“Hahaha, snake eyes again, you have the worst luck!”

There’s a group of three men rolling dice outside the market and trying to guess the outcome in a game of chance. While I’m trying to keep a low profile, and also, I get the feeling Mark probably wouldn’t approve of me scamming the locals, it’s really their fault if you think about it. You can’t gamble in public and expect me, the god of gambling, to not take advantage of the opportunity…right?

“Hey, Old Man! You want to make a bet?” I saunter beside their table and make my young eyes as wide as possible. Immediately, the local degenerates home in on a good opportunity to make some easy money.

“Haha, you want to play, Kid? Do you even have any money?” Though they act like they’re not interested, I can see the hungry glint in their eyes which reminds me of Romy when she imagines my future as a never-ending bank account powerful mage. “Well?”

“Umm, I only have a few coppers. But I’m very lucky.” Though it’s not a lot of money, scum like this would never miss a chance to scam a child’s lunch money. Immediately, when I take out my measly twelve coppers, they laugh. However, one of them, a scrawny fellow with a sad goatee happily accepts my challenge.

“Alright Kid, I’ll match you. You want high or low?” It seems that their game of choice is to roll two dice. If the sum of both die is a six or lower, than the one who called low, wins. Seven or higher and high wins. My hidden smile widens. Putting a hand in front of my mouth so they can’t see, I pretend like I’m thinking. The gambling games on Earth were never this simple in casinos. There were too many people with advanced statistics degrees who could exploit them. However, such a thing as statistics probably doesn’t exist in this world.

“Um, how about you roll them, first?” I can’t see far enough into the future yet, to safely guess the outcome, so I move the game along. The degenerate throws his two dice into the cup. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are weighted. He probably thinks that since I only have twelve coppers, if he plays me enough times, he’ll eventually win it all no matter how lucky I get. However…such a strategy has one risk.

You might meet a monster like me!

“So, you’re betting everything on this roll? Remember, once we start, we play until we’re out of money, because we’re adults. This is your last chance to back out. If you’re scared.” The playful sneer he gives me is perfectly calculated to make a hot-headed kid unable to walk away. Unfortunately, his obvious attempt to scam me, only makes me laugh harder inside. Play until we’re out of money, huh? Well, you asked for this…

“Sure! But if I take all your money, no going back on your word okay? You have to give it to me!” I say and he seems a bit startled. Then he exchanges mischievous glances with the other degenerates, already counting my money as his.

“Of course, we’re all honorable men here! If you can beat me until I run out of money, naturally it’s all yours.” He smirks and shakes the tin cup with a rattle and dramatic flair. Plopping it down on the little table, the distinct clink of two dice smacking onto the wooden tabletop comes out underneath. “So…high or low?”

“Wait, how do I know if you’re cheating? If you get to remove the cup yourself, you might do something to the results while I can’t see. How about I get to take the cup off?” I reach for the upside-down cup on the table, and my poor foe gives a fake-hurt look to the others as if he’s insulted.

“Alright, if it makes you feel better! But you better not be cheating either, Kid. We’re experienced gamblers, if you try anything funny, we’ll know!” He declares. “Now hurry up, high or low?”

Experienced gamblers?

You dare to talk big in front of me?

Please, I was secretly responsible for six casino bankruptcies before I was legally allowed to gamble!

As Glacia says, you should be careful because there’s always a higher sky and a better degenerate man!

“High.” Since I’m the one taking the cup off, now all I have to do is think about looking at the dice and I’ll know what the answer is. When my hand removes the cup, the other degenerates laugh.

“Tch. Lucky.” The ruffian reaches into his purse and puts twelve coppers on the table. I sweep them over to my side and he grabs my wrist. “Now now, remember, we play until one of us is out of money!”

“Of course. This is just to keep track of the results.” Moving the little pile of coppers over to my side, I put the dice back inside and give the cup another exaggerated roll. Suddenly, it occurs to me that it’s not my turn to call the results, so if this guy actually manages to guess properly, I’ll be completely out of money. If this was me on Earth, I’d have no choice but to risk it. However, in this world, I’m not so weak. I turn the cup over and turn on my Foresight. Then I call out, “High or low?”

“Heh, high.” He guesses the same thing as what I called last time. I’m not sure if it’s a coincidence or not. Maybe these dice are weighted to roll high more often? The future shown is low, however. So, I turn the cup over. He gives a very exaggerated sigh as if disappointed. However, he’s still very calm.

“Damn, Kid. I guess you really are lucky.” He smiles and reaches into his pocket and removes another twenty-four coppers. “Alright. I’ll give you a discount since I’m out of coppers. If you win the next one, I’ll give you a whole silver, alright? Just cuz I’m a nice guy.”

“Wow, thanks, Old Man!” I play stupid, acting as if I’m thrilled that I’m winning. Scooping the dice into the cup, I rattle them around extra hard and then upturn the cup. “I guess…high.”

“Tch.” His mouth twitches just a bit. However, when I reveal the dice, the sum is indeed eight so I win. I catch a flicker of uncertainty run through him. He removes a silver and slides it across to the pile of coppers in front of me. “I’ll roll the next one. And call it. You’re too lucky when you roll.”

Hmm…that’s a problem.

“But you said I would get to show the dice! What if you’re cheating!” I angrily shout, but unfortunately, he just grabs the dice cup out of my hands and begins to roll.

“Peh, it’s only fair that I get a turn.” He shakes vigorously, and then turns onto the table. “Since high is so lucky today, I guess high!”

Obviously, the dice are weighted.

They probably roll high the majority of the time. All this talk of luck is just an act. Still…this isn’t good. If he’s right, I’ll actually lose everything, and since I don’t have anymore money, that’ll be it. Let’s take a look at the future...

Damn, it is high!

My opponent’s hand reaches for the top of the cup and goes to turn it over. Thinking fast, I have one more trick to use though. If Foresight isn’t enough, my only choice is to use a more aggressive version of cheating! First, I turn off Foresight so I can focus-

[Stormy Breeze of My Loneliness, Gather Forth-Gust]

Pointing my finger at the cup, I silently cast Gust, which I’ve recently managed to succeed at doing without an invocation. A small stream of air appears inside the cup and rotates the dice. After I secretly alter the results, I immediately reactivate Foresight and check to see that the outcome will now be low.

“W-What? How can I be so unlucky!” The man cannot believe his misfortunate as he reveals a five…and a one. Which makes for six total.

Gotcha.

He smashes the table as his companions laugh at his expense.

“Ahahaha, Jeff, you really have no luck!”

“Shut up, Paul! This kid is just insanely lucky! He must be gifted by the Goddess of Luck or something!”

“So, do you have any more money?” At my words, the man turns red. Reaching into his pocket, he removes one more silver.

“Tch, I don’t have enough to match your wager. But there’s no way you can be this lucky again! Hurry up and roll!” I’m already starting to shake the cup before the coin hits the table. As I throw the cup on the table, I grin because I already see what’s going to happen. Yea…it’s definitely weighted. High again.

“High!” I shout. The cup comes off and the man curses loudly as I grab the pile of coins. Keeping a vigilant eye on the future, in case these people want to try anything funny, I jump because of what happens next. However, it’s not the men that I’m worried about. In the future, someone far more dangerous approaches. Oh crap. Not good!

“Man, he must have been cheating!”

“Oh shut it, Jeff, even if he was, we all know your dice are weighted anyways!”

“Yea, but still…”

I turn away from the degenerates. Quickly, I hide my gambling winnings in my pocket, because I know who’s coming. When he arrives behind me, just as I saw him appear in the future, I shiver. Something’s off. This is bad…he’s a paladin right? Which makes him religious…Does Yuel have a teaching that prohibits gambling? Or maybe cheating…? Hopefully he didn’t see anything-

“Myrr…come with me!” Mark shows up right on time, saying the exact words I knew he would say. Getting a bit tired, I anxiously deactivate Foresight. Normally, my status in the pecking order is higher than Mark’s, but right now, his expression is extremely dark. Like completely emotionless. There isn’t a trace of my usual, cowardly, uncle. A very bad feeling starts to brew in my stomach. He isn’t…actually angry, is he? I mean even if he saw me win, there’s no way he could know I cheated. Why would Mark even care? It’s my money! I can gamble with it if I want! Well, the funds did come from his retirement savings…

“Mark?” I test the waters, and he just grabs my shoulder and hauls me out of there. Unable to resist, I’m forced to follow him. Growing more and more afraid, I try to probe for information. “Whatever you saw, if you did in fact see anything, it was between two consensual people...”

“Not now, Myrr.” He doesn’t sound happy. “We’ll talk at the house.”

“Uh…okay.” I can’t argue with this Mark at all. The best I can do is stumble in his footsteps. Though he impatiently waits for me, eventually, he huffs and flickers over. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen him move this fast, except when he’s running from Romy. He’s not as fast as the master of the house, but his speed is still insane. In a split second, he scoops me up by the knees and has me in his arms. Then the wind rushes by and we accelerate out of town and past the forest to the house.

*Tap*

Before I know it, we’re on the doorstep. Mark puts me down and Romy opens the door as soon as we arrive. Her face says it all. This…isn’t about my gambling is it?

Why is Romy’s face like that?

“Come inside. Let’s discuss this properly. As a family.” Those three sentences are short. But they scare me more than anything Raccoon Romy has ever said while beating me. Together, Mark and I enter the house and go to the dining table. Together, we sit down. Unlike usual, where Romy is happy to sit next to me, she and Mark both sit across from me. For a minute, they are stone cold silent. Finally, Mark lets out a very fake laugh. He’s no good at hiding his feelings.

“Well, it’s not that big of a deal! No need to make it seem so serious.” He leans forward, looking me in the face. Two pairs of blue eyes bore holes in my skull and my heart shudders.

This is bad. Really bad!

“What is it? Did you finally give Romy a child?” I ask. Another long minute goes past. Then the unthinkable happens. Romy…sniffs. Her stone-cold face bursts into tears. Mark stoically reaches over and puts his hand on her shoulder. However, my auntie grabs his hand and I don’t know what’s more shocking. The killing intent pouring from Mark’s body, or Romy’s sobs. Oh God...wrong move. I shouldn’t have said that!

“Oh, just tell him, Mark!” She bends over double, as if her stomach has been kicked and I grow very…very…afraid. “Get it over with! I can’t take this anymore!”