Casino Wizard

Holding off on giving Lucy an answer, the casino returned once more.

A few more days passed, but… on the surface, nothing seemed to have changed.

I was busy decorating the branch, and Lucy guarded the gaming hall while occasionally dealing. Training the newly hired staff was also our responsibility.

Just the usual—both of us focused on work.

But something had changed.

A shift so subtle that it was hard to notice at first glance.

As the one involved, I felt it quite blatantly.

“Hyden oppa.”

“……”

“You already noticed, didn’t you? Say it.”

“You changed your perfume. Bitter orange.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Coming to deliver a work report and, out of nowhere, confirming her perfume scent—this was part of the change. She wasn’t like this before.

“But it’s kind of strange, isn’t it?”

“What is?”

“When I bought it, I was told it’s a newly extracted fragrance, so most men wouldn’t be able to distinguish it. That’s what the perfumer said… But how do you know so well?”

Lucy squinted at me, curious.

She was just toying with me—enough to be distracting but not enough to interfere with work.

How do I know about perfume…

I might have been living a tough life here with no time to meet women, but that wasn’t the case in the other world. Besides, in my previous profession, knowing about perfume was essential to being ‘less’ deceived.

‘Lucy might take this the wrong way.’

She could think I somehow found time to be with women despite my busy schedule and start interrogating me—

“Alright, anyway.”

“Alright what?”

“The Count of Tuscany is in the VIP room right now, so you should go yourself. He seemed like he forced himself to make time to be here.”

She had no intention of pressing further.

Back to business, as expected.

Yet, I still felt like she had gained a slight upper hand.

It was like Lucy had flopped top pair and was slow-playing intentionally. Not too slow, though.

“I’ll go.”

Before heading to the gaming hall, she would cover the back of my hand with hers or brush my shoulder as she passed by.

We had always been close, but I had never allowed this level of proximity before.

Since I never expected her to push in, I had never bothered to guard against it.

I couldn’t just take this lying down.

Was I resisting because I didn’t want to be led around?

Not exactly. I just didn’t want to ignore the game Lucy had started.

I had to play along. So the move I chose…

Was to head to the VIP room.

“Count Tuscany, and the Countess. It has been a while.”

“Ah, Hyden… Baron.”

“Yes. I recently received a title.”

I greeted the nobleman from the provinces and his wife.

They visited every two months, spending a fortune in the process.

Their expenditures were massive, but when combined, their losses weren’t devastating. When one lost big, the other either broke even or even won.

Regardless, they were valuable customers.

I hadn’t come just to greet them, though.

“I’ve already won over 80 gold! At this rate, won’t our dear Baron Hyden go bankrupt and end up at a relief center?”

“If I go bankrupt, just make sure to donate generously.”

“Of course.”

“It’s nice to see a couple getting along so well.”

I brushed off their joke and naturally steered the conversation toward marriage.

It was a deliberate move.

The VIP room was practically another social circle in itself.

It wasn’t just ordinary nobles; clerics, adventurers, and merchants were all mixed in, making it even better for information exchange.

And one of the hottest topics in high society was, of course, marriage.

“Now that I think about it, shouldn’t Baron Hyden be considering marriage soon?”

That remark came from the husband of the gambling couple.

Everyone except those deep in their games turned their attention to me.

If I even hinted at a positive response, someone would immediately say, “I know a fine young lady and would be happy to arrange a match.”

In high society, orchestrating a wealthy person’s marriage was considered a badge of honor.

No matter how addicted these people were to gambling, they hadn’t abandoned social norms.

‘If I wanted, they’d probably introduce me to an excellent noblewoman.’

I didn’t even have to ask. Just pretending to be interested would set things in motion.

Was it because I hesitated in answering?

Lucy, who had slipped into the VIP room at some point, was now watching me with an odd expression. A mix of anticipation and anxiety.

I feigned hesitation for a moment before speaking.

“Well… I appreciate the thought, but I have no plans to marry just yet.”

“Oh, but—”

“As you all know, I’m preparing to open a branch in the Tratori district. Once it’s up and running, I expect it’ll be known as the second casino. That project alone is keeping me too busy to even think about marriage.”

“Wow. Making money at a terrifying rate.”

Only then did Lucy seem to relax slightly.

She was quick-witted enough to check on the servers’ attire while carrying herself naturally, as if she had only come to inspect the staff’s discipline as the casino’s head of guest services.

But she was listening.

In truth, what I was about to say was for her ears as much as anyone else’s.

“And that’s not all. The Hero is still in the Demon Realm.”

“Ah, that guy.”

“He’s been struggling there for months… I can’t prioritize my personal life over that. It weighs on my mind.”

Lucy’s expression finally softened at the mention of the Hero.

That was always his role.

I was a bastard. Lucy was an orphan.

The middle-aged Hero wasn’t exactly a father figure, but he was like a kind uncle we lived with.

If anything, he felt that way even more strongly. Since Lucy was the same age as his late son, he had always been particularly protective of her.

Leaving the poor Hero to suffer in the Demon Realm while we enjoyed ourselves… felt a little wrong.

But I wasn’t about to let things get too solemn.

“Once the second casino is settled…”

“And after that?”

“When the Hero returns—or at least when we get a clear timeline—who knows? I might have the time to reconsider.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

The reactions were mixed.

Some looked excited, as if they were already planning matchmaking.

Most, however, were too absorbed in their bets to care.

And then there was Lucy.

As she turned to leave, she squinted at me briefly—acknowledging, perhaps, that she had felt the pressure for a moment.

With this, the balance of power was restored.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what I was doing…

‘But it’s more fun than I expected.’

A colleague I saw 350 days a year, the youngest in our party, someone who took a large paycheck but was still my employee.

We were undeniably familiar with each other—yet somehow, this felt refreshingly new.

…

Right After Closing

I was overlooking the game hall as the closing cleanup was underway.

“Oppa. Do you even realize what you’ve done?”

Lucy suddenly stood beside me.

At some point, she had changed into a dress, and her hair was still damp.

Despite having worked for twelve hours straight, she showed no signs of exhaustion. The scent of perfume had faded, replaced by a faint trace of soap.

“I do. Of course, I do.”

“You practically sent them a signal. Once the branch opens, matchmakers will start hovering around you.”

“And?”

“And once they hear about the Pierrot guy, they’ll move in earnest. Since you don’t belong to any family… someone might even approach you directly to propose a marriage.”

Lucy was pointing out that I was playing a dangerous game.

She wasn’t wrong.

But she wasn’t entirely right either.

“Lucy, if I hadn’t done this, the offers might have started coming in tomorrow or the day after. You’re right—I don’t have a family to discuss marriage with. But instead, some families might try approaching my mentor. In the Magic Tower, that’s not uncommon.”

“Then…”

“Since I made my stance clear, they’ll have a harder time approaching for a while, don’t you think?”

There wouldn’t be any matchmaking attempts anytime soon.

Interfering with my business was the last thing they’d want to do. And if they remembered what happened to those who had tried before, they’d know better than to cross me.

Lucy seemed to understand and nodded.

Then, subtly, she placed her hand over mine.

The staff were busy cleaning up and getting ready to leave, so they probably wouldn’t notice… but that didn’t mean there was no risk of being seen.

Still, I didn’t pull away. Instead, I held her hand firmly.

I knew Lucy was doing this just to fluster me.

Letting go wouldn’t mean I was losing, but if I had to choose—

Winning was always the better option.

“Tomorrow… wait, it’s already past midnight. Today, make sure I can see the prototype.”

“The new game, right?”

“Yeah. I need to check it myself to finalize the details.”

With that, I immediately shifted gears to business.

A new game.

Something vastly different from anything my casino had offered before. But if it caught on, it would be more profitable than any other game.

Messing around with Lucy was one thing, but business was business. Even she acknowledged that, smiling slightly.

“Alright. Work is work, after all.”

Work is work.

For some reason, that phrase resonated with me. If she had said it intentionally, then this round went to Lucy.

…

The Next Day.

“The prototype has arrived.”

The new gambling machine I had commissioned was finally here.

It was truly a new game.

Unlike roulette, which had been around in banquet halls long before my casino, or playing cards, which had been popular for centuries and only simplified by my design—this game had never existed before.

Technological limitations had made it expensive and time-consuming, but in the end, it was completed.

And now, the result was in front of me.

“It turned out well. Better than I expected.”

“Well, we spent a lot of money on it. Honestly, it’s ready to be installed as is.”

“Good.”

A silver case.

The name “Hyden Casino” printed at the bottom.

A lever attached to the right side.

And on the top, a glass-covered, somewhat crude screen.

Through the screen, I could see various symbols.

The reel plates inside were wrapped with symbol-printed paper that would instantly ignite upon reacting with magic.

Expensive, yes, but necessary to prevent any meddling from mages.

I had no regrets about the investment.

It didn’t have an automated payout system, and it would require some manual labor. But compared to traditional games, it was a significant innovation.

Considering how much money it was going to make me, there was no way I’d see it as a waste.

“We’re still producing more.”

“Then our customers will be able to try it soon.”

The game’s name?

Slot Machine.