Chapter 72 – 21. Illegal Gambling Halls and Demons in the Entertainment District (2)
Lucia casually said that and was startled.
It was a natural reaction. Mention of demons is taboo in the Holy Ramir Empire. Depending on the contents, the Heretic Questioner could have come looking for it.
“I made a mistake. Please do what you can’t hear. Count Julian.”
“Okay. Lucia May. Because you are not wrong.”
At that, Lucia turned his head to the side and stared at me. Her pink eyes awaited my next words.
“Even demons are just humans. Sometimes good and sometimes evil. However, that professor’s explanation is too narrow.”
Lucia made a slightly surprised expression at my words. Her expression was that she had heard completely unexpected words.
But she didn’t go any further and she was silent. This subject was too dangerous to contain any more words.
I didn’t ask her more either. The reaction from a moment ago clearly confirmed that Lucia was definitely related to the demons.
‘Lucia just said that professor doesn’t know anything about her demons, she said.’
On the contrary, it means that she knows the true face of the demon, not the evil demon known to the world. Of course, just because they’re demons doesn’t mean they’re all good.
Because the leader, the Demon King, is the one who made a contract with the high-ranking demon nobles under the Demon God. However, if Lucia has goodwill toward the demons anyway. It was clear that what I had to do in the future would become easier.
‘And. What was that feeling from a moment ago?’
When the professor made a remark insulting the demons. Unbeknownst to me, my intention to kill boiled over. In other words, I felt like I heard severe curses from my parents.
If the influence of the Asmodianization was this large, he had to be prepared to some extent. I can’t let my emotions get in the way of what I need to do. At that moment, an immediate thought came to mind.
‘For a moment. I have a rosario. What if it was my mother… Agnes?’
If it’s as you know through the demon lord’s death. Agnes knew that Riel’s true identity was Lucifer, the Demon Lord. Saint Agnes also possessed the ability to foresee the future. There was a good chance that she had arranged Rosario in advance.
When I lightly touched Agnes’ crucifix, Rosario, I felt the remaining anger dissipate like residual heat. It was also a unique item.
‘Fortunately, it was as I thought.’
In this way, it seemed that I would be able to control my emotions toward my demons for the time being. So I was able to listen to the rest of the professor’s lecture more calmly.
“… Maricius, a former cardinal and saint. Everyone is familiar with the sacred obelisk created by the great Saint Maricius. By installing the same sacred obelisks throughout the empire, our holy empire has prevented the invasion of the evil beasts and demons at the same time…”
This time, an explanation of the sacred obelisk continued. Magic spirit power, a kind of magical power emitted by demon beasts. The sacred obelisk was the structure that prevented the demonic energy from condensing in one place.
However, the professor’s explanation was also erroneous. It was certainly true that the divine obelisk played a major role in preventing higher-ranking demons from entering the ecliptic.
However, contrary to the professor’s explanation, it was ineffective against demons. In the first place, demons and demons were completely separate beings. As I mentioned, demons are much closer to humans than witch beasts.
Also, the divine obelisk is an object that can only exist if there are demons. As expected, Lucia’s expression, knowing that fact, was not good.
‘Some of the major sacred obelisks were definitely replaced with demons. As long as it’s the truth I know.’
Literally, he actually shredded a demon into the obelisk and offered it as a sacrifice. Dragon Heart, Dragon Heart. Or the seed of the world tree planted in the heart of an elf.
That powerful magical power source became a very useful power source for the huge divine obelisk.
It was the Holy Empire, but it was a more terrible thing than most demons.
‘Anyway, Lucia knows that far. I must have contacted them as well.’
Human sacrifice at the sacred obelisk is a taboo that should never be known to the world. In the ecliptic, there were two important demons who secretly hid because of the large sacred obelisk.
If you can meet those two, you can continue the quest to become a demon. I also had to make contact with those two.
All lectures are over. Lucia gave me a light bow and left the classroom. She seemed to want to talk a little more about me and her demons.
Unfortunately, there were too many people watching in this classroom.
‘Well, I’ll see you again soon.’
I also left the classroom. There were no more lectures left in the afternoon, so I went back to the mansion.
***
A few days later I was preparing to go out a little late in the evening.
“Young master. Are you going out tonight?”
“Yes. Eirin. Even if I’m late, don’t wait and fall asleep quickly. It is an order.”
Eirin gave me a worried expression. You must have thought that the crazy young master had changed a lot. But when I think of the places I’ve been to in the last few days, I can’t help but feel anxious again.
The place I want to head to now is the entertainment district of the ecliptic.
I asked Hans, the coachman, to keep my access there a secret from Eirin.
‘Because Eirin has been quite emotional lately. She doesn’t need to add unnecessary worries.’
Although if she was a smart Ei-Lin, she would still notice where I was going. I headed straight to the entertainment district.
The Daeren River that crosses the ecliptic. To the south is the rich village where the imperial palace and nobles live. And the main facilities of the ecliptic, such as the Pantheon, are concentrated.
Conversely, the northern part of the Daeren River is where the commoners of the ecliptic live. The entertainment district was also located along the river to the north.
When I arrived there, the lights were on even in the middle of the night like a different world. Orange lights twinkled between the densely packed buildings and nightlife facilities. It was Friday night and it was full of people.
I got off the carriage and entered this place alone. Uriel tried to follow her to this place, but she said it was okay.
A body that has already succeeded in hunting down type 3 monsters. There is also an all-poison sting, so in fact, we have already reached the stage where an escort knight is not needed. Uriel’s role as my swordsmanship teacher was enough.
So I walked the entertainment district alone. Fabian also gave me a map of the building where the casino was located. So it was not difficult to find an illegal gambling place.
I stood in front of a very ordinary two-story building. To a stranger, it looked like an ordinary shop building that didn’t fit in with the entertainment district at all.
But when I stood at the entrance of the building, the security guard stopped me.
“What did you come for?”
Instead of words, I held out the pass. The security guard nodded and called a separate information staff.
“Follow me. And please wear this.”
The staff handed me a mask that only covered my eyes. As it is an illegal gambling hall, it seems that the identity of those who enter and exit is also secretly hidden. At the same time, the notification window of the system popped up.
—————–
「A new title has been opened.」
* Inhabitants of the underworld of the ecliptic Teria
: Get to know the hidden side of the zodiacal Teria. The possibility of entanglement with dangerous impure molecules is also present in you.
* Acquisition Reward
+ 50GP / 150MP
—————–
It’s not an ordinary gambling house, so I got a little unusual title. It was not a bad reward since I ran out of GP just in time.
‘How dare you go in and out of a place like this. Fabian isn’t afraid either.’
It was not common for there to be an illegal gambling establishment like this in the ecliptic of the Holy Empire, which was strongly religious.
But the real power of the empire. Unlike the religious sincerity that Cardinal Grius emphasizes every time, the zodiac Teria had the back world active like this.
The gang of bad guys who look after them. And even the corrupt forces of the Imperial Guard. Even Cardinal Grius was receiving a considerable amount of back money flowing from this place, so the scale was beyond imagination.
‘The fight between the factions will also hinder the attack on the nest later. I’ve done quests related to that.’
It’s to the extent that title quests like the one above happen. It was said that for the sake of the future, those who should be killed should be killed, and those who should be saved should be saved.
Anyway, if a Pantheon cadet is caught going in and out of a place like this, it’s a minimum suspension. Apparently, Fabian, the golden sun, did not have such a sense of danger.
I walked down to the second basement floor. When the staff opened the thick door installed there, an underground space completely different from the outside building unfolded in front of them.
The room was full of loud noises. It’s like a Las Vegas casino decorated in a medieval style.
In the thick smoke of cigarettes, masked people were madly addicted to gambling. Having gotten used to this place over the past few days, I naturally sat down in front of a gambling table.
I’m not really interested in gambling. I chose the Park A-ra table, which I had tried with Chloe in the previous mission.
“It’s great to look young. It’s a place where you can’t come with a penny or two to get in and out.”
The middle-aged man next to me looked at me and said in surprise.
As the middle-aged man said, in order to enter, you had to bring not only a membership card but also a minimum amount of money. The money I brought today is 1500 gold. Roughly speaking, it was worth 15 million won in Korean currency.
‘If I don’t think about it, the money will be gone in less than 30 minutes.’
Of course, the Reinhard family’s wealth is by no means small. Part of this money was earned by selling the Mahone Stones he got from the previous mission to Pantheon.
‘I made a decent amount of money by giving it a higher rating than a type 3 monster.’
I added a little bit of my own money to it. Anyway, it was all my money, so there was no need to waste money on pointless gambling.
The odds of Park A-ra are almost odd. So I bet the least amount of money and minimize wastage of money as much as possible. I just spent a decent amount of time.
After a while
It’s underground, but it’s a fairly spacious gambling hall. There were security guards in charge of troubles in the gambling house going around here and there.
‘The time has come for a quest to appear.’
Among those guards, I finally found the familiar pink hair. It was definitely Lucia.
Why have you been here for a few days? It was to meet Lucia at this gambling house. When she looked at her, as expected, a notification from her system popped up.
—————–
“Residents of the Underworld of the Imperial City Teria”
* Between risk and pleasure.
: Meet your acquaintances in the middle of the underworld.
: If you are in danger, be sure to rescue them.
—————–
Although he is wearing a half mask that covers his eyes like me. I could immediately recognize that it was Lucia.
‘As expected, he was working as a security guard here.’
When playing as Lucia, unlike Yulian, money was always lacking. So, if I didn’t do anything, it would quickly flow into a bad ending.
His adoptive father, Baron Joshua, takes care of Pantheon’s tuition and pocket money. Lucia, who has been immersed in suspicious organizations, has a lot of money going out here and there.
‘I’m sure he’s spending quite a bit of money for the two demons too.’
One of the places to earn that money is the security guard of this illegal gambling house. If Lucia went to work as a security guard today like this.
Apparently, something was happening here today because of the danger level D that Lucia had now.
In an instant, Lucia and my eyes met. A look of amazement appeared on her puzzled expression. She seemed to recognize me too.
After a while The expected commotion happened. Table I was sitting at. There, another middle-aged man with a bad feeling started to make a fuss.
“This gambling house is a scam!! Fuck!! Are there any dogs like this!”
That guy lost 3000 gold while I was making even money. As money close to 30 million won disappears in an instant, reason has no choice but to fly away. The guards noticed the man.
A guard other than Lucia came over and stopped him.
“You can’t make a fuss here. Calm down and follow us.”
He said calmly. Even if it was illegal, the security guards were gentle, probably because it was a secret membership gambling hall. At least I didn’t directly touch the guests who were making such a fuss in this gambling room.
From what I’ve seen over the past few days, there are many people worse than this man. Because every time the guards quietly took the rogue customers outside.
But, unexpectedly, sparks flew at me.
“While I lost 3000 gold, this bastard didn’t lose a penny. Uh? Isn’t this kid a windbreaker too? Suspicious!!”
The middle-aged man grabbed me by the collar. It seemed that he had lost too much money and lost his reason.
‘But why are you fucking with me?’
As it is, the moment I used my hand. With a bang, someone’s fist flew into the middle-aged man’s face.
“Where does this crazy bastard get his hands on!”
And long pink hair swayed in front of me. Unexpectedly, Lucia ran right in and knocked down the middle-aged man who was arguing with me.
I heard her excitedly whispering quietly to herself.
“I dare to know what kind of person the Count is… And put his hands on his precious body… A pig-like bastard…”
It seemed that Lucia had turned her eyes upside down because of me.
