Within the bustling streets of southern Orario, colorful Magic Stone lamps flashed nonstop, and buildings styled with exotic flair showcased extravagant luxury. Bell passed beneath a towering archway and walked around a grand, ornate fountain. Dazzling lights filled his sight as wealthy merchants and nobles in lavish clothing moved all around him.
"I really feel out of place," he said with a small laugh.
To make himself look like an easy mark, he hadn't dressed up at all. Instead, he wore plain everyday clothes and blended into the crowd. Syr, on the other hand—despite only putting in a little effort—looked so lovely that she outshone even the noble ladies wearing heavy makeup.
"No backing out now, dear."
Syr linked her arm with Bell's and smiled sweetly.
Their task was to enter the casino from the main entrance and draw as much attention as possible. Bell had assumed Syr chose that form of address with a purpose in mind… but the rosy blush on her cheeks made it clear she was simply enjoying herself.
"Syr, there it is—El Dorado Resort." Bell pointed toward a strikingly conspicuous building ahead.
"El Dorado Resort."
Funded by the Entertainment District, this casino was the top gambling facility in all of Orario. According to the criminal's testimony, every abducted woman had been brought here. Its golden exterior walls and ornate statues gleamed under the Magic Stone lights.
"Cranel-san? We've been expecting you."
As the world-famous fastest adventurer, Bell received a personal welcome from the casino manager.
The Hermes Familia worked quickly. Just two days after that secret discussion, rumors about Bell's supposed love for gambling had spread everywhere. On top of that, people now believed he was romantically involved with a beautiful tavern girl, and that Bell Cranel had once spent a fortune gambling at various casinos. All of it had been fabricated flawlessly.
With such bait, the culprit couldn't resist. Bell made the decision immediately and came here. If they resolved this incident even a day earlier, they might save at least one more woman.
...
Beyond the massive entrance hall, a lavish scene unfolded. Vibrant carpets covered the floor as dwarves, elves, humans, gods—every race imaginable—wandered between tables with stacks of tokens in their hands. Cards, roulette, dice… even gambling machines from foreign lands were perfectly arranged. The clatter of dice, the crack of ore stones breaking, boisterous laughter, and anguished cries—all of it blended with the bright lights, forming the spectacle of the greatest casino.
"Honey, were you sneaking a look at that hostess just now?"
Syr let out a small huff, her tone accusatory.
"You're imagining things."
Bell replied without missing a beat. Most of the hosts here were women, and their beauty paired with practiced movements drew plenty of eyes.
"No way, you definitely peeked!"
Syr puffed her cheeks, pretending to be angry.
"Alright—if I admit it, how do I earn your forgiveness?"
Bell asked, trying to soothe her.
"Kiss me. Right now."
Syr didn't care about the people around them and put on a spoiled expression.
"Right now?"
"Mhm."
"Here?"
"Mhm."
"....."
Just as Bell started to move, the manager guiding them cleared his throat.
"I won't disturb you. Have a good time, you two."
He gave a slight bow before hastily escaping from the couple who couldn't keep their flirting in check no matter the place.
"Finally gone..."
Syr murmured so softly that no one else could hear.
Their mission was to create enough chaos for Laurie and Ryuu to slip in and rescue the abducted women. If the manager kept hovering around them, it would get in the way, which was why Syr had put on that angry act earlier.
"Bell, what do we do next?"
Syr asked quietly.
They needed to stir things up, but the casino's security was extremely tight. A God who had gambled away everything tried to steal someone else's chips, and within seconds he was escorted straight out. If Bell and Syr acted without a plan, it would only make the guards even more alert.
"Hmm... for now, let's just cause a big commotion."
Bell let out a small laugh and glanced toward the luxurious gaming tables.
Syr frowned slightly, trying to hide her surprise.
"Gambling?! But we don't have any money... That idiot Hermes-sama actually refused to lend us anything..."
When Syr had asked him to loan them a bit of money as starting funds, the God had cried while denying her request. Hermes was already stuck paying off a hundred years' worth of meal debts, so there was no way he'd contribute financial support for this operation.
"Idiot... Syr really isn't afraid of gods at all," Bell muttered under his breath.
"Eh? Well... they always come to the tavern joking around, so..."
Syr pursed her lips, then quickly shifted the topic. "The money I brought is nowhere near enough to gamble with... If you'd told me earlier, I could've borrowed some from my friends."
"Syr's friends? You mean Ryuu and Chloe? I doubt they have much money either."
Aside from the girls at the tavern, Bell had never seen his girlfriend interact with anyone else.
"Th-Then... actually, Mama Mia has a lot of money. All those adventurers who picked fights for no reason ended up paying huge sums."
Syr's answer came out flustered, and she leaned in a little closer.
Bell looked at his affectionate girlfriend and sighed with a helpless smile. "Alright, alright. I won't pry."
Ever since that rainy night, they had already opened their hearts to each other. Bell knew Syr was hiding something, and Syr had admitted as much. But he also knew she'd never hide anything that would harm him, so the two of them always silently avoided the topic.
"So what do we do now? We really don't have any money for the gambling..."
Syr brought the focus back.
"Don't worry. Just follow me and you'll understand."
Bell scanned the area, then walked toward a few people dressed like Adventurers. They were big, loud, and foul-mouthed—completely out of place among the wealthy nobles nearby.
"I remember you're the adventurers from Rivira Town, right?"
Bell recalled their faces and struck up a conversation.
"...The Little Rookie?!"
Mord, the leader, stared wide-eyed. "Didn't expect to run into you here."
When news of the boy's level-up incident spread, someone in Rivira had loudly declared that if it were true, he'd give the kid every gem he owned. Seeing a chance to profit, Mord set up a betting pool on whether the level-up was real.
In the end, Mord made a killing.
"Look at you guys—must've lost a pretty penny, huh?" Bell asked.
"...You caught us. We shelled out a fortune to sneak in here, but our luck's been awful today."
Aside from the gambling funds they'd earned, Loki Familia had also stepped in to help during the Viola incident in Rivira Town. Since the boy had traveled with Finn and the others back then, Mord naturally held some goodwill toward him.
"Got any tokens left? Lend me a little—I'll pay you back double."
Bell asked in a friendly tone.
"Little Rookie, lending them to you isn't the problem, but we only have two tokens left. The rest are all gone."
It was money won from gambling anyway, and while Mord felt the sting, he still kept a straight face for pride's sake. Trying to make a comeback with just two tokens? He might as well go home, drink himself silly, and dream of it instead.
"It's fine. This is enough."
Bell took the tokens from him.
"You're serious...?"
Mord blinked in disbelief. He had no idea what Bell could possibly do with so little.
Bell smiled lightly. "Don't go anywhere yet. I'll pay you back with interest in a bit."
The boy walked off with his girlfriend, leaving Mord and the others standing behind, completely bewildered.
"A little rookie who pulls off miracles... Could he actually be serious...?"
...
Bell toyed with the token in his hand while quietly studying the casino. El Dorado Resort was a joint operation between Orario and the Entertainment District, and most of the guards wore the emblem of the Ganesha Familia.
All except for one door.
In front of that heavily guarded entrance stood two guards with no identifying marks. Based on the intel he'd gathered, Bell was certain that the ones behind the kidnappings were on the other side of that door.
Rumor had it that anyone entering for the first time would undergo a "baptism," most likely something tied to that strange gambling scheme.
Bell flicked one of the tokens onto a nearby gaming table.
"For now... let's get the second invitation."