Chapter 873: Lucky Roland

Tobesk was destined to be noisy today, but according to the schedule, Princess Margaret Anjou and her party would accept the hospitality of the King's family today, so Xia De had no chance to approach the princess today.

Therefore, after leaving Tobesk Railway Station, Xia De didn't go to find Miss Galina or search for Miss Sylvia's tracks, but left with the team of the Dawn Church and had lunch with Priest Augustus at the church.

At noon after lunch, he received his early winter gift as a core believer. The autumn tomatoes among the seasonal fruits and vegetables were left by Xia De and shared with Mia on the road in the fog. This cat seemed to like this kind of vegetable... or fruit.

Taking advantage of the time at noon, Xia De went to the garbage disposal center in the west of the city again to ask if the gem could be reimbursed. Then, at the entrance of the garbage disposal center, Xia De stopped a little girl selling flowers and asked her if there was a vegetable market selling fresh vegetables nearby:

"Yes, sir, turn right at the street corner."

The little girl said timidly, not daring to get close to Xia De, but still looked curiously at the cat that was being carried by Xia De and was yawning.

"Thank you."

Xia De thanked her with a smile and wanted to leave, but felt someone pulling his sleeve, only to find the girl had followed:

"Sir, do you want to buy flowers?"

The girl, who spoke with a Tobesk accent, had a tender voice, her face was a bit gray, and her clothes were patched, but she still gathered the courage to stop Xia De.

"Buying flowers is forget it. If you buy flowers, you have to give them away, which is a burden for me. However, this is for you."

He carefully placed the heaviest of the paper bags he was holding at the girl's feet, and after smiling at the girl, he walked toward the street corner happily, preparing to complete the task of buying groceries alone.

"Meow~"

The cat on his shoulder wagged its tail, complaining that Xia De didn't take it home for a nap.

The girl watched the young gentleman carrying the cat and the tail swinging back and forth disappear into the fog at the street corner, and then went to look at the paper bag, only to be surprised to find that it was a bag of fresh vegetables. And Xia De's superior, Director Anluosi, was leaning against the door of the shoemaker's shop next to the city garbage disposal center, watching this scene with a blank face.

After thinking about it, he touched his pocket. The director of MI6, Sir Dark Anluosi, decided to go buy a bunch of flowers.

Returning home in the afternoon, putting the bought vegetables into the snow pile in the basement (Note), and letting the lazy cat watch the house, Xia De set off again for Huntington City. He had a feeling that the mysterious lake might also be waiting for his visit.

Although he saw that mysterious lake by Luther Lake yesterday evening, Xia De didn't think that the lake would appear in the same place again. Therefore, he asked more identities of those who encountered the "Goddess of the Lake" from Professor Drake yesterday, and after searching last night, he decided to visit Mr. John Roland, who lived in the city.

Still setting off from the White River Valley Vineyard, but the weather in Huntington City today was a bit bad. When Xia De rode into the city, he once thought that there might be rain or snow today. But after changing to a carriage and arriving at the apartment building where Mr. John Roland lived in the city, the sky was still overcast, but it still didn't rain.

Mr. John Roland was a local poet, proficient in Delarion, and although writing poetry didn't make much money, he also worked as a translator at a bookstore. He was 36 years old this year, single and unmarried. The information provided by Professor Drake showed that Mr. Roland encountered the Goddess of the Lake in the spring of this year, when he went to the suburbs to collect materials for spring outings.

But it was a pity that the apartment at No. 7 Human Bishop Street, paved with uneven square stone bricks, seemed to have no one this afternoon. But Xia De finally found the poet who was playing Rod cards with others in the tavern at the corner of Human Bishop Street and Garden Pedestrian Street under the guidance of a neighbor.

This poet was not the kind of thin appearance Xia De imagined, but was taller than Xia De and unusually sturdy.

He sat at a square table against the wall, his right hand clenched into a fist against his thigh, his left hand holding the bottom cards, his sharp eyes cautiously wandering between the bottom cards and the opponent's expression.

It is worth mentioning that his right hand only had three fingers, missing the outermost thumb and little finger. On the remaining three fingers, each wore a golden ring. Xia De found after getting close that those three rings seemed to be pure gold and were antiques with age:

"Are you so rich?"

The poet was clearly left-handed, skillfully buckling the playing cards on the table with his left hand, and then asking the man wearing a round hat opposite him:

"Do you want to continue to take the fourth card?"

His tone was quite stylish. This method of trying to use language to put psychological pressure on opponents, and boasting about winning many games before playing cards or boasting about the legendary experience of his own card deck, were similar means.

The onlookers also started to make a fuss, and Xia De heard people call the poet Mr. Roland "Lucky Roland."

In this round of cards, Mr. Roland defeated his opponent with 20 points and won 20 pfennigs. In Kassenrick's currency, the main currency was the Kassenrick Krone, and the pfennig belonged to the auxiliary currency, 95 pfennigs equaled 1 Krone. According to the current exchange rate of 11 to 12 gold pounds to 1 Krone, their bet was not small.

Of course, Kassenrick also had another auxiliary currency called Oer. "Oer" was a small pure silver coin. Generally speaking, 1 Krone equaled 7 Oer. The currency system composed of "Krone, Oer, and Pfennig" was more complicated than Delarion, but this was also related to the chaotic currency system between the federations that joined the federation when the Kassenrick United Kingdom was established.

The man wearing the round hat lost the game and wanted to turn the tables, but because there was no money in his pocket, he was forced to give up his seat to others.

Xia De didn't open his mouth to join the card game, but left from the periphery of the crowd to find the bartender of the tavern to inquire about news.

Whether it was the bartender in Delarion or the bartender in Kassenrick, they seemed to like to engage in information trading. When Xia De took out a few copper-colored small coins, the bartender who was wiping the cup understood Xia De's purpose.

Mr. John Roland was a relatively well-known Rod card player in the local area. "Lucky Roland" referred to his winning rate being very high, often defeating opponents with unexpected luck. He even once defeated the "King" with 21 points, which once made this poet a legendary figure among local Rod card players.

Mr. Roland had two special cards in his hand and often frequented the Prophet Association. Some people had questioned his cheating in playing cards, but no one had given evidence. And although the winning rate was quite high, Mr. Roland was not a gambler, and he only frequented the tavern occasionally when he had nothing to do. He had always been devoted to poetry creation and was proud of his poet title.

"Has Mr. Roland always been lucky, or did he just start to be lucky recently?"

Xia De held the beer mug filled with ale and inquired to the bartender, who leaned against the counter and looked at the crowd playing cards in the distance:

"Sir, your Kassenrick is really bad... Roland only started to be lucky since the beginning of this year. I don't envy him, but have always believed that a person's luck remains constant, so this year it's probably this gentleman's turn for good luck."

Mr. Roland's specific information appeared in Mr. Drake's data, but the former didn't say what he traded with the "Goddess of the Lake." The professor, whose legs were disabled, had sent people to investigate, but there was no result. Now it seems that John Roland had highly likely received the blessing of luck.

"I noticed that his fingers are missing two, is this a congenital disease, or other reasons?"

Xia De asked again. The three people he had seen who encountered the Goddess of the Lake all had disabilities.

The middle-aged bartender thought for a while:

"I don't remember when his fingers had problems, but he has always been used to using his left hand, so the impact is not very big. This appearance is actually very bluffing. After all, seeing that their Rod card opponent is missing two fingers, people will subconsciously imagine whether he has encountered anything in underground casinos."

As he spoke, he laughed. Xia De also leaned against the counter and looked at the poet playing cards through the gaps in the crowd:

"Lucky Roland? Yes, I understand."

Because he was worried about encountering the unlucky thing of yesterday evening again, clearly found the lake but watched it disappear before his eyes, Xia De didn't delay too much time. Bidding farewell to the bartender, he squeezed into the crowd that was watching the Rod cards again, and seeing someone lose the pocket money on his body in another game, he grabbed the seat that was vacated first.

The men playing Rod cards in the tavern were obviously familiar with each other, so seeing a stranger join the card game, they asked about his origin curiously:

"I am an Outlander from Delarion traveling to Kassenrick, do you mind if I play cards with you?"

Xia De shook his card deck toward Mr. Roland, who was counting banknotes:

"We can play bigger, I haven't met an opponent worth mentioning in Kassenrick yet."

This kind of "big talk" of his naturally drew the ridicule of the people watching in the tavern, and Mr. Roland, who originally didn't want to play cards with strangers, was also provoked by the attitude of the foreigner. He raised his eyebrows and looked at Xia De:

"This gentleman from Delarion, please be sure that you have left enough travel expenses for yourself to go home."

"Of course, I rely on playing Rod cards to earn travel expenses."

Xia De patted the card deck on the wooden table and pulled it toward the left, letting the card deck spread out in an arc. This beautiful move could also show that he was not talking big:

"Look, I don't have special cards."

He smiled, and then saw the poet show a cautious expression. He knew that Xia De was a "professional."

Since Mr. Roland was unwilling to tell others the details of his encounter with the "Goddess of the Lake," Xia De had to find a way to make him have to tell.

Moreover, he was also very curious about which blessing was more powerful, the blessing of unknown luck given by the Goddess of the Lake, or the blessing given by the Old God 【Noisy Black Hunter】.

【There is also the luck brought by the Myriad Changes, and the gift of thousands of souls in Midhillburg.】

The voice in his ear reminded softly, and at this time both sides had begun to exchange shuffling.

Poet Mr. Roland seemed very confident, and this kind of confidence Xia De usually found it difficult to see in his opponents.

However, Xia De didn't think he would definitely defeat the other party because of the many blessings on his body, so he treated this card game very seriously, just like he treated any of his card games seriously.

Mr. Roland's card deck placed two special cards, while Xia De's card deck had no special cards. After checking and shuffling each other, the card game officially began. People in small taverns usually didn't play particularly complicated rules. Mr. Roland and Xia De played nine rounds in total. Each round won 5 points, a draw 2 points. After the nine rounds ended, the one with more points won, and won the bet of his own points multiplied by 5 pfennigs. This was a big bet, because if the luck was not good and all nine rounds were lost, then about half a Krone was lost, equivalent to five or six pounds.

Mr. Roland's luck was probably really strong. After the first card of the first round was in hand, he just took a look, and then turned over the playing cards with a smile:

"Mr. Watson, it seems that my luck today is still good."

He greeted the bartender to bring him another glass of ale, and then the poet placed that "King" in the center of the card table. The people around were discussing, Xia De stretched his head to take a look, and felt that good luck was really amazing.

"Mr. Roland, you should participate in the Great City Player this autumn."

Xia De praised, without looking at the bottom card, and directly asked for the second card. The rule of Rod cards is that the first bottom card cannot stop, Mr. Roland didn't ask for the second card, which is actually a bit against the rules, after all, he could bet that the second card is a King.

"Save some Krones to go to Tobesk in Delarion, maybe even that Hamilton of Leged wouldn't be able to win against you."

Xia De said.

"No, no, can't say that."

Mr. Roland was very reserved:

"I can probably only win him a little."

The people watching the fun around laughed, Xia De got the third card, and asked hesitantly:

"Then Mr. Roland, why didn't you go to Tobesk?"

He looked at the card face, just about to turn the bottom card over and place it on the table, suddenly felt a blink of his eyes, and then stared at the back of his bottom card.

Da~ dada~

The moment his finger touched the bottom card, it seemed that he heard the sound of dice landing and rotating in his ears. This was like the 【Fate's Twenty-Sided Dice】 suddenly operating on its own. Then, Xia De naturally understood that he definitely won this round.

"What is the situation?"

He was grasping the feeling of seeing through fate just now.

【Outlander, when you intersect with the opponent's luck, you have an insight into 'luck'.】

"Luck?"

If Xia De could obtain the "Luck" spiritual rune in the next moment, he wouldn't be surprised at all. Judging from the half-year experience of coming to this world, Xia De considered that he was most likely to obtain "Luck" at the card table.

"I remember that one of Luvia's four core spiritual runes is 【Bad Luck】... If I really obtain the Luck spiritual rune, what kind of miracle can be associated?"

He thought in his heart and turned the bottom card over and placed it on the table.

－－－－－－Author's Note－－－－－－

ps: In the summer, Xia De discovered that 【The Little Match Girl】 could make it snow, so he planned to build a snow cellar in the basement to store potions. Here it is assumed that he has already built it, but the scale is very small.

7017k ===== CHAPTER 874 =====