"Hahaha! Kid, you really are something! To think you beat that guy so bad, it's unbelievable!"
"Indeed, the kid's a prodigy, I tell ya! Thanks for the beer!"
The bar was filled with the laughter of the seven drunk men, whom Kile had treated. All of them offered Kile a bout full of praises for his wonderful performance that he just showed.
"Thank you, everyone," Kile meekly replied with a bashful smile on his face. This expression only earned him more praises.
"Hahaha, look at you being all shy. If it wasn't for your clothes, and voice, you could've been mistaken for a girl, you know?"
Kile only responded with a wry smile. While the drunkards were chatting, Bella's dad took a seat beside Kile. If the term, "readable expression" was a competition, Bella's dad's face currently could probably get to the quarterfinals.
"Boy, I have a lot of questions, to be honest."
"Ah—I know. Well, you see, I saw some people in the alleys of the slum playing Tisha. That's from where I learned the game."
"Hmm.... I don't believe you. It's most likely a lie, but I won't inquire any further. You have my gratitude."
"Oh no, not at all. I am glad I could be of help. Here you go, the money you lost," said Kile, as he handed over the bag of coins.
"Thank you. But seriously, you really made a fool outta that Gilbert. He was someone who none could beat in this bar. I only played against him because we were in a desperate situation, and lost pathetically. But not only did you defeat him, you were actually holding back quite a lot. Your bait worked, too."
Kile nodded. At Kile's response, Bella's dad smiled, then he looked towards the group of drunkards, who were now singing a song that Kile was very unfamiliar with.
"Sleep with us today, boy. You usually sleep outside, near the garbage dump, no?"
"....Yes, I understand, I'll sleep at your tent, today.....but don't I stink?"
"That doesn't bother us. We don't smell much better than you, you know?"
"I see...Um, what about tomorrow. Are you thinking of gambling again?"
".....I don't think I want to, but there's not really anyone willing to hire me, so I have no choice, but to gamble."
"How about I gamble in your stead?"
"....Are you sure? Won't the guys here not want to play you after observing your performance?"
"Oh, don't worry about that. I don't intend to play against these seven people. Surely there are many more people, who come to bar to play che—tisha, right?"
"'Che?' Well, yeah, many do. But what if those seven tell the others that you're crazy good?"
"Oh, don't worry about that," Kile smirked, got up from his chair, and started approaching the drunkards.
"Hey guys, I plan on playing more tisha tomorrow. How about this, you bring in some of your not so good friends, who play the game, and I beat them, getting their money out, and in return, I give you half of what I earned from beating them to you? Of course, you'll have to keep quiet about me being really good at the game. Oh, and there will be other people at the bar tomorrow, right? I plan on gambling against them, too. If you don't tell them anything, I'll give you a quarter of what I earned from them to you guys. This is a deal, exclusive to only the seven of you."
The men looked at Kile, then themselves, then went to focus on Kile again, and broke out in laughter.
"Hahaha! Alright, kiddo, you got a deal!"
"To think that you were this crafty!"
"Really terrifying!"
"Where the fuck did this kid come from?!"
Looking at the positive responses of the drunkards, Kile let out a satisfied smirk, and Bella's dad looked at the scene with an agape mouth. This whole time, Bella was silent, not knowing what the hell was going on. The boy who she took care of ,suddenly got beaten up, started acting weirdly, and became very crafty. She was suspicious, but she didn't hold any ill-intentions towards Kile.
"Thanks for accepting the deal, guys. I'll get going now. See you tomorrow!"
"Aight, kiddo, bye!"
"Let's go, shall we?" Kile asked the two Bellas, and they followed suit, out of the bar.
.
.
.
.
The three started walking for the tent. On their way back, they bought some bread with the money Kile earrned. They didn't speak a word to each other. Only the sound of crickets could be heard.
'This silence is both awkward, and suffocating. Hey, old man, say something! I can feel your daughter's gaze at the back of my head, you know?! Don't pretend that you don't see this shit!'
"Un..," the one who broke the silence was not Kile, nor Bella's dad, but Bella herself.
"Kile, when did you become so crafty? The way you lead Mr.Gilbert into playing more rounds against you, and making more money, and also how you negotiated with those people."
Of course, she was exaggerating what Kile did. It was, but a simple trickery, and was nothing so grand as she was making it out to be. But Kile had no intention of correcting that. While he didn't like the idea of Bella being defensive against Kile, he had no choice. They may get wary of Kile, but would still realize his importance. Given their desperate situation, they'd for sure take care of Kile more. While yes, Bella was quite hospitable, and her dad was probably the same, this was the slums, a place where people usually don't get much food, and won't appreciate having a freeloader burdening their rations.
Kile, as of now, had no worth at all, and the only way he could currently wmearn money was by gambling. He didn't know for how long the Bellas knew, so he wouldn't risk just lazing around. The sooner he got recognized as useful, the better.
At Bella's question, Kile replied, "That is, you see, I was secretly observing the people near Der for a while now. They often gamble, and that's from where I learned some of their tactics. Sorry for making you worry, I shouldn't have put myself in danger like that. Sorry for always making you worry."
While the Kile's words were nothing but manipulation, it worked perfectly because of his face. Bella's face softened hearing Kile.
"It's alright, Kile, I am not angry. But I hope you don't do that again. And as for trickery, I understand why you did that, but you shouldn't make deceiving people into a hobby, okay? I don't want you to become like one of Der's people."
"...."
"...." Bella tilted her head.
'Alright, this confirms it! She really does have a Bible in the tent! Where the fuck is it?! Does she read it at late night, when everyone's asleep?! There's no other explanation for her nature! Ain't no way someone living in the slums raised their child so righteous. It has to be carved into her soul! For sure, it's a Bible!'
"...Yes, I understand, I won't," Kile said after his internal rant.
Bella smiled brightly, and then turned her head towards the front.
"We're here. Let's eat, and then go to sleep," said Bella's dad. Two children nodded, and went inside the tent. After finishing their food, they lay down to sleep. Kile was laying down near the entrance of the tent, from where he could see the sky. He closed his eyes, and started to recall the day.
'Phew, that was a really long day. I suddenly got inside a little boy's body, who is weak as hell, right after I died. Was somewhere I don't recognize, possibly another world, got beaten up while trying to ask for bread, was taken care of by an older sister with a beautiful face, and dirt blonde hair, and for sure has a Bible in this tent, I just don't know where. Got inside a bar, gambled, tricked the gambler, and got a great deal. Seriously..... what's next? I should better prepare for the future. I can't stay in this slum forever. I'll need to get out, and gather more info about this world. I hope I'll be able to meet that kind mister tomorrow.'
Kile opened his eyes, and looked outside. The outside was bright, despite it being night. The night sky was illuminated by the big bright moon. Kile let out a sigh, and turned around from the entrance, and closed his eyes again. This time, slowly drifting to a deep slumber.