CHAPTER 181: CHAPTER 28 - A SMALL WIN*

[ Author Note: Please read this in Webnovel... Especially on my account! ]

This isn’t good.

I don’t know what kind of bad luck is befalling me. I lost in the first round and lost the handicap given by the Akashic Record Keeper.

With this, I have lost one tails of fox girl who would form a Master-Maid contract with me in the future.

"I’m really unlucky with a loss like this, huh?"

"Does that mean every tails of fox girl who forms a Master-Maid contract with me in the future will lose one of her tails?"

"If that happens... the fox girl who only has one tail will lose her tail and only have her fox ears left."

"Fuck! That’s so tempting to look at!" I said excitedly.

The Akashic Record Keeper, who was in front of me, stared at me with wide eyes after hearing my words.

Whether it was me consoling myself after losing or our understandings differed, I could see the Akashic Record Keeper sigh.

"Normally... someone who has just been involved in a cruel gamble like this would immediately stop and run away. It seems... You see this as something else, huh?" the Akashic Record Keeper replied as she played with her hair and picked up a ball-shaped die.

Srruugg...

Srruugg...

Cttaakk...

This game, which has just begun, does not seem to end so easily.

After losing the first round, the Akashic Record Keeper realizes that the real game has just begun. The handicap given by the Akashic Record Keeper is a short test used to gauge the determination of someone who wants to change their hope, fate, or destiny.

Even me, who understand this, don’t think too much about a defeat that happened intentionally like this.

"You have so much free time that you can joke around like this, huh?" I said with a sneer at the Akashic Record Keeper.

"I don’t have much free time as an Akashic Record Keeper and have been too stressed out by work lately. You should act like a gentleman and accompany a lonely woman like me, right?" replied the Akashic Record Keeper with a gentle, teasing smile.

"I just heard... watching hope, fate, and destiny change before your eyes isn’t all that boring. Why does this contradict what I’ve heard before?" I replied, picking up the spherical dice to use again.

"Yeah, I’m not really bored if my opponent loses. Seeing someone give up with their hope, fate, or destiny is fun... to me," with a creepy smile, I could see the face of the Akashic Record Keeper who was expecting her client to lose.

The dice that had been thrown by the Akashic Record Keeper showed the number seventy-three, and now it was my turn to roll my dice in this bet.

"You feel happy after seeing your high dice number, right?" I said as I rolled my dice on the table.

Srruugg...

Srruugg...

Cttaakk...

As my hand rolled the dice across the table, all I could hope for was a number that exceeded the Akashic Record Keeper’s. The handicap given by the Akashic Record Keeper was gone, and the real game began.

The dice I rolled started to roll until they landed on the Akashic Record Keeper’s dice.

Ctaass...

The collision of my dice and the Akashic Record Keeper’s dice made our dice spin again.

"So cunning..."

"You still use the same method to change my dice numbers."

"You should have used a more creative approach than this. I’m tired of seeing it over and over again, M-A-S-T-E-R."

While playing with her fingers through her hair, the Akashic Record Keeper seemed unconcerned with her own dice numbers.

As someone who neither gains nor loses from this game, the Akashic Record Keeper doesn’t really care about this kind of cheating that makes her lose the dice that has now turned into a seven, and my dice that stops at twenty-one.

"Oh my... this kind of method is indeed effective in changing hope, fate, and destiny."

"I wonder why the Akashic Record doesn’t consider this a cheating way to play this game."

Swiirrll...

Swiirrll...

The Akashic Record Keeper was still playing with her hair and seemed unconcerned with the answer to her own question.

"In my opinion... this method doesn’t completely violate the rules of the Akashic Record itself. The rule given by the Akashic Record itself is the final dice value shown and agreed upon by both parties. There are too many holes that can be used as loopholes, and these spherical dice are perfect for exploiting like this," I said while glancing at the male knight behind me.

With my words giving him a hint, it made the Akashic Record Keeper sulk.

"Please don’t give examples to others."

"I don’t want this kind of exploit to be used by anyone other than you, M-A-S-T-E-R."

With this second round as a win, I grabbed my dice back and tried to continue the game.

At this point, my safe limit for losing and withdrawing from the game was still quite far away. With the addition of one tail to the fox girl who would form a Master-Maid contract with me in the future, that would make Ashitaka and Princess Amagi became the legendary ten-tailed fox girls.

This single win should have been more than enough to back out, but my desire to gamble further with the Akashic Record Keeper grew stronger.

"Are you worried about this dice exploit becoming known by anyone?" I asked the Akashic Record Keeper as I waited for her to roll her dice.

"Yes, I’m afraid it will be copied by many people. I prefer games that use six possibilities rather than random possibilities like this. The dice are already shaped like balls, let alone with a hundred random possibilities that are difficult to predict like this," replied the Akashic Record Keeper while puffing out her cheeks at me.

"Well, there’s actually another exploit I could use with these dice. But I won’t use it because it looks like cheating. I don’t want the Akashic Record to ban me from entering its floor," I replied, smiling at the Akashic Record Keeper.

I did say that I wouldn’t use another exploit, but I’ve been using it for a long time.

Whether the Akashic Record is aware of it or not, at least it is still not realized by the Akashic Record Keeper.

As long as it’s safe to use for exploits, I’ll use it until they figure it out.

[ Author Note: Please only read this on Webnovel or their affiliate... ]

The exploit I used is the basic logic used by the Akashic Record itself.

The pact I used with the Akashic Record Keeper involved a pre-agreed tail transformation from a fox girl.

Based on Momoka’s explanation, a fox girl’s unique abilities stem from the number of their tails, and that’s where the exploit lies.

Two exploits are being played with at the moment, the exploit that comes from the tails of fox girl and the game’s terms that cannot be stopped without the agreement of both parties.

I just forced myself to do betting, until I get what I want and not escaped when game still playing.

There are several people who think escape from the game will be alright, but it was a mistake.

Even if they can escaped by forcing their way out of the Akashic Record floor, it would be the same as agreeing to the outcome of the game.

"Another exploit? Don’t even try using that kind of exploit!" the Akashic Record Keeper said as if warning me.

"Don’t worry, I won’t use any of other exploits," I replied with a smile and leaned back against the back of my chair.

"Seeing you relaxed like this, I’m sure you already used this exploits many times with me."

"What a cruel accusation, I don’t always use it."

"I doubt that," replied the Akashic Record Keeper, who was now sitting relaxed.

"By the way, I already know the exploit you are using at the moment. You must have used an exploit regarding the agreement between the two of us, right?" said the Akashic Record Keeper, guessing the exploit I was using.

"With a bet on how many tails the fox girl will form a Master-Maid contract with you in the future. You can play this game for a long time until you’re satisfied with the number of tails you can get, right?" the Akashic Record Keeper continued, sticking out her tongue as if confident in her guess.

"..." I was silent and stunned by the answer from the Akashic Record Keeper.

"Well, almost right..." I replied, acknowledging the intelligence of the Akashic Record Keeper who had almost guessed correctly.

"So you admit it?"

"Well, if it’s already been guessed, why should I cover it up again?"

"You’re really cruel in playing with your own Maids’ future, huh?"

"Even if I’m unlucky, I just have to refuse any fox girls who want to form a Master-Maid contract with me in the future. Whether I win or lose, I can still do something about the outcome."

"Y-You... that’s the same as insulting the Akashic Record that has controlled hope, fate, and destiny. Well, I don’t care at all what you do next."

"You know me well, huh."

Srruugg...

Srruugg...

Cttaakk...

The Akashic Record Keeper rolled the dice until the number one appeared.

Of the possible numbers one to one hundred, the number of dice she could get was one.

"..." I was speechless at the misfortune of this Akashic Record Keeper.

"You didn’t do this on purpose, did you?" I asked the Akashic Record Keeper.

"..." the Akashic Record Keeper looked shocked by the misfortune she was currently experiencing.

"It’s unusual for me to have such bad luck as a dealer. Could it be... that the Akashic Record has given you good luck?" the Akashic Record Keeper asked me.

"What kind of joke is that? There’s no way the Akashic Record would be so generous to me by making you get a dice number... one like this," I replied while throwing my dice far away so as not to hit the Akashic Record Keeper’s dice.

Sruugg...

Sruugg...

My dice rolled on the table at a slow pace and stopped at one hundred.

"Hmm..."

"I don’t want to think badly of the Akashic Record..."

"But after seeing this... I can’t think of any other possibility than the Akashic Records supporting your exploits."

The Akashic Record Keeper said words that made me doubt her and realize what the Akashic Record Keeper had said before.

"Hope..."

"Fate..."

"Destiny..."

"If the Akashic Record agrees that I have a future where my fox girl’s maid have additional tails grow to three, I will quit and go home. Will you allow me this, O Akashic Record, who knows everything that has happened?" I said with a resigned smile.

I understand very well that my words are like challenging the Akashic Record, which has arranged hope, fate, and destiny.

And then... my hand immediately reached for my dice and rolled them before the Akashic Record Keeper.

Sruugg...

Sruugg...

The ball-shaped dice rolled and stopped at the number one hundred, which made me take a deep breath.

"Damn... I’m supposed to have a fox girl with three additional tails in the future, huh?" I said in a dull tone.

"You should be happy with this kind of luck," the Akashic Record Keeper replied, picking up the dice and smiling mischievously at me.

"Fufu... since you were so lucky earlier... now it’s my turn to cheat, right?" the Akashic Record Keeper continued as she threw her dice to hit mine.

Sruugg...

Sruugg...

Ctaakk...

As the Akashic Record Keeper’s dice hit mine, it sent our dice spinning around each other before falling to the table. My eyes followed the Akashic Record Keeper’s dice as it rolled under the table until it came to a stop after hitting the table legs.

"Urgh, it seems like I’m being played by the Akashic Record, which is siding with you at the moment, M-A-S-T-E-R."

"I just got lucky at the moment."

"There’s no way you’re lucky enough to roll a hundred twice. Your dice even fell off the table, and you still rolled a hundred. I’m sure the Akashic Records had a interference in this game..."

I wanted to deny those words, but I had already said that I would stop after getting this kind of luck.

"Well, as I said before. I’ll finish this game after getting this kind of luck. Do you agree with that, Akashic Record Keeper?" I said to her.

"Yes, I agree with that. This game is also fair in the eyes of the Akashic Record, and it even helped you. You are truly lucky, Weiss Guderian."

Right after saying that, my eyes immediately rolled as if they had been thrown out by the Akashic Record Keeper who had declared the game over.

With small wins like this, it’s already enough.

I’m not greedy enough to break my own word and end up hated by the Akashic Record.

Slowly but surely, I will use the results of this game to improve the combat qualities and abilities of the fox girls who will become my future Maids.

[ Author Note: Thanks for reading this until End. ]