Authors note:
Speaking: "…"
Thinking: '…'
___
"Now," she grinned excitedly, taking a seat at the poker table. "Let's play some poker. If you do better than Zephyr, I'll let you into the school."she excitedly stated with a grin as she sat down on one of the chairs on the poker table.
Following shortly, all the other players also took a seat in one of the remaining chairs. As soon as they did, Elara placed the dealer button in front of Zephyr, the small blind before Eira, who was sitting beside him, and the big blind before Hitoshi, sitting beside her.
Confused about what was happening, he asked in his mind, ‚Princess, what the hell is going on?'
He received an immediate response: ‚That thing in front of Hawks is the dealer's button. It signifies that you're the last one who will get to bet. The other two are called the small and big blind, which means the players with them must place a small mandatory bet in the first round,' the princess answered with focus.
‚Got it.'
Now taking out the deck, Elara shuffled the cards and threw two to each player. They were standard poker cards with no special designs, though as soon as one of the players touched them, the cards changed colors, matching the person's aura. In Hitoshi's case, the white cards turned black with ghostly blue symbols. Briefly examining them, he saw that his cards were an Ace of Spades and a Ten of Hearts before setting them down again.
Not knowing what to expect from the cards, his face remained unreadable. He asked mentally, ‚So, did I get good cards?'
‚In this game, you're not winning with those cards alone. Watch the others. Let them reveal themselves. For this round, just call your mandatory bet.'
‚Meaning?'
"You really know nothing, huh? 'Call' means you don't raise the previous bet, you just match the minimum amount. But since you have the big blind, you only need to bet a bit more than the ice queen beside you."
Now in the first betting round, he and Eira made their mandatory bets. Ceres raised slightly, Caelum called, and Zephyr followed. Next was the flop, Elara discarded the first card, then placed the next three face-up on the table, marking the beginning of the second betting round. The cards read: Ace of Diamonds, Jack of Hearts, and Queen of Spades.
‚What now? Does that help us?'
‚Well, now we have a pair of Aces. It's not too bad. But there's potential for something greater.'
"Call," Eira said with an unchanged expression.
‚What now?'
‚Hawks is your main problem. He's reckless but lucky. Make him doubt himself.'
‚You say that like you think I'd know what to do. And how do you know, he didn't change his expression?'
‚Oh but he did. I've seen it countless times before, that small, almost unnoticed smile that says: 'This game is going to go well.' Raise slightly."
Doing as he was told, Hitoshi called a raise, adding more of his aura to the pot. After him, Ceres raised, Caelum called, and Hawks raised again, further proving the demon's intuition correct.
Now, starting the Turn, Elara discarded the first card again and then placed a Nine of Spades on the table.
‚Well, that for sure doesn't help us.'
‚At least you caught that. But that doesn't mean we can't use it. Look at Hawks, he's eager but scared. Raise big. Make him believe you've already won.'
Immediately after that thought finished, they heard Eira fold. She tossed her cards on the table, crossed her arms with an annoyed look, and muttered something about having no luck.
Next up was Hitoshi. Just as the princess instructed, he raised sharply, betting a large portion of his aura.
‚Now lean back. Make him think you don't care what he does next. He'll fold for sure.'
Following her advice, the assassin leaned back with a confident smile, puffing out some smoke toward the ceiling, not even bothering to look at the table.
After him, Ceres called, her expression remaining neutral.
"I think I'll go the 'gentlemanly way' and raise, to make this more interesting, no?" Caelum stated respectfully in his British accent, raising a good amount of aura.
Now it was Hawks' turn. Hesitant, he briefly looked at his cards again before sighing and tossing them onto the table.
"Fold. Probably wasn't gonna hit it anyway."
‚Told ya.'
‚Hot damn, looks like you're not useless after all.'
‚Call me useless one more time, and you'll never get my support again.'
Now, it was finally time for the River. Only three players remained. The air was tense, and the players stared intently at the dealer's hands, hoping the final card would bring them victory.
The tension was unbearable as Elara discarded the first card and took hold of the River card.
‚You need a King, and a King it will be!' the princess reassured, confidence radiating from her voice.
Then, the card turned over, revealing nothing but the King of Spades himself.
Relief washed over Hitoshi's face as he realized one thing.
‚You've already won. Just call and watch them crumble.'
And so he did. Free of worry, he placed his last bet and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table as he watched the others.
"All in," Ceres boldly stated.
Caelum chuckled lightly before going all in as well.
Sensing the change in their aura signatures, Hitoshi deduced something.
‚Interesting... So going all in with aura means betting exactly half of your full aura capacity. Smart, considering there's a heavy backlash for using up most of your aura without rest.'
"Now that everyone has placed their final bets, let us begin the showdown. Does someone want to go first?" Elara questioned.
"I'm good. I'll go last," Hitoshi said calmly.
"Oh really? After how confident you looked, I was sure you'd go first," Ceres said innocently.
"Now, now, young lady. We mustn't be presumptuous. I'm certain he has his reasons for going last. For now, why don't I go first?" Caelum stated respectfully before flipping his cards, revealing two Nines. With the Nine from the community cards, he had three of a kind.
"A good hand, my dear elder. I'm afraid you beat me fair and square," Ceres admitted, flipping her cards to show a King and a Queen, making her best hand two pairs: a pair of Kings and a pair of Queens.
"Well, I'm sure you'll beat me eventually, but it seems Lady Luck wasn't on your side today. Now, young man, might we see your hand?" the mustached man asked respectfully.
"As you wish," the assassin stated confidently as he revealed his Ace and Ten, bringing the entire room to a gasp.
"A Royal Flush... I'll be damned. It seems I, too, don't have Lady Luck on my side today. You played splendidly, young lad. Well done," the gentleman admitted, holding out his hand for Hitoshi to shake.
"I just got lucky, but thanks, I appreciate it," he answered as he shook Caelum's hand, feeling the aura from the game pot enter his system, increasing his reserves considerably.
"Damn it, I could have tied. You're a darn confident gambler, considering the bluff you pulled," Hawks sighed, flipping his cards to reveal a Ten and a Jack. If he had stayed in, he could have tied with his own Royal Flush.
"Good job, kid. You're better than I expected. I'll tell you what, I'm accepting you into Shiketsu under one condition: you continue to play poker with us and keep it from the other members of the Eight Rings. Considering your skill at the game, it's a good opportunity if you ask me," Eira proposed, stretching out her hand.
Feeling a bit guilty for taking all the credit, considering he had barely done anything himself, Hitoshi pondered before recalling a line from his master:
"You're a spy, an assassin, and first and foremost, an intelligence gatherer. If you get the opportunity to gain information from the enemy that you must keep from your superior, take it. If he's a smart man, he'll understand its necessity. Never miss the opportunity to gain important knowledge."
Now sure of his answer, he took her hand and shook it, marking his acceptance into the second-best hero school.