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“Whoa, customer. Placing a bet right before the deadline and hitting every single prediction? You’ve got some incredible luck!”
The extraordinary boy, who was running a gambling business under the guise of selling beer, spoke with a smirk while dutifully handing over the pouch of money. Had he learned a lot from fleecing the pockets of adults in the gambling dens at such a young age? His calculations were thorough.
“Don’t tell me… you aren’t actually acquainted with today’s winners, are you? That would be cheating!”
“Isn’t the very existence of this facility illegal?”
“Well, yes. But there’s such a thing as business ethics! Do you have any idea how much I lost today because of you, customer?!”
I understood his frustration. If I hadn’t made the right call, he would have pocketed all the stakes placed on the favorites.
“Know when to quit. If your tail is too long, it’s bound to get stepped on.”
“Psh. I hear that advice every day~.”
He didn’t listen at all. I was giving him a subtle warning so he wouldn’t get caught and thrown in jail by the protagonist coming to crack down on illegal gambling later, but… well, I’d said my piece. I turned to leave without lingering, but the boy’s voice caught me.
“Customer! I have one last thing to ask. Who do you think will win the grand finale match?”
Since the main event ended in a joint victory, they were scheduled for a one-on-one exhibition match. In other words, the boy was asking who would win between the protagonist and Arianne. While the game’s description said their skills were equal, this wasn’t just any duel.
‘It’s an affection event with Arianne.’
Moreover, the outcome would change depending on Mo Je-won’s choice. If he won, her affection would rise; if he lost, nothing would happen. This event, which raises affection by a staggering 15 points, triggers when the protagonist wins and they return to the Arena’s waiting room to talk.
“Heh. You’re the same as ever, Sir Hereis.”
“You as well, Sir Arianne.”
“I didn’t expect you to regain your original skills so quickly. I was worried that my unnecessary anxiety might have troubled you.”
“No, Sir Arianne. Having fought you, I realized. The Arena was just an excuse; you purposefully created this situation to help me clear my head.”
“Sir Hereis…”
“Thanks to you, Sir Arianne, I feel like I’ve finally found myself again.”
“Thank you. I mean it.”
…I believe it went something like that.
“Eyy, you’re no fun.”
I gave a vague, non-committal answer and stepped out of the gambling den. Now, what to do? I’d achieved my primary goal, but the secondary one was the problem… Mina, who saw me emerging from the cramped space hidden by the tent, looked aghast. She pointed at my bulging waistline.
“You… you didn’t just gamble with the money I gave you, did you?”
Ah, was the pouch so thick that it couldn’t be hidden by my skirt?
“I will return your principal.”
“That’s a given!”
“…I’ll also give you about half of the principal in interest.”
“That’s not the point, but th-thank… no!”
Mina looked confused, her persona that wanted money clashing with her persona that wanted to uphold propriety.
“What are you doing…? You didn’t come here just to gamble from the start, did you?”
“Ah.”
“Ah~?”
I quickly spit out an excuse.
“No. I just happened to see an opportunity…”
“Customer, customer! Oh, I almost forgot!”
The gambler from before—no, the boy—came running after me, waving a small, fluttering piece of paper.
“This is a VIP ticket. Since the amount you won today was so large, you’ve been added to our shop’s list! This gives you priority access to the fan meeting with today’s winning warriors and use of the VIP-only seating! Well then, I’m off.”
The boy vanished quickly, and Mina looked back and forth between the ticket and me.
“Just how much did you win…?”
Not that much, really; I’d just earned a little over ten times the amount I bet. That aside, I’d just gained a great hint from that conversation…
“Lady Mina. Is this one ticket per person?”
Mina gave me a look that asked why I was even questioning that, but she provided the answer.
“VIP tickets usually allow for one companion.”
Perfect. Exactly what I needed.
“Lady Mina, you want to separate Sir Arianne and Sir Hereis, right?”
“Of course. My insides burn just seeing them together! Arianne… that woman has been an eyesore for a while, and now she even has the nerve to visit our house!”
They work at the same place, so they’re together all the time anyway…
“But that’s a workplace; other people are there. Being alone together is absolutely out of the question.”
I understood the sentiment. Meeting at work for business and going on a separate date on the weekend are two entirely different things.
“Then, let’s go find them.”
I said, waving the VIP ticket. Mina replied with a mischievous smile.
“Now that is a great idea!”
“Confirmed. The meeting hall is directly to your right.”
The main goal of coming here was already achieved. The rest was to interfere with Arianne’s affection event. Since it’s impossible to block every single affection event anyway, I’d accepted that I would have to let some pass.
‘I was thinking of giving up on this one too, but to think I’d get a VIP ticket.’
The biggest obstacle to interfering with the event was that the protagonist and Arianne were participants, and thus in an area inaccessible to general spectators. With a VIP ticket, I could approach them under the guise of being a fan. Of course, I don’t know why a fan meeting culture exists at an Arena, but this is a dating sim world. I should just accept it.
“Hey, Belita. What are you doing? Let’s go.”
Mina headed toward the fan meeting hall with the determined stride of someone attending the wedding of an ex-boyfriend who cheated on her. Pushing open the heavy doors and stepping inside…
The place was filled with countless noble daughters and young lords. The atmosphere was heated, and it was so chaotic that voices were being drowned out. A noble lady in the group next to us fanned herself lightly and spoke.
“Did you see? Did you see? How the Rabbit-nim parried Hamateus’s attack without even blinking!”
“I fell in love with that bold appearance…!”
“The face behind that mask must be exquisite!”
“Naturally! A handsome man is handsome even from the back of his head.”
“Giggles! I want to see him soon!”
“I… I thought it was so cool how the Cat-nim shattered Hamateus’s back with her powerful fist!”
“How refreshing and gallant!”
I could even hear snippets of conversation where the tone was quite different.
“So, who do you think it is?”
“Skills like that aren’t common. Probably people who hunt magic beasts for a living. Could be nobles. Could be mercenaries.”
“We’ll know once we get a closer look!”
Mina looked flustered, seeing such a spectacle for the first time, and I felt the same. We hesitated at the entrance for a moment, only to be swept inside by the surging crowd behind us.
“Hey, Belita. You said it was VIP, so why are there so many people?”
“I guess there are a lot of nobles who spend a fortune at the Arena.”
“This is driving me crazy… Where on earth is Lord Hereis?”
“He’ll be out soon.”
I could see him through the Omniscient Viewer Perspective, approaching the door. Just as I finished speaking, two masked figures emerged from the inner room that served as a waiting area.
“Kyaaaaa! Rabbit-niiiim!”
“Nyan-nim! Look over here! Over here!”
The cheering was loud enough to burst eardrums. People began lining up in front of the two with military precision, clutching pieces of paper or even their shirts, clearly hoping for autographs.
“Hey, Belita.”
“Yes?”
“I just thought of something. Meeting Lord Hereis is one thing,” Mina said, scanning the surroundings anxiously.
“But what do we do after that?”
…? Weren’t you supposed to throw a tantrum? I had vaguely assumed that if she caused a scene, the match would be canceled…
“A scene? If I do s-something like that here, Lord Hereis will despise me!” Mina huffed in protest.
“You care about that now?”
“Of course! If you want a scene, you do it!”
‘In the game, you’d charge in with your eyes rolling back if it involved the protagonist…’
I suppose she only acts that way once her affection hits a certain threshold. Since it was still early and her affection had just taken a hit, she hadn’t quite lost her mind over him yet.
“Hah, is there any other way?”
Of course, there was a Plan B. I leaned in and whispered my plan into Mina’s ear.
“You have a good idea? What is it?”
“When it’s your turn, tell Lord Hereis that I’m in danger and beg him for help.”
“What kind of danger?”
Hmm. What’s a common “heroine in distress” situation in a dating sim? It has to be the back alley event.
“How about saying I’ve been dragged away by back alley thugs?”
“Lord Hereis would never turn a blind eye to a woman in danger…”
“Right? Because he’s righteous.”
“Yes! If it’s that, I bet he’d voluntarily cancel the match and come running!”
I love how simple Mina is.
“I’ll give it a try! Don’t make your acting too obvious!”
After a quick consultation on which specific alley to lure the protagonist to, we moved to initiate the operation.
I’m glad I took a good look at their names earlier.
“How am I supposed to look my wife in the eye now!”
“I told you to take it easy, didn’t I?”
“You traitor! You at least made your principal back! Would it have killed you to tell me to join you?”
“Hey, you looked like you didn’t want to do it.”
I had used a Character Location Tracker to tail those two old men. Hans and Thomas—the ones who gave me the info on the gambling ring.
‘I regret spamming my Shop Points like this, but…’
Since points seem to be awarded for progressing the story or meeting certain conditions, I figured it was okay to spend them when necessary. Anyway… Hans was sobbing, and Thomas was trying to comfort him. Judging by their conversation, Thomas had listened to me. Hans had ignored me and lost everything. It would have been troublesome if they hadn’t lost much. Lucky me.
“Misters.”
“Wh-what?!”
They were in a secluded alley behind the Arena. When a long female shadow suddenly overlapped with theirs from behind, they jumped in fright.
“A-Are you that young lady?”
“That’s right. It’s me again.”
“Oh, heavens! I should have listened to you! Sob, my precious money…!”
Hans wailed, clutching his chest. Oh dear, but don’t worry.
“Shall I give you a chance to make it back?”
“Wh-what?”
“How much did you lose?”
“5 Gold…”
5 Gold? To lose two years’ worth of a commoner’s living expenses in one go… In a way, this man has the heart of a lion.
“How could you bet that much? Did you take out a loan?!”
“I thought it was a safe asset…” Hans nodded weakly.
“Tsk! Don’t you feel sorry for your wife?!”
“Now, now, calm down. I’ll cover that 5 Gold for you.”
“H-huh? You will?”
“In exchange, I’d like to ask for a favor.”
As it happened, these two looked perfectly cast for the role of back alley thugs. When Thomas asked if he could be excused, Hans grabbed his pant leg and begged. Eventually, Thomas agreed to join in.
“Is that all? But I’m not sure I can act very well…”
“I guess you don’t miss that 5 Gold very much.”
“No! I misspoke! We’re experts at this!”
And so, we rolled around on the alley floor to get some dust on us and ran through a few simulations.
“How about, ‘Hey pretty lady, wanna go somewhere nice with us?’”
“Can’t you make it sound a bit more urgent?”
“Then, ‘Don’t resist and follow us!’?”
“Much better!”
Somehow, they were getting into it now, working hard on the finer details.
“Wait. But if we overdo it and the person who comes reports us to the authorities, what then?”
Thomas asked worriedly, realizing they might actually be mistaken for criminals and hauled away.
“Just pretend for a bit, and when he arrives, run away as fast as you can. I’ll stop him from chasing you.”
“We can trust you, right? We might gamble, but we’re honest folk who’ve never committed a crime!”
Isn’t gambling a crime? They bit the bait because of the money, but I guess they’re terrified of the fallout. Well, whatever. I got the point.
“Don’t worry about that. You won’t be dragged off to jail.”
“What?! Our Belita was kidnapped?!”
I said, glancing sideways at the screen in front of me.
“And he’s coming soon. As soon as I signal, you need to go in.”
“Understood!”
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