OBS Chapter 3558 The Price of Luck
Chapter 3558 The Price of Luck
Chapter 3558 The Price of Luck
Clement Kruger, who won the 21st round, visibly breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had let go of some heavy psychological burden.
But then Shad won the 22nd round with "Queen," and once he won the next round, all four cards that Elder Harald had lost would be back in his hand, and the game would be over.
Clement Kruger, with his light brown hair, rubbed his hands together, his eyes fixed on the remaining cards in his deck. Both players drew cards, and just as Shad was about to confirm his score, a voice suddenly came from afar:
"Kruger! Kruger!"
A middle-aged man, panting heavily, ran along the park path. His shouting drew a glare from an elderly man with gray hair who was taking a walk, but the middle-aged man paid no attention.
"Kruger, something's happened to your house!"
He shouted this, and the crowd watching the card game immediately parted. The young man who was also looking at his hand immediately changed his expression:
"Uncle Rudolf? What happened?"
He stood up abruptly, while the middle-aged man who had brought the news spoke breathlessly:
“Why are you still playing cards here? Something bad has happened to your family. Your house suddenly collapsed, and your mother and brother are trapped underneath. The neighbors are trying to rescue them and have sent people to the dock to look for your father, but they haven’t found him yet. You should come back with me.”
"What!?"
Clement Kruger's face turned deathly pale, and he desperately steadied himself by holding onto the round table in the gazebo to avoid collapsing.
"I know, I'll go back now."
He reached out and gathered his deck, and before Shad could speak, he tossed Elder Harald's fourth card directly to Shad:
"Since I was the one who ended the game, then I have lost. The game is over. I apologize, Mr. Holmes."
After saying that, he hurriedly left with his cards and the neighbor who had come to deliver the news. Although the onlookers felt sorry, since something serious had happened to Mr. Kruger's family, no one asked him to stay.
Shad also stood up, looked at the Moon 4 card in his hand, [Life Ritual - Graduation Ceremony], and then looked at Clement Kruger's departing figure.
"Is it a fake license plate? Is he committing fraud and then running away?"
Authentic product.
Although the afternoon's events were somewhat inexplicable, he had a brilliant game and won, which was enough.
"Claire, have someone investigate this Kruger later."
As they left the park, Shad reminded her again. The platinum-blonde-haired witch nodded gently, still holding Elder Harald's four cards, considering whether to return them to him today.
The two did not stay in the city any longer. After returning to the town, they immediately met Elder Harald, who was waiting for them, in the Snow Mountain Hall.
He looked at the two of them somewhat embarrassedly, his eyes clearly asking, "Have you won?" Shad then returned the three borrowed cards to the elder and gestured for him to go find Claire.
"Elder, those four cards are in Claire's hand."
In the end, Claire returned the cards to her grandfather without saying a word, and even Shad, who was standing next to her, felt the pressure.
While Claire went to put on makeup and change clothes, Elder Harald was still carefully checking his playing cards for damage. Shad, who didn't need to prepare, smiled and asked him:
"Elder, have you learned your lesson this time?"
"I know, young man, you're really something. Just kidding, you've learned your lesson this time. If these four cards hadn't come back, I don't think I'd be able to sleep well for a year."
He carefully put the four cards back into his deck, then asked Shad about the situation:
"Is that young man still so lucky? How did you win?"
Shad still had doubts about the matter, so he told Elder Harald about the entire process of the 23 rounds of the game and the final outcome.
After listening, the elder looked out at the courtyard and thought for a moment:
“It is indeed very strange. And the other party is clearly a local, but I have never heard of such a poker player in the area before. Fattummst is a small place, and the poker players here actually know each other.”
"So I asked Claire's friends to investigate whether the other side really did use some kind of trick to win."
The elder snorted:
"Then report him to the church! Someone who cheats at playing Lothar's cards is utterly morally corrupt!"
Last week, the Time Key was used after entering the [House of the Pseudo-Humans] on Tuesday afternoon. Therefore, this Tuesday afternoon, Shad could actually activate the key a second time.
But he didn't do that. Instead, he thought he would use the key tonight or tomorrow morning, otherwise he felt he might not be able to fully enjoy the dinner party tonight.
Although Claire called it a "dinner party," Shad saw it as nothing more than a dinner party with the girls around him. The Great Witch of the Sun dressed up nicely and, at 5:30 in the evening, boarded the Radiant Messenger from the town's dock with Shad, Stella, Matilda, and Rita, who had come from the Ice Castle.
"Shad, it's been a long time!"
Megan and Audrey stood on the deck to welcome the group, acting as if they hadn't seen each other for a long time, even though the two sisters had spent the night at Shad's house the night before.
I've been missing you a lot lately.
They hugged Shad together before greeting Claire:
"Claire, the scenery in your hometown looks quite nice."
Claire was already quite used to her colleagues' tendency to prioritize romantic relationships over friendships.
"How come I remember you guys were here two days ago to deal with the [House of False Humans]? Didn't you pay attention to the scenery then?"
Now that there are three great witches on the island, the Witch Council has effectively become deeply involved in the affairs of Fatummont Island. Tonight's banquet on the ship is ostensibly to welcome Miss Edwards and her friends, but it's also a way for everyone to hear about Shad's next plans.
The events at the "House of the Fake People" have come to an end, marking the conclusion of the third act of the story. The shadow of evil that has been cast upon this remote island now hangs over it.
Of course, the witches cannot interfere with the demons' affairs for the time being, but the story of the fourth act is already beginning to unfold:
"The Prophet's Association's 'Grand Symphony of Destiny' ceremony is taking an unknown amount of time to prepare. Since Megan and Audrey have friends who will be attending, they should stay in touch and communicate as needed."
"Matilda and Miss Aurora, you've been investigating the movements of the [Cult of Doom] and the [Order of Oneness]. A professional diviner like Matilda should be able to handle incidents caused by cultists. It's strange that they haven't reacted at all to the [House of the False Man] matter. I'd like to know what they've been busy with lately."
"So what should we do? Claire is in charge of things in the town, Sylvie is in charge of things in the city, and Megan and I? Just contacting friends, that's too simple."
Audrey asked, noting that she had brought many followers from Lake Green. Although she had seemed somewhat eccentric in the past due to her soul issues, the wise witch's power was considerable, at least much greater than Claire's.
“Send some people to the town to examine the ancient documents of the Fatu people. I know your followers are very good at this kind of work. Claire, you will need to discuss this matter with the elders.”
Claire nodded:
"No problem, I'll talk to my grandfather."
"Also, Megan and Audrey, you both have strong spatial abilities, so you two will have to work hard for a while and take the remaining followers and Claire's people to wander around the snow mountain. There must be some secrets on that snow mountain that we don't know about. But be careful, the demon that caused the final incident at the [House of False Humans] is probably also on the snow mountain, so be careful."
The two sisters readily accepted the mission. Shad then asked Sylvie's mermaid friends to keep an eye on other areas of Falling Star Bay. Since the cultists were so secretive on the island, they might also be hiding on other small islands in the bay.
The banquet hall of the Radiant Messenger was quite stylish. Since there weren't many people present this time, the ship's maids specially prepared a round table. This didn't make the banquet hall seem empty, because a large number of maids were busy moving around the few people eating, and there were even quite a few mermaid girls who came to help.
During the meal, Shad also mentioned what happened in the afternoon, and Stella reported the results of her investigation into the young Mr. Clement Kruger.
They didn't find out much in the afternoon, only that Clement Kruger was 26 years old and a resident of Time Wheel City. Two years ago, after graduating from university in Lomari, the capital of the Duchy, he returned to his hometown and became a teacher at the Grammar School in Time Wheel City, teaching mathematics and basic physics.
This man's life was quite simple. His mother was a housewife, and his father owned three fishing boats at the Time Wheel City docks. After joining the local fleet, he supported the family by renting out the fishing boats. Therefore, Mr. Kruger Jr. could also call himself "the fisherman's son."
This afternoon, while Mr. Kruger Jr. and Shad were playing cards, his house unexpectedly collapsed. Stella brought back news that his mother and brother had died in the accident, and the cause of the collapse seemed to be a small earthquake on the island that damaged the foundation on the day of the "House of the Pseudo-Humans" riot.
Mr. Kruger Jr.'s father went to the dock on business this afternoon. When the incident occurred, people went to the dock to look for him but couldn't find him until about an hour ago when his body was discovered washed ashore. The autopsy results are not yet clear, but it is highly likely that he accidentally fell into the sea and drowned.