The festival had ended, and Lanpeach moved to his room, where he sat on the sofa across the table.

The room no longer had any rubble in the corners, the floor was hardwood, and it looked brand new. It didn’t resemble the worn-down room it once was. In fact, it was more spacious and luxurious than his previous life’s room, like one of those ten billion yen mansions.

“So, what happened to your former partner, Guy?” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach asked, crossing his legs and swirling the whiskey in his glass, trying to give off the air of a mastermind.

“Papa-shan, don’t crosh your legs~.” (Koume) 

“Kyu~ Can’t sleep~.” (Mimi) 

However, Koume and Mimi, who were sleeping on his lap, began to pat his legs in protest, so he stopped crossing them. The two happily snuggled into his lap, smiling as they drifted back to sleep.

“Shtinks of alcohol.” (Koume)

The little girl doesn’t like the smell of alcohol. She couldn’t get a good nap. Koume-chan couldn’t snuggle up and sleep.

“I’ll switch to barley tea.” (Lanpeach) 

Lanpeach swapped out the whiskey for tea as he let Koume and Mimi sleep on his lap. Any air of him being a mastermind was now completely gone. Not that a minor villain would have such an aura anyway.

“Yer such a doting parent, Lanpeach-don. That softness will become yer weakness… Probably not.” (Guy)

Guy teased, trying to play the part of a typical hero scolding someone for being too soft…but before he could finish, Lanpeach pressed a gun to his cheek, shutting him up before he got to the end of his line. 

If Guy had continued, it would have likely been game over for him, sending him on a one-way trip to the afterlife, judging by the demonic expression on Lanpeach’s face.

Lanpeach sighed lightly, putting the gun away. 

‘There would be no progress at all at this rate’ -is what he thought as he ruffled the head of Mimi and calmed himself with the fluffiness.

“Now, talk about your partner.” (Lanpeach)

“Yeah, got it. It all started with the Evolving Spirit Armor ya gave me. That thing eats up spirit stones like crazy. I didn’t remember having this much trouble with it in the game, but my partner kept complaining, saying he remembered it only needed ten billion Ele’s worth of spirit stones to reach its peak.” (Guy)

“…Well, this is reality. It’s bound to have discrepancies.” (Lanpeach) 

Guy tilted his head in wonder, but that originally had no ending like a gacha game. It was probably a difference from the beta. Lanpeach tried to be careful about not revealing too much regarding the differences from the beta.

“Anyway, Krishna -you know, Krishna of the Wind- was my partner. We sold everything we had, finished all the dungeon runs, and poured all our spirit stones into that armor, but it still wouldn’t evolve. He lost his patience after a while.” (Guy)

“Wait, Krishna? One of the seven protagonists? You were partnered with someone like that?” (Lanpeach)

Guy easily revealed the name of his former partner. He probably has no intention of hiding it anymore. 

But Krishna? That was unexpected.

“So Krishna was the one with knowledge from the game?” (Lanpeach)

[Who’s Krishna, Soldier?] (Libra) 

Libra, who was beside him looking bored, sneakily asked this. 

[Krishna is one of the protagonists in the game. He’s contracted with a Wind Spirit. A commoner from a wealthy family. His parents were killed by monsters, so he ended up attending the magic academy since he had talent in magic.] (Lanpeach)

[Heeh, one of the protagonists, huh.] (Libra)

[Dry and Guy have freedom with their poor background, but Krishna has that and money. And at the magic academy, it’s basically a dating sim for him. Plenty of quests, too, so he was great for beginners. He had wind magic and could use Fly, so moving around was a breeze. I beat the game using Krishna first.] (Lanpeach)

He was just an overall easy character to use, with a weak final boss in his story.

[Man, I wish I could’ve transmigrated as someone like that. Instead, I ended up as a minor villain on Lanpeach Difficulty.] (Lanpeach)

[Did he really reincarnate into such a great character? I’m so jealous. I ended up as a minor villain. And the stats were brutal on the Lanpeach difficulty.] (Lanpeach)

The minor villain grumbled enviously. If he had reincarnated as Krishna, he would have lived an easy life, is what he felt as he showed his ugly jealousy. 

Lanpeach indulged in his inner fantasy. If that happened, he would have done the classic of a guy with an average face who looked weak but is actually a skilled, hidden master. He laughed to himself.

“So, he reincarnated as Krishna… and it didn’t go well?” (Lanpeach)

“Yeah, he was a coward after all. Almost died once, though, so I do feel a bit sorry for him.” (Guy)

“Was he just not smart?” (Lanpeach)

“I heard that while at the magic academy, he tried to act like an average guy, but it was so obvious, everyone called him a weirdo with first-rate skills.” (Guy)

“Really.” (Lanpeach)

It seemed Krishna had been thinking along the same lines as Lanpeach. But that’s just a guy thing. Who wouldn’t want to be the underdog at the magic academy, pretending to be weak while dominating everything? There’s nothing more fun than that.

“Well, in any case, he started wanting gear that would make sure he wouldn’t die after almost dying.” (Guy)

“The Rusty Spirit Armor had that kind of power?” (Lanpeach)

“It has [Auto-Revive] and [Status Ailment Immunity]. He thought it would protect him from instant death or poison.” (Guy)

“So, he was afraid of being killed in underhanded ways.” (Lanpeach)

“He almost died from poison once, even though it should’ve been an easy fight. He forgot his antidote potion, and slowly dying from poison really got to him.” (Guy)

“He became afraid of even low-level enemies being able to kill him, huh. That makes sense.” (Lanpeach)

So he realized that you can die against low level enemies even when you are high level, huh. Lanpeach could understand that feeling somewhat.

“Basically, he tried to awaken the armor, but didn’t have enough money… So he borrowed money and went to the casino to make more.” (Guy)

“Ah, the classic downfall of gambling. But he tried to use the foolproof method.” (Lanpeach)

This is where someone would normally be baffled by this, but anyone who had played Powder of Element would know about a certain casino exploit. He must’ve tried to take advantage of it.

“That one, right? Where if 00 comes up twice in a row, the next number is guaranteed to be 24 on the roulette?” (Lanpeach)

It required a lot of patience, but it was a glitch that guaranteed victory. The player who discovered it was called a madman on the forums. They must have cracked the game’s code, but it was so unbelievable that no one could believe it at first.

“Ya knew about it? I told him not to do it though. That kind of thing ain’t  happening in real life.” (Guy)

“Yeah, you normally wouldn’t do it.” (Lanpeach)

Even if you have gamer brainrot, the risk is too high. He wouldn’t want to lose his whole fortune with something so stupid. Is the person inside Krishna an idiot?

“But Krishna went through with it…and he won.” (Guy)

Lanpeach stood up in shock. He couldn’t believe Krishna had actually pulled it off. Maybe he should have tried it himself.

“He won?! Then what’s the problem… Wait, don’t tell me he won too much?” (Lanpeach)

“He racked up 36 billion. Moreover, he did it by observing the roulette the whole time, then betting a huge amount on a single number.” (Guy)

Guy looked uncomfortable as he explained. Lanpeach could see how disastrous this was.

“Of course the casino wasn’t going to ignore that. It’s way too suspicious. There’s no way they wouldn’t think he was cheating.” (Lanpeach)

[If he’d just kept betting small amounts, they wouldn’t have noticed.] (Libra)

[No, it’s not a card game. He was going to draw attention no matter what.] (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach laughed bitterly as he responded to Libra’s comment.

“Krishna tried to argue that magic detection would’ve caught him if he had been cheating, but it didn’t work. He got caught and went missing after that.” (Guy)

“What were you doing at the time, Guy? You must’ve been there if you know this much.” (Lanpeach)

“I was there. I pretended I didn’t know him and watched from a distance.. The bodyguards beat Krishna even though he was strong. I wasn’t about to get involved in a losing battle.” (Guy)

Guy answered with a carefree expression, showing no sign of guilt. It was clear that he had no intention of playing the fool any longer. At least he wasn’t trying to pretend to be a good guy.

“So, I decided to team up with ya, Lanpeach-don. Krishna is probably in a bad situation, and he’s not worth sticking around for anymore. Going to save him seems way too dangerous.” (Guy)

Guy displayed a cold pragmatism.

“I see… Well, that’s how it is.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach had no intention of blaming Guy. Their partnership had been purely transactional. All this confirmed was that Guy wasn’t someone to trust. If he were offered something like a Red Hare horse, he’d probably betray him in a heartbeat.

“Krishna… Hey, Guy, the casino is Gold Rush, right?” (Lanpeach)

“That’s right. Are ya planning on rescuing Krishna? It’s going to be really dangerous.” (Guy)

“I’ll save him if I can. But what’s most important is that it sounds fun.” (Lanpeach)

Gold Rush. 

In the game, it was famous as a casino, but there was another reason it was well-known. Guy probably didn’t know since he isn’t that knowledgeable about the game, but Lanpeach did.

“For now… I’m heading to Gold Rush myself. Tell me where it is.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach smacked Guy on the shoulder and smiled.

He remembered…that there were multiple events tied to that casino.

◇◇

Once Lanpeach made up his mind, he wasted no time. That very night, he and Libra made their way to the casino, Gold Rush, with the neon lights glowing in the darkness.

[This is exciting!] (Libra)

“Yeah, no doubt about it. Let’s go, Libra. Time to make a fortune.” (Lanpeach)

[Okay! Leave it to me. I’m great at card games. D-D-Draw! It’s my turn!] (Libra)

“That’s not the kind of card game we’re playing.” (Lanpeach)

The shrine maiden support girl was practically bouncing with excitement.

In front of them was a building bustling with men and women of all ages. It was located in the mid-level sector of the Surface District, designed like a temple, but tacky with its gaudy gold exterior.

The glowing neon sign read Gold Rush, and a poster on the wall advertised: No betting limit for VIPs.

“First, I’ll spend a million to get into the VIP club. That’s when the real game starts.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach was wearing a pink shirt and baggy pants, with the Sunglasses of Chaotic Causality and a gold necklace around his neck. He looked like a thug from head to toe.

The bag slung over his shoulder was packed with 30 million Ele in cash. His war funds were ready.

“Alright, today I am Gambler Michibiki. Let’s hope the casino welcomes us.” (Lanpeach)

[Let’s go for the jackpot!] (Libra)

Lanpeach ascended the stairs to the casino with an evil smile, feeling sure that something interesting was about to happen. He chuckled to himself in anticipation.

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