38 - Hikigaya's Duel Gambling Game Exam
"Um… Jabami-san."
Suzui Ryota, who had been offline for who knows how many episodes, appeared with a red face, scratching his head, not sure where he had come from.
Jabami Yumeko, who had been harassing Hikigaya Hachiman, stopped and looked at Suzui with some surprise. She noticed the wallet in his hand.
"I heard about the gambling loss, Jabami-san. This is the money my family transferred to me this month. It's about one million yen, and I'd like to offer it as a small token of my appreciation."
"After all, Jabami-san helped me before… I'm sure with some capital, you can definitely win it back."
"Although it's not really a repayment, I hope you'll accept it," Suzui Ryota said as he held the wallet with both hands and bowed deeply.
Jabami Yumeko straightened her body, not responding immediately to Suzui. Instead, she turned her head slightly and looked at Hikigaya Hachiman with a questioning look.
'If you want it, just take it. Why are you asking me with that look…'
Hikigaya Hachiman's mind was in turmoil, and he responded with a look of his own: "You decide."
Jabami Yumeko nodded and carefully took the wallet, pushing it back towards Suzui.
"Thank you for your kindness, Suzui-san. I appreciate it, but I don't need money right now~" Jabami Yumeko said with a smile.
"How could you not need money? They said you owe three hundred million yen in debt."
Suzui Ryota was in a panic, thinking that Jabami was refusing his help out of modesty as a girl. Just as he was about to straighten up and say something else, he saw a scene that left him stunned.
Jabami Yumeko had one hand pressed to Hikigaya's chest, her body leaning against him, while her other hand was holding a bank card that looked quite expensive, swinging it in front of him, its glint matching the cat tag on her chest.
Her tempting pink lips parted slightly:
"Because Hikigaya-kun has already lent me one hundred million yen. As long as I have capital, I can win it back~ So, thank you, Suzui-san. You're a good person."
As she spoke, the crimson in her eyes appeared again, and she rested her head on Hikigaya's shoulder, gently exhaling in his ear.
"Th...that so..." Suzui Ryota awkwardly smiled, somehow feeling like his heart was being squeezed by an invisible giant hand, making it hard to breathe.
He could only silently tuck the wallet back into his pocket.
Just as he was about to turn and return to his seat, trying to savor the painful sensation, Hikigaya spoke and stopped him.
"Suzui-san, do you know what 'the Duel Gambling Game Exam' that Aiura-san mentioned is?"
Hikigaya Hachiman never entered a battle unprepared.
He underestimated the enemy strategically, but he took the enemy seriously tactically.
The moment he rejected Aiura-san, he sensed great animosity from her. He had encountered people like her many times before; she would not let go of any opportunity to target him.
How to break the deadlock? The only way was to seize an opportunity and strike a painful blow so that she wouldn't come buzzing around like a fly.
Given that, the Duel Gambling Game Exam she mentioned was undoubtedly the best opportunity.
He was confident, and Hikigaya Hachiman could tell she was confident too. But he would make use of that confidence.
"Ah? Aiura-san, you mean…" Suzui Ryota hesitated, glancing instinctively at the surrounding classmates. Noticing no one was focused on him, he gritted his teeth and began to explain to Hikigaya.
"The Duel Gambling Game Exam is a traditional gambling game at our Hyakkaou Academy."
"Our school has a culture of gambling, but our academics aren't neglected either… It's said to be a tradition left by the previous student council president. After every exam, there's a traditional gambling game held."
[This is a one-on-one traditional gambling game, and theoretically, all 30 students in the class must participate. The students' grades in each subject are used as card points.]
[First, a seat number card is drawn. The seat number corresponds to the class size, and the number drawn becomes the corresponding target student's subject grades. The grades of that student become the points for the card holder's hand.]
[There are seven subjects: Japanese, English, Math A, Math B, Physics, Chemistry, World History.]
[Within the designated time, both sides must select one subject's grade to participate in the duel. The one with the higher grade wins.]
[It is important to note that the selection is blind. In other words, one must understand the academic abilities of the student whose grades are drawn.]
[For example, if A draws English with 59 points, and B draws Japanese with 60 points, B wins.]
[This process is repeated until only one person remains as the winner.]
[The entry fee is 10,000 yen per person, totaling 300,000 yen, plus a 200,000 yen subsidy from the student council, bringing the total prize to 500,000 yen for the final winner.]
[Additionally, the final winner will be appointed as the class president.]
Suzui Ryota gave an awkward smile: "It's because of this gambling game that everyone tries to maintain a friendly appearance on the surface and collect everyone's grade information, so they can win in this regularly held gambling event."
"After all, the prize is 500,000 yen, and it's not a gambling game that particularly tests gambling skills."
Suzui Ryota offered his opinion: "Because everyone is randomly selected, if you draw a student with poor grades, even the best gambler would be helpless."
"This is pretty straightforward. Students with good grades will have high scores in almost every subject, and vice versa. So, when the seat number cards are drawn, you can almost already judge the winner."
"So, the lucky ones are the winners!"
Suzui Ryota was incredibly sure of this. He had prepared for this game for a long time. Known as the good-natured guy, he had already figured out his classmates' grades.
Now, as long as he was lucky enough to draw a student with good grades, even someone like him, who wasn't good at gambling, had a chance to win the 500,000 yen prize!
After hearing this, Hikigaya instinctively fell into a thinking state.
He wasn't interested in this kind of gambling. Just by listening to Suzui Ryota's one-sided explanation, it would be easy to make a wrong judgment about the Duel Gambling Game Exam. According to Suzui, this seemed to align more with Saotome Mary's description of the "impossible to cheat gambling game."
Hikigaya didn't understand gambling, but he understood human nature.
Aiura-san's tone when she wanted to team up with him to push Saotome into the abyss during the Duel Gambling Game Exam didn't sound fake at all. He could be 100% certain that she would cheat.
Now that he had rejected her, there was a high chance that he, Hikigaya Hachiman, would end up taking on Saotome's anger instead.
But he wasn't a fool, so she would channel her anger towards Jabami to disgust him.
'This is really a huge loss. Saotome Mary owes me a favor.' Hikigaya once again declared the ownership of the favor unilaterally.
'Now, if I were Aiura-san, what would I do?'
Hikigaya Hachiman furrowed his brow, instinctively placing himself in the enemy's shoes.
And while he was thinking, a voice he detested appeared in the classroom of the first-year class.