Spinning Gamble

Bachi's loud voice attracted the attention of everyone in the room. People turned to look at them and when they noticed Kies' and the mercenary's clothes, they began to whisper to each other.

"Who are these despicable people?"

"When did they allow ruffians in..."

None of the gazes were good but Bachi didn't seem to mind it, or rather, he didn't seem to care. Amid the crowd, a tall man walked out of it. "Excuse me. Pardon me. Sorry, please let me through." The crowd quickly moved out of the way to give room to the person to pass. "Thank you."

With some effort, the man made his way through the crowd of people and stood before them. He was quite the giant, looming over even Nyana who was an elf. She was the tallest out of everyone else here besides the man in front of them. He had a long messy beard, scars all over his face and arms, and a very well-built body. He looked no older than forty but judging from his aura, he was likely a lot older.

"Bachi, my dear friend... Who are you calling an old man!?" The man wrapped his arm around the mercenary and pulled him closer, but due to the massive height difference, Bachi had to tiptoe in order to not get choked.

"Hey, hey, cut it down! I have guests," he told the man, pointing at Kies and Nyana.

"Oh, so you brought over some more friends, how nice." The man let go of Bachi and greeted the two. "Hello, I'm-" he stopped himself when he saw a pair of pointed ears. "Are you an elf...?" he suddenly asked Nyana.

"Yes, I am."

"How rare... But forgive my rudeness. I'm-"

"Stop being so stiff," Bachi interrupted the man. "They're no big shot nobles or anything. Drop the formality and speak like a proper human being." For a moment, it really looked like the man might slap Bachi and call him out for his rudeness, but he simply laughed and smiled, taking no offense to what was just said.

"As I thought. This kind of voice really doesn't suit me, does it?" he said in a more casual tone that fit his appearance. Shall we go somewhere more private then? Somewhere with less prying eyes..." There were too many people watching them here and it was difficult for him to speak normally. Although Kies wasn't interested at all in what the man had to say, he had a feeling that he should listen to him.

He guided them upstairs where there were no people and brought them to an empty room. Inside, it was spacious and packed with furniture. There was a table in the center with two couches, placed on either side of it. "Take a seat. It seems that we got plenty to talk about."

"Do we?" Kies didn't know what they were going to talk about. It just seemed like a waste of time to him, but then again he had nothing else to do at the current moment but to wait until tomorrow. But regardless, he and Nyana took the seats closer to the door while the other two men sat on the other side.

"Don't be like that. Of course, we have a lot to talk about. You're the one that's trying to make money here anyway, aren't you?" Bachi pointed out.

"Well, that's definitely a reason, I guess."

"Alright, let's start with introductions. My name is Vis, short for Vistaken. You can call me either, I don't mind. As for my family name... I forgot what the king bestowed upon me. I'm an ex-general of the army, over a hundred kills under my name, have a daughter... Hm, what else? Well, I guess that's all for now. What about you two?"

Kies and Nyana looked at each other. "I'll go first," the elf volunteered, seeing that Kies was reluctant about going first. "My name is Nyana. I am from- Er, actually I cannot disclose that... And I don't think I can tell you anything else actually..."

"That's fine. What about you?" he asked Kies.

"Um... I can't tell you anything..."

"I see... In that case, I guess that's it for introductions... So, what's your purpose for this visit?" Vistaken looked around, waiting for someone to explain.

"Well, I was planning to introduce him to you as a potential bodyguard for your daughter," Bachi told him, pointing at Kies.

"Him?" Vistaken took a long look at Kies. "Sorry, but I don't exactly it in him..."

"He went toe to toe with Trisha, you know."

"What!?" Vistaken looked at the man to see if he was lying or joking, but when he saw that he wasn't, he turned back to Kies. "If that's true, then you're more than qualified," he told him.

"..."

"Unfortunately, he doesn't want the job," Bachi explained to his friend so that Kies didn't have to be the one to explain it.

"Huh, why not?" the man asked. "If it's money, I have plenty. You'll get a decent salary. Furthermore, there's plenty of spare rooms for you to choose from. And that's not all. If you-"

"I'm not staying in Otane for long," Kies told the man, cutting him off before he could say anything else.

"That... I see..." The man looked very disappointed but there was nothing he could do.

"I'm glad that you understand," Kies thanked the man. He really thought that he would continue adding things to the list until he accepted, but it seemed that the man knew that he couldn't get him to stay.

"Anyhow," the man cleared his throat. "If you're not here for the job, then what are you here for?"

"Money," Kies told Vistaken.

"Money?" He raised an eyebrow. Kies knew that it was awkward to talk about this topic right after telling him that he didn't want the job.

"Yes, we want to make bets on the winner of the tournament," Nyana explained to him.

"Oh, so that's what you're here for. But, you should be able to do that without my help. Everything is downstairs, so was there a need to call me?" Vistaken asked in a confused tone.

Well, they weren't the ones that called him or wanted to meet him. It was Bachi who did that, but this was a chance to strike a deal with the noble. Nyana waved her hand, letting Kies know that she had a plan.

"You see, we don't exactly have much money on us," she explained to the man.

"I'm not sure what that has to do with me still..." he said.

"It does have something to do with you, but before that, may I ask what the current bets are?" Nyana asked.

"The current bets?" Vistaken turned around and reached for something on one of the shelves next to him. Even his arms were long enough so that he could grab things far away while sitting down. He picked up something flat and round and placed it on the table.

"What is that?" Nyana asked, examining the object. It was made completely out of glass, with nothing in the center. It looked like an ordinary object until the center suddenly lit up. "Oh?" Three numbers appeared in the middle, each in a different color.

"This device keeps track of the bets, and these numbers are the odds of each of the three contestants winning," Vistaken explained to the two what the thing was.

"The wonders of magic and technology..." Nyana was impressed by the tool and so was Kies. This was their first time seeing something like this.

"Anyway, it seems that the Iceblade is the most favored with over 90% of the people betting on her. As for the other two... You can see it," Vistaken said. There was no need for him to say it when it was right there in front of them.

"One percent and two percent..." Kies said out loud, looking at the two numbers. As for which one was him and which one was the soldier, he didn't know, but either way, if he or the soldier won with these odds, one could easily make an earning that'll last a lifetime.

"Yeah... I don't know how much money you need or want, but it won't be easy with these odds. Unless you have a lot of money already, you won't be earning much by betting on the Iceblade, and betting on the other two to win will require a miracle," Bachi said.

"I mean, if it's what you want, I'd be happy to lend you some money to bet on the Iceblade, but you probably won't earn much with these numbers," Vistaken also agreed with the mercenary.

Nyana crossed her arms and smiled. "But what if I told you that we're not betting on her?"

"You... Aren't you betting on her?"

"No, we want to bet on someone else."

"Really?" The two men couldn't believe their ears. "And who would that be?" Vistaken asked. Neither of the other two contestants was favored to win at all, and he didn't understand the logic in betting on them. "Is it the soldier?" he asked. He was the second most favored to win, sitting at two percent...

"No, it's the other one."

"What!? But why?" Bachi asked, genuinely concerned about the elf's decision.

"Because he's a lot stronger than you think."

"Is that so..." Vistaken turned to his friend Bachi to see if this was true, but he shook his head.

"I wasn't there for the fight so I don't know."

"Well then, I guess we have to take your word for it. If an elf is saying it then it must be true. I don't mind lending you money for the bet as long as you pay it back, but take careful consideration of this," Vistaken advised the two.

"Well, it's up to you," Nyana looked at Kies.

"Me? Wasn't this your idea?" Kies pointed out.

"Yes, but in the end, it's your call," the elf said.

"My call? Well, my answer is obvious..."

"And that is?"

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