60 - Hikigaya Challenges Indian Poker Part 3
"Bet—Hikigaya, one chip."
After feeling the touch in his palm, Hikigaya pushed out one of his chips without changing his expression.
Kiwatari Jun gave Tsubomi a discreet glance, then said,
"Call—Kiwatari, one chip."
"Fold."
After hesitating for a second, Yumeko said,
"Call—Kiwatari, one chip."
The pressure returned to Hikigaya. But instead of rushing to continue the bet, he closed his eyes once more and recalled painful memories from his childhood. When he opened his eyes again, his entire demeanor had transformed—his aura had taken a sharp rise, causing the people around to look at him in surprise.
"Hikigaya, three chips."
His hand pressed firmly on his chips as he raised, with an overwhelming, unshakable presence.
As the dealer, Momobami Kirari instinctively narrowed her eyes, making her already seductive indigo eye shadow even more alluring.
Reflected in her pupils was Hikigaya Hachiman's back, as if she wanted to drag this lone wolf into Eden and make him her plaything.
"Heh—"
"Are you stupid?"
Kiwatari sneered.
"You think just because I lost to Jabami I'd get scared and fold?"
"If I lose this round, I'll only have two chips left. There's no way I can make a comeback from that. Call—Kiwatari..."
Hmph—
Hikigaya's eyes lit up slightly as he saw Kiwatari raise his hand.
"—Not!"
Kiwatari suddenly pulled an exaggerated expression and glared at Hikigaya with a vicious look:
"I saw through you from the start, you housepet scum. Hikigaya, Jabami—you two are cheating, aren't you?"
Kiwatari enjoyed the shocked expression that appeared on Hikigaya's face and began explaining his reasoning:
"It's too obvious. In this game, you can only see one of your own cards. No matter how high that number is, it can still lose to the approximately 25% chance of a flush."
"Last round, Jabami said, 'I've got a good card,' right? Betting 155 million on such uncertain open cards? Completely impossible. The only explanation is that she knew what her other card was. That makes it simple—Hikigaya must've used some method to tell Jabami her hole card."
"You've struggled hard in front of me, but what a pity—a housepet's tricks can never escape the eyes of a true human master—"
"The same move doesn't work on a human twice!"
"Hi-ki-ga-ya, I've already seen right through you!"
"I fold!"
After laying out his entire deduction, Kiwatari Jun felt pretty good about himself—how kind of him to point out the flaws in two housepets' cheating.
But to have made it through Hikigaya Hachiman's so-called "guaranteed win" round using just two chips—that was a win for him. Since he'd exposed them, Hikigaya and Jabami would inevitably lose their composure. Every housepet who had faced him before ended up the same way. That's how he would secure an easy victory.
With a superior, condescending air, Kiwatari crossed his arms and watched as Jabami, just like him, folded.
Then, Hikigaya Hachiman opened his mouth.
"Heh... You're surprisingly sharp."
Hikigaya held his forehead, his facial muscles visibly trembling as if barely able to contain themselves.
His mind was completely ruled by reason—unless something truly uncontrollable happened, he wouldn't laugh.
And right now was exactly that.
Kiwatari Jun had genuinely amused him.
"Someone like you, steeped in wrongdoing, must be sensitive to malice. But in any case... your deduction really helped us this round."
"Huh? What are you even saying?"
Hikigaya's face was obscured by his bangs, making it impossible for Kiwatari to read his expression.
But he could clearly see what Hikigaya was doing with his hands. Instinctively, he looked down at the cards Hikigaya had revealed.
"But thanks to you, I've become certain that entering this Debt Repayment Exchange Tournament was the right decision."
[Clubs A, Spades 8]
Kiwatari's eyes widened in disbelief. Cold sweat poured down his forehead as he slammed the table and stood up, glaring intensely at Hikigaya.
He'd been played!
"Your analysis made a lot of sense... but unfortunately, my hand was just a high card with the highest being an 8."
Hikigaya said it lightly, playing with the two cards in his hand and using their edge to scrape the chips on the table toward himself.
"But one thing you said was right: Jabami and I were cheating. And yet, even knowing we were cheating, you still lost."
"Honestly, I thought Jabami's performance in round three made it obvious to you. And I had to bet on a weak hand too. I didn't expect you to be this pathetic."
Bang!
Kiwatari's face turned an ugly shade of blue as he slammed a heavy fist onto the table. He simply couldn't accept that Hikigaya had walked away with ¥2,500,000 worth of chips using just a high card.
"Tch, what are you so smug about? You only won one round."
"No," Hikigaya shook his head and spoke with a calm tone, "I prepared a lot for this match, only to find out you're a hopeless idiot. As long as I have enough chips to bet, there's no way I can lose to someone as dumb as you."
"If even someone like you can win seven matches in this Exchange Tournament... then making money here is really just too easy."
"You bastard—!"
Kiwatari Jun lunged forward, reaching to grab Hikigaya's collar.
What was supposed to be a proper gambling match was now on the verge of turning into a brawl.
At that critical moment, Momobami Kirari spoke, her cold voice echoing throughout the room:
"Let me be perfectly clear: violence is strictly prohibited."
"Hikigaya-san, please also refrain from provocative remarks."
Hearing that, Hikigaya immediately raised both hands.
"Yes, I understand."
"Hey! He just admitted that he and Jabami were cheating! Isn't the student council going to do something?!"
Finding that brute force didn't work, Kiwatari switched tactics and tried to exploit the rules, hoping to upset Hikigaya and Jabami just enough to throw them off their game.
At the very least, if he could shake their composure, he'd have a better shot in the upcoming rounds.
"Even if cheating is suspected, the match does not stop. I will not repeat myself a third time, Kiwatari-san."
Tch—
With a bitter scowl, Kiwatari Jun sat heavily back in his chair, cursing furiously in his heart.
"This student council is hopeless. They talk about gambling, yet they turn a blind eye to blatant cheating. How infuriating!"
Kiwatari Jun clenched his fists, trying to calm his inner turmoil. Only when Momobami Kirari announced the start of the fifth round did he refocus his attention, staring intently at the two players in front of him.
Then, the community cards were dealt.
[Kiwatari: Clubs 9]
[Tsubomi: Spades A]
[Jabami: Hearts 2]
[Hikigaya: Hearts 7]
Kiwatari felt a bit relieved, then glanced at the signal Tsubomi had subtly passed him. His community card was... Spades 8.
He made a disappointed face. He had almost hit a flush or a pair that could've sealed the game.
But... a high card with 9 was still worth a bet!
He instinctively glanced at Hikigaya and Jabami.
'Hmm? What are they doing?'
Kiwatari froze, watching as their hands were writing something under the table, right in front of him. He felt a deep sense of betrayal. A strong force twisted the card in his hand, and he felt insulted.
'These damn housepets, cheating so blatantly! They think they can outsmart me with this trick? I worked hard on my own methods of cheating! Damn it!'
'Just wait! This round, I'll make sure you're doomed!'
Beside him, Hikigaya Hachiman decisively folded after taking a moment to write something. He stared hard at Jabami, trying to read her expression.
Then, Jabami Yumeko emotionlessly pushed four chips forward:
"Raise, Jabami four chips."
Once again, chips representing ¥24,000,000 were pushed onto the table, causing Kiwatari's breathing to quicken.
'It's just like before! She's bluffing!'
'If she's bluffing, then her hand must be weak. The only card stronger than mine is a 10! I can win this!'
Kiwatari exhaled, waving his hand. "Call! Kiwatari one chip, Tsubomi two chips!"
"Heh—"
Hikigaya gave a slight smile, causing Kiwatari's eyebrows to twitch. A bad feeling washed over him.
He quickly flipped over his cards: 7, 9 high cards!
This round, Jabami didn't open her cards herself, leaving that task to Hikigaya.
"Unfortunately, Kiwatari, Jabami's hand is a flush with 2 and 5."
Hikigaya again held the cards between his fingers, collecting the chips for Jabami.
The level of teamwork between them had surpassed that of a typical partnership! Kiwatari now realized that he had underestimated his opponents.
'Don't panic. This is just the fifth round. There's still a chance.'
.
.
.
Sixth Round.
This time, Hikigaya Hachiman did something unusual. He didn't reach under the table to communicate with Jabami, but after confirming his hand, he pushed three chips in front of him onto the table.
Kiwatari's eyebrows twitched.
'Damn housepets, starting with the maximum bet.'
He looked desperately at the signal Tsubomi had left for him, only to be severely disappointed once again. His luck had completely abandoned him. His cards were a 2 and a 3.
'What a joke. These cards have no chance against them!'
He pressed down his anger, throwing his cards aside. He gritted his teeth and decided, "Fold!"
"Hahaha!"
Finally, Hikigaya couldn't hold back any longer. For the first time, he let out a laugh at Hyakkaou Academy as he tremblingly flipped the table's cards:
"What a shame, Kiwatari. My hand, an A and 2 high card, somehow won."
What?!
Kiwatari's face went pale. The world before him blurred, as if it were slowly pulling away from him.
'This can't be. How can I lose every round? This doesn't make sense. This isn't just about reading cards or being good at tricking others, could it be—'
He turned his stiff neck to look at Tsubomi.
"Have you figured it out, Kiwatari? You're such a nice guy, always letting Tsubomi lay the answers on the table for you, making sure you never lose."
"Your level of cheating is so bad, it's something a first-year girl wouldn't even do."
"How boring."
Hikigaya's expression was cold as he threw out the poker game's context. As a mystery novelist, decoding was one of his favorite things. From the moment he sat down, he had already put himself in Kiwatari's shoes.
How would this seemingly simple-minded, muscular guy cheat?
His hand movements were clean, not using the methods of Jabami and himself.
It didn't take long for Hikigaya to fix his gaze on Tsubomi's cards. After just one glance, he placed the cards on the table in a certain direction. After five rounds of observation, Hikigaya was certain of the secret signals between the two.
Boring. It's so boring.
This type of cheating method was something Hikigaya had already spotted back in elementary school. For example, during a math exam, students would use their stationery to signal answers. An eraser for A, a ruler for B, a pencil for C...
'I've put so many precautions into this gamble, and my opponents are using methods that almost any elementary school student would have discarded.'
'Why bother using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken?'
'This genius mystery novelist is being overly cautious?'
Hikigaya Hachiman had an odd expression. No matter what, this gambling match had lost all its excitement for him. He just wanted to end the farce as soon as possible.
Hikigaya was an honorable person, with no taste for bullying fools.
At that moment, Jabami spoke. She turned to Tsubomi, her tone gentle as she said,
"Tsubomi, maybe you're just following Kiwatari's orders, but I suggest you stop. The way you're positioning your cards to signal suits is way too obvious."
Tsubomi Nanami turned pale. She instinctively bent toward the table, not wanting to let anyone see her vulnerability, trying to hide the evidence of cheating.
"Currently, a vertical position represents Spades; a rightward tilt is Clubs; a left tilt is Diamonds; and pushing the card forward means Hearts."
Hikigaya and Jabami played their roles like a well-rehearsed duo, mercilessly exposing Kiwatari and Tsubomi's signals.
"This is too easy. At this rate, you're going to end up in last place, Tsubomi." Jabami smiled sweetly, saying the most ruthless words.
"Housepet tricks are the easiest to see through." Hikigaya crossed his arms, repeating what Kiwatari had said at the start of the game:
"Are you serious about that?"
Bang—
Another heavy punch slammed onto the table. Kiwatari's face had completely darkened. At that moment, he resembled a wild beast ready to strike.
"Heh, you dare underestimate me? You think I can't see through your methods of cheating? I just didn't want to touch Tsubomi, that housepet. Now I'll use your cheating methods against you."
"Don't even think about winning a single round!"
"Tsubomi, remember what I told you, okay? If you don't want to end up in last place." Jabami smiled warmly as she returned to her seat.
Hikigaya's gaze sharpened, observing Tsubomi Nanami's expression without saying a word.
It was the look of someone who had been bullied for a long time. Without even needing to say it, Hikigaya could tell that Tsubomi had been enduring constant bullying from Kiwatari, almost to the point of breaking down. She was like a puppet with no self-awareness, controlled entirely by Kiwatari.
'People have to tear each other down in order to be called human...'