Chapter 111: Saotome Mary Wants to Use Shunsuke Fujii as a Stepping Stone
Mary's face turned pale, and she shook her head repeatedly. "No, no need. After all, Fujii-kun and I haven't seen each other in years. How could I possibly expect you to help me pay off my debt for free?"
"Oh, is that so?"
Shunsuke narrowed his eyes slightly.
Since when did he ever mention doing it for free? A clever play on words?
"Well, I actually have just a small favor to ask," Mary said, putting on her best shy expression, lightly twisting her body.
She even changed her tone to the coquettish "I" and spoke with an exaggeratedly sweet voice. It was terrifying how these beautiful girls could act so convincingly—they were all born performers.
Intrigued, Shunsuke looked at her. "What kind of favor?"
"Well... if I were to challenge Fujii-kun to an official match, could I ask you to pretend to lose?" Mary asked, her big, watery eyes full of anticipation.
The debt of 8.8 million yen was substantial, but could Mary really not repay it? The answer was no.
Although Mary herself was broke, the other students at this school weren't. In fact, 21 of her classmates alone owed her money.
That fake protagonist, Ryota Suzui, owed her a staggering 5 million yen.
However, since he couldn't possibly pay it back, he was turned into a "Pochi," effectively canceling his debt.
Even though most of her debtors couldn't afford to repay their gambling losses, if she pooled together what they could give, she could just barely scrape together the 8.8 million yen.
That was why, after losing to Yumeko, she immediately knelt and begged Yumeko for a few days' grace—gathering money took time!
But now, Mary saw a new opportunity.
If she simply paid Yumeko back in full, all her efforts and schemes to build influence and authority in her class would go down the drain.
Her status would plummet, and for someone as ambitious as her, that was unacceptable.
However, using the special "official match" rules of Hyakkaou Academy, if she challenged a member of the Student Council and managed to win, not only would she recover the money, but her status would be restored as well!
"Of course, I wouldn't let Fujii-kun suffer a loss," Mary added with a sweet tone. "Fujii-kun would just need to pretend to lose slightly—just one small mistake, and let me win 10 million yen. Afterward, I'll double that and pay you back."
Mary put on the perfect act, like a delicate white lotus. Promising things like "you won't lose out," "just a small loss of 10 million," and "I'll double it and pay you back."
As if any Student Council member's reputation was only worth 10 or 20 million yen.
If she was talking about a loss in the billions, maybe someone would waver, but 10 million? Ridiculous.
This so-called "official match" rule might seem like the last chance for indebted students, but in reality, it was just a cruel ploy—giving them a sliver of hope only to push them into deeper despair.
It was the President's twisted sense of humor.
Ever since this system was implemented, not a single person who dared to challenge the Student Council had succeeded.
And if Shunsuke were to become the first to break that streak...
Mary clearly intended to use him as her stepping stone!
If it were another Student Council member, she might not be so bold.
But perhaps she saw Shunsuke as an outsider, someone from another school who rarely attended and only showed up occasionally to gamble before disappearing.
She likely assumed he didn't fully understand the implications of an official match and decided to take a gamble herself.
Shunsuke's eyes narrowed slightly, but he quickly replaced the expression with a cheerful smile. "Why not? After all, we're classmates. Of course, I'll help with a small favor like this."
"Really? That's wonderful!" Mary beamed with delight. "Let's sign the contract right away!"
"No, no, there's no need for a contract," Shunsuke said with a friendly smile. "I trust you, Saotome-san."
Shunsuke spoke casually, then paused time.
Using Star Platinum, he thoroughly checked Mary from head to toe to ensure she wasn't carrying any recording devices.
Once he was certain, he resumed the flow of time.
Mary's brow twitched involuntarily, but she quickly masked it and said in a sweet voice, "But in that case, Fujii-kun, aren't you worried I won't pay you back?"
"If that happens, I'll just take the loss," Shunsuke replied nonchalantly, as if a few million yen was nothing to him. "Spending this much money to see someone's true colors isn't really a loss, don't you think?"
His carefree tone made it seem like he wasn't even concerned about losing one or two million yen.
But in truth, his plan was to crush Mary completely in the match, winning several billion yen and leaving her utterly defeated.
Afterward, her so-called "life plan" would be entirely under his control.
Mary, hearing this, felt an overwhelming urge to punch him.
It's not that I'm afraid you don't trust me—I don't trust you!
However, opposing him further in this situation would be too suspicious, so she had no choice but to grit her teeth and suppress her inner frustration.
Outwardly, she maintained her act, showering Shunsuke with overly sweet gratitude, her voice dripping with insincerity.
...
"Shunsuke, you were so cold earlier. The President called me a viper, and you just agreed without hesitation," Yumeko pouted, pretending to complain as she watched Mary leave.
Shunsuke responded with a question of his own: "Was the President wrong?"
"Ehehe," Yumeko deflected with a cheeky smile.
"But compared to you, Shunsuke, I think she's just a harmless little kitty. Meow."
"Oh? So I'm the snake, and you're the cat? Haha, looks like you're pretty confident in yourself, Yumeko."
"Not at all, just a metaphor. Meow," she said playfully, making cat-like gestures with her hands near her head, one finger curling like a paw. She even added a few "meow-meow" sounds for effect.
Shunsuke felt a surge of emotion.
How could there be such an unbearably adorable cat in this world?
Even though it was clearly an intentional act of cuteness, this side of Yumeko, when gambling wasn't involved, was her true nature.
It made him lament once more how gambling had turned such an adorable girl into an expression-warping gambling addict.
As they strolled and chatted casually, Shunsuke found himself following Yumeko back to her home.
"It's a bit messy inside, but would you like to come in and sit for a while?" Yumeko asked, turning to him after opening the door.
Inviting a guy she had just met that day into her home, where she lived alone—Yumeko certainly had nerves of steel.
"Well then, I won't stand on ceremony," Shunsuke replied with a smirk, stepping inside.
Shunsuke was curious to see if the home of a beautiful girl living alone would be as outrageous as the internet memes suggested, filled with surprises beyond his imagination.
After all, it was hard to picture Yumeko cleaning up her room.
As he stepped inside, he found the environment better than he'd expected.
While it couldn't be called tidy by any stretch, there weren't any leftover dishes piled in the sink, massive garbage bags left unthrown, or cockroaches scuttling around.
The room wasn't immaculate, but it wasn't the disaster zone he might have imagined.
Perhaps it was because the home was sparsely furnished.
If not for the scattered black stockings, tights, and other personal items, along with takeout boxes littering the kitchen, Shunsuke might have doubted anyone even lived there.
"Oh my, Shunsuke, are you interested in those?" Yumeko teased in a seductive tone, noticing his gaze lingering on a pair of black stockings draped over a chair. "If you're willing to gamble with me, win or lose, I wouldn't mind giving them to you."
Her playful yet provocative remark caught him off guard, but it was just so typical of Yumeko—always weaving temptation and gambling together.
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