Chapter 161: Shinva (2/2)

However, Arthur wasn't that impulsive anymore. He reigned in his mana and flashed a courteous smile at Roland.

”Nice to meet you, Roland.” The atmosphere eased when Arthur said. ”My dad used to work for the same guild, I hope you'll find a better fate than his.” His words made the group awkward but Yurirl casually continued.

”Hm, I've heard about Everlasting Stream.” It was Yurirl's social skills or how dense he was regarding the situation. ”To be a captain is quite noteworthy.”

”Thank you, Sir Yurirl,” Roland said with a grateful expression.

Arthur didn't want to judge Roland solely based on his background, so he didn't treat him any differently. After all, a person's character wasn't decided by the organization he belonged to. His father was a fine example of that.

Lunch arrived and Nera tried to strike up a conversation with Yurirl, only to fail. Yurirl was courteous but he wasn't the talkative type. As for Tin Rasan, she was quite the elegant lady but she didn't say a word. She only smiled as she listened to whoever spoke.

Their table turned to be the spotlight given the statuses of the people involved. Six young men and women from every corner of the world sitting around one table and eating together.

Their time was two hours, so they had a lot of free time left. Since that was the case, Arthur had a mischievous idea as he looked at Yurirl.

”Hey, everyone. How about we play some cards?” The rest looked at him with confusion. Arthur signaled to a staff member and politely asked for a deck that was delivered to him instantaneously.

After he got the deck, Arthur took out the fifty-two cards. Four suits of a rose, a sword, a shield, and a book with thirteen cards in each suit. The cards were the ace, two to the ten, the knight, the hero, and the guardian.

As he looked at the highest-ranking card, the guardian, Arthur wondered slightly how much of their world was based on those nine people. He dismissed the thought and turned to the group.

”Let's play Shinva,” Arthur turned to Yurirl specifically. ”Do you know how to play it?” Yurirl shook his head. ”As the legend says, Shinva is the trickster that led kingdoms to their fall since ancient times. He tricked kings and queens to steal their possession and replace them with fake ones.”

Arthur explained the game. They would go in turn and each person would have to place a certain card. The first person would have to throw an ace, the one after has to burn a two, and so on in sequence. The cards would be thrown upside down and the person can lie about what card they've thrown. This way, whenever you see that someone was lying, you call out ”Shinva!”

”I don't lie.” Yurirl frowned.

”Then you'll have to get a full suit of cards to win.” Arthur shrugged and dealt the cards between them. ”Aces!” He threw in two cards and the others looked at each other.

”Shinva!” Emma called out playfully and turned the cards upward. They were two aces and she had to pick them up to her deck as a punishment. ”Two.”

Then came Tin's turn and the group got to hear her voice for the first time. A cold and aloft voice that was quite the contrast to her elegant appearance. Then came Nera and Roland.

In the end, Yurirl's turn came and he had to play six. His face frowned heavily and he threw a card without saying anything.

”You need to say what card you've thrown, Yurirl.” Arthur smiled at him. ”Otherwise, we'll know that you're lying.” Arthur picked the card and flipped it upward. ”Shinva.” It was a card of seven and the group laughed.

At the end of the game, Yurirl was holding almost the whole deck and Emma won easily. Yurirl's face, despite how handsome he was, looked tired.

”I hate this game.” Yurirl threw the cards from his hand and looked at Arthur with an upset face. ”You've tricked me.”

”Well,” Arthur smiled as he saw how much fun they've had. ”I guess I'm Shinva then.”

The announcement came and the next round would begin in ten minutes. The screen showed the names of everyone and their opponents. As Arthur read the name of his opponent, he found it to be familiar.

Carlos Beva, the man from the Sourna and the other champion candidate for the cup. They could already hear the crowd cheering for the anticipated match that has been brought early on by luck.

”Say Yurirl,” Arthur spoke to the young man as they walked back to their room. ”Is it a coincidence that we were paired?” Since Yurirl looked to be incapable of lying, even in a game, Arthur hoped to learn the truth directly from him.

Yurirl didn't answer but Arthur waited. They reached their room and the staff left, leaving them alone inside. Arthur didn't sit on his hair but turned to face Yurirl who looked at him back, seeming to mull over his answer.

”No,” Yurirl answered before the one-hour time frame began. ”It's not a coincidence.” Arthur saw that Yurirl's eyes were clear and unwavering. ”It was fate.”