25. A Body-Betting Gamble
“Even though it’s me saying this, I really think you should stop.”
“Oh? Why?”
“I’ve said it many times already, but that last hand was pure luck. I’d feel pretty bad if you lost your money because of my actions…”
The woman smiled at my words. Then she leaned her face a little closer and spoke.
“Thank you for worrying about me. But even if I lose here, it won’t be your fault.”
She straightened her body, turned her prominent chest toward the dealer, and said:
“No need to hold back. It’s only a short time, but let’s enjoy ourselves, shall we?”
By the time I noticed, the previous hand had ended with the top player winning alone. The dealer once again began distributing two cards to each person.
“Understood.”
I turned my gaze forward again and focused on the game.
The pot started with the man to my right posting the forced bet of two copper coins, and me adding one copper coin. The top player, acting first, naturally declared “Call” and put out two copper coins. The man in the back left folded, while the man to the woman’s left called.
When it was the woman’s turn, she thought for a moment before calling as well.
My hand was the King of Hearts and the Five of Hearts. It was a hand worth playing—I could aim for a King-high pair or even a flush.
“Call.”
I put out one copper coin and joined the hand.
“Check.”
Right after my call, the man to my right declared a check. Since he had already posted the minimum amount, it showed he wanted to see the first three community cards for now. If he had a strong hand, there would be no reason not to raise with three players already in.
Once everyone had acted, the dealer revealed the three community cards.
The cards were, from the left: Two of Spades, Ten of Spades, and Ace of Spades.
They meant nothing to me. In fact, they were all bad news. While thinking that, the top player checked first—clearly intending to see the next card. The man to the woman’s left also checked.
On this board, what everyone feared most was three cards of the same suit. If anyone held two Spades, they would already have a flush, and I would have almost no chance of winning. Even if I held an Ace, I would still check here.
It should have been the woman’s turn, but she remained silent for a while.
I felt a bit sorry for her—it was her very first hand. Of course, that was only if she didn’t have two Spades herself.
After several minutes of silence, the woman finally declared:
“Raise.”
She pushed forward one silver coin—almost all the money she had. A murmur of surprise rose from the people around us. Betting nearly everything on this board like I had earlier almost certainly meant she had a strong hand.
My hand was hopeless, so I naturally folded. The action moved to the man on my right.
“Hey miss, that last hand really left an impression on you, huh? Betting almost everything you have on a board like this is insane.”
“That may be so.”
“But this time, I’m taking the win. Call.”
The man put out one silver coin from his stack. Seeing this, both the top player and the man to the woman’s left folded. The hand came down to a showdown between the woman and the man beside me.
“Alright, miss. Show your cards.”
“There’s no need to rush. Let’s see it through to the end.”
“You’re right about that.”
There was clear confidence in the man’s voice. The woman also seemed composed, but after losing to me earlier, the man should have taken some mental damage. For him to act this confident… maybe…
The dealer revealed the fourth card: Ten of Clubs. The fifth card was Nine of Hearts.
“Two pair—Aces and Nines,” the woman said calmly. She slowly flipped over her two hole cards, revealing the Ace of Diamonds and the Nine of Clubs.
In contrast, the man to my right revealed his cards.
“Sorry, but I win.”
His two cards were the Three and Four of Spades. He had made a Spade flush.
“Oh… how unfortunate…”
The bet money was gathered and given to the man on my right.
“I’ll gratefully take this.”
He picked up the silver coin that had come from the woman’s cleavage and showed it off proudly. His stack had now grown to five silver coins plus several coppers—more than when I first joined.
“With that, you can’t keep playing, miss.”
As the man said, the woman was now left with only one copper coin. She could no longer participate in the game.
However, for some reason, she made no move to leave her seat. Because of that, the dealer also hesitated to deal the next cards.
“Hey, dealer. Is money the only thing we can bet?”
The unexpected question didn’t come from the dealer, but from the man to my right.
“Hey now, what else would you bet besides money?”
“Well… How about my body?”
The moment the woman answered, every man at the table turned their eyes toward her. Especially me, sitting right beside her, the man to her left, and the man directly behind her—they all stared intently at her body.