"You know each other?"
The referee was inspecting both decks when Mrs. Frey, standing nearby to watch, asked curiously.
"This gentleman has ridden on my ship before."
Captain Rudolf said, rolling his neck before cracking his fingers one by one.
"Last time, we gambled on something else aboard the ship, and I lost badly. This time is a good chance for revenge. I'm quite confident when it comes to Rhodes Cards."
This time, Captain Rudolf's deck contained three special cards. According to him, he had won all of them in taverns.
"At my peak, I had five Special Rule Cards. Unfortunately, I lost three of them in one go last summer. I won one back while playing cards with other captains aboard my ship during the Year-End Festival. I like this kind of tense, exciting game."
"Captain, you know we're in a hurry."
Shade said. Mr. Bernhardt and Mr. Albert had already come to stand behind him.
"The usual best-of-three format is far too boring. How about trying something else?"
The Bloodkin captain looked at Mrs. Frey, who shook her head indifferently.
"As long as you both agree, I have no objections."
The uniformed Seer Association referee also said:
"Under the principle of fairness, no problem."
The onlookers began whispering among themselves, and Shade made a suggestion.
"Remove the Kings and Queens from each deck, leaving fifty-two cards. We'll each divide those fifty-two cards into ten groups of five, with two cards left over. Then we'll compare those ten groups in order according to Rhodes Cards rules. After all ten groups are settled, draws won't count, the winner of each group gets one point, and whoever has more points in the end wins."
Of course, with five cards in each group, the odds of busting were extremely high.
"If it's