Casino Wizard

The attack by the Second Prince had finally begun.

His method? Spreading false rumors to disrupt business operations.

“Hey! Did you see that? Didn’t the dealer just switch cards?”

“Huh? Excuse me, sir?”

“Two tens showed up in a row! Isn’t that suspicious? I think I saw something!”

A nobleman, undoubtedly acting under the Second Prince’s orders, had stirred up trouble in the VIP room by accusing the dealer of cheating at blackjack.

The atmosphere grew chaotic for a moment, but I let it pass without a fuss—it wasn’t worth making a big deal over such a trivial incident.

At least I’m getting a feel for how he plans to attack.

Though he despises me, he clearly doesn’t want to reveal himself just yet. Having run a casino himself, he seems to have a rudimentary understanding of how to cause damage.

I decided to wait for the right moment, keeping an eye on the situation.

…

The disturbances continued sporadically, but I dealt with them as ordinary mishaps, nothing more.

Then, two days later, a skilled gambler appeared and started raking in money.

“Ooooh!”

“How is she winning so much? Can you believe this?”

“Stop questioning it—just follow her bets!”

At Baccarat Table 14, a 20-silver-die game, an elf was on a winning streak.

The general trend was a back-and-forth between wins and losses, but whenever he made bold bets, he struck gold. Moments ago, he even nailed a full-player pair bet, hitting a 12x payout.

The fact that an elf was playing baccarat at all was already remarkable. While elves might be common in the melting pot of the Dragon Kingdom, they were a rare sight in this kingdom.

More strikingly, this elf wasn’t just playing—she was winning. Consistently. For half a day straight.

It didn’t feel like mere luck.

“Hyden, how long do you plan to let this go on?”

“The losses aren’t significant yet.”

“But it’s affecting the other customers too.”

Pierrot, the middle-aged warrior in charge of security, was starting to look uneasy.

It seemed his heightened senses, sharper than most due to his warrior instincts, had picked up on something unusual: the elf was using magic.

“Is it clairvoyance?”

“Probably.”

The faint, irregular traces of magic were barely perceptible, even to me. It was subtle—so subtle that I had to concentrate to detect it.

But magic is magic.

Human magic generally falls into three categories:

Elemental Magic, mastered through systematic training.

Divine Magic, its efficacy dependent on the goddess’s blessings.

The former belongs to wizards, the latter to clerics.

And then there’s the third: Unique Magic, an innate talent that feels more like a gift than a learned skill.

Frankly, it’s debatable whether this even counts as “magic.” It’s more of an innate specialty than a scholarly discipline. While it consumes mana, it can’t be taught or refined. It includes abilities like body reinforcement, strength enhancement, and even future sight.

This elf likely possesses clairvoyance or a similar power.

For someone like that, a casino is essentially a piggy bank.

Of course, I had prepared for situations like this.

“Hyden, this might not be my place to ask, but are elves often illiterate?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then maybe she didn’t read it?”

The casino lobby displayed warnings in the common language, the elven language, and the imperial Lucinian tongue.

These warnings outlined the rules customers had to follow, including the prohibition of any form of mana usage within the gaming area. Violators would be immediately expelled, and their winnings confiscated.

Yet the elf ignored these rules, using her abilities openly. She couldn’t have been unaware that a wizard like me was stationed at the casino.

“She’s not here just to win money. There’s a limit to how much she can make in a 20-die game.”

“Then what’s her goal?”

The elf was likely acting on someone else’s orders.

“She’s here to disrupt the atmosphere. Think about it: if a customer winning big suddenly gets thrown out, everyone will assume the casino kicked her out unfairly.”

“But She’s cheating!”

“How many people can detect that? Look at the table next to her—there’s a third-rank wizard there, and even he hasn’t noticed.”

“Ah.”

Several customers had started following the elf’s bets and winning alongside her.

With a win rate of around 60%, it wasn’t blatant enough to draw suspicion.

But if I brought up his rule violation now and expelled him, it would create a stir. Even if I explained, conspiracy theories would spread—such is the nature of casinos.

“Are you just going to let this slide?”

“Of course not.”

This might be the opportunity I’d been waiting for.

I planned to deal with her myself—with a touch of dramatic flair.

I slowly descended to the gaming floor.

The tool I prepared wasn’t a weapon to catch cheating customers.

It was just a single card.

With that card in my pocket, I stood behind the elf.

“10 silver on Banker, 2 silver on Banker Pair…”

“Excuse me, customer. Banker Pair is fine, but could you spare a moment?”

“Hm?”

The elf, who had been calling out bets while placing money on the table, froze for a moment at my voice, then turned around slowly.

Half-elf? Quarter-elf?

It was definitely a woman. Her ears were so sharply pointed they stood out even from afar, though her features seemed oddly unremarkable for an elf. It was as if life’s hardships had left their mark on her.

She blinked innocently, so I greeted her with a smile.

“Apologies for disrupting your betting. Could I trouble you to look at this for a moment?”

I pulled the card out of my pocket and laid it on the baccarat table, being careful not to reveal the face.

Gradually, the attention in the room began to shift toward us.

“What’s this about? Who are you?”

“I’m the owner of this casino.”

“Oh, a mage.”

Her eyes lit up.

Normally, one would expect surprise or confusion, but she couldn’t hide her reaction.

The fact that this elf was mingling with humans and confidently playing baccarat was impressive in itself. From a distance, it might seem like she was just silently placing and flipping cards, but anyone actually playing would know the game was as much about psychological warfare as the cards themselves.

In any case, it was clear she had been sent on a mission. And I had a pretty good idea who her client was.

“If this is because I’ve been winning a bit too much…”

“It’s not.”

“Eh?”

“Actually, I’m here to offer you a chance to win even bigger.”

The elf’s gaze started to waver, clearly not expecting this turn of events. The murmuring around us grew louder.

A casino owner personally descending to the floor to challenge a customer, especially one on a hot streak—it was an unusual sight.

The gamblers, hooked on the drama of the scene, were all ears. It was my duty to play to their expectations.

“If you can guess the number on the front of this card…”

“Pardon?”

“…including the suit and number, I’ll give you 20 gold on the spot. From my personal funds, of course. Do you accept?”

“Well…”

“Great, then I’ll take that as a yes.”

“No, no! When did I say that? And how am I supposed to guess the front of the card?”

Her voice rose, and her face started to flush.

The commotion only attracted more people.

She darted glances around, as if searching for an escape, but it was too late. Some customers had even stopped betting to spectate.

“Is this about kicking me out because I’ve been winning?”

“Kicking you out? No, no. I’m offering you a great opportunity.”

The elf, flustered and cornered, needed an out, so I decided to offer one.

“Are you uncomfortable, miss?”

“No, it’s just…”

“Well then, simply guess incorrectly on purpose. You won’t win the 20 gold, And I’ll drop any… suspicions I might have had. You can then return to your 60% win rate and enjoy the games as usual.”

“…”

“And occasionally make bold plays to win big again. People would just see you as an exceptional player. How does that sound?”

The words on purpose, suspicious, and 60% win rate made her expression grow even darker.

Whether she guessed wrong intentionally or used her unique magic to guess the card’s exact value (♣8), she had already lost the chance to walk away unscathed. And admitting she was here to disrupt the business was not an option.

By now, the other customers had figured out what was going on.

Snickers and mocking comments began to ripple through the crowd.

“Magic, huh?”

“What a filthy cheat. I knew something was off about her.”

“I’m a mage, too. How did I miss this? Is she better than me?”

“If it were me, I’d at least try to win the 20 gold.”

The elf, once the star of the table, had become a spectacle.

Though she was bewildered by the situation, I wasn’t about to let her off easily. In fact, I decided to crank up the pressure.

“Well, miss, what’s your decision?”

My real opponent wasn’t her—it was the second prince. She was just a scout tasked with disruption.

“I…”

“Yes? Speak your mind.”

“I want to leave. I’ve had enough.”

The elf finally broke under the pressure, pleading for permission to leave.

I pretended to deliberate, then shook my head.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you go.”

“But I didn’t do anything!”

“Didn’t do what, exactly?”

Her lips clamped shut.

I didn’t push her further. Instead, I simply pointed to the card on the table.

Then I motioned to a warrior nearby, signaling for him to stand behind her.

The room fell into tense silence.

The quiet was broken by the elf’s trembling voice.

“Seven of Hearts.”

So, she’s choosing to deliberately guess wrong.

Not that it mattered—by now, no one would believe she was an innocent victim.

Dropping my smile, I gestured for her to stand.

“Please state your name and affiliation.”

“I…”

“If you refuse, let’s continue this conversation elsewhere.”

“But you said you’d leave me alone if I guessed wrong!”

“I’ve changed my mind. …Warrior, escort this lady to the storage room.”

The middle-aged warrior grabbed her arm and began leading her to the storage area where spare card tables were kept.

Some of the customers jeered at her retreating figure, but she didn’t even react. She simply walked, glancing occasionally at the warrior beside her, her face blank with confusion.

“Apologies for the disturbance. Please continue to enjoy your games,” I said to the crowd, offering a polite nod.

Then, I followed the elf, glaring at the back of her head with feigned hostility.

Every move, every gesture was deliberate.

From this point on, I had to deceive not just her but the entire casino.