7 - The Winner is Me, Saotome Mary!
"Rock, paper, scissors—"
Swish—
The crowd held their breath, eyes fixed intensely on the table. Another few rounds had passed. Now, Jabami Yumeko was down to her final chips. If she lost this round, she would have nothing left.
"Paper against scissors! The winner—Saotome Mary!"
"All chips used. The match is over! The final winner of this gamble is—Lady Saotome!"
"My, my, it seems Jabami-san is all out of chips," Saotome Mary picked up Yumeko's last chip and toyed with it in her hand, staring hard at Yumeko's face as if trying to savor her emotions of fear and regret...
But reality disappointed her.
Yumeko's face was as calm as a still lake, completely unbothered. So calm... it was scary.
Slowly, Jabami Yumeko closed her eyes. When she opened them again, a hint of bloodthirsty madness glimmered in her gaze.
"What a thrilling gamble that was—"
"Saotome, may I have another round with you?"
'No, Jabami-san! If this keeps up, you'll become a housepet on your first day after transferring! 'Suzui Ryota, standing by Yumeko's side, almost couldn't hold himself back. He couldn't bear to watch Yumeko end up like him, reduced to Saotome's plaything.
"Ugh..." But it was like Ryota's throat was gripped by fate. The words were stuck there, no matter how hard he tried. If he ruined Saotome's fun, she'd surely torment him to death as a housepet later.
"Of course~ How many chips do you want to bet?"
Saotome playfully flicked her index finger, her inner voice mocking, 'Idiot, what's waiting ahead of you is a mud pit~'
Yumeko didn't answer. Instead, she slowly raised the handbag she'd been carrying and was about to pour out all the cash inside—
Until Hikigaya reached out and grabbed her wrist, shaking his head.
At that touch, the madness instantly disappeared from Yumeko's eyes. She looked up at Hikigaya, a bit dazed.
"Hikigaya-kun, is something wrong?"
"We had a deal, remember?"
"Hey hey hey! Don't interfere with someone else's gamble!"
"Eh... but I still want to play."
The two girls opposed him at the same time—one slamming the table and roaring, the other pleading like a spoiled child. Yumeko covered her face with both hands, cheeks flushed, thighs pressed together, unable to meet Hikigaya's eyes.
Hikigaya didn't misunderstand. He had already figured Yumeko out—a complete gambling maniac.
'Even though I told her before the match started that Saotome would definitely cheat, she still willingly sat at the table.'
'Jabami Yumeko isn't chasing victory—what she seeks is the purest thrill of gambling, that instant of life-or-death excitement.'
Meeting Hikigaya's firm, unwavering gaze, Yumeko reluctantly stood from her seat. Then, she tightly gripped his hand, her fingertip teasing lightly across his palm.
"Then do your best, Hikigaya-kun~ I believe in you!"
'Damn it, what the hell are these two flirting about?!' Saotome was fed up. She swore she'd make these two transfer students her housepet "stray cat" and "stupid dog" today, to serve at her side!
Annoyed, she waved her hand impatiently. "Fine, switch if you want—just don't waste any more time."
Hikigaya slowly withdrew his hand, savoring the lingering sensation of Yumeko's fingertip, lost in thought.
'You're really interesting, Jabami Yumeko.'
"No more delays. Let the match continue! All students, please draw your card types!"
With Hikigaya taking Yumeko's place, Yumeko naturally took over card-drawing duties. She unhesitatingly drew the desired hand shapes on the cards and tossed them into the box.
"Well then, Hikigaya-san, how much are you betting?"
Hikigaya didn't answer. Instead, he asked a different question:
"Saotome-san, do you know why I said I don't know how to gamble?"
"Hah? What are you even talking about?"
Hikigaya muttered to himself,
"Because to me, so-called gambling is nothing more than a clash of cheating techniques. What we call a gamble is really just a competition of calculation between both sides..."
"Calculating all possible outcomes, calculating the moment your opponent gets caught cheating..."
Then Hikigaya shifted his tone,
"Did you know? In this round, my chance of winning was only 13.2%. Yet, I still chose to sit at this table without hesitation. But just now—I became certain that I would win."
"Even so, are you still going to gamble?"
Bang!
Saotome's expression twisted with rage as she grabbed the corners of the table with both hands.
"Heh... Stop bluffing. How much are you betting!"
Sigh... kind words can't persuade someone who's already doomed.
Hikigaya Hachiman was out of patience. With someone like Saotome, who was already deeply trapped and unable to extricate herself, only a head-on blow might offer any chance at change.
'Then please, become my stepping stone and go down in style, Saotome Mary!'
Hikigaya calmly reached into the inner pocket of his shirt and pulled out a bank card.
"There's ten million yen on this card."
"I'm going all in. One round to decide it all."
Nani?!
Ten million?!
The noisy classroom instantly fell silent. It wasn't even that the amount was particularly outrageous—students in this academy were either rich or noble, and far bigger wagers had been seen before. But betting ten million on a simple game of rock-paper-scissors?
Could it be... Hikigaya Hachiman, who looked like just a regular scholarship student, was actually a super-rich heir?!
"You've got to be kidding me! Betting ten million on a single round of rock-paper-scissors—you're... you're insane!" Saotome spoke what everyone else was thinking.
"And what's wrong with that?"
Hikigaya sat upright in his chair, and the lazy look in his eyes had vanished—replaced by an unprecedented sharpness. He calmly voiced his belief:
"Apart from calculation, gambling is madness. In a capitalist world, money is equivalent to life. Betting your life on something as trivial as luck is definitely not normal. But it's precisely this kind of madness—this gamble with your life—that brings true joy. The more insane it is, the more exhilarating it becomes…"
"Tell me, are you not feeling joy right now, Saotome Mary? Are you feeling fear instead?"
"Someone like that... doesn't deserve to sit across from me."
Hikigaya neither saw nor heard the flush spreading uncontrollably across Yumeko's face, or her short, desperate gasps like someone drowning clinging to a lifeline.
His gaze burned like fire, exuding overwhelming dominance as he pressured Saotome. Gone was the awkwardness from his transfer introduction—this was his stage now.
This flashy, idiotic rich boy actually dares to look down on me!
"Fine then, let's do it. I just hope you won't regret losing ten million, Hikigaya-kun."
'Hmph, whatever. I'm going to win this anyway.'
Saotome took a deep breath, calming the nervousness in her heart.
'Out of the 30 students voting, 21 are under my control. Some because of debt, some because of their position in the class.'
This round's card types are all paper and rock. As long as I play paper, I'll be invincible. There are hardly any scissors—and even if someone drew them, they wouldn't play it in the first round just to be safe. The only uncertainty is not drawing the right cards.
The two each drew their cards from the box—Hikigaya was allowed to draw first, as a show of goodwill.
After that, Saotome slowly revealed the three cards in her hand.
"Hehehehahaha!" She covered her face with one hand and couldn't help bursting into laughter.
Two papers, one rock. Victory was assured! That ten million yen was hers!
This gamble's winner... was her—Saotome Mary!