Chapter 61: Ritual

The space inside "Full Money Bag" wasn't large—probably about the same as the White Sparrow Tavern.

But in comparison, the latter actually felt much more spacious.

The reason, naturally, was because the Full Money Bag tavern hall had various card tables filling almost every available spot.

Excited cheers and desperate wails mixed in the air thick with the strong smell of alcohol.

I cautiously protected my pocket, struggling to navigate through the gamblers in the hall.

The halfling beside me had already disappeared from my line of sight—

His height that only reached my waist, in this kind of scene, was almost instantly swallowed by the crowd.

I wasn't worried about the halfling's safety.

The tavern was only so big—any comings and goings, any disturbances, could almost all be seen clearly.

Plus he was an adventurer like me, with guaranteed capabilities.

To a certain extent, the halfling's racial characteristics might even make him more at ease here than me.

"Slap!"

At the card table beside me, a uniquely patterned card printed with two winter wolves was thrown onto the table.

Almost at the same instant, the gamblers crowded to the side, eyes red as they stared intently at the card table, let out either excited or regretful clamorous sounds.

I frowned and glanced, quickly withdrawing my gaze.

This world also had things like playing cards.

It was just that the patterns and points on the card faces were completely different from my previous life.

And various gameplay rules also changed obviously based on region.

I didn't understand the specifics. If I rashly joined a table, I'd probably lose even my underwear.

I'd only followed the halfling here to take a look. The vast majority of my savings were stored in River Valley Town's bank, and most of the coins I carried with me were also left at the inn.

What I'd brought to the tavern was only 7 silver and 3 copper.

The sound of dice rapidly spinning and colliding in a cup reached my ears. I looked toward the sound.

I saw a dealer wearing a bartender's uniform vigorously shaking the dice cup in his hand.

I moved my feet forward.

Compared to card games with numerous gameplay options and complex rules, dice games were much simpler.

Although there were still many extended rules, and the physical laws of the two worlds definitely had some differences, the most basic mathematical principles were still the same.

Odd or even numbers—quick and simple gameplay was undoubtedly the most popular in a tavern of Full Money Bag's caliber.

But just as I approached the card table, not even having time to squeeze through the crowd in front of me.

In my line of sight, Alton, who'd disappeared since entering the tavern, was already sitting at the card table.

Beside his hand was a full pile of coins.

I was just surprised at his quick movements, about to greet him.

Then I saw the halfling, under the gaze of all the gamblers around, suddenly push all his coins forward.

"All in!"

Huh!?

......

......

"Drip drop drip drop."

Clear, cold rain threads fell like lines. The uneven road surface had already accumulated puddles large and small.

I stood in front of the tavern, looking up at the heavy clouds in the sky violently colliding and merging, showing no signs of weakening or thinning.

"It's going to rain hard."

Beside me, the halfling Alton tossed the lucky coin in his hand, saying with a smile.

I didn't respond, only looking at him with a peculiar expression.

My mind recalled the scene I'd witnessed two hours ago.

Strange, too strange.

The halfling at the card table still had that optimistic, cheerful, smiling image from my impression.

But his hand movements were even more fierce than the most frenzied gambler.

Every round, all in.

And the results also matched his identity as a follower of the goddess of fortune.

Either winning or draws—not a single loss.

By the end, not just me—even those gamblers around who'd never met the halfling before were all dumbfounded.

I'd originally wanted to join in, but no matter how I looked at it, something seemed off.

So I went over and mentioned it a couple times.

After getting Alton's headshake in response, I decisively suppressed the thought, only observing from the side.

In the two hours inside the tavern, I practically watched with my own eyes as the pile of coins beside the halfling grew higher and higher.

Even the dealer's expression at the table gradually changed.

I even vaguely heard some dispute and commotion from the room at the back of the tavern.

If it weren't for the two swords on my back, someone would have probably come to negotiate long ago.

I'd even prepared contingency plans in my heart.

Until half a minute ago.

Alton once again pushed the mountain-like pile of money beside him onto the table.

I'd thought he would, like before, guess the result as if clairvoyant and win everything.

But the halfling lost for the first time.

And because it was all in, everything he'd won before, including his own principal, all went up in smoke after this round.

On his entire body, only the lucky coin he was now tossing in his hand remained.

But about this, Alton's face showed not the slightest disappointment.

Laughing and joking, as if what he'd just lost was just a pile of stones you could find anywhere by the roadside.

I remember when we left earlier, a middle-aged man who seemed to be a tavern manager even actively came over to chat, inviting the halfling to go inside for detailed discussion, but was cheerfully declined.

I looked at Alton beside me, squatting by the roadside, expression pleasant, curiously studying the puddle on the ground with great interest.

My right hand lightly pressed on the pocket at my waist, feeling the hard sensation of 7 silver and 3 copper inside.

My mouth suddenly felt dry.

Licking my lips, I spoke:

"Just now... was that deliberate?"

"Where?"

"That last round."

"Yes, and also no." The halfling's fingertip lightly poked the water surface. The puddle already full of ripples from the drizzle's ravaging stirred up another wave.

"What do you mean?"

"Luck is conserved."

Alton suddenly stood up, his left hand extending beyond the eaves.

The drizzle fell, water splashing.

A crystal-clear water drop landed on the halfling's fingertip, then under gravity's effect split into two halves, sliding down left and right.

"Just like what everyone knows—Lady Luck who symbolizes 'good fortune' has a sister whose domain is completely opposite."

"Fortune and misfortune are originally the same thing."

His hand dampened with moisture gently pinched that brass-colored coin.

Tossing it up once more.

"You can't keep winning forever, and you won't lose every round either."

The rain was dense, droplets falling on the spinning coin's surface.

The tiny rain droplets that splashed as a result refracted the dim, gloomy light in the air.

Vaguely, I seemed to see.

The long-haired woman engraved on the coin's face, in the reflection of the faint light, her features clear for an instant.

Sudden understanding.

For Alton, his behavior in the tavern might have just been a casual act driven by interest.

But on the other hand, this halfling's series of operations also invisibly conformed to the doctrine of the goddess of fortune "Tymora."

Not a gamble.

A ritual.

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