[WP] Chapter 8: Rhodes Cards

[WP] Chapter 8: Rhodes Cards

"If this business goes well, maybe I can try to stay here as a detective. When life is stable, I will contact the extraordinary and try to find hope of returning home."

While monitoring the entrance of the club, the stranger thought of his hometown far away, and Shade couldn't help sighing.

Estimating the time again, since Mr. Lawrence also entered the club, the two can't come out within an hour.

"They have something to do. Should I find a place to rest?"

He thought in his heart, looked around, and then successfully saw a pub called "Screaming Hound" on the corner of the street.

This kind of pub that is open on the main road and opens during the day is usually not particularly chaotic, especially now it is only two o'clock in the afternoon. Shade squeezed the ten-pennies note in his pocket, licked his chapped lips, checked the current time, hesitated for a moment, and then walked over.

Pushing open the door of the pub, the first thing he saw was a row of gas lamps on the wall, illuminating the dim interior. The air was filled with a mixed smell of alcohol and fermented food, which made him, who was still hungry, a little uncomfortable.

Shade now knew that the lamps used in this era were all gas lamps. In addition to gas pipes, there were generally steam pipes climbing on the walls. Gas pipes were slightly thinner ones, and the steam pipes were covered with an insulation layer.

The round wooden tables in the pub were all empty. There were not many people now. There were only three customers, sitting around a wooden table far away from the bar and against the wall, playing cards. There was also an oil painting of the snowcapped mountains hanging on the wall next to the table.

They were three men who didn't look wealthy. Although there were no patches on their clothes, their dark clothes were washed white. The hats on the table were used for a long time and wrinkled together.

Maybe they just wanted to take a break on this leisurely summer afternoon. Shade didn't bother them and walked to the bar where the bartender was standing, thinking that he would just buy a glass of ice water. But he heard a cheer from one of the card players:

"I win again this time!"

The middle-aged man with a big beard and messy hair stood up and threw the cards in his hand on the table very proudly:

"Look, it's exactly 21 points."

He looked around proudly, but unfortunately, there were only him and his friends here. Seeing Shade, who just walked in, his eyes lit up:

"Please give this gentleman a glass of rye!"

The man who won the card game but was not rich said to the bartender. Shade turned around and looked at him in surprise. After a pause, he nodded slightly to express his gratitude:

"Thank you for your kindness, but I think a glass of ice water is enough."

He was not good at drinking, and he didn't know the degree of the so-called "rye wine." He was still performing detective activities, and there was no need to get involved in alcohol.

The price of a glass of water was much lower than that of a glass of wine. The three men thought that Shade was saving money for them and immediately had a good impression of him. Seeing that Shade had no companions, they invited him to play cards together.

But Shade didn't know how to play, so he could only watch them play from the side. The men were also very enthusiastic to teach Shade the "Rhodes Card" skills.

The cards in this world are very similar to the poker cards in the previous life. They also have four suits and a total of 54 cards, but the four suits are the sun, moon, stars, and flowers.

The mainstream way of playing cards is similar to the rules of "21 points," which is called "Rhodes Cards." There are also other rules such as relay, ghost card, and comparison of size, but the Rhodes Card game is popular in the world. It is said that the inventor of this game is called Rhodes.

The cards are generally made with pictures on the front and the suits and numbers marked in the upper left and upper right corners. Therefore, some series of cards with special patterns issued at special times are particularly valuable.

The latest set of a special series of Rhodes Cards issued only 1,000 sets, named the "Fairy Tale Series.".

The three men playing cards are not rich, and they don't know much about the so-called special series of Rhodes Cards and can only say roughly.

They only know that some nobles are crazy about those rare cards. In particular, some cards not only have special card patterns but also contain special game rules.

That part of the cards is priceless. It is rumored that last year, Biford Auction House sold a special card for 12,000 pounds.

Shade quietly converted the prices and thought about the "Sun 3" in the diary. He did not want to laugh but deeply doubted whether the card he inherited was genuine.

But if the card with the woman sitting sideways and holding the silver moon card face was genuine, his last worry about his future life would disappear.

After chatting with three men playing cards in the pub for an hour, Shade got up and said goodbye. When he returned to the door of the newspaper office, the position next to the mailbox was occupied by a young man wearing a brown vest and glasses.

This was probably a real reporter, so the young detective stood next to the black iron street lamp pole.

The street lamp is generally a cylinder, and it also uses gas as an energy source. Shade was standing leisurely at the side, but his eyes accidentally saw the nameplate. The nameplate clearly stated that you must not smoke under the streetlamp pole; otherwise, you will bear the consequences.

Shade imagined what might happen and subconsciously stayed away from this dangerous place.

The sun gradually set in the west, and Shade had been waiting patiently. After the feeling of hunger reached its limit and disappeared in the afternoon, his body felt much better. He planned to wait until about five o'clock. If Mrs. Lasoya did not show up, he would go to the church of the [Church of War and Peace] to collect relief food.

By the way, he could also take a look at what the church in this world is like and confirm whether the church has extraordinary power.

"However, I have that voice in my head. I won't be caught as soon as I enter? There are also secrets of me as an outsider."

He was a little worried about this, but without knowing anything, Shade didn't have many choices.

Perhaps noticing that Shade thought of her again, the woman's voice in his mind sounded again:

[Observe his ring.]

This sentence appeared at noon, but the personal pronoun was female at that time, and it was male this time.

Shade immediately looked up at the entrance of the club and saw a young man carrying a suitcase walking out. On his right finger, it was the white pebble ring he saw on Mrs. Lasoya's finger at noon.

Because the shape was too unique, Shade believed that he would not make a mistake.

Both of them put the ring on the middle finger of their right hand, and the voice in his mind did not give any further hints.

"It's really interesting; why did the owner of the ring change?"

Shade thought to himself, and after seeing the man wearing the ring leave the club, he did not look for an empty carriage but mixed into the crowd in the evening and walked along the street to the east behind a fat man who was hurriedly carrying a briefcase.

The fog of the steam city blurred his figure. If he didn't chase him, Shade would soon lose the man's whereabouts.

"Should I chase him? The voice in my head is not just talking nonsense."

He thought to himself, turned around to avoid the direction of the club entrance, unfolded the map in the notebook by one-eighth, and looked for the direction of the [Church of War and Peace] church. The church that distributes relief food is to the east of the current position, and it is very close to five o'clock now.

(End of this chapter)