"...Mibuomi-sama showed me great kindness, and I want to repay him."
Ibuki Jotaro again took out a bank card and placed it on the table in front of Ayanokoji. "Ayanokoji, if you think this contract isn't worth 20 million, I also have 5 million here to bet against your 40 million yen in gambling funds."
When gambling with Kamishita Nagi, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was actually quite interested. It was the first time he had met such a chuunibyou youth who saw himself as "Kiryu Sento," and Ayanokoji wanted to see how he would make his move.
But this Ibuki Jotaro in front of him was an upright and serious person. He wasn't gambling out of greed for money, but to help Mibuomi Aoi achieve his goals.
If possible, Ayanokoji didn't want to gamble with such a person; even if he won, he wouldn't feel happy.
Forget it… As long as he won against him, and then against one more person, Mibuomi Aoi would no longer bother him.
Being constantly bothered by Mibuomi Aoi made it difficult for his newly established casino to continue operating. It was better to resolve it sooner rather than later.
Ayanokoji shook his head and sighed, "Forget it, I'm not that kind of exploiter. Let's do this: we'll wager twenty million plus the Kendo Club against my forty million yen. Since you've brought the Dealer, tell me, what do you want to gamble on?"
"I want to gamble on Extreme Dice."
"You want to gamble on dice again?" Ayanokoji was a little surprised. He had thought Ibuki Jotaro would choose a game that relied entirely on skill, not luck.
He completely did not expect him to choose this.
Ibuki Jotaro said with a serious expression, "Ayanokoji, you're good at playing dice and you trust your luck. So I won't simply choose a rule that benefits me. This game is a rule I came up with after combining both our strengths."
Even though it was a gamble involving forty million yen, Ibuki Jotaro didn't want to take advantage of Ayanokoji.
This made Ayanokoji respect him. This guy was indeed worthy of respect, even if he was an opponent.
Without going to the bar, the Dealer, Yamato Inaho, who was standing beside the two, lightly coughed, "Ibuki Jotaro has already explained the game rules to me, so let me introduce them to Ayanokoji."
"The name of this game is Extreme Dice."
"First, a tall partition needs to be placed on the table between you two, like a raised net on a ping-pong table, to block your vision so you can't see each other's hand movements."
"Then, both of you roll the dice simultaneously. When the dice show one to five, you gain one point. At this point, you can continue to roll the dice. If one to five appears again, you continue to gain points."
Ayanokoji asked, "What about rolling a six? Do you get two points?"
Yamato Inaho shook her head, "No, when you roll a six, all previously accumulated points will be reset to zero, and then both sides can continue to roll."
That sounds interesting... As long as you roll a six, no matter how many points you've accumulated, they'll be reset to zero.
"If you feel your luck is bad midway through, you can raise your hand and call a stop at any time. After calling a stop, your current score will be confirmed. When both sides call a stop, the one with the higher score wins."
Ayanokoji frowned slightly, "Doesn't that mean that as long as you don't call a stop, you can keep rolling?"
"Of course not. If one side pauses first, the other person will enter a thirty-second countdown. Within these thirty seconds, they can stop rolling at any time, or wait for the thirty seconds to end for a forced stop."
Yamato Inaho gave Ayanokoji time to process before continuing, "Those are the rules. Runa and I have analyzed it, and the rules of this game are fair to both sides; there will be no situation that favors either party."
"That's it, Ayanokoji, are you willing to gamble with me on Extreme Dice?"
Ibuki Jotaro said earnestly, "This game is very fair, with no factors that favor me. If you don't want to gamble on this, we can also go with your idea; I'll play whatever you want to gamble on."
"In Extreme Dice, when we roll a six, no matter how many points we've accumulated before, they will be reset to zero."
"So the key to this game is to test our psychological resilience. We have to constantly think about when to stop rolling –"
"Should we stop to secure our current points, or should we risk continuing? Each roll is a test of our inner resolve."
Ibuki Jotaro was truly upright.
Ayanokoji shook his head speechlessly, "You're really honest, telling me the trick to this game."
"Even if I don't tell you, you'll figure it out in the game eventually."
He said in a deep voice, "In this game, neither of us can cheat. It's a test of psychological resilience. Only those with strong willpower can win this game."
"Alright, I'm quite interested in this game. Let's gamble on this," Ayanokoji readily agreed.
A smile appeared on Ibuki Jotaro's face. He scanned the onlookers in the room and suddenly spoke.
"In this game, any action, any expression from anyone, could potentially affect our confrontation. Therefore, I hope everyone except the two Dealers leaves, leaving the venue to just the two of us plus the two Dealers."
"Of course, we can also move to another place to gamble."
"I don't mind..." Ayanokoji looked at Meari and the others, "What do you think?"
They exchanged glances, discussed for a while in a huddle, and Meari, as their representative, said, "Alright, then we'll step out for a bit."
Although somewhat reluctant, Ibuki Jotaro's reasoning was indeed very convincing. Meari and the others were also unsure if staying there would affect their gambling.
What if their presence not only didn't help Ayanokoji but also had an adverse effect?
Meari's gaze fell on Ibuki Jotaro, and she warned, "We'll leave to give you enough space, but don't think about pulling any tricks while we're gone. Captain Dragonfly will be watching you, so don't try any funny business!"
"Don't worry, Meari, with Inaho and me here, we'll definitely keep an eye on them and won't let them cheat!" Yomotsuki Runa finished her last sip of cocktail and patted her chest as she replied.
"You only need to keep an eye on Ibuki Jotaro..."
"Don't worry, I'm the fairest Dealer in the academy. No one can cheat in front of me!"
Runa seemed to not understand Meari's underlying meaning. Meari was about to say something, but after thinking it over, she gave up.
"Never mind, just remember to keep a good eye on him..."
Meari reluctantly left a remark, and the girls all left the room. Kamishita Nagi, after saying thank you for the hospitality, left the casino without further ado.
After leaving the Cooking Room, the girls huddled together, chattering and conversing again.
What they were discussing was not the content of the gamble, but Meari.
"Meari, are you really going to gamble to buy a dorm?"
Hanatemari said worriedly, "What if you lose? If you don't mind, I still have a million on hand. You can just add my money to yours to buy the dorm. There's no need to gamble."
Togakushi Yukimi also said, "That's right, Meari, if you're short on money, you can tell us. We still have some money on hand that we can lend you."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was very generous. Although their casino had only been operating for two weeks, Ayanokoji had given each of them a bonus of one million yen.
They were not short of money now.
"No, I haven't reached the point of asking others for money," Meari smiled and shook her head, then looked at Kurume, "Kurume, didn't you say you have a friend who runs a casino? Take me to her, I want to gamble with her."
Last night, while riding the subway, Kurume suddenly told Meari that she had a friend who ran a casino. She was a rich young lady who wasn't short of money and only opened the casino out of interest.
Kurume then suggested that Meari could earn some money from her to quickly save enough for the dorm fees.
After all, it was a large sum to gamble, and Meari hesitated for a long time about whether to gamble.
She thought about it all night and finally trusted Kurume, deciding to go and see. If her chances of winning weren't high, she'd just look and come back. If she felt she had a chance, then she'd earn the dorm fees from her.
"You all just focus on running the casino. Wait for my good news!" Meari waved to Togakushi Yukimi and Hanatemari, confidently setting off on her "expedition."
"Togakushi... Can Meari win?" Hanatemari looked at Meari's receding back and asked worriedly.
"Who knows? I hope Kurume really has good intentions."
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