Kakegurui: Ten Consecutive Guaranteed Hits

Volume 1 Chapter 28: If You Lose, You Have to Sell Yourself...

The students who became "livestock" were those who couldn't afford to pay the tribute money, most of whom were special admissions students who had entered the school through legitimate exams. They had put in a lot of effort to get into this school, and their intelligence was undoubtedly higher than average. Even if they initially struggled with the gambling culture, once they got used to it, they had a good chance of winning money.

As long as they put in some effort and played smartly, they could still pay the tribute money. However, this was not something the "rich kids" of this class, who got into the school through family connections and economic evaluations, could forgive. Despite being from humble backgrounds, these special admissions students excelled not only in academics but also in the very gambling that the "rich kids" took pride in. This robbed the "rich kids" of their sense of superiority and filled them with shame.

Then, one day, a student who had cheated on the entrance exam joined this group of "rich kids." Someone cleverly thought of using the cheating method to create special invisible contact lenses and marked playing cards, which were distributed among the other "rich kids" in the class. These marked cards were specifically used to exploit the special admissions students, who they had never liked.

With the help of these special marked cards, the special admissions students quickly lost all their gambling money and gradually became "livestock." Perhaps this cheating method was limited to this particular class, used solely to oppress these "livestock" in the class. The special admissions students didn't know about the entrance exam's secret. Due to their ordinary status and their mismatch with the majority of students in the school, they were closed off from information and unlikely to receive this kind of message from other classes. Even if they did get some information, they wouldn't necessarily connect the dots.

They would only doubt their bad luck rather than suspect that their former classmates had formed a group and intentionally cheated on them with marked playing cards.

As for Tsuzura, she was probably excluded because she had a good relationship with the special admissions students. Unlike Kiyohei's class, everyone in Mary's class, except for the "livestock," formed a close-knit community of shared destiny.

Kiyohei's assumptions were close to the truth. This class indeed used these specially crafted marked playing cards to extort money from new students, making them unable to pay the tribute money and turning them into "livestock." If a rich student used cheating methods to get in, they would be warmly accepted into their group and told the secret of the lenses, making them part of their community. But special admissions students like Mary became targets of ruthless oppression.

Kiyohei looked at Mary, who was still trying to observe the backs of the poker cards with her naked eyes, hoping to find some differences. She was looking in the right direction, but unfortunately, with the naked eye, she would never be able to see anything.

Kiyohei paused for a moment before a smile appeared on his lips. No, perhaps she didn't need his help after all.

"Hey, have you found anything?" Seeing Mary's slow progress in finding the markings, Kokoro deliberately asked, "Have you found any signs on them?"

The patterns on the backs of the poker cards were the same, and Mary silently shook her head.

"Well, if you haven't found anything, then deal the cards quickly! You pauper!" Kokoro's face changed instantly, and she angrily berated Mary, "Stop making excuses for your incompetence. I didn't cheat; blame your bad luck!"

Mary remained silent and dealt the cards after shuffling. From this game onwards, although she hadn't figured out how Kokoro cheated, she cautiously adopted a conservative strategy, refraining from increasing the gambling stakes and continued to bet only the minimum ten thousand yen against Kokoro.

Although she lost only small amounts each round, they accumulated over time, resulting in a substantial sum. With the previous losses, Mary had now lost a total of five hundred thousand yen.

Kokoro was already tired of Mary's cautious playstyle. Seeing Mary lose hundreds of thousands but her wallet remaining unaffected, Kokoro grew increasingly irritated. She wondered when this game of betting just ten thousand per round would ever become something substantial.

She really wanted to see Mary's desperate and resentful expression as she lost money, but despite continuously winning, Kokoro became increasingly impatient. By the way, where did Mary get so much money?

Kokoro had already noticed Kiyohei Seihei standing behind Mary. Was that guy the one who lent her the money? He looked unfamiliar; could he be a newcomer from another class?

"Hey, Mary, just how much money did you borrow? Aren't you afraid of losing?" Kokoro couldn't help but ask curiously.

Mary responded with an indifferent expression, "It's none of your business how much money I borrowed. Just keep gambling with me."

"After all, we are classmates. I still care about you," Kokoro smiled slyly, "Your family conditions can't be that great, right? Fifty thousand yen is probably one or two months' income for your family, isn't it? If your parents found out that you lost so much money gambling, what would they think?"

"Or perhaps, you're not planning to tell your parents because you secretly made an agreement with someone to use your body to repay the debt..."

Clap! Mary's hand slammed heavily on the table, interrupting Kokoro's words.

"...Are you done?" Mary's face darkened, and veins popped on her forehead. Her face flushed, whether from embarrassment or anger, as she growled, "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. You just feel that the current stakes are too low, so you intentionally want to provoke me to bet more money, right!?"

Kokoro did indeed have such intentions, but she certainly wouldn't admit it. "How could that be?"

Kokoro pretended to be innocent and blinked her emerald green eyes with a sweet face, but her words carried malicious intent, "I'm just concerned about you. After all, a body like yours, belonging to a pauper, can't be worth much, right? I wonder how long it will take you to repay this debt..."

"Fifty thousand!" Mary's face turned crimson, and her eyes flashed with uncontrollable fury. She angrily slammed the table again, cutting off Kokoro's words, "I'll bet fifty thousand with you this round!"

Mary, like a cornered cat, suddenly abandoned her elegance, screamed, and revealed her sharp claws. Her anger seemed to materialize, burning the air around her, making the atmosphere exceptionally tense.