Time was critical now, yet Ayanokoji Kiyotaka seemed not to be in a hurry at all, suddenly pulling out a deck of playing cards.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka shuffled the cards and said, "Saotome, I'm going to gamble with you now. The stake is 10,000 yen per hand. The rules are simple: we each randomly draw a playing card and see whose card is higher. Understood? Nod if you understand."
"I understand, but why do this...?" Saotome nodded, a bit confused.
"You don't need to worry about that. You can think of it as me practicing and warming up before gambling."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka casually made an excuse, his palm sweeping over the cards, fanning them out in one hand, face down.
Ayanokoji randomly drew a card: "Now it's your turn to draw."
Saotome drew a card, half-understanding, half-not.
The playing card in her hand was a Heart 10; Ayanokoji's was a Spade 8.
"You win. Again." Ayanokoji took out a 10,000 yen bill and handed it to Saotome Meari, then drew another card without a word.
Saotome, though still bewildered, drew another card.
The card in Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's hand was a Diamond 9; the card in Saotome's hand was a Spade 5.
This time, the card in Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's hand was higher.
"I won. This money is mine."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka pulled the still-warm banknote from Saotome Meari's hand, put it into his pocket, and walked towards the classroom.
"Thanks."
What was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka doing just now?
Saotome Meari was full of questions; she simply didn't understand Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's actions.
He gave her 10,000 yen, then took it back? What was that about?
Although she didn't understand, she quickly followed Ayanokoji Kiyotaka back to the Literary Club.
She naturally didn't know that just now, Ayanokoji had used her as a tool to accumulate a guaranteed draw, having saved up one such opportunity.
Earlier this morning, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Kuroki Ya had already accumulated the sixth gacha draw in their gambling.
And before that, he had been forcibly dragged by a girl to gamble once. Now, with these two rounds of gambling with Saotome Meari, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had successfully accumulated enough draws for a guaranteed outcome.
"You're finally back! Don't you know that Lady Juraku's time is very important? She doesn't have time to waste here with you!" As soon as Ayanokoji entered, he heard Mikura's complaint.
Ayanokoji glanced at her and said indifferently, "If you want to leave, just leave. Why do you have to listen to Saotome? I didn't ask you to stay here."
"You...!" Mikura was rebuffed and couldn't speak.
She did want to leave, but Sachiko Juraku was still there. She prided herself on being a pet; how could she abandon her owner and leave?
"Have you two discussed it? Ayanokoji, did you lend money to Saotome?" Sachiko Juraku asked with interest.
"I didn't lend her money." Ayanokoji shook his head and looked at Togakushi Yukimi.
Ayanokoji suddenly asked, "Togakushi, you're the manager of this casino, aren't you?"
Togakushi Yukimi subconsciously glanced at Mikura, then hesitated and nodded: "Uh, I guess I still am..."
"Then it's simple. Come and gamble with me."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Togakushi Yukimi was bewildered.
Ayanokoji sat in the seat Saotome Meari had just occupied, tapping his fingers rhythmically on the gambling table, and said unhurriedly, "This is a casino, right? I'm a gambler. Of course, I'm here to gamble."
"Oh, I see..."
Togakushi Yukimi seemed to wake from a dream and quickly ran behind the desk to get a deck of cards, returning to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's side. She briefly explained the rules of her casino's game.
Aside from some of the flashy rules she described, simply put, it was a game of drawing lots.
From fifty-four cards, the two Jokers are removed. Then, one card is randomly drawn and hidden. The remaining fifty-one cards are divided into two piles, one for each person.
Each person first takes out any pairs from their hand and sets them aside, keeping only the single cards. Then, both players randomly draw one card from the opponent's hand. If they find a card that pairs with one in their hand, they remove it and continue drawing cards.
At the end, whoever is left with the single, unique card in their hand is the loser.
After hearing the rules, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka knew why this casino wasn't popular.
Aside from the game's win rate, this style of play was very long. If two people were to be in a stalemate, a single game might not even end in half an hour.
Moreover, Togakushi Yukimi was also very stingy, setting the stake at a mere 1,000 yen per round.
This kind of gambling was thankless; only a ghost would gamble with her.
"Togakushi, I will gamble with you. However, the stake will be one million yen per round." Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stated a figure that Togakushi Yukimi could not bear.
"One million?!" Togakushi Yukimi was startled and quickly shook her head: "Sorry, this is a small casino, I don't have that much money..."
"Then how much can you gamble at most?"
"I still have 100,000 yen on hand, which was originally for the tribute payment..."
"Only 100,000 yen? And you want to open a casino with that little money?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka burst out laughing, "If you lose these 100,000 yen, can you still afford to run the casino? Oh, and are livestock allowed to open casinos?"
"..." Togakushi Yukimi fell silent.
This was an undeniable fact laid before her.
She wanted to keep this casino, but she didn't have enough gambling funds, and this casino wasn't popular. At this rate, she wouldn't be able to pay next month's usage fee for the casino at all.
"How about this... Since the Student Council members are here now, it's perfect. I have 500,000 yen here, and I'll gamble with you for ownership of the casino." Ayanokoji Kiyotaka "kindly" pointed out a clear path for her.
"I refuse!" Togakushi Yukimi shook her head frantically: "I won't gamble with you! And why only 500,000? Didn't you just say one million?!"
Ayanokoji had just said he would gamble a million with her, and in the blink of an eye, he cut the price in half?
"It's simple. One million was the stake I initially wanted to gamble with you, and 500,000 is the current price of your casino. A poorly managed casino, when acquired, will definitely be discounted. If your casino were popular, it might even have a premium."
Ayanokoji started to laugh: "But your casino is a money-loser. Besides me and the sucker Saotome Meari, I doubt anyone else would come here. If you really calculate it, 500,000 is already too much."
Saotome Meari's face darkened.
How did this get dragged back to her? Who was he calling a sucker? She just hadn't figured it out yet!
Ayanokoji continued to coax: "Isn't this great? After all, you don't have much money left on hand, do you? If you win, these 500,000 yen will be yours, and you'll have the funds to continue running the casino.
If you lose, you'll only lose a casino, and this casino is just a burden to you now, isn't it? Not only does it not make money each month, but it also costs you money. In other words, whether you win or lose, it's a good thing for you, so why wouldn't you gamble with me?"
This was the art of language.
Although Ayanokoji was clearly the "villain" trying to take away Togakushi Yukimi's casino, after he put it that way, it sounded as if he were a great philanthropist, kindly considering Togakushi Yukimi's best interests.
Ayanokoji's words were very convincing. Even Hanatemari Kazura, who was standing by, kept nodding, thinking that agreeing to Ayanokoji was a sure-win situation.
In the end, it seemed even Togakushi Yukimi herself believed that agreeing to this gamble with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was the right thing to do.
"I'll gamble with you!" Togakushi Yukimi hesitated for a long while, but still agreed to gamble with Ayanokoji.
"It seems... things are getting interesting." Sachiko Juraku curved her lips into a smile, walked around the desk, and sat in the chair behind it: "Let me be your witness."
Seeing that her "owner" was not planning to leave, Mikura reluctantly stood in the center of the gambling table: "In that case, let me be the Dealer..."
"Not you." Ayanokoji Kiyotaka refused.
"Why not me?" Mikura looked at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka in surprise, feeling inexplicably guilty.
Did he find something out?
"Uh... because you cursed at me, so I don't want you to be the Dealer." Ayanokoji thought for a moment, "Can you accept that reason?"
Accept it, my foot! When did she ever curse at him? If he was going to make up an excuse, he should at least come up with a better one!
Mikura instantly became furious. If it weren't for Lady Juraku's presence, she would have pounced on Ayanokoji, that scoundrel, and bitten him.
"Luna, can I ask you?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked at Yomotsuki Runa.
She had just said she was a member of the Student Council Election Committee, so being a Dealer was perfectly suited to her profession.
"Alright, then this is my, Yomotsuki Runa's, time to shine!" Yomotsuki Runa seemed very interested in this matter, raising her hand cheerfully.
"I'll state this beforehand, I won't favor either side." Yomotsuki Runa said this while giving Mikura a meaningful glance.
Not only Saotome, but Yomotsuki Runa had also noticed Mikura cheating.
Mikura uncomfortably averted her gaze.
Yomotsuki Runa picked up Togakushi Yukimi's playing cards, inspecting them while muttering to herself.
"Hmm... This deck of cards is fine, the backs of the cards are all the same. However, this deck has been used many times, and there are many marks on it. If it were the Dealer, these marks could easily be used as a code."
"I am an absolutely neutral Dealer; I will never allow such things..." Yomotsuki Runa stretched, and as if by magic, pulled out an unopened deck of cards from somewhere.
She flashed Togakushi Yukimi a big smile: "So... it's okay for me to provide the cards, right?"
Togakushi Yukimi's face turned pale, and she avoided Yomotsuki Runa's gaze, nodding softly.
"No... no problem."
...
Yesterday's test image was taken down by the review, and I probably understand what the review's bottom line is.
How about this one? It should be fine, right?
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