Kakegurui: Ten Consecutive Guaranteed Hits

Volume 1 Chapter 34: Mary's Aspiration to Be a Winner in Life.

"Perhaps in the eyes of others, our relationship seems quite good, but in reality, we are not friends; we're just regular classmates. At least, I don't consider her my friend. There was this one time when she had a birthday party and invited all our classmates to her house. I initially didn't want to go, but somehow my mom got wind of the invitation and thought it was important, so she convinced my dad, and they both forced me to attend Tsuzura's party..."

As she spoke, Mary's expression became melancholic. "On that day, my parents gave me ten thousand yen to buy some presents for her. To me, that was even more than my yearly pocket money. They wanted me to use that money to please Tsuzura and befriend her, simply because her father knew the director of the education bureau..."

Mary let out a self-deprecating smile. "Ten thousand yen, back then, it was a lot of money for me. They wanted me to use it to win over Tsuzura, so I would become friends with her, all because her father knew someone in authority. It sickened me."

After a brief pause, Mary continued, "I really love my parents; they are kind and treat me well without forcing me to do anything. But that day, their expressions of trying to please someone were truly disgusting. I know it's not their fault; they were just trying to look out for me. But I don't want to be that kind of person; I don't want to become like them, subservient to others—I don't want to be a loser."

Taking a deep breath, Mary's eyes became resolute, as if she had rediscovered her purpose in this reminiscence. "So, from that day on, I worked hard in my studies. I wanted to become exceptional, a winner in life like Tsuzura. I want my parents to live a life where they don't have to bow to others' wishes... That's why I came to this school."

The story of a hard worker always leaves people sighing with admiration. Kiyohei seemed to see a reflection of his former self in Mary. Mary aspired to be a respected heiress like Tsuzura and had been working diligently to achieve her goal, aiming to get into this reputed elite school. However, upon arriving here, she was surprised to find that her former goal had turned into being a "weakling" who was bullied by others. At that time, Tsuzura's willingness to be her friend felt like a favor, leaving Mary feeling lost. But now, the tables had turned, and she was humbly asking Mary to be her friend. This significant shift made Mary's sense of disparity profound, which perhaps explained why she couldn't articulate her feelings when Tsuzura made the request.

"Oh, by the way, Mary, how did you handle the ten thousand yen your parents gave you back then?" Kiyohei asked.

Mary revealed a triumphant smile. "Hehe... that ten thousand yen was a huge sum for me at that time, so of course, I didn't use it to buy some fancy gift to please her. I kept most of the money for myself and bought a cheap plastic hairpin from the hundred-yen store as her gift. I still remember it was pink..."

As Mary spoke, her smile gradually faded, and her expression turned serious. Kiyohei also realized what she was implying.

—Indeed, there was a hairpin on Tsuzura's hair, and it happened to be pink.

"Was that hairpin the one you gave her back then?" Kiyohei's gaze became playful as he asked.

"It definitely wasn't!" Mary hurriedly denied. "The hairpin I gave her back then was for kids, the quality was terrible; it was just a piece of plastic. The one she's wearing now is clearly high-quality; it's nothing like the one I gave her!"

"Really?" Kiyohei questioned.

"Um, I'm not entirely sure," Mary hesitated suddenly.

When she first saw Tsuzura, Mary didn't pay much attention to the hairpin on her head. However, now the thought of the gift she had once given her still being worn by Tsuzura made her inexplicably concerned.

Kiyohei also noticed Mary's restlessness, so he suggested, "How about we go back and check?"

This idea was in line with Mary's thoughts, and she quickly nodded. After clearing their trays, the two of them left the restaurant and returned to the classroom building.

Mary and Kiyohei arrived at Tsuzura's class, where only a few scattered students were sitting. Tsuzura was not among them. It was lunch break, and while some students had gone to eat, a considerable number of them were still lingering in the gambling den.

Inside the soundproofed gambling den, the noise and commotion resumed as soon as the door was pushed open. Mary's gaze swept across the room but didn't see Tsuzura. Instead, she noticed that Kokoro, looking indifferent as ever, was still gambling.

Facing Kokoro was a new student who had also just enrolled that day. His face was pale, and Kokoro's gambling table had stacks of tens of thousands of yen on it, indicating that he was losing miserably.

Ignoring the atmosphere, Mary approached and questioned Kokoro, "Hey, have you seen Tsuzura?"

"Why do I care about her?" Kokoro raised her head, visibly annoyed. "Get out of my way; I'm gambling with someone else. Don't disturb me!"

Mary glanced at her eyes; she was still wearing the green-tinted contact lenses, and looking down, Mary noticed that the pattern on the back of the playing cards was the same as the one she had used before.

Mary let out a cold chuckle. "Kokoro, if you don't want me to expose your cheating methods, you better stop this game immediately and answer my question."

"That's impossible! How could you know my cheating methods?" Kokoro momentarily panicked but quickly adopted a tough stance. "No, I'm not cheating at all; don't smear my reputation!"

"...Invisible contact lenses," Mary whispered softly, approaching her. This made Kokoro's face immediately turn flustered.

"Alright, I understand. I'll stop gambling now!" Kokoro wanted to stop, but as a new student who had just lost tens of thousands of yen, he naturally didn't want to end it there. He protested, dissatisfied, "It's too unfair to just run away after winning!"

"Tsk..." Kokoro clicked her tongue unhappily and pushed all the money on the table towards the new student. "It's just tens of thousands; take it and get lost, you pauper!"

I'm not a pauper!

The new student wanted to argue back, but seeing the money in front of him, he felt money was more important than dignity, so he closed his mouth, hugged the money to his chest, and hurriedly left the gambling den.

"Are you satisfied now?" Kokoro crossed her arms, looking irritated as she glared at Mary. "I lost my money, and my fun is gone. How do you intend to compensate me?"

Mary looked at Kokoro with cold eyes. "Compensate you? You should think about how to silence me, so I won't reveal your cheating secrets."