Reincarnated as a Genius Prodigy of a Prestigious Family - Chapter 173

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Reincarnated as a Legendary Talent Genius of a Noble Family Episode 173

 

116. To Atalia Island (2)

 

The story went like this.

 

“We’re looking for someone named ‘Calico.'”

 

“Ah… Captain Calico…”

 

The man who introduced himself as the owner of this tavern let out a sigh.

 

“Why are you looking for Captain Calico?”

 

His eyes were filled with pity rather than wariness.

 

“We have a favor to ask of him.”

 

“A favor… If it’s something that requires a ship, that favor probably won’t be fulfilled.”

 

“What do you mean by that?”

 

This sounds ominous.

 

“Captain Calico had his ship taken away recently.”

 

His ship was taken away?

 

At this unexpected turn of events, I narrowed my eyes. Rather than being flustered, I was just dumbfounded.

 

Meanwhile, my mind began formulating backup plans, and in the process we learned why Captain Calico lost his ship.

 

“He lost his ship gambling.”

 

“…”

 

Everyone fell silent in disbelief.

 

What an absurd reason.

 

“Gambling…”

 

“You mean… gambling?”

 

“Oh my…”

 

Everyone let out sighs.

 

It made sense since they were all fellows far removed from such things.

 

But not me.

 

I had quite a bit of experience in my previous life.

 

In my previous life, I was born on the battlefield and raised on the battlefield.

 

And the battlefield is a space where boredom takes over when combat and operations disappear.

 

So I did various things… one of which was card games.

 

I was even quite good at them.

 

“So he went to get it back now.”

 

And what was added was that Captain Calico had resisted giving up his ship, turning this place into chaos.

 

“Actually, anyone could see it was rigged gambling. Turns out, he got caught by gambling scammers who move from territory to territory, city to city, pulling cons.”

 

“Oh my…”

 

Ernest sighed at that moment.

 

When I asked why he was doing that, a pitiful story came out.

 

“My father… was also victimized before. I don’t know if it was the same guys. Actually, when you’re adventuring and wandering around, everyone does that stuff out of boredom.”

 

The victim wasn’t far away.

 

Anyway…

 

“What kind of game is it?”

 

“Do you happen to know ‘Zarbo’?”

 

Of course I know it.

 

It’s the game I played most and am most familiar with.

 

The rules are easy to learn, but it takes a long time to get good at it.

 

And it’s also the game where the skill gap between beginners and experts shows most starkly.

 

Add cheating to that and there’s no answer.

 

“By the way, you said he went to get it back, but is that even possible?”

 

“It’s impossible.”

 

The shop owner shook his head.

 

“He’s probably getting fleeced right now. Everyone tried to stop him…”

 

The captain had his ship taken away.

 

That would probably be unbearable.

 

I would feel the same way.

 

But having been caught by gambling scammers and losing his ship, trying to get it back is preposterous.

 

“I should go take a look.”

 

To get to Atalia Island, we need Captain Calico.

 

“What are you going to do when you get there? Do you have a plan?”

 

At Leila’s question, I nodded.

 

“I have two options.”

 

First.

 

Take it back by force.

 

I don’t know for sure, but I could probably subdue some gambling scammers lightly and quickly, then take it.

 

Since they’re the ones who cheated, it would be hard for them to resist.

 

“But if we cause trouble in the city, our departure might be delayed.”

 

We haven’t assessed the scale of the opposition, and problems could arise in the process.

 

Since this isn’t the Academy but a city we know nothing about, the probability of that increases even more.

 

Therefore, fighting isn’t the best solution, nor is it a certain method.

 

“Then what do we do?”

 

I grinned.

 

“There is one way to pay them back in kind.”

 

“In kind…?”

 

“Don’t tell me… what are you planning to do there?”

 

“Well, go there and fleece them. Everything including the ship.”

 

Get the ship back, bring the captain along.

 

And increase our club funds too.

 

It’s a golden opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

 

Of course, the others’ reactions weren’t much different from the shop owner’s.

 

“How? You, Dane?”

 

“What nonsense are you talking about…”

 

“They’re gambling scammers! Gambling pros, pros.”

 

“Master, gambling is scary.”

 

I just grinned at those reactions.

 

In the midst of this, the shop owner asked.

 

“By the way, what do you people do? You don’t seem to be from around here…”

 

“We’re students from the Imperial Academy.”

 

After a brief answer, I asked.

 

“So, where is Captain Calico right now?”

 

* * *

 

Naturally, people can’t fight all day long, for days on end.

 

Even knights with good stamina, that’s an obvious fact.

 

While the front lines are always fiercely contested, combat is done in shifts.

 

So sometimes we fought for two days and nights, but sometimes we rested for three days.

 

The battlefield is a boring place when there’s no combat.

 

Especially when time passes after combat ends and the excitement subsides.

 

That insane, silence-like boredom dominates people, and in my previous life I tried everything to relieve that boredom…

 

Various games were exactly that.

 

“Dane, do you really know how to play card games?”

 

At Leila’s question, I nodded.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“No way, he even knows how to play card games… Does that even make sense?”

 

“Well, it’s Dane, so it seems possible… Did your father perhaps train you in card games when you were young too?”

 

Leila and Ernest each showed reactions of disbelief.

 

“But if it’s against a fraud gambling ring… you’d have to be exceptionally good for it to work.”

 

I’m good.

 

Let me say it again – I’m very good at it.

 

Though it’s awkward to say with my own mouth, I hardly have any history of losing in games where we bet military rations or daily personal supplies.

 

That’s why my subordinates always avoided playing games with me after a certain point. Because they always lost. So I often deliberately let them win, I remember.

 

And now…

 

I can even sense the opponent’s breathing, momentum, and subtle signs with my ancient magic power sensing ability.

 

Plus, magic too.

 

With this much, I can not only adequately counter fraud gambling, but even add my skills to turn the tables on them.

 

Meanwhile, Priscilla brought up something completely different.

 

“Dane, how about we go back? I have plenty of ascetic practice points, so I can make them up during the next break.”

 

I shook my head.

 

“We should at least try. And besides the ascetic practice, who knows when we’ll get another chance like this?”

 

“That’s true… Well, since it’s you, I’m sure you have it all planned out.”

 

Priscilla said that while grinning.

 

“If it really doesn’t work out, we can just smash all their heads and get the captain and ship back, right? Those gambling ring guys, no matter how strong they are, will behave politely after getting hit in the head once.”

 

She’s really fierce, I tell you.

 

She’s right though.

 

If it really doesn’t work out, we can just do that.

 

There would be problems in the city, but it’s not like we don’t have contingency plans for that either.

 

Still, since we have our next schedule, it’s important to resolve things without any major variables.

 

“That looks like it.”

 

We found a three-story building that also served as an inn, much larger than the tavern we went to earlier.

 

From the looks in the eyes of the guys loitering around and the sounds coming from inside, that’s definitely the place.

 

“Who’s going in with me?”

 

“Me!”

 

Ernest quickly raised his hand.

 

“It’s not that I want to try it, but it’s my first time seeing something like this, so I think it’ll be interesting!”

 

Right, this guy always liked anything new.

 

“If we go, it’ll just get complicated. Priscilla, what do you think?”

 

“That’s probably right. Since we have time, we might as well rest a bit.”

 

“Teacher, then the three of us will find lodging nearby and wait.”

 

The rest of our friends would wait for now.

 

Only Ernest and I decided to go in, and we headed straight into the inn.

 

“Let’s finish this quickly and come back.”

 

We have some leeway, but it’s not exactly abundant.

 

Once inside, it was an ordinary scene no different from any other inn.

 

However, being a port city, there was quite a fishy smell, and we could see many rough-looking men who called themselves ‘sea men.’

 

They all looked at us.

 

Though we weren’t in school uniforms, our pale skin and neat clothing, rarely seen in this place, seemed to draw attention.

 

Of course, I didn’t care either way and approached the counter to ask someone who appeared to be the innkeeper.

 

“I heard there’s an interesting game going on in the basement.”

 

“…What kind of bastard are you?”

 

As expected, there’s no way I’d get a pleasant response.

 

I pulled out the gift I had prepared.

 

One Crown silver coin.

 

“With this, I think I can expect a more friendly answer.”

 

There’s no need to cause a commotion from the start.

 

Anyway, if it’s a gambling den, they would have prepared escape routes, and if problems arise here, we might lose those fraud gambling ring guys.

 

“…Aren’t you just kids?”

 

“Let’s just say I’ve lived a bit.”

 

The innkeeper looked puzzled, but perhaps because I readily offered the silver coin, he accepted it willingly.

 

“You seem like outsiders… Well, fine. The more customers, the better.”

 

Naturally, if he’s the innkeeper, he’d be connected to the underground gambling den.

 

How could he not know when games are happening in his own establishment? He probably gets a cut too, so he’s thinking we’ll get fleeced.

 

“Go around the corner to the right.”

 

We followed his directions, passed the counter, and turned the corner.

 

We faced two men guarding the door, and they opened it without saying anything.

 

Stairs leading to the basement.

 

“Two going in.”

 

Sounds coming through the crack of the closed door as we went down.

 

Something like ‘two suckers coming,’ I suppose.

 

“Dane, I’m getting a bit nervous.”

 

“Because it’s a new experience?”

 

“Exactly!”

 

I chuckled, imagining Ernest who would soon be gaping in surprise.

 

Sure enough.

 

When the door opened and the full view of the ‘game’ finally appeared, Ernest seemed to lose his words.

 

“What is… this…”

 

Grayish smoke floating in the air.

 

Murky air and visibility because of it.

 

But even through that, nearly ten tables were clearly visible with dozens of people clinging to them.

 

“I’ve never been to a place like this…”

 

Gambling.

 

A place inseparable from human history.

 

Especially in boring port cities, and particularly in the harsh environment of the north, there’s no entertainment quite like this.

 

Of course, it was the same on the battlefield.

 

And true to being a pastime that makes you lose your mind once you’re hooked, not a single person was paying attention to us.

 

Now, let’s take a look.

 

“Found him.”

 

Not far away, I could see Captain Calico.

 

He matched the description the innkeeper had given.

 

Anxious eyes, trembling hands, rough breathing.

 

And lastly…

 

Unlike the others, his betting money was almost gone.

 

“He’s almost finished.”

 

As soon as I said that, cheers erupted.

 

“Hahaha! Well, you’re having bad luck. What should we do about this? You lost by just one?”

 

“Grrrgh…”

 

What little betting money remained was swept away, and now only a few pitiful silver coins lay in front of Captain Calico.

 

“How about it, want to play again? I’d be too embarrassed to show my face. Your stomach must be burning, so maybe it’d be better to go upstairs and have a drink?”

 

“Oh my, we cleaned him out completely. What should we do? Hahahaha.”

 

The number of guys mocking and laughing was four in total.

 

It was already fraud gambling, and fighting 1 against 4, how could he possibly win?

 

This is why you should never start gambling in the first place.

 

Gambling for fun doesn’t originally exist.

 

In that sense…

 

Let me shake them down once.

 

But first, for a moment.

 

“Ernest.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“If a dangerous situation arises, activate this first.”

 

I handed him the protective equipment I had prepared in advance.

 

It’s single-use and has almost no destructive power, but it’s a device that creates a magnetic field within a 0.5m operating radius.

 

That would create an opening, and in case of emergency, it would make it easier for me to rescue Ernest.

 

“Well then.”

 

I approached the table.

 

And I stood next to Captain Calico, who seemed unable to get up with all sorts of emotions mixed together.

 

“What? The game’s already over.”

 

One guy glared at me, but I answered brazenly.

 

“It looks like there’s a spot available.”

 

Then I deliberately sneered at Captain Calico.

 

“Do you have more money to bet?”

 

“…”

 

Captain Calico trembled with rage, clenching his fists, but soon sighed and stood up abruptly.

 

“I’ll go get more money. Just wait.”

 

At those words, the guys’ faces lit up with delight.

 

“Oh my, isn’t that money also from selling the deed? Where would you get more money?”

 

“That’s for me to figure out… I will definitely get my ship back.”

 

Captain Calico said that while glaring at the guys for a moment before leaving.

 

Good timing.

 

“Hey, there’s a spot open anyway. Let’s play a round until that captain comes back.”

 

“Sounds good. It’s no fun with one person missing. Perfect.”

 

“By the way, do you have some money? The stakes are pretty high here.”

 

When one guy grinned, I pulled out the pouch I had prepared in advance.

 

“…!”

 

“…Oho.”

 

Inside were dozens of gold coins.

 

“Will this do?”

 

“Heh. More than enough.”

 

I tossed the pouch onto the table and sat down.

 

The guys’ gazes were now fixed on the pouch, unable to look away.

 

They’re probably thinking what kind of sucker this is.

 

Appearing out of nowhere and placing dozens of gold coins on the table.

 

“Since it’s the first round, let’s go big. Gotta pay the entry fee, right?”

 

Instead of answering, I flicked a gold coin and dropped it right in the center of the table.

 

Thunk.

 

“Hehe. Yeah. That’s bold.”

 

Now then.

 

Let me try shaking them down.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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