Although a Villain, My Wish is World Peace

“What kind of hand do you have to raise so recklessly, huh?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

At Nikki’s words, the woman’s face crumpled like she was about to cry.

—Either she really has a terrible hand…

‘Or she’s a really excellent actor.’

I can’t say for sure since I don’t know these people’s personalities. The woman who frowned as if forced to eat something bitter cursed and called Nikki’s bet.

“Damn. Call.”

And the other man sitting next to her…

“I’m out here.”

He immediately threw away his cards.

“You said we’d go to the end earlier!”

“Sorry, Lia. I feel like I might blow all our dividends at this rate.”

Now only two people were left. Nikki and Lia. Nikki looked at Lia with an inscrutable smile. Watching that, Lia tapped her nails. Though her face was clearly anxious to anyone looking, you shouldn’t trust expressions completely at a gambling table.

“Revealing the last card.”

With the dealer’s words, the last card was laid on the table.

The cards revealed in front of the dealer were 2 of clubs, Jack of clubs, 4 of diamonds, King of clubs, Ace of hearts.

Now they just had to complete their hands with the two cards in their hands.

But in poker, you can’t know who won until the cards in your hand are revealed.

The dealer’s gaze turned to Nikki.

“Please, stop raising now.”

At Lia’s words, Nikki smiled and shouted.

“Half.”

She raised half the pot in one go again.

“Damn, why are you acting so strong?”

At Lia’s words, Nikki twitched her eyebrows and said:

“This time I really am strong, you know?”

“You said that last time and it was just one pair.”

“That’s what makes this game fun. Is it really a strong hand this time, or am I bluffing again?”

“Fine, damn it! Let’s see. Call.”

Lia accepted Nikki’s challenge. With all betting finished, it was time to open the cards.

Lia showed her cards first.

Placing down a 3 of hearts and 5 of diamonds, Lia said in a trembling voice:

“2, 3, 4, 5, A. It’s a straight.”

The man next to Lia who saw the completed hand whistled and cheered.

“Woohoo! Looks like you didn’t get dragged along for nothing.”

“O-of course!”

The corners of Lia’s eyes crinkled.

“Now Nikki, show your hand. I’m dying to know what amazing hand you have.”

At those words, Nikki grinned and put down the cards in her hand.

“Oh dear.”

The cards she put down were 3 of clubs and 6 of clubs. Combined with the clubs in front of the dealer, that made five clubs! A flush completed.

“Oh, damn…”

Though Lia’s hand wasn’t bad, it couldn’t beat a flush. Looking at Lia’s dumbfounded expression, Nikki said:

“Sorry about that. That’s why I said I was really strong this time.”

Nikki shook her bracelet. The chips piled on the table were sucked towards Nikki’s hologram.

As the round ended and the dealer collected and arranged the cards, Nikki’s gaze turned to me standing blankly beside the table.

“By the way, who’s this spectator?”

With Nikki’s words, everyone seated at the table looked at me at once.

Nine pairs, no, including the dealer, ten pairs of eyes in total. I smiled slightly as I met their gazes.

Curiosity, annoyance, irritation, indifference… Though what was in each person’s eyes differed, their question was the same.

So why are you here?

“This table looked particularly fun.”

“If you like noisy things, I guess so. As you can see, we’re all from the same guild. We prefer playing poker noisily rather than quietly.”

Nikki’s words were essentially a warning.

We’re all on the same side, so is there any reason for an outsider like you to butt in here?

“I kind of like that sort of thing.”

I added as I sat down in an empty chair.

“Playing the villain role and such?”

At my words, not just Nikki but the people around burst out laughing.

“You’ll be the villain for us?”

“I don’t know if I’ll be the villain or the mark. Though I may look sloppy, I’m quite the poker enthusiast.”

“We saw someone talented at bluffing earlier.”

Nikki’s eyes flashed.

“I’ll do as you wish. Let’s play an entertaining game.”

With my words, the game began. The pot started at $200. The casino’s commission rate was 8%. With ten people gathered, $2,000 was collected from the first bet.

It was certainly a big game. 8% commission on such a big game. The casino must rake in an enormous amount of money after just a few rounds.

First round. I got a decent hand and died at an appropriate point. Nikki twitched her eyebrows at my lukewarm play in the first round.

“For someone who said they’d be the villain, that was a disappointing performance.”

Instead of answering, I smiled and tapped the table. It meant let’s move on to the next game.

The game moved to the next round.

Five rounds in total. Nikki dominated the game, becoming the winner in three of them. And I lost all five rounds in a row.

I lost about $2,000, but it was a worthwhile investment.

Because with those five rounds, I roughly grasped the characters of those seated here.

Nikki was the one leading the atmosphere of this poker game. And as we saw earlier, Lia was easily swept along. The man named Jude who quickly folded unless he got a really good hand. And Philip who made unpredictable bets. These four were the opponents to pay attention to.

The rest were so unenthusiastic in their betting it was obvious they were just there to fill seats.

Nikki spoke to me who had lost all five previous rounds with timid betting.

“Are you a bit of a coward?”

“I’m just a bit of a slow starter.”

“I don’t know about being a slow starter, but you looked like a terrible poker player.”

“Yes, that’s how it should be.”

Before these people get completely fed up with me. I received cards from the dealer.

Ace of clubs and King of diamonds. Not a bad hand.

Before the dealer reveals cards, the first betting round begins. Jude, who was first in the betting order, lightly tapped the table and said:

“Check.”

It was a choice befitting the timid Jude.

This was Jude’s personality as confirmed over the past five rounds:

A timid person who absolutely never bluffs.

The word ‘absolutely’ is dangerous in this kind of game, but Jude was an exception. Thanks to that, Jude was treated as easy prey, but even knowing that, he didn’t think of changing his betting.

Because his thoughts were too obviously revealed on his face.

Next to bet was Lia.

If I had to define Lia in one word, ‘impulsive’ would be appropriate.

“Half.”

“Got a good hand?”

“Who knows?”

The first betting round ended with everyone calling Lia’s raise. Either everyone’s hands weren’t great, or they wanted to feel things out, as there was no additional betting.

The dealer revealed three cards.

10 of hearts, Queen of diamonds, Ace of spades.

For now, two pairs with the Ace of spades.

10, A, K, Q. If any Jack came out regardless of suit, I could aim for a mountain, the seventh highest hand.

Betting began. Unlike earlier when everyone timidly watched each other, there was quite some energy in the game.

“Half.”

The first bet was half. Then calls followed, and the pot was raised again by a quarter. And I too added fuel to this heat.

“Half.”

With my words, everyone’s gazes focused on me.

Of course, all I had done in the past five rounds was just call or fold.

“What, did you really get a good hand?”

“Or maybe you changed strategies after experiencing the past five rounds.”

“Urgh!”

The order returned to the person who first called half. Though it had only gone around once, the pot had already become twenty times what it was initially.

$40,000. Some clicked their tongues at the pot that had swollen in an instant.

“I fold here.”

“What, I thought you had something when you called half earlier.”

At Lia’s words, Jude glanced at me and said:

“I saw someone who seems to have more than me.”

Following Jude’s fold, the so-called ‘no effort trio’ declared folds in succession. They snickered while side-eyeing Nikki and me.

Nikki shrugged and said:

“I’ll call for now.”

Following Nikki who indicated she wouldn’t raise further, Lia also called to accept my provocation.

“Quarter.”

“You’re doing this?”

But the man who had been quiet until now raised the pot once more with a quarter. And the order returned to me…

“Half.”

I called half. Nikki’s eyebrows twitched.

The pot instantly swelled to $60,000, and Lia started to look burdened.

“Planning to burn everything on this round and disappear?”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

“You must have really gotten a good hand. Or it’s a terrible bluff.”

While Nikki was saying that, another person threw away their cards, and Lia called my raise with an uncomfortable expression.

“I call too.”

With betting finished like that, a card was placed in front of the dealer.

The card laid was Jack of spades.

The mountain was completed.

I confidently called half, and after that was a continued fight of Nikki’s defense and Lia being dragged along. The man who had followed with a quarter to my half earlier declared a fold this round.

The woman who said her goal was to see Nikki and Lia’s troubled faces by raising the pot snickered while drinking champagne.

Indeed, as that woman intended, Nikki and Lia wore uncomfortable expressions. Lia eventually threw her cards in the middle.

When the last turn came, only Nikki and I were left.

“I wanted to throw in the middle too, but I had to figure out what was inside you who kept calling half like that.”

On the last turn, Nikki said that while throwing down two pairs. And I showed my completed hand to everyone.

“A mountain!”

“That is a good hand.”

Nikki twitched her eyebrows at me who swept up over $100,000 at once.

“Okay, so you’re this type.”

The game continued after that. I won three rounds in a row after that, sometimes with bluffs, sometimes with real hands.

“Huh…”

“Th-that was ridiculous just now.”

In the round where four ‘clubs’ were laid in front of the dealer. In that situation where anyone could make a flush with just one club in hand, what mattered was the psychological battle, and I became the winner of that battle.

“Even I who’ve eaten from the same pot for 5 years am this confused, how on earth did you read us?”

Nikki said incredulously to me who swept up $200,000.

“I’m just quite good at reading expressions.”

“You figured us out with the first five rounds?”

“It could just be luck too.”

“No way.”

Nikki who fought with me to the very end said that while pouting her lips.

My victories continued after that.

The round where timid Jude charged in. Nikki declared a fold early, and the people left were me, Lia, and Jude.

Jude called half unhesitatingly from the start. The obvious pattern only shown when a really good hand comes in.

Others all noticed that and left the game early. Lia also hesitated until the fourth card was laid in front of the dealer, but escaped before the fifth card was laid.

Jude glanced between his cards and me while gulping.

A match left with just the two of us. Jude’s thoughts were clearly readable.

It’s a face worried about what cards might be in my hand that keeps raising without hesitation, even though the cards in his own hand are good.

‘Strange, everyone else dropped out. He won’t not know that I have a good hand in my hand, when he was reading our thoughts so well. Could he really have something?’

These kinds of thoughts must be going through Jude’s mind if I read him. Jude watched with an expression like he was about to cry, but eventually called fold.

“Please, can’t you just show me what cards you had in your hand?”

Originally revealing cards isn’t obligatory. But since he asks like that, I guess I’ll show my cards once.

I laid my cards down for everyone to see.

“Two pair.”

“You beat my straight with just two pair?”

“Well, yeah…”

Everyone wore expressions like they’d been had.

“Damn it.”

At Jude’s cry, I shrugged my shoulders. Nikki sitting next to Jude burst out laughing.

“Haha, that’s why you should have gone to the end like me! Losing to two pair with a straight! I’m disappointed, Jude.”

“No, but his expression looked just like he had something… No, I was sure of it.”

Jude’s face was half dazed.

“To think it was a bluff.”

Sadly, I’ve already figured you out.