Mental Rebirth: The World's Savior Was Not Me, but My Childhood Friend and Stalker - Chapter 15: The End of a Dream

I looked at my hand of cards. At first glance, it seemed like a terrible hand – the kind you’d normally have no chance of winning with.

But this time was different. Thanks to a fatal mistake by my opponents, these cards had transformed into a sure path to victory.

I silently combined the cards and placed them face-down on the table. Everyone followed suit. Time for the reveal.

“Ha, this win is mine… now to collect.”

“No, it’s my win. Look at the numbers.”

The man was shocked when he saw my cards. I had played a 4. The total numbers on the table were 9, 9, 8, and 4 – adding up to 30. By the rules, I won.

“Oho, not bad. You’re quite lucky.”

The next round began, and again, I silently set my cards. The reveal showed 9, 9, 8, and 4 again, totaling 30. I played 1 and 3 for a total of 4. I also activated an Attachment card to discard my hand and recover Soldiers from the discard pile – 4, 2, and 1.

Another turn. Set, reveal. The cards on the table were 8, 8, 7, 7. However, I had played a 4 and 3, while the opponent only played a 7. So, with the smallest total, I won again.

“It’s cheating!!!”

The man was furious at my impossible three wins in a row. He slammed the table and confronted me.

“Hey, you’re staff here, right? You think you can get away with this?”

“Do you have proof of cheating?”

“Don’t play dumb! Dealer! He’s cheating, right?!”

The dealer, looking worried, shook his head. Of course, I had done everything correctly.

“Damn it… Watch him closely, everyone! Dealer, you too! If he cheats again, I’ll tear him apart and throw him into the sea!”

I set my cards again amidst their intense scrutiny. Open. The table showed 7, 7, 6, and 0, indicating only an attachment card was played. Normally, it’s a losing move, but the total was 20 – a multiple of 10, so it was an exceptional win.

The man slammed the table again without a word.

“Sir, please refrain from hitting the table…”

“Shut up! You all saw it; he’s cheating! What do you say!?”

Everyone awkwardly fell silent. The man started to look confused.

“Come on, let’s continue the game, old man.”

Open, and again, the total was a multiple of 10. The man who had swapped cards with Rubure seemed to realize too late. I had the smallest total. Open, and finally, the total wasn’t a multiple of 10. I had a 1. I lost this round, but it didn’t matter. The early wins by Rubure and me combined secured our victory.

“You guys aren’t used to this kind of game, are you? That’s not how you should play.”

After the game, I spoke to the men, who looked like defeated fish.

“What do you mean, kid? What did we do wrong?”

They confronted me, no longer hiding their cheating intent. It was simple. The game used a fixed deck, meaning you could deduce the opponent’s hand by the cards in play and the discard pile. First, the man who swapped hands with Rubure revealed half of the cards she held. Then, the massive recovery of discarded pile cards, overflowing their hands, forced them to discard mostly attachment cards. That mistake was critical – it was as if they were announcing they held mostly Soldiers.

They had to play high-value Soldiers to match Rubure’s earlier 9s and 10s to beat her. I knew what cards Rubure had, so I just matched my cards to the highest numbers she had used.

In short, they had inadvertently revealed all their hand information. Predicting their plays was easy, making the game almost a certain win for me.

A mountain of coins was brought to me – a massive win at ten times the rate. An overwhelming amount of money!

“Amazing! We won big! We’re rich now!!”

Rubure hugged me in excitement as the crowd erupted in applause and cheers. Yes, I had won the serious game! Even if half of it was Rubure’s share, it was still a significant amount of money!

“Yesss! We did it, Rubure! We did it! Yippee!!”

Caught up in the excitement, I high-fived Rubure, sharing our joy. This huge sum of money practically guaranteed my permanent residency in this port town. My dream of a slow life in another world was finally taking off!

“Yuusha-san, Yuusha-san, look over there… That game they’re playing… I heard it’s lucrative… You’re not planning to stop now, are you?”

Rubure, with a mischievous grin, nudged me towards a gaming machine. It was a slot machine. Just insert coins and spin. It didn’t consume many coins, and playing might be fun.

“Alright, Rubure, let’s give that a try too!”

“Yay!!”

We headed to the slot machine, arm in arm.

“Touko-sama, there you are. I thought it was noisy… Those two are at it again…”

Mei arrived next to Touko, watching Yuusha and Rubure getting enthusiastically involved in the slot machine. They were making quite a scene, but it was endearing. Hopefully, they still remember their original purpose. Just then, Mei heard something.

“What’s with her getting so close to Yuusha? We’ve known each other since childhood, and it took them so long to reach that point. They’ve only met a few days ago, right? Isn’t that strange? She must be using some fascinating herb, typical of a gloomy elf holed up in the forest… trying to tear us apart and eventually take Yuusha away from me…”

A grinding sound, maybe Touko grinding her teeth in frustration. Mei noticed an overwhelming aura of negativity emanating from her. Touko glared hatefully at Yuusha and Rubure, who were completely absorbed in their game, oblivious to the world around them. Their closeness only fueled Touko’s negative aura.

“Rubure-san’s personality allows her to get along with everyone easily, and her appearance surely draws Yuusha-sama’s attention, but it’s like watching a neighbor’s child, isn’t it?”

“What? She said she’d been a NEET for twenty years, right? That makes her an old hag on the inside. The eldest here. So sly… She’s trying to steal Yuusha from me.”

Jealousy, even without being in a relationship? Mei wanted to point this out but thought better of it and changed the subject.

“Elves age differently from humans, so their appearance might also influence their mental age…”

“But she’s older, right? A valid romantic interest. That vixen is teasing a younger boy… Playing with Yuusha’s pure heart… Is that strange, Mei? She should be thrown out immediately. Wait… are they touching shoulders? Is she pressing her chest against him? That’s deliberate, right? I can’t… I can’t take this… Yuusha belongs to me…”

Mei felt hopeless. The more they talked, the worse Touko’s mood got.

You should ask Yuusha-sama about it later. I’m sure he’ll give you a proper answer.”

Mei had given up on reasoning with her. She looked at Yuusha, engrossed in the slot machine, unaware of the confrontation awaiting him. It could be a good lesson for him, considering he was playing with Rubure instead of working.

◆

It’s been a while since I laid my hands on the slot machine.

My vision warps. My feet waver. Why? Why? The large number of coins I had just lost disappeared one by one. No, if I run away now, all the stacks I’ve built up… I continue to throw in coins and pray.

But… I can’t! The coin is just being sucked into the slot machine, and it won’t come back. It’s an endless waste. A riverbed of dice. My money is disappearing, disappearing.

I glance in the direction of the rube. There’s no life in my eyes. I’m working on putting the coin into the slot. I’m wrong. I’m going in again. I’m wrong. The situation is the same…

“This isn’t fair… It’s too much…”

Tears streamed down Rubure’s face. I felt the same way. Why did this happen? How did it come to this? The last coin disappeared into the machine.

“Yuusha… did we do something wrong?”

We hadn’t. We had just lived our lives to the fullest. Yet, fate had abandoned us. That was all.

“Rubure… let’s go back… to where we belong…”

Our time of dreams was over, and it was time to return to work. To earn our daily wage and keep dreaming of a slow life… Ah, the transient nature of life.