Mr. Roland did not look at Shade's cards. Instead, he accepted a glass from the bartender delivering drinks:
"Though I considered myself capable of defeating the knights of the Northern Kingdom, some trivial matter came up at home in autumn, so I was unable to make the travel to the Northern Kingdom. I had actually planned to go."
Only after saying that did he notice everyone looking at the table. The middle-aged bartender in an apron did not leave immediately after serving the drinks. He glanced at the tabletop, then smiled and patted the poet on the shoulder:
"Mr. Roland, it seems you've met your match this time."
Only then did the poet lower his head. Shade's three cards on the table were Moon 2, Flower 11, and Sun 8, for a total of 21 points.
"How could that happen?"
Mr. Roland muttered in surprise, but said nothing more. Instead, as though inspiration had struck him, he jotted down a few lines in his notebook and signaled for Shade to begin the second round:
"I saw a photograph of that Great City Player Champion in the newspaper."
The poet spoke casually as he received the first hole card of the second round:
"For some reason, none of the newspaper photos of that Delarion knight showed his face from the front."
"I know about that."
Shade took his own hole card as well:
"I heard that although That Gentleman was the champion, he personally detested gambling and treated Rhodes Cards only as an interest and hobby. Therefore, after hearing about the odds the underground casinos had set on the champion during the Great City Player event, he decided not to show his face in the newspapers, lest his reputation be tarnished."
"He truly is a man of noble character."
Mr. Roland