NOVEL SIMPLE The Silver Royal (2)
The instruction was simple, she only needed to exchange her allowance for some Chips, but that was the option for the old people who wanted to enjoy looking at stacks of Chips they gained after a long day of gambling. For Charlotte, she opted for the modern option of using digital Chips, which came with a borrowed phone, not as good as her phone but it was fast enough.
The only thing she has to do now is to find a table. Lucky for her, as it is morning, there are not that many people here.
The first game Charlotte chose is Craps, a dice-throwing game that looks pretty complicated. But all Charlotte needed to do was throw some dice, and that was enough for her.
So she placed the bets, and since Charlotte was the only one at the table, she automatically became the Shooter. She placed the Casino Phone on the designated pad, connecting to the table.
"Ten", Charlotte said, tapping her phone on the PASS LINE, placing $50 on her first.
The Stickman gave her the dice in silence, she would have talked if it was anyone else. But the untouchable aura Charlotte gave put her under pressure from the girl in silver.
Charlotte held the dice, clapping them together to show the number ones together. With Survive finishing the calculation, she threw the dice with practiced and mechanical motion.
The Dealer held his breath, seeing this had already gone bad for the Casino. And Charlotte perfectly bounced the dice on the corner, where she wanted, they landed showing the numbers six and four, ten in total.
The Dealer placed the puck on the number ten.
"Ten.", she said again
She threw the dice again, landing two number five. The Dealer paid her $50.
With the opening bet done, Charlotte put down $150 on the FIELD. Both the Dealer and the Stickman gulped.
"Twelve"
Like a death sentence, Charlotte threw her dice again. They bounced off the wall, landing two number six.
It won her $300 as it was doubled. Both of the staff looked at her with widened eyes, awed at her prediction.
The game is still going, and it would be a nightmare for the Casino.
=0=0=
After an hour of playing Craps, Charlotte got in total $4500. She saw the faces of the Dealer and Stickman, they did not believe their eyes.
Because she did not lose any bet, now the security guards are around her, watching her every move.
"All in.", she tapped the FIELD again, "Twelve."
The dice bounced off the wall, clashing together, landing two number six. And she won $9000, to the horror of the staff around her.
After the money was transferred to the Casino Phone, Charlotte looked at the one on the PASS LINE. She threw the dice without thinking much about it, landing a total number of five. The Dealer placed the puck on that number.
"Seven.", she threw the dice, landing exactly that amount. Her first loss.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, if she had kept going she would have made the Casino lose more.
"Well, that was fun.", she commented with a smile, picking up the phone and leaving.
The security guards moved away from her, back to their original spots but their eyes were still on her.
Charlotte went to the table furthest from the entrance, the table of the game Blackjack. A game where she cannot cheat even with Survive's calculation.
She sat down, opposite the Dealer who was fairly nervous. She placed her phone on the pad, connecting to the table.
She placed the first bet with $10. And the Dealer passed Charlotte the King of Heart, to herself the Jack of Spade. Then to Charlotte, the Ace of Diamonds. The Dealer nervously drew another card... a Queen of Heart, she drew again, this time the Four of Spade. Of course, Charlotte can see the cards, through the reflection of the Dealer's eyes.
Charlotte got $10.
"Same bet.", her voice was almost commanding.
The Dealer put the cards aside, drawing for Charlotte an Ace of Heart, and she drew for herself a Six of Spade. Then Charlotte a Four of Diamonds, and she got a Queen of Spades.
"Hit.", Charlotte called.
The Dealer pulled out another card, a Five of Club.
"Hit."
The dealer flipped out another card, the Six of Diamond.
"Stand.", Charlotte said with a smile. The Dealer flipped out her final card and sighed.
With courage mustered, she finally asked Charlotte, "Are you counting cards?"
"No? What is that?", Charlotte asked back with curiosity.
"Never mind...", she shook her head.
"Well, that a fun strategy.", she grinned, sending shivers down the Dealer's spine.
And Charlotte won another $10.
The game kept going on for another 30 minutes when Charlotte got a $250. She left because she noticed the Dealer was getting close to fainting under her azure gaze, not for the health of the Dealer but having her Dealer faint in front of her would leave a bad image.
"That was fun, though it's kinda boring without anyone else.", Charlotte spoke out loud.
Then she realized something critical about herself. Charlotte has no friends. All the people around her were older than her, with Athen being the youngest. All of them were women.
Aside from Issac, and maybe Rodon, she knew no one of the opposite gender.
Am I... lonely?
Yes. You are.
I didn't expect the answer to come from you, Survive.
But I am correct.
"As always.", Charlotte said in a sarcastic tone, "But where is Athen and Enna?"
That was just a question, which Charlotte soon forgot. Not that Charlotte did not care about them, she just did not care enough. Especially when she wants to be alone.
She wandered around the Casino, some tables perked her interest but she would leave them for later. So Charlotte went to the restroom, to relieve herself and wash her face.
Before she could, Charlotte gave the Casino phone to the security guard next to the receptionist's table, and she deposited half of the money she won back into her account. She also found out she had a VIP account already, likely made by Silla.
She spoiled me rotten, Charlotte chuckled.
She made her way to the bathroom, which was equally fancy. As expected of the home of the biggest Casino in Las Vegas.
"Oh?", she saw a person here, who was just staring at the mirror.
A girl that look to be older than Charlotte by a year, wearing a fancy maroon dress, her hands clenched the sink's sides as if frustrated with something. Charlotte could not see her expression due to her long black hair, shiny under the light.
She cocked her head back, giving Charlotte a somber look with her dark eyes. From her skin tone, Charlotte accurately judged that this girl was Asian.
"Hm? What do you want?", she asked Charlotte with a neutral tone.
The alarms in Charlotte's head went off, a clear sign that this girl was dangerous.
"I'm just freshening up.", Charlotte replied with a casual tone.
Then the girl smiled, "Is it alright if I talk to you for a bit? I don't want to make things... awkward.", she let out an awkward laugh.
Charlotte nodded, and she went to relieve herself. She finished in record time, already out of the stall in under a minute.
The girl looked surprised, "That... was fast."
With no way to reply to that awkward comment, Charlotte washed her hands with soap, though it was more of a cover for using her Reverie to do with the actual cleaning.
"Let's introduce ourselves first.", Charlotte smiled, "I am Charlotte Silvi."
The other girl widened her eyes, "Silvi? You mean you ARE the daughter of Andras Silvi?"
"Maybe?", Charlotte tilted her head, "I'm an orphan, I don't know who my parents are, only my name."
"Ah, I'm sorry to hear that... um... now it's a bit awkward now...", she let out a dry laugh, "Aaah... I'm Phạm Xích Hoa, my family name is Phạm, my middle name is Xích, given name is Hoa. Nice to meet you."
Scarlet Flower... Vietnamese?
"Nice to meet you too."
Hoa smiled, and nodded, "It seems like you are special..."
Does she know?
"I'm a Gem Holder, the Gem Holder of Survive, Humanity's Survival Instinct.", she bowed in a courtly manner, "I'm pretty awesome."
"I think you are pretty arrogant for saying that...", Hoa chuckled, "Though I have no say in it myself since I am a Gem Holder too... the concept of Energy... Energy..."
A silence fell upon them. So Charlotte asked, to break the silence.
"So the introduction is out of the way, what did you want to talk about?", she wondered.
"Well... I just want someone to distract the pain...", Hoa let out an awkward chuckle, "I'm in my period... and cramps are a pain... Đệt (Fuck)..."
"Oh...", Charlotte cannot share the pain, because she never had a period, or cramp, even if she could, Charlotte cannot feel pain.
Charlotte only gave Hoa a sympathetic look.
"I'm pretty stressed out right now... I just want to punch something...", she gripped the sink harder, "Đụ má... this fucking hurt..."
"Then you can try it with me, I'm pretty strong myself.", Charlotte has her own goals. She learned a lesson when earning a punch from the first King of Rome, her combat ability was better than any human, maybe even most Gem Holders, but she cannot tank all hits without her Anima Pactum active.
"Um... is it okay to do this here?", Hoa asked.
Did she mean the restroom?
"No, I think I have somewhere appropriate...", Charlotte gave Hoa a dangerous smile, "But I have to get permission first."
She pulled out her phone, and she called Silla. The woman picked up instantly.
[Hello, little one? What do you need? Aww, is house arrest too boring?]
"No. I just want to ask if I can borrow the rooftop...", she looked at Hoa, and she lowered her voice, "I have... a friend... I think."
[Friend?! FRIEND?!?! This is a cause for celebration! Hehehehe! Of course, you can! I'll see your friend right after this opera of a Congress meeting.]
"Thank you."
[Good luck with your new friend!]
Silla ended the call. Hoa can only stare at Charlotte in awe, feeding the girl's ego.
"We can go now. Follow me."