Chapter 44 - Volume 3 (2/2)

“Oi, Cordnell. Give me some money.”

Crack! Those words were the final push Cordnell needed to snap.

“You, son of a b.i.t.c.h! Money? How can we have any money! You spent all of it yourself! The debt we have to pay in a fortnight is 300 thousand Giga, you know! The rumours about you have spread so far that we can’t even ask for any loans!”

“What are you complaining about? It’s just 300 thousand. Just one big win and that’s all water under the bridge.”

Cordnell finally lost all sanity when Isaac acted like it was no big deal. Cordnell started throwing objects at Isaac as he swore at him.

“Are you kidding me?! We’ll be bankrupt if we can’t pay back that 300 thousand Giga, bankrupt! Do you even know what that means? We’ll be screwed! Screwed!”

Finally Isaac seemed to grasp the situation. His expression began to get serious.

“Are we really that low on money?”

“Are you honestly saying that after you poured all that money into Port City’s casino?”

Cordnell’s rampage was stopped when all of the other merchant employees held him back. Isaac nodded to enraged Corndell as if he’d made a big decision.

“I guess there’s no choice. I’ll need to use my real estate as a warrant.”

Cordnell finally calmed down after hearing that with a sigh.

“Good thinking. If it’s the Seven Grand Merchant Guild, they’ll buy the real estate above the market price. Let’s settle all the urgent… Hm? A warrant?”

Cordnell was expecting the real estate to come up since it was the last thing Isaac had at this point. He quickly nodded in agreement, but realised Isaac said ‘warrant’ and not ‘for sale.’

“I’ll use the real estate to aim for a big winning! One good game and our entire money problem will be over! Don’t worry. Now, where were my deeds for real estate?”

“How can I not worry now? What are you guys doing? Stop him!”

Cordnell quickly tried to grab Isaac as he proceeded to walk down the stairs, but Cordnell’s friends and colleagues stopped not Isaac, but Cordnell instead.

“Just give it up. It’s all over now.”

“What do you mean by that!”

“We need to look to our own lives now. Don’t worry, we’ve saved your portion too.”

“Uaaah! Don’t stop me! Stop Isaac!”

Cordnell’s scream pierced through the air.

“Please! Sir Isaac, rethink this. Please!”

“Ah, d.a.m.n you’re persistent. I told you not to worry. Just one game and I’ll get all my money back. In fact, I’ll come back with a profit.”

“Noo!”

Cordnell hung onto Isaac’s leg, pleading to change his mind. But Isaac coldly jerked him away and continued to move on to Port City without hesitation.

“Tsk tsk. What a horrible way to go.”

“It’s a shame he’s fighting the lonely fight when everyone else have already given up.”

All of the other merchant employees and Isaac’s hubaes looked as if they weren’t involved in any of this. They didn’t even try to make an attempt to stop him. They’ve already stolen their share of money, and they have no regrets anymore.

“Stop him! Don’t let that b.a.s.t.a.r.d go!”

Cordnell wept, hurt by all of his colleagues who were content with just following behind Isaac while ignoring him. They may have given up on New Port City, but they wanted to watch. This was going to be one of the biggest gambles they’ve seen, with lives on the line.

“Huhuhu. You’re finally here.”

“I’ll fight you like it’s the last day of my life.”

With Cordnell making so much noise, the rumours have travelled already to Port City. Port City’s casino was booming with a sea of people, ready to watch a man’s life-or-death gamble.

“Now, let us head in. It’s too crowded here.”

Port City’s casino always screened who entered. All of the common folk could only pace around the door and make bets on when the money will dry out, in how many days Isaac will commit suicide, and with which method he will commit the suicide.

The n.o.bles on the other hand, looked to the common folk with disdain, and they were led into the elegant casino with utmost care.

All of the tables were moved from the table, except one.

“Which game?”

“Dice!”

Isaac replied as if the answer was never in question. Harold snorted.

“Then let’s see how much you brought.”

Isaac called over Rizzly, who held a bag of doc.u.ments with him.

“It’s the deeds to all real estate in New Port City.”

“Uaaah! You dumba.s.s!”

Cordnell struggled to get to the bag before Rizzly could hand it over, but was stopped by security.

“Please, regain your senses Sir Isaac! That is your life you’re trading away!”

“Shut up! I’ve already bet my life! Take him away! He’s annoying me!”

Isaac’s words were all Harold needed to send a sinister smile to the security guards, and Cordnell was dragged out of the casino in the hands of the brutes.

“Sir Isaac, please! Sir Isaac! Oi! Oi! Isaac you b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”

With Cordnell’s haunting cries disappearing into the distance, Harold finally finished going through all of the doc.u.ments.

“Hm, I’ll give you 800 thousand Giga for this.”

“What! The real estate alone has a value of at least 1.5 million Giga!”

“That’s when New Port City was going strong. Didn’t you know that Ceta District’s real estate has been dropping every day?”

“B, but…”

“Even if you try to sell the real estate instead, you won’t get a better price than what I’m offering you now.”

“Kuuk! F, fine. We’ll do as you say…”

Harold pushed on, using his advantage to abuse Isaac into a corner.

“Then I guess you need to pay back the remaining 200 thousand.”

“Huh? What the h.e.l.l do you mean by that?”

Isaac who was just about to ask for some chips looked to Harold with his eyes popping wide.

“You do remember that you owe us a million Giga right?”

“T, that’s…”

Isaac stood there helplessly, worried that his entire wealth was about to be taken from him without being able to do anything. Harold watched Isaac, and then added in a condition that he wanted.

“But I guess I can’t let all these guests leave empty handed. If you write me a power of attorney, I’ll take that as a warrant.”

“The power of attorney?”

“The power of attorney to relegate your remaining office as Lord’s Representative to me.”

“B, but…”

Isaac seemed to be shaken by an offer he never thought of before.

“I understand your hesitation. But this isn’t the first time we’ve loaned money over the rights as mayor or the Lord’s Representative. We’ve done it many times, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“But… if I give up on that too…”

Harold began provoking Isaac when it seemed he was still hesitating.

“What seems to be the problem? Isn’t everything solved if you win? Or are you scared that you’re going to lose?”

“W, who says I’m going to lose!”

“Huhu, then write that power of attorney for me. I’ll loan you a million Giga without any conditions. Otherwise, we will have to end it here.”

Isaac seemed to hesitate because of such a low offer, and Harold stood up seemingly without any regret.

“I guess we’ll have to call it quits then. I’ve got nothing to lose.”

“N, no! I’ll do it!”

When the word of Isaac selling his t.i.tle for a million Giga spread, a strange, haunting but familiar voice could be heard from outside.

The merchant employees and Isaac’s hubaes looked to Isaac like he was trash for giving up not just his real estate, but all of his rights as the Lord’s Representative. They also felt relieved for getting out of the situation before things turned to worse.

Isaac signed away the power of attorney in a doc.u.ment which was already prepared beforehand. When he sat on the table, the dealer pushed a mountain of chips to him.

“Huh? This isn’t the million Giga I was promised!”

“You need to pay back the remaining debt.”

“B, but…”

“Well, we can always stop now if you don’t want to play.”

Harold acted like he was about to leave, and Isaac quickly stopped him.

“N, no! This is more than enough.”

“Hmph. But you seem rather impolite. Shouldn’t you show some manners when it’s clear that I’m much older than you?”

“…Ha! Don’t make me laugh! Do the customers in this casino have to grovel in order to play?”

“Huhuhu. I see you still have your pride, even in the face of death. Well, let’s just enjoy the game for now.”

Harold left his seat with a snort when he saw Isaac fall for his provocation. Immediately after he left, the dealer handed the dice to Isaac.

“Hm?”

Isaac blankly looked at the dice, and Harold explained with earnest.

“We always operate cleanly, but this is a game at a scale never seen before right? Since people may later call that this game is rigged, I’m just making sure we confirm together that it isn’t. Don’t come crying to me later that we cheated after you lose all your money.”

“Ha. Do you really think I’m so pathetic that I’d cry after losing?”

“Haha. That’s even more so the reason to make sure. Even the greatest man becomes pathetic when they lose a great deal of money.”

After the dealer’s constant nagging, Isaac carefully checked the dice. He threw the dice a few times, checked their sizes and weight, going through all of the checks.

“Are you done now?”

“I guess there isn’t any tampering.”

“A casino can’t operate if it has no trust.”

“Does that mean I can trust you?”

“I swear upon all the wealth I have.”

“Alright! Let’s start then!”

Isaac slammed the table as he made a bet, and the game finally started.

Each time the dice showed their faces, a moan could be heard in the casino.

“No hits.”

The dealer emotionlessly gathered all of the chips on the table. Isaac’s 800 thousand Giga have shrunk considerably, and a tremor could be seen in Isaac’s hands.

“Huhu, it’s going to end soon.”

As the chips shrunk, Harold started to become impatient. He had been letting Isaac win a few times so there wouldn’t be any suspicion, so Isaac still had 500 thousand with him; but knowing the end already, the game started to bore Harold.

Despite Harold’s silent pressure with his eyes, the dealer kept up the act by slowly chipping away at Isaac’s wealth through many wins and even more losses.

Isaac also seemed to be pressured in the game, and each bet was made after considerable pondering, boring even the onlookers. Harold finally decided to act when he thought that enough was enough.

“Wait. The game’s getting too boring. Why don’t we rest a little and play later?”

“How can you say that! I’m just starting to get a feel of it!”

“You say that when you’re making the minimum bets?”

“T, that’s… Anyway I can’t rest. I’ll lose the feel of it.”

“Fine. Then we’ll raise the minimum for each game.”

“H, how can you do that!”

Isaac complained to Harold, but Harold replied with a frown on his face.

“Hey, there’s a limit to how convenient we can make it for you. How much are you going to play now? My casino isn’t made just for you to play in. We need to run our business too.”

“Uuk…”

Harold’s words were both right and wrong. It’s true that Isaac shouldn’t take over the entire casino to play alone, but the amount of money he was playing with was much larger than what the casino earned in a day, making it a net profit at the end of the day.

“Well, since I’m increasing the minimum, I’ll also remove the limit for the maximum bet you can make.”

Harold offered to Isaac as if he was doing him a favour

“You’re going to remove the maximum bet?”

“That’s right. How much do you have now? 500 thousand? You can bet all of it if you want.”

“R, really?”

The crowd rustled at Harold’s offer. It meant that Harold was willing to have a sudden death match with 500 thousand.

“Ha! You think I’ll fall for your trap? I can clearly see that you’re trying to ruin my run by disrupting my focus. I’m not so foolish to fall for such obvious trap!”

Isaac ridiculed Harold as he ignored the offer and started playing with 10 thousand Giga per game. A few games later, another hundred thousand Giga were lost. With only 400 thousand left under his name, Isaac asked Harold with much deliberation.

“You said there isn’t a maximum bet right?”

‘He fell for it!’

Harold started to sing in his mind. He knew Isaac would fall for the sudden death match, considering that personality of his.

Harold nodded to Isaac like a benevolent spirit.

“Of course. I don’t care if you bet all of the chips you have.”

Knowing that Isaac can’t possibly win, Harold tried his utmost to suppress his cheeks and lips from making a smile.

After much consideration, Isaac closed his eyes, and pushed all of his chips on having 3 identical numbers coming out.

“Fine! It only takes one game to win it all! I’ve fallen this far, I may as well go for broke! I’m betting it all on my favourite number, 3!”

Isaac decision put the crowd into frenzy.

A 400 thousand Giga bet. This was going to go down in gambling history, and the people went into a frenzy for witnessing this history in the making.

The dealer flinched at the huge scale of the bet and looked to Harold. Harold laughed and accepted Isaac’s bet.

“Fine! I’ll take it! It’s a sudden death match!”

With Harold’s approval, the dealer placed the dice in the middle of the table.

“According to the casino’s rules, when such a large sum of money is bet, both the player and the representative of the casino must check the dice to ensure there isn’t any tampering.”

“I’m fine. I checked it before.”

Since Isaac refused to check, Harold threw the dice a few times since it was the rules.

“There is nothing wrong. Hurry and start.”

“Then do you both agree there isn’t any tampering?”

“I got it, so just start already!”

Isaac shouted impatiently, while Harold nodded with all the time in his hand.

“I agree.”

“Then lastly, you must decide on the airtime.”

“Airtime?”

“Yes. You must decide on how long the dice will stay in the air.”

Isaac complained to himself on how he needed to pick on every little detail, and then began to hesitate when it came down to choosing the time.

“Huhu. Shall I give you some help?”

“S, shut up!”

“I just find it so pitiful to see you hesitate so much.”

Isaac finally burst out in anger as Harold kept scratching at his nerve with his constant provocations.

“Fine! Choose it you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! I’m going to win anyway!”

“Ha. Fine, let’s make it 30 seconds. I will at least let your hope to last that much longer.”

The dealer nodded and turned the timer next to the cylinder to 30 seconds.

“Then we shall begin.”

The dealer placed the dice onto the lid of the cylinder. Just when he was about to press the b.u.t.ton, Isaac quickly shouted out in regret.

“W, wait!”

But Isaac was too late and the dice fell into the cylinder and began to dance.

“Wait! This doesn’t count! I take back my bet!”

“Impossible! Once the dice are in the cylinder, you cannot change your bets!”

Isaac desperately called out to Harold, but Harold coldly refused, not hesitating for a single moment.

“P, please! Let me, let me bet again!”

“Huhuhu. What a disgrace. You can’t stop the dice once they’ve been thrown.”

“Please, Mr. Harold. Give me another chance. Please! Let me, allow me to bet again!”

Isaac fell off his chair and bowed to Harold, clinging on to his leg as he made his plea. Harold finally shouted out with utmost happiness, thinking that he finally had the arrogant nuisance yield to him.

“You cannot cancel the bet! Accept your loss!”

“Nooo! It’s over… It’s all over…”

The entire crowd frowned as Isaac wept and cried. Watching a man fall into the abyss is never a pleasant sight. Harold watched the dice fall onto the table, and shouted out, unable to hold in his laughter.

“Kuahaha! It’s over! New Port City is now mine!”

Harold laughed and basked in his victory, when he realised something was amiss. He stopped his laughter and looked around him. In his eyes, he saw the crowd react with astonishment and disbelief. Harold turned around also with disbelief and fear to look at the table.

3, 3, 3. The dice were neatly arranged in a line. Harold looked to the dice again and again, rubbing his eyes between each attempt, but the faces of the dice never changed.

“H, how… How could this… This can’t be…”

Harold slowly walked to the table closer, trembling in each step.

“No. This can’t be. There must be something wrong.”

Harold tried to grab at the dice with his shaking hand, when suddenly someone pulled the back of his s.h.i.+rt and threw him onto the floor.

“Kuuk!”

Even after the fall, Harold still seemed dumbfounded by everything.

“Tsk tsk. You shouldn’t try to touch the dice once they’ve been played.”

“Huh?”

Isaac, who pulled Harold onto the floor, sat back on his chair. Rizzly handed Isaac a warm towel as if he had been waiting for this moment, and Isaac quickly cleaned his face.

“Phew… Finally I feel like I’m alive. See, all it takes is just a single game.”

It was a completely different att.i.tude to when he was crying before.

Harold watched Isaac wipe his face and start lighting a choyu cigarette at first, but Harold’s face quickly twisted like that of a ghost.

“Y, you!”

After a brief stare, Harold charged at Isaac like a mad hound, but he was stopped by Rizzly.

“What are you mad about?”

Isaac tilted his head and asked Harold a question, and Harold shouted out as if asking for help from the crowd.

“T-this is a scam! This can’t possibly happen!”

“Possibly happen you say… How can you be so sure? It sounds almost as if the results were predetermined?”

“T-that’s…”

Harold was at a loss for words, and his head quickly spun to think up an answer.

“N, no! This is a scam made by both you and the dealer! You two must have planned this together! Otherwise, there’s no possible way for all three to come out as 3!”

Isaac laughed at Harold’s pathetic excuse.

“Ha! A scam you say? Look here, Mr Harold. Was it me who asked for limitless maximum? It was you right? It was you who also last checked the dice . You said there was nothing wrong. It was you who chose the time. And I asked you to cancel the bet right? I begged and pleaded for it right? And you said no. You said you can’t stop the dice once they’re in play. And all of a sudden, you say it’s all a scam because you lost? That’s no way to run a casino. It’s fine when you win, but it’s cheating when you lose? One h.e.l.l of a business scheme you got there. No way would that happen in my casino.”

Harold collapsed onto the floor as if he’d lost his mind. Isaac snickered at the sight, and looked to the table as he made a scene.

“Wow, 150x 400 thousand Giga is it? How much is that? I’m too scared to count. I’m no good at maths you see. I guess I should give you a tip for giving me a once in a lifetime winning. Here’s a tip. Take a million Giga for yourself.”

Isaac threw a million Giga’s worth of chips to the dealer, and the dealer bowed in return.

“Thank you.”

The crowd still looked at the scene in disbelief as if they were still dreaming.

Harold regained his senses and tried to think up a way to turn the situation around, but his confused head couldn’t come up with any plan. Meanwhile, the crowd was too busy to calculate the winning.

“How much did he win now?”

“It’s 150x 400 thousand, so it comes down to 60 million Giga!”

“What!”

It was an astronomical amount. No one could stop their jaws from dropping after hearing that. The Empire’s budget last year was 130 million Giga. And Isaac just won almost half of the Empire’s budget.

No matter how much money one had, there isn’t a single group that could pay back so much money in a single sitting unless they were a nation themselves.

Suddenly, one of the security guards rushed to the scene screaming.

“Mr. Harold! Urgent news!”

The security guard pushed through the crowd and drove the nail into his already-confused head.

“The safe! The safe has been emptied!”

“…What?”

“Someone stole everything in the safe!”

“The safe… There’s at least 10 million Giga in there. And you’re saying someone stole it?”

“Yes! They took everything! There isn’t even a single coin left!”

“Ha ha ha…”

Harold looked like he aged at least 10 years.

“Tsk tsk. What kind of security do you have to have your safe robbed? That would never happen in my casino. This is why all kinds of accidents happen when newcomers try to run a casino. Tsk tsk. It’s a shame, Mr Harold.”

Isaac’s sarcastic tone caused Harold to react, his eyes staring directly at Isaac.

“You… it was you. You…!”

“Hm? Me? I did what? It’s a shame your safe was robbed, but you’re still going to have to pay me right? Since it’s no good for the Lord’s Representative to count money like a p.a.w.n, I’ll send over one of my men instead.”

Snap!

With the flick of Isaac’s fingers, Soland slowly came out of the crowd.

“This fella here is a professional when it comes to collecting loans. He’ll make sure that you pay it all, even if you have to give up everything.”

“Y-you are!”

Harold shouted out in disbelief when he saw Soland smiling next to Isaac. Finally, everything came to him. It was a trap from the start. A trap set to send him to the abyss. It was Soland who brought him the information about Isaac’s gambling. It was Soland who introduced the dealer to him.

“Y-you dare… gasp!”

“Mr. Harold!”

Harold, unable to withstand the shock, fainted with bubbles foaming at his mouth.

“How did such a coward like you run a casino? Phew, it’s tiring to gamble with your life on the line. I think I’ll take a break.”

Isaac got out of the chair and patted Soland’s shoulder before walking out of the casino. The crowd, who were watching the whole thing, made a path for Isaac.

Just as he was about to walk through, Isaac stopped and looked around.

Flinch!

The people who met Isaac’s eyes quickly turned away, and those guilty couldn’t even dare raise their heads to look at him.

“My fellow employees and lovely hubaes who have been working tirelessly in recent days.”

Isaac smiled to the group, who couldn’t even react after having been called out.

“I think we need to talk.”

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