Husk was opening his bar that day, which was rare for him. Usually, he'd be heading out to the casinos, but he'd had a whim to actually do some work for once. A few regulars stopped by, but none stayed long, leaving the place practically deserted. He was just thinking it was so dead he might as well close up and head to a casino when the doorbell rang. A stranger walked in and took a seat at a table in the back. A shark demon—likely a Hellborn. The demon ordered a glass of cheap whiskey and looked around the room aimlessly. Husk wiped a glass, thinking the most un-manager-like thought: 'Hurry up and leave.'

When the shark demon spotted a worn-out deck of cards at the corner of the counter and asked, "Do you play poker here?", Husk's mood instantly brightened. He walked over to the man's table to play. The guy was a first-timer who didn't know Husk's skill. 'A perfect mark,' Husk smirked inwardly.

The result was exactly as Husk predicted: he won big without his cheating being noticed. He gloated inwardly about making a profit without even going to the casino, but when he went to collect the stakes, the shark demon frantically claimed he had "no cash on him." He turned his pockets inside out to show they were empty.

As Husk sighed and started packing up the cards, the shark demon desperately offered to "hand over a slave instead of the stakes." Husk's eyebrows shot up at the words.