Chapter 200

Chapter 201. God Does Not Flip a Coin (2)

Neither Walt nor Keter was the one flipping the coin.

Decameron, who had been watching from a distance, was called over and handed the coin.

“Guys like us can control the number of rotations to land the coin on the desired side if we want to, so let’s have this clueless guy do it.”

Walt, staring into Decameron’s lively yet hollow eyes, nodded in agreement.

Then, as if they had all made a pact, everyone except Decameron stepped five meters away from the table.

“Six Hundred. Flip the coin. Make it land in the center of the table.”

“Yes.”

Decameron’s thumb bent and then straightened. *Ting!* With a clear sound, the silver coin spun into the air.

Everyone’s gaze followed. The spinning coin rotated so fast it seemed like a circle, but no one present failed to grasp the number of rotations.

The rotational force was so immense that even the speed of its descent was slow. Yet, eventually, the coin fell onto the table.

*Ting!*

When a spinning coin falls onto a table, it usually lands on either heads or tails.

But perhaps due to the strong rotational force, the coin didn’t stop spinning even after landing on the table.

“……”

“……”

Everyone silently glared at the spinning coin.

Daat licked his dry lips, glancing at Walt and Keter.

‘A coin only has two sides. So, it’s easy to think each side has a fair 50% chance, but that’s not the case.’

Coin flipping has a hidden secret.

‘Coin flipping has a higher chance of landing on heads.’

First, the continental currency, the silver coin, has a slightly curved back. This makes the back side a tiny bit heavier.

Of course, it’s a very minor difference. But because of this, the lighter front side has a 2% higher chance of facing up.

‘Moreover, Decameron flipped the coin with the front side up. This increases the probability of heads to 56%……’

The moment the coin is flipped, which side is facing up also affects the outcome. Considering all this, the chance of heads was 6% higher.

6%. A number one might dismiss as insignificant, but when lives are at stake, it’s a different story.

If you flip a coin 100 times in a gamble where 100 lives are on the line, 6 more people betting on tails would die.

‘But Brother, there’s no way you don’t know what I know.’

Keter is a gambling prodigy. Being good at gambling isn’t just about luck. It’s about reading your opponent’s hand and how well you can cheat.

Maknun had no doubt that Keter would win.

‘Brother, I didn’t notice, but you must have cheated, right? To make sure the coin lands on tails.’

Maknun’s eyes narrowed. The coin’s rotations were slowing down.

It was about to be decided. Heads or tails.

Until the very last moment, everyone silently watched the outcome.

*Thud.*

The coin finally stopped.

“……”

“……”

Maknun doubted his eyes, no, his reality. It looked as if the coin had stopped.

‘I’ve heard that time slows down under extreme concentration, but is this it?’

He turned his head. No. Time was flowing normally. So why hadn’t the coin fallen to heads or tails?

“Ah, ah! No way!”

Daat, realizing the truth, widened his eyes.

“The, the coin is standing!”

Neither heads nor tails. The coin was standing upright on the table, as if placed by hand.

* * *

Walt was the first to speak.

“It’s standing.”

Keter muttered in agreement.

“Yeah, it’s standing.”

“First time I’ve seen this. A coin standing.”

“You always catch it on the back of your hand and press it with your palm. So, it wouldn’t stand.”

“Not always. Sometimes I throw it on the table like now, or on the dirt ground.”

“So, what now?”

Keter, approaching the table, blew on the standing coin.

*Whoosh, clink.*

As if proving no manipulation had occurred, the coin fell forward, landing on tails.

Keter picked up the coin and tossed it to Walt.

“Seems like God is saying neither of us is meant to die here yet, so screw it. Shall we flip again?”

Walt, rolling the coin in his hand, spoke.

“Keter. I already know you rigged it.”

“Hmm, you’re going to pin it on me?”

“Throwing the coin on the table. That’s because the table was sticky, right? The sugar coating from the snacks you cleared melted. Plus, this table, from my angle, looks level but—”

Walt moved to where Keter had been sitting and bent down to table height.

“From here, the table is slightly tilted. Probably because you dug the ground under the table leg with your foot while sitting.”

Normally, the coin would have a higher chance of landing on heads, but due to the sticky sugar coating slowing it down and the slight tilt of the table, the odds were reversed.

The chance of tails was now much higher.

*Clap, clap, clap.*

Keter nodded, applauding.

“As expected of Walt, my acknowledged rival. Impressive deduction. All correct. So, is it time to fight now?”

*Crunch!*

The silver coin in Walt’s hand crumpled. Like soft clay. As his hand opened, the bizarrely compressed coin fell to the ground.

*Ting.*

“There’s no reversing a predetermined outcome. You will die, but not now.”

“The opposite. You’re the lucky one, Walt.”

“Luck? Keter. Don’t be mistaken.”

Walt, turning his back, muttered softly.

“God does not flip a coin.”

Whether a coin lands on heads or tails is already decided. It’s not about probability. The coin standing was also fate decided by God. That’s what Walt was saying.

After leaving such a meaningful statement, Walt tried to leave, but Keter didn’t let him go.

“I’m really curious, Walt. If God doesn’t flip a coin, why do you have one?”

*Thud.*

A man who makes a grand exit should never look back.

But Walt stopped and turned to look at Keter.

This outcome was an unexpected variable even for Keter.

As Walt said, one of them should have died here today. Even if it was sudden, even if it wasn’t planned.

Keter didn’t care.

That’s life. That’s Ruquer’s daily life.

Even if he owed Walt from a past life, even if he had a grudging affection for him as a friend, if they had to become enemies and kill each other, he would. With that mindset, he rigged the coin to land on tails.

Of course, even if he manipulated the sticky table and adjusted the angle, it wasn’t a 100% chance of tails. There was still over a 30% chance of heads.

If luck was bad and it landed on heads, Keter planned to commit seppuku as promised.

After all, he wouldn’t die. He had considered the possibility of heads when setting the bet’s terms.

Stabbing himself in the stomach wouldn’t kill Keter. The same went for Walt. It just meant starting the fight at a slight disadvantage.

Keter and Walt. Both had accepted the coin flip’s outcome, considering all this.

Thus, Keter and Walt had an unspoken understanding. They had been like this for a long time.

But this time, they couldn’t understand each other.

“God does not flip a coin.”

“Then why do you have a coin?”

Keter’s innocent question made Walt snap.

“Don’t try to comprehend God’s will, you mere human.”

“Walt. You’re just like an ant.”

“……?”

“From an ant’s perspective, humans are like gods. Because we can decide an ant’s fate just by wanting to. No aura or special powers needed, just being human makes us god-like to ants. But, as you know—”

Keter shrugged and approached Walt.

“We are not gods.”

It was paradoxical for Keter, who had experienced regression, to doubt and question the omniscience of gods.

But Keter was sincere. Even if he had experienced regression, he denied the existence of gods.

Keter explained his reasoning to everyone present.

“I don’t deny the existence of an omniscient god. But at least the gods we know, the ones interfering with us, are not omniscient. They’re just slightly more capable and powerful beings. We’ve all played with ants as kids, right? Did we play with them out of malice? No, just out of boredom. We didn’t care about the ants’ lives. If even we, who aren’t real gods, are indifferent to ants’ lives, why would an omniscient god interfere with the human world?”

Keter was even more convinced that gods didn’t exist in this world because of his ‘regression.’

‘If the Queen of Ruquer or other kings were truly omniscient gods, they would have noticed the moment I regressed. I wouldn’t be standing here unharmed.’

No one knows about Keter’s regression. Not even the so-called gods.

Then, at least the being who caused his regression could be considered a ‘god,’ but Keter didn’t believe that either.

‘Regression is a power worthy of being called divine. But that’s from a human perspective.’

The power of regression is divine, but that doesn’t make him a god. He’s just a person with the power of regression.

‘It’s quite a headache that someone like my mother is involved.’

It was a thought he had even in the carriage during his first regression.

Why did his mother, a divine being, abandon him in Ruquer? What was the purpose of his regression?

He decided not to speculate. It wasn’t just because there were no clues.

‘The desperate one will come first. Even if it’s a god.’

Until then, he would do what he could, what he had to do.

An ordinary person would go mad upon encountering a divine being. Their mind would collapse.

Like a human who has glimpsed the infinite universe and feels the futility of their existence.

Like a martial artist who thought themselves a genius, only to despair upon meeting a far superior being.

But Keter, born in the harsh environment of Ruquer and facing all misfortunes head-on, had already tasted despair.

Losing precious things over and over, resenting his own weakness, and eventually accepting it.

Through this process, he gained enlightenment.

He didn’t dwell on the causality of misfortunes but focused solely on how to overcome them.

That was Keter’s way of life.

“Brother……”

Hearing Keter’s thoughts on gods, Maknun’s eyes welled up with tears. He then made a silent vow.

‘There was still room to doubt Brother… Now, even if you say you’ll kill Queen Lilian, I’ll believe you.’

Walt glared at Keter. It wasn’t a malicious glare.

“You don’t know. What I’ve seen. The future you who will regret this choice.”

“Of course, I don’t know. I haven’t seen or heard it. And I have no intention of convincing you. I’m just saying what I want to say. You know why?”

Keter doesn’t hide his true feelings. He expresses his emotions honestly to anyone.

If someone asks why, he always gives the same answer.

“Because I’m not sure we’ll meet again.”

Walt, inhaling through his mouth and exhaling through his nose, smiled faintly.

“Keter, I beg you, and I pray earnestly. Please stay safe. So that you can die by my sword.”

Keter winked in response.

“You’ll have to hurry. It’s first come, first served.”

And so, Walt left.

* * *

Though the original plan had gone awry, Keter left Joyray’s Tavern’s underground and headed to the Infinite Bank.

But he couldn’t avoid hearing about Joyray’s past.

On the way, Joyray began to share his story, from why he became a mercenary, to how he became a mercenary council member, and how he ended up in Ruquer.

Keter listened with one ear and told Maknun.

“Summarize it for me later.”

Ruquer’s streets were chaotic, but no one dared to pick a fight with Keter and Joyray.

Arriving smoothly at the fortified Infinite Bank, Keter, as a premium member and the Ruquer Mercenary Guild Branch Chief, requested a meeting with the branch manager.

But he received an unexpected response from the deputy branch manager.

“I’m sorry, but please wait a moment. The branch manager is currently in a meeting with another premium member.”