## Chapter 128 – (4)
“Was that her fifth match just now?”
“That’s right, an undefeated streak of five wins!”
A woman wearing a small mask that only covered her eyes was gesticulating wildly, her voice strained.
I had casually struck up a conversation with the woman who was most enthusiastically chanting Lasha’s name in the audience, hoping to get some information.
It seemed I had hit the jackpot.
The woman was spewing out everything she knew, forgetting even to breathe, and then gasped for air.
She was undoubtedly a huge fan of Lasha.
“Lasha is a god!”
She must have made a sweet profit through Lasha.
“Why does Lasha participate in gambling?”
“Because she can win 100% of the time!”
That wasn’t wrong.
If you could always win against your opponent, participating would guarantee a 100% profit.
With Lasha’s skills, that was probably the case.
However, that wasn’t what I was focusing on.
“She doesn’t seem like someone who would gamble.”
I hadn’t been in the casino for long, but I had observed many people and learned something.
People addicted to gambling all had certain things in common.
Features like dark circles under their eyes, extreme mood swings, or trembling hands or legs.
Even an atmosphere that was hard to explain.
There were many commonalities.
But Lasha didn’t seem to have any of them.
So, I somehow didn’t think Lasha was doing this simply because she was addicted to gambling.
And that was somewhat correct.
“That’s another admirable thing about Lasha!”
The woman leaned forward, uncomfortably close.
I wished she would step back a bit; I could feel her breath.
“Lasha is participating for her younger sister.”
“…Younger sister?”
This was new information.
However, the words “younger sister” and “gambling” didn’t quite connect.
The woman made a sad face.
“Lasha’s younger sister is going to be auctioned off in a special auction in two weeks.”
“…Auctioned off.”
I repeated the word, savoring it.
It wasn’t a word that should be applied to a person.
However, I already knew.
In this casino, it wasn’t surprising for people to be auctioned off.
Now I understood why Lasha was participating in gambling.
It was to buy her younger sister back from the auction.
“Do you remember Lasha’s card color?”
“Of course! Red!”
Then she probably didn’t have many chips left.
If she bet on herself in the next match, her chip count would probably be close to zero.
If her chip count became zero, what would happen to Lasha?
I had an idea, but I wasn’t sure.
I thanked the woman for telling me and offered her a piece of advice.
“Don’t bet on Lasha this time.”
“Huh…?”
“Bet as much as you can on me.”
It was my way of rewarding the woman for providing good information.
Of course, how she took this information was up to her.
“What are you talking about! Lasha will beat you to a pulp!”
Hearing those words, I went to find a casino official to participate.
***
I warmed up behind the ring.
An official approached me and briefly explained the rules.
“No weapons are allowed. You have to wear gloves, and pinching, eye-gouging—”
I knew all of this.
“—are allowed.”
They are?
Underground fighting must be different.
Still, I wasn’t someone who would fall victim to petty tricks like pinching or eye-gouging.
I saw Lasha across the ring.
Stretching, her gaze fixed on me reminded me of a feline predator.
More like a cheetah than a lion.
I felt a bit of sympathy since she was doing it for her younger sister.
But if things didn’t work out, I could help her.
I could give my slave that much of a gift.
Though it might be wishful thinking.
I shook off the random thoughts and warmed up lightly.
“Would you like to bet on yourself?”
Ah, right, I could bet on myself.
“100,000 chips.”
I bet the maximum amount I could.
I handed over the black card.
The casino official who received the card accepted the bet with slightly widened eyes.
And I casually asked the official something I was curious about.
“What happens if you run out of money?”
“Usually, you’re kicked out of the casino empty-handed, but since most people don’t even have enough money for transportation, we often arrange jobs for them.”
The jobs they arranged were diverse, but the people usually chose one of three options.
Hotel staff, casino staff, or slaves.
Hotel staff was chosen by people who wanted to work for a short time and earn enough money to go home, while casino staff was often chosen by people who wanted to get back their collateral.
And slaves were chosen by people whose collateral was too expensive or who were addicted to gambling.
This was a fact that wasn’t revealed even in the original story.
I felt like I knew how the twisted culture of slavery was established.
So, slavery was a legitimate job.
“That’s why all slaves can only be owned for one to two months.”
There was a reason why the protagonist in the original story kept changing women.
At the same time, a possibility came to mind.
If Lasha lost this match, would she try to choose slavery herself to get her sister back?
It was possible since a lot of money was needed to participate in the auction.
I think I found a way.
A way to make Lasha my slave.
“You can go up now.”
The signal was given, as the audience’s betting was finished, and I was able to go up to the ring.
As I went up to the ring, I glanced at the casino official’s phone, and the percentage of people who bet on me was quite low.
Even after seeing my size?
Maybe the match with Bob earlier had a big impact.
Or maybe they were ignoring me.
Either way, it didn’t matter.
They would soon pay the price for not betting on me.
Lasha was looking at me on the ring.
To be exact, at my body.
And she clicked her tongue.
It seemed she realized that I was a formidable opponent.
“Hey.”
Lasha covered her mouth with her glove and whispered softly, just loud enough for me to hear.
“Could you possibly let me win? It’s for my sister.”
“…”
“I’ll give you something in return.”
A reward.
I didn’t really need anything.
If I had to say something I needed, there was one thing.
I also covered my mouth with my glove and said.
“If you become my slave, I’ll let you win.”
“…You crazy bastard.”
As soon as Lasha heard my words, she glared at me with contempt and distanced herself.
I thought I was giving her the best compromise I could, but I didn’t expect the negotiations to break down like this.
I expected it, though.
I needed a slave to clear the quest, so I was giving her the best concession I could.
To not understand a person’s sincerity.
…Honestly, it probably sounded like I was just provoking her.
“Lasha! Kill him!”
“Big guy! I bet on you!”
“La, Lasha! Take it easy!”
The woman who gave me information earlier was cheering for Lasha with a somewhat weak voice.
She must have eventually bet on me after much deliberation.
Where did her fanatical devotion go?
Her appearance was so funny that I smiled a little.
Ding.
The bell rang, signaling the start of the match, and Lasha quickly closed the distance.
And she threw a low kick at my leg.
Swish! Thwack.
The leg swung like a whip and landed squarely on my knee.
It was a natural movement.
I thought I wouldn’t be bothered by this much of an impact, but apart from the damage, my balance was slightly shaken.
“Oh.”
An exclamation escaped my mouth at the unfamiliar sensation.
Lasha didn’t miss the opportunity and wrapped her arms around my neck.
It wasn’t a surprise hug.
She pulled my head down to the ground and tried to knee me in the face.
I couldn’t allow that, no matter what.
I grabbed the incoming knee with my palm.
It was an action possible because of the overwhelming difference in strength.
And I lifted the leg supporting Lasha as it was, causing her to fall.
Lasha couldn’t resist because one knee was in the air for the knee kick.
Thud.
And I got on top of Lasha and strangled her slender neck with both hands.
“Kuh…”
Lasha grabbed my hands with both arms and twisted her waist from side to side.
She scratched the floor with her legs and struggled with all her might, but she couldn’t escape my hands.
I could see Lasha’s eyelashes and lips trembling.
“St… Stop…”
Even though Lasha’s fingernails dug slightly into my forearm and I heard her garbled pronunciation as her neck was strangled, I didn’t stop.
Because she hadn’t surrendered.
Saliva leaked from Lasha’s mouth, and tears welled up in her eyes, but she didn’t give up easily.
It must be for her sister.
I liked Lasha even more.
Considering that Lasha wouldn’t surrender until she really fainted, I released my hands and instead quickly struck her chin lightly.
Thwack.
That was enough.
Lasha, who was already half out of her mind, allowed a punch to her chin.
And she closed her eyes comfortably as if falling asleep.
“…T, the winner is Sunghan!!”
It was an obvious result.
“Sunghan! You’re a god!”
The woman in the audience stood up and shouted.
It was really shallow fandom.
I lightly raised my hand and struck a victory pose.
“You son of a bitch!”
“Get up, you bitch!”
“Boo! Die!”
I regretted striking a pose.
