Kakegurui: Ten Consecutive Guaranteed Hits

Volume 1 Chapter 43: Chance Encounter with the Rabbit Girl

Just as Kiyohei was leaving the gambling den, he noticed a petite, blond-haired girl appearing at the other end of the corridor. She started running down the hallway, her hat bouncing with each step, making her look like a lively rabbit.

Kiyohei leaned to the side, giving way to let the girl pass. However, when she reached his side, she suddenly came to an abrupt stop, like a screeching brake, right in front of him.

The girl had a delicate figure, and her orange rabbit hoodie took up most of her body. She wore black-and-white striped knee-high socks on her lower half, giving her the appearance of a young girl in her first year of junior high.

This style of clothing was quite rare in Hyakkaou Private Academy, where most students wore uniforms. Kiyohei couldn't help but give her a second look. Could she be a junior high student?

"Wow, that smells good... What are you eating?" The girl looked up at Kiyohei with curiosity, gazing at the potato chips in his hand.

"Potato chips. Do you want some?"

Kiyohei wasn't a stingy person and didn't mind sharing his food, especially with an adorable girl like her who resembled a rabbit. He felt like he was feeding a small animal.

"Oh, really? Thanks!" The girl didn't show any suspicion. It seemed she hadn't even considered the possibility that there might be something wrong with food from a stranger. She took the potato chips from Kiyohei's hand, grabbed a handful, and started eating.

The sound of crunching filled the air as she chewed. After a moment, her eyes lit up suddenly, as if she had tasted the deliciousness of the food and sensed its special effects. She began eating faster.

In less than a minute, she had devoured the entire bag of potato chips, leaving no crumbs for Kiyohei. She still seemed like she wanted more.

"Do you have any left?" She blinked her eyes and looked up at Kiyohei.

Kiyohei spread his hands helplessly and said, "I'm out of potato chips. But I do have a lollipop, if you'd like one?"

Though he had similar puffed snacks stored in his system's inbox, he couldn't exactly perform magic and conjure a bag of potato chips out of thin air for her.

This child seemed like she would keep asking questions, so a small lollipop wouldn't pose a problem.

"Sure, how much?" The girl nodded eagerly and took out a 10,000-yen bill from her pocket, handing it to Kiyohei.

"No matter where you buy it, a single lollipop can't possibly cost this much." Kiyohei chuckled, declining the money. Instead, he conjured an [N]-rank lollipop from his pocket and handed it to the girl.

"This one's on me."

The girl put the lollipop in her mouth and showed a satisfied expression. "Though the taste isn't as good as the chips from earlier, it's not bad either... What's your name? You're quite considerate."

She sized up Kiyohei from head to toe. "I haven't seen you before. Are you a new transfer student?"

"That's right. I'm Kiyohei. And you, little miss?"

"You're calling me 'little miss'? Don't you know who I am?" The girl looked at Kiyohei in surprise, seemingly not expecting a day when she'd be addressed as "little miss."

"What's wrong? Are you the Student Council President?" Kiyohei teased.

"Though I'm not the president, I am..."

The girl was about to reveal her identity when she suddenly slapped her forehead and exclaimed, "Oops, I almost forgot that I need to officiate the match! The one called Saotome is about to gamble with Kojou, and I can't miss this good show!"

She didn't continue the conversation with Kiyohei and started running again, heading toward the staircase on the other side of the corridor.

Saotome?

Kiyohei had come to the club building to find Mary. Unexpectedly, he heard the name "Mary" from the girl's mouth. Instead of leaving, he felt compelled to follow her as she ran ahead.

Although the girl was small in stature, her speed was impressive, reminiscent of a nimble rabbit. Her hat bounced up and down as she ran, resembling the motion of a rabbit in motion.

Since his discharge from the hospital five years ago, Kiyohei had been exercising regularly. Even so, he had to exert some effort to keep up with her pace.

"Ayanokoji-san? Why did you follow me?" The girl, with a lollipop still in her mouth, glanced at Kiyohei, who was now running alongside her. She asked in a muffled voice.

"I know the girl with the name of Saotome Mary," Kiyohei asked quickly as they ran. "Who is Mary gambling against right now?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but I think she's gambling with Yuko over the ownership of the gambling den. Come on, stop asking questions. If you slow down a bit, the gambling might already be over!" The girl picked up her pace, and Kiyohei pressed his lingering questions aside, continuing to follow her towards their destination.

Arriving with the girl, Kiyohei found himself at the entrance of the school club's second library—a room marked with a sign that read "Literature Club."

"I remember... This gambling den should be the least popular one," Kiyohei had a good memory. Even though the flyer Blackwood Arrow had given him had been taken by Mary, he still recalled some details about the popularity of the gambling dens.

He remembered that this gambling den, operating under the guise of the Literature Club, didn't lack customers because of extreme cheating, but because the operator of this place was a financially-strapped student.

Although she managed this gambling den, she had a rule that the bets for each round would be 1,000 yen. Even if players wanted to raise the stakes, the upper limit was capped at 30,000 yen.

At this prestigious academy, such small-scale gambling hardly attracted anyone's interest, leading to the lack of visitors.

Why would Mary come here? If she wanted to make money, even if she didn't choose a popular gambling den, she shouldn't have gone for a small-scale one where bets were as low as 1,000 yen per round.

Even if she kept winning, how long would it take to accumulate a substantial amount? Working part-time might yield more money than this.

With a head full of questions, Kiyohei followed the rabbit girl into the second library.

The room didn't have any gambling equipment and didn't exude the atmosphere of a gambling den at all.

Just as the name "Library" suggested, the room was lined with bookshelves filled with books on both sides. Books were scattered throughout the room, and only a single long table with a green tablecloth at the center of the room was remotely associated with the word "gambling."

This rarely-visited room was unusually occupied by several guests today.

At the moment, Mary was seated on one side of the gambling table, Tsuzura nervously watching her. Sitting across from her was a short-haired girl with glasses, whose expression was tense.

In the middle of the table stood a girl with a mass of messy, light red hair and an indifferent expression. She held a pair of dice, seemingly acting as the dealer.

Just like Tsuzura, a [Stray Cat] tag hung around her neck.

What drew the most attention was the pet collar around her neck, connected to a thin silver chain. Behind her stood a tall woman with flowing white hair, clutching the other end of the iron chain.

She was currently seated above the office desk, legs crossed, with her right leg, clad in black stockings, lightly folded over the left. A faint smile played on her rosy lips, and her wild crimson pupils gazed down at the people in the room with a domineering air.

At this moment, everyone in the room raised their heads, focusing their gaze on the two newcomers.