Lloyd looked around to see if she was talking to someone else instead of him. He didn't saw anyone and the woman was obviously staring at him while smiling seductively. Before he could speak, Ray took the chance to talk to her with a smile on his face that could fetch plenty of girls who loved to swoon over rich scions. He could imagine him drooling over this beautiful and mysterious woman.
"My, my, what a gorgeous beauty. I would love to play with you if you like."
The woman frowned for a split second which Ray hadn't notice as her expression went back to smiling immediately. However, Lloyd could clearly see it. Nevertheless, he stayed silent and waited for the event to unfold.
"Sorry, but I don't play with little boys. Your friend over there seems more interesting, so I'll pass on your offer."
"Wha—"
Ray was horribly shocked as the woman just went past him without even taking a look at him. Lloyd thought that Ray's self-esteem was damaged beyond repair when he saw him on all fours on the ground while looking dejected.
"You are?" Lloyd asked the woman as he eyed her.
"The name's Alice. You?"
"Lloyd."
His replies were very short, not wanting to show too much enthusiasm to her. His first rule set for himself was to not be trustful of others. This woman was too shady to be trusted.
"What an interesting fellow. Where are you from? This is the first time I've seen you here."
"Let's play a game first. How about we bet something?"
A surprised look showed in her face but quickly went to smiling again. Lloyd was amazed at this woman's quick changing of expressions.
"Oh? What do you want to bet?"
"If I win, answer all my questions later."
She thought for a moment before replying.
"Aren't you asking too much? Well, I could answer your questions as long as it's not too private. Or maybe you want to ask something naughty?"
Lloyd got flustered when he heard her.
"No thanks! Alright, as long as you can give me some information. What if you win?"
"Hm…"
She closed her eyes and pretended to think hard. It was clearly obvious she was just trying to tease him. She must have other reasons for approaching him, but he couldn't tell what it is. He never even expected people would approach him or want something from a poor rat like him.
"How about you go on a date with me for a whole day?"
Lloyd coughed so hard and felt choked by his own saliva when he heard that.
"Are you for real?!"
Lloyd was frustrated at this playful woman. He observed her for any changes in her facial expression as she continued staying silent and was just smiling at him. It seemed that she was actually serious in going on a date with him. He had no choice but to risk something if he wanted information. It's not like he will absolutely lose the game anyway. He believed that Blackjack was more on luck rather than skills based on his observation from the others who had played it.
"Deal."
"Great!"
She sat on the chair just beside him and took out her coins. Lloyd also took out his and put 10 coins on the table to join the game of blackjack. The others didn't really care about their presence and only wanted to play the game so they didn't listen to their chit-chat. Ray was still sulking on the floor, with the rejection still sinking deep into his heart.
"Alright. Some of you might be newbies so I will explain the rules." The dealer spoke loud enough for all the players in the table to hear.
"I will shuffle the deck first and then hand out one card at a time to each player in a rotating manner until all of you have two cards. The player must add the value of their cards and reach a total count of 21 without getting busted. You may call hit to add more cards, or call stay to go on standby and wait for others to finish. Everyone will then reveal their cards at the same time."
The dealer paused and waited for their confirmation. They all nodded and he continued on his explanation.
"An ace could count as 1 or 11. Face cards have the value of 10 and the rest have their exact values. For example, if you get an ace and a 10 or a face card at the draw phase, you'd get a natural blackjack and you automatically win. If your card exceeds 21 after hitting, you are busted and automatically lose. If no one got a natural, the highest total count in his hand would win. Specials like getting a three 7s, or five cards without exceeding 21 would also automatically win, considering that no one got a natural."
He paused once more and waited for their confirmation in which they nodded in turn.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes." They all replied.
The game had started and the dealer handed the cards one by one until they had two face down cards each to the four players. Lloyd picked up the cards and secretly looked at it, hiding it from the others so they won't be able to see his hand.
'Five and seven…'
The cards in his hand were five of hearts and seven of spades. It was quite a low count card so he thought about adding more. An idea came to his head and he tried using his evil eye to take a look at their cards but to no avail. It seemed that there was some kind of barrier casted inside this casino to prevent people from using revelation skills.
The muscular guy in his twenties was the first one to hit or stay. Lloyd observed his expression as he called hit for the first time. He was very easy to read since his emotions were leaking. He looked like he had a good hand when Lloyd saw his mouth curved upwards just a tiny little bit which was very hard to notice.
'Probably a 21.' He thought.
"I'll stay."
After he called out, the turn was given to the skinny guy who had an irritated expression. Judging from the way he looked, he was a scion from a powerful family and ended up here after the trials went abnormal. His expression hinted that he had lost a lot to the muscular guy before Lloyd and Alice joined the game, so he was getting edgy.
"Hit!"
The dealer added another card to him and after examining his cards, he called for another hit. By the time he got the second added card, he gritted his teeth and was about to explode from anger.
"Fuck! I'll stay." He angrily said.
The turn was now passed on to Lloyd.
"Hit!"
He took the card given by the dealer. It was a two of hearts. The total number of his card had reached 14 by now. He still had a bigger chance to reach 21 or close to it without getting busted by adding one more card.
"Hit again!"
He called out and the dealer sent him another card. He took it and sneaked a peek.
'Five of clubs.'
It was a good card, but his hand is only 19. While it was a high amount, his opponents would surely have 20 or 21. Still, it was too risky to call hit so he had no choice but to call stay.
"I'll stay."
It was Alice's turn to hit or stay. She immediately called stay which surprised the three of them. She just smiled at them in return.
"Alright. Lay down your cards in face up position." The owner commanded.
Their cards were put down on the table in face up. As expected, the muscular man got a total of 21 with his ten of clubs, seven of diamonds, and four of diamonds while the now angry skinny scion was busted as his cards reached a total of 26 since he got a ten of diamonds, five of spades, an ace of spades and a king of diamonds.
As for the mysterious girl, Alice, she got a total of 20 with a king of spades and a queen of hearts. She then made a sweet gesture to him as she called him out.
"Looks like you lost. You'll be going on a date with me."
"Uh, I think you're way too early to say that."
The woman frowned.
"Are you going back on your words?"
"No. It's just that…" Lloyd paused and pointed to the muscular man's cards. "You haven't won either. We have decided that we should win the game, no?"
She realized that he found a loophole and outsmarted her. She laughed so hard which made Lloyd looked confused.
"I see that you're such a cunning person. Alright. Let's play the next game."
Her eyes had become quite scary as Lloyd could feel the intense determination in her eyes to win the game.
Lloyd sighed. It would be a long day for him in this casino. He placed 10 more coins on the table for the next round. The others had also put their bets without even bothering with the two of them and treated them like air.
'These two must be gambling addicts.'
He shook his head and concentrated on the game. The dealer took all the cards back and reshuffled the deck. He proceeded to deal the cards to them once again. They all picked their cards and planned their next moves.
'Ace of spades and a jack of spades, huh? Isn't this a natural?' Lloyd thought.
He tried his best to display an emotionless expression. He didn't want to be read by the others so he prevented himself with all his might from screaming out of excitement and showed a poker face instead. The same went for Alice who didn't even glance at her cards and was just blatantly staring at him. He was starting to get creeped out by this woman.
"I'll hit!" The muscular man called to the dealer.
The dealer sent a card to him. He took it and his expression wasn't too happy when he looked at his hand. He contemplated for a while before deciding to call the dealer.
"Tsk. I'll stay."
"Your turn." The dealer turned towards the angry scion.
"Hit! Bitch, you better give me a good card."
The angry scion glared at him, but the dealer seemed to be unfazed by his threats. He even gave him a scold.
"Mind your manners, Sir Caster, or I'll have you thrown out of the casino."
"Hah! As if you could do that to me. Who do you think I am?"
"A scion who is stuck in an unconquerable trial? Your status means nothing here, I'm tell you."
The dealer was quite capable of exchanging harsh words with that guy. He even raised an eyebrow at him. Although the dealer was also in his twenties, he didn't look that much different from them.
"Tsk! Whatever. Just give me the damn card!"
He quickly swiped the card off from the dealer's hand before he could put it on the table. He took a look at his hand and suddenly screamed in a very angry voice towards the dealer as he slammed down his hands on the table, making the onlookers stare at them.
"Damn you! You've been toying with me since the beginning, haven't you?"
"Hah! You're such an idiot, Sir Caster. Don't blame your bad luck on someone else. If you lost, just accept it. However, if you dare cause trouble in here, then I won't be polite anymore."
The dealer was now glaring daggers at him, showing a faint killing intent enough to send shivers down the angry scion's spine. Lloyd could feel it too. This dealer wasn't as simple as he looked.
"Y-you! Just you wait! I'll fucking rip off your head away from your body if you step outside the city!"
He stood up after getting swallowed by the fear that was induced by the dealer. He hurriedly ran away without even turning back. It was such a comical scene, with the onlookers laughing at the disgraced young scion. However, Lloyd wasn't really in the mood to laugh. He just observed the dealer who was once again back to his usual calmness.
"I'm sorry for the commotion, dear players. Would you like to restart the game?" He asked for their confirmation first.
"No."
"We're fine with it."
"Continue the game."
All the remaining three players agreed. The dealer once again returned to his seat and the game had continued.