RL Chapter 57

Chapter 57 – Poker Game (Part 3)

Resonance 7, Part 7

Novel Title: 共鳴劣情 オメガバース (Resonance Lust: Omegaverse)

Author：岩本薫 (Iwamoto Kaoru)

Illustrator: 蓮川愛 (Hasukawa Ai)

Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)

Protagonists: 本浄天音 (Honjou Amane) & 苅谷煌騎 (Kariya Kouki) / 首藤煌騎 (Shutou Kouki)

*Please read at knoxt.space, the original site of translation. TQ*

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The Alphas, unaccustomed to losing, were visibly losing their enthusiasm. Kourogi, the long-haired guy, and the blond-haired guy weren’t even betting their own wallets, so they weren’t particularly serious to begin with.

Then, the man with black-rimmed glasses spoke up, “In that case, how about you and I play one-on-one?”

He seemed quite confident. In fact, he had been the strongest player so far.

“One final round, just the two of us. How about it?”

He must have been getting frustrated with how things weren’t going as planned, pushing for a rematch.

Amane, however, hadn’t been particularly keen on playing poker or winning money. He was only observing their actions to catch them off guard, which had led to this situation.

But making them think he was a ‘rare catch’ was a useful tactic.

Alphas, members of the privileged class, quickly grew bored of things they could easily obtain. That was why they had discarded Aya, whom they had gone to such despicable lengths with using rape drugs, after only one time.

On the flip side, the more they were made to wait, the more obsessive they became. It increased the chances they’d slip up in their impatience.

Still, if he made them wait too long, they’d lose interest. There was a balance to be struck. Amane felt it was a matter of careful negotiation based on his observations of the three Alpha men.

Luckily, tonight luck was on his side. Feeling confident in his chances, Amane accepted the man’s challenge.

“Sure, sounds good.”

At that moment, someone’s phone rang. Kourogi stood up. “It’s me. Excuse me for a moment,” he said as he stepped outside. He returned a minute later, saying, “Sorry, something urgent came up. So I have to go now.”

The three Alphas, no longer concerned about Kourogi, who had fulfilled his role of bringing in the ‘prey’, responded half-heartedly with “Later.”

“Well, good luck, Amane-kun. I’ll be in touch.”

Perhaps feeling a sense of relief at being freed from the tense room filled with conflicting agendas, Kourogi exited with his expression somewhat lighter.

Out of the remaining four people, Amane and the man with black-rimmed glasses moved from the sofa set to the round table and chairs in the corner to face each other one-on-one. The other two scattered, sitting at the counter and on the sofa, turning into spectators.

“Let’s decide who the dealer is first.”

The man with black-rimmed glasses flipped a coin, covered it with his right hand as it landed on the back of his left. He muttered, “Heads.”

“Tails.”

After waiting for Amane’s choice, the man lifted his right hand. The coin showed heads.

“Looks like I’m the dealer.”

“Go ahead.”

The man with black-rimmed glasses opened a new deck of cards, removed the jokers, and shuffled the remaining 52 cards. He dealt five face-down cards each to himself and Amane, placing the rest of the deck in the middle.

Amane slowly fanned out his cards. Two Aces, and one each of a 3, a 9, and a 10. A two-pair—not bad. But a bit too weak for a sudden, all-out move.

“Draw.”

Declaring this, Amane drew three cards from the deck and discarded three.

(Alright!)

Seeing the new cards he drew, he smirked internally, though keeping a calm face. The man with black-rimmed glasses, meanwhile, stayed expressionless as he laid down his hand.

“Bet.”

Without drawing any cards, the man with black-rimmed glasses made his bet and pushed all his chips forward. The audience let out a soft “Ooooh…”

“All-in.”

(He bet everything?)

That meant he was confident in his hand. However, Amane couldn’t afford to lose here and let go of the initiative.

He needed to win this game, secure control, and subtly guide the conversation to make him spill the details about Aya—and record it.

To do that, he had to win.

“All-in.”

Amane placed all his chips on the table and laid down his five cards. Someone let out a whistle. At some point, the long-haired man and the blond with a buzz cut had come closer, their eyes gleaming with curiosity as they peered at the table.

“Reveal your hand first.”

Prompted by the man with black-rimmed glasses, Amane flipped over his cards one by one. Four Aces and one Queen. The strongest four-of-a-kind hand. He had never gotten a hand this good before.

The audience fell into stunned silence.

(Sorry, but I’m taking this win.)

“……”

The man with black-rimmed glasses stared silently at the four-of-a-kind before slowly revealing his own cards. As each card turned over, Amane’s face grew pale. A 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace.

A Royal Straight Flush in spades—the unbeatable hand.

“You’ve got to be kidding…”

Amane let out a voice of disbelief.

The man hadn’t drawn a single card. That meant he had this hand from the start. The odds of getting a Royal Straight Flush in spades on the initial deal are 1 in 2.6 million.

(This can’t be…)

Whether it was a second deal or a bottom deal, there was no doubt it was a cheat. The cards, which appeared brand-new, had been tampered with.

(Damn… I let my guard down because the game with the five of us had seemed fair.)

It was clearly cheating. But since Amane hadn’t called it out when the cards were dealt, he had no choice but to admit defeat.

“…I lost.”

Amane grudgingly admitted his loss.

“Yes! I did it!”

“That was amazing. You did it!”

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Next update: 2025.02.27

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