NOVEL WEB Chapter 24: [24]: Las Vegas (I)
Draconic Deus.
Earth - United States.
Las Vegas - Bellagio.
[***]
Aiden, Kaguya, Yuzuru, Kurumi, Origami, and Tohka were inside one of the most famous casinos in the world: the Bellagio, located on the vibrant Las Vegas Strip.
Recognized for its luxury, imposing architecture, and elegant atmosphere, this casino had become a symbol of the city.
For Aiden, it was his first time in a place like this, as in his previous life he never had the chance to visit it.
However, this time he had a clear purpose: to find his ticket to negotiations with the Phenex House of the 72 pillars of the underworld.
According to [Rasiel], two of the Phenex House's children were here.
Specifically, it was Riser Phenex, accompanied by his nobility, and Ravel Phenex, who, despite being a pure-blood demon, was also part of the nobility of the third child of the house.
Both were in the human world celebrating Riser's engagement to Rias Gremory, the heir of the Gremory House.
It was not strange for the Phenex to be in this part of the human world, considering this casino belonged to them.
"Impressive: as expected from the wealthiest house in the underworld, I guess," commented Yuzuru as she looked around.
Although she had been to palaces in Elicia and noble parties thanks to Aiden's influence, the splendor of the Bellagio still left her in awe.
"It's a shame Kotori and the others didn't come. It'd be more fun with them here," said Tohka, enjoying a dish from one of the tables.
Her elegant purple dress perfectly matched her hair, giving her an air of distinction.
As for the missing ones, Mukuro, Kotori, Yoshino/Yoshinon, Miku, and Nia were busy with their own activities.
Kotori, Yoshino/Yoshinon, and Natsumi had gotten stuck watching dramas on TV and seemed completely hooked.
Nia, for her part, was working on a manga she planned to publish once she managed to establish an identity in the human world.
Meanwhile, Miku was uploading videos of her music to YouTube, where she was quickly becoming famous, earning the nickname "Diva."
And Mukuro stayed behind to take care of them.
Aiden didn't see any problem with them showing their faces online or even people discovering they were supernatural beings.
To him, this wouldn't bring any major consequences, just as he wasn't worried that Yoshinon had revealed her existence to the leader of the Youkai in Kyoto.
As for why he had hidden his face when he arrived in this world…
The answer was simple: he didn't want trouble.
He had literally just arrived, and the last thing he needed was to attract attention in a world inhabited by mythical beings.
Now, with a much clearer understanding of this place, Aiden didn't feel as scared, although he remained cautious by nature.
"Let's go play roulette now! With my all-seeing eye, I'll see the future, and the results will be guided by me!" proclaimed Kaguya, with her characteristic delusional syndrome.
Her white dress highlighted the intensity of her orange hair and eyes, making her look dazzling.
"Mocking: Kukuku," laughed Yuzuru, who wore a dress identical to Kaguya's, though with the difference that her figure was more developed and her height slightly taller.
"Why are you laughing?!"
"Mocking: Kukuku. Kaguya always says those silly things and ends up losing. We should go to the roulette, so I can enjoy watching you lose to me. Kukuku."
"Let's go right now! I'll show you how my all-seeing eye can see through these pathetic mortal toys."
Without hesitation, Kaguya dragged Yuzuru towards the roulette tables, determined to prove her point.
"Who do you think will win this time?" asked Origami, who wore a blue dress while elegantly holding a glass.
"Fufufu… Are you really asking, Origami?" replied Kurumi, who, with her black dress and hair tied in two pigtails, exuded a mysterious air.
Her left eye, golden, remained hidden under her bangs.
"Want to bet on who will win between the twins?"
"Ara~ Why not? I'll bet on Yuzuru. Kaguya always loses… although something unexpected might happen. Anyway, what do you want to bet?" Kurumi replied with interest.
"Kurumi, you're playing it safe, you're no fun. You should trust Kaguya more," intervened Tohka, laughing.
"Yes, you should trust that Chuunibyou. I'll bet on Kaguya. And the one who wins… let me think… Ah, right: a private night with Aiden," said Origami with complete naturalness, not changing her expression.
Aiden, who had been listening while drinking from his glass, dressed in an elegant black suit, almost choked.
"Why am I the prize?" he protested, confused.
"It's decided. The winner will have a night alone with Danna-sama," declared Kurumi, laughing, completely ignoring Aiden's complaints.
"Hey!" he exclaimed, still indignant.
"Deal," Origami accepted with a barely perceptible smile.
A few minutes later, the twins returned.
To everyone's surprise, Yuzuru had a look of disbelief on her usually serene face.
"Surprised: Kaguya really won… Is the world ending today?" she said, still in shock.
"I told you my all-seeing eye could see all the secrets, but you didn't believe me, Baka-Yuzuru!" Kaguya teased, flashing a peace sign with her hand as she enjoyed her victory.
Annoyed, Yuzuru pouted and decided to ignore her.
"I won," murmured Origami, while Kurumi clicked her tongue in frustration.
Later, Aiden and the girls continued enjoying the casino, leaving behind the tensions and delusions of the day.
With the money he had earned by selling part of the gold from his [Gate of Babylon], accumulating a little over a million dollars, they tried their luck at various games: blackjack, poker, baccarat, roulette, craps, and more.
Although the girls occasionally won, Aiden was ahead thanks to his [Luck] development ability, making each game seem like a perfectly calculated stroke of fortune.
In short, Aiden was cheating.
Without a care in the world, he placed all the money collected—4.5 million dollars—on a single roulette number.
"Come on, man, win!"
"You're brave, betting everything on a single number!"
"You've got balls, kid!"
"Go! Go!"
"Do it! Do it!"
Suddenly, Aiden found himself the center of attention.
""Spin!""
The ball began to spin, bouncing between the numbers on the roulette.
"….."
A collective silence filled the room as everyone watched the ball lose speed.
The tension grew as the small spinning object slowly came to a stop… until it finally landed on a single number.
"!!Uwooooo!!"
"!!Incredible!!"
"!!How much money did he win?!!"
The burst of excitement was impossible to contain.
Among the crowd, there were also supernatural figures watching the scene, including the members of the Phenex House: Riser, Ravel, and their nobility.
"What a cheater. This isn't fun," murmured Kaguya as she watched Aiden pocket the grand prize.
"Hey, it's not my fault… although you're right, it's not as fun this way," Aiden whispered in response.
"Weren't we supposed to be looking for the Phenex or something?" intervened Tohka, curious.
"We don't need to look for them. They're already watching us. I guess we were their entertainment," commented Origami coldly.
Aiden shifted his gaze to a distant table, where Riser was staring at him intently.
With a touch of magic, he sent a telepathic message.
"Hey, third son, Riser-kun, do you have time now? Don't be too surprised, it's me, the guy who just won at roulette."
Riser raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued.
"What does a human need from Riser?" he responded, maintaining a calm attitude despite his obvious surprise.
"An important job offer. I think your family could benefit both in the human world and in the underworld."
Riser's nobility watched him in confusion, puzzled by the sudden silence of their [King].
Even Ravel shot a curious glance at her older brother.
"If you manage to surprise me, maybe Riser will consider your offer," he replied with an arrogant smile, as if underestimating the possibility.
"Sure? How does fully immersive virtual reality technology, capable of changing the entire world, sound? It would be useful both in the underworld and in the supernatural world in general."
Aiden gave him a summary of the NerveGear.
Riser's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
Although he tried to maintain composure, the idea was too tempting to ignore.
"How do I know you're not lying and won't waste my time?" he asked, still skeptical but more attentive.
"What if I give you a demonstration of my power? That way, you'll see that someone like me doesn't come to waste time."
Riser let out a brief laugh of disbelief.
"Demonstrate? Who are we talking about here? I've never heard of you!"
Aiden smiled calmly, squinting his eyes.
"Well, I'll show you now... just don't scream, okay?"
"What do you mean—?!"
—Boom!
Riser's face changed drastically when he felt an overwhelming magical power, far more terrifying than his demonic power, descending upon him.
The pressure was crushing, but curiously, no one else in the room seemed to notice.
After a few moments of tension, Riser stood up stiffly, signaling his nobility to follow him into a private room.
His movements were calculated, trying to regain his pride.
He looked at Aiden and gestured for him to come along.
Aiden, still smiling, turned to the girls who had been silently listening to the mental conversation.
"Let's go," he said confidently, and they followed him with curiosity.
[***]
End of the chapter.
(•_•)
A/N:
Today, actually, wasn't supposed to be a chapter day, since I usually post them only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
Today is Monday, so it wasn't the day, but who cares?
In the end, I managed to finish it.
...
If you think Riser is too 'reasonable,' it's because, in reality, he wasn't stupid.
In the light novel and anime, he was portrayed that way because of the circumstances.
In fact, when he fought Issei at the wedding, he even said he respected him for sacrificing his arm just to defeat him.
By the way, the timeline in DxD is set just when Riser arrives in the human world and introduces himself to Issei as Rias's fiancé.
That is, there are only 10 days left for the ranking game with Rias Gremory's nobility.
And to finish, we're almost 4,000 people who've added this book to their favorites! Thank you very much for reading my story~.
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