Chapter 307
Chapter 307 – I Walk with Trust in You (1)
“Betting, huh… that sounds interesting.”
Claude paused dramatically with a relaxed smile, prompting Ghislaine to ask again.
“Are you in or out?”
“Of course… I can’t let this wager slip by. The blood of a gambler flows in my veins.”
“But what do you have to stake? You won’t be getting anything more out of your remaining life.”
“I know that much myself.”
Others might be clueless, but Claude actually had no remaining life left. Having lost every petty wager, his time as a slave was extended by a staggering 278 years.
He even lost about ten years for something trivial like drinking water quickly. It was just a series of unfortunate outcomes when seizing opportunities.
Claude knew that his remaining life was now worth less than the flour rolling around the territory.
So, he thought of staking something else.
“What about Alfoy and the Wizards? Hehe.”
The Wizards were bound by the contracts of yesteryear. They might enjoy gambling now, but they had never wagered against Ghislaine again.
Claude was effectively saying he would wager the lives of the Wizards instead of his own.
Ghislaine nodded willingly.
“That’s fine. The Wizards probably have long lives thanks to their magical powers. Once their circles rise, their lifespans will increase further, right?”
“Hehe, that isn’t all.”
“There’s more?”
“Of course, there are those who are leaving this time.”
“Oh… Can you bring them in?”
“I’ll persuade them to join the wager.”
“Alright, they might be useful. So, what do you want? It looks like you want something pretty big.”
Claude suddenly twisted his body and said.
“Geez, I wonder if I can say this out loud.”
“What is it? What do you want?”
“Well, first and foremost, granting me freedom is a given, right? Let’s end the 278 years all at once.”
“I can manage that. Is that enough? Do you want to go back home as a free man?”
“No, just give me one territory. I want to be a lord too.”
“Pfft!”
“……”
“Hmm, would a small piece of land be enough?”
Seeing Ghislaine desperately holding back laughter, Claude replied with annoyance.
“No, I won’t accept anything from the Lord.”
“Why not?”
“Knowing when I’m going to die and accepting that worth is just not right.”
Fighting against the Duke faction was a predetermined future. If Ghislaine gave him a territory, he would have to participate in the war as a vassal. Even if he didn’t join in, it was obvious he’d die along with Ghislaine if the Duke faction won.
Ghislaine tilted her head and asked again.
“Then how do you expect to get land? Are you asking for it by taking from somewhere?”
“Please buy me something reasonable from the Kingdom of Turian. It can be small. Hehehe.”
“The Kingdom of Turian?”
“Surely, you are a noble of Ruthania guaranteed by the Kingdom of Turian, Lord. Couldn’t you buy me a small piece of land as my guardian? Ah, and as far from the Shadow Mountain Range as possible; I want to live safely.”
As long as they reached an agreement with the existing lord and adhered to the laws of the country, it was indeed possible to buy and sell territories.
Claude had no intention of just snagging some money and returning home. He had already tasted power. No matter how much money one had, without power, it was worthless.
He planned to live lavishly as the owner of a small territory until he died.
He had no grand ambitions. Unlike Ghislaine, he wasn’t a war fanatic, nor did he intend to expand his land. He just wanted to live comfortably and freely until he died.
Ghislaine nodded, having absorbed Claude’s ambitions.
“Alright, if you win, I’ll secure you a small territory in Turian. Well, I doubt that’ll ever happen.”
“Hehehe, just make sure you don’t change your words later, Lord. Let’s set the period to a month. I need to eat only what’s newly developed and maintain my stamina for battle in a month.”
“Of course. Now, hurry and gather those who want to put in their stakes.”
“Alright. Just a moment, please. I’ll persuade them and bring them right back.”
Claude moved with a gleeful expression. He had nothing to wager himself, but was wagering the lives of others.
Thinking of leaving this place without staking anything and pocketing rewards made his steps considerably light.
Watching the excited back of Claude, Ghislaine chuckled.
“Lifetime slave wizards… I can’t let this go.”
It was a very tempting proposal.
*
Alfoy was gambling at a corner of the construction site in the territory. Remarkably, the opponent was none other than Piote, rumored to be the nicest person in the territory.
In truth, Piote didn’t enjoy gambling. He spent all his earnings on helping the struggling residents.
With plenty of food scattered around the territory, there were hardly any starving people, but people couldn’t live solely on food.
Many were still unable to procure daily necessities due to poverty, or couldn’t gather medicinal herbs in time when they were sick. Piote dug into his own savings to help those people.
However, it was impossible for Piote to help everyone with the little money he obtained from the territory. So, he sometimes sought help from the local officials.
Alfoy was no exception among those he sought help from.
“What? You want me to donate some money? You want to gouge the Flaming Man Alfoy out of his money right now?”
“No… I’m not gouging; I was just asking for a little help since there are some people in trouble in the territory…”
“I’m the one in the greatest trouble! The heir to the Mage Tower, living without pay as a slave!”
Alfoy jumped around in outrage. But everyone knew he was secretly hoarding money.
He would help the territory residents and take a little in return, or win money from others in gambling.
But Alfoy was so stubborn that way. Donations are something you receive voluntarily, not by force.
“Ah, I understand. I’ll look for someone else.”
As Piote turned with a glum expression, Alfoy grabbed him.
“It’s not like there’s absolutely no way.”
“What is it?”
“I’d love to just give, but there’s no justification, no justification.”
Piote’s eyes widened in curiosity. What kind of justification does one need to help the needy?
Alfoy continued with a serious expression.
“Mages don’t give money without a reason. Because they are excessively rational and reasonable intellectuals. So, I’ll give you a chance to take my money.”
“How?”
“Through gambling, of course. You can earn my money through a gamble.”
Piote shook his head immediately.
“While there is no scripture forbidding gambling, the act of gambling itself is rooted in greed, which makes it sinful.”
“…You still have a long way to go.”
“Excuse me?”
“What? You’re not trying to gamble out of greed for money, right? Aren’t you trying to use this money to help the needy?”
“…Yes.”
“Then it’s not greed; it’s a noble challenge. It’s to help those in need. Ignoring a way to help those in need would be a greater sin, don’t you think?”
“…”
It sounded odd, but it was plausible. After pondering for a moment, Piote clenched his little fist and nodded.
“Alright, I’ll give it a shot.”
There was no need to question whether the method to help the needy was right or wrong. It was just about being true to oneself.
Alfoy grinned slyly.
“You made a good choice. Since it’s something you might not know much about, let’s keep it simple and play odds and evens. Just guess if the silver coin in my hand is odd or even. Easy, right?”
“Yes.”
Piote nodded obediently. However, the gambling members watching from the side shook their heads.
Odds and evens was not something Piote could win.
Even the gamblers Cain and the Wizards didn’t play odds and evens with Alfoy. He was the strongest in the territory at it.
Unaware of this, Piote innocently started the game with Alfoy.
Alfoy clicked his tongue as he saw the scant coins Piote brought out.
“Wow, look at that guy with no money. The lord must have given him a lot, but I guess he really shared it all with the serious poor folks. Tsk, tsk, if he loses it all, tears are going to stream down that pretty face of his.”
The money Piote brought out wasn’t much. Just a few silver coins and a handful of bronze ones.
But Alfoy was the Flaming Gambler. He never showed mercy just because someone seemed pitiful.
Cautious Piote didn’t wager much at one time, putting only a single coin down.
“Odd!”
“Even!”
“Odd!”
“Even!”
Piote earnestly challenged, but he never won even once. How could he? Alfoy was using magic to cheat in the gambling.
“Hehe, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that no one in this territory can crack the spell I’ve created.”
Having met Claude and begun gambling, Alfoy had become a superb gambler.
He constantly researched to win in odds and evens until he invented one spell.
That was a winning spell based on movement spells, lightweight spells, and gravity spells. It was basically a patchwork of existing spells, but nonetheless, he created a new spell.
Every time he played odds and evens, he secretly cast this spell on a small object in his hand.
“Since I made this spell, I haven’t lost a single time at odds and evens. Soon, I’ll challenge the lord again!”
In cases where the opponent guessed correctly, he would slightly open his hand before twisting his wrist. In an instant, the silver coin would slip into his sleeve. The speed was akin to teleportation.
Because of this magic, Alfoy always wore long robes even in summer.
Piote, unaware of any of this, had no choice but to fall victim.
“Uh, why can’t I get it right even once?”
He kept guessing the same thing, but never won even once. This simply didn’t make sense.
Cain, who was clicking his tongue from the side, casually mentioned.
“That guy, he’s cheating using magic. You’ll never win.”
“C-cheating? Give me back my money!”
At that, Alfoy shouted in a stern voice.
“Hey! Cheating? What nonsense is that! Do you have any proof? I don’t cheat! How can a priest be so distrustful? Huh? Can a priest just pin anything on me like that?”
“N-no… it doesn’t make sense…”
“What’s nonsensical? It’s just that you can’t do it! Who threatened you with a weapon to guess wrong!”
With Alfoy’s heated words, Piote had nothing to say. He had no way to discern Alfoy’s trickery with his own ability.
“F-fine, I’ll stop.”
He couldn’t afford to lose all his little money. But Alfoy, with a look of disdain, said.
“Can you really call yourself a man if you give up so easily? Won’t you help the needy? Your tenacity is weaker than I expected. Is that the will of the Goddess?”
At those words, Piote flared up. He was already teased daily for behaving so much like a woman; he didn’t want to hear someone add insult to injury by saying he looked weak after losing money.
And now, it felt wrong to give up after investing so much effort. It would be hard to help people with whatever little money he had left. He wanted to win by any means necessary.
“Let’s do it again!”
“Hehe, thus begins the descent into gambling.”
Alfoy grinned.
“I’ve caught a sucker.”
He was planning to clean Piote out completely. The amount wasn’t much but it was still something! Plus, it was a bonus to relieve stress.
“Odd!”
“Even!”
“Odd!”
Piote faced a series of defeats. He never won even once. Just once he’d have preferred to lose lightly, but Alfoy was just openly cheating.
“Ugh… uhh…”
As he lost almost all his remaining money, tears began to well up in Piote’s eyes.
It was infuriating. It felt so unfair to be cheated, and he felt so pathetic for not noticing it.
He should have spent that little money helping others instead.
People warn against gambling for a reason. Piote regretted his choice.
‘Goddess…’
Now the only money left was a single silver coin. Piote shut his eyes tightly and prayed.
“Please let me win.”
Not for himself. Not to punish the cheater. But just with the sole wish of wanting to help a few more needy people.
Seeing Piote, who was nervously praying with his eyes tightly shut, Alfoy sighed impatiently.
“Ah, what are you doing? Bet already.”
‘Goddess… please… that bastard… Ah, pardon my rough language.’
Piote prayed with every ounce of strength he could muster. He’d never prayed this earnestly in his life.
Regret about himself, repentance for touching gambling, a yearning to help the needy.
All those feelings intertwined, burning painfully in his heart.
Boom!
A surge of divine power erupted from Piote’s body, beginning to spread out. Alfoy, sensing it, chuckled.
“Oh dear, no matter how much you pray, it won’t make a difference. Do you know why?”
Alfoy began to unleash his magical power against the divine energy.
Boom!
As divine energy and magical power collided, a powerful wave spread out. Alfoy raised his chin arrogantly and proclaimed.
“I am the God of Odds and Evens. Even a Goddess can’t touch me.”
He boldly dismissed the very existence of the deity before him, calling himself a god.
Such a brazen statement, something only a dark mage could utter, didn’t provoke anger in Piote. He simply continued praying with all his heart.
That fervent yearning began to transform into an endlessly pure and true faith.
And that intense belief eventually connected with ‘something.’
“Ah, you’re not betting yet, huh…? Oh?”
Suddenly, dark clouds amassed in the pristine sky, casting shadows around. In that moment, a radiant light soared from the crown of Piote’s head into the sky.
Bam!
Once again, the dark clouds parted, and a splendid light began to shine forth from the space that formed.
That light seemed to have a connection with Piote.
Alfoy and the other Wizards gaped in shock.
They were familiar with the texts describing such a phenomenon.
“Ch-channeling?”
A power visible only to those chosen by the Goddess.
It was a phenomenon where you connect with a great will, using a portion of its power and following its intent, known as channeling. And the saint attempting to channel would receive a ‘revelation.’
A true ‘revelation’ unlike the manipulated rumors crafted by Ghislaine and Porisco.
Who would have thought they’d witness channeling, a phenomenon reserved for saints under special circumstances?
But was this even special?
ROOOOOOOO!
Piote’s eyes were closed as his body slowly levitated into the air. Powerful divine energy continuously streamed from him. His pink hair began to glitter in beautiful silver.
Watching this, Alfoy stammered.
“W-what, why, why is a g-g-g-g-g-g-g-god intervening in something like odds and evens?”
This territory was indeed abnormal.
