Although a Villain, My Wish is World Peace

The MJ Hotel & Casino was built with funds from Major Malec and Justin Miller. It was truly a lazily named place, but even so, it was one of the top five largest hotels in the world.

I heard that before the Gate incident, it provided various attractions including a circus show considered the best in the world, but now all we could see was the fountain show every evening.

At best, there was a live band performing in the restaurant, but it was a shabby level compared to its former glory.

‘I wanted to see the circus in person too.’

—You didn’t see it in your past life either?

‘Well, the circus troupe disappeared.’

Half of the circus troupe awakened talents, apparently. The circus disbanded and a mercenary company was formed instead.

‘They’re quite famous. Under the name Fire Ring Mercenary Company.’

Tsk, that’s a shame.

Anyway, after experiencing the Gate incident, this was the only hotel still maintaining this scale in the depressed Las Vegas.

‘So I remember people saying their business acumen was amazing. Now that I know the reality, they were just propping up the hotel with various dirty deeds.’

—Is there more besides rigged gambling?

‘That’s just the tip of the iceberg.’

Before entering the casino, I stopped by the bathroom to change my face.

—Why are you changing your face?

‘Well, what I’m about to do doesn’t suit a future mark.’

Besides, casinos always keep an eye on customers who win money. There’s no benefit to having my face known.

To act like a big spender who can readily rent a suite room, I need to pretend to have a lot of money.

That means the image of going around small tables and raking in money is absolutely not good.

—So you’ll first win money with a different face, then lose that money with the mark’s face?

‘Well, something like that.’

—There’s a big hole in your plan. Are you really confident you can win money gambling at that casino?

‘Yes.’

Though Ray still seemed to doubt me, I was confident.

There were many people around the casino.

Hunters who finished conquering Gates around Utah and came here for sightseeing and rest, locals living nearby, gamblers who traveled far hoping to strike it rich.

Among them, the most noticeable were those belonging to the latter group. The so-called ‘ghosts of Las Vegas’ wandering around in shabby clothes, unwashed and filthy.

People who crawled here solely to gamble.

‘I heard such addicts weren’t even allowed to set foot in casinos in the past.’

As casino operations became difficult due to decreased tourists, casinos started pulling in even gambling addicts who bet their lives on it.

Those staggering into the casino in filthy states looked like a horde of zombies.

I followed them inside the casino.

As soon as I stepped inside, I was greeted by slot machines enticing people with flashy screens.

The area with slot machines could be divided into two main sections.

Slot machines installed in the central lounge area, and slot machines hidden behind pillars.

There weren’t many people at the slot machines in the middle area, but the ones behind pillars were packed with people.

Packed with ghosts.

Originally, Las Vegas casinos were designed for tourists to enjoy light gambling.

The betting limits were low, and the winning odds were set higher so many people could enjoy gambling lightly and win some money.

But after the Gates, casinos changed strategies to survive.

The slot machines in the middle of the hallway had a maximum bet of $10, but the ones behind pillars were different.

With minimum bets starting at $100, they were perfect for blowing a month’s salary in just a few spins.

The eyes of those glued to them didn’t look good. Without even washing properly, they just mechanically pressed the buttons on the slot machines.

—Is this really okay?

Ray said this because the appearance of the people sticking to the slot machines behind pillars was not good.

‘These are people who have hit rock bottom in life.’

Like moths drawn to dazzling flames, they fly towards the fire even as their lives burn.

A man who saw money pouring out of a slot machine shouted with an excited face. The gazes of people spinning slots with dead eyes turned to the man.

1,500x. An unbelievable profit burst out at once. It’s unclear exactly how much the man won, but even if he only bet the minimum $100, he made the insane sum of $150,000 in one game.

This is the scary thing about this dazzling hell. It deceives people into thinking they can gain something here.

The slot machine spit out a ticket with the winning amount. If he took that ticket to the ATM, he could go home with his winnings.

But instead of taking the ticket home, the man immediately inserted it back into the machine.

—Why? He just won money, so why is he sitting there again?

‘He’s thinking of betting the money he won again.’

—But winning like that must be rare, right? If he plays again, it’s obvious he’ll lose it all…

‘If he was someone who could think rationally like that, he wouldn’t be pulling the slot machine lever there now.’

—Are you planning to use that to make money too?

‘No. Absolutely not.’

There’s nothing more foolish than trusting machines designed for the casino’s victory.

—This casino. It seems the problem isn’t just rigged gambling…

‘Well, we can’t just destroy all of that.’

—So you’re just going to watch those idiots sit there and burn their entire lives?

‘As long as those slot machines are here, no matter what we say to persuade them, it’s useless.’

Gambling is something that can never be quit by one’s own will.

‘And to be honest, I’m not sure if I should save them.’

They chose gambling among the many choices available to them, and chose to burn their lives here of their own accord.

‘Honestly, seeing people like that makes me want to vomit.’

—It’s unexpected for you to say something like this.

‘What? I told you, I’m quite cold-blooded.’

I like people who live diligently. Those who desperately do their best to protect their lives somehow. Those who just live hard without any sin.

Even protecting such people is too much for my short life.

I have no intention of saving gambling addicts like that.

Of course, they’ll have plenty of excuses. But it doesn’t change the fact that they chose the path of ruining their lives with their own hands.

—So trash like that isn’t worth saving?

‘While someone is desperately wishing to live even one more day, people like that…’

I frowned.

‘That’s enough. That’s not what’s important right now.’

I moved past the slot machine corner.

Unlike the slot machine area, a slightly more formal-looking space appeared. An employee waiting to divide the space made eye contact with me.

“Hello. How may I help you?”

“It’s a casino. Obviously I came to play games.”

“To participate in games inside, you need to wear this bracelet.”

At the employee’s words, I silently held out my hand. The employee fastened the bracelet on my wrist. As I fiddled with my wrist, the man explained some simple precautions.

The artifact shaped like a bracelet was designed so that if an ability was used, the sensor in the middle would detect it and light up.

There was a rule that to participate in table games, you had to always keep your arms visible.

It was a natural measure for the casino that had to manage fair games, but it didn’t feel very good.

Still, I understood.

The problem is that there’s a group that takes advantage of this trust to cheat after telling customers ‘From here on, you can enjoy games without worrying that the person in front of you will use talents to fleece you’.

After putting on the bracelet, I charged some money. A light $3,000.

This artifact substitutes for my funds inside. Funds can be freely charged to this bracelet, and withdrawals are also freely possible through machines set up inside.

It was a function that replaced the cash tickets output by slot machines. There was no need to carry chips around anymore.

The scene in movies of shouting ‘All in!’ and pouring out stacked chips has all become a thing of the past.

‘The casinos in movies were a hundred times cooler.’

These days there’s no romance, no romance.

—You talk as if you lived in that era.

‘It was an era without Gates. Anything would be better than now.’

I walked forward, shaking the bracelet.

Unlike those sitting dead in front of slot machines, there was life in the faces of those seated at tables.

It’s strange considering the stakes exchanged here are several times that of the slot machines outside.

‘They probably all came out of curiosity. There’s no one who’s bet their life on gambling.’

Unlike gamblers who cling to slot machines all day without work, most of the people here were tourists who stepped in out of curiosity.

Either successful hunters, or wealthy people with free time who came here to kill time.

Blackjack, poker, roulette, hold’em.

Various games were being played simultaneously at over ten tables. Though there were nearly a hundred people visible in the wide open space, it didn’t feel cramped because the area was so large.

Appropriate half-walls and partitions were installed in between, so games could be enjoyed quite privately despite being in an open space, which was also an advantage.

I stood near the outermost poker table. Texas Hold’em, the most popular poker in America, was being played. Texas Hold’em is poker where you make hands by combining five community cards shared by all with two private cards, so it was easy to guess each other’s hands since the cards were shared in front of the dealer.

In other words, it means reading each other’s expressions is more important than anything else in this game, though skill is also important.

The game was in full swing. There were nine people participating in the game. Four women, five men.

They all seemed close, as if belonging to the same guild.

There were four people still holding cards halfway through this round. Five had folded, thrown away their cards, and the one leading the game was a woman with black hair tied tightly back in a ponytail, Nikki.

“Nikki, are you really going to bet half here?”

“Yeah. I got a good hand, a really good hand.”

At Nikki’s words, the man frowned. The pot had already exceeded $4,000. Since Nikki called ‘half’, even just calling would require betting $2,000. It was certainly a burdensome amount if you didn’t have a definite hand.

“I’m out here.”

The man put his cards down and shook his head.

Now there were only three people left.

The woman who received Nikki’s gaze raised her finger.

“I call.”

“I call too. Damn, I can’t die here. I really need to see with my own eyes if you really have an amazing hand, or if it’s just a bluff.”

At the two people’s words, Nikki burst out laughing.

“Alright.”

Nikki glanced at me and opened her mouth.

“We have a new spectator here too. I should show a cool performance.”

Everyone agreed to the raised pot. The pot amount displayed on the hologram in the middle of the table had already reached eight thousand. The dealer’s eyes turned to Nikki again.

Nikki shouted.

“Raise, half.”

At those words, the faces of the two people sitting across crumpled as if they had bitten into a bug.