94 - Saotome, do you really know how to gamble?
Clap clap clap—
"You got it right, as expected of Naoko!"
The room fell silent.
As Saotome Mary was about to start reasoning, her gaze slowly became dazed.
"Huh?"
What the hell was this? They only played one card, an incorrect ♣6 from the top player, and they already figured out the rule?
No, this wasn't just cheating. This was like they were playing the game with their eyes wide open!
Saotome slammed her hand on the table, glaring at the sisters, gritting her teeth, "You're cheating, you bastards! This is too blatant!"
"Oh? Do you have any evidence, Saotome-san?"
The sisters snuggled up to each other again, idly playing with each other's hair. They didn't seem to take Saotome seriously at all.
"Feel free to inspect~ If you have any proof that we sisters are cheating, we'll concede."
"Damn it—" Saotome clenched her fists and, helplessly, sat back down in her seat.
Indeed, she could only vent her dissatisfaction.
Anyone with their eyes open could see that the Ougatou sisters weren't using traditional tools or card-switching to cheat. They were simply using "mind communication", signaling each other with body language. Even if caught, there was no chance of punishment.
This method, unless you decipher the meaning of their signals, left no way to counteract them.
"However, let's set aside Saotome and Hikigaya-san for now."
Houko leaned over, her tone exaggerated, her face twisted into a menacing grin as she walked toward Shimotsukiuri Ouri. "Shimotsukiuri Ouri, what are you doing?"
"You're the one who called for this life-or-death game! You're the one who suggested becoming our lifetime slave! You're not going to quietly lose the game, are you?"
"You've worked so hard, haven't you?"
"If that's the case, you're pretty much a fish in the pond~ You need to put in more effort~"
"Ah hahahah~"
Facing Houko's taunting, Shimotsukiuri Ouri didn't change her expression at all. "What are you trying to say?"
Houko walked up to Shimotsukiuri, extending her hand to caress her smooth face, finally rubbing her thumb across her lips, with a touch so aggressive it almost seemed like it wanted to explore further.
Naoko's face flushed. "I know, you've been secretly investigating us."
"Recently, there's been someone coming to gamble small amounts with us. Those were all instigated by you, right? Not only that, but you had people standing outside the activity room watching."
"What you just said to us, we're now returning it to you."
"We're going to get rid of you here."
"We'll make you the last two players, and you'll be our little dog~ This face is so delicate, your little mouth is cute too. I really want you to have our sisters' toes in your mouth, showing an unwilling expression~ But stepping on your face with our feet feels pretty good too, what should we do?"
"Just thinking about having Mibuomi's most loyal subordinate suck on our toes makes me feel insatiable! I really want to see his expression then."
Hikigaya, listening from the side, raised his eyebrows. These two sisters... their thoughts are pretty twisted.
As the person who most wanted to take revenge on Mibuomi's subordinate, he had never even considered using such extreme methods to deal with his underlings.
'You two are going a bit too far.'
"Well, Houko, less talking. Let's start the fourth round, with Hikigaya-san being the dealer."
Ougatou Naoko pulled Houko, who was getting overly excited in front of everyone, back and announced the start of the next round.
Hikigaya drew a rule card and placed it face-down on the table.
"[♦10], a match." After speaking, Hikigaya remained calm and started sending signals to Saotome.
Saotome locked her gaze on Hikigaya, carefully analyzing the current situation.
The overwhelming pressure from the Ougatou sisters actually activated Saotome Mary's potential.
There were 50 rules, which sounded complex, but when you summed them up, they fell into a few major categories.
There were four suits, and four categories of rules:
• Even numbers
• Odd numbers
• Multiples of 3
• No specific rule
'Hikigaya's ♦10 follows the rule, so does this mean the suit requirement is only for diamonds?'
'The number is even, or in other words, there are no conditions...'
'No, that's not it!'
Saotome Mary saw Hikigaya's finger tapping the table, overturning her shallow deduction. This was the signal Hikigaya had passed to her.
'That means... Clubs!'
'Diamonds and Clubs alternate?!'
Their previously agreed-upon signal didn't involve the rules, so more information was still needed.
Saotome looked toward Ougatou, waiting for her to provide more clues.
"[♦7]."
"Correct." Hikigaya confirmed Ougatou's move.
'So, diamonds have no specific rules for the suit. Now we're just missing the rule for Clubs!' Saotome Mary thought, feeling encouraged.
Naoko smiled lightly, her lips curling as she spoke cheerfully: "[Clubs 5]."
"Does not match."
'Great, that rules out two more incorrect options.'
'So, is it even numbers? Or is it... multiples of 3?'
But just as Saotome was still pondering whether to play a diamond card to safely score a point, or to take a risk and proceed with reasoning...
Houko had already raised her hand.
With a look of shock and confusion, Saotome turned to Houko, who slowly began speaking:
"Saotome-san, you must have been thinking of playing a diamond card to safely score a point, then wait for me to make a mistake for you, right?"
Houko's flirtatious eyes seemed to see through everything, exposing Saotome's thoughts. She casually rested her hands behind her head, saying nonchalantly: "But unfortunately, you've been wrong about one thing from the very beginning."
"You underestimated us sisters, thinking we could only stabilize the game through signals, while the other aspects of gambling were just average."
"If you thought that, then I'm sorry."
"My deduction is: [Diamonds and even-numbered Clubs alternate]!"
Saotome's pupils shrank, and she looked at Hikigaya with a terrified gaze, hoping to hear him deny it.
But, unfortunately, Hikigaya expressionlessly said, "Correct."
"Hehe~" Naoko covered her mouth and giggled coquettishly. "What a shame, Saotome-san."
"We really must apologize to you. You're just... pitifully weak."
"You didn't even have the most basic awareness, yet you dared to gamble with us sisters."
Saotome Mary's voice became hoarse as she asked, "You mean... awareness, what does that mean?"
"You were thinking, whether the Club card is an even number or a multiple of 3, right?"
"You, you couldn't even bet on a fifty-fifty chance, yet you expected me to make a mistake for you?"
"Saotome Mary, do you really know how to gamble?"