What, Failure to Transition!? Volume 4 Chapter 4 (Patreon)

Chapter 4 – Let’s Play at the Casino!

“So you’re okay with Alana taking care of the rest?”

“Yeah. We’ll also try to be back here by noon, as we discussed.”

“Umm, thanks for your help, Alana.”

“S-sorry for the hassle…”

“Oh, no, you shouldn’t be. Plus, I’m already prepared to care for you over there. This is nothing to worry about.”

The next morning, Yoichi [returned] to the room in [Frontier’s Home], the inn which also substitutes as their home base in the other world, with everyone.

In the morning, the three women decided to go in their separate ways, procuring magical tools for inhibiting recognition and registering Karin and Misato with the Adventurers’ Guild. At the same time, Yoichi, upon transferring the ladies, returned to his home world to find a place to stay where they would not be asked to show their passports.

“I’ll pick you up at noon.”

After saying this, Yoichi [returned] to the casino hotel and went straight to the city proper.

“Ah, it feels dim even though it’s morning.” Yoichi muttered as he observed his surroundings.

Yoichi was walking through the same city’s back streets, guided by his [Appraisal+] to find a hotel that did not ask for a passport.

However, in this day and age, only a few hotels operate that way in this city.

Of course, it’s not like they are a rarity, as you would encounter several of them if you search the city. But those that are “clean” cannot be denied to be very few indeed.

Even with these circumstances, the city they were in was still dubbed the safest in the country.

“Their main street is the only street in the country where women can walk alone at night,” Karin quoted.

However, it goes without saying that if you go off the main street, lined with famous casinos, it becomes increasingly unsafe.

“Hey, bro, give me all your money right now.”

Because of this, it was probably inevitable for Yoichi to be involved in such a ridiculous situation, even though it was a refreshing morning.

“Japanese? Are you a tourist? Anyway, you shouldn’t have come to this place,” said a group of three men who half-encircled Yoichi, blocking his way.

Two of them had knives in their hands, and one had a gun.

By the way. Using [Appraisal+] would have helped him avoid some dangers, but there were too many obstacles.

It was time-consuming for Yoichi to dodge them all and reach the destination, so he chose a relatively easy opponent and confronted them instead, like in the RPGs of the 1990s.

“For starters, give us your pocket money and passport.”

“Then show us your ass.”

“I heard that Japanese asses are soft and tight, hehehe.”

The men talked as much as they liked, each toying with the knife or pistol in his hand.

“Wait, does he even understand English?”

“Better than you do.”

“Huuh!? What did you say, punk? Are you kidding with us?”

“It is you who are the ones who are kidding with me.”

“The fuck!?”

Yoichi pulled out a Russian-made assault rifle from the [Infinite Storage+] and held it at the ready, dismayed that the reaction of the thugs here is no different from that of Japanese hoodlums.

“You think you can beat me with your puny equipment?”

This was Yoichi who was saying this.

He could have used a U.S. military-issue assault rifle, but he judged that no matter the gun, these people won’t understand the difference. Therefore, he thought it was better to show these people something easy to understand.

And in terms of “ease of understanding”, the Russian-made assault rifle is a great gun that conveys a sense of “badness” at first glance, at least it was for Americans.

“Uwaaa!!”

“Where did he pull that thing!?”

“D-don’t be absurd… That has to be an airsoft gun…. It has to be an airsoft one!”

Yoichi took his aim off the three and pulled the trigger.

Dada-da-da! Three bullets were released in a loud burst, mercilessly gouging a block wall about 50 meters away.

“I-it’s the real thing!?” “Hyaaaaahh!!” “W-waait! Please! We surrender!”

When Yoichi pointed the muzzle of his gun at the three men again, they all dropped their weapons at once and put their hands behind their heads, though they were not specifically instructed to do so.

“S-spare us…!!”

“We’re sorry! We’re truly sorry!”

“Please…!!! I’ll give you my ass as much as you want, just please, let us go!!”

“Haaa…”

Yoichi sighed heavily, feeling a little regret that he should have returned after buying the magic tool for blocking recognition.

“Turn around for now.”

“ “ “Yess shir!” ” ”

Of the three who turned in a hurry, the muzzle of the gun is placed on the back of the man in the middle who was holding the gun earlier.

“Hiii…!!”

“Hey, do you know what would happen if I shot you in the back like this?”

“Y-you’re kidding, right?”

Hearing the man’s words, Yoichi continued matter-of-factly.

“A bullet from a gunshot will tear through your skin as easily as a wet finger through a tissue paper, ripping apart the muscles inside it.”

“Please… stop…”

“After shattering the spine, the bullet would then scramble the internal organs, tearing the abdominal muscles from the backside and breaking through the skin of your abdomen at the other side.”

“I’m sorry… Please, forgive us already…”

“Did you know? The wound at the exit of this thing is bigger than the entrance. I bet there will be a lot of guts spewing out from your torn belly after this.”

“I won’t do bad things anymore… I promise to live a good life…!!”

“The wound would be fatal, but it would not kill you instantly, so you’ll probably be lying around for a while with your internal organs scattered about.”

“You can do whatever you want with my ass. Just forgive me already…”

“The hell, why are you still insisting on doing your ass!? Now, where was I… Ah, yes. I heard that the effective range of this thing is about 600 meters. Well, even if you’re in like a kilometer away, I’m pretty sure you’ll be in big trouble if the bullet hits you.”

The three men were already incontinent, their faces battered with tears and snot.

“You have ten seconds. Run.”

“B-but that’s impossible―”

“Ready, set, BANG.”

“ “ “Hyaaaaaahh!” ” ”

The three men ran away from Yoichi, screaming pitifully as they burst into a sprint.

Then, after ten seconds or less, they turned in a secluded corner and disappeared.

“Oh, they turned. They’re surprisingly smarter than I thought. I thought they could only run straight, like those in movies.”

Then again, what is with those movies, anyway?

However, Yoichi already had no intention of pursuing them from the beginning. After he stowed the assault rifle, the knives, and the pistol that the men had dropped, Yoichi started walking again.

“See? Now it is much easier to walk around.”

The only people who make this area their territory are small-time thugs.

Even so, small-time thugs are still thugs. As such, although numerous people had seen what had just happened, they chose not to involve with Yoichi at all, as if it was a practiced move for them.

They did not make an uproar about the incident or report it to the authorities.

However, they did inform that “there is a Japanese guy seeking trouble, so don’t get involved” or something to their neighbors.

Anyway, because of this, Yoichi was able to get away from the incident and was able to reach the motel he was looking for without any problems.

“Hmmm, it’s a little dirty.”

After he arrived at the room, he stored everything that could be stored, including bedding and furnishings. He then used the maintenance function of [Infinite Storage+] to isolate dirt at the molecular level, making the atmosphere of the room much better than before.

“Now, all that remains is the Home Point.”

The home point change function of [Return+] is limited to once every 24 hours per location.

A total of five Home Points can be set up, with two of them, [Grand Court 2503] and [Frontier’s Home] Yoichi chose not to change as much as possible.

Of course, there were still three he could change at will, but he could not set up a new Home Point at this new place because he had used that chance to set the Home Point for the Casino Hotel yesterday, and 24 hours hadn’t even passed.

“Either way, I think I’ll keep the hotel I stayed at yesterday. And since I’m already good with the southern town…”

After setting this cheap motel as his home point and replacing the one at the southern town where he met Misato, Yoichi returned to the casino hotel once again and decided to have a late breakfast at their restaurant, where he arrives just in time for the breakfast buffet.

“Ooooh, their eggs Benedict is really good.”

After finishing breakfast, Yoichi went back to his room and [returned] to [Frontier’s Home].

“Everyone is… not here. Well, I guess I’ll wait.”

Seeing the women that went shopping still haven’t arrived, Yoichi lay down on the hard bed of the cheap inn. He kept in that position as he waited for Alana, Karin, and Misato, where he decided to rest a bit until they came back.

○●○●

“Oooh! This “Kashino” is amazing!”

“Wow…”

“Fufufu… amazing, isn’t it?”

Alana and Misato, who entered the casino for the first time, exclaimed in admiration while Karin proudly puffed out her chest as if showing off.

It was the next day, and each and every one of them was equipped with recognition-inhibiting magic tool as they walked around the city.

The magic tool was so effective that even though Yoichi was immediately spotted yesterday, the group of four with three beautiful women not only arrived at the hotel without being stopped by anyone but were even able to enter the casino without any difficulty.

“Now, it’s our turn, and this time, we’ll go the right way.”

“Right.”

Yoichi and Karin stepped outside, removed their magic tools in a secluded place, presented their passports, and entered the casino again.

“I’ll take care of Alana and Misato, so why don’t you go ahead and do your thing? You have other agendas here, am I right?”

“Uhm, Karin, is your English good?”

“Of course, it’s good. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be confident inviting you guys here. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of them.”

“I see. That’s great.”

First, Karin led them to the most orthodox of the casino equipment – the slot machine.

Instead of pulling the lever and then pressing a button to stop the reels individually, like the slot machines in pachinko parlors in Japan, here, you pull the lever and wait for the three reels to stop spontaneously.

One might wonder where the fun is in this, but surprisingly, some people seem to get hooked on it.

In the first place, Japanese pachinko slot machines are also based on the timing of the lever pull, and the buttons are just an added bonus, so there is not much difference between the two.

“Grrurrr… Yes, yes, stop, stop stoop! Noo! Why did you stop there!!”

Of course, the companions of Yoichi were no exception. Alana, coming from another world entirely, was easily hooked by it.

Misato, on the other hand, was pulling the lever without hesitation.

“Misato, are you having fun?” “Yes, I’m having fun.” “I see. I’m glad to hear that.”

It was a little difficult to understand her reaction because she would always make a serious face, but Misato seemed to have taken a liking to the slot machines, and Karin was relieved.

“Well, let’s play here for a while, and then we’ll go to another game after everyone has had their fill.”

No matter how many magic tools they have, they still couldn’t help but feel uneasy about leaving Alana, who is from another world, alone, so Yoichi was thankful that Karin offered to babysit her.

Alana and Misato cannot speak English, but they can understand each other at the level of their native language because of magic tools for communication already equipped in their person.

Before this, Karin has also taught them a few English words that they might often use, just to be safe, so they would be able to get by if someone tries to talk to them, and even if it comes down to it, they won’t get into any big trouble because Karin can speak English normally.

Yoichi watched the ladies for a while, and when he realized they seemed to be doing fine, he decided to play alone.

“Now, speaking of casinos… it has to be poker.”

Texas Hold ’em.

That was the game Yoichi chose.

It is a very popular variation of poker that combines the common cards of all players, called community cards, laid out on the table, and the two cards held by each player.

The man sitting in front of Yoichi looked around the table with a confident look and added a chip as if he was confident of winning.

He was an intelligent-looking youngster with a bit of an air of naivete in him. Blond hair, blue eyes, a long face like a pale gourd, with large black-rimmed glasses in his eyes.

After receiving the blind raise, a Hispanic man with a baseball cap on his head put down his cards and walked out of the game with a blank expression on his face.

Seeing this, several other players also left the table.

“Oh my, you’re not getting out of the game?”

“Why, though? After all, this time, we’re going to win!”

A middle-aged, overweight Anglo-Saxon couple dressed in a pair of aloha shirts giggled as they said this, seeming to be enjoying the game.

There was also a middle-aged Asian man who kept comparing his cards with the cards on the table several times. After looking at the rest of the players, he decided to play.

Yoichi, being also a natural poker-face, also accepted the game with a blank expression – and decided to play without even looking at his cards face down on the table.

The intelligent-looking youngster in front of him looked surprised for a moment how he saw Yoichi play, but he soon returned to his original timid mood.

However, as if he was still concerned, his eyes would glance in Yoichi’s direction and sometimes wander off behind him.

This was mainly because when the cards were exchanged and dealt, Yoichi made a momentary gesture of acknowledgment, but he didn’t actually look at them.

Actually, there was no need for him to look.

But the fact that Yoichi did not see it means no one else did.

Now it was time to open.

(Hey hey, sunglasses kid. Aren’t you smiling too much? It might ruin your face at the end, you know?)

Yoichi rebuked in his mind as the youngster reveals his hand.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged couple who saw the hand exclaimed in disappointment but still had that same amused tone, while the middle-aged Asian man who was playing with them was screaming with an expression as if it was the end of the world.

All the people who got off the game earlier were screaming with relief in their facial expressions, but the man in the baseball cap remained as unemotional as ever.

The intelligent-looking youngster’s hand is a full house. Yoichi could understand his temptation to play the odds.

(Too bad. Mine’s four of a kind.) “No way!”

The intelligent-looking youngster’s scream echoed.

(Sigh. You have to keep your face expressionless at times like this. Look at the guy in the baseball cap, still expressionless.)

After that, Yoichi continued to win and lose repeatedly, increasing his chips little by little. Midway, though, the intelligent-looking youngster decided to play cheap by imitating him, so he decided to give him a good thrashing by betting all-in.

Needless to say, each player’s hand can be read by [Appraisal+], so it was impossible for Yoichi to lose unless he did it on purpose.

Yes, if Yoichi wanted to, he could siphon off all the wealth of this city.

Of course, there is no way he could do such a foolish thing, considering the trouble he would have to go through afterward.

(I didn’t want to show off, but okay…)

After receiving a large number of chips from the youngster who had also betted all-in, Yoichi got up from his seat.

It was time to call it a day.

“Sir, please wait a moment.”

Yoichi was about to leave the poker table to join Alana and the others when a voice called out to him. He turned his head, only to see a short, good-looking white man and a Hispanic man, nearly two meters tall, standing there.

The white man was an elderly man with a half bald head, but he had an air of something out of the ordinary about him.

(Let’s see, you’re Eduardo, the manager here? And former intelligenceCIA officer? And you’ve worked your way up to a pretty prominent position in the government agency. Damn, his life could already be a Hollywood movie…)

As for the tall young man, his name is Marcus, and [Appraisal+] revealed that he is a security officer with a background as a former Marine.

“Yes? What is it?”

“Excuse me, sir, but are you leaving already?”

It seems that they know that Yoichi is about to prepare to leave.

“Yes, I’ve enjoyed myself enough.” “But it seems you haven’t even enjoyed half of what we offer.”

“What do you mean?”

“My name is Ed, the manager of the hotel. If you would like, I would be happy to upgrade you to a better suite, and I hope you enjoy your stay with us for a while longer.”

He also seems to know that Yoichi has a room here.

“No thanks. If I stay at a better suite, I’m afraid It would drain all my winnings today.”

“It seems that we have some misunderstanding. The room changes are on us. You won’t have to pay anything. There will be no charge for room service or food and beverage at the bar either. We can even give you reservations for our shows if you’d like! And all would be for free, of course.”

Apparently, such a service is common in such casino hotels.

Of course, there were also the intentions that the casinos were probably planning to squeeze more money out of the guests than they had paid for the hotel.

“Oh, did I mention that we have a permanent stage for a famous circus troupe? Yes. We have called the world’s finest acrobats to perform for us.”

Remembering that Misato was looking forward to the show, Yoichi began to think about whether he should accept Eduardo’s invitation. Then, Eduardo’s gaze wandered behind Yoichi.

It appears he was looking at the poker table Yoichi was in just a few minutes ago.

And it seemed that the intelligent-looking youngster was starting to win again, though in small increments.

But since he hasn’t yet recovered his starting sum, he kept going and going.

“By the way, Mr. Eduardo.”

However, by the time he said that line, two sharp stares were received from Yoichi’s eyes: Marcus’s and Eduardo’s, respectively.

Marcus’s was a hard stare that could kill a person just by looking at it that left Yoichi impressed by its intensity, while Eduardo’s was a smile that didn’t seem to reach his eyes.  

For Yoichi, the latter was more frightening, even though the former looked more menacing.

Under their gazes, Yoichi recalled that Eduardo only introduced himself as “Ed”, but he pretended to be unperturbed and continued speaking, hoping things would turn out well.

“The third guy from the slot aisle in the red baseball cap. The guy in the blue shirt watching the craps. The guy in the shabby suit who is playing blackjack, winning and losing every time he gambles a few chips. And the woman in a black dress pretending to have a drink right behind where I was sitting.”

“…so?”

“I’m being monitored, aren’t I?”

Yoichi then points to the security camera hidden above the ceiling.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

After this, Eduardo turns his back to Yoichi and starts to blurt out some instructions to what he could recognize as some sort of intercom.

“I’m sorry, sir, but may I ask you to wait here for a moment?” Eduardo finally said to Yoichi, this time facing him. “Oh, and a glass of champagne for this gentleman.”

Yoichi remained silent.

Or rather, he didn’t bother to reply as the “manager” called out to a female employee who was passing by.

In less than 30 seconds, a long, narrow glass of champagne was brought to Yoichi, where he accepted it without hesitation.

The drink was far tastier than anything he had ever tasted in the bar in that southern town.

Also, when he looked back at the poker table, he saw the intelligent-looking youngster being led away by Marcus while the other players were being escorted by security guards.

“Thank you for waiting.”

Ed returned just about when he finished the glass of champagne, but instead of Marcus, this time, he was accompanied by a young blonde woman.

Her long, fluffy hair was slightly curled, and she was covered in makeup that seemed a bit excessive.

Her blue eyes were decorated with dark eyeshadow, eyelashes that had been applied with mascara – or possibly false eyelashes – and in her slightly thin lips a glossy, dark rouge, perhaps to make them look fleshier.

She is probably about the same height as Yoichi, but her high heels made her look slightly taller.

Like the other staff members, she was dressed in a white blouse, black vest, and tight skirt.

But her blouse seemed to be stretching from the outside as if she had dared to wear a size smaller. Her black vest that held it down from the sides was also the same way, which emphasized her chest even more.

The skirt she wore was also the same design as that of the other female staff members, and naturally, like her blouse, it was obviously shorter, exposing her long, plump legs from the mid-thighs.

(It was like a bad cosplay of some sort.)

With this impression in his mind, Yoichi’s eyes were glued to the firm cleavage peeking out from her blouse, which was unbuttoned by about two buttons.

Then, perhaps noticing his gaze, the woman smiled.

“How many tickets do you need for the show, Mr. Toudou?”

“How about four tickets?”

“Very well. I’ll have them delivered to your room later.”

“Also, sorry about this, but…” After cutting the words midway, Yoichi takes one step closer to Ed and whispers to his ear.

“As for my two other companions, there are…special circumstances about them…”

“Very well. Then I will prepare a special ticket for you. Even if you come empty-handed except for the ticket, I’ll make sure they will show you to your seat.”

“Oh really? In that case, thank you very much.”

“No, it is I who shall thank you for participating in our entertainment. Now, please, let our Catherine show you the way to your new suite.”

“…Just so you know, I might not be coming to the casino after this. Is that alright with you?”

“Please, be at ease. We won’t take back what we had said. Catherine, I’ll leave our esteemed guest to you.”

“Okayy~”

But as Catherine replied in a sweet voice, Ed then approached Yoichi.

“If there is anything you need, please do not hesitate to ask Catherine.”

“Anything?”

“Yes. Anything. Well then.”

After saying this in Yoichi’s ear, Ed left the place, leaving Yoichi and Catherine behind.

“Then, my dear guest, please allow me to show you to your new place.”

The two also proceeded their ways.

As he was led to the elevator, however, Yoichi stopped as if he remembered something.

“Oh, excuse me. I need to go to the restroom.”

“Restroom? Isn’t there one in your room?”

“Sorry, but I’m in a bit of a hurry…”

“Alright. It’s over there.”

“Thank you! I’ll be right back.”

Yoichi ran into the restroom and rushed into a private cubicle. After confirming that there was no camera, he took out his smartphone from the [Infinite Storage+].

Before their departure, Karin had also arranged their phones so that they could still work even when not in Japan.

Yoichi sent a short message to Karin as soon as possible.

[How are you guys doing right now?]

Within a minute of sending the message, the reply came back: [I’m playing blackjack. Alana seems to like baccarat, but she lost a lot of money, and now she’s limping around like a zombie. Misato is still in the slot machines.]

[I see. Can you guys go straight to the motel when you’re done? I’ll pick you up later.]

[Fine, but is something the matter?]

[Well, a lot of things. But don’t worry.]

[Okay. Don’t do anything rash.]

[I know.]

After exchanging these messages, Yoichi left the restroom and returned to the elevator.

“Over here. I will show you the way.”

After that, Catherine, who looked a little tired from waiting, finally led Yoichi to the new room Eduardo had prepared for him.

Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter