273 I Still Can't Hide My Face

Ugh… I've got some bad cards…

Ah crap… I've let that show on my face again haven't I?

Judging by the looks that the other players at the table have given me, I would say they already knew that.

I sighed and pushed my cards on the table, "I fold…"

Damn it… I already knew I'm very easy to read but I never knew I was this easy… I was hoping that Lisa and Katsuki could only tell what I was thinking because they were close to me and knew me intimately enough to figure it out… It turns out it's just because I wear my heart on my sleeve…

Odeta was looking at the table where I had folded my cards.

"What's wrong with those cards, sister Aster?" Odeta asked innocently.

"The chances of those cards beating everyone else is really low," I whispered, trying to at least pretend that I might actually be bluffing this entire time.

Odeta still had trouble understanding how the game was played and she was mostly relying on Katsuki to explain it to her while I played. She seems to have a hard time remembering which combination of cards would be better than the others when played.

Since I was already out for this round, I took the chance to try and find Lisa in the crowd to see what she was up to.

It wasn't really that hard since there weren't many Infrids around and all I had to do was to look for the most attractive one.

I found her seated at one of the other poker tables beside a male Mahun who seemed to be having the time of his life right now.

Hmm… Is there an Aeromancy spell that would allow me to listen in on their conversation?

…

Nothing huh?

Welp, it was worth a shot. I guess my proficiency with Aeromancy was not high enough for me to be able to use something like that yet, since I'm pretty sure that magic should allow me to manipulate sound to a certain degree too.

Deciding to just rely on my enhanced hearing, I tried my best to listen in on the two.

"Ahaha, look at this! Full house! It's my win!"

Lisa giggled, "Oh my, it seems you're really right about me being your lucky charm~ Isn't that great?"

"Ahaha! It sure is! To think that my luck would turn around just like this! Oh man, my wife would never believe this!"

"Kukuku~ Perhaps you should buy something for her after this? She'll definitely like it~"

"Ah… But there's a problem with that… I'm not very sure on what I should get my wife…"

Lisa reached out to touch his arm which she did suggestively on purpose, "Oh, in that case, how about I help you with that? I believe I could help you pick a gift for a fine lady, don't you agree?"

"Ah, that is true. At least it would definitely be better than choosing it myself! I'll even let you pick out a gift for yourself as thanks."

"Kukuku~ That's really generous of you~" Lisa purred, moving her hand down from his arm to touch his knee. An action that could be inferred as a suggestive advance or even just a friendly pat.

The man seemed to have chosen to interpret it as the former as he turned to give her a smile filled with lewd intentions.

Lisa responded by sliding her hand up to the man's thigh, holding it there for a moment before pulling back.

"Oh, looks like your cards are here~ Let's see if your luck still holds up~"

The man turned back to the table to peek at his cards, giving Lisa a moment to look in my direction and causing our eyes to meet.

In an instant, her calm and seductive demeanour crumbled and she started panting while her hands held her cheeks lewdly.

"Ahh… Hah… Hah… Aster's looking at me~ Hnnngg~ Ohhh~"

Is she really getting herself off from this?

"She's getting herself off from this, Mistress."

Yes, I can see that Katsuki… Thank you for saying it out loud…

Still… I wonder if I should be feeling jealous of that guy? Because right now the only thing I feel for him is pity because I know for a fact that Lisa held no special feelings for him aside from how a predator might feel when looking at a prey.

I can tell this was the case because since a moment ago, Lisa's other hand had been busy rummaging through that guy's pockets while he was distracted in order to pickpocket him.

Heck, she was even discreetly sliding the coins he had left on the table to use as his betting pool to her side of the table before pocketing them.

Lisa's quite skilled in that regard I see… Judging by how easily and casually she was doing it, she must have quite a lot of experience in this. I wouldn't be surprised if this was something that she did on a regular basis in the past.

I heard the shuffle of cards and I turned back to my table to see the round had ended and another one was starting.

The dealer dealt out the cards once more and I picked up my cards.

A pair of kings! That's pretty--

Ahem…

I quickly reigned in my excitement before I could feel it take over me.

The others around the table seemed to be quite disappointed that I didn't reveal myself this time and each of them decided to call on the bets.

Since I was the big blind this round, I decided to check instead of raising just so that I don't reveal my hand too early.

Everyone's bets were collected into the pot and the dealer dealt the flop on the table.

The first card was a two of clubs, then a five of hearts and then the last card was a king of diamonds.

Yes!! That's already a three of a kind! I'm pretty sure I have the best hand right now and I--

"I fold."

"I fold as well."

"Fold for me too."

"Fold."

"Same for me."

…

Godamnit!

Am I really that easy to read?!

Ugh… At least I got the pot… It wasn't much but at least it was something…

In fact, that actually brought me up to a positive and I have six Decreas more than what I started out with. Not bad at all~

The Inugami futa that was beside me leaned a little closer as I raked in the pot, "First time here?"

"Eh? Umm… Yes?" I was a little surprised by her that I blurted out my answer without thinking.

"Fufu, that's what I thought. Which house are you from?"

"Err… I'm sorry?"

"I'm asking which noble family you are from, my dear. To have a maid and a bodyguard accompanying you, you're definitely a noble, right?"

While Katsuki was indeed my personal maid, Odeta isn't my bodyguard though… But yet the Amrap looked really proud when she heard that she was called my bodyguard for some reason.

Look, she even had that smug grin and was thrusting her chest out too.

Thankfully, I didn't need to answer as Katsuki came to my rescue.

"I apologise, missus. But we are travelling incognito right now so my Mistress will need to keep her identity secret."

"Hmm? I see, I see. I can understand that~ Well, try not to get addicted to gambling ok? You still seem young and you look especially put together. It would be a shame if you end up like him~"

She gestured towards the other side of the room where I saw an angry male Mahun slamming the table as the money he had used to bet at the roulette table was taken away.

He then started accusing the staff of cheating and even tried to storm up to the croupier to try and start a fight, only to have one of theNekomata in charge of security come up and knock him out from behind.

No one else even batted an eye at the scene and everyone just continued doing their own things while the unconscious guy got dragged out of the casino.

I guess using violence against patrons is something normal here too.

"He's a noble from Crown Capital City, his family used to be one of the more prominent Barons, you know? Inherited his family estates and titles but then got addicted to gambling and lost almost all of it away. If he hadn't been so consumed by gambling, he might even have risen to a Viscount in his lifetime but I doubt that's going to be possible anymore~" The Inugami futa explained.

She even chuckled like it was some kind of joke which I suppose it was to her since it was someone else's problem.

Gambling is scary…

Katsuki leaned close to my ear, "Do not worry Mistress. If there comes a day that you find yourself walking down this path, I will do everything I can to help you. In all honesty, I sincerely believe Mistress is too good of a person to even let this happen in the first place."

Awww~ Why do you have to be so cute, Katsuki?! Come here and let me pat you! Actually, let me fluff your tail right now~

Ehehehe~ So fluffy~ This is definitely an addiction that I wouldn't mind having~