Surviving a Shounen Manga

An outdoor stage within the amusement park.

Five people were seated around a specially designed round poker table at its centre.

Haka, I, and three ‘troops’ with basic abilities that I’d hired.

Amongst the five, all the ‘troops’ personnel recruited as players were also under my control, and Haka had taken the role of the dealer.

The reason why I had to use Haka as a dealer was simple.

Because I thought that his narrowed eyes and meaningful smile suited him quite well for the role. Besides, he has pretty dexterous motor skills, so I thought if it might be fine.

And if there was another reason –

It was to make him grow.

Growth, to say it simply, meant elevating his rank as a character.

And the best way to achieve this was, of course, for him to appear frequently.

Of course, it’s not like Haka hadn’t been given any role so far. In fact, it was this guy who did more than anyone else for the sake of my victory.

Through his unique ability [Thief Who Stole the Seven Shadows], he attracted Kiriko’s attention as a shadow target, and he also played a decisive role by holding Leo’s ankles during the race.

The problem was that all of those activities took place outside the view of the readers.

As a result, none of it benefited this guy at all. He just worked quietly in the dark, and I hogged all the spotlight.

Of course, the author knew what Haka has done, but I thought that wouldn’t mean much in the current situation. The roles assigned to this guy had immediately disappeared, and it was also clear that the author wouldn’t have much of a liking for him right now.

The first and most important objective, therefore, was to win the readers’ attention, even if only a little bit. Starting from there, if we recovered the original character and unravelled the entwined settings as much as possible, wouldn’t it be feasible for him to be reborn as an important character in the near future?

I gave Haka a glance.

So when you get the chance, do your best.

“Any problems?”

“Huh? Are you asking me?”

“There’s no one else here but you.”

Haka looked around the ‘troops’ around us, then burst into laughter.

“No, nothing difficult. I used to love playing card games in the past. This is my first time as a dealer, but didn’t you say that I don’t need to do anything special this time?”

“Right, there’s nothing.”

It was true.

Actually, the only important people in this match were me and Chinuavi. Having any of the other personnel trying to help out would only make the result worse.

“Still, do whatever you want. For example, when shuffling the deck, why not try and make it a bit flashy?”

“Hmmmm… If necessary, it’s possible to stop the movement of the opponent for a while. There are shadows here too, after all. Or make them move differently than they intended.”

“Oh, is that so?”

To be honest, I didn’t know much about this guy’s unique ability either.

Because the character himself disappeared in the original before all his abilities were revealed.

I only knew was that he could control the seven shadows, and restrict the movement of another through them.

Perhaps there were more effects besides that. When this guy mentioned his abilities, there was an obvious nuance that this was the basic level.

“Ummm… no. Let it be. Still, I’ll send you a signal if I need it.”

“Alright.”

Just in time,

“Oh, here comes our sharper.”

Smiling, Chinuavi approached us from a distance.

“Are you done?”

“Yeah, I’ve received good tidings about this.”

What he did in his spare time was to conduct a ritual, occasionally performed by goblins ahead of an important match. It was a kind of prayer requesting advice from a ‘higher being’.

There was one difference between this ritual and the usual prayer, that being you could hear an answer from ‘god’ as soon as you asked a question.

“Good tidings? Stop kidding.”

“Maybe, senior… do you know about our gods?”

“I don’t.”

“Hehe, you’re good at lying.”

But the problem was, that ceremony was actually just a waste of time, almost useless.

The reason was simple. Because the ‘gods’ the goblins worshipped weren’t the serious types. They’d just shout out the answer that’d best heat up the people asking the questions.

“Now, are just waiting for the other party?”

Chinuavi asked as he sat down next to me.

And at that moment,

“Fufu.”

Unconsciously, a chuckle leaked out. Was I feeling relieved?

Actually, I was quite nervous until this guy sat next to me.

“…?”

“Sit down.”

“Uh… yes. What was that? Suddenly laughing…”

Because I couldn’t help but laugh in relief. Even though this guy sat at the table, nothing happened.

This was an indication that the author had accepted the appearance of a goblin.

When I first ‘fought’ Leo, and again when I lured Leo earlier, Chinuavi had indeed transformed into me. But Leo and his party, as well as the readers, would not have known exactly who this guy was. Was he a new character, or was it part of my bizarre abilities?

Moreover, since all the questions about his actions were focused on me, the author wouldn’t have been able to take issue with him until now. If I just kept my mouth shut, he would’ve been able to keep developing the storyline without ever tackling the existence of goblins.

But it was different now.

In this game, Chinuavi was expected to play an active role without disguising himself as anyone else, demonstrating his unique abilities.

And this meant that this guy, and by extension the goblin race, would make their full-fledged debut in this manga.

This would naturally be burdensome for the author. Because the appearance of goblins could very well twist the planned future developments.

So I’d been worried that the author might block Chinuavi from joining the game.

‘He doesn’t mind… is it?’

Clearly, the author was a bit more flexible than I expected. Keeping the new developments in mind, he might be thinking that the new direction could be even more interesting. Maybe that’s why he didn’t stop Chinuavi from appearing here.

But to be honest, I thought that was very unlikely.

Presumably, he thought, ‘It doesn’t matter anyway’. Once my character was deleted, he could proceed with the next development without any problems.

‘Well, let’s wait and find out.’

After a while,

“Apologies for my lateness. There was a group of very worried people, so I had to try and comfort them.”

Siana arrived at the table for our decisive battle.

“It’s fine. I’m just glad that you didn’t run away.”

“Huh, how amusing.”

“By the way, Queen, is this our first time playing against each other? It’s an honour.”

“Mr. Squatjaw, you’ve met the worst opponent this time. How long can you keep up that confidence? You know who I am.”

“You’ll know the long and short of it soon. Now, shall we start?”

30 minutes later.

Of those sitting at the table, the only ones with chips left were me, Chinuavi, and Siana.

What was surprising was that no one had used their unique abilities yet.   

Siana and Chinuavi were strong even without them.

As for me… I was on my third bottle of [Something good might happen, Luck Potion] and pretending to be unruffled.

Right then,

“Then, are we the last players left?”

Shiana smiled and spoke up.

“Yeah, I’m crazy bored.”

Chinuavi also responded as if he had been waiting. For some reason, the two seemed to have been waiting for this to happen.

“Actually, I thought you were a decoration too, at first. But… it’s a bit odd how well you’re doing. I don’t know if it’s my misconception, but somehow you seem like a better player than Mr. Squatjaw?”

“I heard you were the Queen of Goldam City. An undefeated victor who’d never lost a single match. I’m relieved that it wasn’t some unfounded rumour.”

As for me… I just stayed quiet.

“Then let’s get started, shall we? Dealer, please pass us the cards.”

And at that moment,

Pop –.

Out of nowhere, ‘it’ appeared in the middle of the air.

Siana’s unique ability, the ‘Probability Adjuster Who Hates Fairness’.

The little fairy-like being circled around the table and sat on Siana’s shoulder. Then he started whispering into her ear, but the sound was too faint for me to hear any details.

“He’s a friend who brings me good luck. You aren’t going to say I’m cheating, right? Aren’t there two of you too?”

“Yeah, alright.”

Rather, I’d just been hoping that she’d use her powers.

Now, the readers would all be waiting with gleaming eyes. Wonder if I’d be able to mimic Siana’s ability as well.

Now was my time to fulfil those expectations.

Pop –.

 [Probability Adjuster Who Hates Fairness] was an ability with a different working principle from the rest. Unlike most abilities that need to stimulate a ‘power source’ inside the user’s body, this ability could be triggered just by a thought. After designating Siana as the target of mimicry, if you just want to ‘win’, a pretty fairy-like guy will appear in front of you…

“Huh?”

I doubted my eyes for a moment.

“Oh… it’s indeed senior’s fairy.”

“… Cute.”

In front of me, floating in the air, was a tiny… crooked, jutting chin.

As if! What kind of chin has wings?!

“…”

I quickly shook my head and cleared my mind.

Who cared what it looked like? What mattered was its ability.

The being flew towards me.

Then,

– Are you the who called me? I’m sorry, but I don’t like ugly guys.

“What? Wait…”

– Do it yourself. Because I have no intention of helping you.

He said something absurd.

“No, wait…”

I was genuinely nonplussed. Because I’d never even considered the notion that this guy might not listen to me. Of course, I also didn’t know how to make him listen. Siana’s probability adjuster never reacted to her like this.

This was a variable.

Then,

“Shall we start betting soon?”

Chinuavi spoke softly. He didn’t do anything else, but for the time being, he seemed to be just watching.

After that, the game was completely one-sided.

Siana held an overwhelming advantage. It was as if straight flushes were on sale today. In a nutshell, we were completely helpless.

My little-chin fairy was of no use, and even Chinuavi couldn’t keep up.

Chinuavi at least seemed to be trying to stage a comeback in the middle, but he couldn’t produce any meaningful results. Well, there was one time when he managed to make Siana tilt her head and put on a serious expression, but that was all. After the appearance of the probability adjuster, she monopolized the next fifteen rounds by herself.

It was a crisis.

Now, Chinuavi and I combined had about one-fifth of Siana’s chips left. It wasn’t long before the game would be over.

And that meant –

“Uh-huh, it’s gotten dangerous! Are we just going to let it end like this?”

In the end, it meant that it was the most favourable situation for a goblin. 

At that moment, a horn rose from among Chinuavi’s fluffy hair.

A goblin horn, that signalled the activation of a unique ability.

Now was the time for the goblins, a mainstay of ‘Adventure King’, to show off.

“You mean you haven’t given up yet? At this point, you should be able to recognize the difference between us… huh? Horn?”

“Even though I thought I got cheated so many times, in the end I didn’t bow my head, and kept betting. Don’t you think that you’ve selected the wrong target to try and disturb?”

As he spoke, Chinuavi’s horns began to glow red, and in the next instant, a single beam of light erupted from it like an explosion.

The light was directed towards a single place.

Towards Siana’s probability adjuster.

The guy hit by the light looked fine at first glance. Siana, who was perplexed for a moment, also quickly regained her composure after hearing him whisper. Maybe he assured her saying ‘nothing is wrong’.

But she should have been a little more careful. Because the intrinsic abilities of goblins usually do not cause any changes in outward appearance.

And then,

“…  Uh?”

Siana’s forehead showed a tight wrinkle.

The card that came to her after Spades A, K, and Q was not Spade J, but strangely, Clubs 7. This should’ve been impossible, as long as there was a probability adjuster.

“What did you do?”

“Hmm, what is it?”

After receiving the final hidden face-down card, Siana’s pupils trembled violently. Looked like she didn’t get the one she’d been waiting for.

“… Fold.”

It was her first defeat since the advent of the probability adjuster.

Siana tried her best to keep calm, but her poker face wasn’t perfect.

In fact, her strength was why she’d never even needed to manage her facial expressions until now.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

To be honest, I hadn’t been very nervous.

The boy had spoken the truth. The ‘mischief’ of the goblins was indiscriminate against its opponents. Meaning, it could even apply to probability adjuster, who could be viewed not as an opponent but ‘the ability itself’.

[Mischief-maker Playing with the Rules].

Chinuavi’s unique ability, despite its name, could not by itself change the rules of a game. It could only confuse a certain rule, or an object bound by a rule, and make the original rule be forgotten.

Judging by the look on the probability adjuster’s face, it seemed that he was unaware of his own problem. He was just looking at Siana, hungrily fishing for compliments.

If I had to guess, maybe he got confused about the rules of dealing with Siana after getting hit by the goblin beam. Maybe he thought he’d have to adjust the probability of giving her the hand she wanted to 15%, in order to gain her friendship, and so on.

“… You’ve been hiding a trick, I see.”

After just three more rounds, Siana took her friend back. He must have admitted that he couldn’t help any further.

But now we were again back to square one. With or without the probability adjuster, she was strong.

I made up my mind. Now it was my turn.

I had no intention of asking Chinuavi anymore. The guy had already done his job. Because the only thing I’d asked him to do was to deal with Siana’s probability adjuster.

I, myself, had to win against Siana. This was my show now.

The problem was that the current me could not win against Siana even without her probability adjuster helping out.

I had to convince him somehow. This absurd little-chinned fairy who didn’t listen to the owner.

‘Hey.’

At my call, the guy who was making a tantrum in the distance slowly turned towards me.

– Did you call me?

‘I was originally handsome.’

– So you’re a joker at talking on top of in your looks?

‘Look at me properly. I might look squat-jawed right now, but inside I’m not, right?’

– I hate looking at you.

‘No, but, wait. How could you call me ugly when you have the same chin shape as me?’

– You two-bit brute. You don’t even know how to respect a lady.

Huh… was this even a woman?

It was very awkward, but I tried to gloss it over somehow.

‘Ah, sorry. It was just a joke. Just take a closer look. Can’t you see the real me?’

What I believed in was the appearance in the background of [The Boy Cursed by the Witch].

Of course, I didn’t know if this guy (?) could see it or not. However, there was a setting that Siana’s probability adjuster could read her thoughts from time to time, so I thought it would be the same.

The mysterious fairy came closer to me. I moved my shoulder for it to sit on, but it instead chose to hover in the air, a bit too far away.

– What the, what kind of figure is hidden… Oh my!

‘Did you see it? Did you? How is it?’

After being silent for a while, it slowly opened its mouth.

– Hmmm. I’m sorry, but you don’t look that good.

Still, there seemed to be some interest.

‘Anyway, we’ve gotten to know each other. Please listen to me.’

– Hmmmm, I need a price instead.

‘Cost? What? Just tell me.’

I thought it would ask me to make a promise of friendship. Because that had been the case with Siana.

– If you change into that face, tell me I’m pretty. A hundred times a day.

…

I was taken aback for a moment, but I quickly regained my composure.

I’d never see her again anyway.[1]

‘Agreed. So can I tell you my requirements now?’

– Do you think I’m stupid? I was watching everything, so don’t be scared and bet. I’m sure you’ll win.

I nodded, with a smile on my lips.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

Ten minutes later.

– Yes! The long game of poker is finally over. As expected, the God of Gamblers is the final winner! To think you have the skills to challenge the champion, when you’ve only ever played for a while on a small gambling house!

I won.

Siana left the table without saying anything, and I watched it for a while before leaving.

Early defeats would only make the overall atmosphere of the game stronger.

Anyway, now, only the final decisive battle remained.

Editor’s Notes:

[1] He’s wrong about this, as you might assume.