Kakegurui: Ten Consecutive Guaranteed Hits

Volume 1 Chapter 25: Short-Term Millionaire

Mary's breathing became rapid as she saw Kiyohei open his wallet, revealing thick wads of banknotes, each worth ten thousand yen. She couldn't help but feel envious. So this is what it's like to be a rich second-generation... If only she had this kind of money, she wouldn't be in such a predicament.

"Kiyohei, does this money come with interest?" Mary desperately wanted the money, but she couldn't accept Kiyohei's kindness without some form of interest. "You can't just lend me money like this. I won't feel at ease without any interest."

Before Kiyohei could respond, Tsuzura, who was standing nearby, suddenly pulled out a stack of brand new banknotes from her pocket, wearing a placating smile on her face. "Mary, I have 500,000 yen here. You can have this money, and I don't need any interest..."

"Shut up!" Mary finally erupted, angrily shouting at Tsuzura. "If you have money, why did you choose to become a 'livestock' and pay off your debts?!"

"...Mary, I'm different from you," Tsuzura lowered her head, making it difficult to see her expression. She spoke softly, "I'm weak. Even if this money allows me to temporarily escape the life of a 'livestock,' if I can't earn money through gambling, I'll eventually become one again. This money is my last insurance."

Mary stared at her former elementary school classmate in disbelief. In her impression, Tsuzura was always kind and wore a perpetual smile, as if she never experienced sadness. What had happened to her at this school... that she would reveal such a dark expression, as if she had lost all hope?

"If this money is your insurance, why would you give it to me?" Mary turned her face away, unwilling to look at Tsuzura's expression.

"Because... I believe in you, Mary. I'm sure you'll win," Tsuzura raised her head, her face showing a slightly different but still silly smile.

"...," Mary glanced at Tsuzura, then at Kiyohei. She sighed.

"I will gamble. Kiyohei, lend me this money. I'll win back the money I lost, and once I subtract what I owe you, half of the winnings will be given to you as interest."

Mary spoke with an unwavering tone, without specifying the exact amount she wanted to borrow, and took the wallet directly from Kiyohei's hand.

Instead of taking the money from Tsuzura, she held her hand and pushed the wallet back to her chest.

"You should keep this money. If I fail, at least you'll have it to fall back on."

"Mary..." Tsuzura seemed to be deeply moved, her face instantly brightening, and she looked at Mary with excitement.

Mary couldn't handle that look of gratitude and let out a light snort before striding toward her classroom.

As the "creditor," Kiyohei naturally followed her, and seeing them leave, Tsuzura hurriedly caught up.

Although it was still class time, Kiyohei's entrance into the gambling den didn't attract any attention. He walked in as if it were his rightful place, heading to the central table where a girl sat, emanating a laugh that resembled that of an antagonist.

Kiyohei had just stepped in when he heard the laughter that seemed villainous, coming from the girl seated at the central gambling table. It must be Kokoro.

Mary, with a stern expression, didn't say a word. She walked straight to Kokoro and slapped a bundle of money onto the gambling table with a loud thud!

"Could it be that you've come to repay your debt?" Kokoro sneered at Mary, her smile filled with ill intentions. "How did you manage to gather this money? Could it be..."

Mary interrupted her, "Don't worry about where I got the money from. I'm not here to repay anything. I've come to gamble with you."

Mary's words stunned Kokoro, but after a moment, she burst into a series of laughter. "Hahaha... Everyone, did you hear that? This woman is such an idiot, thinking she can gamble with me. Hahaha!"

Mary approached Kokoro, her gloomy expression silencing her laughter.

"I'm asking you, do you still want to gamble?" Mary asked again.

Although momentarily startled, Kokoro quickly regained her smile. "Of course, I want to gamble. I love fools like you who always give me money!"

Kokoro pushed Mary away, jumped down from the gambling table, and sat on one of the chairs at the side, provoking, "Alright, let's gamble! The rules remain the same as before, no problem?"

Mary sat on the other side, remaining silent as she nodded.

"What game are they playing?" Kiyohei asked, staying close to Tsuzura, hiding behind him, afraid of being seen.

"They're playing a game called 'Short-Term Millionaire,' created by the student council president, Kirari Momobami," Tsuzura quietly explained. "In the game, each player draws five cards per round, and the order from highest to lowest is Ghost, 2, A, K, and down to 3. Each player takes turns playing one card, and the first to play all their cards wins. The winner of each round is called the 'Rich' while the loser is called the 'Poor.' In the second round, the Rich can exchange their smallest card with the Poor's largest card. To compensate the Poor, if they win, they receive double the betting amount."

"In this school, there's a special rule that makes 3 the smallest card but the only card that can beat a King."

"Can students create their own game rules in this academy?" Kiyohei pondered.

"As long as both sides agree to the rules, they can form a gambling match. Many people in the school create their own games," Tsuzura, as a veteran who had been at the school for three years, was familiar with the rules.

"I see..." Kiyohei contemplated. No wonder during his match with Kuroki, she asked if he wanted to play a self-created game. Creating new rules to form a completely different gambling match was a way to increase one's chances of winning.

Kiyohei looked at Kokoro, who had already begun gambling with Mary. The stakes were still 10,000 yen per round.

Kokoro had long nails painted with nail polish and her card-holding posture didn't seem as proficient as Mary's. She didn't appear to be a skilled gambling expert.

If she were good at the game, she would have been like Kuroki, generously allowing Mary to choose which game to play rather than asking Mary to continue with this one.

In other words, she chose this game for a reason. When playing this game, she was confident in having a higher winning rate.

So, what could that reason be?