Five minutes later, the silver coins in Matthew's hand had turned into 43.
Half of that money came from the drunkard Old Jack, who had already been carried away.
Play cards, play cards—Matthew had come to this town today just to play cards.
The tavern patrons and gamblers ..
"Slap"~
The fierce little Young Girl Miya slapped the table, then pointed at a few people, "Play cards with our Young Master!"
The Water Blue World had games similar to Bluff, Big Two, Texas Hold'em, and Showdown, and Matthew wanted to play them all.
At the same time, the silver coins in his hand went from 43 to 53, 63, 73...
A middle-aged man stood up, "Young Lady, Young Master, I have no money left. May I leave?"
Miya said, "Fine, then you—the one with the big face, yes, you—get to the table and keep our Young Master company!"
Gambling made money fast, and under the pressure of an iron fist, Matthew only ever won, never lost.
So he soon grew bored of it, and told Miya to go keep watch on War Goddess Ares and her group, and to come back and remind him only once they were about to reach Demon King Hages's Demon King's Castle.
As for Matthew himself, "I'll play around here for a few days. Once I get tired of it, I'll probably head to White Night City to keep playing."
The Little Maid Miya stood at attention and replied, "Understood, Lord Matthew. You're planning to quietly give Ares a hand. Her luck really is good."
Matthew: "You talk too much."
Then Little Miya's figure vanished from within the tavern.
..
"Plop"!
"Ow!"
Once again, Miya landed on her bottom, completing the teleport.
At this moment, in a place not too far and not too close, a battle was underway.
Miya quickly slipped into the shadow and activated her ability to watch.
The place where they were was the royal palace of the Blade Kingdom. One person on the Goddess's side had already fallen and could not rise, and the enemy across from them was none other than the King of the Blade Kingdom!
"He's been bewitched by a demon..."
Miya was of the Demon Race, so she could see it very clearly.
The Blade King was the strongest of the Human Race in the Water Blue World. War Goddess Ares had led her Hero Team into the city, first to rest and recuperate, and second in hopes that this king would join them in striking down the Demon King.
The Blade King had happily agreed—but no one had imagined he would switch sides right before their departure.
"What good is being the strongest? What good is being the strongest of the Human Race? I'm already 50 years old this year. After years of endless battle, it's not even certain this body can hold out another ten years. Lord Demon King promised to grant me eternal life—and only an eternal Strong Expert is truly the strongest... What can you goddesses give me?"
The War Goddess, already braced for battle, said, "We can give your nation peace."
"Peace?"
Before the throne, the Blade King's eyes were bloodshot, his veins bulging with surging blood, and he looked no older than his twenties—that was what the demon had given him.
"Goddess, once you and your Hero Team defeat the Demon King, people will only sing praises of 'Long live the Goddess, long live the Hero.' But do you know how many of my people I've already sacrificed just to hold back the Demon Race's army?"
Ares, her upper body clad in nothing but a bandage chest binder, said, "For the people of this Different World who have been sacrificed, I am sorry. We will defeat the Demon King as swiftly as we can and restore light to the Water Blue World... but that is not a reason for you to betray humanity!!!"
With that, Ares raised her Battle Axe high and cried out, "In the name of justice, let the Battle Song of light resound—Battle Song of Light!"
"Shwing shwing shwing shwing"!
Four beams of golden radiance washed over the four heroes in turn, their conditions instantly restored to full, and at the same time, the Blade King, sword in both hands, was forced to free one hand to cover his ears.
The Battle Song of light also carried the power to ward off evil, and under the song's shroud, the Blade King's head split with pain.
"Now's our chance!"
The Hero Gangze surged forward at once, raising the Dragon Slaying Holy Sword with both hands, and roared, "Dragon-Slaying Slash!"
"Roooar"!
A golden blade of light intertwined with the roar of an Evil Dragon, and the king's Head was struck clean off...
The battle ended.
Justice triumphed over evil.
News that the king had been bewitched by a demon spread at once—with the demonically transformed corpse as proof, no one could deny it.
The whole royal capital was gripped by grief and fury.
The grief was for their beloved king, who had passed away.
The fury was that their God of War had actually turned to the Demon Race!
The Goddess Squad wasn't feeling very happy either.
Because they couldn't forget the words the Blade King had spoken.
Wherever a goddess descends, it means war has come.
The goddess was responsible for defeating the Demon King, but ordinary demons still had to be held back by armies made up of soldiers from this Different World.
They could not defeat the Demon King right away.
In other words, the armies of this world were using their flesh and blood to buy time for them.
Back at the inn, the Hero Gangze, his old wounds not yet healed, said, "Lord Ares, I don't think I need to rest anymore. I want to go strike down the Demon King!"
The other heroes chimed in, "Me too, Lord Ares!"
"My lord, we could rest as we travel, and I'll find time to heal everyone along the way."
War Goddess Ares was an A+-ranked goddess, rich in experience.
Looking at the heroes stirred up with passion, she said, "Those words were most likely something Hages deliberately had the king say to us."
"His goal was to get us to challenge him while not at our full strength."
The heroes weren't fools, especially the Chosen Hero, Gangze.
But they couldn't accept it!
"I can't accept it either."
Ares said, "What the Blade King said isn't a reason for his betrayal. And what I just said isn't a reason for us not to fight, either."
"Rest tonight. I'll go buy supplies, and tomorrow morning, we set off for the Demon King's castle!"
"Long live Lord Ares!"
"Long live the War Goddess!"
..
Meanwhile, in the shadows, Miya shook her head. "A bunch of fools, jumping right into a trap they know is a trap... If it weren't for Lord Matthew's help, Hages would have gotten the better of you long ago—do you even realize that?"
Miya didn't notice that, in mentioning the Demon King, she'd left off the word "Lord."
War Goddess Ares and the four heroes were all radiating foolish enthusiasm, yet Miya's heart had been struck hard by that line about "a reason not to fight."
..
White Night City.
The largest gambling city in the Water Blue World.
Matthew hadn't expected to get tired of playing cards with a few "NPCs" so quickly.
Mostly, it was because after Miya left, faced with such a huge fortune, those fellows started stealing and cheating in ever more creative ways, whether openly or on the sly.
In the end, Matthew, careless for just a moment, ended up destroying the tavern.
At the great Casino of White Night City, the two hundred-odd silver coins in Matthew's pocket were only enough for an outer-floor pass.
No matter—he was just playing around; winning or losing didn't matter.
Of course, if this casino let him lose too much, it would meet the same fate as the tavern in Twin Palm Town.
The mini-game was Big or Small, with a minimum bet of 1 silver coin each time.
Matthew liked this simple, straightforward way of playing.
The Dealer shook the Dice Cup, and a crowd gathered around the table to listen and watch.
A resounding "thud."
The Dice Cup landed on the table.
"Place your bets, big or small!"
"I bet big, I bet big!"
"I bet small, I bet small!"
Matthew pulled out a silver coin. "I bet big!"
Right after, a woman of extreme allure sidled up next to him. "I bet small."
✦✦✦