After discussing what to do with the time remaining before dinner, we decided to follow Alice's lead. She claimed to know just the spot, and soon we arrived at a large building.
“...Is this the place you recommend, Alice? What do we do here?”
“All sorts of things! Well, for now, let’s just head inside.”
Was it for a play or a concert? No, it didn't feel like that kind of atmosphere.
While wondering what kind of building it could be, I followed Alice through the doors and was greeted by a lively cacophony of sounds from all directions.
“Erm, first over there is the Clock Card, and over there is Target Practice... There are all kinds of amusements here.”
“Heh, it certainly is lively.”
I see, an amusement center... like this world’s version of an arcade? If that was the case, it was certainly a great way to kill time. With so many different games, it looked like a lot of fun.
“...Ah, by the way, you can exchange your chips for the games over—Wha-!?”
“It’s a casino!!”
I tried my best to take it in a positive light, but this was unmistakably a casino.
Honestly, this girl... the moment I let my guard down, she goes straight for the gambling...
“W-Wait, Kaito-san! There’s a very deep reason for this.”
“...Is that so? I’ll listen to it for now. The lecture comes afterward.”
“...S-So the lecture is a given... T-That’s right. I thought I’d clear up a certain misunderstanding for my dear Kaito-san... and tell you another thing I’ve been hiding.”
“Hmm? Something you’ve been hiding?”
I assumed it would just be another excuse, but based on Alice's expression, it seemed like there really was a reason.
Sensing that, I let my anger dissipate and asked her to explain.
“Well, just watch... It’s okay. I’ll only use a single Copper Coin.”
“H-Hey... Alice?”
Exuding a heavy sense of Intimidation that made her feel like a veteran high-roller, Alice headed to the counter with a single coin in hand.
One hour later... a literal mountain of chips was piled up in front of Alice.
“S-She’s actually strong...”
“Heh-heh-heh, this is my true ability!”
As if to completely overturn my previous impressions of her, Alice was displaying devilish strength inside the casino.
She didn't win every single time, but she was calmly assessing when to press her advantage and when to pull back, increasing her chips with laughable ease.
Her performance was so overwhelming it could only be described as a slaughter; if she kept this up, it felt like she was on the verge of being banned.
Well, that aside, her smug face was helplessly annoying.
“Isn’t that cruel!?”
“Well... a smug Alice is pretty cute too.”
“Hauh!? A-Ah, so suddenly... auuu...”
While teasing Alice as her expressions changed rapidly, I brought the conversation back to the main topic.
“...Still, to think you could win this much...”
“Fufufu, did you see that? The true power of Perfect Beautiful Girl Alice-chan!”
“...Then why haven't you shown this until now?”
At least from what I had seen over the past hour, Alice was always calm. She never got heated and accurately read the flow of the game.
Even from a beginner's perspective, I felt like she could win most matches like that.
That was exactly why she was so far removed from her usual image of being a gambling loser. I was left speechless.
“...Ahaha, this is what I was hiding... Actually, I’ve been ‘losing on purpose’ until now.”
“...Why?”
After seeing this level of skill, I could honestly believe her, but I didn't understand the motivation.
Sure, if she was this good, losing on purpose would be easy, but...
“Ah~ Well, you see. I’ve been incredibly good at gambling since a long time ago. I almost never lost. So, I’ve been losing on purpose as a way to show that the ‘me’ of the past no longer exists.”
“...Wouldn’t it have been easier to just not gamble at all?”
“N-No~ Well, you see, I do love gambling... It just kind of happens.”
The secret Alice wanted to confess to me was apparently that she was actually a master gambler.
I see. I was happy to learn one more thing about her, but... why did she choose this timing to reveal it?
While I was thinking about that, a smirk formed on Alice's lips as she pushed half of her piled-up chips toward me.
“...Let’s have a Revenge Match. Kaito-san, let’s see which of us can earn more!”
“A m-match?”
“Yes! If I win, you have to add a special dessert to our luxurious dinner!”
“...And if I win?”
A Revenge Match... she was surely referring to the match we had previously at the Monster Race Track.
In short, it seemed she was saying, “I wasn't serious back then, so let's go again.”
Well, we had plenty of time, so that was fine... but Alice had already added a stake for herself if she won.
If that was the case, I was curious about the stakes if I won. I knew Alice was confident, but the possibility of me winning wasn't zero.
I decided to ask about that before accepting the challenge.
“...E-Erm... If Kaito-san wins... then, after we get home... I-I'll give you a... a reward...”
“A reward?”
“I-It’s a surprise for after you win!”
“...Hmph, well, fine. Let’s do it.”
“Fufufu, I’m several levels different today! Now, prepare to taste the bitter dregs of defeat!”
Letting myself be swept along by the strangely enthusiastic Alice, our second match began.
I’ll start with the conclusion... we were banned from the premises.
After some time had passed since my match with Alice began, a man claiming to be the owner appeared. While performing a dogeza, he pleaded, “Please have mercy,” so after exchanging looks with Alice, we decided to call it a day.
No, I didn't think I would be that lucky either, and I feel like I got a bit carried away, so I accepted this ban as a form of penance.
“...Urgh... Uuuu...”
“N-No, look, the match was interrupted halfway through...”
“...Kaito-san, you're definitely a cheat... How can ‘single-number bets on the roulette hit consecutively’ like that... There’s no way I could win against that...”
“Ah~ No, I guess I was just lucky...”
Regarding the match with Alice... at the point it was interrupted, I was winning by about three times her amount.
Perhaps it was Beginner’s Luck, but the things I bet on without really knowing what I was doing kept hitting one after another. In the end, I won every single time without a single loss.
By the way, Alice had also increased her initial amount several times over, so it wasn't that she was weak; it was just that my luck was abnormally good.
“...Uuuu.”
“No, that’s why I said it was interrupted. We can just call it a draw...”
“N-No! That would hurt my pride as a gambler. So, I-I will properly give you a reward once we get home... S-S-So, p-p-please, look forward to it...”
“A-Ah...”
Why was her face so red? And why was she stuttering so much? Just what kind of reward was she planning to prepare?
Even when I asked, she just said, “It’s a surprise for when we get home,” and wouldn't tell me, so I decided to put it aside for now. In any case, we had killed enough time, so it was about time to start thinking about dinner.
Dear Mother, Father—I ended up having another gambling match with Alice. And once again, I ended up winning through Beginner’s Luck, but Alice’s behavior is a bit strange. I wonder—what could the reward be?
The... re... ward... Why does that sound so suggestive?