The young man took his full glass of "special blend" and found a seat. He drank a large gulp of the cocktail with anticipation, and immediately, he started coughing uncontrollably, his eyes turning red.
How could this drink be so spicy, and the taste was too strange!
He looked up and saw Kurume looking at him with "concern." He, however, thought Kurume was cheering him on, and a surge of ambition immediately rose in his heart.
So what if the drink tasted a bit strange? Maybe this kind of "special blend" was supposed to taste like this, and he just didn't know how to appreciate it, when it was actually very popular!
He pinched his nose and poured the cocktail into his mouth. As if being executed, he felt a burning sensation in his mouth, and his entire brain felt like it was burning into a paste.
But he still stiffened his neck and continued to drink.
After drinking half of it, his entire head was filled with alcohol. He looked at the drink and suddenly felt the taste seemed pretty good, and he chuckled foolishly...
"It's over, this guy seems to have drunk himself silly..." Kurume helplessly massaged her forehead.
She had given this young man a choice; he was the one who refused.
This young man's alcohol tolerance was indeed good; even in this state, he hadn't passed out and gone straight to sleep. Someone saw his drunken state and proactively approached him: "Brother, want to play a round? One chip per bet."
"Count me in." Another person seized the opportunity to join the game.
"Alright, let's do it." His head was muddled, but at this moment, he had an unusual feeling, thinking he was very clear-headed, and readily agreed to the two's team-up request.
This was also the first game of the finals, and everyone's attention was drawn to it.
Togakushi Yukimi, acting as the Dealer, came forward with a brand new deck of poker cards and dealt them.
In the finals, every game would have a Dealer to preside over it. This, in addition to preventing cheating, was also to enhance the room's ambiance and make them feel the difference from the preliminary rounds—
"Heartfelt Members" should receive different treatment, otherwise, how could they attract those wealthy fools who are willing to spend money on enjoyment and consider themselves more "noble"?
According to the dice roll, the first choice went to the young man on the far left, but he didn't even look at his cards and immediately said, "I'm not snatching Landlord."
"I'm not snatching Landlord either." The other person quickly followed suit.
"Alright then, I'll snatch it!" The young man who drank the "special blend" was dizzy and didn't notice anything amiss, directly flipping over the three bottom cards.
The other two young men exchanged glances, and smiles appeared on their lips simultaneously.
In this game, although his card luck was good, the alcohol still affected his thinking, and a good hand was played terribly.
The spectators, who had expected to see an exciting game, had lost interest in watching this one; it simply had no entertainment value.
A girl watched her surroundings with a suspicious gaze, then suddenly raised her hand and asked, "Question, what if the other two people we're playing against in the game are accomplices?
For example, if one of them is the Landlord and the other is a peasant, wouldn't the peasant at their table be miserable? With someone dragging them down, wouldn't it be an inevitable loss?"
Kurume Laiwei began to explain: "Therefore, we have given you the right to randomly form teams. If you think the other two people at your table are friends and might cheat, you can absolutely refuse their game invitation."
"But before the game, how can we know if the others at our table have teamed up?" She pressed further: "If someone does that, wouldn't the game be very unfair!?"
Although the game involving the young man who drank the cocktail had no entertainment value, it did serve as a reminder to them.
What if someone was "two against one"? Everyone looked at Kurume.
Just as Kurume Laiwei was about to explain, suddenly, someone in the crowd spoke up for Kurume.
"The previous tryouts were competitions, so they were absolutely fair, but now, the nature of the competition has changed, hasn't it? Now we are gambling. Since it's gambling, in addition to luck and skill, you naturally also need discernment. If you can't even assess the situation, you might as well go back early."
The person who spoke was a girl, and her words were quite impolite.
Who is it, speaking so harshly!
The girl who had just asked the question frowned, turned around, and looked behind her, wanting to see who was deliberately causing trouble.
Everyone else also turned their gazes towards the person who spoke.
Finally, everyone's gaze settled on a girl wearing a baseball cap, square-framed glasses, and a baseball uniform.
Today was Sunday, and most people were wearing casual clothes, so it wasn't unusual.
Her hair was hidden within the baggy baseball uniform; only from the strands brushing her neck could one tell that her hair color was a particularly rare white.
The questioning girl glared at her fiercely. She was considered a leader in her class, so how could she be reprimanded by a passerby so casually?
She angrily walked up to the girl, ready to say something harsh, but then inadvertently saw the other's face. In an instant, her expression changed drastically, she took a step back in fright, her face pale, and her lips trembled.
"You, you are..."
"Senior Juraku, why are you here!?" In the crowd, another person called out her name.
"Has it been exposed? I originally wanted to hide a bit longer..." She whispered, sounding slightly regretful.
The girl wearing the baseball cap took off her hat and glasses, revealing a head of white hair that had been tucked into her clothes. She looked up, a smile on her lips, and gazed at the questioning girl in front of her.
"Did you want to say something just now?"
"Senior Juraku, no, I didn't..." The girl's face was pale as she shook her head repeatedly.
She smiled slightly: "I'm not blaming you. Your questioning is fine, it's just that... I believe the rules of this competition are also fine. Now, do you still have any questions?"
Seeing that the other party had no intention of blaming her, the girl felt as if she had been granted a great pardon and shook her head repeatedly: "...No more questions."
Even if someone initially had objections, at this moment, there were no more questions.
This girl who suddenly made a stunning appearance was none other than the Disciplinary Committee President, Sachiko Juraku.
Who would dare to voice an opinion in front of the Disciplinary Committee President!?
The girl who had called out Sachiko Juraku's name earlier scurried over to her, immediately knelt in front of her, lifted her face, and joyfully exclaimed, "Senior Juraku, why are you here, and participating in the competition!? I've been looking for you for two days and couldn't find you!"
The person who called out her name was no passerby, but Sado Mikura.
She had just come here to help this morning. She never expected that her longed-for Senior Juraku would also be here!
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