Chapter 263.3 |
“Hey.”
“Y-Yes, sir?”
Baek Saheon (fortunately) flinched. But this time, it was a carrot rather than a stick.
I spoke as gently as possible.
“If this is a casino, wouldn’t the dealer know the mechanisms and products here better than anyone?”
“Then?”
“I’m saying that if we rescue her and bring her with us, we could get some pretty valuable information.”
“……”
Perhaps he had already gathered information about Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae’s personality, because Baek Saheon’s expression shifted slightly.
“Think about it.”
I let go of him.
‘That should be enough to at least keep him from interfering.’
With that, everyone split up.
Assistant Manager Eun Haje went to observe other casino visitors, Section Chief Lee Jaheon and Baek Saheon headed to the slot machines, and the agents dispersed to check the body pawnshop and item exchange counters.
And as for me…
“Welcome back!”
I entered the dealer room.
– Assistant Manager, could you lend me 20 coins for a moment? I won’t spend them. I just want to enter the dealer room.
– Okay. I’ll head over soon too, so come out to meet me.
Carefully borrowing those ‘blood-like’ coins from Assistant Manager Eun Haje, I met the 50-coin requirement and gained the right to play games with the dealer.
“Yes. We meet again.”
I sat across the table.
The dealer wearing Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae’s face smiled brightly.
“Would you like to place a bett?”
“…Yes.”
“Alright!”
The dealer stood across the table with a cheerful expression and began arranging the cards once again.
“I’ll give you a heads-up first. If you’re caught using ‘cheats’, a fine will be imposed.”
“Yes. I’ll be careful.”
As I carefully observed every movement, I spoke casually, as if in passing.
“Have you ever worked somewhere else before?”
“…Pardon?”
“I think I saw you at a resort.”
The hand moving the cards paused for a moment.
And then…
“Ah, I worked briefly at Flower Golden Resortt. It was a really nice place!”
“…I see. That’s great.”
“Thank youu.”
So at least she remembered that much.
I decided to proceed with the game, both to move toward more personal, memory-triggering questions and to learn what Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae had gone through.
Just then.
“Then let’s start the ga— oh!”
Someone else sat down at the table.
‘Who is it?’
I turned my head, wondering if Assistant Manager Eun Haje had come in without waiting after saying she was with my group, but.
“…!”
A resident of Sekwang Special Metropolitan City, wearing a completely worn-out padded jacket pulled down over their head, sat beside me.
“……”
“……”
‘What the?’
I had a bad feeling.
I considered standing up, but for now, I stayed seated.
Cold sweat formed in my palm.
“Would you like to place a bet?”
The resident beside me nodded slowly, silently, and placed three coins on the table.
Stained, worn coins.
“……”
I placed three coins on the table as well.
In contrast, my clean coins glinted faintly in the light…
“Yesyes. Then we’ll begin!”
The dealer collected the coins, spread the deck of playing cards face down on the table, and asked.
“Which card would you like to choose?”
I waited.
But the one seated beside me didn’t choose a card.
A suffocating silence.
“…This one.”
“Yesyess!”
And the moment I chose my card, the customer next to me pointed to the card beside it, as if they’d been waiting.
‘…What?’
Something felt off.
“Now, you just need to guess the suit or the number of the card you chose. If you guess the suit, you get three times the payout. If you guess the number, eight times. If you guess both, you get thirty-six times the winnings!”
She continued with a friendly explanation that K, Q, and J were excluded, and that A counted as 1.
[Oh, those odds only benefit the casino. How blatantly obvious.]
Yeah.
But more than the unfairness, in that strange tension, I spoke quietly.
“So it’s a probability game. The multiplier for numbers is higher than for suits, so it seems like it’s ranked higher. Like a precious solution.”
“That’s an interesting comparison, dear guest!”
It seemed casual conversation was possible up to this point. I kept probing.
“Then have you ever played the game as a visitor yourself, Ms. Dealer? I was wondering how many coins you’ve wagered at most.”
“Me?”
A flat voice answered.
“I’ve bet up to 990 coins.”
…!
But before I could say anything else, the game proceeded.
“Then I’ll ask the guest who placed coins first. How will you bet?”
……
“Dear guest?”
From the seat beside me, an index finger lifted.
The hand, compulsively wrapped in bandages, was concealed so the other fingers couldn’t be seen.
“Alright. You’ve bet on 1!”
Huu.
Now it was my turn to bet.
‘For now…’
“I’ll guess the suit. Diamond.”
“Confirmed!”
Then the dealer looked again at the resident beside me, and my gaze followed…
And I realized it.
At some point, the one sitting next to me had almost completely turned their body toward me.
Even while the dealer was announcing their bet.
“Now, we’ll check the one who bet on the number first…”
The dealer flipped the card.
“It’s the three of spades.”
“……”
“Unfortunately, that’s a miss!”
The customer beside me didn’t move at all.
And then…
“Now, next…”
The card I had chosen was flipped……
Eight of diamonds.
“Congratulations. You got it right. Here are your winnings.”
The dealer paid me nine coins. Mixed in were the worn, stained coins taken from the person beside me. I swept them up and put them into my pocket.
“……”
“Congratulations. Would you like to play again?”
I felt a gaze.
The Sekwang City resident beside me, who had lost their coins, was staring straight at me.
I couldn’t see their eyes, but it was unmistakable.
“……”
I quietly gathered my remaining coins and rose to my feet.
‘Avoid them.’
I should go meet Assistant Manager Eun Haje first, then come back.
“Oh, are you getting up already?”
“I’m just going to look around somewhere else for a bit…”
And the moment I turned my body.
The casino visitor who had been seated beside me was suddenly standing right in front of me.
“……”
“……”
They lifted their head.
The lower half of their face was revealed beneath the padded jacket.
And then…
“Mr. Roe Deer.”
A familiar face.
A familiar voice.
[Good heavens!]
“Why are you here.”
Go Yeongeun-ssi.
A colleague with anxious eyes was saying the words I was about to say.
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