3 The Compulsive Gambler III

—Kinji.

The game initially started as a test run for Jabami Yumeko, allowing her to familiarize herself with the rules. However, once that was done, the real game between Yumeko and Mary began.

"If it were me, I'd test the waters, like beta testing, to further understand the game. Ah, speaking of beta testing, it's about time to dominate the gaming industry," the raven-haired boy thought to himself as he observed the game between Yumeko and Mary.

As expected, Yumeko took a slow and steady approach, betting two chips. Kinji assumed she was using this as a testing phase, just as he would have done.

Yumeko emerged victorious in that round, although there wasn't technically an official round to win two. In this particular game, the one who runs out of chips would be the loser. As a result, the game had the potential to drag on for a while. "But that wouldn't be fun," Kinji mused.

If both players decided to play cautiously, the game would not only be boring, but it also wouldn't be worth wasting time watching such a game.

However, this was gambling. 

Despite knowing the risk of losing, there are still those who choose to gamble their choices. One such example is the black-haired transfer student who confidently exclaimed, "All right, this time, let's go with 50 chips."

In the next round, the first bout ended in a draw, but the second round favored Mary, with her taking away almost twenty-five percent of Yumeko's chips.

"I was right," Kinji shrugged. Regardless, Yumeko would have lost in this round. If one carefully analyzes the game, it can be both fair and unfair, depending on how it is played. However, this particular game was rigged from the start.

Mary repeatedly drew rock, meaning that she had at least two rocks and a pair of scissors. It was highly unlikely for her to have a paper, especially considering Yumeko's remaining cards were all scissors.

Although it wasn't obvious, if the game were to be fair, the chances of Yumeko or Mary putting down paper first would have significantly increased. This suggests that Mary was probably expecting Yumeko to play scissors, giving her an easy win from the first round.

'That's my conjecture, and I have my doubts about it. She would probably drag things out to figure out Mary's tricks,' Kinji smiled as his eyes glowed crimson.

And just as he thought, he wasn't wrong. In the next round, Yumeko bet two chips and won, which didn't surprise Kinji either.

"Next, she'll bet another 50 chips," Kinji predicted, and it actually happened just as he had predicted. And sure enough, Yumeko exclaimed, "Shall we go with 50 chips once more?" as she moved all her chips to the center of the table.

"Hahaha! She's crazy," Kinji thought to himself. In fact, Yumeko's focus had shifted. She wasn't solely focused on Mary anymore; she was more attentive to the cards Mary played and the cards in her own hand. 

In the second bout of the third round, it played out exactly as Kinji had predicted. Mary drew a paper while Yumeko drew a rock.

'She's already realized.'

Whenever the stakes were lower, Mary would play random moves, but if the stakes were higher, she would go all-in. It was quite obvious. This pattern repeated twice in a row, with Mary winning the fifty chips twice and Yumeko winning the two chips twice.

Mary would be foolish to think she was deceiving anyone. While she could have potentially won the two 50 chips, that would only be possible if the game was played fairly. Kinji had seen enough and was more excited to see how Yumeko would handle Mary's petty tricks.

The rest was just as before. Mary won all of Yumeko's chip, with Yumeko taking her last resort. Yumeko took out her bag, flipping it causing cash to drop out of the bag in bundles on the desk. 

"What-!?" Mary exclaimed.

"Ten million yen in cash," Yumeko calmly stated, holding a bundle of cash with a smile on her face. 

'Are you serious? Why the hell is she walking around with hard cash like that in her bag,' Kinji's lips couldn't help but curl up in a smirk.

—3rd's Pov.

"That's absurd! I won't be a party to this!" Mary slammed her hand on the desk as she stood up from her chair. "Oya? Leaving so soon?" A classmate with raven-black hair stopped her, and she turned her gaze to him.

"Kinji," she hissed, gritting her teeth in annoyance and anger. "Your opponent still wishes to bet. Would you run away again like you once did?"

"Oh my, it seems you two already have a bit of history," Yumeko's cold voice came from Mary's side, causing the blonde to flinch. "Ah~ Good guess, we do have a bit of history, you see..."

Mary felt trapped between Kinji's sardonic smile and Yumeko's cold gaze, as if she were being sandwiched between the two.

"Getting cold feet, are we now?" Yumeko's words directly attacked the last bit of pride in Mary. "Fine then! Let's do this!" Mary retorted loudly as she sat back down in her chair.

"Kinji! Don't interfere!"

"Ah~ Don't worry, I won't do anything."

…

Despite that, Mary was still confident she would win. After all, of all thirty voters, around twenty-one are on her side, whether it was their debt or standing in the classroom. They are all sorts of reasons, but it's better understandable—they are on her side.

"Ah~ These large wages make my heart race~ Kinji-san, what about you?" Yumeko turned her gaze to Kinji, who laughed, "there's nothing more intense than making a risky move."

"—When you succeed, you'd feel unprecedented joy."

"—When you lose, you'd feel like it's the end of the world." Both of them leaned towards themselves, "that's why gambling is fun~!"

'What are they doing?' Seeing both of them with such sadistic expressions on their faces scared her to the ground, especially with Kinji in the mix. Were it not for his whims—

'No! I now have the upper hand!' The round is mostly filled with both rock and paper. There are hardly any scissors, so there is no way in hell Yumeko would draw scissors.

Even if Yumeko does, Yumeko would hesitate to play scissors, and as long as Mary throws out a paper, she would definitely win. 'The only thing I have to worry about is not pulling a paper,' Mary thought as she looked at her cards.

Sure enough! The heavens are on her side. 'Two papers, it doesn't get better than that.'

'In the end, I win! This is my perfect victory!' Mary's lips formed into a grin. There was no escaping this. However, ... yet why... why does she have that grin on her face?

"Did you really think 'we' wouldn't catch on?"

"Everyone is collaborating with you, isn't that right, Mary?" Mary, along with some other classmates, were taken aback. "!?"

"Judging by all of the voting till now, I wouldn't say all, but ten, perhaps? To seal your victory, maybe 20 or so, should I say?"

"On what basis are you—" Before she could continue, Kinji interrupted, raising his chin and looking down on her. "Your methods are fairly easy to see through."

"As I've said before, your petty tricks are easy to see through. You play randomly whenever the stakes are low, but you go all out when the stakes are high. Did you think Yumeko wouldn't notice?"

"Oh my, Kinji-san, you give me too much credit." Yumeko smiled as she covered the lower part of her face with her cards, as Kinji continued. "I doubt. It's obvious. This happened four times, you know. This isn't a coincidence."

"Wo—" She was about to speak up, but meeting Kinji's condescending gaze, she kept quiet. "Kuh."

'It doesn't matter, as long as she doesn't know what I'm about to throw, she can't believe she would win.'

"This is just a bluff."

—Narrator: Mary was undoubtedly correct. Both Kinji and Yumeko knew this as a fact. However, their words put psychological pressure on her. Even if Kinji hadn't interfered, Yumeko had long realized Mary's tricks. Kinji was simply making the game fair.

"Are you done with your tedious drivel? Hurry up and pick out a card!" Mary nervously, but trying to hide it with confidence, looked up at Yumeko, who simply chuckled. "Hehehe, don't say we didn't warn you."

"Are you ready then?"

"Yes..." The tension in the room increased as several students gulped down. Yumeko silently drew her card, locking a deadly gaze with Mary. "Showdown!"

"Rock-Paper-Scissors!!!" Both Mary and Yumeko simultaneously drew their cards and revealed their hands. "…"

"…"

"Haah. It's decided." Kinji scoffed with a smile as he put his hand in his pockets. Yumeko smiled upon hearing his words, and with a gleeful smile, she revealed a scissors. "Too bad."

"What? Scissors?"

"What?"

"Wait. What? How? Impossible." Mary's card fell to the ground, her face and entire body quivering, as she stared at the paper card in Yumeko's hand.

"Impossible or not, please don't avert your eyes from reality." Yumeko smiled as she rested her cheek on her palm. "Now, as for settling up..."

"...after subtracting what I lost, that will be 8.8 million yen." Mary flinched back, however, Yumeko continued, spreading her hands. "Your payment will be appreciated."

Well, how did this happen, anyway?

All Mary wanted was to saddle her with a little debt. That was simply all.

But where did things go wrong?