Chapter 19
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: The Dice Game
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The patrol ended without incident, just like any other day.
The usual routine: strolling around, making conversation with the ladies, roughing up a few slackers who hadn't gone to work, and telling stories to the kids. Before I knew it, my shift was over.
I returned to the Outer Wall Guard headquarters, gave my report to the Daejang, and left after listening to him go on about how his fleshy forearms were pure muscle.
“So why are you following me?”
“How can I let you go alone, Jojang? Who knows what kind of trouble you'll stir up. We're going together. Let's try not to make a big scene and finish up early.”
Kel, who had been grumbling the whole time, followed along with a sour look on his face. He'd clearly smelled money.
“Tsk. Nine-to-one.”
“...What's that supposed to mean?”
“Fine, eight-to-two.”
“No, just explain what—”
“Don't be so greedy.”
“What are you talking about? Never mind, let's just get this over with.”
I thought he was just some horndog in heat, but he was surprisingly good at haggling.
We headed to District 5. The sun was setting, and the streets were bustling with people.
'The Ailing Mermaid' tavern was in the center of District 5. It was a prime location; rumor had it that the owner Joseph's ancestor was so good with a hammer during the construction of Casadic Castle that he was rewarded with a prime plot of land.
'The Ailing Mermaid' was built three stories high, a full floor taller than the other buildings, making it the first thing you saw upon entering District 5.
“Derek's not here?”
I nodded at Kel’s question.
Popular taverns like 'The Ailing Mermaid' hired their own people to keep the drunks in line, and the guard here was Derek. He was a big guy with a fierce look, but contrary to his appearance, he was so gentle he'd probably never hit a person in his life.
Still, his intimidating appearance was effective on travelers and outsiders, which was why he was hired. It seemed just having Derek standing there or loitering about was enough to make even the drunkest patrons mind their manners.
He was always in front of 'The Ailing Mermaid', but today, he was nowhere to be seen.
I stopped for a moment in front of the tavern. There was no need to bring Kel inside. He’d just nag me the whole time.
“I'll find out once I go in. You stay out front and grab anyone who comes running out.”
“Jojang, are you planning to go in alone?”
Kel stared at me with worried eyes. It was a strange look, one I'd never seen from him before.
“Why? Worried about me?”
“If you go in there alone, Jojang, of course I'm worried about what will happen inside. You don't have a shred of self-control.”
So he wasn't worried about me, but about what I might do inside. The nerve of this horny medieval punk, looking down on me.
“What am I going to do... I'm just going to rough up a few scammers, that's all. Anyway, just grab anyone who comes out and make them kneel.”
“Yes, sir. I'll trust you, Jojang. Just roughing them up, right?”
“I told you I would.”
“Seriously! It’s the night shift from Squad 2 today! They’re not as reasonable as the other squads, you know!”
‘If he was going to whine this much, why did he even follow me?’
Waving off his incessant nagging, I grabbed the tavern door.
They must have been making good money; the handle was twice as big and three times as shiny as any other.
I pushed the door open and walked in. The air was thick with a sweet scent, as if they’d sprayed perfume.
Twenty round wooden tables were scattered across the hall. On the wall hung the head of a deer that had clearly met a resentful end, and beneath it, a grimy hammer was embedded in the wood. It seemed the rumor about the ancestor's hammering skills was true.
‘About seven of them.’
I slowly scanned the interior of the tavern, which had fallen abruptly silent. Maybe because I’d come straight from my shift, or maybe because word had gotten around this small castle, but there didn't seem to be any actual customers.
Armed men were spread out, pretending not to be on guard.
At one table sat a man in thin leather armor and a shifty-looking fellow wrapped in cloth. Two large men leaned against a wall, talking to each other. And one man with cold eyes stood right next to the door I’d just entered.
‘And one in front of the girl.’
At a round table in the center of the hall, twice as large as the others, sat a girl in a shabby tunic and a man in chain mail.
‘A scammer in chain mail.’
I let out a small chuckle. Habitually, my eyes were drawn to the sword at the man's hip. It was short and wide, looking at a glance like a Chinese kitchen cleaver.
They all had murderous glares and were carrying some piece of steel, but aside from the man sitting across from the girl, they were all small fry.
I could feel their gazes converging on me, even as they tried to act casual. Beneath the feigned disarray, a thick sense of vigilance poked at me. In response, I smiled and raised my hand high.
“Yo, Joseph! A beer, if you please.”
On the far side of the hall, by the entrance to the kitchen, a familiar man stood with an ashen face. The emotions warring on his face were despair and deliberation.
“A... Aron, you were banned…”
Joseph, the owner of the Ailing Mermaid, scratched his signature goatee and looked back and forth between me and the man in front of the girl. From his expression, he seemed to be weighing his options. Which of us would cause him less trouble?
It stung a little when Joseph's eyes settled on the other man. Choosing some random thug over a Jojang of the guard.
Of course, what was about to happen would happen regardless of Joseph's choice. I walked straight toward the table where the girl was sitting.
My bold advance made the men around us flinch noticeably. They probably thought they were being subtle, but it was all strangely clumsy.
‘Judging by their gear, they must have been around the block a few times.’
At first, I thought they were just a family of gambling cheats, but they seemed more like part of an organized group. They had that distinct alley-cat aggression, ready to draw a blade at a moment's notice, and a thuggish swagger meant to puff up their presence.
“Mind if I sit?”
I asked, looking at the man with a long scar on his cheek, who sat opposite the girl. The man’s eyes quickly scanned me from head to toe. He had the basics down.
‘Is he admiring this perfect suit of armor?’
I proudly puffed out my chest, showing off the magnificence of my fine armor.
“...Pfft.”
Just then, the girl laughed, and the man nodded, pulling his chair back to make room. Even as he moved, his center of gravity remained forward. It felt like an unspoken threat, that he would draw his sword at the slightest misstep, but it wasn't intimidating at all.
‘A dice game, huh.’
Dice games were the best of men's games. The rules were simple. A single die was placed on the table, and each player rolled it under a cup. The one with the higher number won. In case of a tie, you roll again.
I had never lost a game of dice.
As I leaned back in the chair, the old wood groaned under my immense weight.
“Hmph.”
The girl across from me snorted. Only then did I get a good look at her.
Her hair was a rare shade of purple, greasy and tangled from lack of care. She seemed to be eating well enough, as her face had a healthy sheen, but her eyes didn't match her age.
Lifeless eyes. The kind you'd expect to see on a mercenary who'd fought in some territorial war. Seeing them on a girl who didn't even look like a teenager yet, it was clear she’d lived a short but harsh life.
She glanced around furtively, her fingers twitching.
‘Like an abandoned stray cat.’
She strongly resembled a cat I had once found on the street, took in out of pity, and raised. Her eyes, her clothes, her situation—it was all similar.
I chuckled and glanced at her palm. It was smooth. She lacked the calluses typical of a gambler.
‘...Not a pro, then.’
I was curious how she managed to roll a six four times in a row. As I studied her, our eyes met.
The girl flinched visibly and shrank back. Even so, she didn't let go of the cup and die in her hand.
She seemed anxious, glancing at the man who had moved aside for me, and in that moment, she looked just like that stray cat caught in the rain.
To ease her wariness, I gave her my biggest smile.
‘After all, nothing lowers a person's guard like a smile.’
The girl's eyes widened, and I smiled even broader.
***
Kanna was not pleased with the current situation.
‘This guy's not just weird, he's completely bizarre!’
His armor was a patchwork of mismatched colors, as if he’d picked up discarded pieces one by one. He was a head taller than anyone else.
When the man first walked into the tavern, Kanna had nearly screamed, thinking an orc had wandered in.
After a brief survey of his surroundings, the man sat down in front of her. Kanna bit her lip hard.
‘Of all the times!’
If she’d had just a little more time, she could have put her plan into action, but the man’s arrival had thrown everything into disarray.
‘It's now or never. Otherwise, I'll be dragged around by these thugs again.’
Kanna surreptitiously checked on the men who were subtly surrounding her table.
Whether he was clueless or just roaring drunk, the man had casually strolled into a tavern that was clearly hostile, ruining everything.
The man stared intently at Kanna, then opened his pouch and placed a single silver coin on the table. *Clink.* When his pouch opened, it had made a rather heavy sound.
Shak, the swordsman standing nearby, grinned widely and twirled his thumb. It was the signal to proceed.
‘Stupid fools! The boss told us to lie low, but they couldn't resist causing trouble in this piss-ant castle!’
A curse rose to her lips, but she swallowed it down. No matter that she was a mage, all the spells she knew were useless, making her nothing more than a powerless girl.
‘Calm down, Kanna. You can do this. Even these guys are finished if they get caught.’
Kanna took a deep breath, trying to calm her pounding heart.
Just then, her eyes met the man's sitting across from her.
She had never seen anyone with so many scars on their face. Thick scars crisscrossed his features, as if he’d been clawed by a wild beast. He might have been handsome underneath, but the scars obscured it all.
His eyes were unusually deep. So deep it was impossible to guess what he was thinking. She had seen eyes like that before. Eyes she would never see again.
‘...He's dead. I need to keep my wits about me.’
Kanna held the man's gaze and, as a practice run, gave her cup a light spin. She could feel the die inside tumbling along the cup's wall through her fingertips.
Suddenly, the man’s lips curled up. His mouth stretched wide, and the long scar beside it crumpled hideously. Yet his eyes held no mirth, creating a fearsome expression, the kind you'd dread seeing in a nightmare.
‘Wh-what is that!’
Kanna desperately suppressed a scream. The hand holding the cup began to tremble uncontrollably. In that instant, her mana wavered.
‘Does he know something?’
The man's grotesque... no, hideous expression sent a shiver down her spine. The hair on her arms stood on end, and her palms grew sweaty.
Just then, Shak tapped the table with his finger. A signal to get on with it.
Ignoring how foolishly colorful the man's armor was, the thugs were focused only on the quality of his gear and the fullness of his coin pouch.
Kanna cleared her throat.
“...Want to play a game of dice?”
Her voice was so childish it made her cringe. Kanna lowered her head, feeling a flush of embarrassment. It wasn't bad, though.
Fools would be deceived by this innocent act, baring their necks as they donned their self-righteous masks of warmth. Masks that would soon be torn away.
“Sure, why not.”
A deep voice, like the growl of a beast, rumbled from the man.
Kanna flinched but tried her best to act unfazed as she fiddled with her cup.
“I'll... go first.”
She intentionally held the cup clumsily, then rolled the die inside.
‘Hoo...’
Kanna manipulated her mana. The foreign sensation tickled her. She suppressed the unpleasant feeling, like ants crawling on her skin, and controlled the flow of her mana.
The die she was using had been exposed to her mana for some time, so it responded quickly. Just then, she stopped the cup. Without lifting it, she knew the die was showing a 2.
*You're a genius! A true genius!* A warm voice echoed in her memory, and Kanna twisted her lips into a smirk. How could someone who swindled commoners out of their money with dice be called a genius mage?
‘...A dropout mage who abandoned the books.’
It was a derogatory term for people like her. A glorified insult for the trash who gave up on their studies and scraped by using the few low-level spells they had learned.
Kanna hadn't given up, but in the end, she was doing this kind of garbage work. And she knew people only read the last sentence. They didn't care about the middle.
In the final sentence they read, Kanna was ‘a dropout mage who abandoned the books,’ and the process that led her there was of no interest to them.
When Kanna lifted the cup, the die showed a 2.
“Bad luck.”
The man muttered, his fearsome expression unchanged. He lifted his cup; his die showed a 4.
“Good luck.”
The man muttered quietly, a smirk on his face as he took the silver coin in front of Kanna and placed it before himself.
‘...You fool!’
To think he was so pleased, completely unaware he’d already stepped into a trap! Kanna forced herself to hold back a sneer, maintaining her naive expression as she put down two silver coins.
Four silver coins were now on the table.
Again, they rolled the dice.
This time, Kanna rolled a 1, and the man rolled a 2.
The man once again muttered, “Good luck,” and took the coins, adding them to the pile in front of him.
‘The pace is too fast.’
The man was immediately betting all his winnings, so the stakes were rising quickly. This was what they wanted, but it was happening faster than usual.
She glanced at Shak. He was grinning, looking at the man's full coin pouch while stroking the sword at his hip.
‘Hoo...’
The outcome was already decided anyway. It was all just a play. Kanna managed her expression again and put down four silver coins.
This time, Kanna's die showed a 1, and the man's a 2.
The man took the coins, stacking 8 in front of him.
Kanna put down 8 silver coins.
They rolled again. Kanna got a 2, the man a 3.
The man took the 8 silver coins, bringing his total to 16.
Just then, Shak made a fist and rotated it. It was the signal to start wrapping things up.
“Oh... the time...! I have to go now...”
Kanna pretended to be in a hurry. She’d done it so many times that what was once difficult now came naturally. Maybe her talent wasn't in magic, but in acting, she mused.
“Is that so? It’s been fun.”
Just then, the man opened his pouch with a satisfied look and swept the silver coins from the table into it.
Only then did Kanna realize what had been bothering her. Despite winning a fair amount of silver, the man had only let out small exclamations. He hadn't gotten red-eyed and excited like the others.
He was just mildly pleased, as if it were a simple game.
With the man acting this way, Kanna was the one who became anxious. She quickly looked at Shak, who was glaring, tapping the sword at his hip with his finger.
It was a clear signal to keep the game going. A signal that said if you don't fleece this man, I'll fleece you. Kanna swallowed dryly and quickly spoke.
“Sh-shall we play one last round? I think I have time for one more...”
“Why? You said you were busy.”
“J-just one more round...”
Usually, in these situations, the opponent would be desperate to win their money back, but this man seemed to have no greed, patting his stomach with satisfaction.
“Hmm... what to do...”
Behind the man, Shak wore a menacing expression, tapping the hilt of his sword. He looked ready to swing it if the man delayed any longer.
The boss had warned them so explicitly, but the fool seemed to have forgotten everything. If Shak committed a murder, things would go from bad to worse.
“I said I have time for one more round!”
In her urgency, Kanna shouted without thinking. It was a blunder. It would surely make the opponent even more suspicious.
‘No. This reaction is more natural! I've lost so many coins!’
Kanna rode the momentum, narrowing her eyes and glaring at her opponent. She put on the face of someone watching a winner trying to run away with their money.
“Alright, I'll play one more round if you answer my question.”
The man replied, wearing that same hideous expression. Kanna trembled slightly in fear.
‘A qu... question?’
The man's unexpected words made her mind go blank for a moment, but the sight of Shak's half-drawn sword brought her back to her senses. Right, what did a question matter anyway?
“F... fine! Ask me anything.”
“Ah, can you use magic to make things cold? Like chilling a beer.”
At the man's question, Kanna's eyes went wide. A thousand thoughts flashed through her mind and then vanished. How did he know she was a mage?
Kanna was so stunned by his question that she didn't even realize the mask she wore had slipped.
The difference between a witch and a mage was paper-thin. There was a subtle distinction between them, something called ‘pride.’
And using magic on dice to swindle others was a clear act of abandoning that pride, which made Kanna, at this moment, a witch. The kind of witch who gets tied to a grotesque wooden stake and burned alive in front of everyone.
As Kanna stood there in shock, Shak and the others slowly closed in. They had all drawn their blades at least an inch from their sheaths. The tension in the room swelled, ready to burst.
“Are you not going to answer?”
Whether he was clueless or just trusted in that colorful armor of his, the man muttered nonchalantly, then reached into his pouch and pulled something out. It was a brilliant gold coin.
*Gulp.* Someone's swallow echoed loudly in the tavern. Seeing the gold coin strangely cleared Kanna's mind.
‘Right, he's a dead man anyway. I'll just play along.’
Now that he had pulled out a gold coin and revealed he knew she was a witch, his chances of survival were zero. A gold coin was worth the trouble of relocating to another castle.
“Yes. I can even make it ice-cold if you want.”
Kanna replied in her natural voice. There was no need to act anymore.
“Is that so? Good.”
What was good about it? Kanna narrowed her eyes at the man's reply. Just then, she saw the man was staring back at her, and his gaze was...
It was a predatory gaze, like someone looking at a coveted object they were determined to possess.
The raw desire in his eyes made Kanna swallow hard.
But there was another problem. She didn't have enough money to match a gold coin. How much could one earn from swindling people in a tiny, backwater castle like this? All she had left were 46 silver coins.
“Ah, just bet everything you have. That makes it more fun.”
As if sensing Kanna's hesitation, the man made the suggestion himself.
‘...You fool.’
He probably thought he would win again, just because he'd been winning so far. At that thought, Kanna's heart eased a little.
“Thank you. This is all I have.”
“Don't mention it.”
The man even let out a bored yawn. His reaction made Kanna snort inwardly. She thought he might be something special, but he was just a stupid, arrogant man with a hideous face.
Kanna tried to relax, but the gold coin on the table kept distracting her.
She picked up the cup with a trembling hand. Taking a deep breath, she slowly moved her hand. The number to roll was 6. It didn't matter what her opponent rolled. From now on, she would only roll sixes.
*Thud.* Kanna lifted the cup, and there was the die with the 6 facing up.
‘Ha, you fool.’
She turned her gaze to her opponent, anticipating how wonderfully and deliciously his arrogant face would crumple. But he was even more foolish than she'd thought; the corners of his mouth were still turned up.
“My turn, I guess.”
The man spun his cup, and the only sounds in the tavern were someone swallowing nervously and the clatter of the die rolling inside the cup. *Clack.* A moment later, the cup stopped, and the man, wearing his usual hideous expression, lifted it.
“...A six?! What is this!”
One of the onlookers, a man as stupid as he was large, yelled out. The man's die was showing a 6.
“My luck is good.”
The man muttered as if it were nothing, in a flat voice, and placed the cup back over the die.
“This time, I'll go first.”
Wearing that same fearsome expression, the man spun the cup again.
‘So he has a trick or two up his sleeve?’
Shak, no longer bothering to hide his presence, stood right beside the man, looking down at him. Shak's sword was now only barely held in its sheath by its tip.
*Clack.* The sound of the die stopping was heard, and the man lifted the cup with a light touch.
“My luck is good.”
The die showed a 6 again.
As if he had no fear, the man looked at Shak, who was looming over him, and muttered with a sneer.
‘...Impossible.’
From the moment the man started rolling the cup, Kanna had been focused on his hands. But she couldn't detect any abnormality. Was it really just good luck, as the man claimed?
Kanna bit her lip and picked up her cup. Luck or skill, it didn't matter. With her pride-less magic, she would continue to roll sixes. Whether by luck or by skill, her opponent would eventually hit his limit.
Kanna rolled the cup, and a 6 came up. The game was back to a tie.
“I'll go first this time.”
Kanna shouted confidently, trying not to reveal her nervousness as she grabbed the cup.
Just then, the men standing by took another step closer. The chill of their steel was now palpable, and it was Kanna who felt the pressure.
Shak tapped his sword. *Tap, tap.* The menacing sound kept chipping away at Kanna's concentration.
‘Stupid fools!’
Instead of helping, they were hindering her! Kanna bit her lip hard.
‘Focus. It's just a dice game. It barely even counts as magic.’
Kanna muttered to herself and rolled the cup. *Clatter.* The sound of the die rolling inside the cup echoed. She focused, preparing to manipulate her mana again.
Just then, the man suddenly spoke.
“Why did you give up on the books?”
The man's words were thrown out casually, but they struck a raw nerve, piercing straight through Kanna's defenses and tearing open her deepest scar.
And for someone whose concentration was already frayed by the pressure from her surroundings, it was a fatal blow.
“Who said I gave up?! What do you know about—!”
It was a fatal misstep. Her concentration shattered in an instant, her hand slipped, and the die flew out of the cup, bouncing across the table.
“...You crazy bitch.”
Shak spat out a curse, and all the men around them drew their weapons. *Shing!* The sharp, cold sound of steel being drawn mingled with the sound of the die tumbling.
As the cold steel of their weapons pointed at them, the die rolling across the table came to a stop.
The number showing was 5. In a stroke of luck amidst the disaster, it was good.
‘...Not bad. That's a high enough number.’
Kanna whispered to herself. The men around her seemed to think so too, as they all nodded and slightly lowered their blades.
‘Yes, 5 is a high number. I can still win.’
Kanna forced a smile and glared at her opponent.
“Bad luck.”
Despite everyone glaring at him, her opponent muttered nonchalantly and picked up his cup.
‘Bad luck? 5 is a perfectly high num—’
*Clatter.* As the sound of the die rolling in the cup filled the air, everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed on the man's hand.
Shak drew his blunt sword and pointed it at the man's hand. It was a silent pressure, a threat to cut it off if he saw even a hint of trickery.
Soon, the man's hand stopped.
Slowly, the cup was lifted.
“My luck is good.”
The man wore his usual expression as he looked at the die showing a 6.
Only then did Kanna realize that the man's hideous and brutal expression was, in fact, a smile.
“Joseph, is that beer ever coming?”
Surrounded by the cold steel pointed at him, the man was smiling.