"Mary-san, are you perhaps afraid?"
Yumeko sneered.
That taunt successfully pulled Mary, who had been about to back out, back to the table.
"That crazy woman dares to look down on me!?"
Mary gritted her teeth in anger.
So far in this game, she had been winning overwhelmingly. Even if this crazy woman bet an enormous amount of money, so what?
She had absolute control over this rock-paper-scissors game.
Two-thirds of the class owed her money and had no choice but to obey her.
Under these conditions, there was no way she could lose.
"Alright, let's begin!"
Mary announced the start of the game and discreetly made a hand signal.
She instructed her controlled classmates to draw an overwhelming number of rock symbols and a few papers.
With this setup, the box would be filled almost entirely with rocks, with only a few papers—and possibly no scissors at all.
Knowing this in advance, all she had to do was draw a paper and play it, securing a guaranteed win.
The voting began.
Haruto, intrigued, took a blank card.
He glanced at Yumeko's glowing red eyes.
'Well, might as well help her out. If a legendary scene gets ruined by bad luck, that'd be too boring.'
With that thought, Haruto drew a symbol and placed it in the box.
Voting ended.
Each player drew three cards.
The moment Mary saw her hand, she nearly laughed maniacally.
Two papers.
Luck was completely on her side.
With these cards, there was no way she could lose!
"Actually, the whole class is helping Mary-san, aren't they?"
Yumeko mused as she examined her cards.
"Hah? What proof do you have? Don't make baseless accusations! Are you trying to weasel out of the game?"
Mary, exposed, remained unfazed and responded forcefully.
After all, there was no evidence.
"Of course not. This delightful moment mustn't go to waste! Now, let's begin."
The game resumed, and both sides played a card.
Despite feeling uneasy from Yumeko's words, Mary confidently played her paper.
And Yumeko's card was... scissors.
Gasps filled the room.
Ten million vanished in an instant.
Mary's eyes widened.
Even after deducting her previous winnings, she still owed 8.8 million.
A sum she absolutely couldn't afford.
"Impossible! There's no way I lost!"
Mary muttered in disbelief.
At that moment, Yumeko turned to Haruto.
"Thank you, Haruto-kun. Oh my, oh my, I was actually worried about my luck, but in the end, you provided the final missing piece."
Hearing this, the entire class—including Mary—turned their gaze toward the unfamiliar boy.
Haruto shrugged.
"I found it interesting, so I gave it a little push."
Mary's eyes widened in shock.
"You cheated!? No—how did you do it!?"
Yumeko picked up the pair of scissors and waved them in front of Mary's eyes.
At first, Mary didn't notice anything unusual, but after taking a closer look, she realized that a strand of hair was wrapped around the scissors.
These scissors were in Haruto's hands just moments ago.
Mary felt completely incredulous.
A single strand of hair, no ordinary person would ever notice something like that while drawing cards!
And yet, how did that new boy know about her cheating method?
Yumeko had only exposed her tricks after the game had already started. It had taken Yumeko several rounds at the table to analyze and figure it out.
"How did you know my technique and secret signals!?"
Mary's mind was spinning, no longer able to think clearly.
Haruto sighed.
"Saotome-san, has anyone ever told you that you're not very smart?"
The moment he said that, Mary gritted her teeth in anger.
Not very smart?
She had ruled this classroom at one point!
"I wasn't even at the table. Once I knew you were cheating, I just looked at how everyone else was voting."
Haruto revealed the truth.
Hearing this, Mary felt so frustrated she could almost cough up blood.
She had overlooked something so simple.
"I... I don't have that much money on hand. Can you give me a few days?"
In the end, Mary painfully lowered her head and pleaded to Yumeko.
However—
Yumeko's attention had already completely shifted.
"Haruto-kun is amazing! The moment I saw you, I just knew it! Hey! Wanna gamble with me? Betting against you would definitely be thrilling!"
Yumeko completely ignored Mary, her eager gaze fixed on Haruto.
Haruto sighed.
Why was he always attracting crazy women?
But...
"Sure."
After all, he needed to gamble—no, he needed to take money from others. He had to gather ten billion, then go grab the student council president and leave this academy as soon as possible.
Might as well entertain Yumeko a little.
"Yay!"
Yumeko beamed with joy.
Meanwhile, Saotome…
She was completely ignored.
The students pushed her to the corner of the classroom like trash, and no one cared about her anymore.
That was how this academy worked—your worth was measured by gambling and money. If you lost both, you had no value.
"What should we play?"
As he sat down at the gambling table, Yumeko asked with a smile.
Haruto thought for a moment.
"Let's play the rock-paper-scissors card game. We'll mix all the used cards together and continue from there."
Haruto suggested.
Yumeko nodded.
Mary and Yumeko had already played over ten rounds of rock-paper-scissors.
Now that all the cards were shuffled together, the balance between the three types of cards was roughly even.
The two of them began drawing cards.
As they played, they continued to chat casually, as if they weren't even taking the game seriously.
"Haruto-kun, how much are we betting?"
"Let's start at one million. The student council only gave me that much credit."
"I see, that makes it even more fun! I was worried you'd have too much money for us to play on equal terms."
Amid their lighthearted conversation, Yumeko lost two rounds.
Haruto bet the maximum amount each time, so Yumeko had already lost three million.
The spectators watching them felt chills run down their spines.
These two… They didn't even see money as money.
"I feel like Haruto-kun can see right through me. No matter how I try to mislead or counterattack, it's useless."
After losing two more rounds, Yumeko pouted her cheeks in adorable frustration.
Haruto nodded.
With his observational skills, every tiny movement Yumeko made was clear as day to him.
As skilled as she was, there were still subtle bodily reactions that couldn't be consciously controlled.
So, to him, her thoughts were completely exposed.
At this point, Yumeko had lost fifteen million.
She was completely out of cash.
"I'm broke… But I really want to play one more round."
Yumeko's eyes glowed with excitement.
Haruto gathered up the chips on the table.
He already had sixteen million.
At this rate, getting ten billion would be easy.
Seeing this, Mary curled up in the corner, trembling.
They were both monsters!
Why had she provoked them? Now she was saddled with debt.
At this academy, having debt meant becoming a "house pet"—a subhuman existence.
Just as Haruto finished collecting his winnings and was about to leave—
"Haruto-kun, let's play one more round! I'll bet myself!"
Yumeko grabbed Haruto's hand and pleaded.
Haruto sighed.
"You really throw everything away for the thrill, huh?"
Yumeko giggled, tacitly admitting to his words.
She was the type to risk everything for excitement.
Haruto sat back down.
Thus, a gamble with Yumeko herself as the stake began.
If Haruto won, he could do whatever he wanted with this beautiful girl.
Not a bad deal—so he accepted.
They both drew three cards from the deck.
This time, Yumeko didn't even look at them and placed them directly on the table.
Blind play.
That meant Haruto couldn't read her intentions through her expressions.
"This is pure gambling now."
Haruto muttered.
Yumeko playfully stuck out her tongue.
"I can't help it. Haruto-kun is way too unfairly strong. I had no chance of winning otherwise, so I might as well take a gamble."
Haruto picked a card from his hand and placed it on the table.
At this moment, the outcome of the match truly depended on luck. Any normal person would never have the guts to push Haruto this far.
Unfortunately, Haruto despised luck-based games.
He demanded absolute control.
He didn't care about excitement.
So…
"Za Warudo!"
The power of the world activated. The surroundings turned gray and time froze.
Everything in the world came to a standstill.
Haruto reached out and flipped over Yumeko's card.
A scissor.
The card he had just placed was… paper.
Haruto shook his head with a wry smile.
Was this what they called a gambler's lucky streak?
Too bad. Not against him.
He swapped his paper for a rock and reset the table.
Nine seconds passed.
The gray world regained its colors, and time began flowing again.
Both of them revealed their cards at the same time.
"I lost… Ah, this feeling… The thrill is making me tremble!"
"Haha! Losing my entire life over a single bet—this kind of rush is absolutely irresistible!"
Yumeko stared at her losing hand, still displaying her signature crazed expression of pleasure.
And just like that, Yumeko lost herself to Haruto in a gamble.
Though, legally speaking, Japan wouldn't recognize such a bet.
However, Hyakkaou Academy's system allowed it.
Besides, even without an official system, Yumeko was the type who would absolutely honor her gambling agreements.
"Then, Master, please take care of me from now on."
Yumeko stood up and revealed an absolutely submissive and adorable expression toward Haruto.
"Monster!"
This title quickly spread from the first-year Class Hana.
Yumeko and Haruto soon became figures of strange rumors within the academy.
And the two of them…
Simply skipped class and headed to a luxury hotel outside.
Haruto was no saint. Since Jabami Yumeko had willingly bet herself and lost, he had no reason to refuse.
After a session of indulgence…
The details could not be described explicitly, but the taste of this long-haired black beauty was completely different from anyone else.
That absolute sense of submission…
Although it lacked a woman's natural shyness, everything else was perfect.
"I see. This kind of experience is a first for me. It feels pretty good, though it's still far less exciting than gambling."
Yumeko curled up under the blanket and spoke casually.
Haruto reached out and gently ruffled her black hair.
"What kind of weird victory speech is that? Your rationality and madness are way too distinct."
Hearing this, Yumeko pondered for a moment before responding:
"Understood, Master. I'll try to be a bit crazier in those moments. Please continue to use me as much as you like. Of course, if we could play another round or two in the future… that would be ideal."
To this, Haruto was left speechless.