The order of the game was Cerulean, me, the Commander, and Captain Cyril.
Cerulean was the first card, and he added an explanation while playing the number 1 card.
"Oh, by the way, I explained that the first person to run out of cards wins, but now that a joker has been added, a special rule has been added. When the last hand ends with a king, only if the next person cuts it with a joker, the person who finishes with a king will not be in first place and will be defeated. Well, I think it's a way to make the game more interesting by creating weaknesses even for the strongest card (King)."
I let out a sigh in my heart at Cerulean's way of explaining King and Joker's relationship belatedly in order to impress him.
I stared at the card in my hand, thinking it was a complete farce.
I played the number 3 card.
The remaining cards were 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, King, King, King, Joker.
There were three king cards, the strongest of which there are only four, and a joker, which was the trump card and only one.
It's biased enough to make me believe it was given out on purpose.
The special rule that was explained was that if you tried to go up with a king at the end and get cut by a joker, you would be defeated.
However, since there was only one Joker, I didn't have to worry about someone else cutting me with a Joker even if I played the last King.
In other words, simply holding on to the king until the end was probably the best option.
This was because although Joker was the strongest card, there was a restriction that it could only be used in three types: Jack, Queen, and King, so it was safer to use it up as soon as possible.
Also, since I had 3 kings in the first place, I didn't really appreciate the joker.
...I guessed that's the purpose of having three kings and a joker in my hand to make people think like this.
Without saying a word, I put out cards one after another.
At first, I thought it would be a good idea to use the lowest possible number, so I started playing cards like 3, 4, 5, etc.
Then, everyone started playing cards one after another, until each player had only a few cards left in their hand.
Cerulean brought out the queen. I brought out the king. My remaining cards were two kings and one joker.
Cerulean brought out Jack. I brought out the king. All that's left was one king card and one joker.
Cerulean brought out Jack. ...I played the last king card without hesitation.
――At that moment, the three people sitting at the table stiffened for a moment.
Despite this, I found it surprising that no one looked at me.
I noticed that I stiffened because I was paying attention to the three of them's every move, and it was a slight movement that would normally go unnoticed.
...The people in the center of the country were really good at keeping a poker face.
But now it's certain.
These three people knew my hand—at least that I had three kings and a joker.
That's probably why they were shocked to see why I chose King instead of Joker.
From the perspective of the three people who know my cards, it's a really bad move.
Because all I had left was the Joker, so I could only cut the Jack, Queen, and King face cards.
But as all three of us know, this game was designed so that I could win without doing anything.
That's why I thought what I needed to think about was how to win.
While I was thinking about this, I reached what I thought would be my last lap.
The remaining cards were 2 Ceruleans, 1 me, 2 Commander Savvis, and 2 Captain Cyril.
And there was a 9 card on the table.
Cerulean glanced at his hand and silently played out the Jack card.
I stared at the card expressionlessly and opened my mouth.
"Please give me a pass." (Fia)
At that moment, Cerulean looked up in surprise.
"Fia, do you know the rules?" (Cerulean)
I nodded, as if it was completely natural.
"Of course, I understand the rules. The first person to run out of cards wins, right? Also, there is currently only one king and joker left in play, and a special rule is being applied. If the last card ends up being a king, it would normally be a win, but if the next person cuts it with a joker, the owner of the king will not be in first place but will be lost. By the way, the Joker can only cut the face cards of Jack, Queen, and King, ...right?" (Fia)
"……That's right" (Cerulean)
Seeing Cerulean reluctantly answered, I sigh in my heart.
...Cerulean, you definitely know my hand.
That's why you were wondering why I couldn't just cut the Jack in play with the Joker I had.
The path to becoming number one was laid out in front of me, so why?
Commander Savvis played a queen and Captain Cyril passed.
Cerulean hesitated for a moment, but there was only one action he could take.
The only way to win was to put the last card in your hand into play.
As expected, Cerulean put the last card, a king card, onto the field.
Then, he looked at me with a look of resentment.
"Huh? You played the last card, right? Don't you have to declare victory?" (Fia)
"...'Worship the King'!" (Cerulean)
Cerulean's voice sounded extremely regretful.
I looked up and looked around at everyone around the game table.
When he saw that I was attracting the attention of Cerulean, Commander Savvis, Captain Cyril, and all the remaining clowns smiled knowingly.
"Oh... excuse me. I guess special rules apply? I win." (Fia)
While saying this, I placed the Joker on top of the King that Cerulean had put out.
The Joker I brought out featured a clown wearing a blue and white checkered horse costume that looked tastefully similar to Cerulean.
"Worship the King!" (Fia)
Then, I looked around at everyone with a triumphant look on my face, filled with frustration at the senseless farce of the super-high-ranking people.
"I see, the only person who is better than the King is the Joker!" (Fia)
——At that moment, everyone present looked astonished, as if they had been hit directly by lightning.
Commander Savvis and Captain Cyril were among them, but it couldn't be helped.
These two, along with the king, forced me to play something that I didn't understand, so it's their own fault.
While everyone looked at me with shocked expressions, I got up from my seat and walked up to Cerulean, who was dressed as a clown.
Then, politely took the knight's bow.
"…Isn’t that so, Your Majesty the King?" (Fia)
A dead silence fell over the place.
In the frightening silence, Cerulean... His Majesty the King of Näv Kingdom was glaring at me with a dejected expression on his face.
Author's Note
Thank you for reading!
I really wanted to write this story, so I finished it two years ago.
(Continuation will be updated tomorrow)
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