Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 911 - 911 Cheaters

The victory in the match against Mr. Belsom meant that Shard had entered the final round of the Lakeside Manor Roder Card Competition.

The final round would be held by the round table under the grape arbor. Since Shard's match with Mr. Belsom was the quickest, by the time he arrived under the grape arbor with Tifa and the spectators, the other three opponents had yet to arrive.

It was already 10:30 tonight. Shard rubbed his face, feeling his mental state was still quite good. He clasped his hands together on the table and, seeing that the game would take a while to begin, turned back to Tifa to suggest:

"How about taking a walk with me in the garden after the card game? Such pleasant nights are rare before the first snow of winter."

"Alright."

The maid agreed, and the cat she was holding looked at Shard with a lazy expression, resembling a child reluctant to get out of bed on a Sunday morning.

Soon, the other three opponents who made it to the finals arrived here one after another. Due to the limited space for spectators, some people even paid to swap places with those in the front row.

The referee for the final match was Mr. Justin from the Prophet's Society, and Shard's three opponents were respectively his friend, Baron Lavende, who had good luck today; Viscount Glenn, a relative of the Lemer Family on the other side of Lake Schluch, who was not from Tobesk but recently came visiting and was invited to the banquet; and, lastly, the lady mentioned earlier, who called herself Miss Mary Witt, the daughter of the local Viscount Witte.

She had nearly white golden hair, wore a black dress with a red skirt, and donned a wide-brimmed hat adorned with a pink flower.

Though different from how she appeared at the Huntington City banquet, there was no doubt she was the Six Rings Warlock "Miss Pawo" from the Truth Society. Not only because when she sat opposite Shard, he sensed her Circle Sorcerer level, but also because the silver-covered notebook in her hand looked unmistakably like a mini version of that thick silver book.

"Counting from Saturday night, she managed to reach Tobesk from Huntington in just three days? That's really fast."

Shard thought to himself, joining the others in handing over the card decks for inspection again.

[Will you report her?]

The voice at his ear chuckled softly, but Shard showed no expression:

"I'll decide later. That Cultist with the Divine Punishment of Wrath might also be here. Moreover, Miss Pawo appeared at the banquet but did not contact Princess Margaret, possibly because of more important matters."

[Are they also here for the 'Keeper of Secrets' matter?]

"Not sure yet, let's finish this game first."

The decks of all four were swiftly inspected. Mr. Justin from the Prophet's Society acted as the referee, while Mr. Sic, who officiated Shard's previous match, was the dealer. The dealer and the four card players were evenly distributed around the round table.

The multiplayer game determined the winner in a point-scoring system. A blowout yields zero points. Among non-blowout players, the winner scores four points, the second-highest three points, and so on. If points are equal, they score jointly.

The game consisted of three rounds. After three rounds, each player's points were summed, and the highest score determined the ultimate winner of this game.

The rules were quite simple, with no one raising any questions. Amidst the urges of the onlookers, as Mr. Justin loudly declared "Let the game begin," everyone's attention was focused on the four decks on the table.

The Life Ritual: Wedding framed in the center of the table provided lighting, with every participant also having an oil lamp for illumination. Although it was nighttime in the garden, at least the lights here were bright.

"Miss Witt, this is the first time I have played Roder cards with a lady. Ladies like yourself are rare indeed."

Baron Lavende said with a smile.

Everyone received their first card. Shard glanced at his Flower 3 and indicated he would continue drawing, as did Baron Lavende and the slender-fingered Viscount Glenn, while "Miss Witt" drew without even looking at her cards, replying to Baron Lavende:

"From a young age, my father taught me to play Roder cards. Through card games, I found how fascinating mathematics can be. Even now, as I pursue a degree, I haven't forgotten the game that inspired me."

Her Delarion was very fluent. If it weren't for the fact that "she" could be identified by spirit fluctuations and soul characteristics, Shard wouldn't have been sure she was indeed the Truth Society's "Miss Pawo."

Mr. Sic's dealing was highly professional, with the cards almost seamlessly flying across the table, landing on everyone's hole card.

Baron Lavende raised an eyebrow at his Flower 13 and decided to stand after some consideration. Viscount Glenn received Sun 3 and indicated he would continue drawing, while Shard had "Northern City: Coldwater Harbor" Moon 7, but unfortunately, the card required more than half of the deck to trigger its rule. So, despite murmurs of admiration for Shard's luck, the card was unusable.

With a current score of only ten points, Shard continued drawing cards.

"Miss Witt" also continued to draw cards, so, except for Baron Lavende, the other three each received a third card.

Viscount Glenn also engaged in a conversation with the lady, as it's rare for ladies to play Roder cards. Apart from the lack of interest, most noble ladies wouldn't sit with unfamiliar men to play cards:

"The last time I saw your father was this spring. I heard he unfortunately fell off his horse and has been bedridden for half a year. How is his health now?"

"Father is still resting in bed but can now be assisted by servants to walk around."

"Miss Witt" said without change in expression.

After receiving the third card, all three, including Shard, stopped drawing.

The four of them eyed each other before Baron Lavende, with only two cards, revealed them first:

"Flower 13 and Moon 4, 17 points. I definitely don't want a blowout, as that's zero points."

"Very cautious indeed."

Shard complimented, and behind Baron Lavende, his "rival" Baron Rwanda snorted, which, ironically, pleased Baron Lavende:

"Mr. Hamilton, what's your score?"

Shard uncovered his hole card;

"Flower 3, Moon 7, Moon 10, 20 points."

"Oh, no wonder they call him Rejed's Hamilton."

People started murmuring, and Shard smiled, reaching back to stroke the cat being held by Tifa:

"Miss Witte, what's your point count?"

"What a coincidence, I also have 20 points."

Saying this, the lady picked up her first hole card and third card with her left and right hands, revealing Sun 2, Moon 11, and Sun 7 on the table.

The crowd applauded in congratulations, leading the three people at the table to look towards the last one, Viscount Glenn. This gentleman, with slender fingers and a tall, thin frame, shook his head slightly:

"It seems I'm the luckiest tonight, Mr. Hamilton, apologies."

He turned over his own hole card and placed them together with the other two, revealing Sun 5, Star 10, and Flower 6.

"Oh, 21 points!"

Excited discussion lifted the atmosphere to a new peak, followed by congratulating the Viscount for winning the first small round against Shard.

Although Shard was quite lucky, it's impossible to win every round. He graciously offered his congratulations.

Just as the referee, Mr. Justin, noted down the result of this round and prepared to start the second, laughter reached Shard's ears:

[He cheated.]

"Huh?"

Shard raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Tifa to mask his expression. He then reached out both hands to "viciously" pet Mia, drawing laughter from the crowd. Traditionally, people believe that cats bring luck, so Shard's action could be interpreted as seeking good fortune.

"Who cheated?"

[It was Glenn with 21 points. While you were talking with the Six Rings Warlock, he switched his hole card with a card hidden in his sleeve.]

The cat with a grumpy expression looked at Shard, seemingly unwilling to respond to his boring antics. Shard turned back to prepare to continue the card game, without the slightest doubt about "her" words.

The other party used a common cheating method with playing cards, and blatantly did so under the watchful eyes of so many people, clearly indicating this wasn't the first time. Shard hadn't expected the person to be so bold. Failing to notice it earlier was indeed his oversight, but he always despised cheating in card games.

He was already contemplating a way to make the opponent suffer but glanced at "Miss Witte" and noticed she was also watching Viscount Glenn:

"She noticed it too."

Shard thought to himself, looking at the first card that had already been dealt out, forming a plan in his mind.

In the first game, 21 points prompted lively discussion over the two 20 points, which hadn't subsided even as the second game began. Among the four card players present, only Baron Lavende was unaware of the truth, casually discussing who would draw the first special rule card with Shard while picking up his cards.

"Miss Witte" kept a normal expression as she looked at her hole card, and Viscount Glenn joined in the conversation with Shard. Just like that, when everyone had received their three cards for the second round, both Miss Witte and Baron Lavende declared they would stand.

Under the starlit sky, the March light was so bright, and the flickering glow of the gaslight by the grape trellis was also quite brilliant. The atmosphere was just right, as Shard's two upcards totaled 16 points, and Viscount Glenn's was 13, bringing the tense and thrilling game back to a critical moment.

"Hit me,"

Shard gestured with his hand.

"Knight, isn't this too risky? As Baron Lavende said earlier, a blowout is zero points, and a smaller number at least scores."

Viscount Glenn frowned slightly and asked, while Shard firmly shook his head:

"If you don't even dare to take this kind of risk, what kind of Roder card player are you?"

"Indeed, not surprising for the champion of Big City Player 1853!"

Someone in the crowd echoed, and Shard nodded:

"Viscount, will you continue?"

Viscount Glenn looked at the table illuminated by the light:

"Then I will also continue."

The next card for each of them was given in turn, dealt face down, but per the rules, they had to reveal it immediately.

Shard, with quicker hand movement, flipped his card and smiled:

"Look, Viscount Glenn, Sun Six."

An explosive exclamation erupted, spreading outward to the grape trellis. Though Sun 6 meant a blowout for Shard, it also signified this as [Genesis: Death].

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