Reborn Soul Master: The Rogue's Counterattack

Alves's home was older than expected. The ceiling and walls were full of holes, and it felt like moisture was coming out of the ground.

"Brother!" "Brother!" As soon as Alves entered the room, his younger brothers and sisters ran over and hugged him tightly.

"Brother! Are you doing well? Are you a guardian now?"

"Brother! I missed you so much!" Walking around in the city, he only felt the gloomy atmosphere. Seeing these children, Cardin's mouth corners naturally rose.

"No, I'm still in first grade. I missed you too, kids." Alves said with a smile, hugging his brothers and sisters tightly.

"Where are mom and dad?"

"Go do business!"

"They told us to look after the house! But who is that brother next to him?" A girl who looked about 10 years old pointed at Cardin and asked. At this time, Alves stood up and waved to Cardin to come closer.

"Come meet my brothers and sisters. Kids, this is my friend Cardin." Maybe because he was not used to it, Cardin waved awkwardly. "Hello."

The first time they saw Cardin, he might have felt strange. Alves’ brothers and sisters just hid behind Alves and secretly looked at Cardin.

"Cardan, wait a moment. I'll prepare some food. Can you help me look after the children?" Cardin looked at Alves in surprise. Alves, not knowing whether he knew Cardin's surprise, walked towards the kitchen.

"What a scary brother! Run!"

"Brother! Let me help you too!" The children also seemed to have a hard time getting along with Cardin, and they ran away following Alves who was heading towards the kitchen.

After a while, after a simple meal, Cardin and Alves stood in the alley in front of their house and chatted.

"Living in a city like this, the children seem quite cheerful?" Living in such an environment, Alves' family looks very harmonious.

"Since I became a student, my family has just become harmonious. It was very difficult before..." After Alvis was accepted into the Hero Academy, his family had hope.

"…Well, Alvis. I want to hear more about this city. Can you tell me?"

"Besides what I just said?"

"Didn't you say that illegal organizations controlled this city?"

"Yes. Maybe it's because they have the support of the nobles behind them, so they are very active. I heard that some once famous mercenaries have also joined illegal organizations. Why do you ask this?" Alvis tilted his head curiously.

"Oh, just out of curiosity." Alves still has two years to graduate from the academy. By then, will his younger brothers and sisters be able to grow up healthily in this environment?

Although I only met Alves' younger brothers and sisters once, the fact that the children grew up in such an environment was unacceptable.

“Oh, since it’s an illegal organization, that’s also my past area of ​​expertise.” Suddenly, Alves, realizing Cardin’s intention, hurriedly waved his hands in the air and said.

"Ka, Cardan! This is dangerous. Several citizens have asked for help from surrounding cities, but to no avail."

“It’s hard for the voices of common people to reach the nobles.”

"The other nobles knew about it, but they all kept silent. Even though you're a student at the Hero Academy, there are things you can't do."

Although the status of a student at the Hero Academy is a position that even the nobles cannot easily touch, it does not mean that one can put pressure on the nobles in turn.

"Well, I don't plan on using my student status to do anything. Anyway, if you know any information, tell me some of it."

Alves knows more than you think. Perhaps in order to protect his family, Alves knows a lot about the information of illegal organizations. Maybe he once thought about accumulating strength in the Hero Academy to fight against illegal organizations.

"Well, thanks to this information, things have become easier." Cardin stood in front of a huge tavern, looking at the shabby sign. [Red Bear Hunting Ground]

"If illegal organizations control the city, it should be shaken from the foundation." You cannot wage war against the city.

"Those guys who can be easily seen are not that big of a deal. We should first meet the big guys hiding in the dark." Thinking so, Cardin took out the black mask given to him by Jack Carter from his arms and covered his face.

Creak. I opened the door and went in. A pungent smell hit me in the face. There was smoke everywhere, and it smelled like it was soaked in alcohol.

"Although it's unpleasant, the atmosphere is familiar." Looking around, people were sitting around tables in twos and threes drinking.

"Another 50 silver coins!" Although there were wine glasses, they were not drinking, but gambling.

"Here we are in the casino again." Cardin smiled and adjusted his mask before slowly walking around.

"Hey. How did you get here?" Cardin looked suspicious with his mask on, and a fierce-looking employee quickly came over and blocked his way.

"Why do I come to the casino? Of course, I come to win money."

"Who introduced you?" Judging from the employees' attitude, it seemed that they would not let him go easily.

"If I told you, would you know?" Cardin said, pulling a coin from his pocket and shaking it in the air.

“It looks like the safety measures are in place, I like that.”

"Then, coins?" Seeing Cardin throw the gold coins nonchalantly, the employee shrugged and lowered his head. He immediately became enthusiastic.

"Oops, I didn't know it was you. Please feel free to do as you please." No matter how effective the security measures are, they cannot defeat the power of "money".

"In a place like this, the power of money is most easily passed." After easily dealing with the employees who blocked his way, Cardin walked towards the casino again.

"This is a game I don't know." Although there are many unfamiliar gambling methods, fortunately there are also familiar gambling methods, such as dice and poker games.

"Damn it! I'm here." At this time, a man stood up at the poker table and cursed. It seemed that it was time, so Cardin walked leisurely to the table and stopped.

“It looks like there’s someone missing, can I sit down?” Sitting at the table were a woman in a sexy dress, a young man who looked like a weirdo, and a middle-aged man who looked wealthy.

"If you're here to give me money, you're welcome."

"That's fine with me too." Welcomed by the three people, Cardin sat down and the game began.

"What? Gourd? Lost again."

“Is it beginner’s luck?”

"Congratulations. You're very good." Cardin won three out of five rounds of poker. Cardin did not cheat.

"First give people hope, then give them despair at the end of hope... The casinos here are no different."

It was obvious very quickly. At this table, Cardin was the prey. In other words, the three people other than Cardin were working together to target Cardin's money.

"Hey, can you take that mask off? It's annoying to look at."

"Yeah. You have a nice voice and a nice figure, let's see your handsome face." The weird-looking man and the woman in a dress pointed at the mask, and Cardin answered by pointing behind it.

"I'm not the only one who covers his face, am I?" Cardin wasn't the only one who wanted to hide his identity. In a casino, there's nothing worse than showing your face, a sight you can often see in this city.

"Okay, I win, let's deal the cards." Swish, swish, swish. Cardin began to shuffle the cards quickly. His skilled technique made the cards mix together beautifully. The game was going on, and when everyone's cards were revealed.

"You won again?"

"What, what? Why are your cards stuck together?"

"...Congratulations." This time, the winner was Cardin again. This time, people's reactions were different from before. They were originally leisurely congratulating Cardin on his victory, but now a trace of panic appeared on their faces.

"I should have won this time, right?" The weirdo tried to hide his panic as he looked at Cardin who was collecting silver coins.

"Did that weirdo kid make a mistake?"

"How strange." The woman and the middle-aged man also tried to smile to hide their panic. The only person who was smiling leisurely was Cardin.

"I didn't expect that I would use the trick I learned from a con man like this." Cardin put all the silver coins into the black tube and picked up the cards and shook them.

"Should we up the ante?"