The next day at 7:30 AM, the sun had just climbed into the sky, radiating the heat of what would be another scorching day.
Lucas, however, had already left the castle. Taking advantage of the fact that it wasn't too hot yet, he led his entourage to the yet-to-be-opened horse racing track.
The racetrack was another entertainment venue designed by Lucas. The venue was shaped like a crescent moon; the half-moon section served as the grandstand, while the center featured a looped racing track.
At this moment, many nobles had gathered outside the racetrack. They were all looking at the young figure at the very front, who was facing the crowd.
"Everyone, today is the opening day of the racetrack. You can all play a few hands for fun. If you're lucky, walking away with ten thousand gold coins is entirely possible," Lucas said with a smile playing on his lips.
"Win ten thousand gold? How is that possible?"
"Lord Lucas really loves to joke."
No one believed Lucas's words; they all thought he was just joking around.
"Let's go in." Lucas didn't say anything more. He turned around and led Mina and the others into the racetrack, taking his seat in the main viewing box in the center. The others all found their own places to sit.
"Master, should we begin?" Mina asked.
"Let's begin. Otherwise, the weather will get too hot later," Lucas nodded. He had no desire to bake in the scorching sun.
Mina signaled the commentator sitting on the other side to start. The commentator immediately picked up a large megaphone.
"Welcome, everyone, to the inaugural session at the racetrack! Today, we're playing for thrills!" The commentator shouted playfully.
As his voice echoed, the crowd quieted down and looked up at him.
"Before you is the racetrack. Every day, there will be nine horse races. Each race will feature nine horses, and every race will have a clear winner."
The commentator began his explanation. "As for the origins of these racehorses, they are all excellent warhorses purchased by Lord Lucas from the Sahara. They exist for the sole purpose of running."
"Of course, if any of you have horses you'd like to enter, you are welcome to do so. If your horse can win one hundred races in a single year, you will be awarded a golden saddle worth five hundred gold coins."
This was a clever little trick. Lucas was using the golden saddle as bait to entice people into entering their horses, simply so he could secure a free supply of racehorses to use.
The commentator's words immediately caused a stir among the minor nobles. A golden saddle worth five hundred gold coins! That was more than some noble fiefs earned in an entire year; it left them itching to participate.
"A golden saddle, no less! I have a warhorse that runs incredibly fast, I'll bring it to try."
"My horse is also very formidable. I'll go sign up in a bit."
"Come on, do you really think it's that easy to win a hundred races? It's way too difficult."
"..."
"Naturally, each day's racers will be selected from a large pool of horses. Each horse can only participate in one race per day. This means that to win, a horse would have to win nearly a third of all the races it runs in a year—making it the undisputed King of Horses!" The commentator shouted excitedly.
"Now, here is the opportunity for everyone to participate. With nine races a day, you can place bets on the horses' placements in each race."
"Each race pays out for the top four spots. Betting on the first-place winner pays out 1-to-1. Betting on the top two, top three, and top four pays out 1-to-2, 1-to-3, and 1-to-4 respectively."
"The betting tiers are copper, silver, and gold; specifically, increments of one copper, one silver, and one gold coin."
This tiered system was designed to cap things for the commoners. Even if commoners gambled, they could only afford to bet copper coins; they wouldn't reach the silver tier. Nobles, however, were different; they would definitely be placing bets at the silver and gold coin levels.
"And there's an even more thrilling option! For anyone who successfully guesses the top four placements for all nine races, the payout is 1-to-10,000! That means if you bet a single copper coin across nine races, you could win ten thousand coppers! A silver coin wins ten thousand silver coins! And a gold coin—well, that's incredible—wins ten thousand gold coins!" The commentator stood up, shouting at the top of his lungs.
As his words faded, a linen cloth dropped over a wooden board in the distance. It was covered with rules, odds, and over a dozen different ways to play.
"Hiss... You can play like this? One silver coin can win ten thousand silver coins?"
"Don't be stupid, that's impossible. Guessing the top four in all nine races? Only the legitimate son of the Goddess of Luck could pull that off."
"Right, you're better off just betting on the top four for four races. The odds are still very high, paying out 1-to-16."
"..."
"Viscount Gini, how do you want to bet?" Isaac asked enthusiastically.
"I say, how do you still have the leisure to gamble on this?" Gini turned his head to glance at Lucas, sighing. "Don't you have any thoughts about that linen technology?"
"What's the rush?" Isaac waved to a betting attendant not far away and said flatly, "Let's just play for now. When he wants to negotiate, he'll definitely come looking for us."
"..." Gini was stunned for a moment; that actually made a lot of sense.
"Sir, would you like to place a bet?" The attendant asked, walking over with a box strapped to his back.
"Yes, I want to bet on number seven to win the first race," Isaac said heartily, handing over a silver coin.
"I'll bet on number two to win," Gini said, handing over a copper coin.
"Hey, why are you being so stingy?" Isaac couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"I call this testing the waters," Gini replied, unmoved.
"..."
Up on the main platform, Annie looked enthusiastically at the horses in the starting gates, chewing on her pen as she jotted things down.
"Annie, do you want to place a bet too?" Mina glanced at the fox-eared girl.
"Yeah! I want to bet on the first-place winners for all nine races. That way, I can win a huge sum of coins!" Annie said earnestly, pen in mouth. "With that, I'll be able to buy a whole mountain of lollipops."
"Master, do you think it's possible for anyone to guess the first-place winners of all nine races?" Mina asked softly.
"That would actually be quite difficult. After all, the horses are mixed up every day, making it impossible for anyone to mark them," Lucas said casually. Creating all of these entertainment options was ultimately just a way to stimulate consumption.
"Ah? Doesn't that mean I have no hope? I even wanted to bet on the top two for all nine races." Annie pouted and put down her pen, suddenly losing all interest.
"How are the arrangements over at Drunken Night? Have the machines been moved over?" Lucas asked, shaking his head.
"Everything has been set up; they're ready to use at any time," Annie replied seriously.
"Then later, we'll bring the people over," Lucas said slowly.
"Understood," Annie acknowledged.
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You can read advance chapters and view R-18 images of the characters on pat reon page.
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200 power stones.
Top 100. All time.