Ayanokoji Kiyotaka sat on a bar stool like a guest, deliberately teasing Ikishima Midari: "What's wrong? Why did you lose so quickly? I thought you'd win the championship."
Ikishima Midari pouted, "Hmph... Well, you really had too high expectations of me."
Togakushi Yukimi interjected to smooth things over: "Ikishima Midari was actually in the lead before, and at one point she had over a dozen chips, but she lost them all in one round."
"Oh, what happened?" Ayanokoji looked at Ikishima Midari with interest.
"In one round, I thought my hand was good, so I called Landlord. I was provoked by a girl and bet all my chips. I originally thought I'd get rich overnight, but I lost everything."
Ikishima Midari reluctantly pointed her finger at the girl with long bangs who was sitting quietly watching the game: "See, that girl."
"You lost, and you don't want to get your revenge?" Ayanokoji became curious.
Ikishima Midari was the type of person who wouldn't accept a loss and would definitely seek revenge. Was she really willing to lose to someone else like that?
"No interest. I choose my opponents when I seek revenge, you know."
Ikishima Midari explained with a bored expression: "I've been observing that guy for a while. She's played over a dozen hands and hasn't been the Landlord once. No matter what her hand is, she's always a commoner. Her cautious playing style is no fun at all."
Ikishima Midari loved adventure, challenges, and the thrill of betting something precious.
And while this girl kept winning, her cautious style completely did not suit Ikishima Midari's taste, and she had no desire to seek revenge whatsoever.
Ikishima Midari wasn't lacking in money to begin with; she only participated in this competition because she was in the mood, so losing was losing, and there was no resentment.
She pushed a drink towards Ayanokoji and said confidently, "Come and try the drink I just mixed. I guarantee it'll give you a taste sensation."
"What's this drink called?" Ayanokoji looked at the colorful drink.
"This is my special blend. It doesn't have a name yet."
Under Ikishima Midari's expectant gaze, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka took a sip, his expression complex.
How should I describe the taste...? It certainly had a huge impact on the taste buds, but not in a good way.
It was like those extremely sour, strange-flavored candies he ate as a child, incredibly sour at first, with only a hint of sweetness later on.
Ikishima Midari's cup was even more potent.
Ayanokoji didn't have the courage to take a second sip. After a moment of deliberation, he tactfully said, "...There's still room for improvement."
To prevent Ikishima Midari from making him drink more, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka quickly turned his face away and looked at the girl with long bangs.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka glanced at her number; her participant number was 7.
He casually picked up the roster and found the girl's name: "Her name is Shimotsuki Okuri, a first-year student... Huh? She's in the same class as Meari?"
Ayanokoji looked up at Shimotsuki Okuri with some surprise, suddenly feeling like she looked familiar.
On his first day at this school, after he and Meari had eaten, he had searched everywhere for Hanatemari but couldn't find her. It was Shimotsuki Okuri who told him Hanatemari Kazura would be eating on the rooftop at noon.
Ayanokoji still remembered that back then, while the entire class was gambling, she quietly sat at her desk doing practice problems.
"This girl is really impressive..." Ayanokoji murmured.
"Of course she's impressive. After all, she's been the perennial second-place holder, always ranking among the top in every grade-level exam," Kurume Laiwei walked over, poured herself a glass of juice, and drank it by herself.
"Do you know her?" Ayanokoji looked at Kurume Laiwei.
"Yes, she's quite famous," Kurume nodded.
"Her memory is extraordinary. It's said that she can record anything she sees in its original form as an image just by looking at it once. She can memorize an entire textbook after reading it just once."
"She gets full marks in almost every subject. In junior high, she constantly competed with Igarashi Sayaka for the top spot in their grade."
Togakushi Yukimi looked over in surprise: "Is she that amazing? How come I've never heard her name?"
She hadn't expected such an ordinary-looking girl to actually be a "big shot."
"You're a second-year senior, so you naturally wouldn't pay attention to the grades of students in other years."
Kurume shrugged, casually stating her understanding of her.
"She's usually very low-key and doesn't publicize her grades, and the school generally doesn't release grades publicly.
Besides, not many people in this school care about academic performance, do they? They only care about others' gambling skills and the amount of their contributions. I only found out about her as a top student when I helped a teacher organize report cards once."
"With her excellent academic performance, her gambling skills should also be very strong," Ayanokoji looked thoughtfully at Shimotsuki Okuri: "Otherwise, she wouldn't have made it to the Landlord finals, would she...?"
Ayanokoji suddenly realized something and lowered his head to look at the roster again: "By the way... when Senior Juraku registered before, did she use Igarashi Sayaka's name? Is Igarashi Sayaka a member of the Student Council?"
"Senior Igarashi is the secretary of the Student Council, and she's a close confidante of the Student Council President. The Student Council President usually issues orders through her."
Mikura suddenly interjected, "It's said that Senior Igarashi was personally invited by the Student Council President to join the Student Council. She is fiercely loyal to the Student Council President, just like I am to Lady Juraku."
Ayanokoji raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised: "It seems you're very familiar with Igarashi Sayaka. Do you two usually exchange experiences?"
Mikura glared at him in annoyance, not answering the question but also not refuting it, which implied assent.
Kurume's curiosity was piqued: "Mikura, how much do you know about Shimotsuki Okuri? I'm very interested, could you tell me?"
Although Ayanokoji and Togakushi Yukimi didn't speak, they all watched her. Mikura glanced at Ayanokoji, hesitated for a moment, then continued.
"The Student Council selects some students with strong gambling abilities to join the Student Council. Generally speaking, academic performance and gambling ability are directly proportional, just like with Meari, so Shimotsuki Okuri is also on our watch list."
"Her grades are excellent, only on par with Senior Igarashi Sayaka. The Student Council naturally extended an invitation to her, hoping she would join, but she refused."
"We later observed that she basically doesn't gamble. At most, she plays some knowledge-based competitions or participates in some contests that don't require much entry fee, just like this current Dou Di Zhu Competition. Each time, she manages to reach the finals and even repeatedly wins championships."
Even Ikishima Midari, who had originally claimed to be uninterested, looked over, surprised: "Is she really that good?"
"Yes, her gambling skills are very strong, but she doesn't participate in gambling in the casino or within classes, so not many people know about her strong gambling ability.
Her monthly contributions are paid with the money she earns from these competitions and contests, as well as scholarships. She has never defaulted, so even without gambling, she has never become livestock."
As the group discussed, the originally vague outline of Shimotsuki Okuri, the girl, gradually became clearer.
"The school is truly full of hidden talents; there's even such a hidden big shot..."
Togakushi Yukimi couldn't help but click her tongue and said thankfully, "It's a good thing she's not interested in casinos. If she came to gamble at my casino, my casino would probably have gone bankrupt long ago..."
"So, she currently holds the most chips, and her probability of winning the competition is probably the greatest... Meari and your Lady Juraku are probably in danger."
Kurume, on the other hand, enjoyed watching the drama unfold and deliberately poked Ayanokoji's shoulder: "Have you thought about how you're going to comfort Meari later?"
"Meari will win!"
"Lady Juraku will win!"
Togakushi Yukimi and Sado Mikura said in unison.
They both had great confidence in the people they supported.
"Ayanokoji, what about you? Who do you think will win?"
Ikishima Midari's single question dragged Ayanokoji into the spotlight. Everyone stopped talking and looked at Ayanokoji, wanting to see who he would support.
"Don't look at me," Ayanokoji spread his hands helplessly. "The results of the match are almost out while we've been discussing."
The girls had been so engrossed in their discussion that they hadn't paid attention to the situation, but Ayanokoji had been multitasking, observing the "grand finale" over there.
Of the original seven people, only three remained.
They were Saotome Meari, Sachiko Juraku, and Shimotsuki Okuri.
Shimotsuki Okuri held fifty chips, while Meari and Sachiko Juraku each held twenty, totaling ninety chips.
The three of them were engaged in a peak showdown, with a stake of ten chips per round.
Mikura said indignantly, "Meari and Lady Juraku haven't lost yet! Even if she has a few more chips, the final winner isn't necessarily her!"
"No, the outcome is decided," Ayanokoji shook his head and said calmly, "Sachiko Juraku and Saotome Meari, whenever they encounter a situation where they are the Landlord, even if their hand isn't very good, they will choose to take the cards."
"Meari wants to find the opportunity to turn the tables when she's the Landlord. Senior Juraku, on the other hand, doesn't care who wins or loses, but her pride wouldn't allow her to 'fold.' So, both of them have reasons why they must be the Landlord."
"And Shimotsuki Okuri, she never takes the Landlord card. She always stands on the same side as one of the other two. Even if the commoner loses, it will be one of Meari or Senior Juraku who exits first."
"If only two people are left, according to the rules, a staff member will fill the last spot, or the two players can custom choose a gambling method, with the player who has more chips having the priority of choice."
"...In short, Shimotsuki Okuri's victory is assured."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka thus drew his conclusion.
PS: The chapter on the Dou Di Zhu Competition is finally over.
Many readers complained that it was verbose and padded with words. To be honest, I also find this plotline long.
But please take a good look, are there really six chapters that genuinely describe Landlord in this plot?
If I wanted to pad words, I could directly write dozens of chapters on Landlord, like "three of a kind with a single" or "four of a kind with two pairs." If I wanted to quickly get through this plot, I could finish it in three days. Why would I write so much?
Most of what I've written these days has been about the story between boy and girl. The "Dou Di Zhu Competition" is just a prelude, mainly to introduce more characters, bring more girls into the story, and shape character images.
I know you all want to see gambling, right? The daily life plot is over; continuous gambling will follow.
Next, we will directly confront the various executives of the Zenshoukai and the Student Council.
Please look forward to it.
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