8 - Hikigaya Hachiman's First Stepping Stone
"What's the matter? It's only three cards—you won't get anywhere by overthinking it! Hurry up and flip them over," Saotome taunted.
Seeing that Hachiman had placed his three cards face-down on the table and gone silent, Saotome assumed he was scared. She couldn't resist mocking him.
"At this point, being scared won't help you, Hikigaya-kun. But if you're willing to crawl under my feet and become my dog, I might overlook this little match~"
"Well? Want to be my personal dog? Or do you want to be a stupid mutt like the rest of the livestock?"
"C'mon, Hikigaya-kun, give me an answer already~"
Still not flipping his cards, Hikigaya casually pushed one forward with a flick of his index finger.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Saotome was stunned.
"You thought we wouldn't notice, didn't you?" Yumeko spoke up. With a sultry grace like a seductive serpent, she pressed her ample chest against Hikigaya's shoulder.
The teasing brush of her hair sent chills down his spine. The scent of the girl completely shattered Hachiman's composure—he forgot his carefully rehearsed one-liner to raise his presence, sitting there disoriented.
'Too close, too close, too close…'
'Prime numbers. Count prime numbers, Hikigaya!'
Yumeko's eyes glowed red, the venomous serpent within her fully awakened. It wouldn't rest until it devoured its prey whole.
"Everyone was helping you, right, Saotome-san?"
Eh—?
Saotome's pupils contracted. The classroom descended into chaos.
"Judging from the votes so far, not everyone helped you. But to be cautious, I'd say at least 20 did."
"What proof do you have—"
"Your tricks were so clumsy! Like children playing house!" Yumeko mercilessly scorned. "In a 500,000 yen high-stakes game, you played the same cards two rounds in a row! That's a pathetic way to throw people off—it's too obvious!"
"If you don't have the courage to hurt your enemy even if it means hurting yourself, you can't fool anyone."
"Stop bluffing! These are the cards you're using, right?! Let's settle this once and for all!"
Saotome roared in frustration, trying to mask her growing anxiety. Paper—so long as she played paper, she'd be invincible!
"3, 2, 1—"
Yumeko once again helped Hikigaya flip his cards along with Saotome's.
"Scissors... Scissors beats paper. Winner... is Hikigaya Hachiman-sama!"
Silence.
The once-rowdy Class 1-H now fell into a deathly hush.
Saotome slowly lifted her stiff head, her neck creaking. Her eyes had lost all confidence and fire, replaced by a hellish terror.
'W-Why... why did he draw scissors? How could he dare to play scissors?!'
'Even if he drew scissors, the chance of winning in the first round was barely 15%. How could he take that risk?!'
Hikigaya Hachiman slowly stood up, as if reading the questions in her heart.
His voice echoed in the quiet classroom, devoid of any pity:
"Saotome, you had Suzui standing behind Yumeko the whole time, didn't you? That was to have him transmit signals to your allies and decide what card combinations to play."
"When someone's behind you, the card dealer naturally thinks they're being watched. So they overlook anyone nearby helping with cheating."
"I imagine Yumeko realized this using the reflection from her compact mirror—"
"Before this round started, Suzui's signal was: rock and paper. So the majority of the deck would be those two. And since you didn't have the guts to risk it all, you'd definitely choose paper!"
"In other words, this was a match I'd win for sure as long as I drew scissors."
"There was no psychological warfare, no strategy involved. I just figured out how you think, what kind of person you are—and that alone sealed the outcome."
Saotome was thunderstruck by this entire deduction. She staggered and collapsed into her chair, her body limp. With a hoarse voice, she asked:
"Then... how could you be so sure you'd draw scissors?"
"We inspected all the cards beforehand. There were no folds or markings!"
"It was the lip gloss~" Yumeko touched her lips, where the nude-colored gloss had faded slightly.
She picked up the gloss, rubbing it lightly between her thumb and forefinger, looking at Hachiman with eyes full of infatuation and obsession.
"The texture of lip gloss on the cards is different from regular ones. Once you know what to feel for, it's easy to pick out the scissors card from the box. But because the difference is so subtle, you didn't notice it, Saotome-san."
"Lip gloss?! That's impossible!"
Saotome screamed in disbelief. That would require an absurd level of sensitivity! Even she, a girl who used lip gloss daily, couldn't tell the difference between cards that had it and those that didn't. So why could Hachiman?
"Because it was different, I remembered it," Hachiman replied, calm as ever, like it was no big deal.
Yet it was that tiny detail that became the final straw breaking the camel's back—leading Saotome Mary to lose an entire ten million yen!
"Well then... Saotome-san, subtracting the previous amount, you just lost 8.8 million yen in this game~" Yumeko quietly stepped behind Saotome and gently placed her hands on her shoulders, like a kind greeting between girlfriends.
"No... No way."
"Huh?!" Yumeko gave her a chilling smile.
Bang—
Huge beads of sweat formed on Saotome's forehead and splashed loudly onto the desk, echoing her inner collapse. She bowed her once-proud head before Hachiman, slamming it onto the table. Her jaw clenched tight, her whole body trembling.
Summoning every last ounce of courage and pride, she whispered:
"I-I don't have it right now. Could you give me a few days...?"
Hachiman said nothing. Yumeko folded her hands over her stomach, lowering her gaze like a merciful goddess. She turned away, no longer looking at Saotome, who had now fallen into the depths of the gambling abyss, and stood beside Hachiman.
In a cheerful tone, she said:
"It's not up to me. The second-round player was Hikigaya-kun, after all."
Yumeko leaned slightly against Hachiman, gazing up at him like a delicate girl. Once again, Hachiman murmured the prime numbers under his breath.
"This was fun, so let's leave it at that," Hachiman said, having lost interest in continuing the game. But toppling a stepping stone still put him in a good mood.
He had made a name for himself among the elite students—a solid first step. Compared to that, the money could wait a bit.
"I'd like to receive the funds in two days, Saotome-san."
Hikigaya Hachiman turned and walked away. Yumeko quickly followed. As they left, she turned back with a bright smile and waved her purse:
"See you all later~ Starting tomorrow, please treat us like real classmates!"