“Beric now has ten points, giving him a small lead as we turn to him for the second cup,” Adam announced.

  I moved uncomfortably in my seat as the tray of cups was pushed toward me. I rubbed my hands with apprehension as my eyes scanned the cups.

  “You’re doing pretty good.” Adam noted.

  “I don’t know,” I responded with a shaky voice. "I just hope I can keep it up.”

  Adam nodded in agreement. “I feel that.” He cleared his throat, quickly snapping back into announcer mode. “But the game must go on. Beric, which cup do you wish to select?”

  Okay, let’s think about this carefully.

  Sys then pulled out a small wooden board with five tiny marks etched into it, tapping each mark as if presenting evidence at a trial.

  Since we already have the gold coin, that leaves three bronze coins and two silver coins on the tray. Five cups and five unknowns. That means a 60% chance of drawing bronze and a 40% chance of pulling silver. It’s not terrible odds, but it isn’t exactly reassuring either. And with no clues or patterns to follow, it’s not like we can confidently pick one for its content. So, I think we should-

  I rubbed my thumb against my knee, biting down on the inside of my cheek. “This one,” I blurted, pointing at a completely random cup.

  WHAT ARE YOU DOING—

  I lifted the cup just enough so only I could see beneath it. A bronze coin stared back at me like it was mildly disappointed.

  So much for being careful.

  “There’s no point in mulling over what to pick,” I muttered under my breath. “For us, it’s just luck.”

  It’s what comes after that actually matters.

  “Tao?” Adam asked, smoothly redirecting the focus to him.

  Tao tapped the table with two fingers in a slow rhythm. “Steal for one.”

  “Oka—” Adam hiccupped mid-sentence. “Okay, Tao steals for one.”

  Now it was back to me again.

  Hmmm, we know that he knows exactly what’s under every cup. Making him spend more coins isn’t going to work out since he knows it's a bronze.

  Sys had said as much, and logically, it made sense.

  But Tao, he wasn’t simple. None of this is.

  “Uhm,” I began, my fingers nervously spinning the cup in place, “I’ll—I’ll…....rebuy.”

  Uh?

  “Beric rebuys for one!” Adam announced, leaning into the drama as he spun back toward Tao. “What’s your move?”

  Tao rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his eyes never leaving mine. It felt like he was staring straight through me, digging around in the back of my skull looking for the reason behind my choice.

  I tried my best to look away, but my gaze kept snapping back to him in short, awkward bursts.

  “I’ll steal for two.” Tao finally said.

  Huh?

  I practically bounced in my seat, grinning like an idiot. “Really?!”

  Tao didn’t flinch. “Yes.”

  Adam blinked and was clearly thrown off.

  Tao’s reputation was clear here. Everyone knew he never made a move without certainty. He had always won every single gamble.

  And since Adam knew which cup was under, even he was confused by this.

  Was Tao losing his touch?

  But he didn’t have the time to worry about that. He was the referee, still an unpaid one.

  “Back to Beric,” Adam said.

  I guess it’s time.

  I slammed my hand on the table. “I won’t rebuy.”

  Adam didn't seem surprised by that. “In that case-” He moved the cup back toward Tao. “Let’s see what you bought, Tao.”

  Tao didn’t hesitate. He lifted the cup, revealing the bronze coin underneath.

  His jaw stayed perfectly straight as he met my eyes.

  I covered my mouth with both hands, looking away, shaking with a mix of disbelief and excitement.

  By now, you’d think it’s enough.

  But why did he offer two? It makes no sense to do that. Unless that was some kind of trick, an attempt to hide his cheating by purposely letting you take a bigger lead. If he wanted you to stay in, then maybe he was trying to convince you he was playing fairly.

  Sys frowned, deep in thought.

  If his plan is to keep you in, then……....he’s probably achieved it by now. By giving you a two-point lead, and judging from your reactions, he probably thinks you’re willing to keep playing. He wants you to believe that you have a real shot at winning.

  I side-eyed Sys.

  What? Am I wrong again?

  “No. I’m just surprised you actually got it right.”

  Heh. Come on now, you should expect more—

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “Actually, not all of it.”

  You really can’t give me this-

  “Let’s say Tao’s goal is to make sure I stay in the game. From his perspective, giving up the gold coin would be enough to plant the idea in me to keep playing, but how would he make sure I’d be willing to bet big?”

  By making me win more.

  Wait! So this act of yours in becoming more confident and daring, and maybe even a little proud isn’t just you playing the game. It’s actually you convincing Tao that you’re willing to bet big, which fits perfectly into his goal of keeping you in.

  “Since these two are working together, I knew he’d bet more for the bronze coin, even if he knew it wasn’t worth it. And because Tao knows I, Mayern, and the others are acquainted, he suspects I’ve heard of his cheating accusations. That’s why he’s willing to lose a little for now. To make me less suspicious, he’s giving me a small lead.”

  A very small lead.

  “But since the gold coin is out of play, it’s just the perfect length.”

  Hold up big bro, pause, but what do you mean, perfect length?

  I gripped the gold coin tightly in my hand.

  “As of right now, with the gold coin won and the bronze coin given up, I have a net profit of one point, while Tao has a net loss of one. That puts me at ten points and Tao at eight.”

  Yes, I can do basic math. So what?

  “Since the gold coin and one bronze are out of play, there are only four cups left, with half containing silver, and half containing bronze.”

  Basically a 50/50.

  “And that’s why that average value comes back.”

  The 2.3 value.

  “With that value in mind, it’s best to bet up to two points for a cup. It could be risky depending on whose turn it is and which coins remain, but not in this scenario.”

  Hold on. If you have ten points and Tao has eight, and it’s Tao’s turn to pick next, then you get the chance to steal and start the back and forth.

  “For two points.”

  Even if you steal and it’s a bronze, you’ll only lose one point and still be one point ahead.

  “And when it’s Tao’s turn to steal, if it's silver, he’ll have to steal for two, meaning I can just rebuy for three. No matter what, our points stay the same, and the turn goes back to Tao to pick. If it’s the last bronze, I’ll lose a point, but we’ll end up tied at eight. He could try a sneaky rebuy for three, but by then, we know it’s either bronze or silver, so there’s no point in stealing again.”

  The last coin has to be silver, and if it’s your turn, you can just rebuy it for three at the end.

  Meaning that, by the end of the first round, we’ll be tied.

  “Not too shabby.”

  But what if things went differently? What if the first coin you picked was silver?

  “If that had happened, I'd stick with the theory of betting for two. Tao would then be forced to either rebuy for three, canceling things out, or give it up, thinking I still need a bigger lead.”

  Oh! And for the next coin, there’s two bronze and one silver left, so if we just assume it’s a bronze, since you have to pick it, Tao will be forced to either settle for one or steal for two. And if it was silver, then you could just rebuy it back for three, meaning nothing changes.

  “Then it comes down to the last bronze or silver. Since it’ll be Tao’s turn to pick, I can steal and lose a point, or force him to rebuy, and the game ends normally.”

  And since the next one has to be whatever wasn’t picked, since it’s your turn to pick, it’ll still end in your favor.

  “You got it.”

  Sys looked dumbfound.

  When did you think of this?

  “Back when Volk was still deciding on whether to steal or not.”

  Back then?!

  “The math at least. This whole tricking Tao came a bit after, so everything was basically finalized before starting.”

  My real goal in all of this was simple: to make sure that when the second round started, I wouldn’t be at a disadvantage. I also didn’t want to be ahead, since that could bring about a different outcome like Tao wanting to end things early. As long as I was at a neutral position, things would slowly progress in a direction I could foresee.

  Something like a tie.

  A tie like this, according to the calculations I ran earlier, would be ideal. Being too far ahead could make Tao rush, force his hand, and try to win early. Being too far behind would only put me in a hole I couldn’t climb out of. A tie struck the perfect balance. But how could I actually make that happen?

  The math told me I needed the gold coin out on the first cup. It was far too valuable a variable to leave in play throughout the round, which meant I needed whoever went first to pick it.

  If I had gone first, it would’ve been risky. I’d have to randomly select a cup and hope it was the gold coin. If it was, then we’d go back and forth, and I’d likely have to secure it with five points to keep things tied. If I didn’t pick it, whatever coin I drew would only give me a small, meaningless gain. I’d have to rely on Tao picking it next, and if he didn’t, Mayern’s backup plan would need to save me.

  But Tao went first, so thankfully, we don’t have to worry about any of that.

  And you saw what happened.

  My plan had given me a small lead.

  A lead that, in the bigger picture, was exactly what I needed. A lead that opened the path to making sure we would end the round in a tie.

  A lead that wasn’t too big or short.

  A lead that was just right.

  You surprise me a lot.

  “It’s just simple math.”

  And simple conning.

  Okay, hold on, one more question.

  “Yeah?”

  What’s the point? If you end up tied or only one point ahead, then what? What’s the next goal? Isn’t it actually worse for you the longer this drags on? Won’t he start trying to win once the second round begins?

  “Good question, which is why I need you to finally pull your weight.”

  Huh?

  “While we let this round finish, the two of us need to analyze every bit of movement Tao makes. Every finger tap, every cough, every shift in his chair, every breath—everything. Before this round ends, and before Tao decides to stop playing around, we need to figure out how he cheats.”

  Since I had this round in the bag, we didn’t need to worry about it any longer. We needed to pool all of our focus into figuring out just how Tao was cheating.

  If we don’t, then all of this will have been for nothing.

  Alright. I hear you.

  Sys flew to the front of Tao, somehow producing a magnifying glass that he absolutely did not have a second ago. He held it up with the seriousness of a detective examining a corpse.

  Detective Sys is on the case! I’ll scrutinize this man down to his very atoms.

  I also noticed that he had a mustache now.

  “You’re kind of blocking my vision-”

  Silence!

  Sys sharply said while raising his other hand to me.

  Do not disturb the detective while he is working!

  He really is the master of rage baiting.

  I then grabbed the glass cup Sarah had given me earlier.

  The shape of it was odd. If I had to say, it was similar to tulip cups back on Earth.

  Which was weird. These were used for wine. Did she-

  Wait no, I’m an idiot.

  I drank from it, instantly remembering what Sarah had said.

  It was Starberry juice.

  And honestly speaking, it tasted a lot like orange kool aid.

  Why is my assistant drinking on the job?!

  “What are you-”

  I’m over here analyzing every pore and wrinkle on this man, while you’re-

  “You’re the one who won’t move-”

  Stop rebelling against your superior! I will have you arrested and-

  I grabbed the mustache and threw it far away.

  Hey my mustache-

  “Do some dumb shit like that again, and I’ll remove the rest of your hair.”

  What other hair are you-

  “All of it.”

  ……...My fault.