"What is your opinion on cheating?"
Eclaire found herself sitting across from the owner of this casino in a private room, at which the man suddenly posed this question to her.
"Cheating? Well, of course it's wrong. I think that any casino that cheats people is scummy in the first place."
"And yet, you used methods that presumed such cheating in order to manipulate things into your favor. Isn't that correct?"
"That... is correct. But I wasn't doing anything wrong. If the casino wasn't actually cheating to prevent losses, then I would have lost too. I took a risk, unlike you."
Snapping back with this response, the owner was somewhat surprised at Eclaire's resilience, to which he nodded.
"You're exactly right."
And suddenly, his smile grew.
"Hah... hahaha..."
His expression changed, and suddenly the man looked to Eclaire with an immense fervor, leaning forward with eyes that gleamed with a strange obsession.
"Eclaire. Will you marry me?"
However the moment the man said these words, he immediately reeled back, realizing what he had just said.
"Ah... ah... no, no, no no. I wasn't supposed to say that. Forgive my outburst there. Please ignore that. I apologize deeply for my rudeness."
Rudeness didn't even cut it.
Eclaire sat back, eyes widened at the insane words that had just exited the mouth of the man - and his sudden retraction of such words only made them all the more disturbing.
'What... is going on in the mind of this man?'
"Ahem... forgive me. You see, your response just now... it was perfect. I couldn't help but think that you would be an ideal wife. I do understand that being presented with such a sudden proposal is outrageous, so please - ignore that."
Waving off his proposal as if it were a slip of the tongue, the man continued speaking without hesitation.
"You see... I do not despise cheating in of itself. What I despise is unfair advantage that doesn't rely upon ability."
Standing up as he took his drink in his hand, the man began to pace as he spoke.
"I firmly believe that if one party is allowed to cheat, that the other party should be capable of doing the same thing. To hold both parties to a different set of standards - this is what I despise."
Taking another sip, the man seemed to hold his liquor unbelievably well, not dizzying in the slightest as he filled himself with alcohol.
Or perhaps his earlier outburst was exactly a result of that?
"In other words... I believe in equal opportunity - but that does not mean I believe in equality."
As he continued to pace, the man spoke with a harsh tone, eventually reaching the side of the room that Eclaire sat on.
"The person who is able to utilize the rules and mold them into their favor - this is the person who should be declared the winner."
Taking a seat directly next to Eclaire, the man forced his way next to her, at which he gazed into her eyes, bringing his face even closer to her all the while.
"And there is no place in my casino for a person who chooses to merely ignore the rules."
Then, whispering into her ear, the man's words became soft yet firm - a fierce dedication within them as he displayed his way of life to the woman.
"And the results of such a battle - I believe these to be absolute."
----
"Do you believe that people need to be held responsible for their actions?"
The man had returned to his seat across from Eclaire, who was shaken at his demeanor.
This man was dangerous - and she had gotten herself into something far beyond her.
"It is my core belief that people need to be held to the results of the agreements that they have made. Without such results being enforced, not a single word in this world has any worth."
As the man monologued, Eclaire wondered if she could possibly attempt to escape, yet as she considered her position, she realized that doing so was futile.
Even if she did manage to get away, the police would be waiting for her with an arrest warrant.
"I am merely an enforcer of such results."
"And what if they didn't agree to such conditions?"
So, she responded.
She continued to press this man, in an attempt to wrap her mind around his strange philosophy.
"Ah... this is what I like about you, girl. You always ask the most difficult questions. You always seem to be challenging me - making me justify myself for every little detail."
With a gratifying nod, the man sat forward as he continued his lecture.
"You see, there are many people in this world who fail to understand the results of their actions. They will go about, selfishly attempting to take from others, yet when others take from them, they will scream and shout, claiming that they are some sort of victim who has been wronged."
With a disgusted expression, the man spoke with a solemn tone, his voice filled with a deep seated hatred.
"All the while, the very people who they have wronged will only fester in further hatred as they are unable to do anything."
Taking another sip of his drink, the man still didn't seem to be intoxicated in the slightest.
"The moment you enforce a rule on others, you've signed a contract in your heart that has locked you into following that rule for yourself."
As the man spoke, he gripped his glass fiercely, the pressure causing a crack to form in the glass as the liquid began to drain out.
"And anyone who refuses to do so... is the lowest scum to walk this planet."
"But that doesn't answer my question. What about the people who have been deceived?"
One of the women immediately stepped forth with a towel, taking the glass from the man as she cleaned the mess, to which the man nodded at Eclaire's question.
"Hmm... so you have sympathy for those who have agreed to something without reading the conditions?"
"Well... of course I do! I mean... just because they made a little mistake... that doesn't mean they should have everything taken from them!"
At Eclaire's outburst, a vein formed in the forehead of the man, as if he were irritated by her words.
"I see. Eclaire. Could I show you something?"
As the woman finished wiping up the mess, Evan stood up, motioning for Eclaire to follow him, at which she stood up as well.
"What is it?", she asked.
At this, the man walked forward, heading towards the exit as she followed quietly - and with his back to her, the man spoke.
"I would like to show you one of these people who lose everything."
----
Eclaire was led down another hall, and eventually the two headed up an elevator to a higher floor.
The two came upon a particular room, which Eclaire immediately recognized the moment she entered.
"This is... a viewing chamber."
"Haha... perhaps you think it's in poor taste. Well... I usually prefer to view things in person, but there are times when my presence is... unnecessary."
The place was similar to a miniature movie theater, with a glass window that was almost certainly one sided that bore witness to a room on the other end.
"Have a seat. Would you like some popcorn? Or perhaps a soda? The show will begin momentarily, after all."
The room on the other end of the glass was simple - a room with nothing more than a table and a set of chairs. There was nothing else in this room, allowing for a pure gamble free of any hidden tricks.
"..."
Eclaire wasn't sure what to say, but she took a seat quietly as she awaited whatever this man was about to show her.
"I'll take that as a no."
Sitting directly next to the woman, the man smiled lightly as he closed his eyes, folding his hands in front of him.
"In a sense, this could be considered a form of first date. Don't you agree?"
"I never agreed to dating you. This is nothing like that."
"Ah... I see."
The man seemed somewhat disappointed at Eclaire's response, his grandeur somewhat diminished at the rejection.
"Forgive my crudeness."
Suddenly, the door to the room opened, and a couple of people entered quickly.
The first person was an older man - one who was fattened and unpleasant to look at, with a large wart on his nose. He grinned with a smile that bore his rotten teeth, a couple of which were missing, and his hair seemed to be thinned out, revealing a number of dark patches of skin on his head.
This man entered the room, chuckling to himself as he was followed by another man - one who had a gleam of gold in his eyes. This man, whose skin was wrinkled and his body thin and unhealthy, seemed to be in a sort of trance as he entered with excitement.
"You're going to regret challenging me, boy."
"Are you sure about that? If you aren't careful, I'll make you lose everything tonight, old man."
"Hah! I'd like to see you try. Your pride will be your downfall."
The two were then followed by a beautiful woman - one who was dressed in the typical outfit of the casino with a short skirt and a bowtie. She was clearly the overseer of this private gamble, which was taking place between the two parties.
"That man is one who has come to this place quite often. He is extremely wealthy, and has nothing to fear. Even if he does end up losing, the loss will be insignificant to him. But he rarely ever loses in the end."
Turning to the girl, Evan whispered a question to her.
"Do you know why that is?"
"Is it because you're somehow favoring him? Are you doing something to give him an advantage?", Eclaire asked.
"Absolutely not. Did you not hear what I told you earlier?"
With disappointment in his voice, the man seemed somewhat offended at Eclaire's question.
"I do not support any form of cheating... unless it is mutual. If both players are cheating, for example - I will not step in - unless someone is caught, of course."
"Then, if one player was cheating you would?"
"Absolutely. I do not believe in ONE SIDED advantages that exceed the rules."
"And if both were cheating and one was caught, would you expose both?"
"Absolutely not. If one was caught, then he was clearly negligent in his preparations - and that is his punishment."
"And if someone did try to cheat... how exactly would you step in?"
As she continued to press the man, trying to determine his methodology, the man grinned at her question.
Suddenly, the man laughed to himself, thinning his eyes in pleasure -and as he did so, a chill was sent down Eclaire's spine.
"Well... I might mess with their preparations to create a random and unexpected result."
As he continued to laugh, the two players found their seats as the dealer prepared a deck of cards, shuffling them in preparation for the upcoming game.
"After all... there is nothing that will throw off a cheater more than when they believe a result to be guaranteed... when in reality, the result is completely random."
As Eclaire pondered the man's words, he only became even more mysterious.
The police were after him because of how many people he had lured and deceived, but if he wasn't cheating - then was he really doing anything wrong?
'But... at the end of the day... it's still wrong to string people up in something that they don't understand. And since he isn't cheating anyone directly... it isn't something the police can deal with.'
Suddenly, Eclaire understood why the police were so concerned with this place.
It was a place of moral bankruptcy, yet it was legally acceptable. It encouraged these rich old men to swindle younger people who wanted to win big, using their immense riches to crush anyone who opposed them.
'And at the end of the day... even if they lose... they're never the ones risking anything.'
Eclaire knew what it meant to take a risk now - and the man that she had defeated had barely even done so.
He might have left that day frustrated and humiliated, but if she had lost - she would have been ruined.
'They aren't playing on the same field at all.'
"I know what you're thinking, Eclaire."
However, Evan spoke up, calmly assessing her thoughts as he recited them back to her with uncanny precision.
"You think it's unfair that one of them is able to play without any true risk, except for their pride."
As the man spoke, Eclaire could see that the dealer was getting ready to explain the gamble, and the two men were preparing themselves mentally for such a battle.
"But the fact of the matter is, by participating in this gamble where he has so much to gain, that man has already accepted this risk - even if he himself is unaware of that."
----
'He... has accepted the risk?'
'No... that isn't right.'
'He doesn't look worried at all.'
'He doesn't seem aware of the risk at all!'
As Eclaire watched the overconfident young man, she could immediately tell by his demeanor - he was not someone who was nervous in the slightest.
Why was he so confident in his victory?
"He has put his life savings on the line for this gamble. His house, his car, everything - he has forfeited in order to make this bet."
"Why would he do such a thing?", Eclaire asked as Evan explained further. "All for... the chance to win some money?"
It was only a chance.
What if he lost?
Would he just go home, give up everything he had ever earned, and pick himself up again?
'There... won't be any retrying from that! And yet...'
'Why does he look so certain of his victory?'
"You're probably wondering to yourself, why does he look so unfazed - despite the immense nature of this battle. I'll explain why. It isn't because he's cheating, or has any unfair advantage."
"Then why!?"
Turning to the man, Eclaire's voice was now filled with concern as she failed to understand such a thing.
"It's because in his mind, the possibility of losing has already been eliminated."
"What!?"
It was insanity.
How could he do such a thing?
How could he make such a bet without even understanding the risks?
Eclaire had done so moments before - and it took everything in her being to remain calm as she had done so - and she had only done this because it was the money of the police.
She would have been arrested either way, and that would have been her own fault for barging in on their business - but this man was different.
He had nobody forcing him to do this. He had chosen to take part in this gamble of his own doing, blinded by the lure of gold.
"It's starting."
Placing a finger to his lips, Evan motioned for Eclaire to be quiet as the explanation began.
"We will be playing high card. Following the agreed betting for a round, each person will be dealt three cards. Ace is considered the highest, followed by King, and all the way down until 2. The highest card in a player's hand will battle against the highest in the opponent's hand, and whoever wins 2 out of three battles will be declared the winner. In the case of a draw, no winner will be decided and another game will be held. Do you have any questions?"
The dealer explained the game to the two, who seemed to understand immediately.
"Nope."
"None here."
It was a simple game - absolutely no strategy required. It was completely luck, and with the dealer working for the casino - the likelihood of cheating was near impossible.
"The only way one could cheat in this game is if they had some hidden cards up their sleeve... but the casino uses all different types of decks, so there is no way to predict what set of cards you would need to bring to do such a thing. Even so... that is why I am here to watch.", Evan stated.
With these words, the man reassured Eclaire that no cheating would take place during this game.
"I'll bet everything. 2 million Sin. That's the entire worth of my assets. Let's get this over with in a single round."
"Very well. I accept your offer."
The younger man immediately put forth his gamble, at which Eclaire's jaw dropped.
"He's going to bet everything on the first round!?", she shouted. "That's... that's nuts!"
"They always do that."
However Evan seemed to be watching with boredom, shaking the match off as if he had lost interest.
"After all, if you believe yourself to be invincible - why wouldn't you bet everything?"
Quickly, the cards were dealt to the three, at which Eclaire held her breath.
'Will he win? Will he lose?'
She found herself biting her nails in suspense as both players picked up their decks, at which their expressions became stern.
"Alright. Both players have received their cards. Please place your highest card - face down."
At the orders of the dealer, both players did as instructed.
"Now the second highest next to it."
With this order, the men placed another card, at which the woman spoke one final time.
"And now the third."
At this point, the three cards were lined up opposite to one another, the highest on the side that the dealer stood and the lowest opposite to her.
"I will now flip the first set."
With a professional expression, the woman took hold of the two cards, flipping as she revealed an ace on the side of the older man and a king for the young man.
"Haha... can't beat that.", the old man chuckled.
"It isn't over yet.", the young man reminded him.
"I will now flip the second pair."
Completely ignoring the words of the two men, the woman continued in her duty as she flipped another set - this one an eight for the young man and a seven for the older one.
"Tch... well, I guess it comes up to the last one.", the old man stated as the young man seemed to be grinning in victory.
"I've already won.", he said.
"Hah? What do you mean by that, kid? You can't possibly know what I have under there."
"But I do know what I have."
"Enough. I will be flipping the third set."
With these words, the dealer broke up the two as she revealed the final pair - another eight for the young man, and a five for the older one.
"Ah... shit. I guess you won this time."
With bitterness in his tone, the old man lamented quietly, to which the young man immediately spoke.
"Again."
"Hm? What's it?"
"Let's do it again. All in this time. I just won 2 million Sin from you, so I'm going with 4 million."
As the young man said this, the old man merely smiled in response.
"Deal."
At this, Eclaire couldn't believe her ears.
The man had just won 2 million Sin, yet instead of taking his winnings and running, he instead stuck around to continue.
"Wha..."
Not only this, but he had chosen to continue betting his own assets, rather than only betting his winnings.
"This... is he..."
"Is he a complete fool? You might be thinking this, but I've seen hundreds of these fools."
Speaking up with disappointment overtaking his tone, Evan could barely watch as he averted his eyes from the pathetic scene before him.
"They continue to bet everything, over and over again as the thrill of winning fills them with confidence - reinforcing their own invincibility. Just in the same way you reinforced your method into the mind of that man earlier. And yet... no matter how much cheating is eliminated... no matter how FAIR I make these games... that will inevitably lead to their ruin."
----
Yet another set of three cards were dealt, and another round was played.
Both of the players had lined their cards up as directed previously, and the dealer now prepared to reveal them to all.
"I will now reveal the first set."
With these words, the woman revealed a Queen for the young man, and a 10 for the old man.
"Your game is really off today, old man! I guess my luck is really hitting well! I've already won this one as well!"
With this taunt, the young man was filled with confidence as he spoke, however the old man remained strangely calm.
"I see. So is your next card a Queen as well?"
With this question, the dealer revealed both cards - a Jack for the young man and a six for the older one.
"Not this time, but still enough to guarantee me the win. Looks like today's my lucky day!"
Having obtained 6 million Sin just like that, the man was flying high.
There was nothing in the world that could stop him.
"Well? 8 million this time. You in? Or are you gonna stop here and take your losses?"
"I'll play."
This time, the young man was the one pressing the old - unaware of exactly how much he had behind him.
At this point, Eclaire had lost it.
"You idiot!!! You can't just keep going like this! If you keep giving him the chance to try again-"
"He'll win eventually."
Eclaire found her gripes finished off by Evan, who merely watched from his seat as she stood up to shout.
Of course, the walls were soundproof, so her complaints wouldn't be heard.
"I... this... this is just..."
"It's pathetic, isn't it?"
Eclaire could do nothing more than watch as this man refused to take his winnings and leave, pressing further as he risked everything he had ever earned for even more.
"We need to stop this gamble."
"Absolutely not."
Standing up now, Eclaire felt her hand grabbed by Evan, who prevented her from leaving.
"You will NOT interfere."
"But if nobody knocks some sense into him, he really will lose everything!"
Pulling her hand away, Eclaire pleaded with the casino owner, who merely gazed upon her with a stern expression.
"And what of it?"
And his cold words made Eclaire widen her eyes in horror.
"He chose this himself. He took those risks himself. And he has even taken 6 million Sin from his opponent. If he doesn't understand that he has the capability of losing... then he will need to learn by losing."
Biting her lip at the man's words, Eclaire could not deny him.
As tears formed in her eyes, she slowly sat down once again.
"But... if we don't do anything..."
"Enough. It is not our place to interfere in this man's agreement."
With these words, the man spoke with an unwavering harshness, not budging for a moment on his stance.
"As the owner of this casino... I am merely here to enforce the results."
----
Once more, a set of cards was dealt.
Just as before, the card had been lined up in the order of their rank, and the dealer prepared to reveal them.
"I'll give you an opportunity, boy."
However, before she could do so, the older man made a suggestion.
"If you walk away now and give me 1 million of your earnings, then we don't have to open these cards."
"Hah!? Are you stupid!? I've already come this far. There's no way I'm going to pay you a million Sin just to walk away. If I was gonna do that, I would have just walked away before this round."
As the older man made this offer, the younger man blatantly refused - to which the dealer spoke up to the two.
"Are you both ready for me to reveal the first set?"
"Do as you please."
"Hurry up with it."
Waving it off, the old man agreed not to come to an agreement, and the younger one urged the dealer to pick up the pace.
"Both Queens."
Speaking the results out loud, the dealer moved onto the second set - yet before she could do so, the man now spoke up with fear in his tone.
"H-hey... actually, I... I'll take that-"
"Nope. Deals out."
Suddenly, his expression went pale, and the man slunk down in his seat, fear filling his eyes.
"W-wait a minute! Can't we just... can we do a retry? Let's do a reshuffle and bet on a different set! It's even now, right? Let's-"
"Based on your current actions, it isn't even - is it?"
Suddenly the young man resorted to pleading, but the old man refused such a thing, at which the dealer revealed the cards.
A Jack and a Six - of course, the old man had won this round.
"And with this... I've guaranteed my victory."
The old man made this statement, at which the young man began to pull at his hair, his eyes widening as veins spread through them.
"W-wait just a minute... this... no... I can't... my... my car.... my everything... give me... give me another chance!"
"You have nothing left to bet. Unfortunately, that won't be happening."
Waving the man's pleading off, the older man stood up, smiling in victory as he prepared to leave.
"I'm sorry, Sir. But you've lost. You can't complain now.", the dealer added.
"Stop this!!! You can't do this!!! I have a family!! A wife!!! Kids!!!"
"Then you should have considered them before you put everything on the line."
Even as the young man begged, the older man held no sympathy, walking out without another word - however before he could do so, the door burst open.
"Wait just a minute!"
And in that door, a plain girl walked in - her white hair flowing as she approached the older man, facing off with him with fierce eyes.
"I... want to give him a chance to retry."