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nIn the dark, Philip and Luke stepped out of the busy streets to a relatively quiet distance.

nHe wasn’t sure where the gambling house was, but Luke didn’t seem to be too concerned with it.

nEven if he wasn’t able to go there, there were people that could guide them there.

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n“Hello, sir. could you be in need of a guide?”

nOne person approached from the back of the alley and spoke in a low voice.

nLuke passed to him a gold coin that looked like it was from over 500 years ago with a smile.

n“I feel like betting. Is there any good place here?”

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n“Of course. Please follow me.”

nPhilip bit his tongue as he saw Luke follow the guide.

nHe also knew well because he had been with his Young Lord for some time.

nThe appearance of his Young Lord was good enough to be an example of a ‘fallen noble’.

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n‘When did he learn these? Did he learn all these when he stayed away from us for a year?’

nThe Young Lord that Philip knew was a gentle and sincere boy.

nHe listened well to the words of his elders and never spoke anything bad.

nWhich was why when Luke talked about the statue of his ancestor, Philip was very frightened.

n‘The gentle cat always climbs up the hut first.’

nWith his tongue still out, Philip followed Luke.

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nAlong the wall, a two-story brick house emerged into the winding alley.

nIt was a gambling house operated by the Thieves Guild.

nUnlike its shabby exterior, its interior was spacious and gorgeous.

nThe floor was covered in marble tiles; the ceiling was decorated with jeweled magical lights.

nAt the table that was made of imported timber, the nobles and the dealers were present. They were seated with hordes of half-busted clothes.

nThey weren’t interested in who the new ones were or who was standing next to them that had to throw the dice or exchange cards with.

nLuke shook his hand at the cigarette’s smoke that filled the gambling house.

n“This is ‘the cave of sin’.”

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n“Also the hole of destruction.”

nPhilip had been constantly nagging him to leave, but Luke didn’t seem to care.

nHe sat in an empty spot at a table and smirked.

n“Can I play?”

n“As long as you have enough chips.”

nLuke immediately placed the remaining 2,000 pesos, which he earned after selling the statue, onto the table. All the other gamblers in the table smiled after seeing the bag of money.

n“Lord, they all seem like professional gamblers, right?”

n“I know.”

nLuke was bitten by a warning which came in the form of a whisper, and the card game had started.

nIn the beginning, he thought about taking it easy and started lightly.

nIt was to grasp the difference in the rules from 500 years ago, but there weren’t any big changes.

nGamblers weren’t exactly using ‘techniques’, but that was how they were at the beginning.

nIt was to put the winds into the cards, but that was it.

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nAfter some time, the capital in Luke’s hand grew to 5,000 pesos, and then the gamblers began to act.

n“Flush, your side?”

n“Four cards.”

nThe gambler, who opened his mouth with a triumphant look, opened his mouth wide after seeing Luke’s cards.

nThey were sure that Luke had to have some lower cards, which was why the result was surprising.

n‘Dammit, this kid isn’t just some beginner!’

n‘It looks like he has played a bit, but even then, there is still a huge difference between us.’

nThe gamblers who glanced over at each other immediately began to use their techniques.

nAs they shuffled and shuffled the cards with their hands, Luke saw one of them pulling one out.

nEven then, he chose to say nothing.

nHe just opened the cards.

n“Straight.”

n“Ihkkk!”

nOnce again the gamblers watched Luke’s hand sweep away all the money.

nFrom then on, Luke kept on winning.

nHe was losing a little in the middle, but they weren’t huge loses with big stakes, the damage that was done to him was small.

nInstead, it was almost as huge as the plate.

n‘What? This is full!’

nPhilip, who was behind his Young Lord, was surprised to see him be that good in gambling.

nRather than a straight game, he thought that he would lose it all in just a few games.

nBut it was the gamblers who began to get restless as their expressions began to turn dark.

n“Young Lord, have you done this before?”

n“Yeah, a little.”

nHonestly, it wasn’t just ‘a little’.

n500 years ago.

nLuke or Saymon ran a gambling house.

nIt was before he went to war with his enemies earnestly, and he used the gambling house as a means to drain money from his enemies. Apart from that, he used the gambling house to extract information in exchange for not paying back his debt.

nIn that process, he learned of a card trick which was different from that of the Thieves Guild and studied the combination probability of the cards that he was going to get, which meant that Luke was more than a professional gambler. In addition, gamblers often try to use a technique to get a good idea of how the opponent would react.

n“Uh, get us some alcohol here!”

nOne of the gamblers who was smoking, squeezed a cigarette while shouting at the employee.

nA male employee brought some bottles and snacks on a tray.

nBut it wasn’t just alcohol.

n“Ho ho ho are you having fun?”

n“Oh my, aren’t you too serious?”

nA bunch of face-painted clowns approached Luke and the other gamblers.

nAmong them, a black-haired lady revealed her cleavage while sticking next to Luke. She clung to him very tightly.

n“This is my first time seeing you here. What’s your name?”

n“Saymon.”

n“Hohoho, liar! The same name as the Devil King?”

nAfter a drink, he started playing cards again.

nAfter that, Luke had lost four rounds.

nHe continued to lose continuously—but not that much—as if the opponent knew what was in his hand.

n“Young lord, you might be out of luck. Let’s end this and go, okay?”

nPhilip whispered, feeling bad.

nBut why was Luke still smiling?

nRight then, he placed all of his money onto the table.

n‘Oh! You, Young Lord, don’t tell me…!’

nNervous at what he saw, Philip was trying so hard not to speak.

nBut that wasn’t the end.

nLuke just spoke out what Philip was thinking.

n“;I’m going to play this one last round. My body is tired, and I can’t go on anymore.”

nAt the words of Luke, the gamblers had a rather unpleasant expression.

nWas he trying to win the whole game with just one shot!

nAt their displeasure, Luke spoke with a grin.

n“You have been walking with a kid all this while. What do you plan on doing?”

n“All in.”

n“I’ll bet too.”

nJust like Luke had planned.

nThe moment the gamblers heard those words from Luke, they couldn’t help but go all-in.

nThe gamblers were convinced that they would win.

nIn fact, they had a strategy that was more certain and more reliable than any other.

nIt was the black-haired b*tch attached to Luke.

nShe looked down to take a peek at the cards that were in Luke’s hands. And the information was being delivered to them in their own secret signs.

n“To know the enemy is to know me.”

nA famous saying in the southern continent; a game that couldn’t be lost.

nBut the game started to turn strange right from the very start.

n“What’s this? Won’t you look at the cards?”

n“This is enough.”

nLuke had just turned his cards down.

nThe gamblers just frowned because he had to look at his cards, so the black-haired girl could let them know what his cards were.

nBut he had broken their technique.

nLuke didn’t even take a peek at the cards in his hand.

n“Okay, I’ll go on.”

nThe cards got piled up one after the other, and the tension began to rise.

nFinally, the distribution of the cards was complete.

nOne of the gamblers gulped down as he was nervous.

n“Do you at least want to open your cards and check?”

n“Hmm, you’ll die otherwise.”

n“Eik, nice! Then we all open together.”

n‘I don’t know what kind of trick you are trying to do kid, but you can’t win. Because one of us will have the winning hand.’

nFive people, including Luke, played cards at the same time, which relaxed the heart of the gambler.

n“Huhuhu, full house. This time I… ackk!”

nThe gambler, who was supposed to receive the highest hand as planned, screamed as he was about to sweep off the stakes on the table.

nIt was because Luke’s hand was higher than his.

nIt was a straight flush.

n“Huhu, thank you.”

nLuke swept his winnings into his pocket.

n“Screw this, you cheater!”

n“You look young and yet you dare do something like this here!”

nThe gamblers jumped out of their seats since they were upset.

nBut Luke’s eyes shined at that moment.

n“Cheat? On the other hand, weren’t you guys trying to pull out cards off your hands? And you guys also have someone that will help you see my cards.”

n“That… that’s…!”

nThe gamblers couldn’t hide their embarrassment.

nTo put up a b*tch as a tool for gambling was just uncalled for!

n“Do you know what would happen if I say your secrets here out loud?”

nAmong the gamblers were tazas. They were people who were employed in the gambling house.

nIf the truth about the gambling house using tricks to cheat went out, the reputation of the gambling house would crumble.

nWhich meant that guests wouldn’t be willing to come.

n“Ah, this!”

n“Kay, all of you. If I get the chance, I’ll come and see you again later.”

nLuke swept all the money of the gambling house and teased the grumbling gamblers.

nAs they entered the alley, Philip who couldn’t stand the suspense anymore asked.

n“Young lord, what happened in the last round?”

nIt was amazing that Luke was able to predict his opponent’s hand, but in the last round, the Young Lord hadn’t even looked at his own cards, and he did that to a gambler, who was supposed to be a step higher than him.

nUnlike Philip, who was still ecstatic, Luke replied with a grim look.

n“Ah, that? It was just an output of maths.”

nLuke, who knew the game well, memorized all the sequences and card combinations in it.

nWhat was more, their nails left a faint trace on the edge or the back of the card, so they could easily recognize it.

nThat way, they could figure out what kind of cards they held onto, and what tricks they could do.

nWhich was why Luke was able to make the best out of the situation without even looking at his cards.

n“Those who like to cheat rarely go for a royal straight flush. If the opponent has a low chance of losing, then the opponent will begin to suspect.”

n“I see. But, if we add up the money from gambling, we only have 10,000 pesos. What about the remaining 20,000 pesos?”

n“What do you mean? I’m going to another gambling house.”

nHe couldn’t go to the place where he had already visited.

nObviously, the Thieves Guild would have reported about it, so he would have been banned.

nAnd that was why the two men left the alley and began wandering the streets in search for another gambling house.

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