HSRD 06

Chapter 6

This meant he intended to treat me with proper respect—as an equal.

It was the first time since coming here that someone had offered me a handshake.

With a strange sense of novelty, I confidently took his hand.

“Nice to meet you, Young Master Sein. I’m Aigle Atlas.”

At my greeting, Lishian curled the corner of his lips as if he had something in mind.

“I usually have a fairly high win rate, but in front of you, Miss Atlas, I couldn’t get anything going. I’m curious about your secret.”

“You flatter me. Today, the goddess of luck was simply on my side.”

Thinking I was joking, Lishian let out a small chuckle.

…Oh? He laughed?

But it wasn’t an exaggeration at all. Thanks to the <Victory Guaranteed! Winning Strategy!> given by the messenger of God, I really did have luck on my side.

‘He said he was curious, so I told him—but he doesn’t believe me.’

Well, nothing I can do about that.

At that moment, Lishian leaned slightly closer to me and spoke.

“So, I have a proposal…”

Ah.

For reference, in this place, “treating someone as an equal” basically meant: If I can use you, I will make full use of you.

And accepting that handshake meant—

“Go ahead.”

—that I would also use him just as thoroughly if needed. A win-win.

Lishian smiled.

I smiled back just as brightly.

‘Could what he’s about to propose be related to the regression?’

But his suggestion didn’t seem related to that at all.

“Would you like to participate in another game with me?”

“Another game?”

We’d just been playing games—now another one?

Tilting my head slightly, I watched as Lishian tapped the table with his fingers.

“There’s actually a particular game that’s been bothering me…”

He gave a brief explanation.

I half-listened while thinking.

For some reason, continuing to gamble in the casino felt like a waste of time.

Why had the quest told me to meet Lishian?

I still had no clue.

‘At least the first quest let me see Mom’s memories… but this?’

Isn’t this just wasting time?

I’ve already completed everything the quest asked—should I just head straight to Duke Lafmen’s estate?

As I was thinking, a new window suddenly appeared before my eyes.

I blinked.

‘Did it just read my mind?’

The window displayed:

☆Emergency! Special Quest!☆
A special quest has arrived for you, who is troubled by not understanding the meaning of the quest!
~Help the cute snow leopard in trouble and obtain a wonderful reward!~

I felt uneasy.

“Aigle?”

Lishian called.

“Oh, sorry. I was just thinking for a moment.”

Shaking off the strange feeling, I nodded.

“I’ll help you. Where is the game?”

At my answer, Lishian beamed.

“I’ll guide you! This way.”

I followed him out of the room, shrugging slightly.

‘If the quest popped up like that… the reward must be huge.’

Maybe this one was actually related to the regression.

For now, I decided to trust the quest and help Lishian.

‘But seriously, why does the quest keep calling him a cute snow leopard?’

It’s not like it’s playing favorites…

Judging by the timing of the special quest—

…it almost felt like the messenger of God was watching me in real time.

I glanced up at the sky.

‘Hey, messenger of God. Are you watching? If you are, respond—over!’

* * *

A cozy sitting room with a crackling fireplace.

Beyond the four glass walls, heavy snow poured down.

A woman leaned back on a sofa, watching Aigle through a floating interface window, and smiled slyly.

“Oh my, I’ve been found out?”

Her snow-white hair, as white as the falling snow, was elegantly tied up, and her eyes curved into crescents.

Her silk dress rustled softly as she moved.

A baby dragon playing near the fireplace looked up at her.

With a small green body and strange brown-and-yellow eyes, it flapped its wings and flew toward her.

“You’re using the quest to take care of the snow leopard, sis!”

“But Lishian is in trouble. Of course I have to help.”

“But the quest was made to move Aigle! If you use it for personal reasons, God won’t like it!”

At the dragon’s protest, she lifted her coffee cup with long white fingers.

“No, He’ll like it even more. He prefers stories that aren’t frustrating… but that doesn’t mean He wants them too short.”

She took a graceful sip and gazed at the screen.

“Still, I hope Aigle comes to find me soon.”

Her golden eyes glimmered lazily.

* * *

At the same time, Aigle arrived at a corner of the casino guided by Lishian.

There was no door, so people could peek inside, but guards stood on both sides, preventing just anyone from entering—a VIP area.

As a well-known figure, Lishian vouched for Aigle and led her inside.

“This is the place, Miss Atlas.”

“So places like this exist too.”

Aigle looked around with an innocent expression.

A man sitting at the table burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! Our gambler’s been on a losing streak, so he brought a helper, huh?”

Aigle turned toward him.

A middle-aged man was smoking a cigar.

“She looks a bit weak for a helper. Don’t you think, Young Duke Mayville?”

He asked the man beside him.

A handsome man with blonde hair and forest-green eyes glanced at Aigle.

Without making it obvious, he scanned her up and down and lifted his glass.

“There happen to be two empty seats. Please, sit.”

At his almost commanding tone, the others nodded.

Lishian shot him a glare and guided Aigle to a seat.

The cigar-smoking man observed her.

Brown hair. Blue eyes.
An innocent face with a slightly absent-minded look.
And that harmless smile.

‘Looks like Lishian picked up a naive young lady with a pretty face.’

Having judged her instantly, he called out:

“Alright, let’s begin a new game! Dealer!”

The dealer soon entered.

“Shall we begin with this group?”

Everyone nodded.

“I will shuffle the cards. Please place your bets.”

The atmosphere shifted.

Even before receiving cards, everyone at the table sized each other up.

Amid sharp, entangled gazes—

Aigle alone remained detached.

She glanced at the interface window and smiled.

“Hmm… interesting.”

With her murmur, the dealer began dealing.

A game within a game had begun.

* * *

Lishian stared at his hand with a serious expression.

He had been dealt a strong set of cards.

But he had to be cautious.

‘Even with good hands, I’ve been barely losing.’

His silver-gray eyes sharpened as he scanned the table.

His gaze lingered on Baron Beko, the cigar-smoking man.

Then he whispered to Aigle,

“Have you noticed anything unusual?”

Aigle only smiled awkwardly.

Lishian sighed inwardly.

‘So even Miss Atlas couldn’t figure it out.’

When he first played with her, he realized—

She was the real deal.

Otherwise, there was no way someone could maintain such an unreadable poker face and win so consistently.

‘It was like she knew what cards would come next.’

Professional gamblers calculate probabilities from visible cards.

But no one had accuracy like hers.

That’s why he brought her here.

To uncover—

‘Proof that this game is rigged.’

Recently, Lishian had suffered repeated losses in this game.

Others had too.

And every time—

‘Baron Beko…’

Naturally, suspicion arose.

That the game was rigged—and that Beko was behind it.

‘But there’s no proof.’

Without evidence, accusing him would only backfire.

That’s why he hoped Aigle could help.

But even she seemed unable to expose it.

Sweat slid down Lishian’s sharp jawline.

They had agreed to end after one more round.

There wasn’t much time.

‘What should I do?’

His mind wrestled between doubt and thrill.

Even this uncertainty excited him.

His heart pounded.

The round ended.

The winner—

Baron Beko.

Enjoying his victory over Lishian, he exhaled cigar smoke.

His eyes met the dealer’s for a split second.

The dealer immediately began shuffling again.

In truth, the dealer had been swallowing nervously the entire time.

‘It’s cold… like a dagger piercing my chest.’

Known for his sharp instincts, he had felt something was wrong from the start.

He glanced around.

Everyone was familiar.

Even the woman Lishian brought seemed harmless.

So why did he feel uneasy?

‘Still… hands are faster than eyes!’

Suppressing the feeling, he dealt the cards.

Shuffle—
Shuffle—
Shuffle—

Cards flew across the table.

‘One last card for Baron Beko…!’

Just as he was about to place it—

Thud!

“Stop right there.”

Someone grabbed the dealer’s wrist.

A chill ran up his arm.

Slowly, he looked up—

“Stacking the deck, are we?”

The unfamiliar woman smiled—

as if she saw through everything.