CHAPTER SIX: DIABLO PREPARES FOR DEUS' BIG ACT! 

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"No worries fellas, how about I reimburse you for that drink, huh?" Diablo said. Naturally, he had no intentions of doing this whatsoever as his own wallet was rather light at this moment.

"N-no, it's fine..." The taller of the two Young Masters stared a bit in shock before exhaling sharply. "Fuck. Nearly scared the shit outta me."

"Damn. That was close!" The shorter one said.

"You..." The taller one on the left glared at the waitress. "You're lucky this guy stopped it, or else you could'a drowned me! What were you thinking?"

As the waitress began to profusely apologize to the two as she cleaned up the mess, he waved it off and sighed.

"Once again, you're lucky I'm such a magnanimous and forgiving person, so I'll let you off once this time. No second chances, you got it!?"

"Y-yes!" The waitress shrieked.

"Haha... Take it easy." Diablo patted the clumsy waitress on the shoulder before whispering in her ear. "I think you should get going now."

And right after she finished cleaning up, the waitress left to the kitchen with great haste.

-whistle-

"Phew, what a quick runner." Diablo murmured.

"I know right? Besides, how did you do that anyway?"

"What can I say? I just have a few little tricks up my sleeve." Diablo shrugged. So far so good.

"Heh! You call those tricks little? If I knew how to do that, I would never stop showing off to the ladies!"

Eventually Diablo found himself sitting at the same table as the two, drinking and toasting all the same.

"Thanks a lot, man." Diablo clinked one of the glasses with his own. "The name's Diablo by the way. Diablo Malvados, part-time magician, part-time gambling prince, full-time stocks genius."

"Diablo, eh?" One of them said. He was a tall muscular young man with light blonde hair, brown eyes, and tanned skin. "You might've already heard of me, but I'm Richard. Richard Cannon."

"And the shrimpy-looking fella over here is my bro, Nouvel Childe." Richard pointed to a shorter young man with messy mop-like hair and a dull expression on his face.

"Who are you calling a shrimp, you golden-haired bastard?" Nouvel snapped at Richard.

Diablo could tell that it probably was a sore point for the guy, but honestly, Richard wasn't exactly wrong.

"Yeah, nice meeting you two." Diablo nodded as he shook hands with Richard.

"Hey, you got a real firm handshake, man!" Richard quipped to which Diablo just flexed his own lean albeit strong muscles.

And as the three chatted so more, Nouvel brought up something he thought was interesting.

"Hey, Diablo. You said that other than magic and gambling, you were also some kinda investment genius?" Nouvel asked.

"Yup, I stopped trying to win too much to avoid getting kicked out of casinos!" Diablo bragged. "And as for the investor part, you could say it's like my job."

"Really, now?" Nouvel raised an eyebrow as he pulled out his phone. "Are you sure about that?"

"Damn straight." Diablo simply replied.

"Hey, you're real confident are 'ya? I've got no idea what's going on, but my boy Nouvel's a real whizz-kid on these kinds of topics, y'know?" Richard poured another drink into his mouth. "So if he's curious, then you know that this is some serious shit!"

Diablo smiled. He knew that the Childe Family was so famous for their financial acumen and ability to see stocks rise and fall to the point where they were known as 'Those Blessed By The Arrow', so for Nouvel, the heir of the family to some knowledge about this wouldn't be too farfetched.

"Sure. Show me what you've got, and I'll answer you as best as I can." Diablo shrugged.

"Well, how about this?" Nouvel handed over his phone to Diablo and let him view the info on the screen. 

'Damn, these rich kids are really casual about handing over their possessions, aren't they?' Diablo muttered half-heartedly.

Diablo scrolled through the data Nouvel gave him on the phone for about a minute or two before he handed it back.

"Those three." Diablo said.

"Huh?" Nouvel was confused. 'What did he mean about that?'

"Based on what Richard over here said, If I can tell by just this, then I'm sure you should already know." Diablo smiled as he kept eye contact with Nouvel.

"Those three companies you've got shares and stocks in... They're about to soar to the moon."

Was it all bullshit stretched to the moon that Diablo was spouting?

-Maybe, perhaps, potentially, probably, yes.

But was he was planning on using that Main Character Halo as long as he could, until the wheels fell off?

-Definitely yes.

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The [Fate] Stat seemed to include luck as well. And by god did it work fantastically.

And well? Diablo wasn't complaining.

'It was worth it to invest in the [Fate] Stat.' Diablo thought.

"No way... That fast?" Nouvel murmured.

"What fast?" Richard said. "Didn't he just read the thing?"

"Not just that, you muscle-head!" Nouvel barked at Richard, who just shrugged, asking what was wrong with 'a head full of muscles'. "How did you know-"

"No. That's a stupid question. You were right. These three companies; they were the ones we decided to invest in before the prices of the stock rose... Which they did."

"See? Told you I had it in me." Diablo said as he raised another glass.

"I'm guessing that means good stuff, so cheers!" Richard raised his own glass in response.

The Cannon Family dealt in the automobile business, so even if they did make any investments (to which he was sure they did), he didn't care much for it as long as he got to pick up hot babes in the fancy sports cars they manufactured.

"I'm not gonna drink too much though, I still wanna go to the Casino." Diablo said.

"Don't worry about that Diablo, it's all cool. I'll head there with 'ya!" Richard smirked. "But I gotta warn 'ya. You might be a Gambling Prince, but me on the other hand... I'm a Gambling God!"

"Keep that in mind, Diablo! I don't want you to get disappointed and cry when I clean you out in poker, haha-!"

"Alright, alright! We'll see soon enough." Diablo said. "Let's toast again to Nouvel's future!"

"My what-"

"Yeah! And while we're at it, let's toast that he gets taller in the future!" Richard cheered.

"You bastar-"

But as Diablo celebrated with Richard and an irate Nouvel, he felt a strong stare from another direction.

It was Deus.

'Wow.' Diablo thought. 'He's staring like there's no tomorrow...'

'Seems like Isabella and Red went up to a different room to chat or something, just like they did in the novel.'

But since he read the novel, Diablo knew better. He was sure they were watching somewhere, which was why he did his best to make everything look as unnaturally natural as possible.

Just in case something happens.

Looking at Deus, he seemed to be sitting in the corner of the room, awkwardly nursing a drink as he shot down whatever girl came up to proposition him for a 'good time' as he professed his 'love' for his fiance.

'So, he's really dedicated to his role as a simpering doglicker for his ice-cold bitch of a fiance, huh?'

Don't get Deus wrong, he would never mock someone for turning down relations for anyone, as he felt that it was their choice to do so, but when it came to Deus he couldn't help but shake his head.

'I'm guessing that you've read the novel too, right Deus? And yet you still plan on following the plot.'

Diablo was a little bit disappointed, but he coped by thinking that this was a ploy of sorts.

"Huh, who would've thought that a loyal dog-like guy would be around these parts..." Richard murmured.

Seeing that Richard was looking in the same direction as he was, Diablo decided to ask him a question. "You know that guy?"

"Ehh, not really." Richard shrugged. "But the less said about a dog like him, the better."

"That's true. After all, love really makes people into the biggest idiots of all time." Nouvel remarked.

'Doesn't seem like Deus has a good reputation amongst the other Young Masters and rich kids of Paradise City either, huh..."

After a few minutes, Diablo got up to empty his bladder.

"I'll be back, don't leave and lose all your money without me there to see it, okay?"

"Hah! You wish!" Richard waved him off.

As Diablo went to the bathroom to relieve himself, he couldn't help but curse when he used the amenities inside.

'Seriously. Why the fuck are the literal shit-bowls of this place so luxurious and high quality? I almost feel guilty soiling these things...'

'I mean, even when I'm aiming my 'Magnum Dragon Rod' it feels so fabulous...'

'Come to think about it, as soon as I exit this place Deus is gonna make his move...'

'What was it again? Oh, I know. He was gonna harass one of the waitresses, and when the Original Diablo stepped in to save her and beat the stuffing out of him, he would call the police for 'Use of excessive force' and get me locked up.'

'Was that before, or after his frigid bitch of a fiance visits a club and almost gets accosted by a couple of thugs where she drinks a drugged drink and needs to be saved? Shit I dunno...'

'How annoying...'

'But honestly, I kinda want to fight him and see how strong the both of us are...'

'Me with my Plot Knowledge, and Deus, with his Complaint System, riches.... and Plot Knowledge also...'

'But since he's gonna pretend to be weak, I might not have any fun...'

'Well, other than the [Fate] Stat, the cards are stacked against me...'

'But that just makes it even more interesting in the future...'

Diablo washed his hands after relieving himself before walking out.

'Although, I do hope that Deus' Complaint System doesn't affect me as well, if not too much. Because that would be downright unfair for me.'

'After all, I didn't sign up to get my thoughts read like some dystopian piece of literature.'

'But seriously though, the idea of having to deal with that Young Master and that frigid bitch of an ice goddess jade beauty is really making me feel murderous...  If it weren't for me wanting to see what they get up to so I can protect myself from them, then I'd  just dump the both of them in the sewer abroad and be done with it.'

-sigh-

'How troublesome.'

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CHAPTER SIX: DIABLO PREPARES FOR DEUS' BIG ACT! (END)

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