Chapter 172
The story continues off the page
The Dare in the Back Room
Two academy girls, one lethal measure, and your slate paying for it
Milton, the city, was already sinking into sunset.
I left the inn with Shabel to catch the petty thief.
Shabel strode ahead with such purpose that she looked ready to give Ash a thorough scolding the moment she found her.
Dragged out along with her, I sighed and trudged after her.
“Hero, do you even know where Ash went?”
“The gambling house, probably.”
“I mean which gambling house she went to.”
Given the city's size, there had to be several gambling houses.
“That... I don't know.”
Figures.
“Let's ask around first.”
We grabbed a rough-looking man loitering in a back alley and asked him.
“Excuse me. Do you know where the biggest gambling house in the city is?”
“Try the Golden Goose at the end of Central Street. Everyone in Milton who's got money to throw around gathers there.”
“Thank you.”
We headed in the direction the man had pointed.
At the end of the street, we spotted a gold-painted goose sign.
“This must be it.”
“Could Ash be inside?”
“There's a high chance.”
Ash wasn't some street vagrant. As a platinum-ranked adventurer, she was sure to be playing in the big leagues.
“Let's go in.”
Shabel was about to charge straight into the building when—
-Thud.
Two large men blocked the entrance.
“Our establishment isn't open to just anyone. You can't enter without the minimum qualifications.”
“We're only looking for a companion and will leave right away. Please let us in.”
“There are no exceptions to the rules. Those without the qualifications cannot enter.”
“Hmm...”
Shabel let out a troubled groan.
Watching from the side, I whispered to her.
“This is a hassle. Should we just break through?”
“Absolutely not. These people are only doing their jobs. We have no choice but to follow the rules.”
Shabel looked at the gatekeepers.
“What qualifies someone?”
“You may enter with a member's introduction, or by paying three gold coins as an entrance fee.”
Shabel's expression stiffened at the conditions the gatekeeper presented.
Three gold coins, huh.
It was by no means a small sum.
Of course, the money pouch held more than the entrance fee, but Ash had taken that pouch inside with her.
Perhaps even that money was already gone.
“What should we do...?”
“Like I said, let's just break in.”
“We can't harm innocent citizens.”
“If they block us from catching a thief, they're accomplices. Especially when the Hero herself is trying to enter.”
No sooner had I finished speaking than one of the gatekeepers narrowed his eyes.
“Did you just say ‘Hero’?”
“Yes.”
“Which one of you is the Hero?”
Shabel raised her hand.
“That's me.”
“Do you have something to prove your identity?”
“Um...”
Shabel rummaged through her robe.
A moment later, she pulled out a silver badge smaller than the palm of her hand.
It was the Hero's identification badge, issued directly by the Imperial Court.
It was enchanted with magic to prevent forgery, allowing her to prove her identity anywhere in the Empire.
“Y-you really are the Hero.”
The gatekeeper looked utterly flustered, as though he had never imagined the Hero would appear.
The gatekeepers exchanged glances, then nodded.
“Please wait a moment. I'll inform the master and return.”
“Can't you just let us in? I'll take our companion and come right back out.”
“It's not that we doubt you, Hero, but we can't make exceptions at our own discretion.”
“...Understood. I'll wait here.”
“Thank you.”
One of the gatekeepers hurried inside the building.
Unlike before, the remaining gatekeeper stood stiffly and nervously watched Shabel's reaction.
“You could have shown your identification from the start.”
“But revealing my identity tends to cause troublesome things to happen. Especially when someone high-ranking is around.”
“Hmm, that's true. I can relate. That happened to me too.”
Especially after subjugating Rahav.
So many people tried to recruit me that it was genuinely troublesome.
But Shabel, unaware of that history, looked at me with incomprehension.
“You're a slave, aren't you?”
“And?”
“Because you're a slave...”
“What? Are you saying slaves aren't allowed to be popular? Are you discriminating against slaves right now?”
“That's not what I mean. Things like that don't usually happen to slaves...”
“That's a prejudice.”
A Hero, of all people, was shackled by prejudice.
How immature.
As we chatted, the gatekeeper who had gone inside returned.
“I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. The master instructed us to escort you inside, Hero.”
“Thank you.”
Fortunately, we received permission to enter. There was no need to smash our way in.
We followed the gatekeeper into the gambling hall.
The inside of the building was much larger than it appeared from outside.
Tables were packed together, and countless people, men and women alike, sat around them gambling.
The raucous voices of the gamblers and the rolling of dice echoed from every direction.
“It's incredibly chaotic in here.”
“That's what gambling houses are like. Let's find her quickly and leave.”
“We should. But how are we supposed to find Ash...?”
It was chaotic, and there were too many people.
Just as I wondered whether we'd have to check them one by one,
“Welcome, Hero.”
A woman in a dress with deep cuts here and there approached us with elegant steps.
“Who are you?”
“I am Veronica, owner of the Golden Goose.”
The woman who introduced herself as Veronica smiled languidly.
Beneath her heavy makeup was a deep, cool gaze.
Every movement she made was overflowing with maturity and a decadent air.
“I hear my subordinates caused you some inconvenience. I apologize. Those gatekeepers are terribly inflexible.”
“No, they're only doing their jobs.”
“Hehe, thank you for your generosity. You are as upright as I'd heard.”
Veronica's gaze swept over Shabel.
She seemed to have taken a rough measure of what kind of person Shabel was.
For the owner of a place like this, reading people was practically part of the job.
Then she shot me a brief glance before turning her attention back to Shabel.
“What brings you to our Golden Goose, Hero?”
“I'm looking for someone. A tall woman with a short gray bob, taller than me. She has a scar on her cheek. Do you happen to know her?”
“A tall woman with a gray bob and a scar on her cheek... Ah, I remember. You mean that woman.”
Veronica only had to think for a moment before her red lips slowly curled into a smile.
“You know her? Is she here?”
“Of course. She was playing with quite a fiery streak. I had no idea she was your companion.”
“I'm sorry. I'll take her out immediately. Where is she now?”
“She's enjoying herself in the back. However...”
Veronica trailed off.
Shabel tilted her head.
“Is there a problem?”
“There's a bit of a predicament. You may not be able to take her with you.”
“What?”
“It will be quicker if you see for yourself.”
Veronica turned and walked deeper inside.
“This way.”
Shabel looked as though she wanted to ask more, but followed her for now.
I followed behind the two of them.
“Did Ash cause some kind of disturbance?”
“No. She followed our establishment's rules very well. It's just that she got a little too caught up in the excitement...”
“Caught up in the excitement?”
“When someone gets swept up in the excitement at a gambling table, there is only one possible outcome.”
Veronica, who had continued leading us, stopped in front of a red curtain.
“She's in here.”
Shabel drew the curtain aside.
Inside was a large table, with several guests seated around a sofa.
We found Ash on one side of it.
“Ash!”
“Sh-Shabel?”
Perhaps she realized she had done something wrong, because Ash's eyes widened when she spotted Shabel.
“You secretly took the money pouch. Ash, what on earth were you thinking?”
“Sh-Shabel seemed really stressed about money, so I wanted to make sure you wouldn't have to worry about it.”
“My stress isn't about how much money we have. I'm upset that wasting money drags things out pointlessly.”
“Anyway~ When you've got plenty of money, it's okay to waste a little, right? So I was going to multiply it.”
“Haaah...”
Shabel let out a deep sigh, looking utterly fed up.
“Give me the money pouch.”
“Well, the thing is.”
“Stop changing the subject and hand it over!”
Ash reluctantly placed the money pouch in Shabel's hand.
“...What is this?”
“It's a money pouch.”
“I know that, but...”
Normally, the coins inside should have kept the pouch somewhat plump.
But the thing lying limply in Shabel's hand was like a deflated balloon.
It was obvious at a glance that there was nothing inside.
But perhaps she couldn't trust her own senses, because Shabel opened the pouch to check.
“Ash.”
“Yeah.”
“There's no money in it at all.”
“That's why I said I was going to make it grow.”
“But there's nothing left.”
“Money grows sometimes and shrinks sometimes.”
“It didn't shrink, it disappeared! Don't tell me you lost it all already?”
“Heheh.”
Ash tried to laugh it off with an uncharacteristic smile.
Perhaps deciding that there was no point in talking any further, Shabel exhaled deeply.
“Let's get out of here first. We'll talk when we get back.”
Shabel clenched the empty money pouch and turned around.
“What are you doing? Get up.”
“Well...”
Ash didn't rise from her seat. No—in my eyes, it looked as though she couldn't rise.
I immediately sensed what had happened.
This bitch had really screwed up.
“I can't go.”
“What do you mean, you can't? Why? Don't tell me you've still refused to give up?”
“Aw, come on. Do I look that immature?”
“Then why can't you leave?”
As Ash hemmed and hawed instead of giving a straight answer, Veronica cut in from the side.
“I think it would be best if I explained that part.”
“Is there something else?”
“Like the outstanding adventurer she is, Ash did not give up after one or two losses. Even after losing all the money she had, she tenaciously continued gambling.”
It sounded like praise, but it didn't sound like praise at all.
In short, she was calling Ash a gambling addict.
More than anything, something about Veronica's explanation felt off.
Shabel seemed to feel the same way.
She asked the question I wanted to ask.
“How did she continue after losing all her money?”
“We lent her the money she needed for additional bets.”
“You... lent it?”
“Yes, only a small amount. A platinum-ranked adventurer should have no trouble paying it back.”
Veronica covered her lips with a folding fan and smiled quietly with her eyes.
“How much did Ash borrow?”
“Very little, considering Ash's reputation.”
“I asked how much.”
“Seventy gold coins.”
“...What? H-how much?”
Shabel asked again, thinking she must have misheard.
Veronica repeated the answer in a calm voice.
“Seventy gold coins. What remarkable daring. She was so fearless that I couldn't help admiring her just watching.”
Veronica drove the final nail into the coffin.
Shabel couldn't erase the stunned look from her face.
See? I told you.
I told you she was completely hopeless.
I was right again.
“What happens if she can't pay it back?”
“There is no such case as being unable to repay. She'll have to work here until she does.”
In other words, Ash had to stay here until she paid back every last coin.
There was no reason to deliberate.
“Let's leave her behind, Hero.”
I hadn't liked her anyway, and now we had a perfectly reasonable reason.
This was a great chance to ditch one deadweight.
“Even so, we can't leave a companion in a place like this...”
But this foolish Hero couldn't wholeheartedly agree with me.
“If you can't pay it back right away, there is another way.”
Perhaps reading Shabel's thoughts, Veronica made a new proposal.
“What other way?”
Veronica's sticky gaze moved slowly.
It passed Ash, then Shabel, and landed ironically on me.
Veronica pointed at me with the end of her fan.
“Would you give me that slave?”