Looking at the much tidier room compared to before, Saotome nodded in satisfaction.
"Thank you for your hard work... No! First, tell me how you got in!?
"I'm the former club president. Because I was worried about losing the key, I made a copy," Togakushi Yukimi said with an embarrassed smile.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka unceremoniously extended his hand to her: "Thank you for your hard work cleaning, but this is my casino now. Hand over the key."
Togakushi Yukimi pulled Ayanokoji Kiyotaka to the desk and massaged his shoulders ingratiatingly.
"Oh dear... Ayanokoji, you are a generous person, please let me stay in this room. I've been here for a year; this is my only refuge. Do you really have the heart to make me leave?"
"I really like it here, and I don't have anywhere else to put my books. Please just let me use this as a club room. Just treat me as an invisible member. Besides, if you're going to run a casino, I can also help you..."
Saotome's face fell.
This person is so shameless... She and Mikura colluded to cheat her out of a million, and now she dares to appear before her as if nothing happened...
"You want to stay here? Fine." Saotome Meari smiled sweetly and extended her hand to her just like Ayanokoji: "Return the one million I lost to me, and I'll let you stay here. Don't think I don't know you colluded with Mikura to cheat."
"You know about this..."
Togakushi Yukimi took a step back in surprise, and then, not knowing what she thought of, she spread her hands resignedly.
"I know I was wrong to collude with Mikura to cheat, but... that money wasn't taken by me; it was taken by the Student Council. Even if you ask me for it, I don't have it. If you're angry, you can order me around as much as you like."
"Isn't that exactly what you want!"
Saotome Meari rolled up her sleeves, ready to confront Togakushi Yukimi, but Hanatemari Kazura stopped her.
"Little Meari, even if you're angry, you won't get any money from her. It's better to let her stay here."
Hanatemari pulled Saotome's sleeve and persuaded, "After all, Togakushi has been in this room for a year and has been operating this casino. If we're going to run a casino, we can listen to her advice."
"This is the least popular casino in the school; her advice has no reference value at all."
Saotome was quite clear-headed.
"In any case, even if we treat her as a negative example! Isn't there an old saying that failure is the mother of success?"
Hanatemari Kazura anxiously found excuses for Togakushi Yukimi, and her voice was low with sympathy: "And... I think it's very painful to have the place you've always stayed in taken away. I also don't want Meari to do such a thing."
Saotome was dumbfounded by this naive and kind-hearted person who was overcome with sympathy, and she helplessly pressed her hand to her forehead: "It's good to want to help others, but do you understand your current situation? You're still 'livestock' right now, don't forget this morning you were still...!"
As Saotome spoke, her expression suddenly became disheartened, and she slumped powerlessly into the chair.
"Never mind, I was the one who failed to see through Mikura's cheating. I should bear the main responsibility. Blaming others will only further prove my stupidity. Moreover, Ayanokoji clearly gave me a chance, but I didn't seize it, otherwise I wouldn't be in this situation now..."
She mumbled dejectedly.
"Don't worry, as long as I stay, it's very easy to earn a million yen using the casino!"
Togakushi Yukimi ran over, wanting to comfort Saotome, but she was glared at fiercely by her and then scurried back behind Ayanokoji to massage his shoulders.
She finally understood that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who had been silent all this time, was the one in charge; Saotome's opinion simply didn't matter.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had been silent, his gaze sweeping over the bookshelf: "Togakushi, are all these books yours? If I let you stay, will I be able to read all these books?"
"Of course, you are the owner of the casino, what you say goes," Togakushi Yukimi said quickly.
Togakushi Yukimi had good taste in books. The bookshelf was neatly filled with classic masterpieces, detective novels, and some psychology books from both domestic and international authors, categorized by nationality and genre.
Ayanokoji had already appreciated enough psychology books in his previous life.
His gaze swept over the column of detective novels, and his eyes lit up when he saw a name. He got up and took the book from the bookshelf.
The book he picked up was Hayasaka Rintsu's "rainbow toothbrush." Looking at the red-haired girl on the cover, diligently brushing her teeth with a toothbrush, he felt a surge of emotion.
He never expected to encounter this book in such a way.
Hayasaka Rintsu was a detective novelist Ayanokoji Kiyotaka greatly admired. Unfortunately, only two of his works, "Detective AI" and "Criminal AI," had been published in Chinese.
In his previous life, Hayasaka Rintsu's Kamiki Lychee series, which was also his debut work, probably would never pass censorship due to too many explicit elements and had never been officially published in Chinese.
He had read the entire series through fan translations.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had always wanted to read the original, but because his Japanese was truly terrible, he had never tried. He never expected to have the opportunity to read "rainbow toothbrush," his favorite in the series, now.
Ayanokoji looked up. His other works, such as "Double Snake Secret Room" and "OOOOOOOO Murder Case," were also on the bookshelf.
In addition, there were also books by other mystery writers such as NisiOisiN, Masaya Yamaguchi, and Yusuke Maya.
"I never thought you'd collect so many books by mystery writers..." Ayanokoji Kiyotaka said, somewhat surprised.
When it came to books, Togakushi Yukimi became confident. She straightened her chest, pushed up her glasses, and stated emphatically: "In this school, many people cheat in gambling. If you can't expose their tricks, you will most likely lose in gambling.
In gambling, the higher your reasoning ability, the more advantageous it is. Reading more detective novels is definitely very useful."
Ayanokoji agreed with Togakushi Yukimi's statement, but Saotome Meari snorted dismissively.
"You've read so many books, has your reasoning ability improved? Since you're so amazing, why don't you go gamble in other casinos?
There are so many places where people cheat; if you just expose their tricks, wouldn't you be able to get a large sum of money?"
Saotome Meari's words hit Togakushi Yukimi's bullseye. She blushed and stammered in defense.
"That's because the tricks of these authors are too sophisticated. I only get the answers when the truth is revealed, so my reasoning ability hasn't improved much.
But it's absolutely true that reading more detective novels is beneficial in gambling..."
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