The Son-In-Law of the Magician Is a Transcendent Sword Master - Chapter 48

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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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Chapter 48

 

Central Entertainment District of the Orellion Archipelago.

 

Among them, the 3rd floor terrace of the Crimson Sapphire, the casino that boasted the most magnificent splendor.

 

“Hmm.”

 

Casino manager Gustavo tilted his wine glass while looking down at the lower floors. It wasn’t because he was some freak who fed on people’s misfortune.

 

How much effort had he put in to become the manager of this casino, starting from the very bottom.

 

He was simply satisfied that he now sat in this position at the top floor of the Empire’s finest casino, able to look down on everyone.

 

“…Life has really turned around.”

 

Just collecting the scraps that fell from the casino would be enough to live luxuriously for a lifetime.

 

It was just as Gustavo was humming and about to refill his glass.

 

Bang!

 

Someone roughly opened the door and entered.

 

“What is it? I told you to knock before entering!”

 

“S-sorry, Manager. But… the situation is urgent…”

 

“Situation? Is someone causing a disturbance?”

 

Gustavo clicked his tongue as if pathetic.

 

“You fools, you’re calling me over just one incident while running a casino? If there’s a disturbance, just have the guards throw them out. That’s why I pay good money to hire them.”

 

“It’s not… a disturbance… A customer… won money.”

 

“Won? Good. That’s fine. If they only lose, all the customers will leave. Sometimes we need to let them win.”

 

“Well…”

 

However, unlike Gustavo who spoke as if it was no big deal, his subordinate hesitated with a pale face before continuing.

 

“A customer… won 36 times their bet on roulette.”

 

“…What?”

 

Gustavo frowned.

 

Winning money at a casino was as common as losing it. However, roulette, especially betting on a single number, was a different story.

 

“How much was the bet?”

 

“350,000 livres.”

 

350,000 livres.

 

The payout rate was 36 times. In other words, 12,600,000 livres.

 

“…What the.”

 

Gustavo put down his wine glass.

 

The amount wasn’t the problem. There was a more fundamental issue.

 

“How is that possible? Our machine is designed to automatically avoid high bets.”

 

“That’s right, but… this time it couldn’t avoid it. Or rather, it didn’t avoid it…”

 

“Stop rambling nonsense! Tell me the whole story properly…”

 

At that moment, cheers erupted through the lower terrace window.

 

Gustavo hurriedly approached the window and looked down. A crowd like clouds had gathered around the roulette table, and across from the table, the dealer stood frozen with a pale face.

 

“…Damn it.”

 

It was a roulette rigged so that it was impossible to win. Two or three times the bet might be possible, but winning the maximum payout was physically impossible. Unless it was all staged from the beginning.

 

‘They dared to pull tricks in my territory.’

 

Gustavo was furious to the top of his head and shouted at his subordinate.

 

“Bring those bastards here immediately! They dare to cheat in a sacred casino? I’ll make them pay the price!”

 

“Y-yes!”

 

Not long after that outburst, the door to the separate room opened and three people entered – a man and two others.

 

One lanky man who was restless and sweating nervously, one gray-haired youth with an indifferent expression, and one hooded woman.

 

“Whew.”

 

Gustavo took a deep breath and acted as menacing as possible. Then he sat arrogantly on the sofa and glared at them.

 

“Welcome. I am Gustavo, the manager of this Crimson Sapphire.”

 

Though his speech was polite, he put force into his voice. It was like a kind of threat. It was a trick he had learned from running establishments for a long time.

 

“Let me be direct. You customers used tricks in this casino that I manage. You must have signed an agreement before entering. It states that if you use tricks here, you’ll receive capital punishment according to Imperial law.”

 

Normally, this was when the other party would get scared and confess.

 

However, the gray-haired man actually leaned back comfortably against his chair.

 

“Well. It seems like you’re the ones who used tricks, not us.”

 

“…What did you say?”

 

“Why? Did you think I wouldn’t notice the tricks you pulled on the roulette?”

 

“…”

 

Gustavo was flustered by the man’s words.

 

When Gustavo remained silent, the man continued casually.

 

“Looking at the roulette, it was set up to avoid places where people bet a lot of money. Probably rigged with basic gravity magic. It was so sloppy that it was obvious at a glance. Have you been filling your bellies with such crude tricks all this time?”

 

“…”

 

Gustavo blinked.

 

As the man said, the roulette in this casino was equipped with magical devices.

 

But how did he figure that out? If magic had been used, the detection stones on the ceiling would have sounded an alarm. With thorough inspections at the entrance, it would have been impossible to bring in magical artifacts.

 

Therefore, there was no way to figure out the machine’s algorithm in this casino without being caught.

 

“…What? Did I hit the nail on the head?”

 

While he was speechless, the man smirked.

 

Gustavo’s teeth ground together. If logic didn’t work, he had no choice but to push with force.

 

Finally, he slammed the table and shouted.

 

“You little punk! Do you know where this is and dare to run your mouth! This establishment is the finest casino in Orelion, operated by House of Count Cornel!”

 

Cornel, an influential figure in the archipelago.

 

When that name was mentioned, most people would tuck their tails and run away. Gustavo had been able to become the manager of this casino entirely thanks to having the House of Count Cornel as his backing.

 

Gustavo intended to use his backing as usual to intimidate them with authority.

 

However, the gray-haired youth in front of him didn’t shrink at Gustavo’s threats, but rather chuckled as if it was ridiculous. Then he turned his head to the woman sitting next to him and asked.

 

“Is that so? Cornel or whatever, do you know this family?”

 

“Hmm…”

 

The hooded woman tilted her head and then smiled broadly.

 

“I think they came to greet my father once when I was young.”

 

“Is it a famous family?”

 

“Well? There were so many families that came to visit back then that I’m not sure? Oh, but I think it would have been faster to count their rank from the back rather than the front.”

 

What kind of conversation were these people having?

 

Soon, chills crept up Gustavo’s spine. It was an intuition he had developed from surviving for many years. The fact that they weren’t intimidated even after he mentioned the House of Count Cornel meant…

 

‘…No way.’

 

The worst possibility flashed through Gustavo’s mind.

 

However, before he could even act, the woman removed her robe.

 

——Swoosh.

 

Golden-colored hair flowed down, and mysterious violet eyes were revealed.

 

“…Ah.”

 

In the Empire, there was only one family with such noble appearance.

 

The Great Magic Family, Benheim.

 

Gustavo’s legs gave out and he collapsed with a thud.

 

* * *

 

From the moment Reagan revealed their affiliation, things proceeded swiftly.

 

Casino manager Gustavo immediately backed down before the name of Benheim.

 

“I’ll keep quiet about the tricks you pulled on the roulette, so hand over all the money you won.”

 

“Yes! Yes! Of course! I’m truly grateful for your generous treatment!”

 

At Reagan’s threat, Gustavo had no choice but to comply obediently.

 

No matter how influential the House of Count Cornel was in the archipelago, they couldn’t afford to antagonize the Benheim Count’s Family, a giant in the Imperial Magic Order.

 

“It’s bothersome to carry it all in cash, so make about 2 million into a check, and put the rest on a promissory note.”

 

“Yes!”

 

“And the fact that Benheim was here is strictly confidential. If this information leaks out…”

 

Reagan didn’t finish his words, but Gustavo seemed to understand immediately and kept bowing his head repeatedly.

 

After wrapping up the situation and stepping outside the casino.

 

Victor was holding a promissory note worth a whopping ten million livres in his hands.

 

“….”

 

Victor was dumbfounded.

 

It was more money than he could ever touch in his lifetime. An amount he had never seen even when he was a researcher at the Ochre Tower. Such a fortune had come into his hands with just one round of roulette.

 

“Why do you have that expression? I told you I’d invest in you.”

 

“How on earth did you do it?”

 

“What?”

 

“The roulette. Is that… even possible?”

 

It was Renia standing beside them who answered Victor’s question.

 

“Reagan has good eyes.”

 

“That’s not something that can be solved with just good eyes.”

 

“It can be solved.”

 

Reagan answered calmly.

 

“The casino was the first to cheat. There was magical manipulation. When people placed bets, the roulette ball was naturally guided to places with the lowest payouts.”

 

Only then did Victor realize.

 

The reason why he had been asked to choose numbers twice.

 

This had been preliminary work to understand how the machine reacted and where it guided the ball.

 

Gulp. Victor swallowed. Reagan was not just experienced but even cunning.

 

“Anyway, I invested in you. Ten million livres should be enough.”

 

“A-all of this is my research funding?”

 

“That’s right. You said you needed at least four million. If I give you ten million, you’ll show even better results. Right?”

 

“B-but… isn’t this too much?”

 

Victor tried to protest, but Reagan brushed the dust off his shoulders and disheveled hair.

 

“Then use the extra money to live well. Change those ragged clothes to something decent, get a haircut. Eat some good food too.”

 

“…Uh.”

 

“Right?”

 

Victor stood there dazed, then nodded vigorously at Reagan’s pointed look.

 

It was burdensome, that was true.

 

But this was a rare opportunity.

 

He absolutely didn’t want to miss it this time.

 

“Oh, and let me give you one last piece of advice.”

 

“Yes. Please tell me anything!”

 

“Keep your distance from the Royal Mage Academy. And never let anyone around you know who your patron is.”

 

“Why is that?”

 

“Just do as I say without questioning it. Don’t be curious.”

 

Reagan spoke curtly. Victor nodded without argument.

 

“U-um, contact…”

 

“When the time comes, I’ll come find you.”

 

With those final words, Reagan left.

 

And so, on the way back to his workshop alone.

 

Victor was enveloped in a floating sensation as if swimming through a dream.

 

“…Is this a dream?”

 

Just in case, he pulled hard on his cheek. It hurt. It wasn’t a dream. This was reality.

 

Next, Victor checked the promissory note in his hand.

 

Ten million livres. With this money, it would be more than possible to renovate his workshop and upgrade the golem materials to better ones.

 

However, the strange feeling Victor was experiencing now wasn’t simply because he had obtained the research funding he had longed for.

 

“…Reagan von Benheim.”

 

Someone had affirmed his research.

 

Had even invested in it.

 

Then what reason was there to hesitate any longer?

 

“Let’s do this, Victor Otto.”

 

Victor slapped both his cheeks and renewed his resolve.

 

* * *

 

“That person was the one Reagan said he’d invest in?”

 

On the way back to the lodging, Renia asked.

 

“Something like that.”

 

“Hmm… He just looked like an ordinary mage. Was he important enough to give ten million livres to?”

 

Even for Renia, ten million livres seemed to be considered quite a large sum. She clicked her tongue as if it was a waste. I smiled bitterly and explained.

 

“It was money earned from gambling anyway. Easy money is meant to be spent easily. If that’s the case, it’s better for someone who can use it more valuably to spend it. At least Victor will use that money valuably.”

 

“He does look diligent. What does he research?”

 

“Golems.”

 

“Ah, I saw that in books. Those moving doll-like things, right?”

 

In my previous life, the golems Victor created were closer to weapons than automatons, but I wonder what they’ll be like this time.

 

“Anyway, it’s research worth investing in. At least that’s how I see it.”

 

At my answer, Renia made a “hmm” sound and walked ahead with quick steps.

 

Then she spun around to face me and smiled brightly.

 

“Today was fun.”

 

“Fun?”

 

“Yeah. Thanks to you, I got to visit a casino I never would have been able to go to, and even got to boss around a manager. It was a unique experience.”

 

I nodded reluctantly.

 

Somehow I had an ominous feeling that Renia might develop an interest in strange things.

 

‘No.’

 

Come to think of it, even in my previous life, Renia had somewhat eccentric tendencies.

 

While thinking such thoughts, when I came to my senses, Renia had puffed up her cheeks considerably. She seemed to be in a bad mood for some reason.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“Reagan, you made that expression again.”

 

“….”

 

She must be referring to the expression of reminiscing about someone from the past that Renia had pointed out before.

 

“Sorry. I’ll be careful.”

 

When I apologized obediently, Renia giggled.

 

So Renia led the way and I followed behind. Though there was a difference in stride length, Renia’s steps were light while mine were somewhat heavy, so the distance between us didn’t close easily.

 

Before long, we arrived at the lodging.

 

The moment we casually opened the door and stepped inside, we couldn’t help but freeze.

 

“….”

 

Because we made eye contact with a middle-aged man sitting on the sofa.

 

“You’re late.”

 

Steren von Benheim.

 

It seemed his business at the Imperial Mage Tower was finished, as he had already returned to the lodging. However, the fact that he was waiting for us instead of going to sleep despite it being past midnight meant…

 

“Renia, Reagan.”

 

Steren’s voice was low and subdued.

 

“Where on earth have you been at this late hour?”

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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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