The sleep on a real bed was very much appreciated by Ray. He knew that normally one soul shard wouldn't be worth this, but just sleeping in a normal bed wasn't the only reason he came here.
Having woken up, Ray fist took everything of importance with him, before leaving and locking the room, to tour the castle a bit.
He never heard rules, that forbid this behavior, so Ray just used the opportunity to familiarize himself with the castle. If someone was dissatisfied with his behavior, then they could simply say something.
Before this happens, in all forms of law, Ray would have the upper hand. Sure, they could play with the rules, and don't care, it that would just bring themselves more problems, than it would solve.
Such an action could directly affect the opinion of everyone in the castle, and even down in the settlement, quickly turning them against the king and his people. It would be a bloody battle, but in the end, to still be able to reign, Gunlaug and his lieutenants couldn't kill all of them. They were the first defense line for the repeatedly attacking nightmare creatures, that climbed the hill.
In case, that only they remained in the castle, it would only be a matter of time before they too would fall, leaving this whole region without lives once again.
Inside the castle Ray could see many guards, he estimated them to be around a hundred, possibly even higher, as they could be stationed everywhere.
The things he found most interesting, where firstly the entertainment center, which in the end, was mostly a larger gambling den. Ray also made up his mind to look into it at least once, these next few days. Secondly, there where the handmaidens. The second biggest group of the five legions under the bright king.
This group consists entirely of woman. They often do the menial tasks, like darkening the windows for the nights, or giving out the food at the meal counters. Even then, all of them, somehow were never, in any situation disrupted or disturbed. They also carried themselves less like maids, but rather… assassins.
That was at least Ray's first impression of them.
On his tour, Ray encountered many places marked with a symbol of a golden snake, these rooms or corridors were always guarded by additional guards. The only estimate he could make was that these places were exclusively for the host, the king's people, and not the tribute paying visitors.
Left with no other choice for now, as long as he didn't want to join one of the legions, most probably the guards, Ray had to ignore these places.
Faced with this situation, even Ray played with the thought of joining them for real for a moment, before dismissing it again quickly enough. He valued freedom and wanted to keep his counter rising. Most guards here seemed like the people with potential, but also no experience.
Basically, wasting away inside the castle.
That is to say though, they were still growing. The host was able to earn soul shards and memories through their service. Normally, the memory shop wasn't even open for others.
But, if someone had the shards, and knew about it, it was still possible.
The days kept going by, Ray kept on getting to know everything there was to know, or rather, what was possible to be learned in the given time.
On his last day, he decided to visit the gambling den. These past days Ray asked around a bit, and also listened to some other people, through which he found out, that the den is actually managed by a tribute payer.
So, technically not under the jurisdiction of the king. Though, in the castle basically everything was under his jurisdiction, so the host often caused a scene there, like not paying their dues or more.
Upon entering, Ray was met with a modest sized room, in which quite a few tables stood. At many of those tables sat some people, playing cards or other games.
Another thing that immediately caught his eye was the handsome guy Ray had met on his first day. The young man sat currently at a table, that was played by a short and rather petite girl.
Being met with an at least acquaintance, Ray opted for this table.
Stepping closer, Ray saw that the table was more or less empty. People seemed to stay clear of that one in particular. Not knowing why, he just sat down and greeted both people.
"Hey, up for a game?"
"Hmm? Oh, it is you, sure. Normal poker rules?" asked the dazzling young man.
The girl meanwhile was awestruck. The two men in front of her, were just too striking. One looked like a prince straight out of a fairy tale, and the other one like a trained fighter with close fitting black garments.
Seeing her like this, the prince called out to her in his melodious voice, "Hey Aiko, you good?"
This seemed to snap the girl, who Ray now knew was called Aiko, out of her stupor.
Aiko, slightly embarrassed, quickly apologized, and then dealt the cards.
Both men used soul shards as their chips, like how it was normally the case here.
Kai kept winning, round after round, his confidence evident in the relaxed way he played. It wasn't just luck - Ray could tell there was something more to it. No matter how well he controlled his expression, Kai never seemed to take the bait when Ray bluffed, folding at the right moments or raising when Ray had a weak hand.
After another lost round, Ray leaned back, arms crossed. "Alright… how the hell are you doing this?"
Kai grinned broadly, and answered, "Well, I can tell if someone is lying to me."
Ray blinked, "You can… what now?"
"Tell if someone is lying," Kai repeated, then gestured around, "That is also the reason nobody plays with me anymore."
"Okay, okay. There are such aspects, I guess," after sighing for a moment, Ray said, already thinking of ways to counter it.
"Ah, no. It is actually me flaw," Kai corrected him, but Ray was too deep in thoughts at that moment.
He didn't want to leave so soon, especially when he lost quite a lot already. Also, the young prince, seemed like a nice and open guy. Quite a change for Ray, a welcoming change.
After thinking about ways, while playing the next round, a fleeting idea came to his mind. Ray decided to try it immediately.
He used memories of others, or himself, when they had bad or good hands, to bluff his way through Kai. At the start it wasn't perfect, but Ray managed to increase his proficiency more and more as they played.
Soon enough, the earnings were as they were at the beginning of their game.
This situation caused Aiko, to once more just stare on in stunned silence and with wide eyes. She knew Kai for quite a while now; he was a regular after all. But he was also known for his good skills in gambling, or rather that he always won in poker, or more specifically everything that wasn't a game of pure chance.
"You know, it doesn't really matter with the price right," Kai said, sweating slightly. The guy didn't come today with a lot of shards, and with how it was going, he guessed that he would soon loose his few shards.
Ray chuckled as he stacked his newly won soul shards. "Come on now, you were the one who kept taking my shards earlier. Fair's fair."
Kai groaned dramatically, leaning back in his chair. "Yeah, yeah… I just didn't expect to lose today." He ran a hand through his hair, glancing at Aiko, who still looked like she was watching some sort of mythical event unfold. "You're really something, you know that?"
Ray smirked. "I try."
Their game had drawn some attention, with a few people occasionally glancing their way. It wasn't every day that someone actually went toe-to-toe with Kai and came out even. After a few more rounds, the two decided to call it for the night. Kai stretched and stood up, rolling his shoulders.
"Well, Ray, it's been fun," he said, slipping his remaining soul shards into his pocket. "You got me good there. Maybe I should actually practice for once."
Ray raised an eyebrow. "What, you just rely on your Flaw and hope for the best?"
Kai laughed. "Something like that." He walked alongside Ray as they left the gambling den, stepping into the dimly lit corridors of the castle. It was quieter outside, only a few guards patrolling the halls.
As they strolled, Kai suddenly gave Ray a side glance. "You really don't recognize me at all?"
Ray frowned. "Recognize you?"
Kai looked almost offended, but in an exaggerated, playful way. "Seriously? Nothing?"
Ray sighed, rubbing his temple. "Alright, let me guess - you're some legacy kid? A wanted criminal? A secret government experiment, to create a perfect guy?"
Kai blinked, then burst into laughter. "Okay, I'll take that as a compliment. But no, none of that." He put a hand over his chest dramatically. "I'm Night. Of Night and Gale."
Ray stared. "…The hell is Night and Gale?"
Kai actually stopped walking and turned to Ray, looking both shocked and betrayed. "Are you serious?"
Ray gave a nonchalant shrug. "Should I know?"
Kai groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "We're only the most popular duo out there! Night and Gale - we sing, we perform, we tour… Ringing any bells?"
Ray was unimpressed. "Can't say I kept up with idols."
Kai sighed in defeat. "Unbelievable, well I've been here for 2 years already, guess the fame is gone, after all." Then, he grinned. "Guess that means you're not one of those crazy fans who only want to take my money."
Ray smirked. "Nah, I just wanted to take your money for the fun of it."
Kai laughed. "Fair enough."
With that, the two walked on, a strange but comfortable camaraderie forming between them.
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Just wanted to inform you guys, that I will probably switch back to one chapter every two days soon. Finals are coming up, and I don't have the time and energy to constantly write and think of the next chapter. This will probably last for two weeks or so, after that, it should resume like right now.