Chapter 153: The Price

Chapter 153 -149: The Price

“Hmm, is that so…”

Five minutes later, Freya had finished listening to Gante’s report. Her expression remained calm, showing no change whatsoever.

Well, if one had to be precise, there was a slight change.

Her brow furrowed slightly and her gaze grew intent, as if she were contemplating something seriously.

A moment later, she suddenly turned back, picked up her quill, and resumed writing furiously.

“SCRITCH SCRATCH SCRITCH…”

The faint, fluid sound of the nib scratching against paper became the only sound in the room.

‘Is she writing a letter to inform the Lord Marquis of this terrible news?’

‘I have to say, Miss Freya is far too calm.’

‘To remain so composed in a situation like this, completely unfazed by the crisis.’

Behind her, Gante’s eyes gradually filled with admiration.

The Flame in the fireplace flickered gently. He waited like this for over ten minutes until Freya finally set down her pen and sighed softly.

“I’ve finally finished writing this part of the plot.”

????

‘Wait, she was writing a novel this whole time???’

Gante’s eyes widened in utter disbelief. For a moment, he was completely dumbfounded.

Freya, however, unhurriedly closed her manuscript, then stood up, turned around, and said calmly:

“Alright, let’s talk about Furen now.”

“…”

‘We’re only talking about it now??’

‘You really have your priorities straight, don’t you!’

Gante swallowed hard.

“Er, Miss, what should we do now…?”

“Pack your bags. We’re going back to Kalin Port,” Freya said succinctly.

“Huh? Go back?”

“What for? Furen is already dead. Is there any point in us staying here?”

“B-but Young Master Furen might not actually be dead!”

Gante looked astonished. “Shouldn’t you confirm it first?”

“Oh, so you do know.”

Freya shot him a glance and said coldly, “I thought you didn’t.”

“…”

It felt as if a venomous snake had slithered up his spine. In an instant, fine beads of cold sweat broke out on Gante’s forehead.

The pressure was so immense it felt like facing a Minotaur alone!

“My apologies, Miss. It was my dereliction of duty. I’ll go at once…”

Without even time to wipe away his sweat, he hurriedly bowed and backed out of the room, his footsteps rapidly fading down the corridor.

Freya, meanwhile, coldly withdrew her gaze and calmly sat back down at her desk.

The window was open a crack, and the evening breeze blew in, gently rustling a few strands of hair by her ear.

Outside the window, Gante’s figure rushed out of the inn’s front yard. The sound of horse hooves followed, quickly growing fainter before disappearing completely.

Staring at the starry sky, Freya remained expressionless, seemingly unconcerned whether Furen was dead or alive.

It made one wonder if they were truly brother and sister.

“Hmph. How dare you make me worry.”

“You’d better be dead.”

“Otherwise, I’ll make you wish you were.”

…

…

“Carey Quet!”

“Banish Denggo Fett from my graveyard! Deal 3 damage to all your units!”

“Hahaha, give up! This game is mine!!”

At 7 PM, the Sunken Ship Bay Tavern was buzzing with activity.

As a tavern with extremely poor value for money, the prices for all kinds of alcohol here were at least thirty percent more expensive than at other taverns.

But business, unexpectedly, was exceptionally good.

Because this was a gathering place for Gwent Card enthusiasts.

From dawn till dusk, there were people playing cards here at almost all hours.

And of course, playing cards is only fun with a little something on the line, so on every table, besides the Gwent Cards, there were often piles of coins.

Some had dozens of copper coins.

Others had seven or eight gold.

Therefore, if you could find an opponent with comparable funds and were lucky enough, it wasn’t impossible to win over ten gold in a single night.

In short, it was a very lively place.

However, when the tavern door was pushed open once again and Mirana walked in, clutching the two Gold Coins she had received in exchange for the Giant Troll Eye, the clamor gradually died down.

“Shh, be quiet…”

“What’s wrong?”

“You don’t know? That woman has never lost. She’s already won twenty or thirty gold.”

“Huh? That good?”

“Yeah, seems like her luck is especially good.”

“Is it possible she’s cheating?”

“Who knows? Anyway, Kanter thought the same thing last time. He checked her sleeves, found nothing, and ended up having to compensate her one Gold Coin.”

“Hiss…”

Whispers spread quickly through the tavern. Soon, a group of people stopped playing cards entirely, all of them staring at Mirana with expressions ranging from wary to admiring to cautious.

But when faced with her invitations to a match, everyone’s answer was surprisingly unanimous—

“Sorry, not playing!”

“…”

“JINGLE JINGLE JINGLE~”

The bell on the tavern door swayed. Less than five minutes later, having been rejected repeatedly, Mirana walked out again.

Standing at the entrance, she glanced back with a hint of helplessness, knowing she could no longer use this place as her personal bank.

But Kairos’s medical fees were due, and she still owed Furen 3 gold coins and 5 silver.

And strictly speaking, the two Gold Coins in her hand belonged to Lu Wei.

Not only did she have to pay him back, but she also had to make up the “price difference” of 3 Gold Coins.

Faced with such a huge financial deficit, most Adventurers would have probably just skipped town.

But Mirana couldn’t leave, and she wouldn’t.

After all, she had to stay in town and wait for the Earl of Lancaster’s arrival, and then get Kairos’s leg healed.

Besides, she hadn’t reached a dead end yet.

Turning a principal of two Gold Coins into over ten gold overnight would undoubtedly be difficult for others.

But for a “lucky gambler,” it was nothing special.

She just needed to pick any game with even odds and win three times in a row.

“Sigh, I guess this is the only way.”

Sighing softly, Mirana went back into the tavern and asked the bartender for the location of Heitai Town’s only small casino.

Then she left without a second glance.

“With luck like that, she should’ve gone to a casino to make her fortune long ago.”

Watching her figure disappear into the night, the bartender shook his head and muttered under his breath.

In fact, his sentiment wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

After all, for someone with powerful luck on their side, going to a casino and cleaning house was a much wiser choice than playing cards.

Not only would she earn more, but she would also save more time.

Of course, Mirana knew this too.

The reason she hadn’t done so was that her luck always came at a price.

Playing cards might require luck, but it was more a contest of skill and calculation.

She only needed a little bit of good luck at key moments in certain hands.

But a casino was different.

Even just winning a game with a one-in-two chance of victory three times in a row would require far more luck—and a far greater price—than winning 30 matches of Gwent Card.

So, unless she had no other choice, Mirana would never do it.

After all, the one protecting her was no selfless Goddess of Fortune.

“JINGLE JINGLE JINGLE~”

A little over ten minutes later, accompanied by another jingle of the bell, the tavern’s wooden door was pushed open once again.

Following that, Gante walked straight to the bar, first flipping open his outer robe to reveal his Warrior Badge.

Then, under the bartender’s surprised gaze, he asked in a low voice:

“Was there a short-haired woman here just now?”