Kakegurui: Ten Consecutive Guaranteed Hits

Volume 1 Chapter 48: The Art of Language

The current time was critical, but Kiyohei seemed surprisingly calm. He suddenly took out a deck of playing cards.

While shuffling the cards, Kiyohei said, "Mary, I'm going to gamble with you now, and the wager is 10,000 yen per round. The rules are simple: we randomly draw a card from the deck, and whoever has the higher card wins. Do you understand? If you understand, nod."

"I understand, but why are we doing this?" Mary asked, a bit puzzled, as she nodded.

"Don't worry about that; you can consider it as me practicing and warming up before gambling," Kiyohei casually explained. He spread the deck of cards in his hand like a fan, with the backs facing up, while Mary continued to watch in confusion.

Kiyohei randomly drew a card and handed it to Mary. "Now, it's your turn to draw a card."

Mary drew a card from the deck. She got the 10 of Hearts, while Kiyohei had the 8 of Spades.

"You win. Let's play another round," Kiyohei said, taking out a 10,000 yen bill and handing it to Mary without hesitation. Then he drew another card.

Although Mary was still unsure about what was happening, she followed along and drew another card. Kiyohei's card was the 9 of Diamonds, while Mary's was the 5 of Spades this time.

This time, Kiyohei had the higher card. "I win. This money is mine," he said, taking the unwarmed bill back from Mary and putting it in his pocket. He then headed back to the clubroom.

"Thank you," he added.

What exactly had Kiyohei been doing just now? Mary was filled with question marks as she couldn't understand his actions. He gave her 10,000 yen, then took it back? What was he up to?

Mary had no idea that Kiyohei had treated her as a tool to accumulate chances for a guaranteed ten-pull in the gacha game. Earlier that morning, Kiyohei and Tsuzura had already played six games, meaning he had collected 6 more pull chances. With the two rounds he played against Mary just now, he successfully accumulated enough chances for a ten-pull.

"You're finally back! Don't you know that Sachiko-sama time is precious? We don't have time to waste here!" Mikura, who had been waiting, complained when they entered.

Kiyohei glanced at her indifferently and said, "If you want to leave, go ahead. Why are you listening to Mary? I'm not the one making you stay here."

"You...!" Mikura was left speechless by his response. She did want to leave, but Sachiko-sama was still here, and she considered herself Sachiko-sama's pet. How could she abandon her owner and leave?

"Have you two discussed it? Ayanokoji-san, did you lend Mary the money?" Mikura asked with interest.

"No, I didn't lend her any money," Kiyohei replied and looked at Yukimi Togakushi.

Kiyohei suddenly asked, "Togakushi-san, are you the manager of this casino?"

Yukimi saw Mikura's gaze and hesitated before nodding, "Yes, I am...for now."

"That's simple then. Come and gamble with me," Kiyohei said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Yukimi was confused.

Kiyohei sat down in the seat Mary had occupied moments ago, rhythmically tapping the table as he said, "This is a casino, right? I'm a customer, and I came here to gamble. It's only natural that we should have a game."

"Oh, I see..." Yukimi suddenly realized and hurriedly retrieved a deck of playing cards from her desk. She returned to Kiyohei's side and briefly explained the rules of the casino's game. Aside from some fancy-sounding rules, it was essentially a game of drawing lots.

Out of a deck of 54 cards (excluding the Jokers), two players would randomly draw a card and check if they had a matching pair with the cards in their hands. If they did, they would discard that pair, and the game continued. The player left with the unpaired card at the end of the game would lose.

Hearing the rules, Kiyohei understood why this casino had no customers. The game was not only low in odds but also time-consuming, with rounds potentially lasting half an hour or more.

Moreover, Yukimi had set the betting amount at only 1,000 yen, making it an unattractive proposition for gamblers.

"Togakushi-san, I'm willing to gamble with you, but the bet will be 1 million yen per round," Kiyohei said, stating a figure that Yukimi couldn't bear.

"1 million yen!?" Yukimi was shocked and quickly shook her head. "I'm sorry, but this is a small casino, and we don't have that much money..."

"In that case, how much is the maximum bet you can handle?"

"I still have 100,000 yen with me; it was originally meant for paying the registration fee..."

"Only 100,000 yen? And you want to run a casino with that little money?" Kiyohei chuckled. "If you lose that 100,000 yen, can you still afford to run a casino? Besides, can livestock like you even run a casino?"

Yukimi fell silent. It was an undeniable fact.

She wanted to keep the casino, but she didn't have enough capital. The casino had no popularity, and at this rate, she couldn't afford the next month's usage fee.

"Well, here's a suggestion. Since the student council members are here now, I have 500,000 yen with me. You can gamble for ownership of the casino," Kiyohei kindly pointed out a path for her.

"I refuse!" Yukimi vehemently shook her head. "I won't gamble with you! And why is it only 500,000 yen? Didn't you just say it would be 1 million yen?"

Kiyohei had initially suggested a 1 million yen bet, but now he had cut it in half.

"It's simple. 1 million yen was my initial proposal for our bet. However, 500,000 yen is the current value of your casino. A poorly managed casino will be sold at a discount. If your casino were popular, maybe I would offer a premium," Kiyohei explained.

He continued with a persuasive tone, "Isn't this a good deal for you? After all, you don't have much money on hand. If you win, you'll get 500,000 yen, which can be your capital to continue running the casino. If you lose, you'll only lose a casino. For you, this casino is currently just a burden. It doesn't make any profit and costs you money every month. In other words, whether you win or lose, it's a good outcome for you. So why not gamble with me?"

This was the art of persuasion. Kiyohei had turned himself from the villain trying to take away Yukimi's casino into a seemingly generous person, caring for her interests.

His words were convincing, and even Tsuzura, who had been watching, nodded, thinking that agreeing to Kiyohei was a surefire way to win.

In the end, Yukimi herself believed that agreeing to Kiyohei's proposal was the right choice.

"I'll gamble with you!" Yukimi hesitated for a while but eventually agreed to gamble with Kiyohei.

"It seems... things just got interesting," Sachiko Juraku said with a hint of a smile, taking a seat behind the desk. "Let me be the witness."

Seeing that her "master" had no intention of leaving, Mikura reluctantly stood in the center of the gambling table. "Since it's like this, let me be the dealer..."

"I don't want you to be the dealer," Kiyohei rejected her.

"Why don't you want me to be the dealer?" Mikura looked at Kiyohei in surprise, feeling somewhat uneasy.

Did he discover something?

"Well... because you insulted me before, so I don't want you as the dealer," Kiyohei said after some thought. "Can you accept this reason?"

Accept it? Hell no! When did she insult him? He could have come up with a better excuse!

Mikura was suddenly filled with frustration. If it weren't for Mikura's presence, she might have wanted to pounce on Kiyohei and bite the jerk.

"Runa-san, can I ask you to do it?" Kiyohei turned to Runa.

She had mentioned earlier that she was a member of the Student Council Election Committee, so being a dealer was fitting.

"Sure, it looks like it's my time to shine!" Runa said enthusiastically, raising her hand.

"I should clarify in advance; I won't favor either side," Runa said with a meaningful look at Mikura. She had noticed Mikura cheating as well.

Mikura shifted her gaze uncomfortably.

Runa picked up Yukimi's deck of cards, checking it and mumbling to herself, "Hmm... there's nothing wrong with this deck; the card backs are all the same. But this deck has been used many times, and there are signs of wear and tear. If the dealer were the house, they might consider these marks as signals."

"I'm a completely neutral dealer, so I won't allow such things..." Runa said with a yawn. Like magic, she produced an unopened deck of cards from somewhere.

She smiled broadly at Yukimi. "So... Can I provide the cards? Is that okay with you?"

Yukimi's face turned pale, and she averted her gaze. She nodded softly.

"No... no problem."