"What do you have to offer?"
At some point, Mira Han had pulled out a deck of cards from her brown leather jacket, which was sewn with numerous pockets. Her shuffling technique was polished to perfection.
"I have four hundred credits in paper cash and a few coins worth twenty credit points." Matt started off counting the money he had on hand, then immediately felt puzzled as to why he had somehow gotten himself dragged into a card game.
"How's your card skill, kid?" Sitting right beside Matt was Jim Raynor, who was disguised as a middle-aged man with short black hair. His thick arms were crossed over his chest. "Mira only plays Deadman's Port Poker—a variant of Texas Hold'em. It's quite a mainstream game among the Terran Confederacy's colonial worlds. You shouldn't be unfamiliar with it."
Although he didn't understand why Augustus placed such great value on this young man, Raynor knew that he was the very reason their group had come all the way to the Tyrador system. This young man named Matt Horner was, in fact, still just a high school student—naïve and seemingly easy to fool.
Indeed, Matt possessed qualities that Raynor could not ignore: honesty, reliability, diligence, and a strong sense of justice. In Shiloh, honest people like Matt were a rare breed.
No matter what, trusting Augustus was never wrong. In the art of recognizing talent, Augustus had never once made a mistake.
Even Tychus Findlay and Edmund Duke had their own merits—the former perhaps being the bravest tough guy in all of Koprulu, and the latter always able to bring utter destruction to whatever he touched—whether that thing was good or bad, rotten or foul, Duke always managed to stir everything into chaos with astonishing efficiency.
"The fact is, I'm quite good at it." Hidden beneath Matt's shy and reserved appearance was someone both capable and pragmatic. Everyone in the Horner family, as well as their relatives and friends, knew that once Matt Horner put his mind to something, he would accomplish it in a way that satisfied everyone.
The Horner family's integrity and reliability were consistent through generations. They were better at taking real action and sticking to it than at being lofty dreamers who merely talked. Once, when someone told old Horner that a gang of robbers was lurking in a family's yard, he immediately took his sons, the dogs, and a shotgun to chase them off—instead of wasting time calling the police.
Matt Horner could deftly handle every problem in this world—except for plums, cold coffee, and mischievous, unpredictable women.
"You're good at it?" Raynor said with a half-smile, teasing Matt. "I'd bet no one can play cards better than Mira Han, the Queen of the Night of Deadman's Port. She's beaten most of the 7th Brigade from Deadman's Port at the tables. Plenty of lousy gamblers who love to play end up handing over their pay before they even get it into their pockets."
"I'll try to lose as gracefully as I can." Matt quickly came to terms with the fact that he was about to lose all his money. As long as it allowed him to speak a bit more with Augustus, he didn't mind losing everything he had.
"Your wager is just that money?" Mira blinked playfully as she cut the cards, her eyes fixed on Matt. The older girl's gaze carried an inexplicable meaning that sent a chill down the poor boy's spine.
When he saw Mira stick out her tongue and lick her soft, pink lips, Matt shivered. He made up his mind that from now on, he would keep far away from this pink-haired girl—no matter what.
Everyone who had ever met Mira Han, without exception, thought she was a lively and adorable girl, always full of energy. Mira was definitely a mischievous cat-girl type, and many who met her couldn't help but like her.
Matt firmly believed one thing: although, at his age, the dreams of boys awakening to love and their fantasies about the opposite sex often revolved around vague, idealized figures, he was certain that if there truly existed a dream girl who could capture his soul, it could never possibly be Mira.
"That's all." Matt took out his wallet and laid all his bills on the table. "I'm ready, Miss Mira."
"Ah—aren't you going to ask what my wager is?" Mira said as she stood up, leaning forward with both hands on the table and staring into Matt's confused yet slightly frightened eyes. Her shoulder-length pink hair swayed with the motion.
From this close, Matt could clearly see Mira Han's youthful, rosy face and her outfit of leather jacket and pants in a lower-district street style. Hanging from her clothes were chains, small knives, and other trinkets whose purposes Matt couldn't even guess—making her look more like a little delinquent than the heroic revolutionary soldier he had imagined.
The front of Mira Han's leather jacket was open, and Matt could even see her black bra and the blade-shaped tattoo on her neck. Her right ear was pierced, with a gilded accessory shaped like a golden skull hanging from it. Even a true gentleman like Matt had to admit that, at this moment, Mira was extremely alluring as a woman.
"If you beat me—of course, that's impossible—but let's say, if you happen to win by sheer luck, I'll give you a mysterious gift fit for the victor," Mira said teasingly.
"So, what's the wager?" Matt asked her.
"That's a secret." Mira sat back down and said, "I can't tell you that."
"Dear Matt."
Matt immediately felt his blood pressure spike, and in that moment, he couldn't help but appreciate the value of the Horner family's good manners.
"A mysterious prize?" Raynor seemed quite entertained—whether out of mischief or genuine amusement was unclear, but he was clearly delighted. "Mira's got plenty of good stuff on her. Whether it's money or a fine gun, either would be worth a lot. You can't lose here. If I were you, I'd take that bet without hesitation."
"Sir, to be honest, I don't see any meaning in this card game." Matt frowned, scanning the elegant restaurant for any sign of Augustus, but found nothing. "I thought we came here to talk about the revolution."
While searching for Augustus, Matt noticed the red-haired girl beside Mira. The girl with the fiery red hair sat upright and composed, her expression perpetually cold. Her gaze occasionally swept across the other diners in the restaurant, and in her jade-green eyes there seemed to be hidden blades. Instinct told Matt that this was an extremely dangerous woman.
At that moment, Matt couldn't help but wonder what kind of women surrounded Augustus.
"There are many forms of revolution," Raynor said, clearly bluffing. "You'll understand soon enough."
"I see." Matt's brows relaxed slightly as he fell into thought.
"Let's begin," Mira said with a smile.
"I absolutely won't hold back. No mercy at all."
The game began quickly, and by the time Augustus returned after placing the order, Matt was slumped at the table in utter defeat, eyes empty, while Mira laughed heartily without the slightest restraint.
"What happened?" Augustus had already guessed what had taken place. Although Mira and Matt's encounter had come more than ten years earlier than it should have, the Mira of the past had also fallen in love with Matt at first sight.
The card game was a common trap used by the people of Deadman's Port—they could empty an outsider's pockets, or even bet themselves away. Either way, few who won money ever managed to leave Deadman's Port alive.
"Mira and Matt played a round of cards and wagered a little something," Raynor explained to Augustus. "You know Mira's personality better than anyone—she's almost never able to stay quiet. Even when leading the 7th Brigade of Deadman's Port in battle, she always carried a few decks of cards with her, winning not only wars but also the money of the other joint commanders."
"That much I know. You could say she's infamous." Augustus nodded. "So, what was the result?"
"Who won?"
"Matt," Raynor answered. "Mira could barely put up a fight."
"Are you sure she didn't just choose not to fight back?" Augustus glanced at the dejected Matt. "Why does he look like he's the one who lost?"
"Because the prize for the winner was Mira," Raynor said, spreading his hands. "Not just Mira, but also a marriage contract and a handsome dowry."
"Mira finally married herself off?" Augustus immediately understood. "That's a good thing. I thought she'd never take a liking to any man in her life."
"You don't seem very happy," Augustus said, looking at Matt with concern.
"No, I'm very happy," Matt said, with an expression that was anything but.
"I suppose she was just joking with me." For someone as serious and rigid as Matt, realizing that was not an easy thing.
"I'm not joking. I'm serious." Mira slapped the table in response to Matt. She didn't care in the slightest how her actions affected those around her, while the people who were disturbed by the noise simply turned curious glances toward them.
Matt's face turned pale. He realized that he didn't have to abide by this marriage contract, yet the harsh reality made him believe that things would not be that simple.
If Matt hadn't been certain that his encounter with Augustus and the others was purely by chance, he might have suspected that they had set this trap for him in advance.
"You don't like this girl?" Raynor looked at Matt. "Mira's a good girl. Influenced by her upbringing, she's independent and strong. Most importantly, Mira knows how to make money and support a family—she can shield you from the wind and rain."
"Not exactly," Matt said after careful thought. "It's just all too sudden. I need some time to process it. Uh, what I mean is, I've never thought about getting married. If it really has to happen, it should come after a love story full of hardships but also romance."
"After all, I'm still young."
"Has she always been like this?" Matt asked Raynor.
"Not always." Raynor shrugged. "But it looks like Mira's really taken a liking to you."
"Do your best, Matt."
"Ah—" a groan of despair came from Matt's side.
To say he disliked Mira would be unfair—but girls with her kind of personality were definitely not his type. More than that, what truly frightened Matt was a woman who would throw herself at him so proactively.
"That doesn't sound too hard," Raynor said, recalling how he had met his wife Elizabeth. "Don't you think so, Mira?"
"No matter what kind of story you want, I'll make it come true for you." Mira's following "Darling" made Matt shiver all over.
"Come on, don't take it seriously, Matt," Augustus said, trying to comfort him. "Mira can't force anyone. The discipline of the Revolutionary Army would never allow her to do that."
"Which rule are you talking about?" Raynor asked.
"Revolutionary Army soldiers—no one is permitted to seize women or commit acts of rape and plunder," Augustus said with a hearty laugh, though he kept his voice in check so as not to disturb those around them.
"All right." Augustus's words did ease Matt's mind a little. He let out a sigh of relief.
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