Ayanokoji Kiyotaka sat in a seat in the Chemistry Preparation Room, leaning on the table, feeling a bit annoyed.
He actually presented her with the "White Lady" cocktail…
When Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was looking through the drink menu, upon seeing this drink, because he himself was an FGO player and had a deep impression of Mata Hari, the dancer, he casually memorized the recipe for this drink.
Because Mata Hari herself had many "blemishes," Ayanokoji Kiyotaka originally didn't plan to mix it for anyone, but when Sachiko Juraku said she wanted him to mix a drink for her, he couldn't help but think of the "White Lady" cocktail.
Some of Mata Hari's actions bear similarities to hers.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Sachiko Juraku had also interacted a few times, and he could feel that Sachiko Juraku was very friendly towards him; she and Mikura had helped him quite a bit, so Ayanokoji also considered the "master and servant" pair his friends.
Because of this, he didn't want Sachiko Juraku to be a "double agent" moving between the Student Council and the Zenshoukai.
Although it was a bit meddlesome, he still wanted to use this drink to subtly remind her.
If she could take his words to heart, everyone would be happy; if she didn't listen or didn't catch his hidden meaning, then he would just muddle through.
Now, Sachiko Juraku should have understood his hidden meaning, but he didn't know if she truly took his reminder seriously...
However, since she understood, why did she kick him out?
Ayanokoji was clueless about the reason for Sachiko Juraku's anger.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stayed in the Chemistry Preparation Room for about half an hour, during which time, people with sullen faces continuously walked out of the Cooking Room—these people had been eliminated.
This was a winner-takes-all competition; even if they made it to the finals but didn't win the championship, they still wouldn't get a single penny.
While Ayanokoji was boredly scrolling through Twitter, Mikura ran out of the Cooking Room, and her eyes lit up when she saw Ayanokoji, quickly running over.
"Why did you come looking for me?" Ayanokoji asked with a smile.
"Senior Juraku is playing in the next match, so I came to find you."
"How is it? Is Senior Juraku angry?" Mikura still wore a collar around her neck today, and Ayanokoji really wanted to reach out and pat the head of his "little puppy."
He thought it, and he did it, but his outstretched hand was quickly slapped away by Mikura.
"What are you doing?"
Mikura put her hands on her hips and said discontentedly, "How dare you say that? You actually compared Senior Juraku to Mata Hari! It's a good thing Senior Juraku is magnanimous and didn't bother with you. If you really made Senior Juraku angry, I would want to bite you to death."
"Still want to bite my hand?"
Ayanokoji subconsciously looked at Mikura's lips; a few days ago, she had pounced on him and bitten his finger in front of Sachiko Juraku. It didn't hurt; instead, it felt more like "flirting."
If she wanted to bite him, Ayanokoji wouldn't be unable to accept it...
Mikura also recalled the scene from that day, her face reddened, and she snorted coldly, "Biting your hand is too easy on you! Next time I bite, it'll be your neck!"
"Biting my neck... Are you a vampire or something?" Ayanokoji was speechless.
"Oh, right, I came to call you over." Mikura finally remembered the main point: "Come to the Cooking Room now. Senior Juraku has already started playing, so the winner should be decided soon."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't care who would win the championship in this competition; the two million yen were just for "generating buzz."
However, Meari was very persistent about the two million, insisting on winning the money back. Although he didn't care, it was his own competition after all, so it would be good to comfort her a few words if she lost...
"Then let's go take a look." Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stood up and followed Mikura back to the Cooking Room.
Now it was the final "final round"; there were only seven people left on the field, fewer than the number of staff.
Saotome Meari and Sachiko Juraku sat at two different tables, and another girl sat quietly watching from the side.
The girl sitting on the side was the one who had first approached him and asked for a drink.
To Ayanokoji's surprise, this girl with long bangs, who looked a bit gloomy, was actually the biggest winner on the field right now. She held over thirty chips in her hand, accounting for more than a third of all the chips.
Meari and the other few people were distributing the remaining fifty-plus chips; the six of them were divided into two tables, engaged in a fierce "slaughter."
The bet for each hand was not one chip, but at least two, making it seem like the "seventh person" could be eliminated in just a few hands.
In this kind of competition, each person initially only had three coins. The person who entered the game first was most likely to be eliminated, but also most likely to continuously snowball and accumulate enough chips.
There were thirty people who made it to the finals, but the strength of each of these thirty people varied greatly.
Just like that drunken boy, he was a "soft persimmon," the easiest to manipulate. As long as one found the right target at the beginning, it was easy to accumulate early resources and gain an advantage in subsequent confrontations.
Those who entered later could observe and learn, analyzing the playing patterns of some participants to gain an informational advantage when joining the game, and could even wait until the very end to directly play the final round against the eventual champion.
Both methods had their pros and cons. If one had enough confidence in their gambling skills, like Sachiko Juraku, they could enter the game later, skipping the "slaughtering" phase with others and directly entering the final round.
But the downside was also obvious: the fault tolerance was very low, and the "cards" in hand were too few. Losing just two hands, or even one, would mean defeat.
Even if Sachiko Juraku's gambling skills were excellent, Landlord was still a game heavily reliant on luck, so Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was not optimistic about her winning the final championship.
However, Mikura, who was beside him, had sparkling eyes, clenched her fists, and said confidently, "I believe Senior Juraku will definitely win the championship!"
A Dealer shouldn't have her own subjective bias, but Hanatemari Kazura was also standing behind Meari, cheering her on, so no one would say she was "not fair enough."
Ayanokoji perfunctorily encouraged them, "You guys go for it..."
It would still take a considerable amount of time to determine the final winner, so Ayanokoji Kiyotaka returned to the bar.
Ikishima Midari, who had also made it to the finals like Meari, had already been eliminated, but she didn't leave the casino. Instead, she stood inside the casino, enthusiastically mixing drinks.
Although Kurume and the others weren't entirely clear about Ikishima Midari's background, they had observed over the past two days that Ayanokoji had a good private relationship with her, so they didn't stop her and let her play around at the bar.
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