Show Me Your Stats!-Chapter 58

"Well, since I’m already here... maybe I’ll play around a bit before heading back."

Now that Solar had a tunnel linking it via the shortest route, Ayra decided to enjoy a bit of sightseeing in Bolni. He gave a light tap on the stone resting on the back of his hand.

"Any suggestions for places worth checking out?"

The pixelated stone raised its tiny fist and flashed the message: Loading....... A moment later, a guidance window appeared.

[Go straight for 10 meters, then turn right.]

Ayra followed the elemental’s navigation with a leisurely pace. He’d spent the past few days wandering around Bolni’s merchant guilds until his feet ached. While the city lacked Sobletz’s flair, there were still quite a few sights worth seeing.

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Yet, the further he followed the stone’s directions, the shabbier the surroundings became. The streets narrowed, shops and people disappeared, and only crumbling buildings remained. After wandering along the path for a while, Ayra finally turned into a dingy alley that looked like some red-light district and asked suspiciously,

"This is supposed to be a sightseeing spot?"

[240 meters remaining to destination!]

"Really? There’s actually something worth seeing here?"

But even after walking for quite a while, there was still nothing resembling a sightseer’s destination. Worse, the atmosphere grew increasingly eerie—until a scrawny thug jumped out to cause trouble.

"Hand over everything you’ve got!"

Ayra responded by using magic to forcibly flatten the punk to the ground. Arms crossed, he stared at the sobbing delinquent and sighed. A wave of exhaustion swept over him. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t properly rested once since leaving the territory.

"Screw it. What sightseeing. I’m just gonna go rest."

He’d probably find a mountain of paperwork waiting back home. Jinas was surely on the verge of collapse from overwork. Selling some stone wouldn’t make them filthy rich, but maybe they could afford to hire at least one more capable administrator? Mulling that over, Ayra swatted at the pebble fluttering before his face and turned around.

[120 meters remaining to destination.]

"Navigation, end."

As he trudged away, the pebble—now squashed in his palm—stubbornly waved its tiny hand.

[100 meters remaining to destination.]

"Hey, Stone, are you not listening to your master anymore? Are you broken? Bugged?"

He pinched and squeezed it while muttering threats. The stone responded by flinging tiny hearts into the air, refusing to shut down navigation.

Ayra’s steps slowed as something struck him as odd.

[80 meters remaining.]

[60 meters remaining.]

The distance to the destination was shrinking—even though he wasn’t moving.

His face stiffened. The pebble slipped out from between his fingers, scurrying away on its own.

[30 meters remaining.]

Tense, Ayra braced himself to either fight or flee. Whatever was approaching was closing in fast.

[10 meters remaining.]

[Navigation complete♡]

He glanced around. All he saw was a drunk vagrant snoring on the ground and a dirty dog lapping from a filthy puddle. Ayra cast a suspicious look at the pebble, which still floated cheerfully like nothing was wrong.

...No way, right?

"Hey, sweetheart."

A thick arm coiled smoothly over Ayra’s shoulders like a boa constrictor. Startled, he turned his head—and felt a soft kiss land on his cheek. Janus, grinning, had slung his arm around Ayra’s shoulders and was standing there as casually as could be. He even kissed Ayra on the lips, which had parted in shock, then pulled him close into an embrace.

"So this is where you’ve been. Didn’t you say you were going on a trip to Sobletz?"

"I did... but the matter didn’t resolve there, so I came to Bolni..."

The pebble, inflated like proofing dough, smugly slapped itself onto Ayra’s cheek. Janus slipped a finger between the two with a smirk, prompting Ayra to flinch and flee to the other shoulder.

So Janus was the destination...

Ayra was surprised to find Janus in Bolni, sure—but what surprised him more was how genuinely happy he felt upon seeing him. He hadn’t really thought about Janus while working, too busy staying focused, but apparently his subconscious had other ideas.

That’s probably why I had that weird dream where Janus was a ma-beast... and wasn’t there a squishy mochi-like rabbit in it too?

The fact that Janus’s favorability had suddenly jumped after that dream was also suspicious. Feeling uneasy, Ayra glanced down at the pebble. It was playing around, squishing itself on his shoulder—then suddenly slithered back inside him. Janus, too, gave the pebble a suspicious glance.

...Seemed like the little rock had pulled some stunt while Ayra was asleep. Ayra made a firm vow to never—ever—mention that strange dream to Janus.

"But how did you find me here?"

"I caught a familiar scent on the wind. Figured it might be you and followed it."

So by following the navigation, Ayra had entered Janus’s scent detection range. Was his sense of smell even sharper than a dog’s?

Janus naturally tucked Ayra close to his side like some smirking delinquent parading around with a beauty on his arm. Maybe it was the warmer Bolni weather, but he’d undone all the straps on his top, leaving his chest half exposed, while lazily rolling a mana stone between his fingers. A pretty face or not, the man really looked like a thug.

"So, the place you had to work at while I was away... was Bolni?"

"Yeah, I’ve got a business partner I’ve known a long time. He kept whining about things falling apart without me."

As he gave a half-hearted answer, Janus began to flirt—pressing kisses to Ayra’s ear, his cheek, even his neck. A few strands of hair peeked out from inside Ayra’s tightly-drawn robe. Janus twirled one between his fingers.

"It’s been a while. Wanna go on a date? There’s a lot more to do here than in Solar."

"...I suppose."

He didn’t love the comparison to Solar, but Ayra agreed to the date. It had been over two weeks since he’d last seen Janus, ever since he left for Sobletz. Just as Janus knew every corner of Solar, he seemed to be well-acquainted with Bolni too. Ayra followed him without protest.

"Where should we go? Grab food first? Want to buy something?"

"Hmm, in that case..."

Ayra was about to say they should eat—but something caught his eye. A massive exclamation mark popped into his mind.

Would my Blooming Magic work there too?

❄

Pretending to examine the cards, Ayra read the options floating above them.

First card: Lose 30 half-CellsSecond card: Lose 530 half-CellsThird card: Gain 24 CellsHe smiled inwardly and chose the first card. When everyone revealed their hands, Ayra heaved a dramatic sigh and placed down his card. The player with the highest hand swept the mana stones off the table—including Ayra’s 30 half-Cell loss.

Ayra stood up with a heavy sigh like he’d been defeated, but his face held a subtle smile as he turned away.

Made 15 Cells and 20 half-Cells in a single day.

He patted the pouch of mana stones nestled safely in his robes.

The place where this date had started a few hours earlier—after reuniting with his lover for the first time in ages—was none other than a gambling den. Yet, unlike the casinos of his previous life, this one was surprisingly clean and bustling. The mood was lively rather than shady. As Ayra stared at the den, Janus nudged his shoulder and teased,

"What? You wanna go in?"

"Yeah. For a gambling house, it’s big and kind of refined. Don’t most territories regulate these kinds of places?"

"As if. This one’s secretly run by the Bolni family themselves."

"...Really?"

That meant some of the money here likely ended up in Nilma Argan’s pocket.

Without hesitation, Ayra changed direction and ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) headed straight for the gambling den. As in Solar, Janus seemed to know a lot of people here too. Plenty of greetings flew his way, suggesting he was a frequent visitor.

"You ever tried this kind of thing before? You gotta know the rules."

"So how does it work?"

Despite the simplicity—just wooden cards and dice—an array of gambling styles were thriving. Each section of the hall hosted different games, and based on the guards and staff, it was clear a lot of money had gone into maintaining the place. Janus stuck close, explaining everything to the gambling novice at his side. At one table, he grabbed a seat and pulled Ayra into his arms like it was the most natural thing.

"You flip over two cards. Add them up—the one with the highest total wins."

Resting his chin on Ayra’s shoulder, Janus guided his hand to touch the wooden pieces one by one. It was a bit embarrassing, but Ayra didn’t mind. The soft curve of those crimson eyes, his warm body heat like a living furnace, the way his lips occasionally brushed Ayra’s ear or cheek—it all felt... good.

"That’s easy."

"Right? Not that hard once you know it."

They bought a drink from the den’s bar and shared it, and for a while, Ayra actually felt like he was on a real date with his lover. Even if he’d come here with an ulterior motive, a date was still a date.

Once it looked like Ayra had the hang of the rules, Janus emptied his coin pouch. Six Cells. He split it evenly and placed three Cells in Ayra’s hand before heading off to play a game of his own.

Holding his precious seed money, Ayra looked around the gambling den.

At the end of the day, these games are all about probability calculations.

And as a mage, Ayra could do more than just calculate simple probabilities.