Yes, Madam Prime Minister

Page 239

Before long, Ronan and his two companions were almost there when Ronan suddenly stopped.

He saw someone, and if he remembered correctly, the girl's name was Velma. She was one of the girls who had passed the entrance exam. He remembered her well because Velma was eleven or twelve years old, just like his daughter Astrid, and already almost 1.7 meters tall. Besides Velma, there were two other people, one of whom Ronan was more familiar with. Her name was Charlotte, the "blind man's" daughter, who had also passed the exam, ranking last. She was a low-key person who had connections.

Ronan didn't recognize the other girl, but he had actually seen her before. Years ago, after the Battle of the Rhine ended and the soldiers returned home to receive their medals, Ronan had praised the girl's cuteness at a picnic where families could bring their children. Her name was Erica Aquitaine, and she was the daughter of William, the dragoon captain from back then.

The three children's destination was clearly the nearby entertainment center.

Just then, Elena suddenly nudged Ronan, "Let's go somewhere else."

“Lily is here,” Elena quickly explained.

A moment later, Ronan discovered that it wasn't just Astrid, but also Ina and Zhao Yingqi.

Instantly, all of Ronan's curiosity shifted to his two daughters. The three students might have just come to have fun, but his two unfilial daughters, Ina and Lily, were most likely there to cause trouble.

Chapter 542 Are these three, and those three, adults?

Radel Entertainment City has a circular layout, with higher-end consumption levels as you go in, and the largest casino is located at the very back.

The outer area is practically a paradise for ordinary people.

The wages of a state-owned enterprise worker for three to five days are enough for a couple to eat, drink, and have fun here for a whole day, and then stay overnight.

The middle area is slightly more expensive.

Even the innermost entertainment venues aren't exclusively for the wealthy; many activities are within the reach of ordinary people, allowing them to indulge themselves with a little effort. In the capital, as Dinia puts it, the social atmosphere is poor, with commoners also enjoying spending money on pleasure.

Of course, there must be some projects that ordinary people can't even get through the door.

This kind of arrangement fully caters to the psychological needs of the powerful and wealthy, who want to be seen by ordinary people but don't want to be seen by ordinary people.

"Ordinary people" refers to small vendors, low-level civil servants, teachers, and formally trained technical workers, etc. Those urban poor who can only do odd jobs and don't even know where their next meal will come from are not considered human in the eyes of the upper class.

At this moment, Velma, Charlotte, and Erica were strolling and eating in the center circle.

It was Velma who suggested coming here, but this wealthy woman didn't insist on paying for everything herself; instead, she said we would take turns paying.

Does she deserve to be treated?

She was nothing more than a foreigner who spent a large sum of money and went through a series of maneuvers to become the daughter of her uncle and the widow with a title whom he had finally managed to marry.

We don't know who Charlotte's parents are; Velma only saw Ronan come over after the exam and ask Charlotte, "How did the exam go?"

Erica did know that her father was a lieutenant colonel.

The two men were of much higher status than her.

More importantly, regardless of whether they are a good match or not, Velma will not lower her stance. If she lowers her stance, how can they be friends?

She was trying to befriend the two people who happened to be in the same exam room, not to curry favor with them.

Therefore, we should take turns paying the bill.

Although they take turns, there will always be one order with more money and another with less, and Velma always pays for the order with more money, so she ends up paying the lion's share.

“Let’s play a couple of rounds,” Charlotte suddenly said.

When she said "play a couple of rounds," she obviously meant going to the casino to play a couple of rounds.

Charlotte had been in the capital for many days, and her heart was filled with a lot of frustration. When she was born, her father was already an important official in the city, and now he was an important official in the state. More importantly, her father was Ronan's old subordinate.

On her mother's side, although her maternal grandfather was originally just a well-known tailor in a small town, over the years his business had grown and he had become wealthy.

She was undoubtedly a young lady of high birth, with a lifestyle that surpassed that of many noble ladies in the capital. Moreover, she was exceptionally talented; at the age of ten, she had already mastered the seven fundamentals, and her next step was to become a full-fledged mage.

However, in the eyes of some people in the capital, she was just a "country bumpkin." In terms of background, wealth, appearance, and talent, how was she not better than those damned bitches? But she could only endure it. Now she really wanted to let loose.

"Well, it's almost lunchtime," Erica said, offering a tactful warning.

“There’s a big restaurant near the casino. Let’s order takeout; it’s on me,” Charlotte replied generously.

"Um, will the casino allow us in?" Velma asked skeptically.

Charlotte smiled. "Isn't it you I have here? Change your clothes and you could easily pass for twenty."

"I don't look twenty at all, I'm so young." Velma reached out to grab Charlotte in anger. Although she was tall, she looked very young.

After a few playful exchanges, Velma became serious. "Gambling is really bad."

“That casino gives out some tokens. Once we’ve lost all the tokens, we stop playing. And I don’t actually want to gamble with people; I just want to try it out,” Charlotte explained.

"Which one is that?" Erica asked.

“Demon-Slaying Bullet,” Charlotte replied.

The "Demon-Slaying Bullet" is a pinball game that has emerged in the last two years. It launches a ball, and if it lands in the winning position, it will give out more balls. It is a magical item that protects its internal parts from magical attacks. However, it does not prohibit people from using magic, but only prohibits casting spells on the machine. If a spell is cast, the attached alarm device will automatically sound an alarm.

Many people enjoy playing this game, including many magicians.

There are always magicians who think they are very clever and can guarantee winning the lottery using only magic.

“It seems pretty good,” Velma said, wanting to take the opportunity to show off her skills in the basic application of magic.

Charlotte's face lit up with a smile. "Then let's go."

“Let’s go.” Erica agreed. Coming from a military family, she wasn’t exactly quiet. As long as it wasn’t gambling, what other questions did she have?

Soon, the three arrived at the casino entrance.

Then they saw three women, one of whom was even taller than Velma and also had blonde hair.

A brown-haired girl on the left said to the waiter, "I really am eighteen years old. You don't believe me? Coincidentally, I don't believe it myself either. My dad doesn't believe it either. When he came back from his business trip and saw me, he said I'm getting younger and younger, and he even said he wished my mom could age in reverse like me." Ina was deliberately picking a fight here.

Zhao Yingqi covered his face, feeling sorry for Mr. Ronan and His Majesty the King, who were being subjected to such a bizarre and fabricated story.

Astrid looked bored and was about to yawn. She wanted to skip all this unnecessary stuff and just start fighting.

Who should we hit? The scumbag.

One of Ina's friends was emotionally manipulated by a scumbag magician, and the princess, bursting with a sense of justice, decided to stand up for her.

This scumbag magician is the manager of one of the casino's areas.

Ina didn't want to rely on others; she wanted to ruin this guy's reputation in front of everyone.

As for the method, it's very simple. There's a super-sized demon-slaying machine inside. So far, only two people have completed the game: Ronan and Stefan.

This "Demon Slayer" pinball machine is the signature attraction in the area, having accumulated a huge prize pool that draws people every day, including many magicians.

But once someone approves it, its appeal disappears.

To ensure the machine keeps raking in money, it has a remote control cheating mechanism. Ina's goal is to exploit it, forcing the scumbag manager to cheat, and then exposing him in public.

If someone cheats at a casino, and the casino doesn't want to be shut down, then it has no choice but to let them go.

Without the protection of the person behind this casino, what is he?

As for why Ina was so confident, it's because the Demon-Slaying Bullet was originally a byproduct of researching human magic-resistant armor.

"Sorry, it really can't." The security guard still wouldn't let me in.

Minors must be accompanied by an adult to enter.

Astrid couldn't take it anymore and pulled out a sword and shield badge. "Tell me, isn't she eighteen?"

The sword and shield represent the Ministry of the Interior.

"You're joking, of course, you must be an adult," the person outside the door said, bowing and scraping with a forced smile.

And so, the three of them were able to enter smoothly.

After Ina and the other two went inside, the gatekeeper vanished in a flash. At the same time, a person exactly like him appeared beneath his feet. The whole process took place in a fraction of a second, invisible to the naked eye.

Chapter 543 Flaw, Amazing Prize Pool, I Need Your Help

Entering the casino called Polaris, Ina swaggered around, cursing and swearing, completely disregarding her surroundings.

There was nothing to worry about. The casino lobby was noisy, and only the private rooms for high-end customers were quiet. Besides, no one would pay special attention to a little girl like her, because there were actually many, many little girls in the casino.

However, most of these teenage girls were not customers, but rather female attendants inside the casino and companions who came with the customers.

That's what makes Polaris Casino special; it doesn't have those shabby taverns with their insincere old women.

"Are you crazy, you golden retriever? Can't you see I did it on purpose?" Ina complained. "And you, pulling out the Ministry of the Interior's emblem, that's called stirring up trouble, you know?"

Of course she knew the casino wouldn't let a plainly dressed little girl like her in. Her making a scene at the entrance was deliberately provocative, hoping to lure that scumbag manager over.

Astrid smiled. "My dear silly princess, that guard already knew something was wrong with us."

"How could that be? We were all disguised, and our clothes were very ordinary." Ina thought it was impossible.

Astrid yawned. "Yingqi, tell her why."

“Uh.” Zhao Yingqi hesitated for a moment before saying, “Because of the tone you used, Ina, how could a girl from an ordinary family talk like that? The doormen and waiters at this kind of place may not have much else, but they definitely have sharp eyes and can tell at a glance that you come from a prominent family. Yet we deliberately dressed like this, which clearly means we’re here to cause trouble, so we can’t just let you in.”

"Oh, this... I must have been out of my mind." Ina realized she had made a mistake.

Zhao Yingqi gave a reassuring smile, "It's nothing really, Ina, we're already inside anyway."

Not long after Ina and the other two entered.

Velma and her two companions successfully infiltrated the group. The method was simple: they found a man, gave him some money, and had him bring them in.

Originally, Velma and her two companions had only come in to play with ordinary demon-slaying bullets, but now they had developed a strong curiosity about Ina and her two companions.

Who were these three girls who looked to be around the same age as them? How were they suddenly allowed in? And what were they here for? These questions left them with a lot to wonder about.

Soon, Velma and her two companions spotted Ina and her two companions and followed them. Astrid's blonde hair and height made her very conspicuous, making it difficult to miss her.

“There are three children following us,” Astrid suddenly said in a low voice.

"I don't care," Ina said.

Zhao Yingqi remained silent.

Heading straight for their goal, Ina and her two companions soon arrived at the giant Demon Slayer Pinball Machine.

A giant pinball machine, five meters high at its highest point and two meters wide at its widest, came into view of the three.

But what's most attractive isn't the pinball machine itself, but the pool of countless pinballs enclosed by the fence. These aren't ordinary pinballs; they're all silver.

This huge pool is the result of countless gamblers losing money; even a cursory glance reveals that it contains several tons of silver.

If you can beat this pinball machine and hit the one and only grand prize, you can take all the silver beads here and exchange them for money, which would be an enormous fortune.

To be honest, even as a princess, Ina had never seen so much money at once in her entire life.

"Heh, it seems there are quite a few rich and arrogant magicians," Astrid muttered to herself.

Only wealthy magicians can play this giant pinball machine. First, you need to exchange for silver beads to play. Each silver bead is so big that it probably costs two or three silver dragons, enough for a poor family in the capital to spend for a month. Second, no one has been able to beat it in so long. Anyone with a brain knows that this thing has a special device inside that is even more powerful than a regular pinball machine. If you're not a magician, playing this is just giving away freebies.

"Ina, why don't we just go find him and beat him up and that's it?" Zhao Yingqi whispered, trying to persuade her. She was really worried that Ina might lose her temper and have trouble explaining herself later.

“Don’t worry, I know some secrets,” Ina said. “Besides, I’m actually very poor. My stinky mom never gives me any pocket money.”

In fact, Ina still receives a hundred silver dragons a month as pocket money, but she feels that it's so little that it's less than what some noble ladies receive, and it's hardly money at all.

At the same time, Elena and Agustina also entered, ready to take control of the situation.

As for Ronan, he was chatting with Christopher, one of the most important shareholders of the casino. Christopher was a fifth-tier mage, already eighty years old, with no hope of advancing to the next tier, so he brought his teacher to hold shares and deal with some of the casino's troubles.

Christopher's teacher was fifteen years younger than him, sixty-five, a sixth-order rank. Among sixth-order rank 6, he was considered young. Now he had basically stopped caring about worldly affairs and was single-mindedly focused on his ascent to the top.

Next to Ronan and Christopher was the same doorman who had just stopped Ina at the entrance.

"I'm so sorry for not being able to catch the scoundrel here in time. I hope Marquis Rhein won't blame me," Old Chris apologized. In fact, he had no idea whether someone had committed a crime or not, or even who this so-called person was.

But does this matter?

Since that little princess has come to make a scene, it must be that someone has committed an unforgivable mistake.

Ronan waved his hand, "It's just a child being willful and mischievous, don't take it too seriously. I'll take him home and discipline him properly later."

"I'm really sorry to trouble you," old Chris said with a smile.

“This is no trouble at all.” Ronan smiled. “However, I do have a favor to ask you. As you know, the international situation is very chaotic right now. The war could escalate at any time and drag the countries of the Western Continent into it. Our country will inevitably have to get involved. I hope that when that happens, the fourth-tier mages can serve the country.”

Most fifth-tier mages possess destructive magical power that is already at the level of "streak-blowing," and generally do not participate in wars. Key nations usually do not even mention fifth-tier mages. However, fourth-tier mages, on the other hand, are a different story.

That was Ronan's real purpose in coming to the casino.

Old Chris chuckled softly, "Ha, when the Marquis of Rhein and the Prime Minister raise their arms, the masses will naturally respond."

"Forget the pleasantries, just say it: I hope the old gentleman can do me a favor and get in touch with them," Ronan said.

“I’m just an old man who works as a bouncer at a casino, I don’t have that kind of power,” Old Chris said.

Of course he has it. If he didn't, why would Ronan waste his breath talking to him? Old Chris's level, although he can't even rank in the top twenty in the kingdom, is the kind of person who takes one step at a time and builds his business into a powerful force. Now that he's eighty years old, he can definitely be said to have old friends everywhere he goes.