LogFAQs > #905256880

With one more win he could double that again, and walk away with eighty times profit after sifting through almost the entire deck. And his odds of winning in this situation, based on the last five cards left, were better than losing. He knew that. And Luthor might not have understood everything that was happening, but he must have known that if Matsuda was betting here that Matsuda must have understood something about what was going to happen with those last five cards.

"Will you double it again?" the dealer asked. His eyes nervously went to Luthor. Other people in the hall had begun to take note of the situation. Luthor hadn't come alone, either. Two big men had joined him in watching Matsuda for what would surely be the final hand here.

"Of course," Matsuda said.

"I don't think you want to take that bet, Ante," Luthor told him. The last bit was delivered in a sarcastic tone. Someone who was always going to up the ante would get himself into trouble someday. That day was today. It was clear from the tone. "We both know what will happen if you do."

"Then you should know that it's a bet I definitely want to take," Matsuda said with a cocky smile. Oh, he was still so young and foolish back then. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. That was the way of things, right?

Fuck no.

That wasn't the world he had born into.

That was an illusion that children told themselves.

In this world, sometimes, hell, maybe even most of the time, the game was actually rigged. No matter which cards came down next, Matsuda would never see his payout. All he saw were the cobblestones as he was forcefully, literally, and physically thrown out of the casino. He found himself coughing, though he wasn't bleeding anywhere that he could tell.

His eyes stung. Something had hit him in the nose but he wasn't sure what it was. Too much of that last action had been a blur, after Luthor's resigned sigh and somewhat pained smile. As much as the man enjoyed finally punching down on Matsuda, he had seen those last five cards himself. It mentally hurt him, in this situation, more than Matsuda was physically hurting. He knew that this idiot who wasn't afraid of losing had really been on the verge of actually getting somewhere in life. It pissed him off.

It pissed him off more than he could put into words.

Luthor's face was almost turning red as him and his goons stared down at Matsuda. "You know I could fucking kill you right now, and no one would know or care?" Luthor said. His hands clenched and unclenched into a fist. "How does that make you feel?"

Matsuda was breathing heavily now. No one would care? That was... probably close to true. However, he knew it wasn't entirely true. His dad would definitely care. It was just... that man... wouldn't be able to do anything about it. An honest hardworking man whose son had been unjustly murdered would have no way of going against the Thieves Guild by himself.

He had dedicated decades of his life toward working for the local Lord, but he wouldn't be rewarded. That's because, in the world where Matsuda had been born, the game had been rigged from the very start.

"No, I think I'll spare your worthless life as long as you learn your place. You could have walked away with a nice little profit, but you had to keep pushing it. You little shit." Luthor thought about kicking him while he was down, but then he decided he liked feeling high and mighty in that moment. He backed off, enjoying the view. He was looking down on Matsuda for once. "What do you think? I just saved your life. Don't you have something to say?"

Matsuda thought about it for a moment.
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