What a shocking first game.
Dagaa won without even letting a single roll happen. This is the Queen!
"…She's too strong."
"As expected of my Queen."
"She's not yours!"
Before the buzz had even faded, the second game started right away.
Second game. Dagaa was third in turn order. The roll happened normally.
The second roll passed without incident.
This game had four rolls per match. If anything was going to happen, it'd be on the third roll.
The one who acted was Male A from Fawn's team, first in turn order.
He picked up the "Hunter" card that the Universal Human woman had discarded.
At the same time, he used his Legacy.
The effect forced the targeted player to choose one card from their hand and discard it.
But since he couldn't see the other player's hand, it was random.
The target he picked was Dagaa. The card he chose… was the "Unicorn" card.
Dagaa discarded the Unicorn.
The man didn't reveal, it seemed. He'd gone on the offensive to keep Dagaa in check.
On the next turn, the Universal Human woman drew a card from the deck and discarded it.
"Heh heh."
She laughed meaningfully.
Still, that flashy black wide-brimmed hat really gives off a noblewoman vibe.
Dagaa's turn.
He draws a card from the deck and discards it. It's a Chimera card.
That's all — he didn't take any particular action.
Next, Fawn's Male B also draws from the deck and discards.
Now, roll four — the final one. There's no way nothing happens.
This has got to lead to some dramatic twist!
Huh?
It just turned into a forced reveal with barely any fuss… and nobody had a winning hand.
"Sometimes it goes like this."
"Mm."
Fish and Stream Crab standing in the back with their arms crossed, looking all self-important. So annoying.
If nobody has a complete hand, the round just flows onward.
The next three games.
Dagaa is in position one. He immediately makes a move.
He draws a card from the deck, discards it, and plays Legacy.
It's an effect that reverses the turn order.
What does that mean?
With this, he drops from first position all the way down to fourth.
The woman who'd gone from fourth position to first draws a card from the mountain.
She discards the Knight card.
So it's Knight, huh.
Knight and Saint, or Princess and Dragon.
That means she can take on the Dragon Slayer role.
Though getting Dragon is pretty tough.
Next is the Fawn guy in second position who moved up.
He draws a card from the mountain, then activates Legacy.
Its effect lets him draw one more card from the mountain.
"Nice!"
Looks like he pulled something good.
He discards the Princess.
"That's the one!"
The woman reveals her cards.
Knight, Princess, Dragon... Dragon Slayer, alright.
Ohh, a collective gasp of admiration escapes everyone.
She pulled Dragon, huh?
"Damn it!"
The Fawn guy in third position, B, barked out a curse.
What he revealed was Prince, King... Looks like he'd been aiming for the Kingdom.
Fawn's guy A was scattered.
Dagaa had two cards: Unicorn and Pegasus.
Was he going for Leprachaun? That would complete the Three Phantom Horses.
But in terms of hand rank, it's below Dragon Slayer.
Dragon is strong. Even when you're the one being slain.
The winner is the woman.
That makes it one to one... a showdown, huh.
Since the duel rule is in effect, it's a one-on-one between Dagaa and the woman.
By dice roll, Dagaa goes second.
The woman draws a card from the deck... and discards it.
She discarded Hunter — and that's the end of it.
Dagaa draws from the deck too.
Discards Griffin. Nothing happens.
That ends one roll.
But something feels off.
"..."
"..."
Fawn's guys A and B, still sitting there in silence, were strangely tense.
"...I wonder. Comrade Fish — this atmosphere."
"So you feel it too, comrade Crab."
Even Fish and Crab seemed to sense something.
The woman drew a card from the deck. Discarded the King.
Then she played Legacy. The effect lets her draw one of the opponent's cards and discard it.
Oh, Dagaa played Legacy too, not to be outdone.
The effect lets him pull one card from the opponent and add it to his own hand.
Then he drew a card from the deck and discarded it.
That ended the first round.
"Not bad. Queen."
"Na!"
The woman looked like she was having fun. Dagaa was alive with energy too.
Round two.
The woman drew a card from the deck. She paused.
"..."
She chose and discarded the Hunter.
Dagaa's turn. He drew a card from the deck.
He discarded the Unicorn.
The woman didn't move.
Round three.
"About time..."
She drew a card from the deck, discarded the Queen. Then she played Legacy.
The effect, as it turns out, is to skip the target's turn.
So it's the woman's turn now.
She draws from the deck. Picks the Prince and discards it.
Four rolls. This is the last turn of the game.
"That ends it," she says.
She draws from the deck, discards, then reveals.
Queen, Saint, Witch... The Ladies. Quite the hand.
"Nah!"
Before revealing, Dagaa draws from the deck.
She's allowed to do that on her turn.
She picks, discards, and then uses Legacy.
The effect lets her draw from the deck. Discards.
"Desperate, huh."
That's what it looks like to me too.
But I do respect using every move available to you.
It might look like a last-ditch play, but it's better than throwing in the towel.
"Nah!"
Dagaa finally reveals her cards.
Dragon, Dragon, Dragon... Th-this is...
"Oh, a three-headed!"
"A three-headed!"
Without thinking, Fawn's Man A and Man B both cried out in unison.
Three'Dragon'cards forming a'hand'... they call it a Three Dragon, they do.
Though the nickname "three-headed" is way more popular, so not many people know the actual'hand'name, they do.
It's one of the strongest'hands'in House of Cards, they do.
Getting this set together is really tough, ya know.
After all, there are only 3'Dragon'cards in total.
Out of 64 cards, it's just those 3, ya know.
And she drew them all. Truly a Queen.
"Heh, complete defeat."
The woman conceded with a smile.
"The winner is——Queeeeeeeeeen!!!"
Whoa, that startled me. What even is going on at this point.
Wait, why was it Fawn's Man A who said that?
"Wonderful. Wonderful."
"Bra-vo! Bra-vo!"
The fish and the crab applauded.
The woman stood up and placed the hat she'd been wearing onto Dagaa's head.
"It's yours. The Queen."
"Na!"
Chapter 142. The Full Moon Bazaar (2)
"Hey, that looks good on you."
It really gives off a Queen vibe.
"Congratulations. Your next stage is the Champion Match at the Full Moon Bazaar's traveling palace."
"Wait, that's the VIP area?"
"That's right. The Hyzen champions are tough. This'll be fun. Queen."
Crab-Head scuttled its legs and snapped its pincers.
Something in my head was buzzing so I forgot what it said.
"Ahahaha! I'm taking every last prize!"
Gymnema was holding silver and gold coins, dancing around in wild ecstasy.
Was that some kind of victory dance?
Still, I never expected to get a one-way ticket to the VIP area.
It sounded interesting, so I'd go watch as a bodyguard on the day.
The trade city of Hyzen.
The outer rim of the Full Moon Bazaar venue.
The day of the event was shaping up to be hectic, with tents being set up and merchandise being hauled in.
Petty thieves going after the goods had shown up too, and guards were scrambling all over.
Right in the center of this outer rim—the worst area for public order, an unregistered district that was practically a black market—sat a cramped, ramshackle cluster of tents with a simple bar counter inside.
Sitting at the counter were Hoss and a man with a scar on his face.
They were speaking in low voices over cheap booze.
"Here's the info on that red-masked man, right."
Hoss said that and handed over several sheets of sheepskin parchment.
The man took them and read.
"So he sold a few swords at the Moon Bazaar a few months back, and then skipped town, huh."
"He was wearing a red mask under his hood, pulled down deep enough to look suspicious. Made him stand out, so gathering info wasn't hard."
"Doesn't seem like he's been making any big moves, huh."
"Right. Strange thing is, nobody's really bothered him either. That's about all Heizen's got on him."
"Much appreciated. Here's what you asked for."
The man quietly slid some kind of plate across the counter.
"That only works once. Use it a second time and they'll catch on."
"...You've saved me. No matter what I tried, I couldn't get into the VIP area."
Hoss checked it and tucked it into his coat.
"...I wish I had more useful info or a better method for you. Sorry this is all I could come up with."
"Can't be helped. Just knowing about Luma is plenty."
"To think he'd go that far... I know I'm no saint myself, but someone that rotten is rare even for me. Casting a curse on Luma..."
"...Not just Luma. Every woman he forced to be his wife. Not just wives... how many more... victims of his hobbies..."
Hoss clenched his fist tight. Rage surged up inside him.
The man rose from his seat without a sound.
"Take care."
"Yeah. I'll make sure to kill Barow good and proper."
Hoss drank his cup dry and set it down.