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Chapter 102
🕑 Added 2024-12-08 17:30:49 +0000 UTCThe various celebratory events proceeded in an orderly fashion according to the prearranged schedule.
Flights, airships, and vehicles from various nations arrived one after another.
Royal families, nobles, high-ranking officials, and ministers came to pay their highest respects to the Queen of the Mosibia royal family.
One by one, dressed impeccably in tailored suits, they disembarked elegantly from their respective transports, waving graciously amidst the cheers of the crowd. Then, they boarded the luxury vehicles that had been meticulously prepared for them, heading toward the royal palace.
Ordinary citizens, too, were immersed in the joy of this annual event. The entire city gleamed with grandeur and prosperity, basking in an air of majesty.
However—
In a shadowed corner of this so-called "City of Light," where the sun's rays never reached, things were different.
In a dark, narrow alley, eerie sounds of clattering and occasional shouting echoed intermittently from the previous evening until now, unsettling the nearby residents. While a few people reported the disturbances, the impending festivities led to all disruptive elements being firmly suppressed.
Consequently, rumors about the alley spread like wildfire, causing people to avoid the area entirely.
Deep inside this foreboding alley—
Machi slammed her tiles down onto the table and toppled her hand over with a calm expression.
“Hu!”
Her cold, indifferent gaze swept across the others. “Pay up.”
“This hand…”
Shalnark stared at her tiles, his eyelid twitching wildly.
"Red Dragon, Green Dragon, White Dragon… This is a Big Three Dragons!”
Meanwhile, Morin, trapped in a vortex of emotions amidst this intense showdown over mahjong, felt his jealousy flare.
"And she even declared a Kong earlier," Kortopi reminded helpfully.
“Then after the Kong, she drew the winning tile, completing it herself,” Chrollo added.
“This must be what the Deputy Leader referred to as a ‘Kong Blossom,’ right?” Franklin summarized succinctly.
Across the table, Shalnark: “??????”
And Feitan: “??????”
“This luck is absolutely ridiculous!” Feitan grumbled, his brows furrowing so tightly they almost tied into a knot.
“Hahaha, now you’re in the same boat as me!”
Phinks, watching from the side, was laughing so hard tears welled up in his eyes.
"A Big Three Dragons, self-drawn from a single tile after a Kong...”
Even someone as composed as Machi couldn’t hide the joy in her tone as she extended her hand toward the three players.
Her usually icy expression softened ever so slightly, and the subtle curve of her lips only enhanced her already stunning features.
"Hand over the cash~"
I, Machi, demand payment!
"Do all women have such sharp intuition?" Shalnark muttered as he reluctantly pulled out his wallet.
"Not all women," Pakunoda interjected lazily, propping her chin on one delicate hand. Her relaxed posture accentuated her graceful collarbone and the ample curves of her chest.
“Machi is an exception.”
"Playing against someone like this is a misfortune," Feitan grumbled as he took out his wallet. "A misfortune for my wallet."
Shalnark, who had a modest savings, found himself nearly cleaned out by Machi's impressive win.
"I finally understand why so many people can get rich overnight in a casino and then lose everything just as quickly," Shalnark lamented, his expression filled with genuine pain.
This wasn’t just pretense—it came straight from his heart.
All this money… Think of how many electronics it could’ve bought!
"I've lost everything," Feitan muttered, flipping through his nearly empty wallet. Only a few stray bills remained, making his situation slightly better than Phinks’—but only just.
"Can I owe you for now?" he asked grudgingly, clearly displeased. This was the first time Feitan felt such shame in not being able to pay up.
It wasn’t so much the lack of money that bothered him, but the way Phinks looked at him with an expression that practically screamed, “Finally, you're in the same boat as me.”
"Who's the same as you, idiot?!" Feitan growled, feeling his pride take a hit—even though he usually didn’t care about such things.
Reality, however, was cruel. His wallet couldn’t sustain the losses of this mahjong game. Handing over his last few bills to Machi, Feitan followed Phinks' lead and declared bankruptcy.
Thus, the two officially claimed the bottom two spots in the Phantom Troupe’s financial rankings, relegating Uvogin—perpetually broke but free of debt—to third place from the bottom.
At least Uvogin didn’t owe anyone money, unlike the two of them.
"Alright," Machi nodded lightly, agreeing to let Feitan owe her. After all, if Phinks already owed her, one partner’s debt wasn’t much different from two.
"Thanks," Feitan said with a small nod. "After tonight’s operation, I'll raid the treasury of this country. That should cover some of my debt." Clearly, he was treating tonight's mission like a personal ATM.
"And what about you, Pakunoda?" Machi’s sharp gaze shifted toward Pakunoda, her beautiful eyes narrowing slightly.
"My current cash on hand is insufficient," Pakunoda replied, unfazed by Machi’s subtly aggressive stare. She smiled, her lips curving softly.
"Are you going to owe me too, like Feitan and Phinks?" Machi’s lips curved into another faint, victorious smile.
"Not exactly," Pakunoda replied, stretching languidly in her chair. Her elegant posture highlighted the graceful curves of her body, a figure that could be described as one of the finest in the world.
"Though I don't have cash on me, I do have savings elsewhere," she said, brushing her hair back while her gaze landed on Morin, who sat in the corner engrossed in a 22nd-century video game.
"Deputy Leader, could you retrieve my savings from you?" she asked, her voice a lazy drawl laced with a hint of allure. The seductive tone made Morin shiver involuntarily.
Morin raised his head in confusion, only to find Franklin and the others glancing in his direction. Machi’s faint smile had also vanished, replaced by an icy, expressionless face.
Why am I suddenly dragged into this mess?!
Morin stared blankly, completely baffled.
While Franklin and the others seemed unfazed, Shalnark glanced between Pakunoda and Machi, whose terrifyingly cold demeanor had resurfaced. His eyes glimmered with a knowing smirk, and he settled into his seat, ready to enjoy the show.
This spectacle was far more entertaining than playing mahjong.
If only there were some peanuts and a flask of wine, it’d be perfect!
"Do you really have savings with him?" Machi asked Pakunoda, her tone devoid of emotion.
"Yes," Pakunoda replied with a smile, her tone casual yet tinged with a subtle air of superiority. "The amount isn’t large, but it’s more than enough to cover the debt from a single game."
Machi’s brows furrowed slightly.
For some reason, she felt like Pakunoda was showing off, as if she and Morin shared a secret that Machi wasn’t privy to.
Her sixth sense, which had never failed her, made her feel increasingly annoyed.
"Take it out," Pakunoda said to Morin, her tone as natural and matter-of-fact as if she’d done this countless times. Her playful demeanor only deepened the sense of familiarity between them. She even winked at him mischievously.
Morin: "..."
Under normal circumstances, Morin might have marveled at Pakunoda's refined beauty, her wink enchanting enough to steal anyone's soul.
But now?
His lips twitched slightly. Sitting quietly at home, trouble had fallen from the sky onto his head.
I didn’t even do anything, so why am I suddenly dragged into the center of this mess?!
"If I had known, I wouldn’t have brought out the mahjong set. What is this nonsense..."
Morin's mind raced, cycling through all sorts of thoughts and strategies.
Pakunoda was clearly referring to her deposits in the Compound Interest Bank. Over the years, her savings there had grown exponentially, multiplying far beyond Morin’s initial estimates.
By his calculations, there were likely several extra zeros tacked onto the balance now.
Covering the debt for a single game of mahjong was indeed no problem.
But the key issue was—Morin couldn’t reveal it!
Even if he could access the funds, he couldn’t do so in front of Machi and the others.
He had promised Biscuit that he wouldn’t disclose the existence of the Compound Interest Bank to anyone—not even to Machi.
Pakunoda had made the same promise to Biscuit, but instead of breaking her word, she had deftly shifted the problem onto Morin.
Now, in front of Machi and everyone else, Pakunoda had publicly requested the funds she "stored" with him.
The money was right there in the Compound Interest Bank.
