"Not enough? Well, true, I guess you got beaten up pretty badly… Oh! I know! I'll sweeten the deal even more!"
"...?"
The attacker seemed to be having great fun coming up with more ideas, making his victim's eyes tremble in confusion.
"I'll give you this~!"
"!"
The hooded individual gasped and then waved his hand - as if it was a magic show, a green marble appeared between his index and middle finger, and he waved it in front of the paralyzed man's face.
"That's right~! A healing pellet! You have surely learned your lesson already, right? How about that deal? We'll make things even between us with that, and then you'll pay me to make things right with your younger brother! I'm quite the convincing actor. You see~?"
"...! Gh…! Hhh!"
The hooded individual chuckled and nodded, answering the question that wasn't asked, and it seemed he made so much of an impact that his victim managed to let out a voice!
Well, it was rather difficult to say whether it was a wheeze of approval or detest, though…
"Whoa, there, sir! Let's say one wheeze to yes, two for no. Okay?"
"...ghh…"
The hooded individual must have thought the same as he pushed both hands forward and suggested, which the paralyzed man immediately adjusted to.
"Good. Then, are you okay with making a deal with me?"
He asked with a polite smile, waving the healing pellet in an alluring manner.
While he waited for an answer, he pulled out a handkerchief, cleaned up the blood off the cane, and placed it next to his victim's leg.
"HH…!"
"Good~! Very good~! Let's just… Let's just… huh…"
The answer might just be reaction to the touch, but the hooded individual didn't seem to be bothered by that at all and leaned over the paralyzed man, mumbling while unable to decide where to leave the healing pellet…"
"..."
"Oh, what's with that look, sir? Of course, I will not use the pellet on you! You might turn back on me and call for help! I'll leave you with it and then wait for you outside~!"
The confused stare the paralyzed man was giving the hooded individual prompted him to explain himself in a baffled manner before smiling again.
"I'll just… no… someone might come in and steal it… I… oh! I know!"
"!?!?"
The attacker seemed quite troubled, that is, until he suddenly gasped and pushed his hand into the horrified man's half-opened mouth, where his nimble fingers lodged a certain magic pellet between his victim's jaws.
"Ta-da~! That way, you will be able to use it the moment the effects will start fading… which should be in a moment or two, honestly… which means it's high time for me~! See you outside, sir~!"
The hooded individual called out in an animated manner before waving goodbye and leaving the stall before the paralyzed man could wheeze a response.
On his way out of the toilet, the hooded individual actually took off his hood and cape, sliding the green marble back into his inner clothes, revealing himself to be…
…a nicely dressed dark-blond-haired girl with a fringe covering her eyes, actually…
"You really should make separate spaces for men and women. I almost had a heart attack when some brute dashed in there mumbling about being scammed and that he'll show everyone before violently shitting with enough power to make my stall shake! He's dangerous!"
"...lady… he what…? I…"
The girl scoffed in a very annoying, high-pitched, and nasal voice, throwing back her hair and declaring, taking an accusatory pose with her arm on her side, completely taking the guard by surprise.
"I… I can't do anything about him shitting, young lady, but the last guy who came in surely was talking about showing other people. He is the only person who placed a correct bet on the last fight."
"WHAT?! You're telling me the hero Leon killed some debtor who never harmed anyone?! Preposterous! I'm never betting on him again!"
The guard put up his hands defensively and gulped down his saliva before pointing out, making the girl stomp her foot and call out in furious disbelief.
She then stormed away and…
...went to the stands, taking a seat next to the unassuming brown-haired man with a weasly face in the more orderly area.
She placed the hooded cape on her lap to cover her legs from the lecherous eyes and made herself cozy.
"Going back to what we were talking about before…"
She then immediately leaned towards the weasly man and whispered sensually into his ear, making him tense up.
"That guy fucked up! He wasn't supposed to kill that debtor! We lost a fuckton of gold!"
The man clenched his fists and growled, staring down at the arena where another hero was actually losing to the criminal he was facing.
"So I've heard… What do we do now? I only placed a bet because you said it was a sure win…! Papa will be so mad if I tell him that you made a fool out of me! How will we make up for it?"
"Now, now. Let's not get there, sweetie."
The girl with her bangs covering her eyes pouted adorably and complained, although as she did, she also grabbed onto the weasly man's arm and rubbed her breasts against it, making it clear that she wasn't actually mad, and for once, a man have read a hint and chuckled instead of getting defensive.
"As I said. I have a way to get rid of my problem while earning a pretty sum."
"Prettier than me…?"
The man chuckled, but the girl fidgeted grumpily, pouting her cheeks out even more.
"Pfft! No, no, of course not! You're the prettiest there is!"
"Hmhmh~! What will we do, then?"
The weasly man snorted, shaking his head with amusement over the girl's vanity, freeing his arm from her grasp only to place it over her shoulders and pull her close, kissing the top of her head and making her giggle and ask in an appeased voice.
"I have it all planned already. You see, there will be a bonus fight at the very end, a hero versus a hero. It will be John against that piece of shit, Leon."
"Uh-huh… and… we're betting on Leon again…?"
The weasly man revealed in a hushed voice, whispering it right into the girl's ear, which made her furrow her brows and grumble back, clearly not catching on at all.
"Naaah! I already had a talk with Leon. I told him to lose the fight convincingly~!"
"Oooh! So we will bet on his loss!"
The man chuckled smugly, and the girl gasped in excitement.
"That's the best part! I've already paid off John to kill Leon! The fucker will think he will only lose the fight, but he will lose his life, making us rich! And then we'll still take over the orphanage as your father wants, raze it to the ground, and build the best casino in this part of Wondalandor!"
"Amazing! You are so amazing! A genius!"
The weasly man whispered proudly, puffing his chest even more when the dark-blond-haired girl let out an enamored cheer, nuzzling up to him with all of her assets.
And then…
*WHOOOOOOOOOOO*
"!?!?!"
The indoor shack of a toilet suddenly erupted into flames. And not just some measly one with much more smoke than flames, but an actual blazing inferno that instantly claimed the whole construction and began climbing the repurposed warehouse's walls as if it was a sentient and devilishly hungry being.
"F-FIRE! FIRE! GET ME THE ICE OR WATER PELLETS!"
"OR JUST WATER! OR ANYTHING! JUST DO SOMETHING!"
The staff began clamoring and shouting over one another as the panic erupted on the stands.
At first, the majority of people actually stood up but remained in place, mindful of the rule about losing everything the moment they left the building, but upon seeing the unrelenting fire turning the entire ceiling into a hellscape, even the most desperate gamblers chose life over dying under the fiery rubble.
And it wasn't a peaceful evacuation but a disorderly and haphazard escape that could possibly happen.
People were screaming and pushing each other just to reach the exit before the flames reached it.
"BIBI!"
The weasly man cried out in horror as some female croupier crashed into him and the dark-blond-haired girl, causing them to separate.
Unbeknownst to him or anyone else for the matter, the croupier dropped her records book, and that would be it, if not for the fact that when it opened it revealed bets with the heart mark, which in turn caused the fallen dark-blond-haired girl the weasely man called Bibi to smile brightly.
The next moment Bibi smacked the book making it turn to a certain page and then a charcoal pen appeared in her hand seemingly out of thin air and she scribbled something by one of the bets before flailing her arms wildly as if in sudden panic attack, pushing the book away.
"W-watch it!"
"HANDS OFF HER, WHORE! DO YOU KNOW WHO SHE IS!?"
The croupier who got elbowed in her chin managed to not get trampled and shouted while only seeing the book sliding away under the feet of the stampeding crowd, but the next moment she got punched in the head as the weasely man rushed to Bibi's rescue while roaring in fury.
He then grabbed and forced the dark-blond-haired girl up, rushing to the exit.