Tobesk was destined to be noisy today, but according to the schedule, Princess Margaret Anjou and her entourage would be entertained by the King's family today, so Xia De had no chance to approach the Princess today.
Therefore, after leaving Tobesk Railway Station, Xia De did not go to find Miss Jialinna, nor did he search for traces of Miss Sylvia, but instead left with the group from Dawn Church and had lunch with Priest Augustus at the church.
At noon after lunch, he received his early winter gift as a core believer. The autumn tomatoes among the seasonal fruits and vegetables were kept by Xia De and shared with Mia on the foggy road; this cat seemed to like this vegetable or fruit very much.
Taking advantage of the free time at noon, Xia De went to the garbage disposal center in the west of the City again to ask if the gems could be reimbursed. Then, at the entrance of the garbage disposal center, Xia De stopped a little girl selling flowers and asked her if there was a fresh vegetable market nearby:
"Yes, sir, turn right at the street corner."
The little girl said timidly, not daring to get close to Xia De, but still curiously looking at the yawning cat carried by Xia De.
"Thank you."
Xia De smiled and thanked her. When he was about to leave, he felt someone tugging at his sleeve, and then he realized the girl had followed him:
"Sir, do you want to buy flowers?"
With a Tobesk accent, the delarion language was spoken in a tender voice by the girl whose face was a bit dirty and whose clothes were patched, but she still mustered the courage to stop Xia De.
"Buying flowers is out of the question. If I buy flowers, I have to give them away, which is a burden for me. However, this is for you."
He carefully placed the heaviest paper bag he was holding at the girl's feet. After smiling at the girl, he happily walked towards the street corner, ready to complete the task of buying vegetables by himself.
"Meow~"
The cat on his shoulder wagged its tail, complaining that Xia De was not taking it home for a nap.
The girl watched the young gentleman carrying the cat and its wagging tail disappear into the fog at the street corner, then she looked at the paper bag and was surprised to find that it was a bag of fresh vegetables. Meanwhile, Xia De's superior, Chief Anlos, leaned against the door of the shoemaker's shop next to the City garbage disposal center, watching this scene expressionlessly.
After thinking for a moment and patting his pocket, Sir Dak Anlos, Chief of MI6, decided to buy a bouquet of flowers.
Returning home in the afternoon, Xia De placed the purchased vegetables in the snow pile in the basement (Note) and left the lazy cat to guard the house before setting off again for Huntington City. He had a feeling that the mysterious lake might also be waiting for his visit.
Although Xia De saw the mysterious lake by Luther Lake yesterday evening, he did not think that the lake would appear again at the same location. Therefore, he asked Professor Drake yesterday for more identities of those who had encountered the Lake Goddess. After searching last night, he decided to visit Mr. John Roland, who lived in the City.
Still departing from White River Valley Vineyard, it was just that the weather in Huntington City was a bit bad today. When Xia De rode into the City, he once thought it might snow or rain today. But by the time he transferred to a carriage and arrived at the apartment building where Mr. John Roland lived in the City, although the sky was still gloomy, it still hadn't rained.
Mr. John Roland is a local Poet, proficient in delarion, and although writing poetry does not make much money, he also works as a translator at a bookstore. He is 36 years old this year, lives alone and is unmarried. The information provided by Professor Drake shows that Mr. Roland encountered the Lake Goddess in the Summer of this year, when he went out of the City for an outing to gather material.
But unfortunately, there seemed to be no one in the apartment at 7 Bishop Human Street, which was paved with uneven square stone bricks, this afternoon. However, Xia De eventually found the Poet playing rhode cards with someone in the tavern at the intersection of Bishop Human Street and Garden Pedestrian Street, guided by a neighbor.
This Poet was not as thin as Xia De imagined; on the contrary, he was taller than Xia De and exceptionally strong.
He sat by a square table against the wall, his right hand clenched into a fist resting on his thigh, his left hand holding the hole cards, his sharp eyes cautiously darting between the hole cards and his opponent's expression.
It is worth mentioning that his right hand only had three fingers, lacking the outermost thumb and pinky. On the remaining three fingers, each wore a golden ring. Xia De only discovered upon approaching that the three rings seemed to be pure gold and were antique pieces with some age:
"Is he that rich?"
The Poet was clearly left-handed, skillfully placing the cards face down on the table, then asking the man in the round hat opposite him:
"Do you want a fourth card?"
His tone was quite distinctive. This method of trying to psychologically pressure the opponent with words, and bragging about winning many games or the legendary history of his deck before playing, were similar tactics.
The onlookers also burst into cheers, and Xia De, mixed among them, heard people call Poet Roland "Lucky Roland."
In this round of cards, Mr. Roland defeated his opponent with 20 points, winning 20 fennies. In Carson Rick's currency, the main currency is the Carson Rick crown, and the fenny is a subsidiary coin, with 95 fennies equaling 1 crown. According to the current exchange rate of 11 to 12 pounds to 1 crown, their stakes were not small.
Of course, Carson Rick also has another subsidiary coin called Or. "Or" is a small silver coin, and generally 1 crown equals 7 Ors. The currency system composed of "crown, Or, and fenny" is even more complex than Delarion, but this is also related to the chaotic currency systems among the federations that joined when the Carson Rick United Kingdom was established.
The man in the round hat lost the card game and still wanted to turn the tables, but because he had no money left in his pocket, he was forced to give up his seat to others.
Xia De did not speak to join the card game, but instead left the periphery of the crowd to find the tavern's bartender to inquire about information.
Whether Delarion bartenders or Carson Rick bartenders, they all seemed to enjoy engaging in information transactions. When Xia De took out a few small copper coins, the bartender, who was wiping glasses, understood Xia De's intention.
Mr. John Roland is a relatively well-known rhode cards player in the area, and "Lucky Roland" refers to his very high win rate, often defeating opponents with unexpected luck. He even once defeated the "King" with 21 points, which at one point made this Poet a legendary figure among local rhode cards players.
Mr. Roland has two special cards and frequently visits the Prophet Association. Some people have questioned him cheating at cards, but no one has provided any evidence. And although his win rate is quite high, Mr. Roland is not a gambler and only occasionally visits the tavern when he has nothing to do. He has always been dedicated to poetry creation and is proud of his Poet title.
"Has Mr. Roland always been lucky, or did he only start getting lucky recently?"
Xia De, holding a glass of ale, inquired of the bartender, who leaned against the counter, watching the people playing cards in the distance:
"Sir, your carson rick is really bad. Roland only started getting lucky since the beginning of this year. I'm not jealous, but I've always believed that a person's luck is conserved, so it's probably this gentleman's turn for good luck this year."
Although specific information about Poet Roland appeared in Mr. Drake's materials, the latter did not say what he exchanged with the "Lake Goddess." Although the crippled Professor had sent people to investigate, there were no results. Now it seems very likely that John Roland received a blessing of luck.
"I noticed he's missing two fingers. Is this a congenital condition or something else?"
Xia De asked again. Of the three people he had seen who encountered the Lake Goddess, all had physical disabilities.
The middle-aged bartender thought for a moment:
"I don't remember when his fingers became an issue, but he's always used his left hand, so it hasn't had much of an impact. This appearance is quite intimidating; after all, seeing your rhode cards opponent missing two fingers, people will subconsciously imagine if he encountered something in an underground casino."
He laughed as he spoke, and Xia De also leaned against the counter, looking at the Poet playing cards through a gap in the crowd:
"Lucky Roland, huh? Yes, I understand."
Because he was worried about encountering the same bad luck as yesterday evening, where he found the lake only to watch it disappear before his eyes, Xia De didn't waste too much time. Bidding farewell to the bartender, he squeezed back into the crowd watching the rhode cards game. Seeing someone else lose their spare change in a round, he quickly took the empty seat.
The men playing rhode cards in the tavern were clearly all familiar with each other, so when they saw a stranger join the game, they curiously asked about his background:
"I'm an Outsider traveling from Delarion to Carson Rick. Do you mind playing cards with me?"
Xia De shook his deck at Mr. Roland, who was counting banknotes:
"We can play for higher stakes. I haven't encountered a noteworthy opponent in Carson Rick yet."
His "big talk" naturally drew laughter from the onlookers in the tavern, and Mr. Roland, who originally didn't want to play cards with a stranger, also became interested by the foreigner's attitude. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Xia De:
"Mr. Delarion, please make sure you've saved enough for your journey home."
"Of course, I earn my travel expenses by playing rhode cards."
Xia De slapped the deck on the wooden table, then pulled it to the left, fanning the cards into an arc. This pretty move also showed that he wasn't just talking big:
"Look, I don't have any special cards."
He said with a smile, then saw the Poet show a cautious expression, knowing that Xia De was "professional."
Since Mr. Roland was unwilling to talk in detail about his encounter with the "Lake Goddess," Xia De had to find a way to make him talk.
Besides, he was also very curious about which was more powerful: the unknown luck blessing given by the Lake Goddess, or the blessing given by the Old God, Noisy Black Hunter.
"And the luck brought by all things are impermanent, as well as the gifts of thousands of souls from Middelsburg."
The voice beside his ear gently reminded him, and at this moment, both sides had already begun exchanging shuffles.
Poet Roland seemed very confident, a confidence Xia De usually found hard to see in his opponents.
However, Xia De did not assume he could definitely defeat his opponent just because of his many blessings, so he treated this card game very seriously, just as he treated any of his card games seriously.
Mr. Roland's deck contained two special cards, while Xia De's deck had none. After mutual inspection and shuffling, the game officially began. Small taverns usually do not play with particularly complex rules. Mr. Roland and Xia De played a total of nine rounds. Winning each round scored 5 points, and a draw scored 2 points. After nine rounds, the one with more points won and received a stake of their points multiplied by 5 fennies. This was a very large stake, because if one was unlucky and lost all nine rounds, they would lose about half a crown, equivalent to five or six pounds.
The luck on Mr. Roland must have been truly strong. After receiving the first card in the first round, he just glanced at it and then, beaming, turned the card over:
"Mr. Watson, it seems my luck is still good today."
He loudly called for the bartender to bring him another glass of ale, then the Poet placed the "King" card in the center of the table. The people around discussed animatedly, and Xia De craned his neck to look, sighing that good luck was indeed powerful.
"Mr. Roland, you should participate in this autumn's Great City Player."
Xia De praised him, not looking at his hole card, but directly asking for the second card. The rule of rhode cards is that the first hole card cannot be stopped. Mr. Roland not asking for a second card was actually a bit against the rules, as he could still gamble on the second card being a King.
"Gather some crowns and go to Tobesk in Delarion. Maybe even Hamilton of Leijiede wouldn't be able to beat you."
Xia De said.
"No, no, you can't say that."
Mr. Roland behaved very modestly:
"I can probably only win a little bit against him."
The onlookers laughed, and Xia De received his third card, asking hesitantly:
"Then, Mr. Roland, why haven't you gone to Tobesk?"
He looked at the card face, just about to turn over his hole card and place it on the table, when he suddenly blinked with a feeling in his heart, then stared at the back of his hole card.
Click~ Click-clack~
the moment his finger touched the hole card, it was as if he heard the sound of dice falling and spinning in his ears, just like the dice of fate suddenly operating on its own. Then, Xia De naturally understood in his heart that he would definitely win this round.
"What's going on?"
He was carefully grasping that Moment, as if he had seen through fate.
"Outsider, as your luck intertwines with your opponent's, you gain insight into 'luck.'"
"Luck?"
If Xia De could gain a "luck" Ling Rune the next moment, he wouldn't be surprised at all. From his half-year experience since coming to this world, Xia De believed that he had the greatest possibility of gaining "luck" at the card table.
"I remember that among Luvia's four core Ling Runes, one is 【Misfortune】. If I really gain a luck Ling Rune, what Miracle could it be associated with?"
He thought to himself, then turned over his hole card and placed it on the table.
--- Outside Story ---
PS: In Summer, Xia De discovered that the little match girl could make it snow, so he planned to build a snow cellar in the basement to store potions. It is assumed here that he has already built it, but on a very small scale.
