Mr. Roland did not look at Shade's cards, but took the glass from the bartender.
"Although I think I can beat the knights of the North Country, something happened at home in the fall, so I was unable to go on the trip to the North Country, which I actually planned to go."
After he finished speaking, he noticed that everyone was looking at the table. The middle-aged bartender in an apron did not leave immediately after serving the drinks. Instead, he glanced at the table, then smiled and patted the poet on the shoulder:
"Mr. Roland, it seems you have met your match this time."
The poet then looked down and saw that Shad's three cards on the table were Moon 2, Flower 11 and Sun 8, totaling 21 points.
"Is there such a thing?"
Mr. Roland muttered in surprise, but he didn't say much. Instead, he seemed to be inspired and wrote down a few words in his notebook, then signaled to Shade that he could proceed to the second round:
"I saw the picture of the Big City Players Champion in the newspaper."
The poet said casually, and took the first hole card of the second round:
"For some reason, all the newspaper photos of that Knight of Delarion don't have a front view."
"I know that."
Xia De also took out his own trump card:
"I heard people say that although that gentleman was the champion, he hated gambling and only played Rhodes as a hobby. Therefore, after hearing about the underground casino offering odds for the champion during the Big City Players period, he decided not to show his face in the newspaper to prevent his reputation from being tarnished."
"He is truly a man of noble character."
Mr. Roland praised him, and after confirming that Shade also wanted the third card, he continued to draw cards. Shade smiled:
"After all, he is the only knight to be awarded in this era of Draerion."
"It has been many years since Carsenrick has canonized a knight with a title. Hamilton of Regede is probably the only true knight of this era. I stop trading at 19 o'clock."
Mr. Roland revealed his cards: 9 of flowers, 1 of flowers and 9 of stars.
He looked at Shade expectantly, and Shade asked for the fourth card:
"I'm actually very curious, Mr. Roland. Since you are so lucky, why don't you go to the casino to make a lot of money for yourself so that you can have more time to write poetry? I'm afraid you can't make much money from the translation work in the bookstore."
"Because translation itself is very interesting. The Hamilton Detective Stories that we are currently translating is a good book."
Mr. Roland said, and then saw Shad turned over all the cards, Sun 4, Sun 10, Star 1 and Flower 5, 20 points, just a little more than Mr. Roland.
The poet shook his head helplessly:
"Besides the fact that the work is interesting, it's also because I'm afraid of meeting someone like you."
He took a big sip of wine and said amid the booing of the people around him:
"I will continue to play. It seems that I have really met my match today."
The third round continued, and Mr. Roland explained as he took the cards:
"Okay, let's get back to the point. I don't go to the casino to gamble, partly because I'm a decent person, and partly because I also believe that luck comes at a price."
"Mr. Roland, I would rather pay the price than have your luck."
The bearded man standing next to the poet, with a brown belt tied crookedly around his waist, said jokingly, but Mr. Roland did not laugh. He reached out and took the second card:
"If you were me, you probably wouldn't think so. Luck really does come at a price."
Shade noticed that his expression was a little strange, but before Shade could continue to delve into this topic, Mr. Roland showed the cards in his hand:
"Look, I drew a special card. Star One, Carsonrick Horror Story: Headless Horseman Jack. When you draw this card, if your opponent's first hole card is also in the star suit and the number is less than or equal to 5, you can choose to forcibly reduce the opponent's total points by one."
The onlookers immediately started talking excitedly; the appearance of special rule cards was always so exciting.
Shade tilted his head slightly and looked at the card with interest. The picture on the card was not particularly scary, but a headless knight in armor standing in a cemetery, with his back to the three moons, holding his helmet in his hand. Because it did not describe whether there was something in the helmet, this scene looked only slightly scary.
"The Carson Rick Horror Story Series?"
Shade asked with a smile. This series was first released 20 years ago and has been reprinted four times so far. Corresponding to it is the Delarion Horror Story series. These cards with special rules include traditional horror stories from both countries and modern urban legends.
Because of the special nature of the card, it is enthusiastically pursued by a small number of Rhodes card enthusiasts. Not to mention the special rule cards, even the more common special card cards have a price higher than the average of the same type of special Rhodes cards of the same era.
Of course, although Mr. Roland drew the special card, he still ended up losing to Shade with 18-1=17 points.
In the next six rounds of the game, the poet also fully demonstrated his luck and drew another special card of his, Star 7 Modern Girl Tavern Girl. The card showed the profile of a lazy girl sitting alone at the counter of the tavern under the gas lamp, holding a goblet.
The effect is to throw a 20-sided dice. If the result is 1 or 20, the number of points on the card can be adjusted between 6 and 7.
But even with the special card, Mr. Poet Roland didn't win a single round in the total 9 rounds, and there wasn't even a tie. This was very abnormal, because even if Shade played cards with an opponent with average luck, the opponent wouldn't lose so badly.
"Today is probably not a good day for gambling."
Mr. Roland looked at the queen drawn by Shade in the ninth game with a bitter face. He was willing to admit defeat and was about to search for money in his pocket. At the same time, he smiled and drove away the people around him, saying that his good luck for the day was over and he didn't want to play cards anymore.
When everyone left, the poet pushed the money he lost to Shade and asked tentatively:
"Mr. Watson, you didn't just appear here by chance and play cards with me, did you?"
He gave Shad three small silver coins worth one ore and some banknotes.
Xia De raised his eyebrows:
"Mr. Roland, you are very perceptive."
He pushed the coins and bills back:
"I actually have always hated gambling. This time I just wanted to get closer to you, so I acted as your opponent."
He pointed to the money:
"Please take back the money, but I have some questions I would like to ask you."
Mr. Roland squinted his eyes and looked at the young man in front of him:
"Have you seen the Cherubim, too?"
"You mean the Lady of the Lake? Oh, no, no, I haven't seen her."
In local folklore, the "Lady of the Lake" has been given many names. Professor Drake, who was disabled in both legs, called the lake "Lake of Cherubim", so the Lady of the Lake can also be called "Cherubim".
"I haven't seen it. Did you really win me by relying on your card skills and luck?"
Mr. Roland was very surprised. Shade thought for a moment:
"Actually... I've always had good luck."
As he spoke, he simply shuffled his deck, then picked out a card at random and showed it to me. It turned out to be the Sun One:
"But I did come here for the 'Lady of the Lake'. I heard about you from Professor Drake and wanted to know more details."
"It turned out to be Professor Drake. Yes, I once mentioned my own situation to the professor in order to find some information."
Mr. Roland held the handle of the wooden wine glass with his left hand, and his expression began to relax:
"Young man, you are already lucky enough. I advise you not to look for the goddess in the lake anymore."
"I have a reason to look for it, Mr. Roland. Please tell me about your experience in the spring. For this, you can make as many requests as possible."
The poet sighed and raised his right hand, which was missing two fingers, to show it to Shade:
“Everything has a price.”
"I see."
Shad nodded.
"Do you really understand?"
Mr. Roland smiled bitterly, and seeing that Xia De was serious, he nodded:
"I have been reluctant to mention that incident to anyone, but since your luck is better than mine, I think you will find it yourself sooner or later even if I don't tell you. Okay, I can tell you the specific experience, but you have to promise me one thing. If, I mean if, if you can really see the cherubim, please ask her on my behalf if you can take back my luck."
The atmosphere in the tavern was very leisurely in the afternoon. There were not many customers yet. After the people playing cards left, no one paid attention to the two people at the table.
“Take it back?”
Xia De asked hesitantly:
"You paid a price and gained extraordinary luck, why do you want to take it back?"
"Too much luck is a burden to mortals."
Mr. Roland touched his chest with his disabled hand:
“I made a wish to the cherubim, and they just took away a poem I had composed at the time.
When I got home, I looked just like anyone else, but since the spring, I've felt more and more that I was carrying a mountain on my back. It's like an old steam engine with the latest fuel tank installed. Sometimes, people don't need things they don't need. "
The poet went to see Shade again, and the young stranger showed a look of understanding:
"As a poet, you must have a very high level of inspiration, so you can understand things that ordinary people cannot understand."
"Yes."
Mr. Roland nodded:
"Mr. Watson, since you can understand, then come and listen to my story. This story is not long, but the process is somewhat incredible. I hope you can believe me."
The two ordered some more drinks and the poet began to tell his story.