"Which man are you talking about? I told you to keep an eye on many people throughout the years. Which one is back?" The boss asked, still not understanding.
"Ahh, wait."
The man pulled out his phone and opened an image which he showed to his boss.
"This man. He is back here. He had come here a few times and never lost. If he's here, he's going to win today as well. What should we do?" He asked, frowning.
"Oh, so it's this man. Let him play. If he wins the first round today as well, I'll go meet him personally," the boss replied before he shifted his focus back to his work.
….
"You know, I wouldn't have minded if you had taken me to even a hotel on a date or even the most boring place. But this… It's not that bad either. I did come here a few times in the past," she said as she nodded her head.
"Did you win?" Ryder asked, curious if she was any good.
"Hahaha, let's just say, my luck hasn't often been good in such matters. I had become addicted to this gambling, and it took me much effort to leave the habit. So I don't know if I should thank you or if I should scold you for bringing me here. But I do feel better here," Esmi answered.
"How much did you lose here?" Ryder asked.
"Not much. Just a bit over two million," Esmi responded.
"Two million is not much?" Ryder couldn't understand how to respond to it. Even though he was a multi-millionaire, two million was a bit too much for them to call a bit.
"How much did you lose? Or win here previously?" She asked Ryder, wondering how his track record was here.
"Nothing much either. Just close to forty million dollars," he replied in a similar tone to her.
"Wow, looks like you're even worse at it than me? It's alright. I'll teach you a few things. Maybe you'll lose less," Esmi laughed as he held Ryder's hand while walking towards the stands.
"Hah?"
Ryder was surprised to hear her response. It seemed like Esmi was a bit misunderstood when he said forty million. She thought he meant he lost more than forty million.
It was evident what her misunderstanding was, but he didn't find it surprising. He should have clarified at the start anyway.
"It's not that-"
He started explaining, but Esmi cut his words short as she started explaining about her own experience.
"See, I did lose a lot of times, but I also won a few. And before I quit, I think I was only getting better at winning. The first thing you need to know is the personality of the horse. Then its track record. And lastly, it's physique and actions right before the race," she told Ryder, who could only nod his head wryly.
Actually, he was also a noob when it came to betting. The only reason he won was because of cheating and going back in time after knowing all the answers. But other than that, all his guesses had been wrong entirely.
As they kept conversing, they reached the stands where a race was already going on.
"I guess I missed the first one."
"It's fine. There are many more. We can always bet on others. It's not like you know the answers to all the races, and missing one is like missing money."
Patting his shoulder, Esmi comforted Ryder as she sat down.
Ryder also sat down beside her.
The race was soon over, and the next one began. It was the one in which both Ryder and Esmi bet separately since they had made it a competition of sorts to see who wins the most money and most races today.
As for the rewards, they had also decided that. If Esmi won, she was going to get one wish from Ryder. No matter what she said, as long as it wasn't overboard, he needed to do it. And if he won, he was going to get a wish from her.
The first race ended with the loss of both of them since the two horses each of them chose ended up losing the race.
The second battle was also a loss for both of them, even though they chose separate horses.
"I guess you weren't lying when you said you were bad," Ryder gazed at Esmi, amused. He had expected her to win.
"Hey, you're in no position to brag, mister. You're even worse than me. The horses I chose at least reached near the winner. Yours were in the last, watching the asses of other horses like lowers," Esmi responded as she rolled her eyes.
"You can't blame them. If it were a race between you and me, I would also be behind for the same reason," Ryder reacted to her amusing words.
"Oh? Is it good?" Esmi asked, placing her hands on his thighs.
"Lady Esmi, we are in public. Control," Ryder reminded her as he felt her hand sliding up his thighs slowly.
"I think someone else needs to control first," Esmi said as she winked at Ryder while she pointed towards the one which had started rising inside Ryder's pants.
"You're really a vixen. Of Course, I'll react with you pulling such tricks. Wait for the races to be over, and don't do it here," Ryder told Esmi as he placed his palm over her hand, which was relentlessly moving upwards. He successfully stopped it in the middle before it could reach too far.
"Hahaha, cute. Don't worry. I think you'll like my wish after I win. Just wait," Esmi told him before she retreated her hand.
And thus, the day continued.
Ryder's power of time reversal worked based on his level. Not only that, it worked depending on his highest level from his real world level and his game level.
Even though he was at a lower level in the world of Divinity, in the real world, he was at level thousand.
So he was allowed to go back in time by a thousand minutes at most. He could only use this ability once a day still.
So each day, he could go around sixteen hours back in time at best, but that was already too much.
He believed that a few hours would be enough since repeating the day was always tiring. Not only that, it even made him feel unmotivated and depressed on occasions. So he preferred to keep the repeat as short as he possibly could.
One after another, races kept finishing, most of which ended in a loss for Esmi. She did manage to win once, though. Even after winning, she was down a million dollars in loss.
Ryder, on the other hand, had lost each and every race. He was having a disastrous day. He even found it a bit funny how his luck was so bad that without cheating, he couldn't win a single time out of so many. Even Esmi was better than him.
There was another person who was shocked. And it was the man who worked for this betting arena. He was keeping an eye on Ryder, who had never lost here but seeing his losing spree, he couldn't help but doubt himself.
"I guess I was just too suspicious for no reason. The last few times, his luck was good. As for now, it's as bad as it can get. No need to keep an eye anymore," he said as if talking to himself before he left.
Throughout this time, Esmi was looking at the clock.
"Time up! We decided on two hours. It's over. I got one point, and you got zero. Even though I lost money, I still get a wish from you. Come, let's leave. I don't want to wait anymore," she called out as she tugged Ryder's hand.
"Hah, alright. I guess that's enough as well," Ryder agreed.
"Oh right, one more thing," he suddenly said, gazing at Esmi.
"What?" Esmi asked.
"I am really sorry for cheating. I promise I'll make it up to you," he said.
A confused Esmi was about to ask what it was about, but before she could, Ryder snapped his finger as he used his ability.
He reversed time by two hours to just when they were about to make their first bet.
"I choose number 2." Esmi chose the same horse as last time. As for Ryder, his choice was a bit different this time.
"Number five will win," he said as he placed his bet.
"Hah, that horse won't win. Just look at it. It doesn't even seem like it's in the mood to race. But it's fine. More loss for you means more chance for me to win a wish," Esmi said as she laughed at Ryder's choice, but her choice soon turned to surprise as she saw number five win.
As for her surprise, it didn't take long before it changed to sheer shock as more and more rounds happened, each of which was won by Ryder.
