Esper Harem in the Apocalypse

"A gamble of life?" Rudy repeated Maria's words and asked, "What's that? We gamble for our life?"

"Yes," she nodded without looking at Rudy.

"Uhh… I have no interest in betting my life, and I am not going to let you bet yours either," Rudy asserted in a solemn voice.

"Oh, no. My bad. I don't mean a gamble of life and death. It was more like a gamble where the winners got to owe the loser their entire life. They make every decision of their life," Maria stated.

"That sounds like slavery which is super illegal," Rudy remarked.

"You can call it slavery, and it's not illegal in the underworld. When someone loses the gamble or life or if they have run out of money or the things to bet, they become a slave until the debt has been repaid.

Sometimes, fathers sell their daughters, husbands sell their wives, mothers sell their sons, and they sell themselves too. It is not a rare occurrence in the underworld. I wish I had never known this dark side of gambling," she said in a low voice.

Rudy raised his brow and asked, "And still, you want to do that with me?"

"Because… I want to…" she muttered. "That's the only way."

"Just curious, what would you do if I won?"

"I will become your slave, and you will owe me. You can order me anything to do," Maria replied with a shrug.

"And… what if I lose?" he asked with a judging look on her face.

"I will order you to do something you otherwise wouldn't do. But I won't order you around…"

"Oh?"

"To be honest…" She looked into Rudy's eyes and said, "It will be a win-win situation for me regardless of who won."

"And what would you make me do if you won?"

Maria puckered her lips and said, "I would ask you to kiss me…"

Rudy couldn't help but chuckle after Maria's innocence.

"Why are you laughing?!" She hissed. "It's not funny! It took me so much courage to say it out loud, you know?!"

"I am laughing at how pure you are. You would have the opportunity to make me do anything you want, and you would waste it for something like a kiss," Rudy scoffed softly.

Maria puffed her cheeks and uttered, "Even that is too much for me. What would 'you' ask me to do if you won? I doubt you would ask for money since you had countless chances to use my card and spend millions if you wanted money."

"Hmm~" Rudy hummed in wonder while smiling at Maria and said, "I don't know what I would ask you to do. But know that it wouldn't be something so pure as a kiss. I would ask for much more illicit things."

"...." Maria gulped down nervously and said, "Like…? You would ask me to make a baby with you?"

"Ahaha!" Rudy laughed out loud while repeatedly ganging his hand on the handrest on the couch. "I knew you would say it like that, but still… It was so funny and cute!"

Maria furrowed her brows in anger and moved away to the other side of the couch.

Rudy stopped laughing and slowly moved towards Maria. A few seconds later, he got beside Maria and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Go away! I am angry at you."

"Is that so?" He moved his face close to her ears and said, "And here I was thinking of agreeing to play the gamble of death with you."

"Really?!" Maria suddenly lost all her anger and turned to Rudy with a happy smile on her face.

"No, I was joking," he replied with a grin. "You will have to promise me that you will never play such games, no matter your circumstances. If you ever need help, just hit me up. I will be there in less than a second," he said solemnly.

"Okay…"

"And if you want to kiss me, you can just ask for it, you know?"

"Nice joke. I bet you will make fun of me again. Hmph!"

"No, I am not. If you truly want to kiss me, then as long as you do that by the count of ten, I won't stop you."

After a brief pause, he began the countdown: "Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six—"

"Wait, wait, wait! It's too sudden. You need to give me more time to mentally prepare myself!"

"Time doesn't wait for anyone, Miss Maria. You may never get another chance if you don't grasp the opportunity given to you at the right time."

"...."

"Five. Four. Three. Two—"

"Wait, wait. I am ready. I am ready, so stop counting. It's making me more nervous."

Rudy stopped counting and waited for Maria to kiss him.

"Go ahead."

Maria took a deep breath and puckered her lips as she moved her face closer to Rudy. She closed her eyes out of embarrassment and held Rudy's face in her hands.

"Rudy. Rudy!"

However, just when Maria was about to kiss Rudy, Angelica called out to him and said, "Someone is coming this way!" she said.

Rudy glanced in the direction Angelica was pointing her finger at and saw Rusher was on his way.

'Oh great!' Rudy pulled Maria close to her, and instead of kissing her, he hugged her.

"....!" Maria was shocked, and she thought Rudy was teasing her by playing with her feelings. But when she noticed Rusher standing in front of her, her face turned pale, and she gulped down anxiously.

"Hello… brother…"

Rusher frowned his face and asked, "What's going on here?"

"Uhh…" Maria was unable to speak. She had never been in such a situation and wasn't mentally prepared for that.

Rudy turned to Rusher and said, "She was helping me."

"How was that helping?"

"You see, now I am going to the final match of this tournament, and I am so nervous. Maria was just reassuring me that everything will be alright," he asserted in a feminine voice.

"Oh… right. I won't blame you for being nervous. After all, you will fight the all-time champion of underground gambling."