Acnos sudden answer made me curious, and so I waited after school at the dormitory.
Exactly when he arrived, he told me to make sure that whatever happens next has nothing to do with him. I accepted his request and followed him to the public carriage.
"Lutz, look at the market district. What do you see that wasn't here before?" Acno asked.
Looking at the large market area and the big buildings around it, one building stood out to me. It was 100 meters tall and had a huge glass dome on top.
With security guards surrounding the building, you could immediately tell how protected it was. Entry was tightly controlled. At every door, there were two or three employees, and red carpets showed where to go. It was clearly a marvelous structure.
Before I could answer his question, my eyes caught a majestic hanging sign with the word "Varius" written on it.
"You probably mean the building with the sign saying Varius, am I right?" I answered.
"You are right. This is a new idea from a millionaire called gambling. It has everything you need for life. My favorite attraction is the roulette table. You can bet your money on two colors—black or red—or on 37 numbered fields, each with its own color and odds."
My mood dropped instantly. That someone in this world came up with the idea of building a casino—and that Acno brought me here—was unbelievable. Just when I had the thought of creating one myself, someone beat me to it. But hey, this could be a chance to double my money. I even put all of it in the system's inventory for safety.
After leaving the public carriage, Acno rushed toward the building like a tiger, but with the focused mind of an ant. Inside were beautiful chandeliers, and the walls rose up to the top where the glass dome was located.
You could clearly see the second story, where rich people were standing around, enjoying food, drinks, and of course—gambling. As I looked up a second time, a person in a black suit looked directly at me. I don't know why, but something about him screamed observer.
Acno's first destination was the poker table, where 8 people were already seated. We took a seat and waited for the next round to begin.
What I found most troubling, though, was that in this world, gambling is allowed for anyone above the age of 5. If this were the real world, I would probably be thrown out immediately.
The people around us were of all sorts of ages. One man was probably 80 years old, while another looked even younger than me—he must've been around 6. Can he even talk? But there was one thing everyone had in common: a serious expression. Despite the age differences, each player clearly saw everyone else as a personal rival.