Kimihito played ten games and lost them all.
“Ugh. I can’t believe it.” He slumped in front of the table. Somehow Kii just kept winning.
“There were plenty of opportunities to get ahead,” she said. “Is it a strategy to ignore your enemy’s weak spots? Some form of honor?”
“Hey, not betting is a strategy. Besides, you don’t have any tells.”
“Perhaps you’re just not observant enough,” she said as she shuffled again.
“Well, Kimihito.” Polt approached their table. “How’s poker go—” She stopped short as she saw both chip piles. “Kimihito! You lost half your chips?!”
“The third match was especially bad,” Kii said. “He had a good hand and he raised quite a bit, but it made no difference. One small loss for Kimihito, one giant loss for mankind.”
He’d started out cautious with his bets, but as Kii defeated him over and over, his desire to win made him reckless.
“Kii, please hold back a bit. A dealer’s job isn’t just to win, they’re meant to entertain the customers,” Polt said.
“But I thought the house always won? If we’re not careful, we’ll be in the red, and you won’t see any profit.”
“We’ve gotta find the balance! Too harsh and no one will come back. That’ll costs us, too. Keep it proportionate.”
“I don’t know if I can do that,” Kii said, looking askance.
Polt held her head for a moment and then turned to Kimihito. “What’s your perspective?”
“Kii’s kinda scary, so maybe she should take it easier,” he admitted.
“Always room for improvement!” Polt pulled a notebook from her vest pocket and took his comment down. “Be fairer with the win-loss ratio. Got it.”
“Is that okay?”
“’Course! We’re not here to rob people. We want to take your money in exchange for thrills and dreams!”
“Those are some high ideals!”
Polt had clearly been adapting the casino project to work for her and her people. “I oughtta shift the exchange rates for chips, too. If you’d put real money on those you would’ve just lost 500,000 yen, Kimihito.”
“Ugh.” In the back of his mind, he’d understood that, but hearing it aloud was different. He swore he’d never come here when it opened for real. Forget about Miia and Centorea, he’d be risking bankruptcy himself.
“Would you like to try again? Maybe your luck will change,” Kii asked, passing the cards between her hands.
“No, I’m good,” Kimihito replied and shook his head emphatically. Just the thought of going bankrupt had rattled him. Besides, he wouldn’t be much of a tester if he didn’t try a mix of games. He had to save some chips for the rest of the floor. Then again, he could probably ask for more if he needed to…but the essence of gambling was having fun with limited funds. If he ignored that, the trial meant nothing. “Are you sure you don’t need a break, Kii? Your leaves are kind of dry.” He tried to change the subject.
“I-I’m fine.”
“You’re wilting.”
“None of your business!” she growled at him, pulling away.
Polt whined like a dog in disappointment. “I’m sorry. We installed the latest filtration systems in the building, but there are too many bars in the area, so the smell of cigarette smoke keeps making its way in.”
“Are you all right, Polt?” Kimihito asked.
“No…I’ve got an amazing sense of smell, so it’s inescapable. It’s like it’s burning out my nose so I can’t smell anything else. But I’ll add it to the list of improvements.” She scribbled more in her notebook.
Kimihito squinted. Overall, the air was about what you’d expect from a casino, but it shouldn’t have been enough to damage Kii like that. Maybe it really was the city getting to her—but there was an unusually strong smell of cigarettes in this particular area. “Hmm.”
“What’s up?”
Curious, he left the table and made his way to the slot machines. A set of curtains ran behind them and split their section of the hall. Following his nose, he found more machines secreted away.
Polt gave chase. “S-sorry, Kimihito, this area isn’t done yet—” As she followed him, she continued to scrawl in her notebook.
Kii, overcome by curiosity, went with them.
Coming to a stop at a disassembled slot machine, Kimihito pointed to its back. “Look! Smoke.” A thin column rose from behind the machine. Several other machines formed a circle around it like a Roman Colosseum, hiding the source from view. Someone was hiding there. “It didn’t make sense for a kobold to smoke, since the smell was so irritating to them, but someone had definitely lit up inside.”
Nudging aside one of the machines to give them access, Polt led them into the culprit’s hiding spot. Inside was… “Lilith!”
“Agh!” Lilith sprang from her crouch, cigarette in hand. She was also wearing the bunny girl costume. “What the hell? I’m trying to enjoy my break!”
“I refuse to let you smoke on the premises!”
“Damn it!” she swore. “How’d you find me, anyway? Isn’t there enough stinking up the place to hide a single cigarette?” Scratching her head, she looked past Polt to Kimihito and Kii. “Ah! Human! Of course you’re behind this. Can’t believe they pulled you into this scheme, too.”
“I can’t believe you’re here, Lilith! Are you working?” he asked.
“Eh, something like that,” she said with a smirk. “Polt dragged me in as punishment for going out without permission. First I thought ‘ugh, what a pain,’ but then I realized casinos’re full of rich idiots who don’t watch their wallets—” Before she could confess the details of her plan, she noticed how Kimihito and Polt were looking at her. “Except I’m just a good widdle girl, sweet Lilith, who’s here to work hard and accept the pay she’s given! How could I say no to nice Miss Polt’s offer?”
“I don’t think anyone’s buying it,” said Kimihito. Everyone had spent too long with Lilith to believe she was anything but a devil. She drank, she smoked, and she’d con anyone out of their money first chance she got.
Lilith clicked her tongue and extinguished her cigarette in a handheld ashtray. Kii backed away from the smoke with a grimace of distaste on her face.
“All right, all right, back to work…” Lilith grumbled.
“Yes,” insisted Polt.
With another click of her tongue, Lilith turned to leave. Her devilish wings spread from the open back of her outfit and flapped loudly at the group. The bunny girl costumes were meant for women with generous figures, like Polt and Kii, so on Lilith’s childish form, the front gaped open and allowed Kimihito to see right through to her— “Whoa! Where’re you looking, Mister? Scaryyy!”
“I-I wasn’t—”
“Gross, you pedophile! I’m gonna have to tell Miss Rachnera! ☆” Lilith cackled. She clearly knew that the gaping front of her bustier would show her small breasts from that angle and chose it on purpose. He had to be careful around demons like her.
“Lilith! No making fun of the customers!” Polt barked.
“Whaaat? But he’s the creep!” She couldn’t stop herself from laughing.
“And you were the one smoking earlier when you were supposed to be on duty! I’ll have to write you up.” Polt snatched the pack of cigarettes from Lilith’s hand and crushed them in her grip without much effort, forearm flexing.
“H-huh?! Hey dog-woman, maybe you haven’t heard, but smoking’s an important part of the casino lifestyle!”
“Then we’re gonna revolutionize the industry! This is gonna be a healthy place. Isn’t that right, Kimihito?” Her notebook was back out, and she was writing furiously.
“I-is it?” he asked.
“What a shame it would be,” Kii deadpanned, “if this place were destroyed by its own management.”
Kimihito was baffled. Polt was already a mismatch for the whole casino concept but trying to change it to fit her healthy image seemed even more absurd. Wasn’t gambling inherently dangerous?
“Moving along! Which game are you gonna try next, Kimihito?” She asked.
Even if this place was doomed, the least he could do was try to save it with his honest feedback. “How about roulette?”
“Nya ha ha! Roulette? You’ll be needing an opponent! Allow me, Mister~! ☆” Lilith said, her tail whipping around in a frenzy.
Kii stepped forward like she intended to participate, too.
Lilith smirked. “I’m gonna chip away at him until there’s nothing left.”
“I’m right here, Lilith,” Kimihito said.
“Tee hee! ☆” She stuck her tongue out in denial like an innocent little girl.