sunglasses stepped out. He aimed a silenced pistol at me and kicked my shoulder, flipping me over.

“……”

He looked at me with closed eyes. He saw the blood flowing from my collarbone. He put his finger on the trigger for a confirmation kill.

In an instant, I opened my eyes.

“……It hurts, you motherfucker.”

He hastily pulled the trigger, but I twisted my body to dodge and kicked his shin with all my might.

Crack!

It wasn’t just a fall; it was the sound of bones breaking entirely.

His ankle actually bent into a ‘ㄱ’ shape, and without even a scream—

He died.

“What the hell.”

Foam bubbled out of his mouth, gushing out like the froth from a freshly opened cola. He had bitten into a poison capsule to kill himself.

“Damn bastard.”

The pain started to hit me too.

For the record, the bullet was lodged in my collarbone. It had penetrated the skin and muscle, but hadn’t gone through the ‘bone’.

“I didn’t expect a gun.”

Well, in a No-Mana Zone, there’s no weapon more deadly than a gun.

At least it was a silencer pistol, which was less powerful.

“Ah… it hurts like hell.”

The pain was real, but there was no way to remove the bullet lodged inside me, not right now.

─The game will resume in 5 minutes.

There wasn’t much time left. I roughly tore up the hitman’s suit to use as a makeshift bandage to stop the bleeding.

“…Ugh.”

I gritted my teeth and bore the pain.

There was no need to speak of this assault.

I could talk about it after the game was over.

I didn’t want to stir up trouble and sprinkle ashes on a game that was already won.

“Let’s see after it’s over.”

I covered my blood-soaked collarbone with the jacket of the suit.

* * *

…10 minutes earlier.

As soon as Eva returned to the waiting room, she grabbed the phone with trembling hands.

─Don’t worry.

Karlos’s caring voice flowed through.

The ‘setup’ he had promised would ensure victory in this round.

A strategy that involved taking the family of the dealer Hayes, who had switched to Johanna’s side, hostage and betting against them.

It was a straight flush.

“To not worry is impossible.”

It was a crazy act, playing with a four-of-a-kind and folding.

─I’ve prepared for this far. I’ve even thought about the worst-case scenario.

“…Really?”

─Of course. Johanna’s player won’t even show up at the table.

“…”

Eva knew what that meant.

The hitman, the most critical force of the mafia family, who even considers their own life a tool.

The mafia raises and commands numerous hitmen. Each one is practically a killing machine.

The reason firearms have developed on the continent is precisely because of the wars in casinos, which are essentially No-Mana Zones.

“There’s going to be a war.”

─That’s a risk we’re willing to take.

Karlos spoke boldly.

─After all, Libra’s Johanna was a mongrel that should never have been part of the Golden Casino scene.

Eva calmed herself with his confident voice.

─All the mafia are displeased with Johanna. It was bound to happen someday, so it’s not your fault. So, don’t worry.

“…Yes.”

Despite his words, Eva was still worried.

Shion Ascal.

When he had read her, Eva felt ‘fear’ for the first time while gambling.

─Eva.

Carlos’s caring voice called her. Eva responded demurely.

“Yes… Mr. Karlos.”

─…I love you.

As Eva watched him discuss love, she smiled silently.

She once considered him merely a tool for use. In fact, most gamblers did.

They saw their sponsors as mere cash cows, using their money to satisfy their desires and addictions to ‘the game’.

Eva, at one time, treated Karlos as a naive moneybag, but Karlos always believed in her until the end.

Knowing she might betray him, knowing he was treated as nothing more than a financier, he always trusted her, and no matter how she returned, he would welcome her back with a bright smile and open arms…

Eva is now slowly realizing.

“It seems I will become like that soon.”

It was an honest answer.

Not yet, but soon, she would come to love him.

─…Ha, haha.

Karlos smiled shakily. His smile was filled with genuine happiness.

“So… don’t die. No matter what happens.”

─You’re stating the obvious. Don’t worry about me, take care of yourself. Finish up and come back. The job is already done, Eva. It doesn’t matter if you don’t win.

“I will win.”

Eva whispered with a low smile and hung up the phone.

Her mind was at peace.

She had regained her composure that was almost shattered.

“Phew…”

Carlos had already considered the worst-case scenario, and the mafia’s bets were ruthless.

There was no reason for sympathy.

After all, it was Johanna who had tried to rig the game first.

So, the death of a player should have been anticipated.

Eva left the waiting room. She maintained her breathing as she walked and sat at the gambling table. The other players were already there.

Except for one.

The man with blonde hair who had been trash-talking next to her like scum.

“The game starts in 5 minutes.”

The dealer had already been replaced.

“Haah~”

Eva let out a relieved sigh.

Still, it was a pity. He could have been a great gambler if he had matured.

But that sponsor was a mistake. His overly aggressive table manners were also a problem.

“3 minutes.”

The dealer announced the remaining time and shuffled the new cards. Eva scanned them with her eyes and leaned back in her chair.

“1 minute.”

Even then, one seat remained empty.

Eva trusted the hitman’s work.

Shion would leave no corpse behind. The man would simply be remembered as someone who ‘ran away due to the pressure of not being able to win’, and if Johanna couldn’t accept defeat, then war or whatever would ensue.

However, there is no family on the continent that could win a war against the mafia in a casino…

─We will start shortly.

The host was about to announce the start of the game, but the staff behind the table seemed a bit busy.

Eva silently looked at the chips on her table.

They were piled up like a mountain.

“Then, let’s begin.”

The moment the dealer declared the game to resume.

Thump-

The sound of someone sitting down was heard. Eva instinctively looked over.

“……?!”

Her eyes were filled with surprise. Saliva was involuntarily swallowed, and a tingling current ran through her fingertips.

It was as if the world had come to a halt.

“Sigh.”

The man who should not have appeared at this table. The man who should not have come.

Shion Ascal.

He met Eva’s gaze and smiled faintly.

“Why are you looking at me like I’m a ghost?”

“……”

Eva was speechless. Her throat was tight. She couldn’t even breathe.

“Ah, that? It’s right here.”

He shrugged and pointed to his collarbone. Eva’s gaze blankly followed to the spot. Between the flaps of his suit jacket, a very small stain of blood was faintly visible.

“The game will now begin.”

Just then, the dealer dealt the cards. All the stage lights dimmed except for those over the table.

However, Eva’s gaze remained fixed on only one man, and he whispered with muted lips.

──Just wait.

With a smile in his eyes, he leisurely tapped the table.

A quiet message.

──Because tonight, I’m going to kill you.

In that moment, Eva’s composure shattered.