Chapter 59 – Hikigaya's Challenge: Indian Poker, Part 2
Mibuomi Aoi's unusual behavior was sharply noticed by Hikigaya Hachiman.
At this moment, he just wanted to laugh out loud—his heart, which had been suspended in tension, finally settled down.
A deadly trap that had been set for him and Jabami Yumeko had been completely neutralized with just a single sentence from Momobami Kirari. Hikigaya Hachiman once again decided, unilaterally, to owe her a favor.
Up in the stands, Kirari, seated upon her throne, slowly rose. Accompanied by the vice president, she began walking step by step down toward the hall.
Mibuomi Aoi took a deep breath, trying his best to calm the fury within. He finally dropped the fake smile on his face and, expressionless, announced:
"Group assignments are complete. All students, please proceed to your designated areas to begin the match!"
With that, he put down the microphone and, with a gloomy expression, walked over to Manyuda Kaede.
He hadn't lost yet!
Mibuomi Aoi sneered coldly.
'Hikigaya Hachiman, did you really think this was over? Just wait—'
"Manyuda-kun, come with me for a moment."
The two of them headed down a deserted hallway.
"Who's Hikigaya's creditor? Answer me."
Manyuda seemed to have anticipated this situation from the beginning. He adjusted his glasses without any intention of hiding Hikigaya's information.
He responded truthfully:
"First-Year Hua Class—Saotome Mary."
Saotome Mary, huh...
Mibuomi Aoi frowned. Even though his mind was wholly set on chasing his ambitions and standing against Momobami Kirari, he still personally reviewed the livestock registry every month in search of useful talents.
Saotome Mary... If he recalled correctly, she had been reduced to a housepet thanks to the collaboration between Hikigaya and Jabami.
He hadn't expected those two to still be working together—but that, precisely, was Hikigaya Hachiman's blind spot.
Mibuomi Aoi had already thought of a countermeasure. With a smile, he patted Manyuda's shoulder, returning to his usual composed demeanor:
"You've worked hard, Manyuda-kun. The next student council treasurer position will be yours."
With that, he turned and walked deeper into the hallway.
Saotome Mary—he'd already planned to recruit her into the Full-bloom Association. And now that she had ties to Hikigaya Hachiman, it was the perfect chance to deal with both of them at once.
.
.
.
"Tch."
Kiwatari Jun impatiently scratched the inside of his ear with his thumb.
"What the hell is Mibuomi doing? We agreed it'd be three of us targeting Jabami, didn't we?"
He hadn't expected that, at the last minute, the teammate he had worked with many times would be switched out for Hikigaya Hachiman.
Now the playing field had turned into a 2 vs 2.
Still, it didn't matter. Kiwatari had participated in the Debt Reallocation Gambling Tournament many times and knew all the tricks and schemes inside and out.
In other words, he was invincible in this game!
He shot a vicious look at the girl beside him—a short-haired brunette with hollow eyes—and said in a sinister tone:
"Hey, Tsubomi Nanami. You know what happens if you defy me, right?"
Tsubomi Nanami trembled. Her already small frame seemed to shrink even further under Kiwatari's intimidating presence, reduced to nothing but dust.
"I know." she answered weakly.
"Hmph. Don't even think of betraying me, you damn housepet."
Their conversation hardly mattered. With Tsubomi Nanami as a handy tool, even if something went wrong in the end, he could push the blame onto her and come out unscathed. It was a sure-win situation for him! Besides, he didn't even believe he'd lose in the first place—Tsubomi was merely insurance.
He looked up as the door to the room opened.
Hikigaya and Jabami Yumeko entered one after the other.
"Yo, little Jabami girl, seems like fate keeps bringing us together."
Kiwatari Jun slapped his thigh with a cocky grin. "Come sit by me for a while—maybe I'll consider going easy on you."
Yumeko didn't even spare him a glance, walked right past him, and calmly took the seat directly across from him.
That blatant disregard made his face darken instantly.
As Hikigaya sat down, the first thing he did was observe the short-haired girl in front of him.
'Her knees are angled toward Jabami—that's a subconscious attempt to avoid Kiwatari Jun.'
'Bruises on her calves and neck, and burn marks on the back of her hand... from cigarettes? Abused?'
Without saying anything, Hikigaya quickly averted his gaze.
"All players are present," said a voice from the dealer's seat.
Momobami Kirari's long legs, wrapped in sheer black stockings, extended perfectly straight. Her cold, almost ascetic tone echoed through the small room.
Hikigaya was a little surprised when he glanced at Kirari. He hadn't expected that she would personally host the game.
'She really is a woman on the front lines of chaos and pleasure.'
"Hmph, of course. Let's get started."
With the student council president present, the usually arrogant Kiwatari Jun had no choice but to dial back his arrogance just a little.
He might be wild, but he wasn't stupid. He knew that his greatest backer was this woman and her authority.
Still, those black stockings of hers are damn fine...
Kiwatari cast a lewd look at Kirari's legs, sneaking several glances before pulling his gaze away. He thought he was being subtle, but Igarashi Sayaka, standing beside Kirari, caught everything with chilling clarity.
A wave of hostility silently flooded the room.
"Please confirm each other's debt amounts," Kirari's icy voice rang out again.
Her eyes lingered momentarily on the debt plates in front of Hikigaya and Yumeko, and a subtle, elegant smile played across her lips. Without saying anything further, she resumed her duties as the dealer.
"We will not offer any hints. The same applies to cheating."
"In the world of gambling, the one at fault is always the one who gets tricked."
"Additionally, let me make this clear: even if you accuse your opponent of cheating, this game will not be stopped."
"With that said... may you all have the best of luck~"
Kiwatari crossed his arms and said in a voice he thought was full of swagger,
"Ha, just the way I like it."
Hikigaya raised an eyebrow, responding with icy indifference:
"Big words for someone who's a housepet himself."
"Housepet? Hah! I'm a human being, thank you very much!"
He picked up his debt plate and slammed it down hard on the table. It read: Debt: 10 million yen.
"I'm a human, not some lowly housepet. I just borrowed money from a friend, that's all."
"That means the student council will take on my debt and pay my friend 10 million. And if I win here and have the debt canceled—pure profit."
"Look at those dog tags and cat tags hanging around your necks! I'm the only real human here."
Kiwatari's gaze fell on the dog tag hanging from Hikigaya's neck, and the last bit of suspicion he had was wiped clean.
'Unbelievable. The last time I saw this guy in the hallway, he was still a human. Now he's already turned into a stupid mutt.'
'Truly... heaven is on my side!'
Kiwatari was ecstatic. The situation was now crystal clear in his mind.
Hikigaya was a dumb mutt. Tsubomi Nanami was under his control. As for Jabami Yumeko... even if she was somewhat capable, there was no way she'd beat him!
Hikigaya let out a cold chuckle. "You're pretty confident, even though your debt might increase."
Kiwatari spread his hands, his expression screaming arrogance.
"I've won seven times in this tournament already. No way I'll lose to a bunch of housepets like you. It's like picking money off the ground."
While he spoke, Hikigaya silently observed Kirari, noticing that her expression hadn't changed in the slightest.
He'd never looked directly at Kiwatari at all—this was just a chance to study Momobami Kirari, the woman who would one day become his opponent.
As it turned out, Kirari's self-control was exceptional. Even when someone blatantly exploited a loophole in the rules, she showed no signs of anger.
"Now then," Kirari announced, "we shall begin—Double Indian Poker!"
"Please pay one chip to start."
Kiwatari Jun quickly swept his eyes across everyone's debt plates, calculating in his mind:
'Hikigaya's debt is 50 million, Jabami Yumeko's is 310 million, Tsubomi Nanami's is 20 million.'
'In other words, one Jabami chip (31 million) has a much higher cost-performance ratio than one Hikigaya chip (5 million). I need to win more of Jabami's chips!'
"Please confirm your hole cards."
Momobami Kirari shuffled the cards with practiced skill, and soon, four face-down cards were dealt to the players.
"This one, don't look at it yourself—hold it up to your forehead."
All four players simultaneously held the cards up to their foreheads.
After confirming the card in his hand, Hikigaya looked up to observe the face-up cards of the others.
[Yumeko: 7 of Clubs | Kiwatari: 9 of Clubs | Tsubomi: 3 of Spades]
And his own card...
Feeling the soft, cold sensation in his palm, Hikigaya Hachiman's face turned unusually red. Jabami's fingertip lightly wrote in his palm: 8 of Clubs.
This was the method the two of them had previously agreed upon—a simple, subtle cheat that even Hikigaya could execute: writing in each other's palms. Aside from being a bit embarrassing, it was actually quite effective.
To calm himself, Hikigaya started counting prime numbers and began observing Kiwatari and Tsubomi's face-up cards—
—and their cheating techniques.
"Then, Kiwatari-san, please begin the betting round."
"Hmph, folding right at the start would be too boring. Bet—Kiwatari, one chip!"
"Call—Tsubomi, one chip."
"Call—Jabami, one chip."
Hikigaya's body jolted slightly as he feigned surprise and turned to Yumeko. "Huh?! Yumeko, what are you doing? Do you realize how much your chip is worth?! Charging in for the win is fine and all, but we can't be reckless. Right now, we should play it safe!"
Yumeko smiled sweetly as she tugged on Hikigaya's hand. "Let me be a little selfish just this once, Hikigaya-kun. If we fold from the start, it's no fun at all. In the end, we still have to determine a winner, right?"
"But still..."
"Ha! Hikigaya, stop whining like a baby!"
Kiwatari slammed the table and looked at Yumeko. "Jabami-chan, you're really my type!"
"..." Hikigaya sat back in his seat sulkily. "I fold."
"Then, the first round is over. Please reveal your cards."
[Yumeko: 7 & 8, unpaired | Tsubomi: 3 & 6, unpaired | Kiwatari...]
"Too bad for you all, I've got 3 & 9 suited!"
Kiwatari Jun triumphantly spread his cards and pulled all the chips to his side.
With a taunting grin, he picked up Yumeko's chip and admired it:
"Jabami, your chips really are something else~"
"First round goes to Kiwatari-san. Next, it's Tsubomi-san's turn to deal."
Soon, new cards were dealt to all four players.
Having coordinated once with Yumeko, Hikigaya was now more relaxed. He no longer needed to rely on counting primes to calm himself. Based on the info Yumeko passed him and his own card...
"Tch. Kinda bad luck this time."
"I fold."
He tossed his card onto the table with a defeated expression, showing no desire to win.
"Fold."
Next came Yumeko and Tsubomi—both made the same choice.
"All players except Kiwatari-san have folded. Kiwatari-san wins."
Kirari once again announced the result.
"Hah?!"
Kiwatari slammed the table in dissatisfaction. "You guys are too weak! Just handing money over to me?"
"That's exactly why you end up as housepets—completely pathetic!"
Kiwatari paused, then twisted his face into a wildly exaggerated expression, opening his mouth wide as he released a wave of foul breath:
"You're not even worthy opponents—just a bunch of trash fish!"
"Now, moving into the third round—"
Jabami Yumeko was the first to bet, speaking with confidence:
"Hmm... I've got a good card this time. I'll bet—Jabami, one chip."
"So it's finally time for a showdown?"
Kiwatari grinned sinisterly and pushed forward a chip.
"Raise—Kiwatari, two chips!"
"Two chips? Allow me to return your earlier words to you—don't you think that's a little too weak?"
Hikigaya, who had been silent until now, suddenly challenged Kiwatari.
Kiwatari tilted his eyes lazily and ran a hand through his bleached hair:
"Ahh, this is good enough. It's strategy, you dumb mutt wouldn't understand. If it ever gets to the point where I have to burn chips on someone like Jabami, who's in a totally different league, that'd be a real failure."
"Jabami, when it comes to your chips, my only option is to guard them closely—I absolutely won't let go. It's like I'm holding your life in the palm of my hand."
He once again grasped one of Yumeko's chips provocatively.
Yumeko wordlessly extended three clean fingers and pushed her chips onto the table:
"Then I won't hold back. Raise—Jabami, three chips."
Nani?!
Kiwatari's pupils shrank as his breathing became erratic. On the table, Yumeko's five chips now felt like Mount Fuji pressing down on his chest.
Those five chips were worth 155 million yen. If he swallowed them now, he could practically declare victory early.
Fortune favors the bold!
Besides, judging from Tsubomi's hint, he had an amazing hand.
Kiwatari grinned wide:
"Heh heh, interesting. I'll bet! Kiwatari, two chips."
"Third round ends. Players, reveal your cards."
"Heh heh, my luck's holding up—2 & 5 suited."
Kiwatari slammed his cards onto the table with a flourish, trying to draw everyone's attention.
Hikigaya closed his eyes slightly to avoid giving away any signs of joy.
As long as he kept a blank expression, he'd be the perfect cover for Yumeko.
'After this, I definitely need to work on my acting skills more. That's my biggest weak point.'
Hikigaya quietly set a goal for himself.
"What a coincidence. I'm feeling pretty lucky too."
"4 & 10 suited."
Yumeko gently revealed her cards, easily beating Kiwatari's hand.
'This girl...'
Kiwatari's face darkened. He was finally beginning to realize something was wrong.
I let my guard down. With Yumeko here, of course the two of them are cheating and sharing their hands.'
'From now on, I need to closely watch their movements. I won't let Yumeko's chips seduce me again. I still have a crushing chip advantage.'
'The advantage is mine—victory still belongs to me, Kiwatari Jun!'
"Then, next—on to Round Four—"