Mental Rebirth: The World's Savior Was Not Me, but My Childhood Friend and Stalker - Chapter 14: The Trap of the Card Game

“Wow… amazing…”

Once again, I was struck by the opulent interior of the gaming arena. Having seen it before opening, its transformation was even more impressive now. The place buzzed with life, musicians playing, and perhaps those were dancers or acrobats? The dazzling lights truly made it feel like a land of dreams.

I wondered where Mei and Rubure were. I heard Mei was so skillful she was even assigned as a dealer, but the expansive interior made it hard to find her.

And then, the bunny girls I’d been seeing around. I couldn’t help but follow them with my eyes. They were all stunningly beautiful, living up to the claim that only the most attractive women were hired.

“Oh, this is a treat for the eyes… Maybe someday, when I save up enough money… Yikes!”

I suddenly felt a terrifying, murderous intent. It was a chilling sensation like being watched by a snake or trapped in a spider’s web, sensing impending doom. Reluctantly, I turned around to find Touko standing there.

“New guy, this guest has requested you. Escort them to their table. Are you listening?”

“What exactly were you finding so delightful? What were you looking at?”

Finally realizing the odd atmosphere, a senior staff member let out a small scream and quickly made himself scarce. Wise decision. In this situation, if anyone other than me spoke to Touko, I didn’t know what she might do.

And I wasn’t sure what she might do to me either. Cold sweat dripped down my face.

“I was just looking for where Touko was! To make sure you were okay!”

“What did you find so delightful?”

It was a slip of the tongue. Touko was staring at me, her face serious, slowly closing the distance. But I couldn’t back away. If I did, she would question why.

“Look, Touko, at those beautifully prepared drinks they’re carrying! I was just doing menial work in the back, so seeing those drinks feels like a real treat, you know? It would have been great to enjoy them with you!”

I pointed out the bunny girls delivering drinks to the guests. The drinks were colorful and beautifully garnished, prepared for various customers.

“Wow, there are a lot of options… But you mean something like that? Isn’t it a bit flashy?”

I pointed to a drink with a couple’s straws, thinking how end-of-the-world it seemed for couples to come to a casino. Relieved that Touko’s mood seemed to improve, I was glad I had helped prepare the drinks.

“Well, for now, please enjoy your time, ma’am. What game would you like to play?”

“Um… I could play, but maybe I shouldn’t? We’re here to gather information, right? I’ll stand out too much if I play, so I’ll just watch.”

Touko claimed she had incredibly good luck. If she gambled, she’d win big and draw too much attention. She joked that she could become a millionaire with just one coin – a nightmare for the casino’s management.

In other words, I could ask Touko to help me easily secure a fortune for permanent residency…?

“But… no, I can’t do that.”

I wrestled with my conscience, seeing the goal before me, yet unable to reach it.

Excited cheers erupted around us. I snapped out of my thoughts and headed towards the commotion with Touko. There, we found Rubure enjoying a game with a guest.

“Yuusha, Touko-san! Over here! Look, look! I’m winning big!”

Rubure waved at us, clearly in high spirits. Hall staff sometimes play with guests in multiplayer games when no one else joins, though they don’t gamble or exchange coins themselves – they’re just there to liven up the atmosphere. But Rubure was on a winning streak.

“You’re good, little lady… Pretty and talented…”

The man playing against her was struggling, running low on coins. I whispered a reminder to Rubure.

“Hey, Rubure… you realize you’re hall staff, right? You’re not supposed to win.”

I gently explained as if guiding a naïve child. This could lead to serious trouble later.

“…? Oh, I see. No, Yuusha, this is different. He challenged me to a serious game. I remember the manual saying we can accept personal bets in serious matches.”

I recalled such a rule, though I hadn’t paid much attention to it since I had no intention of gambling for money… Was Rubure betting on something?

“That nice man said if I lose, I just have to keep him company for the night, and my debt will be cleared! What kind of company? Hunting? I’m good at it since I’m an elf, so it’s fine.”

“Not fine at all!!!”

I flicked Rubure on the forehead. She protested, but she wouldn’t say such things if she understood her situation. But was it wise to tell her the truth here? She was doing great in the game; revealing the truth might unsettle her and ruin her momentum.

“This is… a traditional energy boost from my homeland! Keep it up, Rubure! You got this!”

“What kind of crazy tradition is that? Don’t do it again!!”

Confused but undeterred, Rubure turned back to the game. She was playing a card game involving a deck shuffled and dealt to each player.

There were two types of cards: Soldiers, numbered 1 to 10, determining the outcome based on their values, and Attachments, which had various effects written on them, altering the course of the game.

Players would lay down any number of cards face down, and the outcome was determined by the total value of the Soldiers and the effects of the Attachments.

The game had various combinations and rules; for example, if you played only odd or even numbers, you could add three to your score and retrieve a card from the discard pile. If the total on the field was a multiple of ten, the smallest total won.

Ultimately, the player with the highest total points won.

The discard pile was crucial, as the deck was fixed. Knowing what was discarded helped predict the opponent’s hand. This is why the game didn’t work well one-on-one; if you didn’t have a card, your opponent likely did, eliminating much of the game’s strategy.

Rubure’s hand was full of high numbers – luck was indeed on her side, and she was winning steadily.

“Damn, I’m not getting anywhere like this… Alright, Rubure, let’s raise the stakes to ten times! Are you in?”

“Really? Sure, I don’t mind. What about everyone else?”

Everyone at the table agreed to raise the stakes. Including Rubure, there were four players, and they were all losing terribly to her. Blessed with good cards, Rubure was initially doing well, but something strange happened. She was winning, but in an odd way – playing weak cards haphazardly. While Rubure put down high-value cards like 9s and 10s, her opponents played low-value cards like 1s and 2s without using any Attachment cards.

“Rubure, be careful… that guy is up to something…”

Despite my warning, Rubure, in high spirits, laid down her cards.

“Ha! I will win, but hurry up and show your cards, mister!”

Rubure was confident of her victory, but the man she played against revealed his cards with a sly grin. They were low-value Soldiers and an Attachment card.

“With this Attachment, I can recover all the Soldiers in my discard pile.”

He retrieved many Soldiers from the discard pile, and another player quickly chimed in.

“Ah, then this Attachment card also takes effect. When cards move from the field, I can recover many from the discard pile… Oops, I’ve hit the hand limit. I guess I’ll have to discard these.”

The man recovered Soldiers from the discard pile and then discarded some cards.

“Alright, my Attachment card activates now. I can exchange as many cards as Attachment cards sent to the discard pile this turn with any opponent’s cards. Let’s see, six discarded and three Attachment cards were used, so nine in total. I guess I’ll choose Rubure.”

“Wait, what?”

Rubure’s hand was completely swapped out for a miserable set.

“What the… Why!? What happened!? Give me my cards back!”

The men ignored Rubure’s protests, laughing among themselves. It was a cheat, a setup. Those three were clearly in cahoots, deliberately losing to trap Rubure and crush her during a high-stakes round.

I looked at the dealer, who pretended not to notice. The casino was either in on it or looking the other way. This must be why they allow hall staff to participate in serious games.

“Ugh… this is awful… just junk cards… how can this be… hunting is going to be such a hassle…”

Rubure showed no urgency, so I whispered the truth in her ear, causing her ears to turn bright red.

“What!? Why didn’t anyone tell me!?”

“Come on, Rubure, you agreed to this. It was all consensual, right?”

The man leered at Rubure, appraising her as she turned to me with tearful eyes.

“You’ll pay off my debt again, right?”

“Impossible. It’s not about money this time. The stake was different.”

Rubure burst into tears, sniffling and clinging to me. The men laughed at her misery. I checked my hand – nothing but low-value Soldiers. With two men having recovered their discard piles and one having swapped Rubure’s hand… Wait a minute.

“Hey, Rubure… we’ve already won this game.”

“Ha, sure. You can give up anytime.”

The man responded jovially to my statement while Rubure looked utterly pale. I placed a hand on her head and took her seat.

“Player change. That’s fine. As long as all participants agree, it’s allowed by the rules.”

“Huh? Sure, it’s fine. But just so you know, Rubure has to keep up her end of the bet, not you.”

“So, we’re agreed then.”