Chapter 88

"Here you are, Lady Luminous." Hinata returned with a book about the laws of this nation. She found a library and rented it out after asking around. As for where she found Luminous, it was at a bar inside the casino. Kind of… manipulative in Hinata's opinion, since alcohol and gambling are a very bad combination, but she could see why it might have been done. There's a lot of money to be made here.

"Huh, oh, thank you, Hinata." And Luminous, who was busy drinking away her sorrows, was already contributing money. A lot of it, considering there were a lot of glass cups and bottles near her.

"Are you feeling ok, Lady Luminous?" Hinata was a bit worried for Luminous after clearly seeing how much she had drank. More emotionally than physically since she knows she can't get drunk.

"Of course I'm fine. By the way, you should really try some of the alcohol here, it's very good. There's so much variety. I tried asking for the strongest thing they had here, but the bartender said he couldn't serve it unless Artoria herself arrived and gave permission."

Hinata didn't really pay attention to that. She paid more attention to all the different cups and bottles around Luminous. "How much have you spent?"

Luminous stayed a bit quiet, trying to avoid giving an answer, but from seeing her own mess, she couldn't get out of it. "...Not much, I still have some money left."

"Some?"

"It's really good stuff, Hinata. And if we need some money, just look where we are." Luminous said as she swept her hand across the casino and the various tables where card games were being played. "There's also a tournament for a card game called poker, and the prize money has quite a bit of gold coins."

"They're already gambling?"

"Well, not really, from what I've seen and heard, there's a grace period until tomorrow for everyone to learn all the different games. After that, you'll actually need to start using money. A bit shrewd when you think about it. The majority of the people here in this casino right now are residents of this town. And tomorrow is when people from all over start arriving."

Hinata was slightly surpised at this. This is basically giving your own people an upper hand. If the residents of this town know the games better than everyone else, they'll clear out the pockets of the other competitors. At least for the games that involve competition against other people, especially poker. If looking at it from the bigger picture, this casino will probably bring in more money in total for the nation than it pays out to foreigners. 

"Huh, that is a bit smart. Are you going to participate?"

"If I have to. Anyway, let me see what this book says." Luminous grabbed the book and quickly made her way to the marriage laws, she didn't care about anything else. When she finally got to it and read it, her eyes widened with a sense of opportunity. There was still hope. Legally at least.

"This is perfect, Hinata! I still have a chance! Look! Right here!" Luminous said loudly as her finger pointed to the page about marriage laws, which was surprisingly very short. "It basically says that for someone to get married, they need to sign a marriage license with the person they want to marry. That's it. There are no rules restricting who can or can't get married, and there are no rules restricting how many people you can marry. This is it, Hinata!"

"Just because there's no rule about it doesn't mean you should do it, Lady Luminous. And even if you tried, I don't think Artoria is the kind of person to have more than one wife."

"I just have to change her mind," Luminous said with a confident tone that expressed her thoughts about how easy and natural it would be. 

Ignoring the implications of the kind of relationship she seemed willing to be a part of, at this point, Hinata's only option was to let this run its course instead of trying to change Luminous' mind. "I wish you luck, Lady Luminous."

/\\//\\//\

(Next day.)

This was it. Things were now pre-officially(?) in full swing. There was a whole bunch of people from all over arriving. I would name them, but the only things I see from them are plata and oro. Was it a bit greedy? Maybe. But knowing how nobles and rich people tend to act, it just feels so good to take money from them. I want to try and avoid them as much as possible. I'll only show up in front of everyone if it's necessary or on some official kind of business. 

The last thing I want is to be constantly hounded by some random people who only want to curry favor with me and whatnot. That and only those who talk to me just because of how beautiful l am and they think they have a shot with me. I don't care about that second one, but if they try that shi…stuff with Shuna, I wouldn't be surprised if they "disappeared" under mysterious circumstances".

Anyway, Rimuru is handling all the greeting stuff and introductory stuff. I'll only appear during the official opening ceremony and stuff. And speaking of that, Elmesia should also be arriving. Just the usual company. Oh, and the kids Rimuru taught should also be arriving. 

As for Yuuki, he's definitely not coming here, but I wouldn't be surprised if he tried sending some kind of agent or spy, and if he did, I'll make sure they get killed before they can do anything. And if for some forsaken reason, he does show up, I'm killing him on sight, I don't care. In fact, I dare him to show up, I'll set up the meeting with whatever god he believes in and also send him to whatever afterlife he believes in. Whether it's The Field of Reeds, Hel, Hades, Mictlan, Yomi, or whatever other afterlife there is, I'll send him there. As a matter of fact, let him get reborn through Samsara or whatever other reincarnation or rebirth belief there is, that way, I can kill him again. 

Anyway, let me calm down a little. That is not the focus right now.

The focus is the opening ceremony that is going to happen in the evening. Everything is already prepared, we just have to wait for the time to arrive. The only thing that needs to be decided is what I'm going to wear. Which I'll leave to Shuna. I would just wear my normal armor, cloak, and crown, but this isn't really the environment for it. That would be more appropriate when I hold a knighting ceremony or lead our army in battle.

I'll just have to see what Shuna makes for me. Whether it's some kind of fancy and formal dress or some kind of suit of the same variety. If I had to guess, whether it's some kind of suit or dress, it's going to look like a mix of very "royal" and "military". It's going to have a whole bunch of those formal and fancy-looking rope things and decorative features you'd see on some military uniforms when they appear in full dress for ceremonial or presentation reasons. Not that I'm complaining. It's going to look very cool and fashionable.

Now I just need to wait. I really want to fight in the coliseum, and participate in my own poker tournament, what can I say, I have to watch for my own interests. Who do you think put up the award money? I also want to participate in some other minor events. Just to show everyone how things are done.