"What is this? It's like the 7th time you have defeated me…." Celestia Ludenberg, the Ultimate Gambler, said to me as I showed my hand as I got a straight royal flush in our game poker.
We weren't betting anything and it was more for fun to see who could win more but at this point it was just me and her playing while Taka was acting as the impartial dealer in our game.
It took him a while but he was able to figure out how to shuffle the cards after I showed him some tips before our game started or else it was going to have to be and Celeste switching off being dealers with each other which opened up the avenue for cheating on either of our parts, thus Taka was brought in.
"Well you know I'm not cheating, I even pulled up my sleeves to show I have nothing hidden there, is it really that unusual for you to lose?" I ask her as I look at my arms that have the sleeves rolled up before looking back towards her.
"If it was me when I was much younger then no as I was still a beginner when it came to the world of gambling, but now I rarely ever lose, so it happening multiple times within one game session is…." She said before a pensive look came over her face as she clearly wasn't happy with what had happened.
"You really wanna know how I have been winning against you so much?" I ask her as I lean on my hand with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh? Then do pray tell, how are you winning against me?" She said with a calm and stoic face, though she was clearly intrigued as to where this was going.
"You have two, very subtle tells for when you get a good and a bad hand." I say raising both fingers as her eyes begin to squint before I look at Taka.
"Taka, I very much appreciate the help in this but could you leave us? I don't she want anyone to know about her tells when it comes to gambling." I say looking at Taka who was just shuffling the cards over and over while waiting to start the next round.
"Oh of course! We'll see you guys later! I need to get back to my studies!" Taka said before rushing out of the gambling room that was specifically designed for Celeste to train her gambling talent.
There were plenty of rooms like this all around the academy, me and any of the Art students share a room, but as it's so large we don't really interfere with each others works when we are doing our things.
"I have no tells." She said with a squint in her eyes as I was pulled out of my thoughts, but hearing that I just shake my head.
"Your eyes."
"My eyes?"
"Your eyes begin to light up ever so slightly when you get good cards, and when you get a bad hand your eyes dim ever so slightly, but if you were to say where sunglasses that blocked out ones sight from your eyes then you'd have no tells, but if I can take a guess from what little I know about you, you will never do that." I say with a shake of my head.
She pulls out a small mirror and looks at herself in it, but she can't tell anything from just looking at herself before she puts it away and looks back at me.
"Are all Mangakas this detail oriented?" She asks as that's not something someone would easily notice unless they were paying close attention after all.
"Heh, only those who are the best of the best are as detailed as I am when it comes to noticing things, both big and small, obvious and subtle, it's what sets the scene for anything I write after all, it's what makes good art for those to look at and enjoy." I say with a nod before looking at her.
"If I was to say that I went out of my way to make a gambling focused manga, the tells that people have would be a big thing in it as reading your opponent, I mean you were able to read my tells weren't you? It is after all how you beat me more times than I beat you until I was able to figure out your tell that is." I said with a raised eyebrow as she thought it over and nodded.
"I see, having a eye for details is a major help when it comes to winning in gambling, that and along with skill and a bit of luck is what makes the greatest of gamblers." She says laying down her view on things with a nod before opening her eyes and looking at me with a half lidded look in her eyes.
"You know, your the first person I've ever come to find as an equal when it comes to gambling, and I must say that is a rare thing for me to find nowadays in others, you actually made it fun for me to actually enjoy gambling once more as it's been so long where I couldn't instantly see myself winning this game all the time when pitted against you." (Celeste)
"My, that's a high compliment for the Ultimate Gmbler to say to another person after all." I said with raised eyebrows, but I couldn't take to much pleasure in it as with Fortunate Son passively making me extremely lucky, even overshadowing Makoto's luck at times, I couldn't take to much pride in it though at least I have the knowledge and skill to back it up and make it easier to win even without his influence.
She stands up as she looks at me, "Then I have a favor to ask of you Hifumi." She says with a serious look in her eyes.
Seeing this I lean forward as I raise an eyebrow, "Well seeing you like this, you have caught my attention, what favor are you going to ask?"
"Have you heard of Hyakkaou Private Academy?" She asks me first as I lean back and look at her.
"Isn't that academy where all the second generations of big families that have a stake in any major company nationwide or even worldwide have their kids go to, to learn and build connections?" I had heard the place before as I was invited to attend school their as I was, to the higher echelons knowledge, the son of the president of All World Goods which have begun to spread across the country and into other nations as we speak so to society I was definitely a second generation rich kid.
"Yes, while that's what's known most about that school it's also a place where those rich kids go and gamble their money causing the rise and falls of companies from those deals the kids put into as they gamble it all, it's to stimulate the real world with any deals they make in the future and see what they are made of and if they can handle the stress and pressure of it all without breaking or losing it all in the process." She goes onto explain in more detail to me.
'Why does this sound familiar specifically? I knew it was a school for the second generation rich kids but that was it, I didn't really go looking into it…. Was it an anime I watched back then? Well I'm not too surprised most animes that take place in any schools say it's name once and that's it so even with my photographic memory it's not ringing any bells yet….' "And your telling me this because….?"
"Because I have a dream, a dream where I could own my very own castle out in the European countryside, maybe out in France or even England, but to do that I need money, a lot of money, and seeing all these rich kids willing to gamble away their parents money is in my eyes a golden opportunity to bring me closer to accomplishing my dream." She goes onto explain to me as she leans forward.
"And you need money to be used in this gamble? But don't you have money yourself? I doubt you of all people would be broke." I say but she shakes her head in response.
"I of course have money, but anything that is only in the hundreds of thousands in yen is nothing but chump change to them, if I even want to get into the serious games with the big hitters I'd need to be in the tens of millions of yen." She goes to clarify as I look up at her in response.
"And what? That's where I come in? I mean sure I could sponsor you if I do this, but what do 'I' get out of this? More money for my investment and then some?"
"That along with having the Ultimate Gambler in your back pocket should you ever require my aid in any of your future endeavors." She says as I ponder about it for a moment.
"You know those aren't really good benefits in the long run, but I have a gut feeling this will be interesting, so sure I'll humor you and help you with this plan of yours by getting you the capital you need to run that school over." I say with a nod which I see her eyes brighten a bit even though her face stays neutral as I say that showing that even if she isn't showing it she is actually happy with how things played out.
And so a deal was struck between the two ultimates, now all we have to do is wait and see what they have in store for this elite Highschool.
******
Sorry for the delay, started another story and well family things happened with a member in the hospital right now, luckily their health is improving so it's no longer life threatening at least.
But see you in the next one!