Kakegurui: Ten Consecutive Guaranteed Hits

Volume 1 Chapter 38: Kiyohei Placed in Play

Kiyohei stepped out of the casino and took a deep breath. The air felt considerably fresher.

Having spent the entire morning in the casino, his head was spinning a little, resembling the feeling after staying up all night.

He couldn't help but wonder just how bad the mental condition of those gamblers who spent all their time in the casino was. Their emotions constantly shifted between elation and despair—weren't they afraid of sudden death?

"Materialize R Card: 'Mint Candy.'" Kiyohei found an R card he had drawn before in his system mailbox and materialized it into his pocket.

Any items drawn from the system's gacha pool were sent directly to the mailbox for safekeeping. They didn't require extra space, and regardless of how long they were stored, they would always be at their best quality when materialized.

However, once an item was taken out, it couldn't be put back in. It couldn't be used as a storage space, which Kiyohei found slightly frustrating.

No doubt, the system was flawed. It didn't even come with a storage space; it was embarrassing.

Kiyohei now had about forty to fifty items stored in his mailbox. Most of them were N cards, with around ten being R cards.

N cards came in a wide variety, including snacks, toys, furniture, and even some valuable luxury items.

From socks to refrigerators.

From toy water guns to real firearms.

From worthless toilet paper to priceless pearls and diamonds...

Anything that could be bought with money was included in the variety of N cards.

However, unlike N cards, R cards could only draw one kind of item: food.

Desserts, main courses, afternoon tea, snacks... Any kind of edible food could potentially be drawn.

The food on R cards was different from what could be bought in reality or drawn from N cards.

Each R card item came with a temporary buff like "increased energy," "increased stamina," "improved memory," "indestructible," "rapid adrenaline secretion," and so on. These buffs only applied to the first person to eat the food.

For instance, the R card Kiyohei had materialized, "Mint Candy," had the effect of instantly boosting energy levels.

Kiyohei took out the materialized mint candy from his pocket and removed one piece, placing it into his mouth. In an instant, a chilly sensation surged from the soles of his feet to the ceiling, causing him to shiver involuntarily.

The next moment, he felt his mind clear, as if he were putting on new underwear and opening the window to breathe in the fresh air on New Year's Day.

He felt better than ever before; even if he stayed up for a few more nights, he would still be full of energy.

He felt that in this state, no one's cheating could escape his notice. If he gambled in this state, his winning rate would surely greatly increase!

However, this feeling came and went quickly. Five minutes later, he felt himself being pulled back to reality, returning to his usual state.

Nevertheless, his mental state was much better than when he had just left the casino, as if he had caught up on lost sleep.

Kiyohei picked up another mint candy and put it into his mouth. To his disappointment, the sensation this time was clearly weaker than before, with only a hint of coolness rushing into his mind, causing it to relax for a moment.

It seemed that the effect of the initial bite took up 80% of all the effects, leaving the remaining part still effective, but diminished.

Yet, everything was relative.

Kiyohei believed that even these remaining effects far surpassed the performance of an entire bottle of energy drink on the market.

During the long break, Kiyohei had been sitting in his seat for a while when he saw Mary, who had a gloomy expression on her face, walk into the classroom and come straight to his side.

"What's wrong with you?" Kiyohei found it somewhat amusing. "Don't tell me you lost at gambling again?"

Yesterday, Mary had worn the same expression when she lost to Kokoro's game of rock-paper-scissors.

"It wouldn't be a big deal if I lost at gambling, but..." Mary sighed lightly and glanced at the seat in front of Kiyohei.

"Can I sit here?" Mary asked Kiyohei, while Kiyohei looked towards Kuroki, who had just walked out of the casino.

"Of course!"

Kuroki had full points in reading the situation, but he seemed to have misunderstood something and quickly said, "I'll go for a walk. You don't need to mind me. Feel free to sit here as long as you want!"

He hurriedly left the classroom, worried that he might be interrupting them.

"Alright, spill the beans. What happened?" Kiyohei asked with a smile.

"Why can you make friends while I can't? I don't even have someone to play cards with!" Mary seemed to be full of grievances, sitting across from Kiyohei with crossed arms and a displeased expression.

"Why is that? Everyone should know how capable I am after I won against Kokoro in front of the whole class, right?

To avoid being looked down upon, I've been asking questions perfectly during class. I've even tried to make my makeup look more natural than usual, and I've applied light pink nail polish. I've been treating everyone kindly."

"But... why is nobody getting close to me? I don't even have someone to gamble with!" Mary's frustration seemed to mount, and she smacked Kiyohei's desk in anger.

"Calm down..."

Kiyohei handed a mint candy to Mary: "It's not about how you treat others, but rather how others perceive you and how you should treat them."

Mary took the mint candy, not doubting him, and placed it in her mouth—

The next moment, she suddenly shivered, her eyes lighting up instantly. With a hint of coolness in her speech, she exclaimed, "Kiyohei, this candy tastes really good! Where did you get it? I feel much more energetic now!"

"This stuff isn't easy to come by. Don't think you can buy it with money." Kiyohei shrugged and returned to the previous topic.

"Let me ask you, what do you think of Kokoro's status in your class?"

"It should be high, right? People always gather around her, and besides, I heard she's the daughter of a big company's CEO. She's a genuine rich girl."

Mary shrugged indifferently: "But so what? Even if she lost to me, does that mean she'll intentionally keep others away from me? If anything, she should be encouraging others to gamble with me, right? She wouldn't want to see me fail, would she?"

"I thought you'd be able to figure this out..."

Kiyohei hadn't expected Mary, who was usually so clever, to have her emotional intelligence falter. He shook his head helplessly and explained to her.

"Kokoro and most of the students in the class have been together since junior high. They've spent three years together, forming their own little group. They know each other inside out and are well aware of each other's true abilities.

If things go as expected, Kokoro is among the top in that group in terms of gambling skills. Most of them probably used invisible contact lenses to cheat and win, but their actual gambling skills are terrible.

Even though their gambling skills are lacking, they're not fools.

In short, you're like an outsider who defeated a mini-boss as soon as you entered the room. Even if the elite mobs want to give you trouble, they'll measure your skill and consider whether or not to give you their money."

Kiyohei imitated a little bear raising its paws: "They're all very proud people and won't easily do things they're unsure about. So... you've been placed in play."