Kakegurui: Ten Consecutive Guaranteed Hits

Volume 1 Chapter 7: Mary Saotome

Kiyohei understood the meaning in his eyes. "I see, it's about money, isn't it?"

His eyes lit up, and he nodded eagerly. "Exactly, it's about money, a lot of money!"

He thought saying that would make Kiyohei back down, but...

"I see..." Kiyohei felt relieved and smiled. "Don't worry, even though I may not appear so, I still have some money. I can afford the tuition and living expenses."

Kiyohei had anticipated that attending this school would require a considerable amount of money, and he had mentally prepared for it.

The other person wanted to say something more, but seeing Kiyohei's confident demeanor, he sighed and changed the subject. "Junior, the start date is mentioned there. You better make some preparations."

"Preparations? Are you implying there will be an entrance exam after school starts?" Kiyohei was taken aback. "But I heard this school is not very strict and doesn't have academic requirements."

"Not academic performance..." He shook his head, his expression dimmed, and he lowered his voice. "Junior, do you like playing poker?"

Poker?

"I guess I do," Kiyohei nodded.

"If you have free time, you should play more often. It will be useful after you enroll," he advised. "And you need to bring money too, it would be crucial for you. Remember to bring plenty of it."

Poker and money? Could it be that this school frequently engages in social activities involving poker? Would one be ridiculed if their poker skills were terrible?

Kiyohei didn't fully understand, but he still nodded with a smile. "Thank you for the advice; I will keep it in mind."

The student wanted to say something more, but in the end, he sighed and walked away.

"Good luck to you."

...

Although Kiyohei wasn't entirely sure what the student's words meant, he still paid attention to them.

In the time leading up to the start of the school, he took the initiative to learn the rules of commonly played poker games from around the world. He played against others online, ensuring that he wouldn't be out of place in the potential social activities that could involve poker.

It didn't take long for the day of the school's opening to arrive.

He declined Atsuomi's offer to give him a ride and instead set off on foot. He made his way to the nearby subway station and took the train to the school after transferring a few times. By the time he was on the train, there were very few people left in the car.

No one sat next to Kiyohei, and he kept his head down, liking tweets from his favorite idols on Twitter while muttering to himself in a low voice.

"As long as I come to this school, I'll be able to date cute girls. I must find a girl even cuter than my brother's girlfriend..."

Across from Kiyohei, a girl's voice could be heard murmuring with excitement.

"As long as I graduate from this school, I'll be among the winners. From today onwards, I am truly one of the country's high-standing ladies..."

As if they shared a telepathic connection, the two of them simultaneously spoke with the same words.

Who was it?

Kiyohei was taken aback by their words and reflexively lifted his head, locking eyes with a girl with blonde hair tied into twin tails.

Her sparkling yellow eyes, reminiscent of jewels, looked rather embarrassed at that moment.

Although their voices weren't loud enough for anyone else to hear, the two of them could clearly hear each other.

The girl was wearing the same red Western-style uniform as Kiyohei, indicating that she was also a student at Hyakkaou Private Academy.

The girls' uniform, corresponding to the black trousers worn by the boys, was a black checkered pleated skirt made from very little fabric.

Despite it being early spring, she was only wearing a pair of short black socks that barely reached her knees, exposing a large portion of her slender legs, shining like unmelted snow.

Her naturally graceful face was adorned with delicate makeup, and her lips were coated with a light pink lipstick. Even her nails were meticulously painted with nail polish. There was also a faint fragrance of perfume emanating from her.

Her dazzling appearance resembled that of a popular model about to go on a photoshoot.

[ Image for Mary Saotome : https://i.imgur.com/AyodQHf.png ]

In contrast to Kiyohei's boredom, she maintained a proper posture even on the train. Her delicate hands rested on her thighs, sitting up straight, accentuating her already outstanding figure.

If a beauty like her appeared in any other place, she would surely attract the attention of those around her. But in this train car, no one paid her any attention, which made her feel somewhat frustrated. Unable to bear it, she spoke the words of self-comfort.

Kiyohei's gaze made her feel uncomfortable, and the girl felt a bit annoyed at her own reaction just now.

"Ahem..."

She coughed lightly, like an elegant young lady, and took the initiative to greet Kiyohei. "Hello, I'm Mary Saotome. I'm a new student at Hyakkaou Private Academy. Are you also a student here?"

"Mary?"

Looking at her golden hair, there was one thing Kiyohei particularly noticed.

He didn't know why, but people in this world seemed to love dyeing their hair and wearing colored contact lenses.

Even his brother, who didn't care much about appearance, dyed his hair with a gradient color after high school.

Kiyohei thought some impolite thoughts in his mind and smiled as he replied, "Yes, I'm Kiyohei Ayanokoji. I'm also a new student."

"You actually passed the entrance test? Geez, the questions at this school were way too difficult. If I hadn't studied hard for the last few years, I might have been rejected."

Upon discovering that they were both new students, Mary shifted the topic to complain about the difficulty of the entrance exam, trying to divert attention from her previous awkwardness.

Kiyohei forced a smile and agreed, "Haha... The questions were indeed quite difficult."

As junior high school graduates, they had to face an entrance test as difficult as a college entrance exam. Those who could pass this test were not ordinary people.

With few people on the train, the two of them naturally sat together after they started talking. However, they didn't chat for long before the train reached its final destination.

This was their destination, Hyakkaou Private Academy.

They got off the train and walked for a few minutes until they reached the school gate. The gate was still closed, and the new students who were starting today were waiting at the entrance.

Although it was the time for school to start, there were less than a hundred people here.

"Are these all new students? Why are there so few?" Kiyohei was surprised.

Just in his own examination room, there were over thirty people. With over forty examination rooms in total, were there only these few who passed the exam?

Mary Saotome, who was standing next to him, knew the answer to this question and volunteered to explain.

"Hyakkaou Private Academy has a direct transition from junior high school to high school. Most of the students here are promoted from the junior high division. Only less than ten percent are incoming new students.

Every year, they accept about a hundred transfer students from the outside world. Some of them pass an exam, while others are from wealthy families who can afford to get in. Students like us who passed the exam are few in number, and it happens rarely."

After finishing her explanation, Mary crossed her arms and complained, "Why is that? I studied so hard to get here, and yet those people can just get in without even preparing for the exam..."

Kiyohei felt somewhat guilty and turned his face to the side.

Um, actually, I'm part of that group that was able to get in without preparing anything...