บท 122: CHAPTER 122(Casino Night; Part 1)

Please read the author's notes. (Examples and explanation of moves and appearance+ Monster Sources)

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pat.treon:/Keanu_Eugene

CHAPTER START---

Walking down the hallway of Hephaestus's floor, both Yang and Welf casually stroll toward her bedroom.

The sun was now setting and both young men were wearing simple black suits, Welf sporting a red shirt beneath his jacket while Yang had a blue shirt, each matching the colour of their flames. Something they were sure Hephaestus planned as she gifted both their outfits to them. Everything from their jackets to the dress shoes was from her.

"Ever been to a casino before?" Yang asks.

"No, I thought this was your idea..."

"It is, I'm trying stuff I couldn't before, like going to a place that I couldn't afford, was really hoping I could lean on you in there," Yang admits.

"Guess we're both new to this...can I ask you something?" Welf asks with a bit of apprehension.

"Sure."

"About Hephaestus, how should---"

"Just be yourself," Yang immediately cuts him off, knowing where this was going," if she had zero interest in you then believe me you wouldn't be around her this much, gotta be something there she likes right, so just be yourself," he says.

"Uh, thanks...you really think there's something about me she likes?" Welf asks, a massive smile on his face.

"Jeez, sometimes I really wonder if either of you has brain cells that aren't all about smithing," Yang says, rolling his eyes as he enters the lounge.

Walking into the room, they immediately see Hephaestus sitting on one of the couches in a strapless slim red dress with white gloves reaching her elbows.

Opposite her is Thalie, wearing what would appear to be a dress dipped into the sun, bright and Yellow with her heels resting on the edge of the coffee table as she inspects a regular throwing knife between her fingers.

"What the fuck happened to you?" Yang blurts out as his eyes reach Thalie's face. Her face was riddled with scars to the point that he barely even recognized her, it looked as if she got into a fight with an ice bear.

"Way to make a girl feel pretty...work happened, you guys ready?" She casually replies, pulling her dress up and placing the knife into a small holster on her calf.

"Always ready for a fight huh," Welf jokes as both women rise to their feet.

"Always."

"Where's Freya?" Hephaestus asks, not seeing the woman accompanying Yang was a rarity in the last week.

"She had to do something at her mansion," he informs everyone," gimme the name of the place you picked and we'll meet you guys there."

"The treasure trove," Hephaestus says.

"Got it, Tsubaki meeting us there too?" he asks.

"No she's meeting a broker outside of Orario, finally got something I need so you two will probably have a little trip to make for the last piece," she gestures to both Yang and Thalie.

"Field trip, fun...I'll meet you guys at the casino," Yang says as he exits the room first.

Arriving at Freya's mansion 20 minutes later, walking through the light evening snow as the sun disappears below the horizon Yang lays his eyes on what can only be the offspring of a mansion and a temple.

Seeing the fountain in the entryway surrounded by a short hedge of rosebushes leading up to the massive white mansion he isn't sure how to proceed as he stands outside the locked gate.

As he's about to tap on the gate to make some noise, a familiar figure exits the double doors at the front of the mansion.

Walking toward the gates is none other than Ottar wearing his normal skin-tight top and loose pants, ignoring the snow as it falls helplessly against his 7ft tall and muscular figure.

"Uh, hey Ottar," Yang gives him a small nod, stepping away from the gates as they open for Ottar to step outside. The nearby citizens currently in this particular part of the shopping districts cast glances in their direction as two of, if not the most powerful adventurers in the world have a casual chat.

"Yang," the king keeps his greeting short.

"She ready?"

"Waiting excitedly for the last hour," Ottar says, looking back toward the mansion before moving his gaze back to Yang.

"Then...why isn't she out here yet?"

With a sigh Ottar gives Yang an unsure look, "she likes to be dramatic."

"Hmm, yeah, that makes sense, so..."

"So?" Ottar gives him a curious look.

"What do you think about this?"

"If it makes her happy then I'm happy," the man says with no hesitation at all.

"Does the rest of your familia agree with that?"

"No," brutal honesty, exactly what Yang wanted from the man.

"Gotcha...and if they, do something stupid, just curious what would happen," he gives Ottar an uneasy smile.

"If they disobey my goddess and try anything against you...if you don't kill them, I will."

"Mhm, right, glad to hear it," Yang says as he sees the large front doors open for the goddess herself to walk out.

As Freya approaches the men, she sees Yang's face twist from elation at seeing her into complete confusion as he looks over her outfit for the evening.

"Very dramatic, well done," he gives her a slow clap while eyeing her up and down.

"Being dramatic is my favourite hobby, something wrong with my outfit?" she asks.

"Uh, no...for an Amazon, just, it's winter," he says, gesturing to the snow falling around them.

Spinning to give him a full view of all that is his, she shows off her purple top, stopping just under her breasts to expose her entire midsection. The lower half of her body was a matching purple dress made of four separate pieces of fabric, allowing her legs to be fully exposed with her purple heels catching his eyes for a split second.

"Hephaestus bought it for me, she said you'd like it," she says.

"Uh, you look like you stole Tiona's clothes and dyed it purple, you're gorgeous because you're you but this isn't really my thing...she should know that," he says.

"Oh," she was taken aback by this, "well, I'm sure you'll appreciate it this evening, now let's go," she happily takes his arm as they begin walking away, leaving Ottar completely confused. He'd never seen anyone speak with his goddess like that, even when Yang gave slight disapproval to her clothes, the way the man looked at her clearly made his goddess quite happy.

Walking through the streets arm in arm, Yang and Freya ignored the people on the street. They quickly got swept up in each other's company as she led the way to the casino.

"So what were you up to these last two days?" she asks, staying close to him so the cold doesn't bother her.

"Hephaestus sent me on a shopping trip, the joys of being her Expedition Commander," he groans.

"Lots of people would kill for that position, and responsibility."

"They can have it, responsibility really isn't something I need more of," Yang says.

"Why so against being in positions of power?"

"Because, as a wise woman once said, 'Responsibility demands sacrifice,' and I like to avoid sacrifice."

"Hmm, and who was the wise woman that said that, Hephaestus?"

"Princess Bubblegum---" Yang cuts himself off as he realizes what he just said, looking down to see Freya giving him a confused look. "A character from a storybook," he quickly says.

"I figured, the name after all."

"You ever been to this place before?"

"Mmm, I can't usually go to places like these, charm plus a familia that vehemently protects me is a bad mix, lots of people would get hurt with guards like Ottar and Allen around," Freya says.

"Ahh, so I'm a free pass, strong enough to protect you and not obsessed enough to start killing people for approaching you."

"And I prefer your company, you're much more fun...the fact that we're, intimate...certainly helps."

After a few minutes of walking, they arrive at the casino, walking into the five-story tall building as the snow begins to fall just a bit heavier. Gold and white stone walls on all sides with paintings on the windowless walls facing the street, showing off gold coins falling into piles of gems and money.

"Welf, Hephaestus, and Thalie should be inside already," Yang says as they walk toward the security check-in.

"Hephaestus?"

"Yeah, she actually chose this place, said it was the best one."

"Hmm, that doesn't make sense, she can't stand places like this," Freya says, earning a confused look from Yang as they approach the security checkpoint.

"Huh...she was excited to come, maybe just wants a date with Welf," he gives it a second of thought before brushing off the oddity.

Walking up to the security guards, two men wearing full black suits with white shirts, each with a small blade at their side, Yang sees one of the men already eyeing Freya with lust as they approach.

With Freya in front of him, they stop at the checkpoint only for said man to approach her.

"We need to check for any weapons before you enter miss," he says, hands stretched out eager to touch the woman.

Giving him a disapproving glare, Freya was just about to activate her charm when Yang spoke up from behind her.

"No touching her," his voice wasn't raised, but he was clearly upset. She didn't have to turn around to know what he was doing, the blue flames reflected in the man's eyes were more than enough as she saw the colour drain from the guard's face.

Freya felt a chill run down her spine before her entire body became hot at the experience of having Yang be so...possessive. As if he needed new ways to excite her.

"Uh...please have an enjoyable night," the man quickly steps aside to let them pass.

Arriving at the main floor, they see a massive room filled with machines of all kinds at the sides and tables hosting games in the middle of the floor, a bar to the far right serving drinks is crowded and doesn't seem to be clearing up any time soon. Looking up they can see the balcony of all five floors leading up to a large set of lines strewn across the ceiling with crystal lights hanging on them, giving the appearance of many small suns hovering in the air, all accompanied by the ringing and shouting of the games and players and games spread throughout the building.

"Guess places like these are always crowded huh," Yang says as he stands beside Freya.

"Mhm, we need chips... there," she points toward a set of counters.

"Alright, let's go, how much?"

"Gods aren't allowed to gamble unless the entire table is gods, mortals believe we have good luck of some kind," she tells him as they approach the counter.

"If you told me that we could have done something else," Yang sighs as he gives her an apologetic look.

"I'm here because being with you is enough for me, now get your chips and let's have some fun."

Buying one hundred million in chips, Yang walks behind Freya as she leads him up toward the more high-end games. Lifting his ring to his mouth he contacts Welf," yo, I just got chips we're heading to the third floor..."

"Gotcha, Thalie split up from us basically as soon as we got here but we're down on the main floor still, have fun."

Noticing his call finished, Freya frowns slightly as they make it to the third floor, "maybe I should have worn something more...modest," she says.

"Why change your mind now?"

"Aside from the fact that people are staring more than ever... when people drink they might get a bit too bold, as much as I'd love to see you punching people for me, it'd be a hassle," she admits, noticing everyone at the opposite balconies and the first floor looking at her as she stands at the third-floor railing.

"They can look as much as they want," he wraps an arm around her for everyone to see, "but you're mine. Now let's win some money..."

Two hours later and thirty million Valis poorer, Yang was sitting at a table for a certain card game with Freya in his lap, the goddess was currently on her sixth glass of wine and was a bit more than buzzed.

As Yang sat at the empty table with the dealer, patiently awaiting his next opponent, the goddess in his arms raised her glass to his lips, "mmm, just... it's good I promise," she pleas like a spoiled child.

"Sigh...are you drunk already?" he gives her a less than pleased look.

"Mmm, no?" she asks, not quite sure what to say.

"God damn it---"

"Yes, I damn it!" she excitedly yells out, thankfully the loud gambling machines overpowered her voice.

"What am I supposed to do with you now woman..."

"Let me deal with her, she's useless when drunk," Hephaestus says as Welf take one of the seats opposite Yang.

"Where's Thalie?" Yang immediately asks, noticing the woman wasn't with them. Even when drunk the woman in his lap didn't miss the concern in his voice, her eyes narrowing slightly as she tries but fails to form words.

"She's at the cheaper tables on the first floor, since we got her she split from us," Welf says as Hephaestus takes her sister away.

Both men raise a brow as the goddesses walk past the balcony, seeing Hephaestus helping Freya to wave down to the first floor, surely earning a blush and smile from everyone down there.

"So what's the game here?" Welf asks the dealer as he places his chips on the table, they'd all agreed on taking out a limit of one hundred million Valis from their team account for this night and clearly, Welf had more luck than Yang, almost doubling his chips already.

"You place your starting bids and call for a card or to fold, your goal is to hit 21, aces are 1 at this table, standard catch 21," the man explains as he begins shuffling the cards.

"5 million," Yang says, placing five chips onto the table and giving Welf a challenging grin.

"Alright, you're on, 5 million," Welf matches his bet.

"Pot 10 million Valis," the dealer says as he flips a card to each of them.

Yang receives a four and Welf gets a three.

"Hit," both men say.

Yang gets an eight for a total of 12 while Welf gets a four for a total of 7.

"Hit," again they both ask for a card.

This time Yang gets the better card which earns a frown from Welf, Yang received an ace which raised his total by one, he now sat at 13 while Welf received a nine to bring his total to 16.

"Raise, 10 million more," Yang says, moving ten chips toward the pile.

"Hmm," Welf ponders his options for a moment before sliding ten chips forward as well, "hit," he says.

"Hit," Yang also asks for a card.

"Ha, you lost," Welf chuckles as he slides the pile of chips toward himself.

"Damn, gambling really isn't my thing," Yang frows at the card on the table, he got a ten bringing his total to 23, two above the limit. Welf got a two bringing his total to 18 making him the winner.

"Maybe you used all your luck to get Freya," Welf jokes as he gives his friend a small smile.

"Then I should only have good luck left," he laughs while sliding forward five chips.

"That's one way to look at it," Welf matches his bid, they both receive a card.

This time Yang receives a 3 and Welf gets a 4.

"So how was your little date with Hephaestus? Hit," Yang says.

"Not a date, this is a group thing, hit."

"Shit," Yang says as the cards hit the table, he received a king raising his total to 16 while Welf only received another four, bringing his total to 8. "Pretty sure Thalie ditched you two because she didn't wanna be the third wheel, open your eyes man...hold," Yang chooses to neither raise the bid nor ask for another card, leaving the initiative to Welf.

"Hmm, guess when you look at it like that then we kinda had a date, hit," Welf receives an eight for a total of 16, matching Yang's total, "but this definitely isn't where I'd pick for a date."

"Ok, so where would you pick?" Yang slides 5 more chips forward, raising the bit.

"Hmmm, maybe somewhere we could see the stars, like Demeter familia's vineyard," Welf matches his 5 chips and raises the pot.

"Pot at 20 million," the dealer announces.

"Ok, only hits, I win and you take her on a date there," Yang casually says.

"Uh..." Welf freezes at the challenge, blushing furiously at the thought

"You need to at least put some work in before you make some kinda miracle item and suddenly jump into bed with her, if you did that then whatever you have will be less...stable."

"Hmm...that makes sense...and if I win?" Welf asks.

"What do you want?"

"One of those favors Loki familia owes you, I wanna study Riveria's staff," Welf says.

"That's kinda random, why?"

"I've been practicing with Asfi for a week now, one of the things she taught me is how to make magic routes for staves since they tend to have higher efficiency than weapons. Riveria's is one of the five best in the entire world, if I can study that then making magic routes would be a lot easier," Welf says.

"Deal," Yang says before turning to the dealer, "hit."

"Hit," Welf agrees.

"You lose Mr High Smith," Yang chuckles as Welf stares at the cards in shock.

Yang got an ace bringing his total to 17 while Welf got a ten for a total of 26.

"A...date...Hephaestus," Welf was shaking from sheer nervousness at the very thought.

Leaning over slightly to collect his chips, Yang looks up at his friend and can't help but tease him, "for the record, I'll ask for the staff even without the bet since it'll help you improve," he chuckles lightly while stacking his chips neatly.

A minute later and the ladies make their way back over to Welf and Yang, now with Thalie at their side. Freya lazily drops herself into his lap and leans into his chest, her eyes sleepy as she looks up at him.

Looking up from the goddess in his arms Yang and Welf notice Thalie looking completely different.

Her yellow dress was now replaced by a blood-red dress reaching just above her knees, the scars on her face completely gone as she sits down at the table and looks over at Freya "You're girlfriend emptied her stomach in the restroom, maybe don't put your tongue in her mouth yet," Thalie says as both Yang and Welf just give her wide-eyed stares.

"Uh..." Yang isn't sure how he even wants to phrase this, "how did you unfuck up your face?" he asks in disbelief.

Welf can't help but agree, "not as nice as I would have said it but yeah, what the hell?"

"I'll explain later, let's get her out of here," she nods toward Freya as she begins sleeping away.

"Yeah, let's go..." Yang says as he slides two chips over to the dealer, a very generous tip in fact.

Picking Freya up and walking behind Thalie, the woman was holding a small red purse that he hadn't noticed before as they make their way to exit the casino with many people giving Yang jealous looks as Freya tries to curl into him.

Seeing this, Hephaestus can't help but laugh at the sight," heavens number one spoiled brat for a reason," she shakes her head at Freya's antics.

As they get to the security checkpoint, Welf catches up after exchanging all their chips just before some of the guards begin running past them toward the main floor of the casino.

None of the adventures miss what the guards were quickly telling each other.

"She's a level three..."

"Yellow dress..."

"Scars on her face..."

None of these made them think anything extreme, but the last piece of information got both Yang and Welf to giveThalie a hard side-eye as they tried to keep their cool, calmly making it down the street before reinforcements from Ganesha familia arrive at the casino. "She hit the vault..."

END CHAPTER---

I just played cards IRL to see who won, the original game I wanted to use was 'Liar's dice' but those rules were a bit too complex for me to explain with my skill level.

That ending tho...