Saotome Meari, why did she run out of the classroom during class?
As this question arose, a guess quickly formed in Ayanokoji's mind.
All the new students in his class were dragged off to gamble; her class should be no exception. Could Meari also have been dragged off to gamble with others?
Judging by her appearance, did she lose the gamble?
Thinking this, Ayanokoji got up again and left the room, and the teacher seemed to have long been accustomed to students' rebelliousness, completely ignoring his actions.
In fact, only three or four students were willing to stay in the classroom; most of them were still in the casino just a wall away.
Perhaps in the teacher's eyes, simply reading through the lesson plan was success.
Ayanokoji followed behind Saotome and found that her destination was the restroom Ayanokoji had just left not long ago.
Saotome Meari turned on the faucet, seemingly in a very bad mood; she didn't wash her hands but propped herself up on the sink with both hands, lowering her head and panting heavily.
"Saotome, are you alright?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stood outside and greeted her.
Saotome was startled and turned sharply. Ayanokoji saw that her face was very pale, as if she had eaten wasabi.
This was completely different from the gentle and generous Saotome Meari he remembered.
"You are, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka?"
Seeing a familiar person, Saotome's eyes lit up.
She rushed over to Ayanokoji, pushed him against the wall, and anxiously asked, "Ayanokoji, do you know that this academy has a gambling culture?"
Ayanokoji nodded, "I only found out after coming in. Looking at you... did you also gamble with someone?"
Saotome nodded unwillingly.
"I never expected this academy to actually advocate gambling. Damn it, why would I want to attend such an academy!"
Saotome hugged her head and squatted on the ground, screaming without any regard for her image.
"Am I an idiot? The people this academy can cultivate must be perverted gamblers; how could they cultivate students into elegant young ladies! What exactly did I work so hard for all these years...!"
Saotome seemed to have seen Ayanokoji, a familiar face, and her emotions instantly broke down. She squatted on the ground, venting, while Ayanokoji watched awkwardly from the side, unsure what to say.
"...Meari, are you alright?"
Suddenly, a girl cautiously approached the two, looking worriedly at Saotome Meari squatting on the ground.
"What are you doing here! Haven't you caused me enough trouble!?"
Saotome secretly wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, stood up abruptly, and angrily pointed her finger at the girl, "Why didn't you stop me from gambling!?
I stood up for you, which is why she became hostile towards me. Otherwise, she definitely wouldn't have bothered me, and I wouldn't have lost so much money!"
"...Because, Meari, you looked very happy when you were gambling, so I didn't stop you," the girl said cautiously.
"Very happy!? I lost money, how could I be very happy!"
Saotome Meari narrowed her eyes, pointed her thumb at her face, and glared at her, "Do you mean this expression of mine is a happy one!?"
The girl saw Saotome's angry expression and shrank her shoulders a little in fear, but she still said what she wanted to say.
"At first, when you were winning money, Meari, you were indeed very happy. But then you lost money, so you became unhappy. I tried to stop you later, but you wouldn't listen and still wanted to continue gambling..."
Saotome was speechless.
When she was losing money, that girl did try to stop her, but at that time, she was solely focused on winning back the money she had lost and didn't listen at all.
By the time she sobered up, she had already lost terribly.
"Saotome, can you tell me what happened? Also, is this your friend? Can you introduce her to me?"
The atmosphere was a bit tense now. Ayanokoji spoke, breaking the heavy atmosphere.
Saotome's friend, like her, was a very beautiful girl.
She had light blue wavy hair, wore a pink headband, had delicate features, no excessive makeup, and a very reserved posture, looking like a well-behaved girl from a scholarly family.
However, at this moment, her hair and clothes still had damp water stains, making her appear somewhat disheveled.
What caught Ayanokoji's attention was the name tag hanging on her chest—"Stray Cat."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka saw the livestock tag on her chest, and his spirit instantly tensed up. He subtly moved a step towards Saotome.
With Kurume Laiwei, the "Stray Cat," as a precedent, Ayanokoji instinctively became more vigilant towards this girl.
Saotome crossed her arms, glanced at the other party, and said very unwillingly, "She's not my friend. She's just my former elementary school classmate, Hanatemari Kazura.
She moved away after elementary school graduation and transferred to some academy I don't know, and I never expected her to be at Hyakkaou Private Academy, and unluckily, she's in the same class as me."
Hearing Saotome say she wasn't her friend, Hanatemari looked a little disappointed but still gently corrected her, "No, Meari, I've been studying here since middle school. You should say that you were assigned to our class."
Saotome was furious, "You still have the nerve to say that! You were so good at managing social relationships in elementary school, how did you get bullied so badly? If I hadn't stood up for you, I wouldn't have lost so much money!"
"Yes, Meari is very gentle, willing to stand up for me, but you got one thing wrong." Hanatemari shook her head, "Even if you hadn't helped me, you would have been targeted."
Saotome seemed to dislike her very much and snorted coldly, "How can you say that? I'm different from you; I'm very good at making friends with others now. If I hadn't met you, I would only need a week to become the most popular person in this class!"
"Meari, you might not know, but gambling is the school tradition of Hyakkaou Private Academy that has been passed down since after the war. In the academy, you can not only gamble freely, but the academy also strongly encourages gambling.
The higher-ups of the academy believe that true leaders need strength and luck to defeat their opponents, and so on. Therefore, in this academy, status is determined by gambling talent.
So, anyone who has been in this academy for a long time is basically very good at gambling. Many people, in order to win, will target transfer students who are new to this academy..."
Despite receiving no response, Hanatemari spoke in a gentle tone about the academy, things Ayanokoji had never heard of either.
The moment her voice abruptly stopped, she unexpectedly raised her eyes to look at Saotome Meari, her flickering eyes clearly reflecting Meari's indifferent and somewhat disgusted profile.
"Meari, do you understand now? Even without me, you would still be targeted because of your status as a new student," she said with a sad tone.
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