Walking through the grand halls of Hyakkaou Academy, Rinji immediately drew attention.
Everyone wore red uniforms—except him in Shuchiin's black.
What puzzled him more was that he hadn't seen a single teacher since arriving. It was like this school didn't have faculty.
He'd explored most of the campus, and it was bigger than many colleges. Though it had elementary and middle divisions, the high school section alone was massive.
Facilities were top-notch—but not in the academic sense. No, they were built for gambling.
Slot machines, betting boards, poker tables, chip exchange counters—you name it. Even classrooms had gambling equipment.
To Rinji, this was less a school and more a giant, legal casino. How had it lasted a hundred years in Japan without intervention?
Since he hadn't met any faculty, he didn't know which class he'd be assigned to—but that didn't matter. He'd just pick one at random.
"Huh? Isn't that Rinji-kun?"
"Huh?"
Rinji looked up at the familiar voice.
Long black hair, black stockings under the red uniform skirt, and a sweet smile.
"You're… Jabami Yumeko?"
"I'm so glad you remember me~" she said cheerfully.
"Of course. You still owe me money," Rinji said. "It's about time, isn't it?"
"I was about to earn it, but something… unexpected happened."
Yumeko smiled and pointed to a tag hanging around her neck.
On the tag was her name and her bottom-rank status. In the center were the characters "杂猫" (Stray Cat).
"What does that mean?"
"Because I lost a match against the student council, I'm in a debt state now. I owe a total of 3.1 billion yen~"
"You sound oddly relaxed. Don't you feel even a little guilty about owing me money?" Rinji frowned. "Your one-year deadline is almost up. I haven't charged you a single yen in interest all this time—more generous than any bank. You could at least try paying faster."
"Of course~"
"Don't act so carefree. If the deadline comes and you haven't paid, I'll have to dig out your organs and sell them on the black market." Rinji said flatly. "I may not care much about the money, but it's a matter of pride. I can't allow someone who owes me to live freely out in the world."
"Naturally. I'll repay what I owe you on time."
Yumeko still wore her innocent smile. She probably believed Rinji would kill her if she missed the deadline, but she didn't show the slightest sign of fear.
Maybe she was just that confident in her gambling skills.
"By the way, what brings you to Hyakkaou Academy, Rinji-kun? Don't tell me you came just to collect the debt?"
"No. Honestly, if I hadn't run into you, I might've forgotten you even owed me." Rinji glanced back the way he came. "I got tricked into coming here by your student council president."
"Oh~ that student council president."
Yumeko's expression twisted into something darker.
"I've always wanted to gamble with her."
"Pay me back first. Otherwise, you won't live long enough to gamble with her."
"Got it~"
Then, looking curious, Yumeko asked, "Since you're here, which class did you get assigned to?"
"No one assigned me to any class. I figured I'd just pick a room at random."
"Why not join our class? We're in Year 2, Class Hana. I'm sure we'll have a great time together."
"Just seeing your gambler face is enough to ruin my day. There's no way I'm joining your class."
Wearing a look of disdain, Rinji brushed past her, planning to pick a class at random.
He never intended to get along with anyone in this school.
Even though Rinji was technically a first-year, he had no intention of heading to a first-year classroom. If he was choosing at random, the year didn't matter.
Since Yumeko was in Class Hana, he walked into the room next to hers—Year 2, Class Tsubaki.
Without knocking or announcing himself, Rinji opened the door and walked in.
The classroom was buzzing.
Not from chatter, but from gambling.
There weren't many elaborate setups. Most students had pushed two desks together to play poker—Texas Hold'em, blackjack, and others. Occasionally someone would slam the table or shout in excitement.
"Are these people really high school students?"
Rinji, holding his school bag, looked around at the uniformed students who looked more like seasoned gamblers.
He spotted an empty desk in the back corner and placed his bag there.
The desk was vandalized with insults and scribbles, but Rinji didn't care.
"Hmm..."
Seeing that everyone was too engrossed in their games to notice him, Rinji pulled out his phone.
Members of his own student council were asking how he was doing at this new school, clearly worried.
Reading their messages made Rinji smile. He typed:
[Thanks for your concern. Everything's fine here. No need to worry.]
After sending the message, Rinji thought it might be a good idea to show them the ugly side of this school, so he opened his camera app to take a photo of the classroom—basically a mini-casino.
The student council back home would definitely be shocked by the sight.
Just as he aimed his phone toward some of the gambling students, someone stepped in front of him.
Rinji lowered his phone. In front of him stood a petite girl with a timid expression.
She had the same "Stray Cat" tag as Yumeko.
"Something wrong?"
"Um… that's my seat."
She spoke in a quiet voice, as if scared of something.