Esper Harem in the Apocalypse

There were all kinds of games and gamblers. It was a one-versus-one match against each other, and the selection was made randomly.

There were a total of 1138 players when the tournament started ten hours ago, and only half of them, 569, qualified for the second round. One after another, the players either got disqualified or entered the next round.

After ten hours, only 4 players remained, and it was the semi-final match.

Rudy was sitting in the chair with a haughty look on his face while Maria was quietly sitting beside him.

They were looking at his opponent, who was the winner of last year\'s VIP club gambling tournament, and she was supposed to win this year, too, if she hadn\'t crossed her path with Rudy.

Rudy smirked and said, "I bet one million dollars on this round."

"Wha…"

"Call it and face me. Or fold it and save yourself from the humiliation," he added.

His opponent gritted her teeth and said, "Call."

"Heh."

The dealer raised his hand and said, "Reveal your cards."

Rudy\'s opponent placed her card on the table and laughed out loud with an arrogant smirk on her face. She had the \'4-5-6-7-8\' cards.

"Too bad! I was just acting like that, so you would bid higher! I had a straight flush! And there is no way—"

Rudy threw his card on the table and said, "Royal flush.\'

His opponent\'s face turned pale as she looked at the cards.

"10-J-Q-K-A!" She read with a baffled look on her face. She slammed her hands on the table and said, "Impossible! How can you have those cards! You can\'t be that lucky!"

Rudy simply shrugged his hands in return.

She turned to the dealer and yelled, "You are cheating!"

She pointed her finger at Maria and said, "This girl is the sister of the owner of this casino! You all are in this together and preventing the real gamblers from winning!"

The leader stared at the girl with an emotionless face and said, "Cheating in gambling and casinos is a normal practice. But not in this casino. I have no need to prove it to you, but if you have any problem, you can go to Master Rusher himself."

"I…" She let out a sigh and glared at Rudy. "Don\'t get so cocky because you won against me. You still have to fight that \'man\' in the finale, and no one has ever beaten him in the club tournament!"

"How about you stay and witness how I defeat him?" Rudy scoffed arrogantly.

She flicked her hair and said, "There is no need to. I only care about myself. And I lost to you. I have no interest in who wins if I am not the winner."

After saying that, she walked away.

"Wow. She was so arrogant even after she lost," Rudy commented.

"That\'s why I asked you to play arrogant to get on her nerves." Maria shrugged her shoulders and said, "Sometimes, the medicine itself is poison."

The dealer transferred the money into Rudy\'s casino card and said, "The final match of this tournament will start in ten minutes. Prepare yourself. Of course, you can also forfeit now if you want, and you will have all the winnings you have won so far."

"You should say that to the other guy."

Maria and Rudy left and relaxed on the couch. There was a huge television on the wall, and it was live streaming the matches from the other casinos all around the world.

"Not going to lie, I had no idea this gambling market was so huge…" Rudy muttered.

"One often knows nothing about something unless they search for it," Maria stated.

"Wow. Thanks, Miss Obvious."

Maria puffed her cheeks and glared at Rudy.

Rudy poked his fingers on her puffed cheeks and said, "You know, you don\'t have to accompany me in all the matches. You can just chill and relax."

"I love watching gambling matches, especially the ones you play. You always turned the table around at the last moment. It\'s so fun to watch your opponents\' faces turn pale!"

"I won\'t deny that. Gambling is indeed fun and addictive, but only if you are the one winning. Fortunately, I haven\'t lost even a single match."

Maria leaned on Rudy and said, "That\'s because of your super luck."

"You are still hung up on that?"

"Come on. How else would you explain that? No matter how professional a gambler you are, you are bound to lose at least one match." She nudged him repeatedly and said, "Luck plays a significant role in gambling."

"Okay, Sugar mama."

"Argh!" Maria let out a short groan and uttered, "I am not really sure if I am your sugar mama now or not. I didn\'t make fun of you today, and you still managed to win three million dollars today."

"We will win more soon."

"At this rate, you don\'t need me. You can do everything alone," she muttered with a gloomy face.

"Not true. I need you beside me, or I wouldn\'t be able to stay calm."

Maria glanced at him and asked with a judging look on her face, "Is that so?"

"Yes. You keep saying I am super lucky, but maybe you are my lucky charm?" he asked with a grin on his face.

"...!" Maria\'s face suddenly flushed red after hearing that. She buried her face under her knees and hugged her legs.

"That was clearly a pick-up line, you know?" Angelica commented, who had been running around the casino and watching everyone\'s matches.

Rudy shrugged his shoulders in response as he couldn\'t say anything with Maria sitting beside him.

"Are you aiming for her too?" Angelica asked curiously. "Not going to lie, she will be a fine harem member. You will have tons of money and security too."

Maria peeked at Rudy from the gap and muttered, "Say, do you want to gamble with me?"

"What type of gamble?" Rudy asked calmly.

"A gamble of life," she asserted.