Chapter 172: Komachi Hikigaya Feels Malice From Afar
Hikigaya Hachiman gently placed both hands on the trembling shoulders of Rurichou Nadeshiko.
Completely swallowed by despair, Rurichou still had one unresolved question.
"W-Why did you have a 500 yen coin? Hardly anyone carries coins around nowadays! Don't tell me… was this part of your plan from the beginning?!"
"No, no, of course not. I'm no god. Honestly, before I came to the music room, I had no idea what kind of gamble would take place."
"So you just happen to carry coins around with you..." Rurichou muttered. If that were the case, at least she could somewhat accept losing the bet.
Still, losing two hundred million yen meant she'd probably never have a chance to own a Steinway piano in her lifetime.
If Hikigaya had only exposed her cheating on the spot, she would've lost just the 36 million yen bet for that round. But to be countered by a coin trick and lose 200 million yen instead—
Maybe losing to Hikigaya was simply fate.
Slumping into her chair, Rurichou seemed to accept that she'd been defeated by destiny.
"Carrying coins around? What gave you that impression?"
"Actually, the bank card I handed Kurume earlier didn't contain exactly 200 million yen. It had 200,000,500 yen. That extra 500 yen was conveniently withdrawn by Kurume in coin form. So, I suppose you could say I was carrying it around."
"Speaking of which, it was you, Rurichou, who specifically ordered Kurume to withdraw everything. It was your greed that led you to ruin~"
"Kurume?" Rurichou's eyes snapped toward her best friend, filled with fury, as if clinging to a last hope. "Why? Why did you withdraw coins?! No one bets with coins that small!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You're the one who told me to withdraw everything, remember? This is all your fault, Nadeshiko!" Kurume replied, arms crossed, looking completely unbothered.
But was that really the whole truth? After all, it was through her hands that the coin ended up in Hikigaya's.
'Still, the feeling of personally sending my best friend off to her doom… not bad at all~'
'Isn't that what best friends are for? To generate emotional value? Nadeshiko, you must forgive me! For the sake of preserving our friendship, I hope you live forever in self-blame!'
Listening to her best friend's words, Rurichou hugged herself tightly, shaking as she sobbed.
"Was it Kurume's fault… or mine? I can't tell... I really can't tell…"
Seeing her like that, Hikigaya felt no sympathy whatsoever.
"Crying won't solve anything, Rurichou-san. A person must pay the proper price for their own desires."
"Well then, it's time to pay your debt—two hundred million yen."
"I... I don't have that kind of money..." Rurichou's face turned ashen, her hands dropping powerlessly as she sat before Hikigaya like a lamb awaiting slaughter.
As a second-year student who had survived a year of the brutal school gambling system, she fully understood what it meant to not pay up.
She'd be reduced to livestock. And since this was a one-on-one gamble, she'd become Hikigaya Hachiman's personal livestock.
Her mind flashed to the now widely circulated rumors of Hikigaya's relationships with the President's sister and the vice president—full of scandal and suggestive stories. Terrified, she cried out:
"No—please, I was wrong, I truly was wrong, Hikigaya-san, have mercy on me!"
"I'll do anything, but please, not that kind of thing~"
"Huh?" Hikigaya blinked, confused by her mental leap.
'What the hell is this woman's brain even made of?'
Hikigaya brushed past her without another word and walked over to the music room's piano, randomly pressing keys with his long fingers.
Come to think of it, his long fingers had earned him the nickname "piano hands" when he was younger.
But since he had absolutely no talent for music, he eventually gave up attending expensive lessons.
His little sister Komachi, on the other hand, had shown remarkable musical talent—winning numerous awards even in elementary school.
In a way, she had fulfilled the piano dream that Hachiman himself couldn't realize.
"You don't need to repay the 200 million yen," Hikigaya said, cutting off Rurichou's sobbing. "Use that money to buy a Steinway piano."
"Eh?" She froze, thinking she had misheard. "What did you say?"
"But that piano isn't for your use," Hikigaya Hachiman glanced at her, "it's for my little sister. My family happens to need a piano teacher. Rurichou, your piano skills are decent, right?"
"Y-Yes, they're quite good." The emotional whiplash hit Rurichou Nadeshiko hard. Tears still flowing, she gave a smile through them. "I don't have to become livestock?"
"For two years, every weekend except special holidays, you'll come to my home in Chiba and work as a private tutor. You may use the piano during this period, but if my sister tells me you're not teaching her properly, or if you spend all the time just playing under the pretense of demonstrating, then you'll obediently become my personal livestock."
"However, if you complete the two years and my sister's piano skills improve significantly, I may consider giving you a Steinway piano as a reward. Regardless of the outcome, as long as you fulfill the agreement, your debt will be considered cleared."
"How about it?"
If he simply used the threat of the bet, Rurichou might not put her full heart into teaching Komachi piano. But if he dangled a reward in front of her, she'd likely give it her all.
Hikigaya Hachiman had become a true capitalist without a conscience—squeezing out every drop of a person's value through every possible means.
As for whether that reward would ever materialize? Would he actually give it to her? Of course. He would.
His words reached Rurichou's ears. She forgot everything he said before and in between—but that last sentence lodged firmly in her heart.
"He'll give me a Steinway piano?"
The once desolate heart within her was reignited with a fiery passion.
Looking at it this way, she hadn't lost anything in this gamble—in fact, she'd made a huge gain!
On weekends, she sometimes worked as a private tutor for the children of wealthy families and earned a hefty fee, but a Steinway piano had always seemed like an unreachable dream.
And now, from Hikigaya Hachiman, all she had to do was work two years and she'd get one. Could anything be sweeter?
Naturally, Rurichou conveniently overlooked the conditions attached to the reward.
Even if it were a pig, after two years of her teaching, it should be ready to soar! Such was the confidence of a piano master.
Her voice once again brimmed with energy and confidence as she said, "If that's the case, I accept!"
"But... if I may ask, Hikigaya-san, how old is your sister?"
"Early childhood class."
"Huh?"
"Just kidding—she's in second year of middle school."
Far away, attending Chiba Sobu Middle School, Hikigaya Komachi sneezed.