Chapter 93

Damn it, it wasn't supposed to be like this. I made it all the way to the finals where I'm going against Masayuki. I wanted to lose before this, but I guess Masayuki's dumb "Chosen One" skill, or whatever it's called got him this far. It's a good thing the only prize here is bragging rights. I'd have a hard time wondering what to do if that Big Four thing was put into place. Whatever. It's no big deal.

However, when I fought against Carrion with a lion mask, it was a bit awkward at first. I saw Milim watching and I knew that she knew what was going on, and that she also told Carrion about it. It was an awkward few seconds, but we fought, and I won. It was a very fun fight. Anyway, there was a break before the final, and during this time, my casino was going to be packed. Why? Because it's the start of the poker tournament. I made sure to give a very tempting prize that would attract almost anyone. That, or some will just do it for the competition. Either way, it doesn't matter to me. 

I entered the casino, and though I tried not to show too much of a smile, I couldn't help myself as I saw the amount of people playing a variety of games. Well, the money that was being made from these games. The house always wins for a reason.

Anyway, this poker tournament was open to anyone. All they needed to do was sign up and they would be given a number. If they cheat by using magic, Skills, or any other method, then they get disqualified, thrown out, and have to pay a large fine. So, I signed up. When I saw the list of all the people who signed up, there were some people I expected, some I didn't, and then there were some surprises. Elmesia, I expected. Rimuru, I didn't expect it, but I think it's very obvious why he joined and he probably thinks he can get away with it. As for the surprise, it was Milim. I'll be honest, I don't know why she's here, but I assume she wants to try to win against me. You know what I'll just see how this whole thing goes down.

But just as I was looking at the list, I saw another name get written under mine. Luminous. She's still not giving up. It's easy to assume she joined so she can try to get closer to me. I guess she sees me as the grand prize instead of the money. It's going to be a lot of games though, so she might not even face me before she may or may not get eliminated. It's a very simple setup, the tables will get smaller and smaller until the final is a heads-up match between the last two standing. 

Now, I just need to play some games and make my way up higher and higher.

/\\//\\//\

(3 hours later)

I have to say, my luck so far is way too good. I think Saber has a luck of A+? I know it's more than lancer, but anyway, I've seen that it is affecting me. Kind of unfair, but it's kind of out of my control. Anyway, this is perhaps the weirdest matchup I've had so far. There are 3 people. Me, Luminous, and Milim. I don't know what to think. We're already pretty far into this, and Luminous is staring at me and Milim looked to be having fun. How did she even get this far?

"Milim, what's your strategy? How have you won so much?" I asked her since I was genuinely curious. I'm not saying she's dumb, but some may say that she would, how do I put this? She would be a lampshade. She would make a room dimmer if she entered it. 

"It's 'cause this game is so easy! I read the rules and it said that going all-in is a powerful move, so I just kept going all-in and people just started giving up!" Milim said, acting like she discovered the ultimate secret to this game.

Huh. I mean, it's a strategy. If she goes all-in from the beginning, then the whole game could end in one turn if someone loses all their chips if they want to match with them. And even if they didn't want to do anything, they would still slowly lose their chips since they need to put in a minimum number of chips to even play the round. I guess there's some bit of strategy behind it. Just a little bit.

"Look, let's just start this." We all agreed and put in some chips to start playing. This is going to be chaotic. I doubt Milim is even going to care about what her cards say. As soon as she can, she's going all-in.

Well, I just got to see it through. After placing some chips, the dealer started to throw out the cards. If I didn't mention it before, we're playing the most popular form of poker in the world: Texas Hold'em.

Moving on, I looked discreetly at my cards to see what I had. Am I worried about Milim's eye? Not really. Ignoring the fact that she herself doesn't really like using it, I think she sees it as unnecessary since she sees the game as "easy".

Ace of hearts and ace of spades. That's a good song by the way. Anyway, would you look at that? I got pocket rockets. I know how to control myself, so I'm not showing any tells. Or at least, I'm trying to. I looked up and saw Milim just quickly looking at her cards, which I'm sure she is doing only as a formality. Luminous, on the other hand, seemed to place more thought into this. All that was left was to start placing pre-flop bets, and of course, Milim was first.

"All in!" Milim happily moved all the chips she had into the middle of the table. Yeah, she was way too used to this. I'm assuming that other players thought she was playing some kind of genius strategy, but not me.

I could see Luminous' eye twitch slightly at what Milim did. I guess it's even working on her. Yeah, this is less about poker strategy and more about Milim's perceived reputation.

"No, I'm not dealing with this. I fold." Lumunous threw her cards at the table revealing a 2-7 off-suit. I too would've folded if I were her, even if there was no Milim here. Well, I guess it was my turn.

Look, I have two aces. Just looking at the percentages of winning with two aces as the starting hand, and since it's pre-flop, I'm going to call. I'll also go all in.

"I call." As soon as I said that, I could see Milim slightly shocked.

"You are? What happens now?" Wow, now that is telling.

'Well, Milim, now, we wait for the dealer to deal all the cards and see who wins. In this situation, we can reveal our cards, since it doesn't matter if we hide them anymore. There's no more strategy to play here, it's all left up to chance." As I said that, I flipped my cards over to reveal my hand.

"Fine." Milim flipped over her cards to reveal a king of spades and king of clubs. 

Oh. Ok, hold on a minute. She has a chance actually. I'm not implying anything, but there's no way I lose to Milim, right?

The dealer flipped over three cards to reveal the flop. It was a 7 of clubs, 9 of spades, and 2 of diamonds.

'Alright, all good so far. I still win as long a king doesn't show up.' As soon as that thought crossed my mind, Lady Luck decided to mess with me. The turn card was a king of hearts.

'Damn it.' I saw Milim stand up, nodding happily and acting all excited. It looks like she does know some stuff. All my hope was on the river card. 

Me and Milim looked intently at the dealer's hand as he started to place the card down. I swear it felt like it was in slow motion as I saw it happen. And I'm not going to lie, my heart may or may not have been beating a little fast in nervousness. When the dealer put the card down, it felt like the card had much more weight than it did. I could clearly hear the crisp sound as it hit the table.

And I was ready, I'm not going to look away from the card. It's not like it's going to change anything whether or not I look at it.

.

.

.

.

.

An ace of diamonds.

I let out a small breath through my nose and closed my eyes after seeing it.

"Come on! Really?! I was so close!" Milim sat back down with her head hung low. You could hear and feel the heartbreak from her as she said it. What can I say? That's life, and I can't deny it. 

 I gathered all the chips and moved them towards me. I'm not going to lie, it felt kind of good. Milim is out of the tournament now.

Milim got up and left. A trail of sadness in her wake. Now that I remember, she still hasn't beaten me in a game.

"Well, Artoria, looks like it's just us two now. I look forward to playing a lot with you." Why did Luminous have to say it like that? Oh man, this is going to be a bit long.