Unspoken Rules

"Host! Hey, host! Why aren't you announcing the results yet?"

Liyana shouted cheerfully, jumping for joy.

"The... the winner is Slime Little Lan..." It was clear the young host was extremely nervous and reluctant, but he forced himself to announce the final result.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, he didn't dare to openly manipulate anything behind the scenes; if his reputation were ruined, no one would ever visit this place again.

"Did it really win?"

"That slime... Little Lan, is it?"

"Good thing I didn't bet too many gold coins on the Giant..."

Some were happy, others worried. Most people were quite excited to have witnessed such a spectacle, except for a few gamblers who had staked heavy sums on the Giant; they were stomping their feet in regret.

"Cheating! How is this possible? That slime must have cheated!" Anri stood up angrily, pointing his finger at Liyana and accusing her. "You must have tampered with that little thing! Referee, come and check this one out!"

Liyana put her hands on her hips, meeting his gaze without flinching, a hint of mockery curling at the corner of her lips. "But it's just a slime... how could it cheat?"

Liyana continued to retort, "Or are you just a sore loser?"

Anri's face turned the color of pig liver. He opened his mouth but couldn't find any reason to argue back.

Indeed, it was just a slime... Its entire body was transparent. One glance would reveal if anything was hidden. What other way could it cheat?

Anri angrily shook his sleeve, the fat on his face jiggling. He signaled his men to take his slime and left without so much as looking back.

Liyana beamed at the host and reached out her hand. "If I remember correctly, Little Lan's odds were twenty to one. I bet fifty gold coins earlier... so now I should get a thousand gold coins!"

"Th-this... you'll need to discuss that with our boss." The young host looked troubled.

A thousand gold coins was no small sum at all.

"Hurry up now," Liyana said with a sweet smile, squinting her eyes.

Soon, another man approached—the bearded man who had chatted with Liyana earlier.

"Oh, you're the boss?" Liyana sized him up.

"I'm the manager of this establishment, Lailo, Miss Liyana."

"Is there any difference?" Liyana asked curiously.

"I just manage this tavern... the real boss is someone else." Lailo surveyed the three before him, his gaze lingering longest on Liyana. "Boss Laken isn't here right now."

"Huh? Then can you still give us our money?" Liyana froze for a moment.

Lailo made a "please" gesture. "Come with me. It's not suitable to discuss this here."

Lailo led the three toward a room to the side.

Liyana followed almost without hesitation, her steps light and quick. Luo Lun let out a nearly inaudible sigh, exchanged a vigilant glance with Mo Lini, and followed as well.

This room was clearly Lailo's office. The thick wooden door blocked out most of the noise and clamor from outside. The lighting was dim, with only a brass desk lamp casting a warm yellow glow.

Once inside, a strong smell of tobacco mixed with aged leather hit their noses. Liyana's expression remained unchanged, as if she were used to it, while Luo Lun and Mo Lini frowned involuntarily.

"Miss Liyana... our shop is just a small one. We can't come up with that much cash all at once." Lailo sat casually behind the desk in a chair with some yellowish stains on its back.

As he spoke, his fingers seemingly idly pressed a bell on the desk.

Almost instantly, the office door opened silently. Several thugs wearing only leather vests, exposing their muscular bodies and fierce tattoos, filed in and silently blocked the doorway.

Mo Lini jumped in fright, and Luo Lun shielded her behind him.

"Huh? So you mean you'll owe us?" Liyana played dumb, as if completely unaware of their dangerous situation.

"That's not quite it... I just think something was off about that fight just now." Lailo said in a deep voice. "I suspect you used some dishonorable means to cheat. If you don't give me a reasonable explanation, you won't be leaving here today."

Luo Lun sighed. She'd known Liyana's approach wasn't reliable.

Taverns that set up gambling rings like this one always had such unwritten rules. They would never let anyone win too much here.

Luo Lun had never heard of anyone amassing a fortune through gambling.

And the fact that this tavern was in such a secluded spot was already suspicious enough.

What puzzled Luo Lun was how an experienced adventurer like Liyana, with all her life experience, could be unaware of these things and just waltz into someone else's territory like this...

"Little Lan won against that big guy fair and square. What's there to explain?" Liyana snorted defiantly at Lailo. "How dare you pull something like this?"

Lailo seemed tired of wasting words and signaled his men with a flick of his eyes to move in.

"Three pretty girls."

"Boss, you want us to lay hands on them? That's a shame."

"If they're willing to keep me company, maybe we could let them off easy..."

The bare-chested thugs let out a chorus of lecherous laughs.

"Thump, thump, thump—"

After a few dull, heavy sounds followed by groans and cries of pain, the thugs lay sprawled on the floor in disarray.

Luo Lun gently brushed off his sleeve and silently returned to stand in front of Mo Lini, as if he had done nothing more than a trivial chore.

Liyana gave a light, admiring whistle. "Impressive."

Lailo had just taken out a cigar when the matchbox fell from his hand. Luckily, the match hadn't been struck yet, or that pricey-looking leather carpet might have been ruined.

"So, can we get our money now?" Liyana raised an eyebrow at Lailo.

"Y-yes." Lailo trembled in fear, but then slowly steadied himself, though his eyes still held traces of panic.

"You're skilled, but I suggest you take what you have and back off. I can let today's events slide for now... In this world, having strength alone isn't enough." Lailo tapped his fingers on the desk and swallowed hard. "Miss Liyana, before you came looking for trouble here, didn't you bother to find out who the real owner of this tavern, Mr. Laken, really is?"

"Who is he?"

Seeing that they seemed completely clueless, Lailo's confidence swelled a bit. A little color even returned to his face.

He deliberately slowed his speech, saying each word deliberately: "Mr. Laken is a member of the Dawn Wings!"